Grimlanders

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Grimlanders

In the deadly Sand Sea live the hardy people called the Grimlanders. Grimlanders are small, compact, hardy people with dark skin, black or brown eyes, and black or brown hair.

The nomads of the Sand Sea are surely one of the most interesting subcultures that exists in the Empire today. Their entire culture is based on a nautical tradition, of all things. Their tribes are called ships by the natives and they march nightly in ritual paths they call currents. They fight with naval weapons, sabers, whips, cutlasses, etc. In most of the Empire, fighting with curved blades is considered almost taboo since the Age of the Warrior Kings, but the Grimlanders use nothing but. Since the ever changing Sand Sea has no landmarks they navigate by using the stars, just as more traditional sailors do. The only water they get is that which is created by their priests every day in prayers to their strange nautical gods.

The Grimlanders worship an ancient and mostly forgotten pantheon of sea gods, as well as Primal Desert, Termanant, and Daneth. According to their legends they were shipwrecked in the Sand Sea by the wrath of Domana and are suffering beneath His curse. Their name for the sun is "Domana's Hammer", and they refuse to go abroad in daylight, a taboo with a solid basis in good sense, as the daylight temperature of the Sand Sea can exceed 150 degrees. They hunt the lizards in the Sea for food to supplement what their priests can create.

In typical Celegian fashion, the Empire regularly patrols the Sand Sea in large groups, heavily supported by mages and priests. This is the most feared punishment detail in the Empire, simply because marching in the salty sand in the heat is incredibly uncomfortable. Fortunately, the Grimlanders (as they like to call themselves) are by and large a peaceful group. The simple struggle for survival in the extreme conditions is enough to occupy most of their aggression, and the desert itself keeps them safe from the depredations of their neighbors, the Arrakanza. The Arrakanza find the Grimlanders totally despicable for some odd reason of their own and regularly ride into the Sand Sea to kill them. Far more often the Grimlanders find the bones of the Arrakanza a few days later. On those occasions when the Arrakanza do find some Grimlanders, the Grimlanders give a fairly good account of themselves.

The Desolation was not felt in the slightest by the Grimlanders, except that there were far fewer Imperial patrols to worry about for a very long time. No one knows how many Grimlanders there are, and since their entire economy is based on the magic of their priests it is difficult to estimate. The best estimates say there are possibly four hundred thousand of them in all, and the population seems to be falling due to emigration.

Grimlanders as PC's

Ability Score adjustments: +1 Strength, +2 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Grimlanders are strong, tough, and quick but have trouble with deeply abstract concepts and little patience for advanced learning

Sure footed: Grimlanders spend their lives walking on treacherous shifting sand. They get a +4 bonus to Balance, Jump, and Tumble checks

Grimlanders gain 1 bonus exotic weapon proficiency feat at first level that can be used to gain proficiency with saber, greatpick, two-bladed sword, quickpick, whip, war whip, heavy whip, long whip, or great whip, sling, war sling, and stonebow. Aside from that, Grimlanders prefer to use weapons with curved blades, usually light pick, heavy pick, scimitar, falchion, or scythe. If they use any other type of weapon, they receive a -2 to hit circumstance penalty.

Preternaturally agile: Grimlanders gain enormous benefits from high dexterity. Their Armor Class adjustment for high Dexterity is twice the size of other races. At Dexterity 12, the bonus to Armor Class for a Grimlander is +2. At Dexterity 14 it is +4, at 16 it is +6, at 18 it is +8, etc. This is treated in all ways as normal Dexterity bonus as regards armor penalties, flatfooted, etc.

Hardscrabble: Grimlanders have a +4 racial bonus on all rolls to resist environmental effects such as heat, cold, thirst, hunger, exhaustion and the like.

Lethal Foes: Grimlanders choose a favored enemy just as a Ranger does. Most often they choose Undead or Humanoid/Humans, but they may choose anything from the list. If a Grimlander chooses to be a Ranger, they also get the favored enemy ability from the class, and if they choose the same enemy, the bonuses stack. As they advance in levels, their favored enemy bonus from the racial favored enemy increases in potency exactly as the Ranger one does, at every 5th character level. A Grimlander can have a LOT of enemies, or very large bonuses against only a few

Resist Undead: Grimlanders may make a bonus Fortitude saving throw any time they are subjected to level drain, undead disease, paralysis, and the like. If the effect normally allows a save, this bonus save is made first, and if failed, the normal save is made. The DC is 10+ ½ the attackers HD and Cha modifier causing the undead effect. They get to roll this save for every undead effect they are affected with. If this save is made, there is no effect. If failed, the undead effect is bestowed as normal.

Capable Survivors: Grimlanders receive +4 ranks in Survival at first level, and 1 free rank in Survival every level they gain. Essentially, Grimlanders get maximum ranks in Survival for free, allowing them to spend their other skill points elsewhere.

Resistance: Grimlanders have Resistance 10 to negative energy. This allows them to withstand the chill touch of lichs, and withstand the damaging effects of "Cause wound" spells, for example.

Automatic Language: Common

Favored Class: Cleric or Ranger

Level Adjustment: +1

Grimlanders use the same height, weight, and age information as normal humans.