Kaylik (3.5e Race)
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Kaylik
Personality
Kaylik are adaptable, flexible, and ambitious, just like their human ancestors. They are just as diverse in their tastes, morals, customs, and habits, though extremes of behaviour are slightly less common. Their slightly increased lifespan compared to true humans & their arcane aptitudes make them more thoughtful than humans, but they are still considered hasty by the majority of other (longer-lived) races. Due to their secluded home, many Kaylik are cautious among strangers, though it is almost as common for a Kaylik to be gregarious & trusting to the point of naivety due to lack of experience with others. Regardless, predjudice is extremely uncommon among Kaylik - where they come from, there's nobody to be predjudiced against, so the flaw has never found a foothold in their society.
Young Kaylik have to serve the public trust for 1 year when they reach adulthood. This can be taken in a variety of areas, including military service, civic construction, civic protection (fire service, etc.), medical service or in the customs & border control service.
Physical Description
While broadly similar to humans from a distance, Kaylik are slightly taller, slighty longer-lived & show two major physical distinctions from humanity; their hair & their eyes.
Kaylik are universally born with (or grow soon after birth) lustrous silver-white hair. At puberty, this darkens to a shade of grey, though it retains it's shine. The shade of grey varies, most commonly gunmetal, but it can range in tone from platinum to graphite. In old age the shade deepens still further to near-black & within an hour of death, regardless of the age of the Kaylik when the tragic event is encountered, a Kaylik's hair will darken completely, losing it's shine & becoming utterly black. This hair colour will remain even if the subject is later ressurected.
Almost all Kaylik eyes range in colour from red to yellow, though most fall somewhere in-between. Approximately 2% of Kaylik are born with pale pink eyes & for some reason these individuals often have an aptitude for positions of authority, though there is no known predjudice based on eye colour. Aside from the unusual colouration, Kaylik eyes are exceptionally sharp by human standards & it is unheard of for a Kaylik to have less than 20:20 vision (barring illness or injury).
Relations
While most other races are unaware even of the existence of Kaylik, those individuals who are aware of them often regard them in much the same way they regard humans, though half-elves may be more inclined toward negativity through jealousy of the Kaylik stable mixed-race heritage.
Alignment
Kaylik are as varied in their alignment as humans.
Lands
Kaylik hail from the world of Baytahbell in a pocket-realm of the prime material plane. Around 3,500 years ago, a massive illithid slave-ship encountered technical difficulties as it was traversing astral space & was forced to revert to prime prematurely, decanting into close proximity of a primordial world. The technical difficulties could not be repaired & the vessel was on a collision course for the planet, so the illithids departed, abandoning the slaves to crash & die - except not all of them did. Of the 1000 humans & elves that were being transported, there were only 163 human survivors & 19 elves. Emerging from the wreckage on the untamed world, they set about the business of surviving. As the early human camps grew into towns & eventually cities, the elves quickly realised that their numbers were too few to form a seperate colony & their numbers were subsumed into the human population, over the years prompting the emergence of a new race, the Kaylik, more than human, but less elven than half-elves. Their world was young & background mana levels were significantly higher than on other worlds, which made the manipulation of arcane energies far easier & as the civilisation developed, a new, magically advanced culture formed. Wards were erected that would prevent hostile powers from ever stumbling onto the pocket-realm again & the Kaylik flourished as the only sentient species. As time passed, the wards were altered with strategically-placed check-points, allowing for trade with other realms & many Kaylik engage in the business of searching other worlds for interesting & unusual magical techniques & devices. These are then brought home for study by the United Colleges of Logistics & Arcanery, which has led to the spread of many other languages & customs among this otherwise sheltered race & the development of many powerful & useful magic items.
Baytahbell is ruled by a council of 9 high lords; hereditary leaders who can trace their ancestry directly back to the leaders of the first 9 settlements founded by the survivors in the first century after the crash. The current high lords are Terradock Blackhearth, Dray Gari-Coneer, Walse Jaskut, Dexter Radlock, Karri Swarling-Carnegis, Travis Keenan, Askata Meridorn-Standish, Hort Draklowe-Mikelrow & Nalinda Torrin-Prilan.
Religion
Due to coming from a primordial world that lacks a native pantheon, the Kaylik rarely worship gods, focusing instead on being generally thankful that things are as they are when situations are positive & cursing their fate when situations are less than good. Those few Kaylik that actively worship are exclusively travellers on other realms who worship the most appropriate god(s) of the locally prevailant pantheon.
Language
Kaylik speak common, though due to their natural leanings toward arcane ways, many aslo speak draconic.
Names
Kaylik are given their first name at birth & take their surname from the original surname of the parent of the opposite gender. Upon marrige, both parties hyphenate their surnames, with the male adding the female's surname after his own & the female adding the male's surname after her own. Occasionally, when a Kaylik has earned great honour, they may be awarded a middle name by one of the high lords of the Kaylik.
Racial Traits
- Natural Focus: Kaylik have a tendancy to excell at their chosen field of expertise, often at the expense of other aspects of their life. At character creation, a Kaylik may reduce any 1 single attribute by 1 & add 1 to any other attribute. This may not reduce an attribute below 3 or increase it beyond 18.
- +1 to Appraise, Search & Spot, −2 to Diplomacy, Disguise & Sense Motive: While Kaylik eyes are good at picking out details at both short & long distances, many races find them disturbing, they are quite distinctive & their lack of contact with other races makes it harder for them to interperate subtle behaviours.
- +1 Feat at 1st level: Kaylik, like humans, are quick to master specialized tasks and varied in their talents.
- +4 skill points at 1st level and +1 skill point at each additional level: Kaylik are versatile and capable. (The 4 skill points at 1st level are added on as a bonus, not multiplied in).
- Racial Martial Weapon (Bastard Sword): The armed forces of Baytahbell use bastard swords as their primary melee weapon, as such, bastard swords count as martial weapons for Kaylik.
- Almost Human: While they are technically a distinct race, Kaylik share enough ancestry with humans to be eligible for & affected by any spells, effects, special abilities, etc. that only apply to humans.
- Humanoid: Kaylik are humanoids with appropriate type-based penalties & benefits
- Medium: As medium creatures, Kaylik possess no size-based penalties or benefits.
- Kaylik base land speed is 30 feet: Kaylik are no faster than humans.
- Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Elven, Dwarf, Gnome, Hafling, Draconic.
- Sorcerer: A multiclass Kaylik's Sorcerer class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Due to the high background magic levels of their home, Kaylik naturally gravitate to the arcane arts & often possess or can cultivate an innate understanding of the arcane arts.
Vital Statistics
Adulthood | Simple | Moderate | Wizard | Other Complex |
---|---|---|---|---|
16 years | +D4 | +D6 | +2D4 | +2D6 |
Middle Age1 | Old2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age | |
---|---|---|---|---|
40 years | 60 years | 80 years | +4D12 years | |
|
Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
---|---|---|---|---|
Male | 5' 3" | +2D8 | 125 lb. | × (2D4) lb. |
Female | 4' 11" | +2D8 | 90 lb. | × (2D4) lb. |
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