Lokumites

Long ago there was a woman named Jes, and she had a hundred children. Her rivals conspired against her, and swore to kill her hundred children. These enemies numbered in the thousands and wielded dark magic, and the Children would never prevail against them. Jes begged the Sovereigns for help, but their only answer was the wind and rain. She sought the aid of the Silver Flame, but its keepers would not hear her. In the depths of her despair, a lonely traveler took her hand. ‘I will protect your children if they follow my path. Let them wander the world. None will know them. They will have no kingdom but the road, and no enemy will find them. They may be shunned by all the world, but they will never be destroyed.’ Jes agreed, and the traveler gave her his cloak. When she draped it over her children, their old faces melted away, and they could be whoever they wanted to be. And so it is until this day. Though the Children are shunned by all, the gift of the traveler protects them still, so long as they follow his path.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Lokumites strongly resemble their doppelganger lineage, with only a passing nod to their human heritage. All Lokumites fall within the boundaries of Medium size, usually standing between 5 and 6 feet tall. Unlike true doppelgangers, Lokumites do have gender in their natural form, although they can adopt any shape they like. Lokumites have pale gray skin, and their hair is thin and fair. Their limbs are long and slightly out of proportion compared to other humanoids. Their faces have slightly more distinct features than a doppelganger’s, including a hint of nose and lips, though their eyes remain blank white and the rest of their facial features don’t look quite as finished as those on a human.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

All lokumite names are unisex and are very short, usually one syllable.

Bin, Dox, Fie, Hars, Jin, Lam, Nit, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Yog.

Gender Ideals

An important aspect of a lokumite's identity is the issue of gender. Unlike doppelgangers, which are entirely genderless, a lokumite does have a default gender that manifests in adolescence, but each lokumite can adapt his or her form to be of either gender, hermaphroditic (both genders simultaneously), or entirely genderless. A lokumite can alter his or her gender (and reproductive abilities) as part of using the race’s minor shapechange ability.

Lokumite Reproduction

Two lokumite parents breed a lokumite child. A lokumite and a humanoid can mate to produce an offspring with the child having a 50% chance to be of either race. If a lokumite in a female form conceives a child, she loses the ability to change her gender until after the child is born.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

• Foundlings are lokumites raised by other species. This could be due to interspecies romance, or the child could be orphaned or descended from an outcast… or part of a family of foundlings. Foundlings have no knowledge of lokumite cultural traditions, and rarely have contact with lokumites outside their own families. Foundlings develop a wide variety of philosophies, including those described in Races of Eberron. Some foundlings hide from their true nature, adopting a single face and never changing. Some are sociopaths who prey on those around them, stealing the faces of those they kill. There’s no predicting the beliefs of a foundling, and they can be found anywhere.
• Stable lokumites live in lokumite communities that are recognized and known to the people around them. They are often comfortable wearing the skins they were born in, feeling no need to hide their lokumite nature. In the Five Nations, Breland is the only nation with stable lokumite communities (notable Dragoneyes in Sharn other stable communities include Lost in Droaam (from Dungeon #193) and the Gray Tide principality in Lhazaar. Stable communities were founded by tribal lokumites, so some traditions overlap; however, many have been abandoned as the members of the community don’t feel threatened.
• Tribal lokumites cling to traditions stretching back to their origins in Sarlona; they refer to themselves as ‘The Children’. Their culture is defined by the hostility and distrust of outsiders; they hide their communities and their true identities from others, revealing just enough to keep strangers from seeking more. They live in the shadows of the other races, using their wits and their gifts to survive. Most tribal lokumites spend their lives in motion, traveling from place to place and never staying long enough to draw unwanted attention. They are seen as tricksters and tinkers, and this reputation is often deserved; tribal lokumites don’t consider it a crime to deceive single-skins. The tribes are based in Thrane, Aundair, and Karrnath, but wandering tribals can be found across Khorvaire.

History

The lokumite tribes refuse to let their stories be bound by the written word. The Taleshapers maintain that writing down a story traps it in a single shape; like a lokumite, a story should be free to choose the face that suits the moment and the audience. This makes it difficult to pin down lokumite history. Morgrave’s Handon Dal believes that this apocryphal tale suggests that the lokumites were born in the Sarlonan nation of Ohr Kaluun, a realm known for its bitter feuds and mystical eugenics; skulks and tieflings are also believed to have emerged from Kaluunan rituals. Dal asserts that “Jes” was likely a clan matriarch in Ohr Kaluun, who sought aid from Pyrine and Khalesh, whose religions form the foundations of the modern Sovereign Host and Silver Flame, before resorting to lokumite transformation as a way for her clan to survive a forced exodus.

Common Myths and Legends

Long ago, a lokumite legend says, the Traveler decided to create a new race. Why he did, no one knows, and even powerful divination magic produces ambiguous answers to the question. Was it a passing whim? A retaliation for some conflict among the Dark Six? The first move in an ingenious, far-reaching plan?
What is known is that the Traveler channeled his will and desires through doppelgangers, granting them additional powers for a time while he sent them out to create his new progeny by interbreeding with humans and other humanoids. The offspring became the first lokumites.
In addition to this origination story, lokumites have a wide variety of inventive, unverifiable tales and heroes. Some make wild claims, such as that King Galifar I was a lokumite, a story researched and refuted by sages but persistent as a lokumite urban legend.
In truth, most of the lokumite who have contributed most dramatically or profoundly to the events of history did so in the guise of other humanoids, and only a few notable personalities, such as Bin the Legendary Lover, feature openly as lokumites in historic folk tales.
A fair number of legends and tales about lokumite have surfaced in the folklore and superstitions of other humanoid races.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

As a race, lokumites have no bonds with members of other races, who are viewed with suspicion and distrust. That said, certain groups of halflings and lokumites have recently displayed attitudes of cooperation with, or at least tolerance for, members of the other group.
lokumites often view each other with the same prejudice they feel for other races. Most live as a minority among other races and go about in disguise. Those who choose to reveal themselves as lokumites are rare and have only recently been forming their own all-lokumite communities removed from other settlements.

Halflings

Halflings are truly the most accepting and tolerant of races. The halfling values of independence and individuality make them good potential allies for lokumites. They tend to see lokumites as curiosities and challenges. In urban settings, they often share interests and partnerships in illegal or underworld activities. Stable Lokumites who have recently founded their own communities have often chosen to erect their settlements in halfling-controlled areas because they expect little if any objection or resistance from the halflings.

• Humanoid (shapechanger)
• Medium-size: As Medium creatures, lokumites have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Base Speed: Lokumite base land speed is 30 feet.
• Human Heritage: Lokumites gain a +2 bonus to any single ability score of your choice
• Stubborn: Lokumites gain a +2 racial bonus on Will saving throws to resist spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment (charm) and enchantment (compulsion) subschools. In addition, if a member of this race fails such a save, it receives another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming the spell or spell-like ability has a duration greater than 1 round). This second save is made at the same DC as the first. If the member of the race has a similar ability from another source (such as a rogue’s slippery mind class feature), it can only use one of these abilities per round, but can try the other on the second round if the first reroll ability fails.
• Skill Bonuses: Lokumites gain a +2 bonus to Bluff and Sense Motive checks. Lokumites are inherently skilled in deception, and though they cannot actually detect thoughts as doppelgangers can, they can intuitively read body language and attitude with surprising accuracy.
• Gifted Linguist: Lokumites gain a +4 racial bonus on Linguistics checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill
• Incognito (Su): Lokumites can assume the appearance of a Small or Medium humanoid as the alter self spell, save that it does not adjust its ability scores and the duration is permanent.
• Languages: Common Bonus Languages: Auran, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Halfling, and Terran.