Artaiad (3.5e Race)

Artaiad
Summary::They're a fey race that transform into deer or antelopes. The primary stats here represent an adult. Most of what is known about artaiads is gained through observation by other folk.

Personality
A warm smile lights their face as a chortling laugh echoes about. Artaiads are often shy creatures, wary and nervous of new people and surprises. They are flighty and skittish, relaxing only when around close friends and family.

As fey creatures, they are a wild, untamed force of nature and spiritual magic. Given the duality of their humanoid- and animal-shaped forms, they express both the mundane qualities of mortal nature and the magical essences held beyond its visible and tangible surfaces. So too, then, that artaiad personalities can fluctuate suddenly, allowing them to draw upon hidden reserves of ferocity and determination not readily apparent.

Physical Description
Standing shorter than most elves at about five feet tall and weighing around 90 pounds, an artaiad's humanoid form is slim and wiry with graceful movements. Artaiads are typically tanned skin, though some may have reddish brown or tawny skin. Their hair's color ranges from blondes like the color of wood, to clay, earthy browns, mahogany and deep blacks. Hair texture varies from wavy to straight, with wiry or curly hair being uncommon. Their wide, alert eyes are typically brown or green. The whites of their eyes barely show. Males often sport a pair of short horns, though, depending on the artaiad type, they may only have antlers during certain times of the year. In any case, antlers or horns, they never grow notably large (or useful for combat). Their ears are typically fey-like or elven in nature, though some are known to have ears like those of their alternate animal form or some mix in-between.

Depending on the regional tribe, each artaiad can also transform into either a medium-sized deer or antelope. This animal form is typically the same as a common type found in the area.

Animalistic traits are more common among young artaiads. It is rumored that artaiads are born appearing as a cross between their two forms. Some scholars believe that the artaiads are fey spirits that have inhabited animal bodies and taken humanoid form rather than being fey that assume animal forms. While it would appear (through the use of magical examination) that an artaiad's humanoid form is its natural form, many have been known to remain in their animal form (or shift to it) upon death.

An artaiad often only wears fibrous materials latticed together as clothing. Though, some tribes gather clothing from other sprites and fey as trade. They rarely carry many possessions or weapons, often having water pouches and food stores to sustain them, but little else. Some artaiads have been found with unusual possessions like golden combs, single gauntlets, worn arrows, rings or other trinkets which they show extreme emotional responses and protection over.

Female artaiads are slightly smaller and trimmer than their male counterparts.

Relations
Typically, artaiads only get along with other fey races. They often form alliances with other fey folk when their lands are threatened and they share a common enemy. Artaiads can occasionally be found in the company of humanoids who respect nature and wish to live in peace with the land and the creatures that inhabit it.

A rare few artaiads are found living within humanoid settlements as adopted citizens, appearing much more like the locals than as members of their own race.

Alignment
Living in the harsh wilds, artaiads are often at least partly neutral, though most are also good, and it pains them to have to deal forcefully with other good creatures who oppose their way of life. The rare evil artaiads are a plague on civilian populaces and manipulate nature to their control.

Lands
Artaiads need a lot of range to call their homeland. They roam far and wide and can be found in mountain foothills, forests, grassland plains, savannas, jungles, taigas, tundras and scrubland. They range from the chilled northlands to the sweltering south. However, artaiads loathe to live in lands claimed by humanoids and will either simply flee from such places, or mount a fierce attack to keep invaders from despoiling their lands. Artaiads are less likely to attack peaceful frontier settlers who merely wish to make their own way in the world and more likely to attack large-scale invading forces seeking to reap the land and despoil its resources.

Some artaiads are known to infiltrate herds of the animals they assume the forms of, leading them to new grazing grounds and away from hunters and foul luck.

Artaiads generally maintain small tribes of around two dozen individuals at most. Some are known to be loners, especially adult males, who patrol large territories or wild land.

Young artaiads develop at a different rate than humanoids, going through several phases with sudden developmental growth spurts rather than growing gradually. For the first year of life, a young artaiad is very much like a helpless baby until it learns how to shift to its alternate form, at which point it quickly grows to the size and attitude roughly equivalent to a five- to seven-year old human. This phase may last twenty years or more after which it becomes an adolescent, growing in size, but not quite a master of its abilities. This phase lasts until they become adults nearly a hundred years later. Adolescent artaiads are playful and inquisitive, still naive and sheltered to the world. After an artaiad reaches adulthood, it ages rather slowly, gradually becoming more worldly at the cost of its sprightliness and resilience. Like most fey, they are not known to die of old age. Though, it is believed that an artaiad may pass on from loneliness or from becoming broken-hearted.

Interestingly, there have been recorded instances of artaiad young being raised by other cultures, in which the child grows up as a member of its adoptive parents' race, aging as a member of that race and even beginning to look like them in superficial ways, such as skin and hair color. It is not unknown for adolescent artaiads who are given to wandering to become "adopted" by humanoids or monstrous humanoids they become particularly fond of. Some artaiads that live among other non-fey races may even neglect or forget their heritage for years.

Some humanoid towns tell tales of the reverse happening, where one of their own will run off with the artaiads and become fey themselves. Like many stories surrounding fey creatures, it is difficult to substantiate.

Religion
Artaiads are very connected to the spirits of the lands, and claim reverence and respect toward nature deities. However, they aren't devout.

Language
Artaiads speak Sylvan with fluent fluidity and quick grace. Most artaiads eventually learn Common as well if they plan on communicating with (or listening in on) humanoids.

In some areas, artaiads are known as siliads, saliads, deer sprites or springheels.

Names
Upon the birth of a child, the mother will typically take her newborn out and seek an omen or a sign from nature. She will name her child for this sign (in the Sylvan tongue, of course). However, some artaiad tribes rely on oracles to name newborns. Outside of traditional artaiad culture, they may name their children anything they prefer.

Racial Traits (Adult)

 * ,, : Artaiads are quick and nimble with a presence of natural grace, force of personality and understanding of the wild.
 * : A fey is a creature with supernatural abilities and connections to nature. A shapechanger has the supernatural ability to assume one or more alternate forms.
 * : As Medium creatures, artaiads have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
 * Artaiad base land speed is 30 feet (6 squares). While in her Alternate Form, her base land speed is 50 feet (10 squares).
 * Racial Hit Dice: An artaiad begins with 2 levels of fey, which provide 2d6 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fortitude +0, Reflex +3, and Will +3.
 * Racial Skills: An artaiad’s fey levels give her skill points equal to (6 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die. Artaiad class skills are Balance (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis) and Swim (Str). An artaiad may use her Dexterity modifier in place of Strength for making Jump and Swim skill checks. These skills are always treated as class skills for an artaiad and she may use them untrained.
 * Racial Feats: An artaiad’s fey levels give her 1 feat. She also gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a racial bonus feat.
 * Proficient with all simple weapons.
 * Low-light Vision: An artaiad can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
 * Alternate Form :  As a standard action, she can assume the form of a medium-sized deer (or antelope). Her carried and worn gear (up to her maximum load) melds into her form. Her movement speed increases to 50 feet. Her ability scores are otherwise unaffected by this transformation. An artaiad cannot use her spell-like abilities while in her alternate form.
 * Damage Reduction HD/Silver or Cold Iron : As a shapechanging fey creature, an artaiad gains damage reduction equal to her HD total. This damage reduction is bypassed by either alchemical silver or cold-forged iron weapons, but not other materials or attacks.
 * Scent : An artaiad possesses the Scent special ability, allowing her to sniff out and locate other creatures nearby.
 * Trample : An artaiad, as a full-round action, can move up to twice her speed and run over any opponents at least one size category smaller than herself while in her alternate form.
 * Bestow Wild Form : 1/day—She may polymorph (duration of 1 hour/her HD) a number of willing humanoids, monstrous humanoids or fey into deer (or antelope). She may affect 1 target per 2 of her HD. The willing subjects must all form an adjacency chain from her or each other as the spell is cast. The subjects retain their own sizes and ability scores and their carried and worn gear (up to their personal maximum loads) meld into their forms. The subjects' base land speeds increase by 20 (to a maximum of 50) feet. The functional spell level of this ability is equal to 1/2 her HD (to a maximum of 9th at 18 HD). Her caster level is equal to her character level. The save DC is Charisma-based.  The subjects can dismiss their transformation at any time as a standard action.
 * Spell-Like Ability: 1/hour—baleform burst (range of touch, single target only), bestow curse (duration of 1 minute/HD). The functional spell level of these spells is equal to 1/2 her HD (to a maximum of 9th at 18 HD). Her caster level is equal to her character level. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
 * Automatic Languages: Sylvan
 * Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
 * Favored Class:
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::2

Racial Traits (Juvenile)
The statistics below represent an adolescent or juvenile artaiad. As such, she hasn't yet gained access to many of her race's features or abilities. Perhaps she has suppressed her innate nature from years of living among other races. Whatever the flavor, these traits may be used as a variant to allow characters to play a basic artaiad. If the player later wishes to gain the race's full features, he may do so by taking levels in fey HD with the racial features gained as listed below. This progression also gives him the option of his character becoming "adopted" and losing racial traits (in favor of levels in a different class). Players should work with DMs to allow character retraining to go as smoothly as possible.


 * Fey (Shapechanger)
 * Medium
 * Artaiad base land speed is 30 feet (6 squares) in both her humanoid form and her Alternate Form.
 * Racial Skills: These skills are always treated as class skills for an artaiad and she may use them untrained: Balance, Handle Animal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (nature), Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Survival and Swim. An artaiad may use her Dexterity modifier in place of Strength for making Jump and Swim skill checks.
 * Proficient with all simple weapons.
 * Low-light Vision: An artaiad can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
 * Alternate Form :  As a standard action, she can assume the form of a medium-sized deer (or antelope). Her carried and worn gear (up to her maximum load) melds into her form. Her ability scores are otherwise unaffected by this transformation. An artaiad cannot use her spell-like abilities while in her alternate form.
 * Damage Reduction 1/2 HD/Silver or Cold Iron : As a shapechanging fey creature, an artaiad gains damage reduction equal to 1/2 her HD total. This damage reduction is bypassed by either alchemical silver or cold-forged iron weapons, but not other materials or attacks.
 * Scent : An artaiad possesses the Scent special ability, allowing her to sniff out and locate other creatures nearby.
 * Automatic Languages: Sylvan
 * Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
 * Favored Class: Ranger
 * Level Adjustment: +0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1