Thanads are humanoids whose ancestry includes the touch of an elemental being of negative energy somewhere along the line, often that of a
Ghul genie. Grim and secretive by nature, but torn by a natural curiosity. Thanads often yearn to be among and learn about people, but fear how they would react to their presence.
Physical Description
Thanads can be from any humanoid parentage (though often human), and their appearances can vary wildly. Their skin runs from a pale yellow-white to a deep blueish-gray. Their features are more gaunt than those others of their mortal kin, with sunken eyes and withered features that look prematurely old. Their hair tends to be pale and stringy. Their eyes have an unnaturally dark color, or occasionally with black sclera.
Shadows hang more heavily on thanads, and they have a slight odor of dust or decay about them. These can intensify with emotion distress, causing them to appear enshadowed if angered, or smell more strongly if nervous.
In society
Thanads born into mortal societies follow the customs and moreys of the society into which they are born.
They are often shunned for their ghoulish (or rather ghulish) appearance, and must make do in the crevisces of society. They find their way into the least glamerous and dirtiest of jobs; become rat-catchers, gravediggers, gong-farmers and other necessary but foul vocations.
While they rarely engage with others, they are naturally curious, and will find an excuse to read papers left lying about, or eavesdrop on conversations held within earshot.
Those who do show kindness to thanads often find them to be eager freinds at first, if a bit unctous. But thanads typically having a hard time beleive that anyone would accept them, and thus usually do not truly accept others. They look for reasons to garner resentment and for signs of impending betrayal, accepting that in the end, everyone will turn on them.
Naming Traditions
Thanads born to humanoid parents typically have names that are drawn from their parents' societal norms.
Alignment and Philosophy
Thanads are often mistreated within civilized society, and have trouble in tusting others. They are natively misanthropic, feeling it properly that they treat others as poorly as they themselves are treated (or see themselves as being treated). Those who don't feel outwardly resentful of others often simply wish to be left to their own devices. Thanads tends slightly towards evil alignments, but don't tend strongly towards law or chaos.
Adventures
Thanads often set out to adventure because the feel unwelcome or unvalued in civilized society. Life of the road is usually much harder, but also comes without the air of disgust and constant social rejection found in settlements.
One of the few places where a thanad can find acceptance is in the world of thaumaturgy. Their natural curiosity and their elemental heritage make them well suited to wizardry, or to darker corners of divine magic. Those who are not suited to formal education find themselves making their way alone, or with small bands of outcasts and misanthropes.
Racial Traits (8 RP)
Standard Racial Traits
- Ability Score Modifiers: Thanads possess an uncanny resilience and are naturally curious, but are meek. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.
- Size: Thanads are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Type: Thanads are outsiders with the native subtype.
- Speed: Thanads have a base speed of 30 feet.
- Languages: Thanads begin play speaking Common and Necril. Nevmas with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aquan, Auran, Lumin, Ignan, Terran, and any two regional languages. See the Languages of Temnia page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
- Deathless Spirit: Thanads gain resistance 5 against negative energy damage. They do not lose hit points when they gain a negative level, and they gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, negative energy, and spells or spell-like abilities of the necromancy school.
Magical Racial Traits
- Spell-Like Ability (Sp): Thanads can use chill touch as a spell-like ability 1/day (DC 11 + the thanad's Charisma modifier; caster level equals the thanad’s total level).
Senses Racial Traits
- Darkvision: Thanads can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
Other Racial Traits
- Death Affinity: Thanad sorcerers with the elemental (negative energy) bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all sorcerer spells and class abilities. Thanad spellcasters with the Death domain use their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.
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.
- Child of Darkness: Some thanads can more easily blend into shadows, and are harder to see in the darkness. When a thanad with this racial trait has concealment or total concealment, the miss chance of attacks against her increases by 5%. This trait replaces the spell-like ability racial trait.
- Enfeeblement: Some thanads can use their powers to weaken others, rather than cause direct harm. Thanads wil this ability can cast ray of enfeeblement once per day as a spell-like ability. This racial trait alters the spell-like ability racial trait.
- Mostly Human: A few thanads have appearances much closer to those of their human ancestors; in fact, they may not even realize their true race. Such geniekin appear to be human, save perhaps minor features like unusual eye color, and they count as humanoid (human) as well as outsider (native) for all purposes (such as humanoid-affecting spells such as charm person or enlarge person). These geniekin do not automatically gain their associated elemental language (but may select it as a bonus language if their Intelligence is high enough). This ability alters the geniekin’s type, subtype, and languages.
- Pain resistant: Some thanads elemental connection to negative energy manifest as a physical resistance to pain, rather than a supernatural resistance to necromantic power. Thanads gain damage reduction 5/– against nonlethal damage, and a +2 racial bonus to saves against spells and effects with the pain descriptor, or that cause nonlethal damage. This racial trait replaces deathless spirit.
- Secretive: Thanads gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment and divination spells and effects. This racial trait replaces energy resistance and the spell-like ability racial trait.
Alternate Elemental Heritages
Other Planetouched Races
Small and medium sized humanoids and outsiders of the elemental planes are considered Yai'nasi, some have different traits and abilities. Such races are listed below:
Kirlan
Powerful and imposing figures with rough, gray skin and glossy black wings, kirlani are often found in the service of Ghuls and other important figures in the ghuli courts.
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