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ITTAKKENS

Ittakkens are a race of giant, sentient insects.Their clans can be found inhabiting a widevariety of habitats. The combination of theirnatural intelligence and fortitude grant themthe ability to adapt and thrive in just about anyecological niche.

Their utterly inhuman appearance and cultureoften causes them to be feared and shunned bythe other races, but those who can accept theittakkens’ presence will often benefit greatlyfrom their strength, communal accomplish-ments, and unusual talents.

Personality: From the moment of their birth,ittakkens possess a permanent, supernaturalmental connection to their queen. Although thequeen’s mind may be elsewhere, she is neverfar from her people, and this connection shapesan ittakken’s life and personality. In someways, an ittakken and its queen are like twohalves of the same person. Some ittakken com-pare this telepathic bond to a personal connec-tion with a deity.

Despite this telepathic bond, ittakkens are indi-viduals. A wide range of personalities will befound within any given clan. In rare cases, aqueen will attempt to quash all individuality,distorting the personalities of her people. Suchclans are generally shunned by other ittakkens

and sometimes violently opposed.

Of the ittakkens who venture beyond the soci-ety of their clan, two types are most prominent.Those who are most likely to take up a life ofadventuring are often calm and collected—insome ways even timid. This behavior is a resultof the extreme care they must take in dealingwith other races for fear of hurting them ordamaging physical property. At the otherextreme are ittakkens who use their physicalprowess to bully the “lesser races” aroundthem. These ittakkens are to be feared and areoften the cause of the ittakkens’ poor reputa-tion in many communities. Ittakkens of thisnature often become the targets of good-aligned adventuring parties, rather than theirmembers.

Physical Description: Ittakken workers andwarriors are, on average, 11 feet long at fullextension. Ittakken scouts tend to be slightlyshorter, averaging between eight and nine feetlong. An ittakken’s body is typically jet-blackwith a bluish sheen and is composed of threesegments: the head, the thorax, and theabdomen (in that order, from front to back). Anittakken has six legs: two pairs on theabdomen and a third pair of thoracic legs.

A scout’s wings are usually a translucent

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purple, as long as the ittakken’s body, and halfas wide (with a gentle taper). The wings arelocated on the back of the thoracic region.

Ittakkens can comfortably bend their bodies ata 90° angle between their thorax and abdomen,allowing them to raise their third pair of legs.The manipulators on the end of these limbs canthen be easily used as hands. All six pairs oflegs have manipulators. Some ittakkens havelearned to balance on their front two legs, whileraising their abdomen in order to make four“arms” available.

Ittakkens mature extremely rapidly, becomingfully functioning adults in a single year. This ispossible primarily because of the mental con-

nection to the queen.

Relations: Ittakkensare, as a general rule, areclusive race. Mostittakkens are uncomfort-able beyond the societyof their clans, in nosmall part because theyare not used to dealingwith intelligent creatureswith whom they do notshare some sort of men-tal bond. This attitude isfurther enforced by thefear and distrust theittakkens are met with inmany humanoid com-munities.

Of course, not allhumanoids react withfear or prejudice towardthe ittakkens. Nor are allittakkens harmless mar-tyrs: In many cases,ittakken clans havewaged vicious war onhumanoid neighbors.

Alignment: Ittakkensociety is, as one mightexpect, extremely order-ly, and most ittakkenstend to be either lawfulor neutral. As for goodand evil, the vast major-ity of ittakkens will holdbeliefs that are similar

(no more than one step removed) to theirqueen’s.

Ittakken Lands: Ittakkens can be foundthroughout the world. They are tunnelers, bur-rowing their way beneath the earth. They livein a number of different environments, rangingfrom the great ittakken hill dwellers of theplains, to the stone crawlers of the mountains,to the ice carvers who dwell within the glaciersof the north. Several ittakken communitieseven live in treetop villages in the deep jungles.

Most ittakkens live in a community definedentirely by their clan. The clan is composed ofall the ittakkens who share a telepathic bondwith a particular queen. Some ittakken commu-nities are made up of multiple clans, and thereare even rumors of clanless communities.

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SIttakkens of a clan are either clan sons (mean-ing they were born of the clan’s queen) or clanbrothers (meaning they were born of anotherqueen and have since joined the clan). Clanbrothers are exceedingly rare in most ittakkensocieties.

Ittakken queens give birth to all of theittakkens, who are individually sexless. Thequeens mate only with ittakken kings andalmost never with kings of their own progeny,unless this is necessary due to isolation fromother clans. While ittakken queens are immor-tal and new queens are extremely rare, ittakkenkings live for only two years. At the end of aking’s first year of life (when he is mature), hewill leave the queen’s nest and begin his jour-ney—often accompanied by an honor guard—searching for a queen who will welcome himinto her nest as a mating partner.

Ittakkens are born into one of three castes: theworker caste, the warrior caste, or the scoutcaste. Though they do play some role in defin-ing an ittakken’s life (a member of the warriorcaste, for example, is usually more physicallyadept at fighting than a worker or scout), theydo not define an ittakken’s existence. The onlyexceptions are certain extremely conservativeittakken societies—the societies individualittakkens are most likely to flee. In most com-munities, it is not uncommon to see a warriorittakken working as a blacksmith’s apprenticeor to see a worker serving in the Queen’sGuard.

Religion: For whatever reason, there are nogods of the ittakken race. As a result, manyittakkens do not worship any god. Thoseittakkens who do follow a god are often mem-bers of a clan that has become religious throughits queen. More commonly, however, individ-ual ittakkens find gods in their own ways.Ittakkens who leave the clan society are morelikely to worship a god than those who do not.

Language: The ittakken language is not meantto be spoken by humanoid tongues, and thereverse is also true. The ittakkens have found away around this problem through the use oftheir language pendants.

Names: Like their language, ittakken namesare not truly pronounceable by humanoidtongues. Most ittakkens who find themselves inthe company of other races adopt new names.

Frequently these names will be the mental“taste” or “description” the queen has given theittakken. This name can be extremely literal(Worker Nine, Southern Counter) or relativelyfanciful (Red Delight, Black Madonna, SweetTorrent), depending on both the queen and theittakken in question. In other cases, the ittakkenwill simply choose a name that appeals to it,either one from the culture with which it isinteracting or a random string of appealing syl-lables.

Adventurers: Ittakkens who follow the path toadventure are frequently those whose souls aredrawn by an irresistible wanderlust; their placeis not with the clans but in the world at large.

Some ittakken adventurers are clanless, thosewho have, through one misfortune or another,lost their queen and been unable (or unwilling)to gain a new one. To other ittakkens, theseunfortunates are like cripples who are effec-tively homeless outcasts.

Ittakken Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, –2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma.

• Ittakken base speed is 40 feet when movingon four legs. When moving on six legs anittakken’s base speed is 80 feet. An ittakkencannot perform a charge on six legs unlessperforming an unarmed attack.

• Large: As Large creatures, ittakkens gain a –1size penalty to Armor Class, a –1 size penal-ty to attack rolls, and a –4 size penalty onHide checks. However, they are able to uselarger weapons than humans use, and theirlifting and carrying limits are twice those ofMedium-size characters.

• Telepathy: Ittakkens have a permanent,supernatural mental connection to theirqueen. At a distance of up to 25 miles, theittakken and queen are capable of any sort ofmental exchange. At distances between 25miles and 250 miles, the communicationbetween the ittakken and queen is limited tomessages that could have been sent verbally.Beyond 250 miles, no cogent communicationis possible, although the ittakken is vaguelyaware of the queen’s presence in his mind,and vice versa. The queen would know, forexample, the instant any of her ittakkenswere killed, even if they were more

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than 250 miles away from her. Direct com-munication from one ittakken to another isimpossible, although the queen can serve as aconduit for such communication. This link isnot severed by planar boundaries unless thoseboundaries prevent interplanar magicaleffects. The bond is lost in areas where magicis suppressed or negated (such as an antimag-ic field).

If the mental connection between an ittakkenand a queen is broken or suppressed for anyreason, the ittakken must make a Will save orfall into a catatonic state for 2d10 minutes. Atthe end of that duration, the ittakken maymake another saving throw to see if it canregain consciousness. A new saving throw toregain consciousness can also be made assoon as the connection is reestablished. Anittakken who is suffering from a broken con-nection to the queen must make a new savingthrow every 10 minutes or slip into the cata-tonic state.

The DC for the Will save is as follows:

Distance Saving Throw DC<10 ft. 3511–100 ft. 30101 ft.–1 mile 251–25 miles 2026–250 miles 15251+ miles 10

An ittakken may attempt to voluntarily shutoff the telepathic link. Doing so successfullyrequires a saving throw as if the link had beenbroken. A failure places the ittakken into acatatonic state for 2d10 minutes, and the linkremains in place. An ittakken who has volun-tarily broken its link must make a new Willsave every day; failure indicates that thequeen has reestablished the link.

If the queen wishes to shut off the link, onlya single saving throw is needed. A failureindicates catatonia for 2d10 minutes, afterwhich the link is broken. The queen canattempt to reestablish contact at any time,although the ittakken may choose to resist(prompting daily saving throws).

An ittakken whose link has been broken withone queen may be “adopted” by anotherqueen. A queen can never force an ittakkenwho is not her own to link with her.

The link between queen and ittakken alsogrants the ittakken some limited access to thequeen’s skills. Of course, if the queen isengaged in active communication with anindividual ittakken, she can provide theresults of whatever Knowledge skills she pos-sesses. Even if the queen is not actively com-municating with an ittakken, however, theittakken still gains an advantage to its ownskill checks based on the strength of the men-tal connection as shown in the followingtable:

Distance Skill Check Bonus0–25 miles +226–250 miles +1251+ miles +0*

* Although no bonus is given, the ittaken isstill able to use a skill untrained, even if hewould normally not be able to use that skilluntrained.

• Mental Strength: Due to the telepathic bondwith its queen, an ittakken gains a +2 racialbonus to Will saves against mind-affectingspells and effects.

• Unusual Body Type: Ittakkens generallydon’t wear armor, and those ittakkens whowish to wear it will usually have to have itspecially made. Ittakken armor costs 5 timesas much as normal armor of the same type.

• Unusual Hands: Ittakken manipulators arenot the same as humanoid hands. Ittakkenscan use simple melee weapons and simplethrown weapons without penalty. Anyattempt to use a non-thrown simple rangedweapon or any sort of martial weapon suffersa –4 penalty. This penalty can be overcome ifthe weapon was specifically designed forittakkens (in which case it gives humanoidswho attempt to use it a –4 penalty). Thepenalty can also be overcome if the ittakkentakes the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat forthat weapon.

• Intimidation: Ittakkens gain a +2 racial bonuson their Intimidate checks against humanoids.

• An ittakken character automatically startswith an ittakken language pendant.

• Automatic Languages: Common andIttakken. Bonus Languages: Draconic,

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Dwarven, Gnome, Terran, andUndercommon.

Warrior

• Claws: Ittakken warriors possess razor sharpclaws on their manipulators. A warrior’sunarmed strike damage is 1d6. Unlike normalunarmed strike damage, this damage is notsubdual damage. An ittakken’s Strength mod-ifier is applied as usual to this damage. Ifittakken warriors wish to make unarmedattacks for subdual damage, they must do soas if using a weapon that deals normal dam-age, suffering a –4 penalty on their attackroll.

• Natural Armor: Members of the warrior castehave a +6 natural bonus to their Armor Class.

• Favored Class: Fighter.

Worker

• Digging: Ittakken workers are capable of bur-rowing with a speed of 10 feet. Workers can-not run or charge while burrowing.

• Natural Armor: Members of the worker castehave a +4 natural bonus to their Armor Class.

• Favored Class: Fighter.

Scouts

• Flight: An ittakken scout can fly 60 feet(good).

• Natural Armor: Members of the scout castehave a +2 natural bonus to their Armor Class.

• Favored Class: Rogue.

Ittakken Language Pendant

Just as the humanoid tongue is not made to pro-nounce the language of the ittakkens, so theittaken vocal instrumentation is not made topronounce humanoid languages. In order toovercome this problem, an ingenious ittakkencreated language pendants. A language pendantis powered by the telepathic link with anittakken’s queen; essentially, the queen linksthe ittakken’s mind to the pendant, allowing theittakken to express itself through the pendant’sunique magic. A pendant is usually given to theittakken at a very young age.

An ittakken without a pendant is incapable ofcommunicating in any language other thanIttakken (even if the character has learned otherlanguages). If an ittakken’s connection to thequeen is broken—voluntarily or otherwise—the pendant becomes inert. An ittakken wear-ing a language pendant can speak any languageit knows.

Some ittakken clans eschew the pendants,either deliberately (holding that contact withnon-ittakken races is a corruption of theittakken) or simply because they have notencountered the pendants before. Caster Level:3rd; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, com-prehend languages; Market Price: 500 gp;Weight: 1 lb.

Ittakken Hands

Some ittakkens have learned to balance ontheir front two legs, raising their abdomen inorder to make four “arms” available for use.

Prerequisite: Must be an ittakken.

Benefit: You have four hands. As a move-equivalent action, you can balance on your tho-racic legs, raising your abdomen in order tomake four “arms” available for use. Whenusing this ability to attack with four weapons,you are considered to have one “primary” handand three “off” hands.

Normal: Without this feat, an ittakken charac-ter is limited to using only its thoracic limbs.

Special: If the ittakken possesses theAmbidexterity feat in addition to this feat, theyare considered to have two “primary” handsand two “off” hands, in addition to the otherbenefits of the Ambidexterity feat.

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MAHKIM

Mahkim are a race of humanoid, four-armedswamp-dwellers. The cold-blooded race some-what resembles amphibians (similar to frogs),but their biology is actually closer to that ofreptiles. Mahkim are a deeply spiritual peoplewho are nevertheless willing to wage bloodywar in defense of their homes and families.Enemies who see them merely as simple,nature-loving swamp folk live just long enoughto regret making that mistake.

Personality: To understand mahkim, one mustunderstand the nashan. Put simply, a mahkim’snashan is his clan or extended family unit. Butunlike true family clans, into which a membermust be born or married, nashans are open toall. Any mahkim may join any nashan, but thisis never done lightly. For in mahkim society,nothing is more important than the safety andwell being of one’s nashan.

As a member of a nashan, a mahkim is expect-ed to do whatever is necessary to protect andimprove the lives of every other member of thenashan. This is the focus of the mahkim’s life;he will fight and die to protect his nashan.

Members of one nashan may “adopt” anothernashan. In doing so, the mahkim dedicate

themselves to protecting and serving bothnashans. This is a heavy responsibility, but

it brings honor to the mahkim taking on theresponsibility.

The practice of adopting additional nashansoriginated as a way to ensure peace betweenrival nashans. Today, it still serves this purpose,but adventurous young mahkim are leavingtheir homes to adopt nashans outside ofmahkim society. The elders encourage thepractice, as it brings new allies and resourcesinto their culture.

Physical Description: Mahkim are about thesize and shape of humans but have four armsinstead of two. Mahkim heads are also widerthan those of humans, with wide-set eyes,small noses, no external ears, and oversizedmouths that give them a frog- or turtlelikeappearance. The skin of a mahkim is smoothand hairless, with colors ranging from darkbrown to light green. A mahkim’s skin is usu-ally a mottled mix of two or more shades. Skinpatterns (such as stripes and spots) are commonbut usually centralized on the back, chest, orshoulder area. Specific skin patterns are hered-itary. Mahkim fingers and toes are webbed,though not to the point where it interferes withtheir balance or dexterity. While among theirown kind, mahkim wear little or no clothingsave for belts and sashes with compartmentsfor holding their possessions.

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IMMahkim reach maturity around 20years of age and often live anoth-er 80. They range in height fromfive to six feet tall and weighbetween 120 and 200 pounds.

Relations: Most mahkim preferto live in the company of theirown kind, forming small villagesin swampy areas. Nevertheless,they are good neighbors to thosearound them (regardless of race).If provoked, however, they can beterrifying enemies.

Trade is common betweenmahkim and their neighbors, andmahkim will do anything they canto help their allies in times oftrouble.

Alignment: Mahkim alignmentvaries from one region to another,but tends toward good. Evilmahkim are not unheard of,though they are uncommon.Individual mahkim turn towardsevil for the same reasons that anyone else will do so (greed, power-lust, etc.), while entire villagesoccasionally turn evil as a resultof constant warfare with their ene-mies.

Mahkim Lands: While individ-ual mahkim can be found practi-cally anywhere, their villages aremostly in swamps, the more trop-ical the better. Due to their partlyamphibious nature, mahkim pre-fer to live near water. A village isusually made up of two to sixnashans.

Religion: Mahkim have no patrondiety. Instead, they hold an ani-mistic belief that there are spiritsin every living thing. Mahkim canmake their lives easier by respect-ing these spirits and carrying outtheir wishes. The spirits, and themahkim themselves, are connect-ed through a mystical bond theshamans call “the mist.” It isthrough the mist that the shamanscan work magic.

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Only the shamans (called “keepers of themist”) and their acolytes (called “servants ofthe mist”) can communicate directly with thespirits. The mist speakers request favors fromthe spirits on behalf of the other mahkim andperform whatever tasks the spirits ask in return.

Language: The mahkim language is a gentleone, full of soft vowels and mild consonants.This probably has something to do with theirwide mouths and long tongues. At any rate, thelanguage is no more difficult to learn than anyother humanoid language.

Names: Mahkim are given one name at birthand a second after establishing their place insociety. This second name is usually more of atitle than just an identifier: Names likeStonemaster, Farseeker, and Warleader arecommon. Common first names includeAipham, Lephram, Rhaq, and Mathan.

Adventurers: The most likely mahkim adven-turer is one looking to adopt a nashan outsideof mahkim society. Traditionally, this mahkimseeks out a group of people (such as an adven-turing party) with values similar to his own.After spending time with them, if he feels theywould be a worthy addition, he informs themthat they are his new nashan. On one hand, thisis good for the party, as the mahkim’s loyaltyand courage cannot be questioned. On theother, the mahkim will expect the same loyaltyand courage from the party and will be enragedif it is denied.

Other mahkim adventurers include couriersdelivering goods and information from oneswamp settlement to another, warriors trackingdown an enemy of their nashan, and mistspeakers carrying out the spirits’ strangedemands.

Mahkim Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, –2 Wisdom: Mahkim areresilient and tend to view situations from abroader perspective.

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures,mahkim have no special bonuses or penaltiesdue to their size.

• Mahkim base speed is 40 feet.

• Low-light Vision: A mahkim can see

twice as far as a human in starlight, moon-light, torchlight, and other conditions of poorillumination. They retain the ability to distin-guish detail and color under these conditions.

• +4 racial bonus on Search, Spot, and Listenchecks in swamp or marshy settings: No oneknows the swamp better than the mahkim.

• Exotic Weapons: Mahkim receive the ExoticWeapon Proficiency feat for their racialweapons for free.

• Two-Weapon Fighting: Mahkim receive thisfeat for free.

• Ambidextrous: Mahkim receive this feat forfree.

• Automatic Languages: Common andMahkim.

• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclassmahkim’s fighter class does not count whendetermining whether or not he suffers an XPpenalty for multiclassing.

• Level Equivalent: Class levels +2.

Mist Speaker

Among the mahkim, there are none more high-ly respected than the mist speakers. Theseshamans have a druid-like connection to theswamp, to nature, and to the spirits of the earth,and they are dedicated to understanding themist and to maintaining the balance of nature.

Mist speakers are usually found in the swamps,though it is not uncommon for them to ventureinto the land to right wrongs or to ensure thebalance of nature. Rangers and druids are mostcommonly mist speakers.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a mist speaker, a charac-ter must fulfill all the following criteria.

Race: Mahkim.Animal Empathy: 4 ranks.Wilderness Lore: 9 ranks.Knowledge (nature): 9 ranks.Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st-level divinespells.

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Class Skills

The mist speaker’s class skills (and the keyability for each skill) are are Animal Empathy(Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), HandleAnimal (Cha) Heal (Wis), Intuit Direction(Wis), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Profession(Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), andWilderness Lore (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of themahkim mist speaker prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A mistspeaker is proficient with all simple andmahkim exotic weapons. Mist speakers areproficient with light armor, but not shields.

Spells per Day: A mist speaker continues tocast divine spells as if he were a spellcaster ofhis total character level. When a new mistspeaker level is gained, the character gains newspells per day as if he had also gained a level ina spellcasting class he belonged to before headded the prestige class. He does not, however,gain any other benefit a character of that classwould have gained. If a character had morethan one spellcasting class before he became amist speaker, he must decide to which class headds each level of mist speaker for purposes ofdetermining spells per day when he adds thenew level.

Eyes of the Swamp: With this spell-like abili-ty, a mist speaker who is in a swamp may seeand hear what is happening in any other part ofthe swamp. Eyes of the Swamp works just likethe clairaudience/clairvoyance spell, except themist speaker is considered to be familiar withthe entire swamp. A mist speaker may use thisability once per day per class level. His casterlevel is equal to his character level.

Marsh Beast Companion: Upon becoming amist speaker, the character gains an animalcompanion (as a druid of the same characterlevel), but it must be native to marsh terrain.

Speak with Animals and Plants: At 1st level,a mist speaker may cast speak with animals andspeak with plants once per day. As the mistspeaker advances in levels, he may cast thesespells a number of times per day equal to his

class level. The mist speaker’s caster level isequal to his character level.

Commune with Nature: Beginning at 2ndlevel, a mist speaker may cast commune withnature once per day for every three levels ofmist speaker.

Grub Link: At 7th level, a mist speaker gainsthe ability to telepathically communicate withany shotham mind grubs within one mile. If amind grub has burrowed inside a creature, themist speaker may use it to control the mind ofthat creature. This control is just like dominatemonster as cast by a wizard equal to the mistspeaker’s class level, with one exception:Because the commands are telepathic, there isno need for verbal communication. Controllinga creature in this fashion consumes the grub: itdies at the end of the control duration and doesnot lay its eggs.

Mahkim Weapons

Over years of defending their homes, themahkim have developed several uniqueweapons rarely seen other than in the

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hands of their warriors. The weapons below areall considered exotic weapons. They have nocost, as they cannot be purchased through nor-mal means.

Doloch: A doloch is a weapon specificallydesigned to make the most of a mahkim’s four-armed nature. Two-armed characters trying touse a doloch suffer a –4 on all their attack rolls.Furthermore, using the doloch requires the TwoWeapon Fighting feat.

Individually crafted, each doloch consists offour to eight hard wooden rods connected byleather straps and rotating knobs. Masters ofthe doloch wield the weapon by its woodenknobs, spinning it around in a blur.

Doloch wielders can use the weapon to disarmtheir enemies. When using a doloch, you gain a+2 circumstance bonus on your opposed attackroll when attempting to disarm an opponent(including the roll to avoid being disarmed ifyou fail the disarm). The doloch can also beused as a whirling shield, providing its userwith a +1 shield bonus if the user spends adefensive full action.

Rochas: The rochas is a triple slingshot con-sisting of a single grip and three separateyokes: two branching from the top of the gripand one from the bottom. Elastic swamp rootsconnect the yokes to leather pouches, which arefilled with sling bullets. A mahkim fires arochas as you would a slingshot, but holds the

grip in one hand and pulls back and releasesthree pouches’ worth of bullets with hisother three hands.

The roots essential to the rochas must besoaked in water every three days in order tomaintain their elasticity. Without it, there is a20% chance that one of the roots will snapwhen the weapon is used. This chance increas-es by 20% for each day after the fourth that theroots are not soaked.

Notach: A notach is a pair of long, serrateddaggers with a long strip of leather connectingthe bases of their hilts. Originally a huntingweapon, the notach was used by the mahkim toskewer their prey at range, then slowly reel itin. Today, warriors use the notach to stab theiropponents with one blade, pull them in close,then finish them off with the other blade.

When throwing a notach blade at an enemy,there is a chance that the blade will get stuck inthe opponent. If the weapon hits and the targetfails a Reflex save (DC 10), he is impaled onthe blade’s serrated edge. If the blade is pulledfrom the target (either by the target or thenotach wielder), it does an extra 1d4 points ofdamage. This is a free action. While the targetis impaled on the blade, the wielder may use astandard action and make an opposed Dexcheck to pull the target off-balance.

Traditionally, the mahkim hold the two bladesof the notach in their top two hands and usetheir bottom pair to hold the length of leathercord. Characters without four arms can use thenotach, but have a –2 penalty to their attackrolls. Using a notach requires the Two WeaponFighting feat.

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The Mahkim Mist Speaker

Class Base Fort Ref WillLevel Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Spells per Day1 +0 +2 +0 +2 Eyes of the swamp, +1 level of existing class

marsh beast companion,speak with plants andanimals

2 +1 +3 +0 +3 Commune with nature +1 level of existing class3 +2 +3 +1 +3 +1 level of existing class4 +3 +4 +1 +4 +1 level of existing class5 +3 +4 +1 +4 +1 level of existing class6 +4 +5 +2 +5 +1 level of existing class7 +5 +5 +2 +5 Grub link +1 level of existing class8 +6 +6 +2 +6 +1 level of existing class9 +6 +6 +3 +6 +1 level of existing class10 +7 +7 +3 +7 +1 level of existing class

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Amphibian or Reptile?

Mahkim are neither amphibians nor reptiles,though they have some features of both. Likereptiles, they lay eggs with hard shells (inclutches of 1d6). Their young hatch as tiny,helpless mahkim and not as tadpoles.

Like amphibians, mahkim can breathe under-water through recessed gills, and their skin candry out if it isn’t immersed in water every threedays. For every day past the third that amahkim has not immersed its skin, the mahkimmust make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or lose onepoint of Constitution. These points ofConstitution return at a rate of one per day thatthe mahkim spends at least one hour immersingits skin.

Mahkim are cold-blooded. They are slow andsluggish in cold weather or climates, thoughthey do not hibernate.

Shotham Mind Grub

Tiny Beast

Hit Dice: 1/2d6+1 (2 hp)Initiative: +4 (Dex)Speed: 10 ft., swim 5 ft.AC: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex)Attacks: Bite +1 meleeDamage: Bit 1d4-3Face/Reach: 1/2 in. by 3 in.Special Attack: Burrow, ToxinSaves: Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1Abilities: Str 3, Dex 19, Con 10, Int 1, Wis 12,Cha 6Skills: Hide +14Climate/Terrain: Temperate, warm, and tropi-cal marsh and forestOrganization: Swarm (5–8)Challenge Rating: 1/2

Treasure: NoneAlignment: Always neutralAdvancement: —

Shotham mind grubs are tiny worms with huge,fang-filled mouths. Grubs can typically befound floating on the surface of murky swampwater or dangling from low-hanging tree limbs.Once they successfully bite their prey, theyburrow beneath its skin and secrete toxins thatoverride the victim’s nervous system.Experienced mist speakers may use a telepath-ic connection to the grub to manipulate thesetoxins and control the victim’s mind. Somemist speakers even carry a supply of grubsaround with them (being certain never to be bit)and throw them at their enemies. (Throwinggrubs is a standard ranged attackIf the attacksucceeds, make separate attacks for each grub.)

Combat

A shothan mind grub attacks by jumping at ordropping onto their victims and finding vulner-able spots to bite. They are known to latch ontoclothing and armor, effectively hitching a rideuntil a vulnerability presents itself.

Burrow (Ex): If a grub hits with its bite attack,it begins to wriggle beneath the target’s skin.Burrowing into the skin takes a full round, andthe grub’s AC is 12 while it burrows.

Toxin (Ex): Once under the skin of its target,the grub secretes a toxin that overrides the tar-get’s nervous system. If the target fails aFortitude save (DC 17), he falls unconsciousfor 1d6 hours. While the target sleeps, the grublays 1d10 eggs inside the victim, then dies. Theeggs hatch shortly before the victim awakens.The infant grubs eat their way out of the victim,doing 1d4–2 points of damage each.

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Exotic Weapons—Melee

Weapon Size Damage Critical Range Increment Weight TypeDoloch Medium 1d6 x2/20 10 ft 2 lb. Bludgeoning

Exotic Weapons—Ranged

Weapon Size Damage Critical Range Increment Weight TypeRochas Medium 3d4 x2 50 ft 0 lb. BludgeoningNotach Medium 2d4* x2 15 ft 2 lb. Piercing* 1d4 damage per blade.

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MANNIKINS

The mannikins are a race of self-replicating,intelligent constructs. Created in ages past by along lost race of wizards, the mannikins at firstwere servants, soldiers, and laborers for theirsorcerous creators and masters. Slowly, overmany decades, the intelligence of the manikinsgrew until they were able to organize and throwoff the shackles of their rulers. The creaturesturned on the creators, and that once great raceof wizards plunged into oblivion.

Today, the mannikins reside in the twin citiesof Hinge and Foursquare: one built in themountains, the other on the plains below.Under the governance of the Replicators, aquasi-religious council that jealously controlsthe secrets of creating new mannikins, the con-structs build their armies and defenses, intenton never being subjugated again. Hinge, in thelofty mountains, is off-limits to all but the man-nikins except by special dispensation grantedby the Replicators. Foursquare is an open cityand something of a sanctuary. So strong do themannikins love freedom that they offer asylumto those trying to escape foreign oppression. Ofcourse, those granted sanctuary had best abideby mannikin law or else lose the greatest free-dom of all: life itself.

Personality: Despite their wooden appear-ance and lack of facial expressions, man-

nikins can be quite personable. Much of whatflesh and blood creatures enjoy is alien to them.Mannikins cannot appreciate fine cuisine, per-fumes and aromas, or sex. They can and do,however, appreciate freedom: The ability to doand say and think whatever they want. Sincetheir self-emancipation, the mannikins havetried to create a libertarian utopia where all freeand rational creatures respect the rights of otherfree, rational creatures.

Of course, this idealism is a pipe dream, but themannikins do their best. Many are so con-cerned with respecting the freedom of othersthat they fail to hold any strong opinions aboutanything of importance. Other mannikins haveso elevated the idea of tolerance that they havebecome ruthlessly oppressive of those whothey feel violate supposedly inalienable free-doms. It is widely quipped that many a man-nikin could teach courses in self-righteousness.

Physical Description: Tall and slender andmade entirely out of wood and metal, man-nikins look like humanoid, clockwork people.Their arms, legs, hands, and other body partsare marvels of engineering. Though relativelyclumsy, a mannikin’s four-fingered, articulatedhands are capable of doing whatever a human’scan do.

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SDue to a noticeable uniformity in appearance,mannikins take steps to individualize them-selves from their fellows. Most have their nameor initials carved into their foreheads. Somewear wigs. Those who can afford it have fili-greed designs inlaid on their cheeks and fore-arms. Some mannikins even go so far as topaint “realistic” details on their faces: lipstick,eye shadow, and so on. Of course, each tries todevelop a unique sense of fashion as well,blending different styles of clothing in notice-able, if not flamboyant, colors.

The Replicators produce a quota of “newborn”mannikins every month. Each new mannikin isgifted to a preselected family, which is thenresponsible for the mannikin’s upbringing.Though created at a full adult size, a youngmannikin has an immature mind that must begradually shaped and taught, as is the case withany child. A young mannikin learns quickly,reaching mental maturity in about 15 years.Thereafter, a mannikin can live as long 450years in most cases before his life energies areused up.

Relations: Most races aren’t quite sure what tomake of the mannikins. Dwarves, with theirrigid social structures and conservative nature,tend to find mannikins extremely annoying.Elves and many gnomes are sympathetic to themannikins’ love of freedom. Humans and half-orcs are perhaps the most likely to view man-nikins as potential allies or even friends.

The mannikins, with their emphasis on free-dom and tolerance, claim to treat all racesequally, but this is seldom the case in actualpractice. The strong chaotic bent of the man-nikins tends to make them value their own free-dom and toleration more so than those of oth-ers. Insisting that a mannikin go along to getalong is likely to elicit cries of unfairness. Onthe other hand, not agreeing with a mannikin’spet viewpoints is likely to earn the dissidentscorn or even abuse.

Alignment: Above all, mannikins tend towardchaos. Most are either neutral or good. Evilmannikins, even those that are chaotic, are notlikely to find acceptance amongst their ownkind.

Mannikin Lands: There are only two placesthat mannikins call home: the free cities ofHinge and Foursquare. Aside from the

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Replicators, whose unique sphere of controlmakes them exceedingly influential, there arecountless shifting power centers in both cities.Guilds, associations, and federations form anddisintegrate with great rapidity. Most of themore stable power groups maintain their ownprivate police forces that work to ensure thattheir employers’ rights are more tolerated thanthe rights of others. In Hinge and Foursquare,all residents are equal, but some are more equalthan others.

Both cities are governed by a single parliament.The various power centers ally and break aparton a regular basis, making the parliamentunstable and often ineffective. A PrimeMinister, chosen from the majority coalition’sranks, is the nominal head of the government,but he serves only as long as his coalition canhold the majority position. Various committeeswithin parliament have power to draft legisla-tion affecting most matters civil and military.Due to a constitutional provision, theReplicators have guaranteed majority controlover population issues.

Public corruption is widespread, especiallyamong the magistrates. Justice in Hinge espe-cially is not so blind that she cannot count thenumber of gold coins in a well-placed bribe.Many magistrates are wealthy enough toemploy a court police force. These bailiffs helpincrease court revenues by making frequentarrests for crimes punishable by fine. Some ofthe bolder bailiffs even assess immediate finesthat can be paid in order to avoid arrest.Visitors to Hinge are particularly favored tar-gets of bailiffs, and ignorance of mannikin lawis no excuse.

Social groups among mannikins are chaotic aswell. Marriages are typically viewed as legalcontracts and subject to dissolution if and whenthe contract is no longer satisfactory to one orboth partners. Magistrates are often called uponto arbitrate resulting disputes over property,wealth, and custody of immature mannikins.Initial gifting of a new mannikin to a family isusually celebrated with some sort of semi-pub-lic affair that often seeks the blessing of Tek theLiberator. There is an active system of guildapprenticeships to help parents with the bur-dens of educating their children.

Death in mannikin lands is a somewhatghoulish affair. Mannikins are not subject to

decay the way a normal living creature is.Natural death occurs when a mannikin depleteshis store of animating life energy. When thisoccurs, what is left is basically a statue and theremains are usually treated as such. There areno graveyards in Hinge or Foursquare. Instead,there are “death gardens” in which deceasedmannikins are posed, locked into position, andplaced on display for friends and family mem-bers to visit.

Visitors to Hinge can find themselves in for awild time. Technically, all are welcome, butguests must exercise care. Neighborhoods areoften under the sway of a particular guild orassociation, many of which engage in fiercecompetition with other neighborhoods.Manufactured goods are usually marked with aguild or association logo, and characters wan-dering into the wrong neighborhood with thewrong logo are subject to harassment or worse.When the controlling interests in a given sec-tion of the city also have their own policeforces, competition between neighborhoodscan result in street brawls and hooliganism.

Mannikins in human lands are almost alwaysadventurers. Rarely, a small enclave of man-nikins can be found in a larger human city,busily engaged in nearly any sort of trade oractivity.

Religion: The patron deity of Hinge andFoursquare is Tek the Liberator, a minor god offreedom and commerce. The cult of Tek is oneof those more stable power groups mentionedabove. Priests and agents of Tek work activelyto ensure that the chaotic arena of mannikinpolitics remains chaotic. Being closely alliedwith the Replicators, the priests of Tek enjoysubstantial influence in parliament. Keepingthe parliamentary situation fluid helps keep thecult of Tek near the top of the political foodchain.

The Replicators themselves endorse adherenceto the Source, a sort of mystical, philosophicalsystem of beliefs that revolve around the sup-posed origins of mannikins’ animating lifeenergies. Most disciples of the Source are cler-ics; the laity is a small group. The doctrines ofthe Source are exceedingly esoteric, and fewlay people have the time to master them.

Religious freedom is encouraged in Hinge andFoursquare. There are many foreign cults

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Sactive in mannikin lands, and even a few evilones operate openly, albeit under watchfulscrutiny. A cult with a sufficiently large fol-lowing can find its way into parliament as apower center.

Deity Alignment DomainsTek the Liberator Chaotic neutral Chaos,

Luck, Travel

The Source Any Any two

Language: Mannikins speak their own tongue,a clacking language distantly related toAbyssal. Histories indicate that the mannikintongue is derived from the language of theiroriginal creators, indicating that the long-lostancient race of wizards may have very sinisterorigins indeed. Written Mannikin is based on arelatively complicated runic alphabet, the char-acters of which bear a faint resemblance toInfernal.

Names: Devotees of freedom, there are no con-ventions regarding names. The Replicators,who produce a quota of new mannikins everymonth, decide on each mannikin’s birth name.Given the comparatively small number ofReplicators, there is sometimes a crisis ofimagination when it comes to new names. Italso seems that some Replicators delight inabsurd names. Many mannikins have beennamed after common household items.

Male Names: Cog, Basin, Corrin, Yintalkine.

Female Names: Mantalbusiel, Barrelina,Ocarina, Lantern.

Adventurers: Most mannikins that adventuredo so to better express their freedom and indi-viduality. In Hinge or Foursquare, it is difficultto stand out from the crowd. Many mannikinstravel to tyrannical regimes in order to act asfreedom fighters and partisans.

Mannikin Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –4 Dexterity:Mannikins are quite strong and hardy, but areseldom graceful.

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures,mannikins have no special bonuses or penal-ties due to their size.

• Mannikin base speed is 30 feet.

• Impaired Senses: While a mannikin’s sensesof touch, sight, and hearing are equivalent tothose of a human, they have do not have thesenses of smell or taste.

• +4 natural bonus to AC.

• Mannikins are rather buoyant and gain a +10racial bonus to Swim checks.

• Automatic Languages: Common andMannikin. Bonus Languages: Abyssal,Dwarf, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.

• Living Construct: Mannikins are immune todisease, poison, and petrification. They arenot subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ordeath from massive damage. Mannikins havea hardness of 5. Attacks based on acid, fire,and lightning ignore a mannikin’s hardness,as do attacks judged especially effectiveagainst wood. Mannikins do not eat, drink, orbreathe. They are immune to extremes intemperature due to weather.

• Spell Immunity: Mannikins cannot beaffected by spells such as charm per-

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son that require a humanoid target. Mostspells that require a living target affect man-nikins normally. Mannikins are subject tospells such as repel wood and repel metal orstone but cannot be affected by chill or heatmetal, iron wood, or warp wood. Animatedead cannot affect mannikin corpses.

• Monstrous Race: A mannikin without a char-acter class has 2d10 Hit Dice. A 1st levelmannikin character of any class, therefore,has an additional 2d10 worth of hit points(including any bonuses due to Constitution).

• Natural Weaponry: A mannikin can cause1d6 points of damage with a punch instead ofthe normal 1d3 points of subdual damage.Using its natural weaponry does not provokeattacks of opportunity, as if it possessed theImproved Unarmed Combat feat.

• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass man-nikin’s fighter class does not count whendetermining whether or not it suffers an XPpenalty.

• Level Equivalent: Class levels +4.

Mannikin Juggernaut

A mannikin juggernaut is more than just a war-rior. It is a mighty force, driving deep intoenemy ranks, crashing through defensive for-mations as it presses inexorably toward sometactical goal. Most juggernauts are fighters,although a few are rangers. Mannikin paladinsare rare indeed, and thus a paladin juggernaut isvirtually a thing of legend.

In Hinge and Foursquare, the juggernauts usu-ally form independent cohorts who then selltheir services to the power group they feel mostsympathetic toward. Others work alone aschampions or just hired muscle, as personalpreference dictates. A mannikin juggernaut inhuman lands can often command a stiff salaryas part of some lord or lady’s retinue.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

To qualify to become a mannikin juggernaut, acharacter must fulfill all the following criteria.

Race: Mannikin.Base Attack Bonus: +6.Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Improved Bull Rush.

Class Skills

The juggernaut’s class skills (and the key abil-ity for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int),Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of themanikin juggernaut prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A jugger-naut is proficient with all simple and martialweapons. He can use all types of armor andshields.

Battle Sense: Starting at 2nd level, the charac-ter becomes exceptionally attuned to the chaosof battle and preternaturally alert to danger. At2nd level and above, the juggernaut retains hisDexterity (if any) regardless of being caughtflat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker.This ability is still negated if the juggernaut isimmobilized.

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At 4th level, the juggernaut cannot be flankedas he has learned to react to multiple attackersas easily as a single opponent. A rogue isdenied the ability to sneak attack from the flankunless the rogue is at least four levels higherthan the juggernaut. In this case, the defenseagainst flank attacks is negated for the rogue,and the juggernaut is subject to sneak attacks.

Upon reaching 6th level, the juggernaut gainsan intuitive sense of danger that grants a +1bonus to Reflex saves made to avoid traps. Thebonus increases to +2 at 10th level. A jugger-naut tends to move a great deal during combat,and his danger sense is useful for avoidingnasty surprises such as defensive pit traps.

At 8th level and above, the juggernaut gains anadditional +1 dodge bonus to AC. This stackswith the bonus acquired from the Dodge featand must be used against the same opponentthat the Dodge feat’s AC bonus is appliedtoward.

Battle sense is cumulative with uncanny dodge.If the juggernaut has another class that grantsthe uncanny dodge ability, add the levels of theclasses that grant these two abilities to deter-mine the character’s battle sense ability.

Improved Mobility: For every three full levelsachieved as a juggernaut, the character gains a+1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks ofopportunity caused by moving out of or withina threatened area.

Irresistible Force: When moving at least 10feet before his attack, a juggernaut gains the

following bonuses:

• +4 Strength.

• +2 bonus on attack rolls.

• Treated as one size category larger for deter-mining the effects of a bull rush. In part, thismeans a mannikin can bull rush creatures ofsize Huge or smaller. Furthermore, the jugger-naut is treated as if charging for determiningthe effects of a bull rush but suffers none of thepenalties associated with charging. If the jug-gernaut actually charges, bonuses from thisability do not stack with normal charge bonus-es.

• Immunity to spells or magical effects thatimpede movement such as hold person, paral-ysis, solid fog, slow, and web.

Of course, a moving juggernaut provokesattacks of opportunity as normal but does gainhis dodge bonus to Armor Class due toMobility. A juggernaut can continue to moveand attack as an irresistible force for a numberof rounds equal to 5 plus the character’sConstitution modifier. After this time, all of thebonuses for irresistible force vanish, and thejuggernaut is winded, suffering a –2 penalty toStrength for a like number of rounds.Furthermore, a juggernaut can only become anirresistible force a certain number of times perday, as shown on the table below. Becoming anirresistible force takes no time itself, but thejuggernaut can only do so on his action.

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The Mannikin Juggernaut

BaseClass Attack Fort Ref WillLevel Bonus Save Save Save Special1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Irresistible force 1/day2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Battle sense (Dex bonus to AC)3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Irresistible force 2/day, +1 improved mobility4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Battle sense (can’t be flanked)5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Irresistible force 3/day6 +6 +5 +2 +2 +2 Improved mobility, battle sense (+1 vs. traps)7 +7 +5 +2 +2 Irresistible force 4/day8 +8 +6 +2 +2 Battle sense (+1 dodge bonus)9 +9 +6 +3 +3 Irresistible force 5/day, +3 improved mobility10 +10 +7 +3 +3 Battle sense (+2 vs. traps)