Living Jar (3.5e Race)

Author: the bluez in the dungeon (talk) Date Created: 27th of April 2024 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Lacertan

Humanoid creatures that have the body, shape and mentality of lizards and other saurians.

Personality

Self-reliant, wild, cunning and sly are all traits of the standard lacertan. They are often solitary, who just congregate in small, tribe-like groups, not more than expanded families, but even so, lacertans give more credit to personal attachments rather than social bonds, an expression of their strong individuality (they may appear even lacking compassion to other races).

Despite this, they share a common ancestry, religion and cultural heritage and acknowledge this when interacting with each other. They often prefer to stand together towards other race, even if they don't personally know each other.

Physical Description

Lacertans are a curiois race of people-like lizards, with no specific denomitator to refer to: they may be sleek, sturdy, with long or shorter tails, thin or squared heads, sometimes frilled or feathered, and in some cases they have some sort of fur growing from their scales.

They can assume a variety of colors, from grey to dull green, brown, vibrant leaf color, golden sand and such. Their specific colors and physical traits depend on their habitat, which commands the color of their scales, allowing them to better hide in it.

They prefer to wear comfortable clothes, apt for survival in the wild according to the characteristics of their land.

Relations

Due to their secretive and violent ways they are often shunned by other races, which sometimes accomunate them to orcs, especially in those regions where they resort to stealing.

Sometimes they are better received, when they put away their violent inclination and try to stay together, or when they live in more urbanized areas

Evil lacertans become brigands, either with a small group of kindred or in a larger group, with more diverse background.

Other lacertans become solitary nature guardians and protect natural sites with their life, in a sacred duty.

Most good lacertans fight for the rights of the oppressed and often join revolutions and political movements (bit also armies).

Alignment

The majority of lacertans are chaotic, a trait reflecting their independent nature and love for freedom. Fewer are neutral, while lawful lacertans are almost unheard.

They tend towards neutrality on the good-evil axis, but chaotic good lacertans do exist, who become mostly freedom-fighters. Evil-aligned lacertans usually are the most prolific pillagers.

Lands

They are widespread among almost all environments, having adapted to a variety of climates and terrains. They usually live in small villages, very much in contact with nature (except for the minority of city-dwelling lacertans), foraging, hunting and sometimes pillaging for sustenance, while guarding their habitat and caring for it.

Religion

Their faith pays homage to the First Predator and First Prey, two god-like concepts often represented by a lizard biting its tail who preside over the aspects for death and life, hunting and nature.

Most lacertans who become nature guardian devote themselves to this divine entity.

Language

Their language of choice is Common, mainly for its semplicity.

Names

Their names often refer to a physical trait or notable thing about the individual, such as Red Tongue or Mad Tail.

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength or +2 Constitution
• Construct (Living): They are grand jars filled to the brim with cemetery earth, hosting the buried corpse of a deceased warrior. 
• Medium: As a Medium creature, a living jar has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
• Living Jar base land speed is 30 feet.  
• Heroic Burial (Su): Once per day they may call upon the strength of their buried hero to aid them in battle. As a free action they may replicate the heroism spell on themselves, wich lasts 1 minute per HD, using their HD as caster level. At 5 HD the spell they replicate changes to bolster spirit, and at 10 HD its greater bolster spirit. 
• Heart of the Fallen: Succeding in winning over a worthy foe in combat (an enemy of CR equal or over their HD). They gain the Heart of the Enemy feat for free, but the effect doesn't need killing to activate, just winning your opponent, which must be a worthy foe. 
• Warrior Heritage: As the living grave a famous warrior they inherit some of the combat training of their hero. They gain a bonus Fighter or Combat feat for which they meet the requirements. 
• Jar of Fortune: Living jars have always a final resort should they lose their life. Whenever they die they explode, due to the release of their warrior's spirit. Everyone within 20 feet of the living jar suffer 1d6 (+1d6 every odd HD they have) of physical damage (bludgeoning, piercing and slashing) unless make a Reflex save (DC is 10 + half the jar's HD + their Con modifier) to halve it. This damage hits incorporeal foes normally as it's source is the spirit of the warrion within the jar. Living jars at 0 hp or less, but not dead, may choose as a free or immediate action (for example if they would lose counsciousness) to explode voluntarily. This effectively disintegrates the living jar for the purpose of resurrection. 
• Immunities (Ex): Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain. 
• Living Construct Traits: A living jar cannot heal lethal damage naturally. Unlike other constructs, a living jar is not immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities. Unlike other constructs, living jar are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects. As living constructs, living jars can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a living jar can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a living jar is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect to a living jar. A living jar responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A living jar with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. It can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When its hit points are less than 0 and greater than —10, a living jar is inert. It is unconscious and helpless, and it cannot perform any actions. However, an inert living jar does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to it, as with a living creature that is stable. As a living construct, a living jar can be raised or resurrected. A living jar does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but they can benefit from consumables or effects like heroes' feast.
• Automatic Languages: Common
• Bonus Languages: Any, except for secret ones
• Favored Class: Any full BAB class
• Level Adjustment: +0
• Effective Character Level: 1

Racial Options

Feats

• Thermoboost

Pathfinder Options

In Pathfinder games, lacertans have an additional +2 to any stat, except for Dexterity.

Alternate Racial Feature

• Breathing Sac: Living near water for a prolonged time, made some lacertans develop a specialized organ to allow them to hold their breath for longer. They can for breathe when airless for 10 minutes, as if holding their breath. The same amount of time spent must be used to refill the sac. This feature could avoid inhaled effects. This feature replaces the Trailblazer feature.

• Cuttail: In some unfortunate cases, lacertans may lose their tails and never recover it, especially due to birth or genetic defects, curses or other kind of magic. This a brand of shame for them, and many forsake their home as soon as they can, never to return. They gain the Nomad's Blade feat for free. This feature replaces the Decoy Tail feature.

• Double Claw Style: More martially oriented lacertans learn special techniques with scimitars. You gain Two-Weapon Fighting for free and you treat a scimitar as a light weapon for the purpose of two-weapon fighting. This feature replaces the Saurian Agility feature.

• Fur-coated Reptile: Lacertans living in cold environments have evolved special adaptations to resist the frigid temperature in the form of light but warm hair. They gain cold resistance 5 and fire susceptability 5. This feature replaces the Cold Blooded feature.

• Sandswimmer: In deserts lacertans have less chance of climbing, and so their bodies often adapt to burrow instead. They gain a burrow speed equal to 20 feet when in moving on sand or similar loose soil. This feature replaces the climb speed.

• Guerrilla Warrior: Thanks to their combat tradition and hunting skills, some lacertans learn special war tactics. They gain the Guerrilla feat for free. This feature replaces the Saurian Agility feature.

• Water Way: Lacertans that live along the sea, in swamps, or near other great bodies of water have a tendency to learn to swim instead of climbing. They gain a swim speed equal to 20 feet. This feature replaces the climb speed.

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