Sublime Hellbred (3.5e Race)

Hellbred
Summary::A hellbred in keeping with the Liber Diabolica’s emphasis on martial maneuvers.

Baatezu have always been intrigued by humankind, which possesses a capacity for genetic and vocational diversity far beyond most mortal races and in stark constrast to the uniform nature of the baatezu. In order to get closer to the subjects of their interest, the devils created the hellbred as a means of infiltrating humanity’s ranks. Despite their initial success in this task, hellbred retain enough similarites to their baatezu creators that they are now used to fill out ranks in Hell’s armies.

Personality
It’s hard for hellbred not to take after their creators. A hellbred tends to have an extremely cold bearing even when deeply internally conflicted, a mechanism of survival in an environment where revealing moral frailties is tantamount to suicide. Such is this level of self-control that even if about to explode with rage the hellbred’s face will usually be unreadable, as if chiseled from stone. They are also obsessively orderly and neat, an attitude that tends to permeate every area of their lives.

Physical Description
By human standards, any hellbred is typically both physically and mentally exceptional. Although they are capable of breeding with humans, the resulting offspring is often prematurely terminated by the infernal energy in their veins, causing only those strong enough to withstand its effects to be born as a hellbred. Hellbred breeding rates are best when bred true, but even in this case tainted bloodlines often come into play and the birth rate remains extremely low at around 5 births per 1000 hellbred. Hellbred are also incapable of successfully mating with any species aside from a human or another of their kind, evidence of the uniform tendencies of their baatezu progenitors.

All hellbred look essentially the same, standing only a few inches above or below 6 feet in height regardless of parentage or gender. This measure allowed them to be used as an effective fighting formation in the Hells, ensuring that no disparity in size was so great that a hellbred could not be part of a phalanx. Without exception, a hellbred also possesses pale skin, raven-colored hair, and steel gray eyes, and each of them smells strongly of brimstone. This last trait has caused them to develop a fondness for heavy cologne, which they much prefer to avoid the smell of the Hells.

Relations
Hellbred tend to have mixed feelings towards baatezu. Those actually created and raised in Hell are segregated from actual baatezu until their abilities are judged to merit integration. But even this supposed honor doesn’t come with all the frills one might expect. Barred from true legionnaire status, hellbred are forced to serve with the osyluth-commanded companies even if their abilities are superior. They are allowed, and even subtly encouraged, to form their own military groups, which the baatezu can then hire and send to imminent doom without any real loss. If military careers do not suit them, hellbred often go into politics, but even here they are hard-pressed to succeed against their devil creators.

The abrasive social climate in the Hells persuades many hellbred to leave Baator, causing some to speculate that they are intentionally mistreated. These specimens live amongst humans--the species they were designed to imitate almost perfectly--usually without much suspicion, at least not until the baatezu come to their doorstep. Due to the devils’ constant search for influential figures to coerce into service on the Material Plane, most hellbred live off the grid, finding employ as adventurers or soldiers in lifestyles that make use of their various talents.

Alignment
A hellbred may be of any alignment, but their disposition strongly encourages a lawful evil persuasion. The influence of their bloodline is hard to deivate from, and hellbred from Baator are particularly cunning and manipulative (at least by the standards of residents of the Prime). Others, meanwhile, have become powerful forces of good in spite of the hand dealt to them by fate.

Lands
Beyond the obvious hellbred-exclusive settlements of Baator, hellbred populations are largely sparse. They tend to seek very urban environments, where they can blend in with the crowds and conceal themselves from those who would seek them out.

Religion
Hellbred are from Baator; they know firsthand the power of outsiders and the deific figures who command them. The primary difference between particular hellbred lies in their acceptance or rejection of their archdevil overlords.

Language
In order to ensure their ability to speak with baatezu and follow orders, all hellbred have ingrained knowledge of Infernal embedded in their brains. In order to allow them to pass satisfactorily as humans, they also universally speak Common.

Names
In keeping with their tendency to disguise themselves as human, hellbred are often given human names.

Racial Traits
Racial Ability Adjustments::None
 * (Extraplanar)
 * : As Medium creatures, hellbred gain no bonuses or penalties based on size.
 * Hellbred base land speed is 30 feet.
 * Darkvision (Ex): Hellbred have darkvision out to 120 feet.
 * Devilbred: Although a hellbred is not actually a baatezu, it is similar to devils in many respects. A hellbred is treated as a devil for the purposes of being affected (or not affected) by any ability that selectively targets or excludes devils (such as, but not limited to, any bateezu’s aura of cold logic). They are also treated as lawful evil by alignment-dependent affects (such as detect evil, forbiddance, and blasphemy or holy word) or items regardless of their actual alignment (allowing them to wield evil-aligned items and barring them from good-aligned items even if they are not evil.
 * Magitech Training: Life as a conscript in Hell’s armies can teach you how to use all sorts of interesting weapons. A hellbred is automatically proficient with a single weapon of their choosing that has the word ‘hellfire’ in its name.
 * Maneuver-Like Abilities: A hellbred is capable of using the Vanguard Strike (from the Devoted Spirit discipline) as a maneuver-like ability. At CR 3, it may also use the Burning Brand boost (from the Desert Wind discipline).
 * +2 bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks.
 * Automatic Languages: Common, Infernal.
 * Bonus Languages: Any.
 * Favored Class: Crusader
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1