Race: Forsaken

Forsaken.

Aside from the name, which is from World of Warcraft, all of this stuff is mine.

Forsaken

"What do you want, breather?"

Sometimes, the path of the soul goes awry: other forces intervene on the path, and the soul becomes trapped in a body animated through dark magics or prayers to the Lucavi. Often bound in servitude to some fanatic or other, these undead monsters are put to use in the most horrific of ways, often serving as shock troops for a would-be conqueror of the world.

However, when the magic binding the will fails - often through the death of those who caused it - sometimes the magics binding the body does not, and what was once a mindless zombie or ghoul becomes something else: a being with a will. While some of these beings harbor a hatred for life, having grown twisted and spiteful in their time of servitude, others simply want to be left alone, uncertain of their metaphysical status - should they die again, what will become of their soul?

Those individuals who have suffered this cruel fate, yet are able to function - at least mildly - in society, are known as the forsaken. The term applies on many levels; they are often forsaken by those who once considered them friends and family, forsaken by those who created them, and often forsaken by most civilized societies.

Alien in outlook, horrific in origin, and disturbing in person, forsaken are outcasts, riding on the fringes of society. They often find themselves in the company of others whose metaphysical status is in question, and while they may not prefer the company of their own kind, most forsaken have little choice if they want to avoid the life of a solitary hermit.

Personality: As individuals who have already experienced one death, forsaken are often surprisingly flippant about their situation, taking events in stride. Almost all forsaken were, at one time, completely under the control of another entity, and so often take issue with authoritarian attitudes and slavery, and they prefer to make as much use of their reclaimed free will as possible, resulting in their own societies being rather loose and libertarian in nature. Some forsaken develop a bitterness towards the living, especially if they are treated poorly by them, but - given the wide range of beings that walk the worlds of Trinity - most are able to find acceptance somewhere.

Ironically, forsaken almost universally loathe other undead, often seeing them as a reminder of what they once were. While some forsaken believe that these creatures can be turned into new forsaken, others are not so certain, and the process of transitioning from a "normal" undead into a forsaken is still not entirely well-understood.

Vital Statistics
		Starting Age			Aging Effects
	Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex	Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Max Age
Age	20 years	+1d6	+2d6	+4d6	100 years	200 years	300 years	+3d%
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	Base Height		Height Modifier		Base Weight		Weight Modifier
Male	5' 1"		+2d6"		80 lbs.		x1d4 lbs.
Female	5' 0"		+2d6"		70 lbs.		x1d4 lbs.

Physical Description: Forsaken often retain at least a semblance of the appearance they had before their transformation into undead, and those who knew them prior to their death can recognize them, but their forms are mangled and twisted, shaped into unliving tools and weapons. Many forsaken are taller than they should be, their skeletal structures stretched and malformed, and significantly thinner than would be possible for a living creature, having lost the need for internal organs (which some forsaken are missing altogether).

Forsaken always carry the scars or indicators of what originally killed them: an individual who drowned, for instance, would retain the pale skin color, blue lips, and vaguely bloated feature. If a forsaken had died in a way that resulted in the loss of limbs, those limbs were replaced, albeit from a separate body, and thus some forsaken have bits and pieces that were clearly not part of their original body attached in some many (sewn, bolted, etc).

Ethos: Forsaken tend to be pragmatic, preferring patience over recklessness - after losing one life, most are not in a hurry to lose their second. While many forsaken try to recall their virtues in life and apply them to their new existence, others often point to the fact that if they had had power, they would never have wound up in this situation in the first place, and thus trend towards Black; at the same time, however, most forsaken find strength in numbers, relying on their communities to provide the raw numbers to protect them from the living who might mistake them for wandering "true" undead.

Forsaken Lands: Forsaken have no lands to call home, being a created race rather than a natural one. Many of the forsaken "alive" today were created during one of two events, both related to Kotrit Wayveri: the War of the Illusionist, or Kotrit's return in the early 400's CR. Those created during the War of the Illusionist tended to stay where they were when Kotrit was destroyed, with the vast majority of the surviving forsaken living in or near the Dividing Range on Chaliraz; those forsaken who were freed from Kotrit's control on the elven front were unilaterally destroyed.

However, other pockets of forsaken exist, and small enclaves of forsaken can be found in hidden places throughout the world. Most simply want to live out their lives in peace; while forsaken are not certain how long they "live," the effects that brought them back are not permanent, and seem to wane after a time.

Religion: While they have souls, and thus can participate in religion, most forsaken are explicitly spiteful towards religion; many asked for help in the final moments of their original lives, and those prayers had - apparently - gone unanswered, so why would they devote any time to those beings the second time around? Most forsaken are atheists, though a significant portion are naturalists, and believe that - despite the abomination they are now (as far as nature is concerned) - their souls will rejoin the reincarnation cycle upon their eventual second death.

Language: Forsaken speak a language known as Necril, a harsh, whispery tongue that is a conglomeration of a number of languages, including Arcanic and Truespeech. While it began as a pidgin language, allowing for various forsaken created through different means to communicate, it has since become a full language.

Forsaken names are a mixed bag; some individuals choose to retain the name they had from life, while others - including those who have somehow lost those memories - choose a new name for themselves, or are given one by their comrades.

Forsaken Culture

The following is a rough overview of some of the highlights of gnome culture.

• One:
• Two:
• Three:

Forsaken Are Responsible For...

...one.

...two.

...three.

Forsaken Racial Prestige Classes

• None yet.

Forsaken Racial Traits (d20)

• +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. Forsaken have some unique experiences they can reflect upon, granting them greater insights, but their ability to relate to other creatures is lacking since their death.
• Undead: Forsaken are undead, not humanoids. Thus, they have the following traits.
  • No Constitution score. Undead use their Charisma score in place of their Constitution score when calculating hit points, Fortitude saves, skill bonuses, and any special ability that relies on Constitution (such as when calculating a breath weapon’s DC).
  • No immunity to mind-affecting effects. Intelligent undead are instead only immune to morale and fear effects.
  • Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
  • Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain.
  • Immunity to str down, dex down, con down, fatigue, exhaustion, and zombie.
  • Cannot benefit from regen, but can still benefit from fast healing.
  • A phoenix down, or similar effects that remove the dead status, used on a forsaken returns the forsaken to "life" in its undead state. More powerful effects are required to return the creature to its state prior to becoming a forsaken, but doing so causes the creature to forget everything that has transpired since (and losing any XP gained since, if applicable).
  • Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
  • Not at risk of death from massive damage.
  • Forsaken do not need to breath or sleep, but do require sustenance; forsaken can derive sustenance from any organic material.
• Medium.
• A forsaken’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• Forsaken have darkvision, with a base distance of 60 feet.
• Will of the Forsaken (Ex): Forsaken are immune to turning and rebuking. Additionally, they receive a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against effects that command or control undead.
• Thousand-Yard Stare (Ex): When a forsaken uses the Intimidate skill in combat to demoralize an opponent, he only needs to spend a move action, rather than a standard action.
• Chilling Presence (Ex): With the exception of the Intimidate skill, forsaken suffer a -4 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks when interacting with living creatures.
• Terrifying Scream (Ex): Once per hour as a standard action, a forsaken can emit a ghostly wail. Any non-undead creature within 60 feet of the forsaken must make a successful Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the user’s character level + the user’s Charisma modifier) or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. A target that successfully saves cannot be affected by the user’s terrifying scream for 24 hours. Creatures that are already shaken instead become frightened for 1d4 rounds. This is a sonic, mind-affecting effect.
• +2 racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently.
• Automatic Languages: One Common language, one Trade language, Necril. Bonus Languages: Any.
• Favored Class: Choose one - executioner, harbinger.