Lesser Thri-Kreen (3.5e Race)

Lesser Thri-Kreen
Summary::Mantis warriors of the desert, thri-kreen are four-armed insectile nomads on the brink of civilization. They are short lived but many, and possess a lingering genetic memory of their ancestors. From the moment of their birth they possess basic knowledge how to hunt and survive.

Personality
Compared to humanoids, thri-kreen personalities are downright alien. Tradition runs strong within them, as they have a faint sense of genetic memories from their parents which shapes their personalities. They are proud hunters with a neutral and naturalistic viewpoint most in common with druids or rangers. There are the predators, to which they are one, and there is the prey. More importantly they do not make difference in prey between a non-sapient cow and a sapient humanoid, though they have the common sense, thoughtfulness, and planning not to hunt the more dangerous humanoids or to make enemies of their unusually large tribes, these "nations" which humanoids tend to cling to as their civilization. Though they may see others as potential food, there are no rules forbidding making friends with dinner or refusing to eat what they consider kin.

Physical Description
Thri-kreen are mantis-like humanoids with four arms, one large and one smaller pair of arms beneeth, with bulging eyes, large powerful legs, clicking mandibles, and armored exoskeleton. Their coloration ranges from sandy browns, yellows, and reds to coppery green and glossy blacks, depending on climate and diet. They possess thin tongues and have a buzzing hum to their voices.

In the ranks of the lesser thri-kreens, there are four subspecies which they are broken into; the thri-kreen kry-tal, the thri-kreen az-ra, the thri-kreen zao-rin, and the thri-kreen ek-zoh. They are thri-kreen who have adapted psionic powers, incarnated souls, ki mastery, and durability as minor traits associated with their surroundings and culture. Physically, kry-tal possess crystaline spines over their exoskeleton, az-ra come in various shades of blue shell or blue eyes, zao-rin prove unusually flexible in their shells, and ek-zoh shells are harder, thicker, and more earth-toned.

Thri-kreen lay eggs for reproduction, which is often buried under warm sand or kept in a warm but dimly lit place. Children, called nymphs, are born with basic mobility through crawling and age rapidly. They are raised by their entire tribe regardless of their original parents. Their short lifespans mean they live fast. They consider living on through their children to be a form of immortality, and as such rarely dwell on their inevitable death by old age.

Relations
Thri-kreen have an uncertain relationship with others. They are insular and keep to themselves, but with civilization encroaching onto their territories, interaction is inevitable. Some have embraced their civilized neighboors, becoming hardy traders and brave soldiers. Others have dealt with the intrusion with violence. With the advent of humanity to the forefront and its rapidly changing civilization and growth, the thri-kreen are struggling to adapt in time or risk losing themselves.

Thri-kreen have had trouble dealing with elves. It is not that elves have encroached on their land like humanity and other more recent races, but it is the fact that elves, beyond all else, smell delicious! While ignoring the juicy human or half-orc is easy, the desire to nibble on elves has been enough to cause significent conflict between the two races in spite of honest efforts otherwise.

Alignment
Thri-kreen are largely neutral, their free lifestyles chaotic but their mindsets easily adapting to law, order, and tradition.

Lands
Most thri-kreen hail from desert territories, but variations of thri-kreen have sprung up all over the world. Thri-kreen are a hardy race and can find a home wherever there is prey to hunt.

Religion
Thri-kreen do not worship a specific deity, but many venerate natural concepts and believe in animal and world spirits. Druidic lifestyles are common, regardless if they actually level in druid.

Language
Thri-kreen speak thri-kreen and common.

Names
Thri-kreen names have harsh clicking sounds and buzzing. There is no difference between male and females in naming, and they have no offical last names. They use their tribe name as their last name regardless of their actual parents.

Racial Traits

 * ,, , : Strong and fast, lesser thri-kreen are excellent hunters but lack the experience (and lifespan) to develop a powerful mind.  Their alien thinking and features and their occational desire to eat all elves do not make them hits at parties.
 * Type::Monstrous Humanoid: Lesser thri-kreens are more like insects than your typical primate-like humanoid.
 * Lesser Thri-Kreen base land speed is 30 feet.
 * +1 natural armor.
 * Lesser Thri-Kreens are immune to magical sleep effects, and do not sleep themselves. They instead trance, much like elves.
 * Multiple Limbs: Lesser Thri-Kreens have four arms, though they begin off much weaker than a normal thri-kreen. At 1 HD, they have two primary arms and two secondary, weaker arms which cannot be used to attack but may carry objects and make somatic components.  At 3 HD, these smaller lower arms become strong enough to use weapons, but only those one size smaller than the lesser thri-kreen.  At 6 HD, they're arms improve and become as strong as their primary arms.  They may now use weapons sized normal for their size.
 * Natural Attacks: Lesser Thri-Kreens have two primary claw attacks which deal 1d4 points of damage and a secondary bite which deals 1d4 damage. At 3 HD, their lower arms may deal two additional secondary claw attacks at 1d3 damage.  When the lesser thri-kreen reaches 6 HD, the lower claws become primary attacks as well and deal the normal 1d4 points of damage, leaving the lesser thri-kreen with four primary claws and one secondary bite.
 * Leap : Lesser Thri-Kreens are natural jumpers. They are under the effects of an extraordinary jump spell at all times, except the bonus is racial.  The +10 bonus rises to +20 at 5 HD and +30 at 9 HD.
 * Subspecies : Lesser Thri-Kreen are a varied race. Select one of the subspecies below:
 * Kry-Tal: Gain 2 power points and the psionic subtype.
 * Az-Ra: Gain 1 point of essentia and the incarnum subtype.
 * Zao-Rin: Gain 2 points of ki (such as the ninja or monk classes) to fuel ninja powers, stunning fist attempts, and likewise.
 * Ek-Zoh: Gain an additional +1 bonus to natural armor.
 * Zao-Rin: Gain 2 points of ki (such as the ninja or monk classes) to fuel ninja powers, stunning fist attempts, and likewise.
 * Ek-Zoh: Gain an additional +1 bonus to natural armor.


 * Verminblood : Because they are so much like insects, they count as vermin for the effects of spells, class features, and other effects. For example, they would count as vermin for a ranger's favored enemy ability.
 * Weapon Familiarity: Thri-kreen can treat gythkas and chatkchas as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
 * Automatic Languages: Common, Thri-Kreen.
 * Bonus Languages: Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Halfling.
 * Favored Class:
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1