The Katara

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Bront

The man with the probe
New Race

Small Humanoid(20', +1 size bonus to AC/Attack, +4 size to hide)
+2 Dex
+2 Chr
-2 Str
-2 Con
Keen Ears - +2 racial bonus to Listen,
Natural Grace - +2 racial bonus to Move Silently, Balance, and Tumble, Balance is always a class skill.
Increadable Leap - +8 racial bonus to Jump
Wondering Mind - -1 save vs enchantment/charm effects, -2 racial penalty to sense motive and concentration checks (Katara are extremely curious and as a result, their minds often wander, overlooking dangers most might otherwise see)
Lowlight vision x2
Favored Class: Bard

Description:
The Katara have features that are both humanoid and feline. Their legs are fairly cat like, but stable to stand on with more human like feat, and leathery pads on the bottom. Their torso is a bit more cylindrical than some humanoids, but is still has some shoulder and pectoral proportion to it. Their arms and hands are very human like, though with slightly thicker fingers and a leathery palm. Their heads are a bit wider than a normal human's, with a more cat like maw, nose, and eyes, but definitely drawn out in a somewhat human way, and their head sits perched on a fairly normal humanoid neck.

Like this picture here here, though with a more cat like face (a bit more rounded, ears closer to the top of their head)

The Katara are a race that traces their origins to smaller wild cats, though scholars debate which ones in particular. Unlike their wilder feline cousins, the Katara do not have claws, nor are their teath as sharp as their wilder bretherin. Katara fur comes in a variety of colors and patters, and stripe or spot patterns are usually distinctive of a particular clan. Some clans have more noticable human fiacial and head hair, and some others have what resembles a mane (and in rare cases, both).


Society:
The Katara are a curious and social race. Many Katara will spend several years exploring and experimenting till they find something they enjoy doing and finaly stick with it, and even they they find ways to experiment and explore within their chosen craft. The Katara enjoy social occasion, and have been known to celebrate numerous holidays regularly.

The Katara look curiously upon the other races. They marvel at their accomplishments, and often seek to explore other cultures. Visitors to a Katara settlement might find themselves often asked about their travels, their culture, and their histories. The Katara have no qualms about borrowing from other cultures (particularly celibratory holidays) enough to where some scholars might say they have no true culture of their own, but the Katara blend these cultures togeather in ways that make them unique.

The Katara are a clan oriented society. Your clan is your family, however extended they might be. Most clans have strong ties to each other, and clan names and legacies are passed down maternaly, with the husband joining his wife's clan. Clan names, used as last names, are often based around some distictive feature fairly unique to the clan (examples, Whiteboot, Blackstripe, Greycoat, etc...). First names are drawn from many different cultures, that there is no true Kataran first names. They do tend towards using human or halfling names over others.

Background:

The Katara originate from the Kanatisis region, located far to the east of Orussus. The region extends from the desert in the "lands of fire" to the south, to the inland Bantala Sea to the north, and bordered by a mountain range to the east, and hills to the west. The region is generally overrun by flora, often with the tall trees creating a canopy several hundred feet from the ground. Towards the south, the region tends to be a bit more tropical or rainforest like. Towards the north, the flora thins out a bit as the grounds gets sandy towards the sea. To the east, as you get closer to the mountains the temperature tends to drop a bit, and you see more pine trees among the flora. And the canopy all but disappears the closer you get towards the hills to the west. The river running down from the mountains splits many times as is passes through the region, leaving few places without a river near by, but also leaving few rivers large enough for any boat larger than fairly small watercraft.

The Katara are from somewhere in that region, though their legends never specify exactly where. However, the Katara clans with longer hair tend to be from the colder areas in the east, while the short haired Katara tend to be from the warmer regions of Kanatisis. And while a clan my have a few members in different regions, they tend to settle down more locally in their region of origin.

The Katara are small in stature, and have learned to take to the trees to avoid the larger predators that are native to their lands. The Katara have built huge treetop villages in the immense canopy of Kanatisis. They consist of huts or other buildings built around the trunk of the tree, with suspension bridges and ladders built between them. Many Katara simply jump around on branches cut in a staircase like manner to move around as well. There are even small farming platforms built between some of the sturdiest trees, with dirt brought up from the ground below. The Katara do not herd animals in general, so they hunt for most of their meat and leather.

The Katara have had limited contact with the outside world for a long time. They have traded on occasion with the Dwarves of the mountains to the east, or the men of the desert in the south, but not often, and generally trading more to examine what these other cultures make, or to gain access to materials (such as metal) that are generally scarce in their region. However, the more they learned about other races, the more curious they became. Many curious Katara have begun to set out from their homes to explore other societies and learn what they can. Those that have returned have often had a huge cultural impact in their local area, where the Katara would try to integrate some of these other societal practices into their way of life. Over time, these ideas and practices are integrated more seamlessly and spread through Kanatisis. The Katara are particularly interested in celebrations, and as a result have managed to integrate several Human, Elven, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling, and even a few Orc and Goblin celebrations into their culture. Often, a holiday will be a strange amalgamation of several different celebrations or traditions, such as the traditional wine drinking and axe throwing contest, where contestants will drink a glass of wine, and then hurl an axe at a target, continuing one of the contestants misses.

Despite their curiosity and willingness to integrate other cultures into their own, the Katara are fiercely independent. Trade between villages happens, but is limited to basic necessities, and generally a community prides itself on what it does not need to trade for more than what it has to trade. As individuals, clan pride is important, and clans within a community will often try to out produce each other in strange pseudo-competitions simply for the right to say they are better. While clans do not tend to stick to any one trade, individual families do, so pride and tradition run deep in these trades. Despite their intense curiosity, often at least one of each generation will take on the mantle of the family trade, though most young children are encouraged to explore their options to indulge in their curious nature.


Misc:
Race Middle Old Venerable Maximum Age
Katara 30 45 60 +2d8 years


Race Adulthood low Mid High
Katara 12 years +1d6 +2d4 +2d6


Height Modifier Weight Modifier
male 2´ 8" +2d4" 30 lb. × 1 lb.
female 2´ 6" +2d4" 25 lb. × 1 lb.
 
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Kahuna Burger

First Post
Looks somewhat similar to the frey from oathbound.

I would just remove the upper limit from jump checks... I don't have the hate for mental stat adjustments, so those seem fine to me.
 

Jdvn1

Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
I don't mind the mental stat adjustments too much, but I don't think they're necessary with the flavor the class either. I think I'd like it better without them.

And the racial skill bonuses seem to already cover the -2 Wis, so it seems redundant.
 

Rystil Arden

First Post
Jdvn1 said:
I don't mind the mental stat adjustments too much, but I don't think they're necessary with the flavor the class either. I think I'd like it better without them.

And the racial skill bonuses seem to already cover the -2 Wis, so it seems redundant.
I agree with this. To me they just seem tacked on with the thought process, "Hmm...Bards and Sorcerers have good Will saves, so they can afford to take a hit in Wisdom. And they use Charisma. Let's put Charisma up."
 

Bront

The man with the probe
Kahuna Burger said:
Looks somewhat similar to the frey from oathbound.

I would just remove the upper limit from jump checks... I don't have the hate for mental stat adjustments, so those seem fine to me.

That's what I based it loosely on. I don't think it was OGL, so I tweeked them, renamed them, and rewrote the background. Besides, I don't like their wierd strike ability.

The thought on the Wis -2 is that being curious and outgoing, they aren't the best common sence thinkers. It's not -2 Int, because they're quite smart, just lack common sense. If the extra penalties are too much, I can remove them.

As for favored class, I wasn't 100% sure about that one. Bard seemed to fit well. Rogue seemed too common, and wasn't sure what else to do.

The intent of the race was not to streamline a bard/sorcerer race, but to make an interesting cat race. I like the twist that they're actualy small, which gives them an interesting character.

I feel that they need some additional penalty if I were to get rid of wandering mind. Or perhaps I should move the Wis - to Con, and leave the wandering mind...

Also, I didn't think of it, but should wandering mind effect Concentration too?

I'm open to suggestions. I want to make a fun and balanced race.
 

Bront

The man with the probe
Alternate tweeking...


Small (20', +1 size bonus to AC/Attack, +4 size to hide)
+2 Dex
+2 Chr
-2 Str
-2 Con
Keen Ears - +2 racial bonus to Listen,
Natural Grace - +2 racial bonus to Move Silently, Balance, and Tumble, Balance is always a class skill.
Increadable Leap - +8 racial bonus to Jump, and have no maximum jump distance
Wondering Mind - -1 save vs enchantment/charm effects, -2 racial penalty to sense motive (Katara are extremely curious and as a result, their minds often wander, overlooking dangers most might otherwise see)
Lowlight vision x2
Favored Class: Bard

Not much different, now it's a con penalty instead of a wisdom penalty (I'm not thrilled about it, but I can buy it, and it might balance beter). I droped the max on their jump, and bosted it a bit.

To me, they seem to be missing something in this form. The Con penalty now makes them even harder to play a frontline fighter (Small, strength penalty, and now a con penalty), and with no wisdom penalty, seems even more streamlined for a spellcaster or bard (Some social skills use wisdom too). However, I do see how the Con penalty is a bit more universaly felt than a Wisdom penalty.

Still debating a Concentration penalty in wandering mind, but that seems to overlap the Con Penalty.

Obviously, the background doesn't need to change.

Let me know what you think, and I'll tweek the proposal after getting input.
 

Rystil Arden

First Post
Bront said:
Alternate tweeking...




Not much different, now it's a con penalty instead of a wisdom penalty (I'm not thrilled about it, but I can buy it, and it might balance beter). I droped the max on their jump, and bosted it a bit.

To me, they seem to be missing something in this form. The Con penalty now makes them even harder to play a frontline fighter (Small, strength penalty, and now a con penalty), and with no wisdom penalty, seems even more streamlined for a spellcaster or bard (Some social skills use wisdom too). However, I do see how the Con penalty is a bit more universaly felt than a Wisdom penalty.

Still debating a Concentration penalty in wandering mind, but that seems to overlap the Con Penalty.

Obviously, the background doesn't need to change.

Let me know what you think, and I'll tweek the proposal after getting input.
Actually, I think this is much more balanced for a sorcerer now because sorcerers feel the Con penalty harshly, whereas they would have laughed at the Wis and Str penalty while gleefully rubbing their hands at the bonuses to AC, Ranged Touch Attack Spells, Bonus Spells, and Spell DCs, all thrown together in a neat package.
 

Jdvn1

Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
Rystil Arden said:
Actually, I think this is much more balanced for a sorcerer now because sorcerers feel the Con penalty harshly, whereas they would have laughed at the Wis and Str penalty while gleefully rubbing their hands at the bonuses to AC, Ranged Touch Attack Spells, Bonus Spells, and Spell DCs, all thrown together in a neat package.
I think it might be too bad now. Minuses to two physical stats? I'd make it either

+2 Dex
-2 Str

or

+4 Dex
-2 Str
-2 Con

although I favor the first one.
 

Rystil Arden

First Post
Jdvn1 said:
I think it might be too bad now. Minuses to two physical stats? I'd make it either

+2 Dex
-2 Str

or

+4 Dex
-2 Str
-2 Con

although I favor the first one.
Its certainly not for a melee-bound character with two physical minuses, but then, size small things don't do well with that anyways. Also, giving +4 to any stat, especially Dex, which has so many uses, is asking for trouble in an ECL +0 race.
 

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