The Ashborn (3.5e Race)

The Ashborne

Born from sorcery, liberated by their own accord, the Ashborne are a hybrid human/elemental race born from the experiments of a mad Sorcerer whose name is long forgotten. Many Ashborne have gone mad, some still retain their minds, and yet others even adventure far lands to find their fortune!

Personality

The typical Ashborne is emotionally and mentally unstable, and they have ostracized themselves from society. The nature of their people creates a sort of division between individuals. However there are few that are stable enough to form small encampments where their own kind are welcome to settle down. These places are called Pits. Those Ashborne who are stable enough to be considered sentient usually still have the innate urge to be alone whenever they can. Ashborne adventurers are the few that are not only stable enough to join Pits, but also social enough to seek out companionship.

Physical Description

The typical Ashborne male stands between 4'10" and 6'2", sharing a slightly more diverse range of height than their human progenitors. Females can be anywhere between 4'5" and 5'10". The hair of an Ashborne comes in shades of white, black, and anything in between. Their hair is often not uniformly colored and has steaks of the main colors' polar shade. The skin tone of the Ashborne is often considered to be a sign of their connection to dark forces. However, it is no more a mutation than their hair is. Their skin ranges from a dark stone-like color or pale red to chalky white with a hint of blue or purple. Their skin changes colors to its polar shade where their bones create their features: cheeks, jaw, brow, eyes. The eyes of an Ashborne are what give one away. An ebony iris with a single cross-like pupil makes up this feature. This unique pupil is visible only when light shines on the back of their eyes (much like a dog or a cat).

More defining features of the Ashborne is the rough scaly/stone-like portions of their forearms and lower legs ending in the claws they have on both. Their ears end in a jagged point, often considered a demonic trait, and they tend to bear elongated canine teeth. Ashborne have twice as many canines as a human would, reaching to the back of their jaws.

Relations

The Ashborne often find friends in humans, dwarves, gnomes, and various psionic races; the latter being that Ashborne seem to be able to passively detect the thoughts of psionic characters due to their irregular brains. In terms of class, the same is mostly true. They remain mostly neutral when concerning alignment. However, the Ashborne have a deep, seething hatred for arcanists born into them from their upbringing and their history. They can still work without effort with Fighters, Monks, Barbarians, Druids, Clerics, Paladins, Rogues, Rangers and any other classes of those sorts.

Alignment

Given that the Ashborne are born from Sorcery, they share its alignments and are often chaotic. But the real factor would be dependent on the stability of the Ashborne in question. Those who are less stable are most often Chaotic Evil or Neutral. On the contrary, these are not the Ashborne you need fear, rather it is the Ashborne who are stable. While adventuring Ashborne are still more or less chaotic, the lawful inclination usually only takes place when an Ashborne begins to age out of the stability and become a different brand of insane. They become diabolical and evil. Of course, this is the norm of their race and can be deviated from.

Lands

The Ashborne are named for the volcanic places they call their homes. Since they are immune to the harmful gasses that come from the earth when they are high above the ground, they take these places as their homes as a means of defense. Oftentimes, the Ashborne will live in caves high in volcanic peaks or large encampments called 'Pits', where they gather with their own kind. The telltale sign of an Ashborne pit is the appearance of scorched, jagged bones from dead Ashborne which they toss away from the encampment when another unknown Ashborne dies. A lone Ashborne (unstable) will leave a similar collection outside his cave from those he has eaten (they may not be exclusively Ashborne bones).

Religion

Ashborne think the idea of religion is completely ridiculous, that any righteous force would not require its believers to worship them. As a generalization, the Ashborne race looks down on religion as if it were a sort of con. This, however, doesn't mean they do not believe that the deities exist, only that those that worship them and act as prophets though churches are corrupt and using their religion as a way of control.

Nonetheless, even the Ashborne have their traditions, believing that when one of their kin dies they return to the earth from which they were created. They find volcanic vents and decorate its rim (if it has none, they make one out of a cement-like substance) with the skulls of fallen Ashborne who completed great deeds for the good of their Pit. Whether this is a way of thanking them or simply a silly ritual is unknown to the outside world, but to the Ashborne it is an honor to be integrated in such a practice.

Language

Ashborne often speak Common. However, more stable individuals naturally know the elemental language, Ignan(fire).

Names

Ashborne are not named. Instead, they earn a title from the population in which they are birthed. These titles reflect their deeds done in life.

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength(STR) or Dexterity(DEX), +2 Constitution(CON) this choice is irreversible, -2 to Charisma(CHA). The Ashborne are a touch strong race. However, they do not deal well with common community interaction.
• Ashborne gain the Elemental(fire) subtype when it is considered advantageous to do so.
• Ashborne or a Medium sized Race
• base land speed is 40 feet:
• [Obsidian Arrow](Natural): The Ashborne's scaled arms can grow obsidian spikes that can be thrown by the Ashborne. These spikes deal 1d6 damage at melee, and 1d4 damage at a range of ten feet. Either has a 50% chance to shatter and leave obsidian shards in the victim that inflict 1d4 damage per round until the shards are removed with a heal check. (DC=10+1/2 character Level + Strength Modifier)
• [Steelskin](Natural): The Ashborne's skin can become steel once per day for 1d4+Constitution Mod rounds. This feature grants the Ashborne a -10 Damage reduction(DR) and a +4 to their Armor Class(AC).
• [Detect Thought] (Natural): The Ashborne can detect surface thoughts of ONLY psionic races/classes.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Ignan. BONUS LANGUAGES: Elven, Dwarven, Goblin, or any other Elemental Languages
• Favored Class: Barbarian (STR), or Rogue (DEX)
• Level Adjustment:

Vital Statistics

Table: The Ashborne Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
90 years	+1d4	+1d6	+1d12

• It seems to others that the Ashborne do not age past their prime. (Equation for Ashborne: human agex5)

Table: The Ashborne Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 6"	+1d10 inches	190 lb.	+2d12 lb.
Female	4' 10"	+1d10 inches	150 lb.	+2d10 lb.

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