Tendunava (3.5e Race)

Tendunava
Summary::A race of tauric black panther, the tendunava make for excellent frontline and ranged fighters, as well as powerful sorcerers. The tendunava are quite skilled in most art of warfare, most often being trained since youth. The only exception is cavalry, since they cannot mount an horse usually they rely on chariot to carry them to combat instead.

Personality
Unlike many other tauric species, tendunava are rather social and intelligent. While certainly more aggressive and territorial than a human they are able to work in large groups, allowing them develop great societies. While many tenduvana prefer to be loners, the race itself is very varied in personality, much like humans. Most tendunava culture see themselves as above humanoid race, being stronger, faster and more charismatic. As a result most tendunava tend to be slightly aloof, or even arrogant. Finally the tendunava have one fatal flaw, they are for some reason very prone to decadent behavior. Although many manage to fight these urges, other embrace their decadent side.

Physical Description
Tendunava are tauric creatures, with the upper torso and hip of a human and the body of a black panther. The tendunava human half usually has dark skin, hairs and eyes and are fairly muscular in average, most often than not a beautiful member of his or her gender. Then tendunava despite being tauric, don't stand all that much taller than an average human, being in average 6'3 tall. Their panther body is well muscled yet lithe for a member of it specie, much smaller than a centaur's horse body. The tedunava possess advanced cultures, developing clothing for both halves of their body, usually the tendunava dwell in hot place and thus have clothing made in consequences.

Relations
Tendunava have average relationship with other races, many races see them as threat being much bigger and faster (kind of like a human would see a sentient black panther). This is not true for races such as orc or centaur, who are mostly as big or even bigger than the tendunava. The tendunava themselves are very hard to intimidate, having much pride and courage.

Alignment
Tendunava tend toward no particular alignments. As pretty much all society, evil tendunava are rarer than good tendunava. Tendunava as a race have no preference between lawful and chaotic.

Lands
Although they live well in all land, they prefer tropical jungle and other hot areas. The tendunava make their civilization in place where humans or other races are nearby, particularly decadent tendunava empire will attempt to enslave (and probably succeed) the weaker races.

Religion
Tendunava tend to worship strong deities that appeal to them. Like pretty much all races.

Language
Tendunava speak tendu, a surprisingly smooth and complex language.

Names
Tendunava have a personal name, a legacy name and a lineage name. The personal name is used by friends and family and is never used with outsiders. The legacy name is simply the personal name of the particular tendunava father (or mother), it is the most used name (causing much confusion among outsiders). Finally the lineage name is shared by the entire lineage, usually the old personal name of a powerful tendunava adventurer.

Sample Culture: Chevedan Empire
The chevedan empire is located in the border of a tropical forest, on a large fertile plain bordered by one of the largest river of the area. The empire is very old, dating back to at least 500 years back, and still holding strong. The empire is nearby a few human nations and a large region full of goblin and orcish tribes. The empire itself compromise a large number of tendunava, who sit as the ruling class of the empire. Under them three conquered human nations, serving as servants, builders and artisan but at least are free (as second-class citizen). The empire capital is the Toothed City, a city built inside the may of a primordial hellkite dragon, the skull large enough to house the high city with palaces built in it fine wyrmbone ivory.

The toothed city is well known for it great slave market, where captured civilian of human nations are sold into slavery. Most of them end up serving the tendunava upper class, mostly made of spellcasters and warrior elite. The tendunava of the Chedevan Empire are often seen as arrogant and very decadent, the empire itself is mostly stagnant but still militarily very strong. The upper class dress in fine silk and jewels, not caring about the world below their almost indestructible wyrmbone towers. The empire itself is lead by the Great Emperor, a powerful tendunava warrior alongside his sorceress wives.

The chedevan empire is mostly neutral evil aligned, and make for fine adversaries for a group of chaotic good adventurer. Alternatively they make for a good ally for a group of evil or neutral player characters.

Racial Traits

 * ,, : Then tendunava are very fast and agile, much stronger than average and possess a strong natural charisma. Unlike many other tauric species, they are mentally on par with humans, allowing them to build a strong and advanced civilization.
 * Type::Monstrous Humanoid: Being tauric in nature, tendunavas are monstrous humanoid.
 * Tendunava base land speed is 40 feet, tendunava have a climbing speed of 30 ft.
 * Tendunava gets a +4 bonus on all saving throw against [fear] and [pain] effects.
 * Chariot Mastery : The tendunavas are expert at the use of chariot despite their size. They may gain cover using their chariot as an immediate action. Additionally they gain a +1 attack bonus whenever they attack from a chariot or with the chariot's slam or trampling ability.
 * Decadence : Most tendunava lives in life of complete decadence, choose two of the following trait.
 * Drugged Cat: The tendunava is afflicted with a nasty addiction, either from drug of alcohol. She must consume at least one dose of drug or alcohol per day or be sickened for 24 hours, or until she consume a dose. On the flip side she gain a +4 bonus on fortitude saves against the negative effects of drug and drunkness.
 * Lazy: The tendunava is extremely lazy and sometime sluggish, she may not run (but may still charge) and a take a -1 penalty on her initiative roll.
 * Luxury Addict: The tendunava is more or less reliant on luxury and scorn anything less. When she wish to rest, she must spend 10 gp per hit dice she has on lodging or be fatigued for 24 hours.
 * Twisted Warrior Honor: The tendunava has a twisted code of honor, preventing her from perform coup-de-grace. She won't willingly perform a coup-de-grace, but there no penalty if she unwillingly do so.
 * Unarmored Overconfidence: The tendunava scorn protective armors (and sometime clothes altogether) and think them as beneath her. The tendunava does not gain medium or heavy armor proficiency and may not take them as feats.
 * Powerful Build (Ex): The physical stature of tendunava lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a tendunava is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the tendunava is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to her. A tendunava is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect her. tendunava can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
 * A tendunava has natural sorcerous abilities, allowing it to cast as a 1st level sorcerer. A tendunava may advance her sorcerer casting by taking any class that advance arcane spellcasting or the sorcerer class itself.
 * Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d8)
 * Racial Hit Dice: A tendunava begins with two levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +2, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +0, Ref +3, and Will +3.
 * Racial Skills: A tendunava’s monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 5 x (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival.
 * Racial Feats: A tendunava’s monstrous humanoid levels give it one feat.
 * A tendunava's racial hit dices counts as levels of fighter, for the purpose of pre-requisites.
 * Automatic Languages: Common, Tendu.
 * Bonus Languages: Any non-secret.
 * Favored Class: and
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::3
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::3