Land of the Jibaru.
Phanatons Land of Jibaru- Capital: Itucua (pop.:1,250 phanatons); Ruler: Queen Barana-Ui "Orchid-Soul"; daughter of Queen Ujiri-Xuu "Forest-Whisper"; Immortai patron: Ui. Phanatons are halfling-size mammals that look like a cross between raccoons and monkeys. A membrane stretches between their limbs that allows them to glide from branch to branch ( and to fly at higher levels). They have long, prehensile tails that can easily support their weight. These tree-dwellers were originally described in AC9 Creature Catalog, page 43 . Relative to the ancient araneas of Herath, phanatons are newcomers among the civilized races. In their early years, phanatons were forest predators that fed on large insects, lizards, and small mammals. Immortals gave them a natural agility that made the phanatons well suited to hunting dangerous creatures like poisonous snakes, scorpions, and spiders. Among these, the latter were by far the most common prey in the region. At first, phanatons were viewed as a nuisance by other races. In their early years, phanatons hunted common spiders and occasionally giant ones-araneas used the latter as servants, thus the spiderfolk's annoyance (see episode #3, DRAGON® issue # 183). It was fashionable then for affluent araneas to capture and tame young phanatons as pets. No araneas in their right minds would otherwise ever venture deep into the northwestern end of the Orc's Head Peninsula since the region was notorious for being infested with these pesky creatures. Over the centuries, phanatons grew smarter. They had been a race on the brink of becoming fully sentient. Perhaps the habit of those captured phanatons to mimic their aranean masters precipitated the natural process of their evolution. At the heart of Jibaru, there rose a new breed of phanatons who organized a society and eventually took over the region. They got better at hunting spiders,thanks to their natural agility, but also due to new-hunting methods involving bait, nets, and missile- weapons. They also) learned to make blowguns to shoot needles dipped in a paralyzing poison made from giant-spider venom. Although many spiders still dwell in the region, there are far fewer of them today. Phanatons then began raising giant spiders in captivity, as cattle, but in order to renew their stock, phanatons performed occasional forays into Herath, whose forests were reputed for their plump, juicy giant spiders. Some unwitting araneas were caught in their natural form and taken back to Jibaru. Amazed phanatons later discovered "humans" among their catch, and not knowing what to do with them -certainly, they would not eat them - the phanatons released them. Phanatons came to believe these spiders to be the souls of very evil beings. They were a bad omen. Since then, a prevailing suspicion among the phanatons is that the people of Herath harbored evil spirits among them. Survivors of the phanaton hunts returned to Herath, bringing tales of "ferocious and intelligent phanaton hordes bent on devouring the nation!" Herath dispatched a heavily armed force to probe the region beyond the Forbidden Highlands. Soon they ran into a large phanaton war band. Surrounded by what they primarily viewed as dangerous predators, Herathian officers (araneas) panicked and ordered an immediate attack. The Herathians were slaughtered almost to the last, mostly because of the phanatons' blowguns, Several more Herathian "crusades" took place over the following decades with the same horrifying results. After what had happened with the chameleon men of Wallara (see episode #33, DRAGON issue #186), Herathian ,wizards were reluctant to use overwhelming magic to destroy the phanaton clans. Their expeditionary armies being systematically eradicated, they finally decided to reinforce their defenses along the Forbidden Highlands. Meanwhile, occasional raids by phanatons into Herath still took place, mostly to acquire venom for their blowguns.Some hunting parties were wiped out. Others got through, but mow with the new habit of beheading captured humans-especiallv officers or nobles, and thus araneas-and shrinking their headsas war trophies. Despite the fact phanatonsdeveloped a taste for fruit ,vegetables,nuts,and even fish since their primitive origins ,the two races have maintained a virulent hatred of each other.The phanatons have gotten along fairly well with the chameleon men of Wallara, especiallysince they discovered their common fear of the Herathians. Today,phanatons trade with the Wallarans, bartering whatever goods theycan manufacture. Garish piranha-bird feathers, wovenspider silk, and phanaton pottery are in particulal demand by the chameleon men Emu eggs, giant termite larvae, and crocodile skins are a favorite among phanatons: Also traded are occasional human-made objects, either stolen from Herath or tradded from a Texeiran outpost lying at the edge of The Horn, a sandy peninsula north of Jibaru, near the Trident Isles. It is a penal colony, with a fortified prison at the tip of The Horn.
Phanatons have sensed the difference between Herathians and the colonists of The Horn, but a relative distrust still pre-vails. Trade with Texeiran colonists takes place occasionally when the latter sail up the Jururu and Xinga rivers. Sometimes a, handful of escaped convicts will seek refuge among the Jibaru. If anything goes wrong during such encounters, these human visitors are likely to end up with shrunken heads as well. Rare tree resins, cocoa beans, vanilla, healing mosses, and silver are what attracts the colonists to sail up the dangerous, piranha-infested rivers. Soon after they had organized their first society, Jibaru phanatons multiplied rapidly. They estahlished many more "clans;' usually centered around single villages of no more than 300 individuals. Rivalries and frictions grew among the clans until their first clan war took place. The death toll was heavy. Fearing an attack from Herath, shamans arranged a truce during which the clan chiefs chose the greatest war-chief as their king. The monarch has usually little to do on a day-to-day basis, but when the nation is endangered, the king can summon the Council of Clans at his capital, the City of Itucua. The clan chiefs usually votes on major issues - the king counting for a full third of the total votes at the council. If the king has more than half the votes, his wishes will be respected, or else the clan chiefs will go on deliberating until a solution is found. If a war takes place, the king commands to all war hordes of the Jibaru. Monarchy among the Jibaru is hereditary. Within the last decades, a small group of "nobility," as medieval humans would conceive it, has growrn from the ranks of shamans, clan chief, and minor war chiefs: There is no social difference between males and females among the Jibaru; age alone being the way of sorting out who in a family inherits a king's or clan leader's position.Immortal patrons of the Phanatons - Ui--(alias Ordana) Head of the pantheon she commands the forces of nature. Patroness of he forest and protector of its people, Ui is the one who gave the phanatonsthe spark of intellïgence so they could avoid total subgugation by Herath. Although an ally of Korotiku in the maintenance of the Hollow World, Ui despises his spider folk, and loathes what they did to neighboring chameleon men followers of her friend, Calitha Starbrow. Mother-Earth (Marau-Ixui)-(alias Terra) Patroness of birth, life, and death; the cycle of years and seasons; earth and fertility. She is the one who created the primitive phanatons as natural predators to balance the aranean threat on the Savage Coast. Mother Earth is a friend of the Star Dragon and sympathizes with neighboring chameleon men. Shamans of Ui or Mother Earth usually support good relations with the Wallara tribes. The Huntsman (Uatuma)-(alias Zirchev) Patron of the hunt, but also of bravery, charm, and success among the clan. The Huntsman is a friend of Ui. He is the one who guides the hunting parties and the war bands during times of crisis. Phanatons as PCs As an option, phanatons could be run as player characters (or NPCs with levels). Here is a way they could be added to your game. It is suggested that PCs' game statistics be rolled with the standard 3d6 dice method. Spell levels
| Level | XP | HD | Special abilities | Shaman's XP | HD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1 | 0 | 1d8-1 | 0 | 1d8-1 | |||||
| 2 | 1,800 | 2d8-2 | 3,000 | 2d8-2 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 3,600 | 3d8-3 | 6,000 | 3d8-3 | 2 | ||||
| 4 | 7,200 | _______ | 12,000 | _______ | 2 | 1 | |||
| 5 | 14,400 | 4d8-4 | 24,000 | 4d8-4 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 6 | 28,800 | 5d8-5 | 48,000 | 5d8-5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 56,600 | _____ | 96,000 | _____ | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 112,200 | 6d8-5 | 200,000 | 6d8-5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| 9 | 225,000 | +2hp ** | 400,000 | +2hp * | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
** + 2 hit point per level, Constitution bonus no longer applies. Constitution bonuses should be added only when the PC is created and every time it gains a new level, up to 8th level.
Gliding: Phanatons can glide, usually from branch to branch, due to loose skin between its limbs. The distance a phanaton can glide is equal to three times the starting height. So, for example, if a phanaton jumped from a height of 30', it could glide over a horizontal distance of 90' maximum (at the rate of 50'/round). When gliding, a phanaton must spread its arms and legs to catch the air, and therefore cannot fight, cast spells, or do anything requiring two hands. For every 100cn of weight they carry, phanatons reduce their horizontal gliding range by 20' for the same loss of altitude as an unencumbered phanaton.
Flying: At 4th level, phanatons can fly that is, maintain level flight or gain altitude, but only if updrafts or normal winds are present. The phanaton can gain 10' of altitude for every 60' of horizontal distance covered with normal winds (see the Rules Cyclopedia, page 90). A strong breeze will reduce the horizontal distance to 30'. Phanatons do not fly in high or extreme winds. Pass plant: Phanatons gain the magical ability to pass plant, as per the druid's fifth-level spell. They can use this ability once per day. Shamans: Also called the "wise-ones;' they are chosen at birth and begin learning the way of the shaman from a very young age. They are entrusted with the knowledge of reading and writing. They can only cast spells from the druidic spell list [see-the Rules Cyclopedia, page 33). Shamans shouId have both a Wisdom and Charisma of 12 or better. If the Wrath of the Immortals açcessory is used, shamans of Ui gain the ability to move silenty and hide in shadows as thieves of the same experience level so long as they remain in trees. Mother Earth's shamans gain the mystic's ability to speak with animals. Shamans of the Huntsman receive the general skills of "Tracking" and "Alertness" plus any other general skills they might have. Jibaru shamans must use up one skill slot in order to read and write their own language. Common Jibaru don't have that knowledge. Shamans must then choose language skills to speak treant, dryad, and elven [if any such creatures exist in the phanatons home), before any other skills. Non-shamans may acquire Jibaru writing skills, but with an initial penalty of - 3 to their Intelligence scores. Monarchs and other Jibaru leaders usually have that skill. Miscellaneous: Phanatons are poor swimmers, preferring their arboreal habitat. Phanatons do not have infravision. The more common, primitive (nonsentient) breeds of phanatons are normally clumsy with their hands. When fighting, they are likely to drop objects (coconuts, branches) on their attackers, or bite them (ld6 points of damage), or use simple weapons (branches, stone maces, or other blunt objects). Phanatons of Jibaru have learned to use small spears, short bows, and blowguns with needles dipped in a paralyzing poison (save vs. poison or remain paralized for ld6 turns). Shields and armor are rarely used since they negate the phanaton's ability to glide. All phanatons are otherwise naturally agile (PC phanatons must have a dexterity of 16 or better to qualify). Their natural AC is 9, with a + 2 bonus to their AC and to all saving throws due to their small size and agility. They have the following racial modifiers to their game statistics:| Abilities | St | In | Wi | Dx | Cn | Ch |
| Race Max | 16 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18* |
| Phanatons | -2 | -1 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0 |
| Shamans | -2 | -1 | +1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
Based on material copyright TSR, Inc. All rights reserved.