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Redcap Racial Write Up and Progression

by Jamie Baty

Redcaps are the most harmful of the Faeries, seeking to vent their malice and hate on mortals and other living creatures.

Personality: Redcaps are solitary and evil creatures bent on tormenting and killing anything that ventures into its reach.
They use stealth, traps and ambushes as a matter of course, and will often try to kill victims while they sleep- although they are vicious, they are also cowardly. They will harass those it cannot attack from ambush, and wait for an opportune time to strike. Among the ruins they call home, they will jealously safeguard their treasures.

Physical Description: Redcaps appear as thickset, gnarled old brownies; as exiles from fairykind, they suffer the cosmetic effects of age, though they otherwise are immortal just as other Faeries. Their teeth are long and protruding, and their scrawny fingers are tipped with long, claw-like nails. Peering out from behind their long, grisly, tangled, grey hair are bloodshot eyes filled with malice, anger and hate. They often wear sturdy, iron boots, carry a longspear, and always have atop their heads with a red cap.
Redcaps are proficient with simple weapons, preferring to use longspears and daggers. They may wear armour only if proficient with it from class levels.

Relations: Redcaps are exiles from fairy society; typically they once had humans entrusted to their care, but they were maliciously negligent. They hate all mortals- humans, demi-humans, and humanoids alike, and they will even vent their malice on common animals. They are not fond of their Fairy kin either, but will harass them rather than use outright violence at first.

Alignment: Redcaps are almost always chaotic, and are often chaotic evil.

Redcap Lands: Redcaps can be found throughout the Known World, usually residing in or near forests. Most redcaps haunt ruins, especially castles and sites of former tyranny. They use numerous traps to safeguard their treasures.

Religion: Redcaps do not worship the Immortals, and have very little interest in them otherwise.

Language: Redcaps speak Fairy, Sylvan, Halfling, the predominant local language and may communicate with animals. They may also know Common, Elven, Gnomish, and other local languages.

Names: Redcap names can be difficult to pronounce correctly. They do not use surnames.
Male Names: Amhlaidh, Brσccνn, Cennιdig, Feradach, Muireadhach, Toirdhealbhach

Adventurers: Redcaps often adventure out of necessity, needing to keep their lairs free of travellers, interlopers, and meddlers. Redcaps may also adventure to acquire wealth, to spread misery among the mortal races, or to find a new ruin to inhabit.
Redcaps have a favoured class of rogue. Redcaps also do well as fighters, and occasionally bards. A few have even become assassins. They also may pursue the arcane arts as sorcerers and wizards. Redcaps are unable to use divine magic, and are never clerics, druids, paladins or other divine magic-based classes.

Redcap Racial Traits:
Redcap characters possess the following racial traits.
• -2 Str, +6 Dex, -2 Cha
• Small size. +1 bonus to Armour Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 5'/5'
• Base move 30'.
• Lowlight Vision
• Racial Hit Dice: A redcap begins with two levels of fey, which provide 2d6 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +0, Ref +3, and Will +3.
• Racial Skills: A redcap's fey levels give it skill points equal to 5 Χ (6 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Craft (trapmaking), Hide, Intimidate, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Use magic Device.
• Racial Feats: A redcap's fey levels give it one feat.
• Natural Attacks: 2 Claws (1d2), 1 Bite (1d2)
• Proficient with simple weapons
• Special Qualities:
Communicate with Animals (Ex): A redcap may communicate with animals as if he were permanently under the effect of a speak with animals spell.
Faerie Traits: As a Faerie, redcaps have the following traits:

• Invisibility to Mortals (Sp): All faeries may become invisible to mortals at will as a standard action. This is the same as the invisibility spell except that creatures with second sight can see the subject normally.
• Second Sight (Ex): This is the ability common to all faeries and some mortals to be able to recognise a fey creature's true form even when invisible to mortals, polymorphed or shapechanged.
• Immunity to Normal Disease (Ex): Faeries are immune to all normal diseases but may still be affected by magical diseases such as mummy rot.
• Immortality (Ex): Faeries do not grow old. Death is merely a change in the cycle of their existence in which they become reborn as another faerie (in 0-999 years time).
• Holy Aversion (Ex): Faeries take 1d4 damage from Holy Water (no splash damage) and are made uncomfortable and tend to avoid Holy Symbols, Prayers or the names of the Immortals.
• Faeries cannot normally cast divine magic but, in the unlikely event that they would look for and find an immortal willing to accept them, they could trade all of the above traits for the opportunity to become a follower of that immortal.

Holy Vulnerability (Ex): A redcap suffers an additional 1d 4 damage from Holy Water (2d4 total damage).
• Redcaps have a +4 racial bonus to all Intimidate and Use Magic Device skill checks.
• Automatic Languages: Fairy, Sylvan, Halfling, local language, communicate with animals. Bonus Languages: Common, Elven, Gnomish, and other local languages.
• Favoured Class: Rogue.
• Level Adjustment: +1.

Redcap Racial Progression
The table below gives an optional level progression for redcap players. In this system, starting ability score modifiers and other abilities are granted later or partially granted. At the end of the progression, the brownie will be the same as if created normally.

Table: Redcap Racial Progression

Class Level	Hit Dice	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Special
1st	1d6	+0	+0	+2	+2	(6+ Int Mod) x4	-2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Cha; speed 30ft; Communicate with animals; Holy Vulnerability; Starting Feat.
2nd	1d6	+1	+0	+2	+2	---	+2 Dex; +2 racial bonus on Intimidate and Use Magic Device checks.
3rd	2d6	+1	+0	+3	+3	6+ Int Mod	+2 Dex; +4 racial bonus on Intimidate and Use Magic Device checks.