Candothist, Teroccus (3.5e Race)

Teroccus Candothist
Summary::Unlike other candothists, a teroccus may voluntarily take on a new form before he dies. "I am broken. All the best of me...stolen."

Many forces are responsible for bringing a candothist into being. With mortal magic able to bring souls back to the living realm, and this magic often in the hands of the curious, this process doesn't always go as planned. Terocci are thought to be a safety-net of sorts, as some unknown intervening force prevents the soul from becoming entirely distorted or destroyed and instead transforms it into a new living being, but at the cost of its memories. Once the process is complete, a teroccus retains some hidden knowledge and ability to judge when he is done with the mortal realm, for he is able to recall his soul from the afterlife and take a body of flesh with his own power.

A teroccus candothist only loses his memories from before he initially becomes a candothist. He retains most all his memories when he self-reincarnates.

Personality
While candothists survive through force of self, terocci survive by utilizing the connection to their souls, which allows them to call forth strange powers.

Terocci are just as varied as typical candothists. The process that created them often plays a major part in forming their personality, as their awakening is their first interaction with the world and the formation of their first memories. Awakening in some unknown ritual with no memory of who they are often leads to confusion, frustration and fear. With a natural instinct for self-preservation, terocci often lash out and the experience often isn't pleasant for anyone involved.

As they are allowed to age and develop as individuals, they vary just as much as humans. Some lean toward social interaction, while others resort to self-reflection and introspection. Some follow their senses while others follow their intuitions. Some become thinkers, while others explore their emotions. Even others hone their ability to perceive the world, while others categorize and judge it to understand it.

Physical Description
Being medium-sized humanoids, a typical teroccus stands just under six feet tall and weighs around 150 pounds. While appearing trim and lithe, a teroccus is fairly densely composed. Teroccus blood is, for whatever reason, heavier than most bloods. Their anatomy also poses a few unusual traits.

Terocci sport grayish skin, commonly ranging from pale to dark. However, their extremities (fingers and hands, toes and feet, ears and the tips of their noses) are a different color, which varies greatly, but is prominently a saturated color, often bright. Typical extremity skin colors range from pale ivory to golden yellow, grassy green, aqua blue, violet, rose red, fiery orange and charcoal black. Their eyes and hair generally match the color of their extremities, though shades vary. Males rarely grow beards, as most are seemingly unable to do so. Teroccus eyes are overly large, with wide pupils, lending them a youthful, crazed or fey look depending on their expression. Commonly, "the whites of their eyes" are unusually colored as well, with dark shades being the norm.

Proportionately, terocci have slightly longer arms than is normal for humanoids, with their fingertips reaching down to their knees when standing upright. Their torsos are generally more cylindrical, even in the upper chest. This trait gives them an odd posture as they move, allowing them to bend and move in a slightly serpentine fashion.

Each teroccus bears a trait unique to himself that also serves to identify him after his body is altered during the reincarnation process. These traits vary greatly, but provide no noticeable boon or burden upon any teroccus, with the vast majority of these traits being merely superficial in nature. For more information on unique traits, see: Table: Candothist Unique Character Traits below.

Terocci wear whatever clothing and gear is available to them, as they hold no unifying culture of their own. In areas that might fear or shun outlanders, they tend to cover themselves to avoid persecution.

Their slightly odd shape and elongated arms gives them a noticeable gait, with wide steps and gently swaying arms.

Relations
Terocci get along with each other fairly well, as even meeting another of their kind is akin to meeting a lost family member. They commonly discuss matters of their place in the world and how they came to be in hopes of revealing some truth or hidden nature as to the meaning of their life and existence.

As for other races, terocci blend well with humans and other accepting races. Xenophobic races scorn terocci, as do lands where religion and superstition reign, as such cultures find their existence perplexing, unexplainable and possibly cause for alarm. Occasionally, terocci are hunted as abominations or aberrations, being that their creation was unnatural.

Alignment
Terocci may be of any alignment, though, as they are less likely to be accepted members of society, they lean towards chaotic and neutral alignments.

Lands
Being so few in number, terocci have no homeland, cities or unified culture in which to share. They prefer to settle into established civilizations that will have them as guests, and this typically means hospitable environs. Very rarely are they found alone, wandering, or for that matter, in a frigid plain or sweltering desert.

Candothists are sterile and can't have children, which certainly doesn't help their population. It also lends to an uncommon trait among humanoids, a lack of half-breeds. However, terocci blood isn't always pure and may carry traits or bloodlines associated with other races as a result of their creation.

In recent years, the number of terocci has steadily risen and have become recognizable, if still uncommon, by ordinary folk in most cities. Small villages and thorps are still likely to have never seen or heard of such a creature.

Religion
Terocci have a varied outlook on religion, depending entirely upon their creation and early experiences that impress upon them such concepts as belief and worship. Just as many terocci despise such things as there are those who revere the divine and others who simply don't care or bother. Those that do worship, do so out of their career paths, honoring deities who favor their lifestyles. A few terocci do worship out of a quest to understand and glean meaning from their existence and un-naturally given life.

Language
From the moment they are created, terocci know how to speak Celestial and Common. They do so with fluency and ease, as it is written into who and what they are.

Names
Terocci choose names that fit them. They aren't bound by being named by parents (though their "creator" may bestow a name upon them). Often times, they gain a name by friends and it simply sticks. Most terocci don't place much importance in a name, while others do, finding that it helps define and identify them as individuals. Terocci may have many names or a singular name, depending on his preference or need to blend in with his fellows.

Terocci are less often called terocci candothists, out of simplicity. Occasionally, they are called "terocs" as a slang abbreviation.

Racial Traits

 * (Subtype::Candothist)
 * : As medium-size creatures, terocci have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
 * Teroccus candothist base land speed is 30 feet.
 * Energy Influx : A teroccus retains some control over his own soul. He channels this power as "influx charges". He gains a maximum pool of influx charges equal to 3 +1/2 his HD (rounded down, minimum of 1). He naturally regains all his spent influx charges after resting for 8 hours, though he may meditate for 10 minutes to regain 1 spent influx charge. He can spend these charges to fuel the following abilities:
 * Energy Healing : As a swift action, he may heal himself for 1d4 HP by spending one influx charge.
 * Fleet Booster : As a swift action, he may boost his base land speed by 10 feet for one round by spending two influx charges. This bonus to his speed is an enhancement bonus.
 * Fury : As a swift action, he gains a +2 bonus on Strength-based and Dexterity-based ability checks and skill checks for 1 round by spending one influx charge.
 * Crush Bolt : As a swift action, he may shoot a projectile of force by spending one influx charge. This bolt deals 1d3 damage per its effective spell level to a single target within medium range (100 ft. + 10 ft./HD). The bolt strikes unerringly, so long as the target has less than total cover or total concealment. Specific parts of a creature can’t be singled out. For the purposes of spell resistance, damage dealt and other effects calculated by spell level, crush bolt is the equivalent of a spell whose level is equal to one-half the terocci’s HD (rounded down), with a minimum spell level of 1st and a maximum of 9th (18 HD level and higher).
 * Revitalize : As an 8 hour long ritual while he rests, a teroccus may spend 4 influx charges to reform his appearance and body as if he had used his Self-Reincarnate ability. However, he chooses his new form's appearance. He takes two points of Constitution burn which can only be healed naturally. This ability burn never reduces his Constitution below 1, nor does the Constitution loss lower his HP below 1 per HD. Instead of rolling on the Morphic Reincarnation chart, he may choose the desired result, choosing his gender, feature details, height and weight (within the given range for this race), hair and skin color. He still retains his unique trait.


 * Haunting Flashbacks : From time to time, he encounters something that perplexes his senses as if he were overwhelmed by déja vu. At the start of every encounter, before he takes an action, there is a 25% chance that he notices something that triggers a recollection to some vague and hazy lost or stolen memory. If this happens, he takes a −2 morale penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks and skill checks for 1 round and thereafter takes a −1 morale penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks and skill checks until he snaps out of it by concentrating as a full-round action.
 * Self-Reincarnate : A teroccus can return from death without outside magical aid. When a candothist dies and rests in the afterlife for 8 hours, he can choose to return to his flesh up to 1 day/level later, though he is temporarily weakened when he does so. Upon returning, he gains a temporary Negative Level which lasts for 24 hours. If taking this Negative Level lowers his current level to less than one, he instead takes 2 points of Constitution burn which can only be healed naturally. The Negative Level and ability burn never reduce his Constitution below 1 or lower his HP below 1 per HD. Upon using this ability, he returns to his body, which is restored to life and at 1 HP. If he chooses to use this ability, the player must roll on the Morphic Reincarnation chart below. If his body was destroyed (reduced to less than half its original weight), he cannot return to life with this ability. See additional restrictions and notes under The Reincarnation Process below.
 * Automatic Languages: Celestial and Common.
 * 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

The Reincarnation Process
There are several circumstances that prevent a candothist from returning to his body upon his death:


 * If his body is raised as an undead. However, making an unsuitable vessel, the process instead fails and his corpse melts into blood and ichor.
 * If his body is placed inside a magical container or surrounded by magical barriers or force.
 * If his body is cut in half (or otherwise reduced to less than half its original weight).
 * If his body is petrified. A candothist turned to stone is not dead. However, this situation grants him the option of allowing his soul to depart, which does kill him. This choice must be made at the moment of petrification. If his body is ever turned back to flesh, he may return to it as normal.
 * If his body rots.
 * If he cannot pay 2 points of Constitution burn without resulting in less than 1 Constitution, he cannot use Self-Reincarnate.

There are several circumstances that allow a candothist to return under special conditions:


 * If he has previous bodies that have been preserved (such as through gentle repose), his soul may return to a previously inhabited body, so long as it is available to be inhabited.
 * His soul may inhabit the bodies of other departed candothists, so long as the body has been prepared for him to return to it. To prepare a foreign body for him to inhabit, an 8 hour ritual must take place and the body is bathed in specially prepared magical fluids costing 1,200 gp.
 * A casting of reincarnate rebuilds the candothist’s body and can recall him. With the spell, a candothist rolls on the Morphic Reincarnation chart, not the reincarnate chart listed with the spell.

Upon using his Self-Reincarnate ability, a candothist will have no memory of just being dead, and will often come to the conclusion that he was left for dead, but somehow survived. Waking up in a coffin six feet underground has killed many candothists (again), but when they escape, it often acts as fuel for rumors of undead in the area.

Each time a candothist uses his Self-Reincarnate ability, he must roll on the Morphic Reincarnation chart below to determine what parts of his form change. Each Incarnation starts at the adult age and characters loose any age penalties or bonuses from their previous incarnation. Candothists do not have a maximum age from which they can be incarnated from, but they still die of old age. If Neutral is rolled, the character appears neither male nor female. His unique candothist traits (such as horns or pointed ears) do not change during reincarnation.

Morphic Reincarnation
Roll a d3 for each attribute.

Unique Traits
Each teroccus is created with one or more unique traits that help him to be identified even when his body is altered during the reincarnation process. Listed below are some basic concepts and ideas to help players decide on a possible unique trait.

If you would prefer, you may roll a d12 to determine a unique trait category randomly.