Litorians

Litorians are bestial, honorbound hunters. Usually found roaming open grasslands far from civilization, litorians only rarely separate from their tribes. Unlike members of other races, only the unique individual litorian interacts with other species.

Roleplaying Litorians

Litorians are impressive in stature and in their honorable nature. Anyone who calls them cat-people doesn’t understand them at all. With due respect to cats, these are not aloof, self-interested felines, but proud warriors and hunters who are principled and thoughtful in their actions. They ascribe high importance to the well-being of their allies, their families, and their people.

Also, do not dismiss them simply as primitive hunters. Litorians have been around as long as humans or faen and know much about those races and the cities they build. The litorians, however, have rejected the ways of other races to embrace their own.

Litorians are noble and value personal honor very highly. They also closely guard their image in society. Litorians teach their children that to be caught in a lie, to be seen as a failure, or to be called a coward are all fates as bad as death. Some litorians take this ideal to mean almost never speak, attempt only what one is good at, and never turn from a fight, no matter what the odds. These points of view, however, border on the extreme. Most litorians realize that intent holds more importance than action. Abandoning a fight is not cowardly when one has no chance of winning. There is no shame in failing at an impossible task. And a statement is never really a lie if you believe it when you say it.

Other things, however, can shame a litorian as well: associating with honorless people, betraying a friend, dishonoring your parents, failing to repay a debt—or worse, failing to recognize when you are in someone’s debt. One who saves the life of a litorian usually finds that litorian swearing to aid him in a great task. Litorians have a strong sense of lifedebt and will go to great lengths to repay their saviors. When you play a litorian, carefully consider your actions. When you make a friend, stick by that friend no matter what. When you make an enemy, strive against that enemy with all your might.

Litorians are most often unfettered, totem warriors, oathsworn, or greenbonds. They are less frequently champions, akashics, witches, ritual warriors, and mage blades. Litorians rarely become warmains, magisters, or runethanes. Of course, it’s certainly possible—even likely—that there exist exceptional litorians who gird themselves in heavy armor, spend months studying massive tomes on magic, and live their lives in the crowded cities of the land. Exceptions simply prove the rule.

Personality: Litorians are thoughtful and quiet until provoked past their limit. Once angered, they become savage and brutal, almost incapable of showing mercy.

Litorians love the outdoors, good food, and well-considered stories (not boastful or exaggerated ones). They have a deep sense of personal honor—personal in that it’s not about “saving face” but being true to oneself. A litorian will not compromise his morals for fear of losing his own self-value, even if this makes him appear strange or foolish to others, and even if it means making a choice others might not consider the best one. All litorians develop their own set of morals and ethics, although some principles remain true across most members of the race. Because they highly value both honor and life, for example, their need to repay a lifedebt is very strong.

Physical Description: Litorians are taller and more muscular than humans. Litorian bodies ares covered in light brown hair, and their faces are clearly feline in appearance with a pronounced snout, a flat, catlike nose, and sharp teeth. They have dark eyes with narrow pupils. Manes of brown hair surround the heads of males. Most people notice a thick, almost musky scent around litorians, but few think it unpleasant.

Litorians mature much faster than humans, but they have a life span of similar length.

Relations: Litorians have little history with most other races, except giants, whom they respect but do not understand. Though they have shared the same lands with humans for centuries, the two races usually keep their distance. Litorians and faen only rarely meet, but litorians are often affectionately entertained by faen ways.

Litorians often find themselves at odds with sibeccai and—of all the other races—are probably the least likely to distrust the dracha outright.

Outlook: Litorians hold concepts of personal freedom quite dear. They believe in only a very loose organizational structure from their tribal upbringing. Strength and respect govern their tribes, not law. Litorians find the concept of preconceived, delineated parameters of right and wrong difficult to understand; they are much more likely to judge situations on a case-by-case basis. Their choices stem from their sense of honor and respect for others. They are very rarely selfish or cruel.

Litorian Lands: Litorians are nomads, but to call their wandering random shows a profound misunderstanding of their culture. They subtly control the open grasslands upon which they wander: Their power and cunning makes them clear masters of the region they inhabit. No one passes through the plains or savannah where they live without their knowledge—and, therefore, their leave.

Religion: Litorians have no concept of worship and see little need for ritual. They simply do not understand or crave the need to trust in a higher power. When confronted with proof of a powerful being’s might, a litorian grants respect, but not reverence.

Language: The complex Litorian language proves difficult for humans and many others to speak, although giants find it easier. It is a tongue full of deceptive subtlety, and few nonlitorians attempt to master it. Litorian has an alphabet of its own, but by the standards of other races, its written form is fairly crude and basic. Some litorian tribes have taken up Giant script to write their own language, but few consider it worth the effort.

Names: The tribe gives all litorians names that carry a special meaning in their own tongue. These names are then transliterated into Common for use by others who have difficulty with Litorian speech. Here are some sample names:

Litorian Male Names: Charnaset, Chron, Malethar, Rastor.

Litorian Female Names: Marel, Rann, Sorret, Yintra.

Adventurers: Litorians away from their tribe are usually hunters, mercenaries, or members of another profession that allows them to use both their outdoor instincts and their natural strength and agility. Sometimes intimidating to members of other races, litorians often find acceptance and friendship among adventurers—many of whom are loners or wanderers themselves.

Favored Drink: Water or whiskey; Favored Food: Meats; Favored Weapon: Clubs (especially litorian warclubs) and maces (or bolas).

Litorian Racial Traits
 * Litorians are strong, fast, and tough, enjoying a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity but a –2 racial penalty to Wisdom.
 * Litorian base speed is 30 feet.
 * Medium: As Medium creatures, litorians have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
 * Low-Light Vision: Litorians can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They also retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
 * Automatic Languages: Common and Litorian.
 * Bonus Languages: Any.
 * Litorians gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Listen, Search, Spot, and Survival checks.
 * Litorians always gain Knowledge (litorians) as a class skill.
 * Racial Levels: Litorians can take a few levels in “litorian” as a class to develop their racial qualities more fully.

Litorian Levels

Litorians can take up to three levels in “litorian” at any time. Not all litorians, however, take racial levels (or all three of them).

Hit Die: 1d8

Skill Points at 1st Character Level: (2 + Intelligence bonus) × 4.

Skill Points at Higher Levels: 2 + Intelligence bonus.

“Class” Skills: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (any) (Int), Jump (Str), Knowledge (litorians) (Int), Search (Int), Sneak (Dex), and Survival (Wis).

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Litorians with levels only in litorian (no actual class levels) are proficient in the use of all simple weapons and light armors and shields.

Scent (Ex): same as Scent Tracker Spell

The Evolved Litorian

Tenebrian evolution causes a litorian to grow 3 to 4 inches taller on average. The individual’s shoulder’s broaden, as does the chest. The litorian’s fur lightens and lengthens, and the mane recedes so that it is only slightly longer than the hair on the rest of the body. The litorian’s teeth elongate, particularly the incisors, so that they protrude out of the mouth slightly when it is closed.

Evolved litorians get stronger, faster, and tougher, and their bite becomes more dangerous. Eventually, their claws lengthen to give them more natural weapons, and they learn to spring into combat with great ferocity.

Evolved Litorian Claws (Ex): Litorian claws on both hands become usable natural weapons at 6th level. They inflict 1d8 points of damage. The litorian can make off-hand attacks if he wishes (using the normal penalties). As with any melee weapon, the litorian adds his Strength bonus to any attack and damage rolls made with the claws (use half Strength bonus for damage bonuses to off-hand attacks).

Evolved Litorian Pounce (Ex): The 6th-level evolved litorian can attempt a charge attack and still make a special full attack with his bite and claws, or with his bite, one claw, and one weapon (making only one attack with the weapon even though normally he would have iterative attacks due to his high base attack bonus).