Guldarine, Caliginous (3.5e Race)

Caliginous Guldarine

Guldarine (3.5e Race) Please look here first.

These malicious, disease-ridden horrors are like the drow of guldarine. Their high mistresses rule the wandering tribes with fists of iron and do not tolerate disobedience or cowardice, though they do prefer not to fight with their low constitution. The oddity of this subrace is that they are actually born without eyes.

Like all but burghal guldarine, caliginous have an alternate form, that they can access quite often. Each individual can turn into only one creature that must be between tiny and large size, the list is as follows:

• Any cat in the subfamily Felinae - domestic, cheetah, cougar
• Any waterfowl - geese, ducks, swans
• Snakes
• Moles, shrews, hedgehogs, porcupines
• Odd-toed ungulates - horses, rhinos
• Birds in the family Accipitridae - hawks, eagles, kites

All of these have something... creepy or alarming about them. This could manifest as pieces of exposed bone or muscle, burning runes or symbols, glowing red eyes, or anything you might find on a dark- or Ghost-type Pokemon. They can be as tiny as eight inches, or as tall/long as 17'1", and weigh 1-480 lbs.

Personality

Caliginous are almost exclusively malevolent and relish the murder of almost any encountered creature outside (and sometimes inside) the tribe. Because of their rather frail frame, they dislike needless fighting and prefer to take out their targets secretively, as they are very stealthy, despite certain drawbacks. They wander from cavern to cave to hidey hole, eating anything they find and pillaging where they can, and any living thing that comes into their temporary territory meets a swift end. Some believe their hate originates from their lack of sight organs and slightly deformed faces. True or not, none like these traits, and choose to conceal them with a mask they make themselves at some point in their early lives. How do they know what they're doing, you ask? Perhaps they do it by feel, or employ the eyesight of an animal or captive? No one really knows for sure. All masks, unless by some crazy coincidence, are unique.

There does exist a select few who have turned away from their evil roots to embrace lives of silent protectors. Anyone who knows what they are would be far from trusting, but some are willing to give them a chance, or just see them as bought forces. These still have their signature masks.

Something unexpected that almost all caliginous have in common is their affection for plants. None would stand by while some greenery is defiled, be it picking a flower or cutting down a tree. Of course, they will make exceptions for unavoidable damage, such as walking through a grassy field. Cals enjoy keeping small flowers or herbs and caring for them as most would a pet. They also make an effort to keep water, air, and soil clean, which can be done with an ability to drain negative effects out of nature. These strange creatures actually do not need sleep to function, and indeed are not actually capable of slipping into the beneficial unconscious state. This does keep them at a constant feeling of slight fatigue, but they get on mostly fine.

Pups are taught quickly to do what they're told and keep up with the group because they'll get no special treatment for being young. They are rather fast learners, especially with their nimble bodies.

Physical Description

Caliginous are about the height and weight of humans, like most guldarine. The colours and patterns on the scales are quite varied but almost universally dark-hued. They will usually shroud themselves in cloaks, hoods, and illusions to hide further in the depths of darkness. With simple yet creepy indentations over the eye sockets, somewhat awkwardly formed snouts, and often scarred and gaunt countenances, few have seen the face of a caliginous, and that would likely only be after it is dead. The rest of its body is often marred by the remnants of disease or injuries. They have a damp, mossy smell.

Pups are born completely black, slowly lightening and gaining their markings. The eggs are any dark colour, somewhat soft to the touch, with a layer of moss around the outside, but are actually very hard to break. They need a very humid climate to develop properly, though rather cool around 43-60 degrees F.

Relations

Very few things get along with caliginous guldarine. As mentioned, they kill nearly everything they encounter, giving them a very bad preceding reputation. They are more likely to accept the company of plant creatures like treants or dryads of a nongood alignment. It wouldn't be out of the question to live peacefully (though not amicably) with coppice guldarine or other nature-worshiping entities.

Alignment

Caliginous will virtually always choose a lawful evil alignment, though any evil is viable. The few nonevil are typically lawful neutral, though even fewer will delve into the true or chaotic neutrals.

Lands

Though the majority of caliginous reside in various pits and tunnels in the Underdark, some travel over the surface lands and hide away in abandoned villages, buildings, forests, or caves.

Religion

It isn't particularly common to find a god-worshiping caliginous, but it isn't exactly rare either. The most popular veneration is to the spirits and embodiments of vegetation.

Language

Guldine is pretty much the entirety of their language skills when they deign to speak at all. Adventurers and those living on the surface will typically learn Common, along with any others they may come across.

Names

Names are not a familiar subject with outsiders, so no one really knows the basis of naming in these tribes. Some example names are as follows:

Males: Imazi, Kaliko, Inir, Moyl, Dracklic

Females: Pazim, Karik, Ichutoh, Shiroo, Mik

Racial Traits

• +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma, -4 Constitution; While being very deft with their hands and able to make quick sound decisions, they are widely disliked and mistrusted, and have a very poor physical composition.
• Monstrous Humanoid (Guldarin)
• Medium no bonuses or drawbacks from size.
• Caliginous base land speed is 30 feet.
• Alternate Form (Ex) 3/day, no time limit: due to the imperfect that allows the Guldarine to shapeshift, they are stunned for one round after the transformation is complete (both to and from their alternate form)
• Blindsense (Ex) 40 ft: Individual can move and fight as if it could see, without the benefits of actual vision, such as colour or detail, but ignoring concealment or sight attacks.
• Geronimo! (Ex): When an individual falls a distance of 40 ft or less, full damage is dealt in a fall of more than 40ft, this is increased to 50ft for Guldarine with a feline beast shape
• Cleanse (Su) 2/day: One can absorb and purify any pollution, disease, poison, or other negative effects (excluding a curse) on the air, land, and water in a 10x10 ft cube, centered around and with no ill effects on the user.
• Insomniac: Does not need sleep to function.
• Vulnerability to disease: -5 to Fortitude saves vs disease
• Resistance to cold 5
• +4 racial bonus to hide and move silently; They are extremely adept at keeping themselves undetected.
• Automatic Languages: Guldine and either Common if on surface or Undercommon if in Underdark. Bonus Languages: Drow, Dwarven, Gnoll, Orc.
• Favored Class: Rogue.
• level adjustment: +1

Vital Statistics

Table: Guldarin Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
30 years	+1d6	+3d6	+6d6

Table: Caliginous Aging Effects

Middle Age^1	Old^2	Venerable^3	Maximum Age
85 years	230 years	320 years	+10d10 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

I apologize, I do not understand the random weight. Both genders can weigh 110-230 lbs, depending on availability of food and rank in clan. Females are slightly larger than males.

Table: Caliginous Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 8"	+4d6	lb.	× () lb.
Female	4' 10"	+4d6	lb.	× () lb.

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