Geode (3.5e Race)

=Geodes=

Summary::Earthen elementals in the form of a spherical boulder. As a living ball of stone, geodes are surprisingly well balanced and nimble, capable of doing just about anything a dwarf without arms could do (except drink gallons of ale).

Personality
Geodes, unlike most rocks, are rather active and lead interesting lives.

Geodes that are raised distant from humanoid civilizations tend to be distant and uncaring, while those accustomed to humanoids blend in very well, and may have any personality suitable to them.

Geodes typically don't judge others by appearances and don't have gender roles or preoccupations with their appearance. Though, they still use appearance to judge the life another geode has lived. Serene geodes are often smooth. Energetic geodes are often rough. Those who study arcane arts or are well learned may have runes carved into their surface. Lazy geodes may get covered with moss. Geodes that have spent their whole lives around humanoids may adopt gender roles and other prejudices.

Physical Description
A geode appears to be simply a round boulder. Some are slightly lopsided, flecked with scratches, scars, gouges, carvings, polished smooth or gritty rough. Their outer shells typically resemble tough stone, from granite to marble. Geodes are a diverse bunch.

When slain, a "female" geode typically cracks open to reveal a hollow center filled with crystals. These crystals may be of any color, though their value is as mundane crystal. "Male" geodes are solid, but their core is still crystalline.

Apart from asking a geode, or breaking one open, "male" and "female" geodes have no other identifying gender characteristics, as they are round boulders.

Geodes almost never wear anything. Without hands, they can't put on armor, which would probably make them blind anyhow. Without the ability to deftly manipulate objects, geodes don't often have possessions.

Relations
Dwarves love rocks. Talking rocks? Perhaps not as much. In general, most folks only get along with geodes if they have some reason to get along with an intelligent ball of stone.

Alignment
Being elementals, geodes are primarily neutrally aligned. However, as intelligent, free-will toting entities, they may be of any alignment. Typically, geodes that interact with other races and places are more likely not to be neutrally aligned.

Lands
In distant ages past, when the Material Plane was born, primal earth and stone from the Elemental Plane of Earth formed the body of the world. Trapped deep within the crust of hard stone, sleeping dormant, were geodes, who slept until the mountains rose up high and caves were dug deep into the earth, freeing them from their prison in the stone and awakening them. They have since taken these locations as their homes. Geodes hail from jagged mountains, deep caves and plateaus where the bedrock erupts from the earth and erodes slowly over the eons.

Much like most humanoids, geodes pair off for mating. How it actually works is a mystery, but "female" geodes incubate a single new geode, solidifying her hollow core of crystal into an "egg", which is later "birthed" in a manner similar to Earth Glide. Gestation time is unknown.

When geodes venture out into the world, they often find roles in martial classes, focusing on their slamming abilities. They fail at most skilled vocations. Those that enter into spellcasting classes, are rewarded by their innate durability. Lacking arms for the typical spellcaster's motions, a geode simply wobbles, spins and twists to perform somatic spell components.

Religion
Composed of living rock originating from the Elemental Plane of Earth, geodes tend to worship deities with the Earth domain.

Language
Geodes speak Terran, a gruff and gritty language. Those geodes that mingle with humanoids also learn Common, or whatever other language is most prevalent in the area. A geode's voice emanates from it.

Despite not having mouths, geodes have strong oral traditions, passing down tales of ancient times through the generations.

Names
Geodes don't tend to celebrate names, though exact cultural reasons for this are unknown. As such, geodes end up with simple names, often associated to the rock they most resemble, or some other mundane characteristic.

Geodes themselves are even named after a type of rock. Depending on their locale, geodes may be referred to as geos, boulders, marbles, stones, rocks, ratnagarbhas or yemengzhus.

Racial Traits

 * : Geodes are tough, being made of living rock.
 * : Elementals do not eat, sleep, or breathe. Unlike most other living creatures, an elemental does not have a dual nature—its soul and body form one unit. When an elemental is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an elemental. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life.
 * : As Medium creatures, geodes have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
 * Geode base land speed is 20 feet. Geodes also burrow at 10 feet (see the Burrow ability below for details).
 * Darkvision out to 60 feet: While geodes lack eyes, they can still see just fine from anywhere on their body.
 * Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning. Not subject to flanking.
 * Surface Cracks: Unlike most elementals, a geode is subject to precision damage (such as sneak attacks and critical hits) from bludgeoning weapons.
 * Damage Reduction (Ex): Geodes gain Damage Reduction 1/Bludgeoning. This Damage Reduction increases again by 1 at 3 HD, 6 Hit Dice and so on as the geode gains more Hit Dice.
 * Burrow (Ex): A geode can roll through sand, dirt, gravel, mud or other lose earth as easily as a fish swims through water. this burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. While burrowing, a geode can "see" 10 feet inside earthen material by utilizing its natural connection with the earth.
 * Push (Ex): A geode can start a bull rush maneuver without provoking an attack of opportunity.
 * Hammering Slam: Geodes have a slamming attack that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage (critical &times;3) as he rolls into opponents. The geode gains a +1 attack bonus to this attack as though his slam were a masterwork weapon. Unlike most natural weapons, a geode's hammering slam is treated as though it were a one-handed wielded weapon for the purposes calculating attack bonuses and applying additional attacks due to high base attack bonus.
 * Slamming Charge (Ex): A geode is capable of bowling over opponents in a charge, using its momentum to maximum effect. In addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this allows the geode to make a single hammering slam attack as if he were wielding a two-handed weapon. Apply 11⁄2 times the character’s Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with his hammering slam.
 * +4 racial bonus on Knowledge (History) skill checks. Geodes are well taught and learned in historical matters, both of natural events and cultural events.
 * Sink Like a Stone: A geode cannot swim and automatically fails all Swim skill checks.
 * Uphill Battle: A geode suffers a -4 racial penalty on all Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Disguise, Forgery, Heal, Open Lock, Ride, Sleight of Hand and Use Rope.
 * Turn Resistance (Ex): A geode is less easily affected by clerics or paladins who seek control over earth elementals. When resolving a turn, rebuke, command, or bolster attempt, add 2 to the geode’s Hit Dice total.
 * Earth Magic Reaction: Spells that attempt to relocate earthen material (such as move earth or passwall) cast on a geode or in an area containing a geode as well as spells that attempt to transmute the material a geode is made of (such as transmute rock to mud or stone to flesh) instead slow a geode (as the slow spell) for 1 round per spell level, offering a Fortitude saving throw to negate any effect.
 * Enchanted Body (Su): A geode's body may be enchanted as though it were both a masterwork armor and a masterwork weapon.
 * Absorb Enchantment (Su): A geode may absorb the enchantment off of a wondrous item with a body slot (so long as the item doesn't rely on its mundane shape to function) in a ritual lasting 8 hours. Upon completion of the ritual, the item is drained and becomes mundane. The geode gains the enchantment as part of his body, and is treated as though the item were occupying the appropriate body slot as if he were humanoid in shape. The geode may absorb another item for that slot, but doing so overwrites the previous enchantment. A geode with the appropriate item creation feat can perform a reversal of the ritual and place the enchantment back into the item it came from.
 * Stillness (Ex): A geode can sit so still he appears to be inanimate. An observer must succeed on a DC 20 Spot check to notice the geode is really alive. Geodes have a +8 racial bonus on Hide when concealed against a background of stone.
 * Boulder Traits: A geode cannot be tripped and cannot fall prone. They have no feet, top or bottom. Oddly, a geode can still be caught flat-footed.
 * Spell-Like Ability: At will&mdash;magehand. Caster level is equal to character level. The save DC is Charisma-based. The range of this ability affects only squares adjacent to the geode.
 * Automatic Languages: Terran.
 * Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
 * Favored Class: Favored Class::Any
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1