Rana

Rana have an awkward relationship with their parent races; they are a source of pride to the ophiduan, and yet are marginalized for being brutes. The lizardfolk kneel before their psionic prowess, but do not—and in many cases cannot—understand them. Though rana are not often lonely, they are normally frustrated, which, given their background, can be understandable.

Ophiduan culture can be extremely demanding, especially to those who lack psionic power or who cannot seem to develop it past a certain point. Some ophiduans who can’t handle the pressure leave to find success in another culture; often, they turn to the primitive lizardfolk, where their psionic prowess grants them power and influence beyond their wildest dreams. These psionic rulers typically take a mate from their new culture, and rana (“frogs”) are the result—neither as mighty as lizardmen, nor as psionic as ophiduans. Rana have trouble fitting in, at times.

Appearance

The bloodlines that create rana combine awkwardly: they resemble reptilian humans in many ways, with overlapping scales, a mouth full of sharp teeth, wide eyes, and webbed toes. Most rana are raised in swamps and dress in clothing they can easily swim in (or shed), with only those few who have interacted with more civilized races wearing armor. Rana may score their scales into scar-like patterns, and sometimes color or dye these marks to make tattoos of a sort. This is especially common in rana who follow the path to psionic power, as the lizardfolk they dwell amongst recognize these tattoos as a sign of the rana’s abilities.

Demeanor

Rana spend their whole lives with no one to really talk to; lizardfolk are not as intelligent as they are and in any event lack the inherent psychic prowess that defines the rana, while ophiduans hold the rana up as a sign of their own racial superiority and then neglect them, shunting them into the fringes of ophiduan society. This can make the rana bitter, though more often it’s simply an ongoing frustration, one that can drive them out of their homes to seek those they can converse with as peers.

Rana actually find a lot of success in other humanoid cultures, once their unusual appearance is accepted. They can flower into satisfied, hardworking citizens if given the chance to interact with true peers. After spending at least an entire childhood with no one to really talk to, it can be hard to shut a rana up, especially about something they’re passionate about. Rana often seek out and join guilds, knightly orders, and psionic academies and display a fierce loyalty to their associations.

Backgrounds

When asked about how they grew up, most rana will ask you to imagine the following: from a very young age, you had to repeat everything you said in simpler terms, no matter who you were talking to. That’s the experience most rana have from the age they learn to speak onwards because they are, most often, raised among lizardfolk. Not having to talk down to everyone they meet is a novel concept to the rana when they meet other cultures, and it can take some getting used to for the rana.

Rana tend to be survivors, if only because they’re raised in primitive tribes. While lizardfolk are not particularly cruel, they do have concerns like food, water, shelter, wandering monsters and sometimes adventuring parties. These threats give rana an early taste of the cruelties of life, and they learn to sleep with a hand on a weapon in case they need to rise and defend themselves. Rana take the protection of their families and loved ones extremely seriously, and that attitude extends to the organizations they join or are employed by.

Adventures

Many rana teach themselves psionic powers, and when they reach the point where self-teaching isn’t enough, leave their tribes. Others get tired of not having anyone to talk to (or being pushed around by ophiduans) and leave for greener pastures in much the same way their parents did. Both seek out the adventuring lifestyle for the chance at wealth with which to establish themselves and the opportunity to amass power. Others join militaries or knightly orders that send them adventuring, and quite a few discover that they just love traveling and take to adventuring because it pays the bills.

Rana trend towards psionic classes, with barbarian and oracle taking a close second place. Psychic warriors and soulknives are especially common, with members of the aegis class being comparatively rare because of the emphasis in lizardfolk culture on killing power, rather than defense, in warfare. Rana respect great warriors but tend to prefer spending their company either with fellow psionics or those with whom they can hold an interesting conversation; if they wanted machismo, they could have stayed at home.

Racial Traits

Ability Score Adjustments

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom: Rana are strong and tough, effective brutes. They are brash and immature at times, however.

Size

Medium: Rana are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Type

Humanoid (psionic, reptilian): Rana are humanoid creatures with the psionic and reptilian subtypes.

Other Racial Traits

Speed: Rana have a base speed of 30 feet. They also have a swim speed of 30 feet, can move in water without making Swim checks, and always treat Swim as a class skill

Naturally Psionic (Ps): Rana gain the Wild Talent feat as a bonus feat at first level. If a rana takes levels in a psionic class, he instead gains the Psionic Talent feat

Poison Resistant (Ex) Rana gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.

Scales (Ex) Rana skin is hardened with scales that increases their natural armor bonus by +1.

Charged Scales (Ps): Rana increase their natural armor bonus by +2 during any round in which they have spent at least 1 power point

Underdeveloped Claws (Ex) Hooked claws on each hand are too soft to cause harm but grant the Rana a +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks and to CMB when performing disarm combat maneuvers.

Enhanced Disarming (Ps): Rana can expend their psionic focus to increase their bonus to disarm by +2, plus 1/2 their character level until the end of their turn.

Languages: Rana begin play speaking Common, Ophiduan, and Draconic. Rana with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aquan, Dwarven, Elven

Alternate Racial Traits

Cliffhangers (Ex) Some rana hail from mountainous regions. These resemble geckos and have a climb speed of 20 feet. This racial trait replaces underdeveloped claws and swim speed.

Colorborn (Ex) Some rana’s natural psionic ability works to hide them. They gain a +5 racial bonus on Stealth checks. This replaces naturally psionic.

Mind’s Bite (Ps): Some rana have the capacity to mimic their parents bite instead of augmenting their lizardfolk claws. These rana may, once per day as a swift action, manifest bite of the wolf as a psi-like ability. This replaces enhanced disarming.

Favored Class Options

Aegis: Add +1/4 to the aegis’ customization points.

Barbarian: Add +1/4 to the barbarian’s natural armor bonus while raging.

Bard: Increase any morale bonuses granted by the bard’s bardic performances by +1/4.

Cryptic: Add +1/6 of a new die to the cryptic’s disrupt pattern ability.

Dread: Add +1/4 damage to the dread’s devastating touch.

Marksman: Add +1/6 to the marksman’s favored weapon bonus.

Psion: Add +1/4 on manifester level checks to overcome power resistance.

Psychic Warrior: Add +1/2 to the duration of any psychometabolism powers the psychic warrior manifests with a range of personal and a target of you with a normal duration of 1 round/level.

Stalker: Add +1/4 racial bonus to Stealth checks.

Sorcerer: Add one spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast.

Soulknife: Add a +1/2 to the soulknife’s CMB when performing a disarm or trip maneuver.

Tactician: Add +1/3 to the daily uses of the tactician’s coordinated strike ability.

Vitalist: Add +1/6 dice to the vitalist’s transfer wounds ability.

Wilder: Reduce the chance of suffering psychic enervation by (1/3)% (maximum 5% reduction).

Wizard: Gain 1/6 of a wizard bonus feat.

Zealot: +1 power point.