Latest revision as of 19:17, 29 March 2012

A female vesuvan

Vesuvans are not my own creation; they are a conglomeration of Vesuvans of M:tG and changelings from Eberron. The following information is relatively unique, however, as is the mechanical information that follows.

Vesuvans

"To exist is to perceive, and to perceive is to exist."

Vesuvans - also sometimes colloquially known as changelings, for their ability to change their form - are an enigmatic race. Their precise population is hard to identify, given their ability to change their physical form to match that of other races. Their history is also shrouded in mystery, as they allow almost no outsiders to Vesuva, and the entire island chain is itself deeply immersed in an unusual Blue effect that prevents its precise history from being read.

There are two suppositions regarding the origins of the vesuvans: some believe that changelings are the descendants of an even more powerful shapechanging race, which are often referred to as the doppelgangers; while others believe that, given their short stature, they are an off-shoot of the ancient Lynaen race, and thus related to halflings, lunari, and the other Lynaen descendants.

Personality: Quiet, secretive, and manipulative, vesuvans' presented personalities are almost always a front, concealing their true opinions and beliefs from others. Vesuvans are able to shift their personality at will, almost as well as they can change their physical form. This malleability is by far their most well-known personality trait, and it provides them extraordinary social ability.

With the ability to steal the memories and identities of others, vesuvans have also grown to be incredibly cynical towards the concepts of originality, creativity, and individuality. Paradoxically, however, some members of their society become "content generators," producing ideas for the sole purpose of their sale or trade.

Vesuvans also have a general aversion to mirrors, given that their true forms are revealed in them. While water can also reveal their true nature, they tend to have less of an issue with water, given that it is far easier to play off water-based reflections as a "trick of the light" than it is to do so with mirrors.

Physical Description: Vesuvans vary wildly in height and weight, with the shortest among them barely over three feet, with the tallest over four feet. Their natural form is of a grey-skinned humanoid, with lack of well-defined facial features, and pupil-less eyes. Vesuvans have natural genders, and are unable to shapechange into the opposite gender.

Of particular note is their unusual sexual dimorphism in terms of breeding. A vesuvan female always bears a vesuvan child, regardless of the child's father, while a vesuvan male is physically incapable of fathering vesuvan children (save by a vesuvan female).

Relations: Very rarely will a vesuvan make their native race known, thus most vesuvans enjoy the relational benefits of other races. As a people, they tend to prefer their seclusion, and generally get along better with races that respect that mentality.

In particular, however, vesuvans almost universally loathe orcs. The vesuvans will admit that this has nothing to do with their personalities or cultures; instead, it is due to the unusual interaction between orcish and vesuvan genetics. An orc male that mates with a vesuvan female would theoretically produce a half-orc vesuvan, but instead produces a shapeshifting, mutant aberration. As such, vesuvan culture instills a disgust for orcs, to ensure that no more of these horrible creatures are produced.

Ethos: Vesuvans heavily favor Blue virtues, but - as a race - they vary wildly. Vesuvans possess the ability to change their belief structures at will, enabling them to completely and convincingly pretend to believe one thing while actually believing another. On an actual level, vesuvans' personal beliefs vary, some using their talents to trick others, while others use them to support organizations that require some amount of espionage and subterfuge.

Vesuvan Lands: Vesuvans universally hail from the Vesuvan Archipelago, off the northwestern coast of the continent of Ashkar. The island chain is virtually completely off-limits to any non-vesuvan, though the vesuvans are known to make the very rare exception, with foreigners almost always only allowed on shore if accompanied by a vesuvan.

Vesuvan females are known to return to Vesuva before bringing a child to term; vesuvan women who have children speak of an instinctual, primal need to return to the island chain before birthing a child.

Religion: Vesuvans vary wildly in their faiths. A good number follow the Lucavi Elidibs, the Manipulator, believing him to be the epitome of their racial powers; others follow a diverse set of Saints.

Language: Vesuvans have a native tongue, known as Vesuvan, a flowing, shifting tongue that relies heavily on tonality, tense, and prefixes and suffixes. Vesuvans, however, have a natural talent for picking up new languages, and vesuvan children are taught a variety of languages early in their lives.

Names: Vesuvans often go by many names, oftentimes returning again and again to a particular humanoid form for which they have devised entire histories, which require them to stick with a single name for that form. In their native language, vesuvans have long, complex names; for non-vesuvans, they often simply adapt a monosyllabic name.

Vesuvan Racial Traits (d20)

• +2 Charisma, +2 Perception, +2 Education. Vesuvans are highly capable in social situations, and have an incredible eye for detail. They are also innately drawn to new information, and so are often well-versed in a variety of topics.
• Small. +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
• Shapechanger: Vesuvans are shapechangers, not humanoids. As such, they are not affected by spells or effects that normally only affect humanoids. A shapechanger can always take a standard action to change shape into their natural form, even if affected by such effects as baleful polymorph.
• A vesuvan’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• Vesuvans have darkvision, with a base distance of 60 feet.
• +4 racial bonus on saving throws against charm and compulsion effects.
• +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Manipulate, Mimic Voice, and Sense Motive checks: Vesuvans are inherently skilled in deception.
• Natural Linguist: Speak Language is always a class skill for vesuvans.
• Oppositions (Ex): Vesuvans have TO and CO equal to their level, and are considered Blue-aligned. These resistances overlap (do not stack) with oppositions gained due to class.
• Amnesia Vulnerability: If a vesuvan is the target of an amnesia or similar effect, she takes 1d6/caster level points of damage in addition to the effect's normal effects; if the effect allows a save, the vesuvan suffers only half damage on a successful save. If she is within the radius of such an effect but is not specifically targeted by it, she instead takes 1d4/caster level points of damage (with a successful save against the effect negating the damage). The vesuvan heavily rely upon memory to sustain themselves; disrupting that memory causes them physical pain and can possibly outright destroy them.
• Vesuvan Advocate (Ex): Choose an ethos color. As a free action, you can modify any aspect of your ethos as you choose, other than the chosen color. The chosen color represents your inner, personal beliefs, and as such cannot be changed so readily. In addition, you can - as an immediate reaction to your ethos being read - change your ethos if you make a Will save against the effect's DC.
• Shapechange (Me): Vesuvans have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as though using a disguise self spell that affects their bodies but not their possessions; using this ability to change her shape to a Small creature causes her to lose her powerful build ability (see below) unless the creature also has the ability, and changing her shape to a Medium creature causes her size to change to Medium and causes her to lose her powerful build ability. Using this ability causes the vesuvan to gain the new form's creature type (augmented Shapechanger); she cannot use this ability to turn into a construct, elemental, ooze, or undead. This ability is not an illusory effect, but a physical alteration of a vesuvan’s facial features, skin color and texture, and size, within the limits described for the spell. A vesuvan can use this ability at will, and the alteration lasts until she changes shape again. A vesuvan reverts to her natural form when killed. When using this ability to create a disguise, a vesuvan receives a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. Using this ability is a standard action.
• Truth in Reflection: A vesuvan's reflection always shows the vesuvan's true shape.
• Assume Identity (Me): Using her innate connection to the Blue in conjunction with her ability to change her shape, a vesuvan can assume the identity of a creature she has personal memory of. To use this ability, the vesuvan must have interacted with the creature to be impersonated for at least 10 minutes. She must make a level check (d20 + character level) against a DC of 8 plus the HD or character level of the creature to be impersonated; failure indicates that she has insufficient data and must interact with the creature again. Success indicates that the vesuvan can use her shapechange ability to change into a perfect copy of the creature (gaining a +15 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks), as well as able to replicate the creature's speech patterns (gaining a +10 circumstance bonus on Mimic Voice checks); she also gains some of the knowledge of the creature, as per the steal identity meme, with memory invested equal to one-half her character level (or her memeticist level, whichever is higher). You can use this ability a number of times per week equal to your Charisma modifier; you can have up to a number of "forms" of this type stored in your memory equal to your Intelligence modifier (if you are a memeticist, you can instead invest one memory in a form to retain it).
• Powerful Build (Ex): The physical stature of vesuvans lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a vesuvan is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the vesuvan is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A vesuvan is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A vesuvan can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
• Memetic Physiology (Ex): A vesuvan's biology is fueled not by chemistry, but by information. A vesuvan can sustain himself in one of two ways.
  • Information Consumption: The vesuvan can opt to learn information he was not previously aware of to satisfy his biology's need for information. A vesuvan who spends at least an hour a day reading texts, studying akashic stones, or otherwise gaining access to new information requires no other source of nutrition.
  • Memetic Water: The waters of the Vesuvan Archipelago are infused with memes, and over time, vesuvan biology has adapted to this diet. A vesuvan requires meme-infused water roughly as regularly as a human needs normal water.
• Condense Meme (Me): A vesuvan is able to make use of the condense meme meme, once per day, with memory invested equal to one-half her character level.
• Automatic Languages: One Common language, two Trade languages, Vesuvan, and one other language. Bonus Languages: Any.
• Favored Class: Choose one - akashic, assassin, learner, mimic.
• LA: +1.

Shapechange Mechanics

Going more indepth into how shapechange works. When you shapechange, assume that you are working from your base stats; you can shapechange from one shape to another without reverting to your natural form in-between, but remember to make the new form starting with your native form.

1. Find the new race's creature type. Your type changes to that type, as an augmented shapechanger: this means that you are considered both a shapechanger and the new type.
2. Find the new race's size. Your size changes to that size, and you lose the Powerful Build ability, unless that race also has it.
3. Find the new race's movement modes and speeds. You lose your base movement modes and speeds, and gain the movement modes and speeds of the new race.
4. Find the new race's senses (low-light vision, darkvision, scent). You lose your senses and gain the senses of the new race (don't forget to modify for Perception).
5. Find the new race's racial ability score modifiers. You gain those modifiers, as enhancement bonuses (that means they don't stack with magical stat-boosters).

You do not gain any other racial abilities. Note that you are limited by the following restrictions:

• You cannot shapechange into a race smaller than Small or larger than Medium.
• You cannot shapechange into a race of the following creature types: construct, elemental, ooze, undead, or vermin.