Hack Sun: Thri-Kreen

 Thri-kreen as PCs  

Intelligence -1
Wisdom +1
Dexterity +2
Looks: Special
Charisma: -2

Pros

*Sensitive Antennae: While thri-kreen do not have true low-light vision, their antennae limit the penalties due to inadequate lighting, reducing any related penalty by 1.

*Wide-angle vision (better die for initiative, 50% of backstabs are merely rearward strikes, defense die is always d12 or better)

*Natural Weapons: Speed 5 for natural weapons; 2d4p with claws, 2d6p for a bite. Bite may be used instead of the standard near-perfect defense. Attack routine when unarmed is claw, claw, claw, claw, bite (so, on second 5 they claw, 10 claw, 15 claw, 20 claw, 25 bite, usw). They may take the Venomous Bite talent for 15 BP. If they do not have it when they reach 10th level, they must spend 15 BP at that level to acquire it.

*Dodge Missiles: May acquire the Dodge talent for 15 BP. At level 14, a thri-kreen who does not already have the Dodge talent will acquire it for 15 BP. However, this is not optional.

*Four Arms. See "Four Arms" below

*Natural Armor: 2 points of damage reduction. Wearing armor or using shields adds to this amount.

*Thri-kreen fare well in warm climates. For purposes of heat stroke, they consider temperatures to be 30° F (9° C) cooler than they are; they do not begin accumulating penalties until it reaches 100° F (38° C). They require only one-tenth the water of other creatures.

*Thri-kreen consider an "Average" leap to be 30 feet. Difficult is 40 feet, and Very Difficult is 50 feet. For Jumping, 10 feet is Average, 15 feet is Difficult, and 20 feet is Very Difficult.

*Natural movement speed is 5 feet per second faster than humans (10/15/20/25).

*Thri-kreen do not sleep, though they do need rest for spellcasting purposes.

*Medium sized for HP and Knock-back; though very large by some measures (being taller and heavier than humans), their build is such that they are not counted as Large.

Cons

*Short life-span: Thrikreen are adults at 6 years of age, and live only to the age of 25.

*Cannot swim; may not have any mastery in the skill, and cannot hold their breath due to their breathing holes. Excessive and prolonged exposure to humidity can result in chitin-rot, a disease which can prove fatal.

*Cannot wear armor or many things made for humanish bodies; no shoes, gloves, rings or other clothing. Are capable of using shields.

*Native Language is Thri-kreen. Additional languages must be learned.

*Difficult Proficiencies and Talents: The following proficiencies and talents cost twice as much for a thri-kreen: Age Gracefully, Bilingual, Etiquette/Manners (for non-kreen cultures, except Raam), Peg Leg, Polyglot. They are completely unable to acquire the No Accent talent.

*Required Talents: Must take the Venomous Bite and Dodge talents at given points in their advancement

*Forbidden Flaws: Thri-kreen may not have the flaws Hairy or Prematurely Grey. If rolled, reroll another flaw.

*Thri-kreen fare poorly in cold climes, but quite well in warm climates. They always consider the ambient temperature to be 30° F (9° C) cooler than it actually is.

• Whenever the temperature is below 70° F (actual; the thri-kreen will perceive it as a human might 40° F), kreen acquire the Late Sleeper and Lazy flaws. If the temperature remains under 42° F (actual) for more than 48 hours, thri-kreen will enter a torporous state. Attempting to act in such a state is always at -2/-10% for every action, and the thri-kreen will attempt to sleep if at all possible. If not forced into action, thri-kreen in torpor consume 1/10th the amount of food, water, and oxygen (and so accumulate penalties for these at 1/10th the rate), and only revive when temperatures are consistently above 50° F for 72 or more hours.

• a -1/5% penalty to all rolls/checks when the temperature is below 70° F (actual)

• a -2/10% penalty to all rolls/checks when the temperature is below 42° F (actual).

 Preferential Talent Access:

Thri-kreen may purchase the following talents at a 50% discount

*Attack Bonus, Crackshot, Damage Bonus, Parry Bonus, Swiftblade, Greased Lightning (natural weapons and chatkcha only), Charm Resistant, Fast Healer, Illusion Resistant, Tough Hide
*Proficiency in the gythka and chatkcha requires only 2 BP each (half for fighters)

Thri-kreen Talents

Dasl Worker (10): The thri-kreen is versed in the creations and shaping of dasl, the strange crystalline material used for chatkcha and the blades of their gythka. Once per week, they may fashion one chatkcha, or one blade for a gythka. While producing these objects (or others made of dasl), they may not make use of their poison. Requires Venomous Bite talent.

Venomous Bite (15): A mature thri-kreen can develop the use of a paralytic bite. On a bite attack that causes damage to the target, the target must save against a VF 9 poison. On a failure, they will become paralyzed in 3d10 seconds, and will remain so for 6d10 seconds. This ability may only be activated once per day, and subsides 60 seconds after the first bite attack made; it then cannot be used for twelve hours. Thri-kreen must be 10th level to acquire this talent.

***

Sidebar: Four Arms
Thri-kreen have four arms, all of which they use with equal facility. This can lead to some very effective combat maneuvers. Dreams of many to the contrary, though, this seldom results in dual-wielding halberds; they can't effectively wield two weapons cross-body, nor are their arms set to make effective use of a large weapon on each side.

A thri-kreen intent on making multiple attacks will most often use their very effective natural attack routine; four claws, then a bite, each 5 seconds after the other. This natural attack routine is not only very effective, it allows a d20p for defense. However, if they choose to use multiple weapons, they cannot bite (save as a near-perfect defense), and they add one second for each weapon after the second weapon... the third weapon adds +3 seconds, the fourth adds +4. One of the weapons may be two-handed, but only one, and that limits them to three weapons; the two-handed weapon must be the primary weapon.  An ambitious fighter might try a two-handed weapon, a one-handed weapon, and a small shield, which would allow the large damage two-handed weapon, the defense of a shield, and a bonus weapon just because, but it's also not something most thri-kreen do outside of the arena.

For example, if wielding four hand axes, with a speed of 6,
*They will make the first primary attack at 1, and subsequent attacks with the primary axe will happen at 9 (1+6+2), 17, etc.
*Their second weapon will be made at 6 (1 base +1 second after +(6/2) half adjusted primary weapon speed, +1), then every 8 seconds after that (modified speed plus two),
*Third weapon at 8 (1 base +2 seconds after +(6/2) half adjusted primary weapon speed, +2), then very 9 seconds (speed plus three),
*Fourth weapon at 10, then every 10 seconds (speed plus four). They will be a blazing cuisinart of annoying math.

1 A

6 B

8 C

9 A

10 D

14 B

17 A, C

20 D

22 B

25 A

26 C

30 D

During such a routine, they have a d10p defense die, plus bonuses for the primary weapon; they've made twice as many attacks as a thri-kreen using their natural attack routine, but they're very vulnerable. Thri-kreen might substitute a buckler or small shield for any of these, or use one or more weapons defensively; they take the place of a fourth and third attack; multiple shields or weapons used in defense allows additional defense rolls at d20p, and additional angles covered. Note that many thri-kreen do not use shields, because these impair their natural attack routine, but they can take shield proficiency a second time to allow the use of bucklers (though this causes a -1 to attacks).

 Sidebar: Life with No Looks
Thri-kreen do not have a Looks attribute as is conventionally understood. This is not to say that they don’t recognize differences in appearance or attractiveness amongst themselves, nor to say that an individual thri-kreen cannot be beautiful to look at. It is simply that the variation in their looks has no effect on humanoid perceptions of them; humans don’t instinctively trust “pretty” thri-kreen the way they do pretty elves or dwarves. As such, they have neither Charisma nor reaction modifiers due to Looks. Only two skills key off of Looks, but these have very different reactions to this lack of an ability. Mastery in the Acting skill for thri-kreen keys solely off the Charisma attribute; a thri-kreen can attempt to act, though they face some limitations in getting others to believe that they’re not thri-kreen (though they may, for example, convince people that they’re some other thri-kreen, or something similar). Seduction, however, must be taken twice… once for kreen, and once for humanoids. For kreen, Seduction is considered to have no looks component; note that, between kreen, "seduction" is not sexual, but more of a "bringing them around to your point of view". When interacting with humanoids, the Looks of the thri-kreen is considered to be 1; -5 to all Mastery die rolls, with a base mastery score of 1. It’s hard to make them think you’re sexy when you’re 7 feet of claws and chitin.

Classes:
Fighter: 40
Gladiator: 40
Outdoorsman: 30
Ranger: 35

Thief: 70
Rogue: 70
Assassin: 70

Mage: NA

Fighter/Mage: NA
Fighter/Thief: 45
Thief/Mage: NA

Cleric: 30 (Optionally, Fire clerics require 40 BP)
Druid: 30
Templar: 50

Reactions to:
Humans: Tolerate
Dwarves: Tolerate
Elves: Tolerate
Half-elves: Tolerate
Halflings: Tolerate
Half-Giants: Tolerate
Muls: Tolerate
Thri-kreen: Prefer

Thri-kreen don't have a particularly bad reaction to any of the other peoples of the Tablelands, largely because, to thri-kreen eyes, those people are just so weird... they're not incomprehensible, just weird.