Basti (3.5e Race)

A "race's compendium" race created by
Kkat

Basti

The Basti are a desert people from the Burning Lands. They are seen as graceful and mystical, weak of body and mind, but strong of soul. Tribes of basti roam the deserts nomadically, their traditions of desert discipline alien to many outsiders. But increasingly, individual basti are found in the cities of other races, adapting to and borrowing from the cultures about them. A great many become entertainers, vagabonds and wanderers within the societies of other races.

Personality

Basti are naturally charming and personable, easily making friends and allies. They make natural diplomats, courtesans and bards. Basti have a love of life, and seek to enjoy it to the fullest. They are hedonistic, seeking adventure and pleasure. Basti are closer to animals than most races, save for the Gnolls. They are instinctual and impulsive, and find it difficult to resist compulsion or enticement. Furthermore, their sexual biology is more animal-like, with basti females going into heat for a period of several weeks every year. For these reasons, the basti value self control even if they do not make a practice of exorcising it. They do no desire to be ruled by their instincts, much less their biology, preferring to act according to their own desires.

Physical Description

Basti are graceful, feline race. They stand on average 5 to 5 ½ feet tall, with basti females usually shorter. Basti are lithe but lack the physical strength and resilience of other races. Basti possess elegant body fur that is randomly spotted with banding on their faces, legs and tails. Their fur comes in five colors: silver, orange-bronze, smoke, black and slate blue. A basti eyes can be any of a variety of shades of green. Basti have fully retractable claws which many basti keep long and razor-sharp.

Relations

Basti get along well with most races. Basti are on good but distant terms with Elves and Dwarves, with whom the basti have only sporadic interaction. They share a curiosity and adventuresome spirit makes them favored companions amongst Halflings and Gnomes. Basti particularly enjoy Gnomish company, finding them fascinating and fun. Humans find the basti exotic while basti view the humans as a most enjoyable puzzle, so varied and complex. Basti consider themselves above the Gnolls, proud of enjoying life and having the wisdom to rule their baser natures. They pity the espy for their blindness and the kobolds for being kobolds.

Alignment

Basti are primarily a good people. With their hedonistic and impulsive ways, the basti tend towards chaos. Lawful basti are usually associated with the basti monastic tradition. It is not rare for chaotic basti to have spent time with the monastic tradition only to have abandoned it.

Lands

Basti are a nomadic people, traveling the fierce deserts of the Burning Lands in prides. While physically weak, they are competent desert fighters, having developed fierce, monastic martial disciplines. City basti are usually individuals or members of small families. Basti outside of the Burning Lands have almost no society of their own, instead integrating themselves into the cultures of other races about them. The only element of nomadic basti society carried over by other basti is the basti’s unique monastic tradition. Originally developed as a desert warrior tradition, the monastic order became popular amongst basti women who sought to be the masters of their own bodies. Over several hundred years, it was slowly adopted by the basti people as a whole. The basti monastic tradition stresses self-discipline, but not asceticism. It is considerably less austere than most monastic orders.

Religion

Shari Tabaxi, the Goddess of Sex and Magic, is the racial deity of the basti. However, basti are just as likely to worship Olidammara or Pelor. Pelor-worship is particularly common amongst basti of the Burning Lands.

Adventures

Basti adventure simply because they crave excitement and new experiences. Individual basti become adventurers more often than individuals of other races, with the exception of humans. Most basti in cities and lands outside the desert were either adventurers or their descendants.

Racial Traits

• Type: Humanoid

• +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Str, -2 Con

• Medium Size. As Medium creature, Basti gain no benefit of penalty to their attacks or armor class.

• Base Land Speed: 30 ft.

• Low Light Vision.

• +2 Racial Bonus to Hide and Move Silently. Their Move Silently bonus climbs to +6 in desert settings.

• Basti gain a +4 bonus to Use Magic Device.

• +2 Dodge bonus to armor class. This bonus represents the basti's uncanny natural instincts for danger. Any time a character looses her positive Dexterity bonus to AC, such as when she's caught flat-footed, she looses her dodge bonus too.

• Basti possess natural, retractable claws. Taking the full attack option, a basti may choose to attack with her claws extended, performing an attack with each claw. The basti gets the claw attacks at her highest base attack bonus. These attacks do not provoke an attack of opportunity. The basti’s claws do 1d6 + Strength modifier for damage. If a basti attacks without her claws extended, she causes 1d3 points of nonlethal damage. A basti monk may use her claws with her Flurry of Blows, keeping the monk's attack bonuses, number of attacks, and damage, but changing the damage type to "slashing".

• Basti suffer a -2 penalty to Will saves against mind-influencing spells and effects.

• Basti normally eschew artificial weapons and armor in favor of natural weapons and martial prowess. In part this is because their fur makes even the lightest armor uncomfortable, adding an additional +5% arcane spell failure and +2 skill check penalty to any armor.

• Racial Skills: Use Magic Device (Cha). This skill are always considered a class skill for a Basti, regardless of actual class.

• Automatic Languages: Basti, Common. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Goblin, Ignan

• Favored class: Monk for lawfully aligned Basti, otherwise, bard is the favored class.

• Level Adjustment: +1

• Optional Rule: Basti also gain a +2 competence bonus on social rolls to entice, seduce or compel. Basti suffer a -6 racial penalty on opposed rolls against non-magical enticement, seduction or compulsion.

Vital Statistics

Table: Basti Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
20 years	+4d6	+6d6	+10d6

Table: Basti Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
30 years	40 years	50 years	+1d20 * 4 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Basti Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 6"	+1d6	120 lb.	5 × (2d6) lb.
Female	5' 0"	+1d6	90 lb.	5 × (2d6) lb.

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Races