Manticores

Perhaps strangest of all the races of man is the manticore. They possess the bodies of lions complete with mane, three rows of serrated teeth, the wings of a bat, and the faces of old men regardless of their sex. In fact the only means to determine the gender of a manticore from a distance is by its tail; their males possess a tail filled with porcupine-like quills which can be thrown at prey, while the feminine tail resembles that of an enormous scorpion filled with paralyzing venom.

Civilization and Culture

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

While manticores are surely men as any other they prefer to live far from cities, only visiting rarely to collect and spend coin on goods they are unable to manufacture themselves. They live as solitary hunters on natural high points in rural regions much like their ancestors did in prehistory. However most now have a civilized profession as well to provide some measure of income. They are always careers which provide a solitary experience such as wilderness patrol, long distance messengers, hunter, and highway guards.

History

In old Nysa during the First Age of Man each city was ruled by a philosopher king whose worth was not measured by military might or divine right, but by the consistency and accuracy of his laws. These kings were selected from among the city's population by popular acclaim and one whose laws were found wanting would swiftly find himself deposed. As such consistent definitions of words were held as paramount.
Most important of these definitions was what creatures constituted a "man" or "human", as laws would be folly if they applied equally to a man as to a horse, but what exactly separates man from ape but still allows for the law to apply equally to the cave dwelling troglodytes, marble men of hilled cities, and the horse bodied centaurs? It was eventually determined by kingly consensus that a man was "a mortal creature, possessing a non-snouted face, the ability to speak, and the ability to understand speech." The final clause being added after a parrot was presented with the statement "behold a man!"
One hundred years hence the great Nysan King Apollodorus of Telmessus first encountered manticores. Finding them to meet all the requirements to be considered men he set about applying laws to them. They initially found this two-legged man silly and hunted him, but each time the King subdued them and imprison them on charges of assault. During their term they would experience all the benefits of civlization: consistent food, clothing, living structures, and safety. After each manticore's sentence was served they found a respect for the King and the civilization he represented. Though they still prefered solitude this was the beginning of manticores' inclusion in the species man.

Manticore

Standard Racial Traits
• Ability Score Racial Traits: Manticores are graceful and commanding but not always terribly bright. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence.
• Size: Manticores are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Type: Manticores are magical beasts.
• Base Speed: Manticores have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Manticores begin play speaking Daqese, Capetian, or Tyran. Manticores with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want, except for secret languages such as Druidic.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
• Cultured (Ex): Manticores consider Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Linguistics, and Perform (oratory) to be class skills regardless of their character class.
Magical Racial Traits
• Imperious Voice (Ex): Manticores can command the attention of lesser races. A manticore can use the fascinate bardic performance ability of a 1st level bard for a number of rounds per day equal to the manticore's level plus their charisma modifier. If a manticore gains bardic performance from different source this ability instead increases their number of bardic performance rounds by an amount equal to the manticore's charisma modifier, and increases their effective bard level by 1 for the purposes of level dependant abilities of any performances they can use.
Offense Racial Traits
• Claws (Ex): Manticores possess two claw primary natural attacks which deal 1d8 damage each.
• Spiked Tail (Ex): Male manticores possess tails of bristly quills. They can loose a volley of four such quills as a standard action (make an attack roll for each spike). This attack has a range of 180 feet with no range increment. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other. These spikes deal 1d4 damage plus the manticore's strength modifier.
OR
• Stinger Tail (Ex): Female manticores possess a stinger tail like that of a scorpion. This tail is a primary natural weapon which deals 1d8 base damages and has 10 foot reach. It delivers a poison which has the following stats: constitution based save; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 dexterity cure 2 consecutive saves.
Movement Racial Traits
• Wings (Ex): Manticores possess wings which can be used to fall and glide at a safe pace. They can make a DC 15 fly check to fall safely from any height without taking falling damage, as if using feather fall. When falling safely, they may make an additional DC 15 fly check to glide moving 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet they fall. Some manticores possess larger wings and are capable of true flight. Players can gain this ability through feats.
• Quadruped (Ex): Manticores have four legs.
Senses Racial Traits
• Scent (Ex): Manticores have a keen sense of smell. They have the scent ability up to a range of 30 feet.
• Daylight Hunter (Ex): Despite being a magical beast manticores do not possess darkvision or low-light vision.
Weakness Racial Traits
• Non-Humanoid Shape(Ex): Manticores have a feline shape rather than a humanoid one. As a result they cannot wield weapons or shields and have no feet slot. Instead they possess a second wrists slot.