There is already a race called changelings in Pathfinder, but those are the offspring of mortals and hags. In mythology, changelings are fey (or sometimes troll) children who are secretly exchanged with human babies by their supernatural mothers. Changeling is therefore the natural choice for the name of a race of half-fey, in the style of tieflings and aasimar. I'm honestly not sure why Paizo made the half-hag changelings, let alone called them 'changelings', when there is still no half-fey race. I suggest renaming the half-hag changeling race to 'hag-spawn'.
Presented below is the half-fey changeling race, modeled on the lines of tieflings and aasimar. I have also included ten alternate racial traits to further customize your changeling character, including one for small-sized changelings and one for talking to animals. After all, 'fey' and 'mortal' are broad categories - the offspring of a halfling and a leprechaun is going to be different from the offspring of a nymph and an elf, or a dwarf and a dryad.
Changelings (8 RP)
The offspring of fey creatures with the mortal races,
changelings are wild, exotic, and full of mystery. In mortal cultures, they are often looked on
with derision for their bastard ancestry and all the implications thereof -
many a married couple has been broken up by the arrival of a changeling
baby. So too are they often derided in
the fey lands for having mortal, 'imperfect' blood. Changelings are separated from both worlds,
either because of the strange traits and powers they have, or because of the
ones they don't.
Physical Description: Changelings often
exhibit some alien trait that marks them as different from the population they
were born into, be it horns, a tail, strangely-colored hair or eyes, glowing
skin, wings, or what have you. Many changelings,
however, are almost indistinguishable from the general population, though their
strange otherworldliness comes through in other ways.
Society: Changelings have no society of
their own, and are often outcasts in mortal and fey societies. Some changelings are run out of their home or
abandoned in the woods as a child, some form their own social groups from other
outcasts. While some primitive societies
may treat changelings as a curse, others may see them as a blessing and treat
them and their family with great respect.
Although the fey
see changelings as imperfect and corrupted by mortal blood, they also recognize
them on some level as kindred spirits and do not wish for them to come to
harm. Instead of abandoning a changeling
child, the fey mother will often secretly switch it out with a newborn human so
that it might at least be raised well.
In rare cases, regretful fey mothers may seek to steal the changeling
back from the human world.
Relations: Although often rejected by
mortal and fey society, changelings can usually find common ground and sympathy
from half-elves, tieflings, aasimar, and other such 'half-breeds.'
Alignment and Religion: Changelings
often find themselves drawn to religions that reflect their fey, nature-loving
heritage, though some actively seek to reject that legacy and avoid any such
connotations. The majority of
changelings trend toward chaotic alignments due to their fickle and spritely
personalities.
Adventurers: As outcasts so often do,
many changelings find themselves drawn to a life of adventure. Changelings make excellent sorcerers and
druids due to their innate connection with the arcane and natural world, and
many changelings channel their otherworldly charisma into fine bardic performances. Particularly successful changeling
adventurers may find acceptance in the societies that rejected them at birth,
even amongst the fey court, but some may choose to make their own path through
their adventures and spurn the advances of those who treated them so
indifferently before.
Changeling Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2
Charisma, -2 Constitution: Changelings are frail, but posses remarkable
agility and unnatural beauty.
Type: Changelings
are Humanoids with the Changeling subtype.
Fey Blood:
Changelings count as both Fey and the Humanoid subtype of their host society
(eg. Human, Halfling, Elf, etc.) for any effect related to race.
Medium: Changelings
are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Changelings
have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision:
Changelings can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Skilled: Changelings
gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Slight of Hand checks.
Spell-Like Ability:
Changelings can use suggestion once
per day as a spell-like ability. The caster level for this ability equals the Changeling's
class level.
Fey Resistance: Changelings
have DR 1/Cold Iron. Changelings also receive
a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Fey Affinity: Changeling
sorcerers with the Fey bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher
for all sorcerer spells and class abilities. Changeling spellcasters with the
Charm or Luck domain use their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.
Languages: Changelings
begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Changelings with high intelligence
scores can choose from the following: Celestial, Draconic, Elven, Gnome, Goblin,
or Halfling.
Alternate
Racial Traits
The following racial traits may be selected instead of
existing changeling racial traits. Consult your GM before selecting any of
these new options.
Little Folk: Changelings born of
smaller fey creatures such as sprites and leprechauns, or even of smaller
mortal races such as gnomes and halflings, are born with a smaller stature than
other changelings. Such changelings are
Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack
rolls, a -1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth
checks. They are unusually fleet-of-foot
and retain their 30 ft. movement speed. This
racial trait replaces the Medium racial size trait.
Beast Tongue: Some changelings have an innate
connection to the minds of animals.
Instead of knowing the Sylvan language, such changelings gain the
ability to speak with certain types of animals. She can choose one of the
following: bears, birds, burrowing mammals, canines, cephalopods, dinosaurs, equines,
felines, fish, herd animals (domesticated), herd animals (wild), marsupials,
megafauna, pachyderms (elephants, rhinos, and hippos), primates, reptiles, rodents,
and sea mammals. This ability functions
like speak with animals as a constant
spell-like ability with caster level equal to the Changeling's class level. Add Sylvan to the list of extra languages
this changeling can choose from. This
racial trait modifies Languages.
Fey Arcana: Primal magic flows through
the veins of some changelings, granting them access to several minor magical
effects. These changelings gain dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation
as at will spell-like abilities with the changeling's caster level equal to his
class level. This racial trait replaces the
Spell-Like Ability racial trait.
Otherworld Summoning: Some changelings
have a primal connection to the fey world and can summon creatures from that
plane. Any creature summoned by such a
changeling gains the Fey Creature template (replacing any templates that would
normally be applied to such a summoning).
This racial trait replaces Fey Affinity and Spell-Like Ability.
Fey Energy Resistance: A changeling
with this trait gains resist cold and electricity 5. This racial trait replaces Fey
Resistance.
Bark Skinned: A changeling with this
trait has some dryad ancestry and gains a +1 natural armor bonus. This racial trait replaces Fey
Resistance.
Leprechaun Magic: When a changeling
descended from a leprechaun uses any of its spells or spell-like abilities to deceive,
trick, or humiliate a creature (at the GM’s discretion), the spell-like ability
resolves at +1 caster level. If a
changeling uses its spells or spell-like abilities in this manner, it gains a
bonus of +2 on concentration checks. This
racial trait replaces Fey Affinity.
Disappear: Changelings with this trait
are as shy and difficult to catch as their elusive fey ancestors. They gain invisibility as a spell-like
ability usable once per day on themselves only.
This racial trait replaces Spell-Like Ability.
Fey Healing: Some changelings tap into
the healing traditions of their beneficent fey ancestors. The healing spells of changeling spellcasters
with this trait manifest at +1 caster level.
This racial trait replaces Fey Affinity.
Luck of the Fey: The fey are especially
attuned to the vagaries of luck. Once
per day, changelings with this trait can re-roll one skill check. She must take the second result, whether
better or worse than the first. This
racial trait replaces Fey Affinity.
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Wow, remember when I did more than just post monsters every week? It's coming back folks. I'm getting back into the groove of this whole d20 despot thing.
-your wechselkind d20 despot
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