Charr

*The charr race was forged in the merciless crucible of war. It is all they know. War defines them, and their quest for dominion drives them ever onward. The weakling and the fool have no place among the charr. Victory is all that matters, and it must be achieved by any means and at any cost.*

The charr are a race of large, savage, feline creatures that were the creations of the archmage Nex. Contained in a vast, forested demiplane that he carefully tended to suit their evolution as soldiers, the charr grew isolated from all other cultures and societies save for the word of the "Shining King," the title by which they know of Nex. Before Nex, the charr were nothing more than magical beasts living across a then-smaller demiplane created by the ancient and forgotten cathari people. Nex discovered the plane on his travels and sculpted it to his own ends, elevating the charr with knowledge of war and industry. He taught them the power of the written word and the power of fire they used to make the first forges.

Intended to be nothing more than disposable soldiers in his war with Geb, the charr were never called to arms to join the war they were bred for. Instead, they diligently continued to serve the ideals of their Shining King for centuries, honing and refining war in conflict with one another and developing their implements of destruction, waiting for the day when they would be called to battle. Time and history faded much of Nex's original message to them, and the charr came to reinvent him through each generation, eventually deviating much from their original intention and instead becoming instruments of destruction with no clear goal or enemy, waiting to be released from the plane they called home to wage the war they were born for.

The charr renounce all gods as false and instead view all of life, from magic to combat, with a hard, cynical eye. Their culture has developed into a military state where they are raised as warriors from birth.

### Physical Description

The charr are carnivorous feline-like humanoids. They stand on their hind legs and are taller than a human by half of an average human's height, and are lean and agile. They prefer a hunched pose when standing, but will on occasion stand tall and straight. When they are moving, and their paws are unoccupied, the charr favor running on all four limbs. While the males are described as being generally stronger and the females more lithe and quick, this presumed difference between genders is not evident.

They have a short fur from head to toe in a variety of colors and patterns, many of which are similar to those of lions, cheetahs and tigers. Many charr have a longer mane of fur between the shoulders and on the back of the head and neck. A male charr has less fur on the tail with longer fur only on the tip, while the female's tail has longer fur from top to bottom.

The charr muzzle is elongated and the mouth filled with prominent sharp teeth suited for their carnivorous diet. The teeth are larger on the males, particularly those on the bottom jaw which are usually considerably smaller on the female. The head has four horns, those from the top of the head are more prominent than those between the two sets of ears. The top pair of ears hears high frequencies such as a dog might, while the bottom pair hear low frequencies similar to an elephant. However, they have difficulty hearing mid-frequency sounds such as those used in human speech without sufficient training, which can aggravate already tense charr-human relations. Like cats, charr have six flat mammary glands hidden under their fur.

The charr have a set of sharp retractable claws which can be used as knives for general tasks but most charr tend to favour weapons when fighting.

Cubs are born fully furred, with open eyes and functional limbs. Within a few days, cubs can follow their mothers over even the harshest terrain. They eat meat within a month of birth, and are fully independent several months later. Charr mature at about the same rate as humans.

### Society

The charr are a military culture and their society, technology and relationships are very much focused on supporting war. Society is built around military units which charr become a part of from childhood. Non-military tasks, such as farming and trade, can be left to the young, retired, and injured. But no matter a charr's vocation they are always viewed as a soldier and view life like a soldier. Weakness and foolishness from individuals is viewed with particular contempt, some of such acts can result in a charr becoming an outcast, or in a worse case, the charr's name being struck from the race's history.

Charr on occasion mate for life, but most relationships are more casual than that. Families are recognized but adult charr have very little contact with their parents or offspring, but sometimes keep tabs on each other for events which could reflect back on the family’s reputation. As soon a cub is weaned, around being a year old, they enter a *fahrar* of one of their parents' legion. The *fahrar* is the cubs' first warband and they are trained as a military unit under supervision of an adult and are considered an adult when the warband no longer needs supervision. The cubs are taught to unify and define their own social structure and the warband shares a root name which they incorporate into their surname. While ancestry is known and acknowledged, the parents have little to do with the raising of the cub, and as such warbands are viewed as a charr's family and the bonds of loyalty and kinship formed between them are stronger than those of other races' families. Though some charr leave, change, or lose their warbands, these strong bonds usually leave a deep impact on the charr; charr changing warband must change their name and fit in quickly if they are to survive. However, charr have been known to become outcasts rather than losing those bonds again.

Male and female charr do not differentiate themselves through wearing differently tailored or styled clothing.

The charr are highly industrious and are renowned and feared for their military technology — weapon development, war machines and mass production. Their rifles and pistols are particularly finely made. However, not all of their advancements involve weapons—they are also known for making some of the finest clockwork and spring-driven devices. Their development in technology was set forth by Nex in the founding of their society.

The charr were predatory hunters before being found by Nex, and some of these tribal traditions carry on in their civilized lives. As such, charr prefer to hunt and kill their meals whenever possible, or to have a hand in slaughtering any herd animal they eat. Their motto of, "you eat what you kill," follows them to the battlefield where they are known to cannibalize their enemies as a show of dominance.

### Alignment and Religion

The charr have a strict caste and rank society which has modeled them into a lawful culture, though exceptions to this are often found among char who become outcast from their warband and choose to live alone or among others.

Due to their history many charr shun religion. They do not accept any god's authority and quickly anger on topics of charr worship or manipulation by god-like beings. Charr acknowledge other races' gods as beings of power but do not see them as something worthy of worship.

### Adventurers

Although charr adventurers are rare compared to humans, they can be found in many regions of the world. Charr often leave the confines of their warbands to seek glory for their clans, to train and hunt for greater strength, or choose to wander as exiles apart from their warbands. Charr life is brutal and unforgiving, built around the ideals of war and conquest, as such most charr train as fighters and barbarians.

#### Male Names

Rrok'tgar, Khargut, Shekum, Ch'kal, Kregak

#### Female Names

She'gur, Sha'ker, Tresh, Tra'kal, Kash'in

## Standard Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits**: Charr are ferocious and cunning, but they are difficult to get along with. They gain +2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma.

**Size**: Charr are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

**Type**: Charr are humanoids with the charr subtype.

**Base Speed:** Charr have a base speed of 30 feet.

**Languages:** Charr begin play speaking Kelish and Charr. Charr with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Ignan, dwarven, catfolk, or Taldane.

### Defense Racial Traits

**Cornered Fury**: Whenever a charr is reduced to half his hit points or fewer and has no conscious ally within 30 feet, it gains a +2 racial bonus on melee attack rolls and armor class.

**Fearless**: Charr gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear effects.

**Natural Armor**: Charr gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.

### Feat and Skill Racial Traits

**Craftsman**: Charr gain a +2 racial bonus on all Craft and Profession checks to create objects from metal or stone.

**Instruments of War**: Charr fain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. Charr are also treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted.

### Movement Racial Traits

**Natural Climbers**: Charr have a +8 racial bonus on climb checks.

### Offense Racial Traits

**Natural Weapons**: Charr claws are wicked and knife-like, these claws are primary natural attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage.

**Frenzy**: Once per day when a charr takes damage, it can fly into a frenzy as a free action for 1 minute, gaining a +2 racial bonus to Constitution and Strength, but a -2 penalty to AC.

### Senses Racial Traits

**Keen Senses**: Charr have a highly honed senses and gain a +2 racial bonus on perception checks.

## Alternate Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

**Flame Caller**: Some charr have an affinity towards the flames. When summoning a creature of the fire subtype with a *summon* spell, increase the duration of that spell by 2 rounds. This ability replaces *instruments of war*.

**Pyromaniac**: Charr with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using the bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline or the revelations of the oracle's flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage (this ability does not give charr early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability). Charr with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—*dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame*. The caster level for these effects is equal to the charr's level; the DCs are Charisma-based. This racial trait replaces a charr's natural armor and fearless traits.

**Jumper**: Charr with this trait are always considered to have a running start when making Acrobatics checks to jump. This ability replaces climb.

**Gore**: Some charr's horns are curved properly to be used as weapons in battle, this is considered a sprimary natural attack and inflicts 1d6 points of damage. This ability replaces fearless and craftsman.

**Bite**: Charr have powerful jaws and some possess teeth large enough to serve as natural weapons. This is a primary natural attack that deals 1d6 points of damage. This ability replaces instruments of war.

## Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

**Barbarian**: Add 1 to the charr's total number of rage rounds per day.

**Fighter**: Add +1 to the fighter's CMD when resisting a bull rush or overrun.

**Gunslinger**: Add +1/3 on critical hit confirmation rolls made with firearms (maximum bonus of +5). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.

**Ranger**: Add +1 hit point to the ranger's animal companion. If the charr ever replaces his animal companion, the new animal companion gains these bonus hit points.

**Summoner**: Add +1 hit point to the summoner’s eidolon.