Sarg (3.5e Race)

Sarg
Summary::When an honorable, loved hevier perishes with unfinished business and his soul does not become an aethra, sometimes the priests of Ghremlond will bring him back as something strong and powerful, a ghost in an artifical shell. Encased in a special enhanced coffin, grafted with limbs and armor to give locomotion and protection, the hevier lives again as a sarg. Because the process is artifical and thus only a shadow of the otherwise rare event of a corporeal visible aethar, not everything comes out exact. The sarg "sleeps" often, as powering the material body is tiring, and unless stirred a sarg may sleep for a million years unbothered, until on whim it returns. The process also provides a communication barrier and dampens the mind of the soul, at least while within the body. In spite of these limitations, becoming a sarg is a noble event akin to becoming royality itself, for it permits the fallen heveir to experience life at any time, for the rest of eternity.

Personality
Dampened by the existance of a "clunky" inorganic body, sarg come off as mentally slow and addled. This is less of a result of damage to the spirit's psyche and more incompatability. A sarg will often seem distracted and dreamy, until focus is obtained. Once a sarg decides to become focused on a goal, they follow it with disturbing fervor. Because of the combination of a dampened mind and a focus on duty, warriors often become sargs far more than philosophers, and thus in general sargs have evolved into armor-plated behemoths, though the only requirements for a sarg is, in essence, a coffin with limbs. Because of their status in society, their outsides are covered and engraved in all manner of design, making them statuesque works of art even at rest.

Physical Description
Sarg are boxy things, for in their core lies the original enhanced coffin holding the body and spirit of a fallen heveir. Even after the body becomes dust and there is naught but gas within the coffin, the spirit remains, piloting their new body when called to do so. This general box shape is then built on with arms and legs and rarely a head, though more often the front of the chest has some manner of visor or mask to function as the face. Because it is built to contain a medium creature, the sarg is much larger, and the application of fancy engravings and armor only increases the size, to the point where the average sarg stands 8-10 feet tall and nearly as wide. They otherwise would seem a boxy golem of some sort.

They are often found sleeping, and are hard to rouse to waking. When alert, sarg speak in a strange manner, much like the aethra, and often end up refering to themselves in third person. The psychological adjustment must be similar to what the aethra experience.

Relations
As they are honored spirits, they are thus somehow famous for some art of bravery, generocity, or other credit to their value, even if the original reason for their honoring has been lost to the sands of time. Thus, the sarg are obliged to treat their allies with respect and kindness for granting them this privlage. How they react to those not from Ghremlond is a matter of individual taste. Some seem xenophobic, while others welcome new faces with childish curiosity.

Alignment
Due to their nature as beings of honor, sarg trend towards lawful alignments beyond any other.

Lands
Sarg are a creation of the hevier, and thus are found within Ghremlond, often found as part of their military elite ranks, providing tactical advice, and brute force, from beyond the grave. The presence of a sarg on the battlefield is a morale boosting event.

Religion
Like the heveir they come from, they have the belief that they are bound to the material, not the outer planes. Few sarg have need for religion, especially since they are technically already dead.

Language
Common.

Names
As they were heveir in life (and thus, human) so too do they keep their name in death, though they often simplify their names to fit their subdued intellect, dropping family name for their first name only.

Racial Traits

 * ,, , , , : Massive, powerful, lumbering, and slow, the artifical nature of the body dampens the mind of the spirit which inhabits it.
 * Type::Construct (Augmented Undead): The sarg has lived and passed on, only to live again.  Though a construct, they bear some semblance to the undead, and indeed may be considered an unliving construct, if such a thing could be.
 * Size::Large:  As a Large creature, a sarg has a -1 size penalty to Armor Class, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls, and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks, but receives +4 to grapple.  They use larger weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are double of those of a Medium character.  They take up 10 ft. of space in battle.
 * Sarg base land speed is 30 feet. Sarg can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).
 * Sarg have Darkvision out to 60 ft., as well as Low-Light Vision.
 * Unliving Construct Traits: As a construct, sarg has immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects with the exception of negative energy damage. They cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired by exposing them to any of the Repair series of spells (in which they recieve full benefit) or to any negative energy damage (which heals them, but at half effectiveness), or through the use of the Craft Construct feat.  They can still take damage from positive energy, but their body resists it, halving any damage taken from positive energy.  They are not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain, are immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless), and are not at risk of death from massive damage.  Sarg are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less, and cannot be raised or ressurected (but they can be recreated, see below.)  They are not immune mind-affecting effects like most constructs.  Constructs do not eat, sleep, or breathe.
 * Armored Body (Ex): Their bodies are encased in armor, which does not permit them to wear normal armor, but also negates the need to.  They gain a +4 armor bonus to armor class, with no armor check penalty, a 10% arcane spell failure chance, no maximum dexterity, and are not considered to be wearing armor for the purpose of class features which forbade it.  They qualify for warforged feats and warforged components, including all armor feats, though the benefit to armor class for any warforged feat is increased by 2.  Like the warforged, the sarg armored body may be enhanced and modified as any suit of armor might be.
 * Necrotic Anima (Ex): As undead bound in a construct, a sarg has no constitution score.  However, their strong life force which animates them binds them with great force.  Sarg recieve d12 on all current and future hit dice, regardless of class.
 * Bonus Hit Points: Sarg gain an additional +30 hp due to it's size.
 * Stability: A sarg gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
 * Racial Hit Dice: A sarg begins with three levels of undead rather than construct, which provide 3d12 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +1, and Will +3.
 * Racial Skills: A sarg's undead levels give it skill points equal to 6 × (4 + Int modifier). Its may select any six skills as class skills.
 * Racial Feats: A sarg’s undead levels give it two feats.
 * Turn Resistance (Ex): Sarg have a +4 turn resistance against turning and rebuking.
 * Automatic Languages: Common.
 * Bonus Languages: Choose any 3.
 * Favored Class:
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::1
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::4