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MAZARON'S NEW PC RACES

by Tim Martin

Here I present several new PC or NPC races for use in an AD&D campaign. The races that follow are patterned after the format presented in The Complete Book of Humanoids. The following races come from the works of science fiction, but can easily fit an AD&D fantasy setting; perhaps they come from a distant part of player's world. Maybe they exist on a different world entirely, reached by spelljamming or through gates in a Planescape-style setting.

The Diliban comes from Gordon R. Dickson's Spacial Delivery and Spacepaw. The Mai and Tsla come from Allen Dean Foster's Voyage to the City of the Dead.. The Sind is from Creature Catalog I in the September 1984 issue of Dragon magazine. The Hurgeon and Urisk are from Creature Catalog II in the February 1985 issue of Dragon Magazine. You can find the Anuchu in the March 1987 issue of Dragon magazine.

ANUCHU

Ability Score Adjustments:	The initial ability scores are modified by a +1 bonus to intelligence and wisdom.
Ability Score Range:
Strength:	4-17
Dexterity:	8-18
Constitution:	4-18
Intelligence:	8-18
Wisdom:	8-18
Charisma:	4-18
Class Restrictions:	Fighter (10), Ranger (12), Cleric (12), Druid (14), Thief (10)
Hit Dice:	Hit dice by class.
Alignment:	Anuchu tend towards Neutral good in alignment, though a PC anuchu may be of any alignment.
Natural Armor Class:	8
Languages:	Their own language and are able to speak halfling, elf, gnomish, and common. They can speak with all canine animals, including domestic dogs, foxes, and wolves.

Role-Playing Suggestions and Background: The anuchu are a race of gregarious, forest-dwelling humanoid canines. Their communities are composed mostly of mound houses covered with an overgrowth of vegetation. The anuchu deal with other humanoids in a friendly manner, though they mostly prefer the company of other anuchu to that of elves, dwarves, humans, or halflings. Similarly, most humanoid races find the anuchu talkative and perhaps a bit arrogant as well.

Anuchu have orange fur covering much of their torso, except for white fur on their chest, hands, muzzle, and feet. They have reddish-brown eyes, pointed ears with black tips, brown padded palms and soles, black lips, sharp canine teeth, and a mane of long red hair. They often wear their manes in braids or ponytails. Most humans who see them think of them as the "fox-people."

Popular dress includes tunics, cloaks, and so forth of green, gray, or blue coloration. The average lifespan of an anuchu is 140 years.

An anuchu PC will be eminently at home in the forest or in a woodland setting, and vastly prefer it to any other terrain. They will feel somewhat exposed in more open terrain, though are loathe to show their discomfort.

Anuchu are quite proud of the achievements of their race and the vast lore of plants, animals, ecology, astronomy, and weather they have built up. They love to pontificate for hours on any chosen subject, and like nothing better to expound on this wildflower or that bird species. The fact that good amounts of their information is wrong or myth at best does not seem to deter the anuchu in the slightest. In fact, when they see they have a ready audience they will actually make information up so as to appear all the more impressive.

The fox-people are excellent woodsman, and unbeatable companions to have in forests. They make exceptional rangers and druids, and are highly adept at avoiding making noise in the forest, finding poorly marked trails, eating the right mushrooms, and finding sources of water. Anuchu generally know their local woodlands up to several tens of miles out with extreme accuracy, down to individual trees, the names of local predators, and when certain plants bloom.

Anuchu often come across as arrogant. Knowing as they are in woodland lore and forest survival skills, they tend to undervalue the input of other races, even elves. They take affront at being corrected on some woodland lore point, particularly in front of others, and are aghast when others don't immediately seek their learned advice on something related to fighting, traveling, surviving, or adventuring in the forest.

Anuchu are strangely superstitious in some ways, and are loathe to kill or harm anything that has red, orange, or orange-red fur. They will never kill a red fox or a red squirrel, including the sentient kercpa. Humans with red hair that are encountered are a source of wonder to the fox-people, and if one makes his or her way to a anuchu village they are likely to be an instant celebrity.

Special Advantages: The anuchu can speak with most canine animals, and generally on very friendly terms with local canines, particularly wolves.

Anuchu have Darkvision up to 70 foot range, and a keen sense of smell up to 50 foot range. In natural surroundings, they can move silently, surprising on a 1-4 on 1d6. They are proficient bow men, and are +2 to hit with normal bows.

Special Disadvantages: None

Monstrous Traits: Appearance.

DILBIAN

Ability Score Adjustments:	The initial ability scores are modified by a +3 bonus to strength and a +2 bonus to constitution. A ??1 penalty is made to intelligence and wisdom.
Ability Score Range:
Strength:	12-19
Dexterity:	4-17
Constitution:	13-19
Intelligence:	4-15
Wisdom:	4-15
Charisma:	4-16
Comeliness:	4-16
Perception:	4-17
Alignment:
Class Restrictions:	Fighter (14), Cleric (8), Druid (8), and Thief (14)
Hit Dice:	Hit Dice by class. In addition, they receive 10 bonus hit points at first level of experience.
Alignment:	Dilbians tend toward good and neutral alignments. Chaotic good is the most common, though all alignments are seen. A PC Dilbian can be of any alignment.
Natural Armor Class:	5
Languages:	Dilbian and Common

Role-Playing Suggestions and Background: Native to the planet Dilbia, the Dilbians have spread to other worlds via Sigil and other conduits. They are often found as laborers, farmers, and adventurers.

Dilbians are extremely good humored, friendly beings, given to celebration and fellowship, boasting, boisterous games, and practical jokes. They are essentially peaceful, despite their bear-like physique and eight to nine feet in height, and will take pains to avoid unnecessary conflict. However, because their avoid fights with such care, perhaps conscious of their huge power, when they do get into a fight they don't hold back. Dilbians are famous for their duels and their blood feuds, which can last generations.

Fiercely individualist, they nonetheless have a rigidly defined set of laws and codes governing their lives, even off world. At home, these laws and codes are administered by clan elders. Paradoxically, while Dilbians are devoted to the letter of the law, they feel it their "duty" to twist the spirit to the extreme. Many a Dilbian tavern tale is filled with heroes who got away from seemingly breaking the law by just such twists.

This unspoken flexibility of the code is responsible for the stability of Dilbian society. It also causes problems when Dilbians fall under another race's laws or enter into contracts with them.

Special Advantages: Dilbian fists are huge, and can inflict 1-8 hit points of damage each. Dilbians are fast movers, and once a day for 1-4 rounds can move four times their normal movement rate of 12. They do not however get extra attacks.

Special Disadvantages: Take damage as large creatures. Roll Dexterity when handling a fragile or small object. If the Dexterity Check fails, roll a normal blow on the item save table to keep from smashing it (if fragile) or dropping the object (if small), possibly then causing a falling damage save roll as well.

Those shaking a Dilibans hand might have their hand crushed; for 1-4 rounds afterward if their strength is below 17 they suffer a ??1 penalty to dexterity checks.

Monstrous Traits: Appearance; they resemble bear-like men, covered in fur. Their faces are more drawn though than that of a typical bear. Huge strength can result in clumsiness at times.

HURGEON

Role-Playing Suggestions and Background: Hurgeons are small creatures that resemble hedgehogs, though they walk erect on hind feet and have hands for forepaws. They are dark brown in color and have bright brown eyes.

Hurgeons live deep in woodland areas far from civilized places, and they make their burrows in the soil beneath the largest trees. The burrow entrances are so skillfully camouflaged with flowers and leaves that only spells or devices that detect invisible objects will locate them. Hurgeons gather local nuts, fruits, and berries, and several types of edible roots for their meals. Their vegetarian and inoffensive natures allow them to make friends with local woodland creatures and make arrangements for mutual assistance with them in times of need.

Hurgeons are tool-users and construct elaborate underground dwellings with numerous rooms branching off from the main tunnel. Work aprons and belts made from leaves or softened bark are often worn.

The only contact the hurgeons have with other humans or demihumans is nearly always through sylvan elves and druids (who love and respect the "hedgehog folk") or humans lost in the woods. Some wanderers in deep forests claim to have witnessed hurgeons performing a springtime dancing ritual in woodland clearings, forming circular paths that are called "faerie rings."

A hurgeon PC will likely be a gentle soul, and not overly aggressive. They will however fight vigorously to defend their homes, their kind, forests, woodland creatures, faerie, and their friends. They are shy and retiring, and quite conscious of their small size (1 foot in height).

Special Advantages: Hurgeon are proficient with slingshots, which they can use twice a round and has an 80 yard range with no range penalties (doing however 1 point of damage per hit).

They may use animal friendship, invisibility to animals, faerie fire, locate animals and plants, and pass without trace as often as they desire, one spell per melee round, at the 6?? th?? level of ability.

They may cast an entangle spell once per day at the 6??th?? level of effect.

Special Disadvantages: Hurgeon are tiny, and weapons must be specially made for them, and generally inflict only one-third normal damage.

Monstrous Traits: Appearance; size (1 foot tall).

New PC Races page 2 >