[These guys and their god were escapees from a homebrew D&D 3.0 game I ran in high school. In that setting, they were originally native to the moon.]
Veytha This
tall, thin creature somewhat resembles a stretched and elongated human covered
in mottled grey down. Its face is roughly diamond shaped and flat, with high cheekbones,
four nostrils and a small mouth full of sharp teeth. Its fingers are long and
thin, bearing an unsettling number of joints and tipped with claws.
The veytha are strange nomadic denizens of the
tundra. Elongate and gracile creatures, their movements often seem exaggerated
and theatrical to members of other races. Veytha are omnivorous but prefer the
taste of meat. Their wandering generally follows the movement of herds of elk,
antelope, yaks or mammoths. They are expert archers, and are rarely found
without a bow at their side. Due to their slow metabolisms, the veytha are
efficient travelers. Their perambulations may carry them for many miles between
good hunting grounds, and clans may wander the span of a continent over the
course of several years.
Veytha consider the bonds of family to be of
utmost importance, and a lone veytha is usually either an outcast from his clan
or the sole survivor of some catastrophe. The clan is the basic unit of veytha
civilization, being formed from one extended family, but if resources are
common, multiple clans will join together into a temporary tribe. These tribes
are the sites of festivals, religious ceremonies and are used as opportunities
to form marriages and alliances. Veytha clans have no formalized leadership,
but divine spellcasters are highly respected and their counsel is usually
followed. Veytha live their lives in slow-motion; childhood lasts for thirty
years and veytha can live for centuries before succumbing to old age.
Veytha clans generally do not get along well
with members of other races. Veytha have no concept of property and
land-ownership, and come into conflict with ranchers and farmers when they make
off with crops or livestock. Frost giants view veytha as useful slaves—weak
enough to bully, large enough to not need special accommodation in oversized
holdings. Occasionally, a lone veytha will join civilization, where they will
create for themselves a new clan of close friends. Such “civilized” veytha are
among the surest allies an adventurer can have.
Veytha prefer to fight from a distance,
holding foes at bay with volleys from their immense longbows. In melee, they
resort to spears and knives or fight with their long, sharp claws. Although
veytha teeth are sharp, their mouths are small and their jaw muscles better
suited for tearing meat from an already dead creature. Veytha range in height
from 8 to 9 feet. Light for their size, they typically weigh little more than
300 pounds.
Penefice The veytha are a religious people, and worship
a number of gods and spirits pertaining to animals, the weather and the land.
Their chief deity is Penefice, the First Archer, god of skill at arms and nomadic
communities. Under the guidance of Penefice’s faithful, all veytha are trained
in the use of bows from an early age, so that they may always be able to strike
down game from afar and defend their families. Penefice is neutral good. The favored
weapon of Penefice is the longbow and his holy symbol is a crescent moon strung
as if it were a bow. Clerics of Penefice have access to the following domains:
Artifice, Good, Protection, Travel and War. If using subdomains in your game,
clerics of Penefice have access to the following subdomains: Agathion, Defense,
Exploration, Purity and Tactics.
Veytha
as Characters Veytha are defined by their class levels; they
do not possess racial Hit Dice. A veytha’s CR is equal to his class level.
Veytha have the following racial traits. +2
Dex, +2 Wis,
-2 Cha Veytha are nimble and observant, but insular and taciturn. Large: Veytha are Large creatures and suffer a -1 size penalty to attack
rolls and Armor Class. They gain a +1 bonus on combat maneuver checks and
Combat Maneuver Defense, but suffer a -4 penalty on all Stealth checks. They
have a space and reach of 10 feet. Senses: Veytha have low-light vision. Slow
Metabolism: See above Natural
Attacks: Veytha have two claw attacks that deal 1d4
points of damage. These are primary natural weapon attacks, unless the veytha
is wielding a weapon, in which case they are treated as secondary attacks. Weapon
Familiarity: All veytha are proficient with all bows. In
addition, they gain Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat. Skilled: Veytha gain a +2 racial bonus on all Climb checks and a +4 racial
bonus on all Stealth checks. Languages: Veytha begin play speaking Veytha. Veytha with an Intelligence
score higher than 10 may choose from the following bonus languages: Auran, Common,
Draconic, Giant, Orc, Sylvan
The veytha are native to the northern reaches of Senksen, where their clans hunt free-roaming herds of reindeer. They avoid herds tended to by uldra, however, not wishing to provoke the fey. Frost giants are known to take them as slaves, valuing their prowess as trackers and marksmen.
Shores of Swords 