Neshezu
Neshezu, 1st-Level Warrior
Medium Humanoid (Neshezu)
Hit Dice: 1d8 (5 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 30 ft.
Armor Class: 14 (+1 Dex, +3 hide armor), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Scimitar +3 melee (1d6+2/18-20 plus poison) or pistol +3 ranged (1d10/x3)
Full Attack: Scimitar +3 melee (1d6+2/18-20 plus poison) or pistol +3 ranged (1d10/x3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Light sensitivity, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will -2
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 7, Cha 6
Skills: Climb +10, Hide +3, Jump+4, Use Rope +2
Feats: Point Blank Shot
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Gang (2-4), crew (11-20 plus 1 leader of 3rd-level), or tribe (30-100 plus 200% noncombatants, plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 25 adults, 6 4th-level lieutenants, one 5th level captain, and a 5th-level cleric).
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +0
This humanoid figure resembles a large orangutan, with slight orcish or goblinish features. It has extremely long and well muscled arms, and short legs.
An adult male neshezu attains a height of about 4 - 5 feet and a weight of about 175 pounds. Females are about three-quarters of this size. All neshezues have thick reddish-brown hair and an orclike facial structure. Neshezues are almost exclusively arboreal, with limbs adapted to swinging through trees; their extremely long arms can have a span exceeding 7 feet. Their legs are short and ill-suited for walking or running. Neshezues are evil, cunning, and intelligent.
Neshezues speak Common and their own language, Neshezu, which is distantly related to Orcish.
THE RED CURSE
Neshezues do not acquire Legacies or require cinnabryl.
COMBAT
Neshezues favor ambushes in combat, using a variety of vines and nets to entangle their enemies. They prefer to strike from cover with hit-and-run tactics.
Some neshezu warriors carry wheellock pistols in addition to more conventional armaments. Neshezues favor scimitars, daggers, and other traditional pirate weapons. Neshezu warriors coat their weapons with various types of poison as a matter of course, usually spider venom.
Poison (Ex): An opponent hit by a neshezu's poisoned weapon must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or take an initial 1d4 points of Str damage, and 1d4 Str points of secondary damage. A typical neshezu carries 1d4-1 doses of spider venom, though other types of poison are not uncommon.
Light Sensitivity (Ex): Neshezues are night creatures of the deep, shadowy forest. They are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
Skills: Neshezu have a +8 racial bonus to Climb checks, and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. They are also adept at camouflaging themselves in the trees, and get a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks within forest settings.
NESHEZU SOCIETY
Neshezues form loose clans in the western Herathian forest, and the Herathians have tried unsuccessfully to rid their forests of these hairy beasts. The neshezu organization resembles that traditionally found among seagoing pirates. Leadership in the clans is based upon brute strength, cruelty, deceit, and betrayal.
Neshezu villages are built high in the treetops on platforms of wood and woven vines. Travel requires swinging on vines, balancing on narrow branches, and gripping "safe" points that are too far apart for most humanoids to reach.
The ancestors of neshezues had a patriarchal society with little use for females other than bearing children and doing hard work. This has changed for the neshezu, since the female neshezues possess the deadly poison lore. Female neshezues are particularly fond of subtle, multi-part ingested poisons. Victims will be unaware that they have been poisoned until it is far too late. The poison lore preserves a respectful truce between the two sexes. Many a neshezu leader has earned (and kept) his position because his wife was particularly skilled with poisons.
Neshezues have an average life span of about 30 years. Although they prefer to eat raw, fresh meat, neshezues will eat just about anything.
Neshezu worship Leptar.
NESHEZU AS CHARACTERS
Most neshezues are rogues or fighters. Neshezu clerics worship Leptar, and have access to the following domains: Chaos, Evil, Strength. Most neshezu spellcasters are adepts. They tend to favor spells that are useful in evading detection.
Neshezu characters possess the following racial traits:
• Strength +2, Wisdom -2, Charisma -2
• Size Medium.
• A neshezues base land speed is 20 feet.
• Neshezues have a base climb speed of 30 feet. They gain a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks, and can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened when climbing.
• Low-light vision.
• +4 racial bonus to Hide checks in forested terrain.
• Light Sensitivity: Neshezu are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Neshezu. Bonus Languages: Orc, Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Rogue.
The neshezu warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.
Its good to see these guys converted to 3e, but aren't they a little underpowered? True, their racial skill bonuses are pretty high, but I would have liked something like a feat allowing them to attack while brachiating or something....
Otherwise, good work!
Håvard
Its good to see these guys converted to 3e, but aren't they a little underpowered? True, their racial skill bonuses are pretty high, but I would have liked something like a feat allowing them to attack while brachiating or something....
They do lack a little... something, I'll admit. I wanted to keep them so that they wouldn't have any level adjustments (hate 1 HD humanoids with level adjustments), but yeah, I dunno.
Your ideas of giving them some kinds of attacking, climbing sorts of abilities intrigue me, though. I see them as only rarely setting foot on ground, and attacking. They'd be swinging through the trees, slicing at opponents, throwing nets from above (almost like fighting in ships rigging). An encounter with them would be like an underwater encounter- it would operate in three dimensions, rather than toe-to-toe melee traditionally encountered. Not entirely sure how to make that work, though, and a read through on the Climb skill doesn't help a whole lot.
Here's a feat idea that I was thinking about, and looking through one of my D20 pirate supplements, I found something similar:
Swing-By Attack [General]
With a rope and a weapon, you tear through your enemies with ease.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1, Climb 1 rank.
Benefit: When you are swinging from a rope and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your speed. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent you attack.
Special: A fighter may select Swing-By Attack as one of his fighter bonus feats.
Something like that might help a little. I'm also considering changing the Neshezu type to "Humanoid (Orc)", making them distantly related to orcs (sort of like the Kara-Kara).
Anyway, still working on them a bit. Feedback is definitely appreciated!
normal: Without this feat, the character may still attempt an attack, but is at -4 to hit.
I'd love to run an encounter like the one you described though
The Kara-Kara resemblance struck me too when I first saw these guys. Makes me wonder if some orcs have been getting too friendly with some of the lower primates....
By the way I think the Kara-Kara should be made into a more common race on the Sea of Dread Islands, harassing human Islanders.
I am also wondering if the Neszezu should be found somewhere else, perhaps they originate on Davania?
Håvard
Have you got a clue how Leptar could have extended his influence over them?
Or more specifically, have you got an idea on Leptar's history?
I was toying with the option of having Leptar (B1-9 and WotI) and Hircismus (GAZ7 and IM3) be one and the same, but I have got huge problems creating a background for this character. The personality is already there from canon sources (hairy, dull-witted, sadistic brute who loves to fight, hurt and prevaricate others), but what about the story behind the demon?
Can you give me some inputs? ;)
I'll have to read up on Hircismus to see if he would fit with my ideas...
Håvard
I'm still meddling with this demon, because I don't want two separate entries for two guys which are basically THE SAME.
IMO they are prolly the Mystaran version of Orcus, given their appearance: it's a pity Orcus wasn't used in both cases, as it would have solved many problems AND would have spared us the issue of creating a reasonable background for Leptar/Hircismus :p
Just a quick questioN: I've seen they worship Leptar from your writeup, Andrew. Have you got a clue how Leptar could have extended his influence over them?
I hadn't put much thought into it just yet, but I liked Leptar for their patron just based on the resemblance alone (hairy brute). As an Immortal, I wouldn't think it too hard for Leptar to influence whoever he wanted. Still thinking a bit about it, though, and working on some more history for him and the neshezu.
Sorry I don't have any more ideas at the moment, though.
IMO they are prolly the Mystaran version of Orcus, given their appearance: it's a pity Orcus wasn't used in both cases, as it would have solved many problems AND would have spared us the issue of creating a reasonable background for Leptar/Hircismus :p
Leptar seems vrey similar to Erythnul, from Greyhawk, I think, and that's sort of who I have based him around IMC.
I did know your story Haavard and in fact took it as sample and expanded it a bit to create Leptar's background in my guide, but I've got serious problems in tying it with Hircismus, since Leptar is only known in Karameikos from what we know, and Hircismus has followers in Soderfjord among the kobolds, so it's a bit weird to explain (it's also a bit weird to justify the changing of names... Leptar sounds good for a humanoid deity, but Hircismus is definitely "too Latin" for them, so there must be a reason behind it...)
Maybe the Kobolds were introduced to the demon by a Thyatian cultist?
I'm still meddling with this demon, because I don't want two separate entries for two guys which are basically THE SAME.
IMO they are prolly the Mystaran version of Orcus, given their appearance: it's a pity Orcus wasn't used in both cases, as it would have solved many problems AND would have spared us the issue of creating a reasonable background for Leptar/Hircismus :p
Well, Orcus and Hircismus both have the -us ending... Since I don't really know much about mr. H, I don't mind him being an identity of Orcus, at least not for now, but I like the idea of Leptar being one of Orcus' assistant, thus keeping him a separate guy and letting us use what I have already written about him ;)
Håvard
My ramblings about the connection between Hircismus, Orcus and Leptar are just that: ramblings. Mr H. is a Celestial much like Leptar, and his stats and modus operandi are totally different from those of ORcus (who'se definitely smarter, nastier and more powerful than them).
Anyway, I have finally solved (i hope) my dilemma choosing this option:
Leptar was a brutal Traladaran slave-lord during the first centuries AC. His sadistic practices and outrageous raids finally earned him the wrath of the locals who managed to capture him and kill off all of his followers, selling him to those same thyatian merchants he traded with. In Thyatis he came to know the bitterness of being a slave and sworn to avenge himself. After coming in contact with a group of ORcus's cultists, he managed to free himself of his master by killing him and went off to spread chaos and mayhem once more, finally becoming immortal under ORcus's sponsorship.
In Traladara he was still remembered as Leptar, while in Thyatis he made himself known as Hircismus (probably after the nickname his patron gave him once in slavery, referring to his "hairy body"), patron of slavers, sadists and ruthless fighters and raiders. Many warriors and gladiators honor him, and probably some slave kobolds of Thyatis took to worship him as well. When these kobolds had the opportunity to flee their masters' yoke during the beginning of the Alphatian-Thyatian Wars in Ylaruam (around VI century AC, where they were prolly used as shock troops), they fled to the northern hills and ended up in Soderfjord. There they established their own clan and went on following Hircismus's ways (after all GAZ7 says that each clan of kobolds in Soderfjord worships a different "demon" or better immortal patron).
This way makes some sense, at least :P
