Dalets (8 RP)

Dalet – By Bonnie Graves & Samurai Sheepdog, used with permission

The dalet race is an offshoot, or cousin, to otyughs. Unlike their dastardly kin, dalets prefer to live quietly, surviving on the garbage and corpses they can scavenge. Long ago, the race sold itself out as street sweepers and cleaners of public areas. They are rarely seen and even less likely to be interacted with by most beyond those looking for some information related to the area or the people therein.

Physical Description A dalet, or blorp as the race calls itself, resembles a cross between an otyugh and a toad. They are squat, with slimy, somewhat amorphous skin and four beady eyes placed over a round protrusion that acts as both a nose and a mouth. Because of their natural shape, dalets find it difficult to wear armor, even when magically sized for them.

Society: Dalet society is a matriarchy wherein the queen of the hive births the children until she dies and is consumed by her successor. The males and non-queen females act as drones who leave their home in search of refuse to consume and turn into energy for the rest of their kin upon return. Some races have recently taken to adapting the energy created by dalets into small power sources and spell components. A single dalet would take its entire lifespan to create enough energy on its own to sell or otherwise take advantage of.

Relations: Most races find dalets repulsive, but accept them for the tasks they perform. Those who get to know a dalet find a surprisingly intelligent being who is always willing to help a creature that would call it friend.

Alignment and Religion: Dalets worship their queen, or a deity the queen worships, almost by default. They rarely decide on their own to follow a particular religion. Most dalets are neutral, but can adopt the alignment of those with whom they interact most.

Adventurers: Dalets adventure when their food source runs out or they are expelled from an area by creatures believing them to be otyughs. Because of how other creatures tend to ignore them, they make good rangers and rogues. The dalet’s natural toughness may lead it to become a monk or kineticist.

Male Names: Fu, Gar, Glorg, Plaps, Thorp
Female Names: Bage, Bloop, Dross, Junk, Trine

Random Starting Ages
Adulthood Intuitive1 Self-Taught2 Trained3
6 years +1d4 years
(7 – 10 years)
+1d6 years
(7 – 12 years)
+2d6 years
(8 – 18 years)

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

Random Height and Weight
Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
2 ft. 10 in. +2d6 in. 60 lbs. +(2d6×1 lbs.)

Standard Racial Traits

dalets usually have the following racial traits.

  • Ability Score Modifiers: Dalets are tough and smarter than the average human, but disliked for their appearance and lifestyle. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.
  • Type: Dalets are aberrations.
  • Small: Dalets are Small creatures gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
  • Slow Speed: Dalets have a base speed of 20 ft.
  • Expansive (Ex): As a standard action, a dalet can fill itself with air for a number of minutes each day equal to its Constitution modifier. Doing so increases the dalet’s size to Medium. This change in size is identical to an enlarge person spell, except it does not modify the dalet’s ability scores or weight. It also increases the natural reach of the dalet’s tentacles to 10 ft. The effect’s duration does not need to be consecutive, but is spent in 1 minute increments.
  • Languages: Dalets begin play speaking Common and Aklo. dalets with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon.

Defense Racial Traits

  • Amorphous Skin: A dalet has a natural armor bonus equal to 2 + its Constitution modifier. dalets have developed this natural defense because they are unable to wear manufactured armor of any kind. It is believed some dalets have learned to enchant their hides in the same way a wizard might enchant a breastplate.

Offense Racial Traits

  • Consume (Ex): A dalet that begins its turn with a smaller opponent pinned can attempt a grapple combat maneuver check. If it succeeds, the dalet swallows its prey.
    A swallowed creature can try to cut its way free with any light slashing or piercing weapon (the amount of cutting damage required to get free is equal to 1/10 the dalet’s total hit points), or it can just try to escape the grapple. The armor class of the dalet’s interior is 10 + 1/2 its natural armor bonus, with no modifiers for size or Dexterity. If a swallowed creature cuts its way out, the wound closes behind it and the dalet can use consume again on its next turn. If the swallowed creature escapes the grapple, success puts it back in the dalet’s grapple, where it may be swallowed again.
  • Tentacles: A dalet has two tentacles which act exactly as one would expect arms to work. It gains no natural racial attacks with these tentacles. When enlarged, the tentacle’s natural reach becomes 10 ft.

Senses Racial Traits

  • Darkvision: Dalets have darkvision 60 ft. (they can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.)

Alternate Racial Traits

The following racial traits can be selected in place of the typical dalet racial traits.

  • Inflexible (Ex): Some dalets lack the capacity to fill themselves with air, but have developed nodules on their tentacles to compensate. They gain 2 natural slam attacks made with their tentacles that each deal 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage on a hit. This ability replaces expansive.
  • Magic Eater (Su): A dalet that begins its turn under the effects of a spell or ability can use a full-round action to attempt another saving throw with a bonus equal to its Intelligence modifier. The dalet can do this even if it would normally be prevented from doing so. This racial trait replaces consume.
  • Semisolid (Ex): dalets can sometimes dry out, losing their naturally slick coating. They receive a +1 natural armor bonus and can wear manufactured armor. This racial trait replaces amorphous skin.

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

  • Alchemist: Add +1/4 to the alchemist’s natural armor bonus when using the character’s mutagen.
  • Bard: Add a +1/2 bonus on Bluff checks to lie and a +1/2 bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information.
  • Fighter: Add +1/3 (or +1/5 with semisolid) to the fighter’s natural armor. At a total of +4 or higher, the character counts as wearing light armor for the purpose of armor training. At +7 or higher, he counts as wearing medium armor, and at +10 or higher, he counts as wearing heavy armor.
  • Investigator: Increase the total number of points in the investigator’s inspiration pool by 1/3.
  • Kineticist: Add +1/4 to the kineticist’s natural armor bonus when the character has at least 1 point of burn.
  • Monk: Add a +1/4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to grapple or trip.
  • Oracle: Add +1/2 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of the oracle’s curse ability.
  • Ranger: Add a +1/2 on Stealth checks while motionless and on opposed Perception checks.
  • Rogue: Add a +1/2 on Stealth checks while motionless and on opposed Perception checks.
  • Swashbuckler: Add +1/6 to the swashbuckler’s nimble bonus.
  • Witch: Add +1/4 natural armor bonus to the AC of the witch’s familiar.

Racial Archetype

The following racial archetype is available to dalets:

Dalet Spell – Instant Junk Golem

School transmutation (creation); Level sorcerer/wizard 9; Domain trash 9

CASTING

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a broken item worth at least 2 gp)

EFFECT

Range Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one or more junk golems
Duration 1 round/level (D)

DESCRIPTION

This spell draws in up to 25 lbs. of debris per level within range and within your line of effect and uses it to construct 1 junk golem per 2 levels. The golems appear anywhere within range and act immediately, on your turn. Once created, the golems can leave the range of the spell, but can only be given commands while in range.

As a free action on your turn, you can direct up to 3 golems not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions. You can also direct up to 3 golems as a move action, or any number of golems as a full-round action. Once directed, the golems perform their task until you direct them again, they complete the task, or the spell’s duration runs out.

Once the spell ends, the golems disintegrate, destroying the debris used to construct them. Any remaining debris falls to the ground in collected piles distributed evenly between the golems.

Trash Domain

Dalet clerics can choose trash as a domain, gaining access to leftover magic discarded by other spellcasters.

Granted Powers: You can recycle the magic that remains after others have used it to give yourself power.

Magical Resurgence (Sp): You gain the ability to copy the magical affects of other creatures for up to a number of rounds each day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. When a creature you can see and hear within 30 feet of you casts a spell of a level you can cast with a duration greater than instantaneous, you can use a standard action on your next turn to replicate that effect, choosing new targets as appropriate. The duration of your effect lasts half as long as the original (minimum 1 round), to a maximum of your rounds of magical resurgence. You can end the replicated effect early as a free action.

Instantaneous Resurgence (Sp): At 8th level, you can use magical resurgence for 2 additional rounds per day. In addition, you can spend 1 round of your magical resurgence to copy the effect of an instantaneous spell cast since the end of your last turn by a creature that you can see and hear within 30 feet of you. The effect is only 50% functional, dealing half damage or gaining a 50% chance to fail (if non-damaging).

Domain Spells: 1stray of sickening, 2ndtouch injection, 3rdcontagion, 4thblight, 5thrusting grasp, 6thharm, 7threpulsion, 8thhorrid wilting, 9thinstant junk golem.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Book of Many Things, © 2018,Samurai Sheepdog; author Kevin Glusing.

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