Kundali (3.5e Race)

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Author: Eiji-kun (talk)
Date Created: 11-7-13
Status: Complete
Editing: Clarity edits only please
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Kundali[edit]

In ancient past it is said that there was a great and mighty demon known as Sertrous, known for his involvement with the Yuan-ti and the release of knowledge of gaining divine power through force of will alone. Though Sertrous was slain, many fell into seeking wisdom from the dead serpent's words. One group of humanoids sought this wisdom and worshiped him, eventually forming a plan to become as unto gods themselves through divine might by their own hands. Through mistake, sabotage, or punishment by a higher power the ritual was disrupted. The effect which was to enlighten them instead cursed them with a deadly magical sickness that transformed their bodies into snakes, killing the host. Their entire nation was lost to the curse until it was halted, partially, by the efforts and teachings of one of the greatest monks of their age, a man known as Kunda Shakitpat. Though dedication and meditation, he discovered a way to stabilize their disintegrating bodies and bind them into a stable viable being. The surviving members of this race renamed themselves Kundali in honor of their savor, and begin to follow his teachings to self-enlightenment.

The kundali are the scaled descendants of the original cursed humanoids, with the power to transform into a swarm of snakes. Many follow meditative monk-like practices religiously, and oppose anything to do with the ancient demon lord or dealing with divinity. Even so, a small sect of them wish to return to the past, to learn what went wrong, and to recreate it "correctly" this time. Thus the kundali are split into two main factions; the Shakt-Kundali which follow the strict teachings of Kunda, and the Ava-Kundali which seek to right the old errors and ascend to godhood per Sertrous' teachings.

Personality[edit]

The majority of kundali are shaki-kundali, and most grow up in the ways and teachings of the old monk. This makes them thoughtful and generally passive, seeking to study and understand themselves and their reactions to the world around them. They trend for lawfulness, and non-evil if not good in their opposition of demons and their influence on the mind. However unlike a paladin or cleric who does their acts based on the will or teachings of others, their philosophy is entirely self-focused and by seeking to better themselves they must often better others as well on their spiritual journey. Their ava-kundali counterparts, surprisingly, are not their polar opposites. Ava-kundali also are thoughtful, but take a much more active role in the world and usually do so by turning self-interest into simple selfishness. They take a great interest in the past and in relics, which the shakt-kundali generally abandon for living in the present, and they seek to re-establish their old power. As a result, they are often still lawful or neutral, but generally do not end up good aligned.

Kundali can usually be seen as non-offensive, staying in their temples and their studies by themselves save the occasional aggressive ava-kundali out to pull off some scheme. The only race which they have reactions too are the yuan-ti and their kin. As fellow former-Sertrous worshipers, the shakt-kundali take issue with the evil serpents while the ava-kundali embrace them as kin and use them to mine for ancient knowledge.

Physical Description[edit]

Kundali appear human at first glance, of middle-eastern or Indian origin with tanned skin and straight black hair. However their eyes are completely black and glossy, with a second semi-clear eyelid which usually blinks in place of their normal eyelid. Their skin also has a curious texture too it as their body is actually covered in a fine layer of tan-hued snake scales. Baldness is quite common, or long straight hair, and long necks for a typical human. They dress in light flowing robes and fabrics, silk, and a great deal of use in gold which they seem particularly fond of.

They all hold a secret that their bodies are slightly unstable. The are destined to turn into a swarm of snakes and indeed when they perish their body melts away and a non-sapient swarm of snakes burst from their corpse and escape into the world. With whatever techniques used by the ancient monk Kunda, their form has been fixed and they will no longer melt away on their own. Indeed, they have gained some manner of control of it and can shift into snake swarm form while retaining their identity and sanity. Many do not choose to adopt this form often however, as it has been described as "harrowing" and "disturbing" to their psyche.

Kundali are cold-blooded in spite of their human forms. They do not have live-births but instead come out of eggs. It is unclear if they are considered mammals or not, for they otherwise possess all the other biological traits of humans.

Relations[edit]

Kundali of both sects tend to stay by themselves and have a peaceful relation with all races but the yuan-ti, where the two factions split. Shakt-kundali oppose them at every turn while ava-kundali move about the yuan-ti as brothers and sisters. Both kundali get along best with races which respect their privacy, and usually only end up interacting with those native to the desert homes they reside in.

Alignment[edit]

Shakt-kundali tend towards law and slightly towards good, while ava-kundali trend slightly towards law and tend to be non-good or even evil.

Lands[edit]

Kundali are native to the deserts and arid locations of the world, largely due to their cold-blooded nature which shuns cold places. However both have a fondness and reverence for water. Water is seen as precious, and is used in many spiritual aspects as a metaphor for cleaning away the curse... or recreating the ancient fens of Sertrous.

Religion[edit]

Kundali do not tend to follow religions at all. Shakt-kundali focus on self-enlightenment such as the way of the monk, as are usually ashamed at relying on gods or think it is the cause that got them in trouble in the first place. Ava-kundali meanwhile tend to actively oppose gods, with exception of worshiping Sertrous. And yet many still become clerics both of Sertrous, or of ideals, as the old serpent taught them they should do. Ur-priest kundali are not uncommon.

Language[edit]

Having grown with, or possibly having been a slave race to, yuan-ti the kundali speak Common and Yuan-Ti.

Names[edit]

Names tend to be complex, coming off as "Indian" in design and relying on hissing noises.

Racial Traits[edit]

  • Humanoid (Reptilian, Shapechanger): Kundali may look human, but inside is the blood of serpents. 
  • Medium: As a Medium creature, a kundali has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
  • Kundali base land speed is 30 feet.  
  • Cold Blooded (Ex): Kundali are vulnerable to cold, and take half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from the effect, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure. On the other hand, they are always under the effects of endure elements (warm only)
  • Divine Rejection (Ex): Kundali gain a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against divine spells and effects. 
  • Poison Saliva (Ex): Kundali saliva is mildly poisonous, dealing 1 point of poison damage per HD (with no secondary effect), with a Fortitude save for half. This injury poison can be applied via bite (if they possess a bite attack or an unarmed strike using their teeth), but they do not have a bite attack inherently. It can be applied to a weapon as a standard action, but the poison only remains potent for 1 minute before its effect fades. A creature struck by multiple poison attempts only needs to roll once to save or fail against all of the attempts each round. The save DC is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con modifier. 
  • Scent (Ex): Kundali have the scent ability. 
  • Swarm Form (Su): Kundali are capable of assuming the form of a swarm of snakes as a standard action as per alternate form. In this form they gain the swarm subtype, and take up a 10 foot square of tiny snakes (regardless of the current size of the creature before the transformation). You deal the damage of a swarm of your HD, but do not possess the distraction ability. At 4 HD, you gain lesser distraction, which acts like distraction but renders the target sickened instead of nauseated. At 12 HD, it becomes the full distraction ability. As a swarm they are not immune to mind-effecting affects, though they would be immune to single-target spells. In swarm form, they gain a climb and swim speed equal to their land speed.
As a swarm the kundali cannot speak. They may remain in this form up to 2 rounds/level each day (the duration need not be consecutive, minimum 1 round). If they exceed period they begin taking 1 point of Wisdom damage each round they exceed until they fall unconcious (and shift back to normal) or they revert their form with a free action on their round only. Unlike normal ability damage, this ability damage bypasses any immunities possessed and is fully cured after 8 hours of rest.
When a kundali dies, it immediately disperses as a swarm of harmless snakes which scatter. For the purposes of resurrection, a single snake is enough to count as its body but animate dead and the like would only produce an undead snake (use the stats for a tiny viper). 

Vital Statistics[edit]

Table: Kundali Random Starting Ages
Adulthood Simple Moderate Complex
15 years +1d4 +1d6 +2d6
Table: Kundali Aging Effects
Middle Age1 Old2 Venerable3 Maximum Age
40 years 60 years 80 years +2d20 years
  1. At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
  2. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
  3. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
Table: Kundali Random Height and Weight
Gender Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
Male 4' 11" +2d10 120 lb lb. × (2d4) lb.
Female 4' 6" +2d10 85 lb lb. × (2d4) lb.



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Eiji-kun's Homebrew (5605 Articles)
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Facts about "Kundali (3.5e Race)"
AuthorEiji-kun +
Effective Character Level1 +
Favored ClassMonk +
Identifier3.5e Race +
Level Adjustment0 +
Racial Ability AdjustmentsNone +
Rated ByNolanf +
RatingRating Pending +
SizeMedium +
SubtypeReptilian, Shapechanger +
SummaryThe kundali are the scaled descendants of the original cursed humanoids, with the power to transform into a swarm of snakes. +
TitleKundali +
TypeHumanoid +