Skindancers

Random Starting Ages
Adulthood Intuitive1 Self-Taught2 Trained3
17 years +1d4 years (13 – 16 years) +1d6 years (13 – 18 years) +2d6 years (14 – 24 years)
Middle Age (85 years) Old (130 years) Venerable (175 years) Maximum Age (175 + 4d20 years)

1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.
3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Random Height and Weight
Gender Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
Both 5 ft. 2 in. +2d4 in. (5 ft. 4 in. – 5 ft. 10 in.) 110 lbs. +(2d4×4 lbs.) (118 – 142 lbs.)

This lithe humanoid has bilaterally-patterned stripes and spots across her hairless skin. She scrutinizes you with large dark eyes, her face an impassive mask.

Skindancers thrive in most environments, but prefer coastal settlements, passing as members of other humanoids’ societies. Individualistic, passionate, and curious, they seek unique experiences, art, and culture. Highly gregarious, they take great caution to conceal their true appearances and abilities. Too often, misplaced trust can turn to misunderstanding, fear, and violence. Skindancers remain fiercely protective of their adopted communities, and treasure the rare, unguarded moments socializing with kin.

Little remains of their ancient traditions, lost millennia ago in the hasty perilous flight from their homeworld. It is whispered that many were abducted to this world late in the waning of the last great human empire as a countermeasure to infiltration by aboleth agents. After that empire’s cataclysmic end, the survivors emigrated throughout the remaining regions of humanoid races.

In their natural form, they are wiry, androgynous humanoids, averaging 5-½ feet tall and between 130-150 lbs.; they typically live up to two centuries. Naturally hairless, they retain the skin patterning and eyes of their cuttlefish forebears, with streamlined ears and nose. Children frequently possess at least partial human ancestry, remaining locked in the mother’s natural form until shapeshifting emerges during adolescence.

Skindancers consider faceless stalkers (and their aboleth masters) anathema. They maintain a bitter, undying hatred for the denizens of Leng and intellect devourers for their innumerable horrors and predations.

Skindancer Racial Traits (13 RP)

  • Ability Score Modifiers: Perceptive and graceful, skindancers retain some frailty from their ancient aquatic ancestry. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution
  • Type: Skindancers are humanoids with the sepiidian and shapechanger subtypes.
  • Size: Skindancers are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Base Speed: Skindancers have a base speed of 30 feet.
  • Languages: Skindancers speak Common and their own dialect of Aklo. Skindancers with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following bonus languages: Aquan, Elven, Goblin, Undercommon, Vegepygmy, and any regional tongues. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Senses Racial Traits

  • Low-Light Vision: Skindancers have low-light vision allowing them to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
  • Skindance (Su): [4 RP] At will, skindancers can assume the appearance of a representative example of a Medium humanoid as per alter self, but do not gain any additional senses, movement abilities, natural armor, or bonuses to attributes. If an assumed form possesses natural attacks, the skindancer may only make them using the skindancer’s BAB and iterative attack progression. This ability does not alter gear. The uncomfortable transformation to an assumed form (or reversion to its original form) takes 5 rounds to complete, during which the skindancer is considered staggered. A skindancer remains in an assumed form even while unconscious, but reverts to its natural form 6d4+12 hours after death.

Defense Racial Traits

  • Mental Resistance: Skindancers receive a +2 racial bonus to Will saves.
  • Toxic Ancestry (Ex): [2 RP] Skindancers receive a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saves against spore-based effects, including ones that are non-hostile or beneficial. They also receive a +4 racial bonus to resist fungal-based diseases, infestations, and poisons. Skindancers cannot voluntarily lower this resistance if they so desire. Skindancers are completely immune to russet mold.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

Offense Racial Traits

  • Deadly Flesh (Ex): [1 RP] Each round that a living creature consumes a skindancer’s muscle tissue or fat, it must make a Fortitude save or become poisoned (most animals instinctively recognize the scent and taste). Creatures that do not ingest the skindancer’s flesh are not at risk.
    • Skindancer Flesh ingested; save Fort DC 10 + ½ the skindancer’s Hit Dice + the skindancer’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 3 rounds; initial effect unconsciousness for 1 minute; secondary effect 1d2 Wis; cure 1 save.
  • Weapon Familiarity: Skindancers are proficient with tridents, and they treat any weapon with the word “skindancer” in its name as a martial weapon.
Section 15: Copyright Notice

Wayfinder #7. © 2012, Paizo Fans United; Authors: Thomas Baumbach, John Bennett, Morgan Boehringer, Clinton J. Boomer, Dylan Brooks, Jess Carson, James B. Cline, Will Cooper, Ryan Costello, Jr., Sarah Counts, Paris E. Crenshaw III, Rich Crotty, Ewan Cummins, Matt Drozdowski, Robert Feather, Dawn Fischer, Guy Fox, Caleb T. Gordan, Robert Gresham, Wojciech Gruchala, Eric Hindley, Scott Janke, Michael Kortes, Michael Lane, Thomas LeBlanc, Jeff Lee, Gary McBride, Will McCardell, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Dustin James Nelson, Joseph Prozinski, Matt Rupprecht, Joseph Scott, Liz Smith, Neil Spicer, Russ Taylor, and Margherita Tramontano.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Owen K.C. Stephens, Todd Stewart, and Russ Taylor.

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