Naiads (3.5e Race)

Naiads

Personality

Relaxing, practicing singing and dancing, gathering what food they need, and observing the world around them, naiads enjoy bohemian lifestyles in the comfort of their natural homes. Some are silly and raucous, while others tend to be reserved and introspective, however, all prefer company that treat others well. Being excellent swimmers, they spend much of their time in the water, swimming about, pondering life.

Physical Description

Naiads have the builds of a beautiful athletic elven women, standing on average at 5 feet tall and weighing about 120 pounds. Their features are pinnacles of womanly beauty. Their hair flows gracefully and comes in shades ranging from pale ivory, bright flaxen gold, sunrise orange, cinnabar red, chestnut brown, auburn, mahogany, to blackest coal. Their skin, while typically devoid of marks, and seemingly unable to hold a scar, is typically evenly tanned from being out in nature. Shades appear to vary as much as man or elf. Their eyes may be of any color, and are always highly saturated. The color of them flares when they become flushed. Naiads keep their youthful looks till the day they die of old age. There are naiad men, however, they are rather rare. They appear like athletic, graceful and alluring elven men.

Relations

Naiads, as individuals, often manage to get along with considerate races. But those races that are either too cultured (by way of laws), or too barbaric (by way of despoiling and being uncivil) become nuisances for naiads.

Alignment

Naiads often have little cause or concern for rules and regulations, and are likely to be free-spirited, tending toward neutrality and chaos.

Lands

Naiads prefer pristine lands rich with natural life and places just off the touch of nature-friendly civilizations.

They keep to themselves mostly, choosing a specific area as their home that they tend to. Such areas often have bodies of water or prominent natural features.

Occasionally, naiads gather into communes of many naiads and the occasional other fey folk, such as dryads, nymphs, and sprites such as pixies and nixies. These communes last from a few weeks to years and serve as meetings of philosophical discussion as well as merrymaking.

Religion

While many choose not to venerate deities, they may pray to deities of the land, water and nature. Occasionally, they will tend to shrines of these deities in wild areas.

Language

Naiads speak Sylvan, and have a penchant for Elven as well, as it suits their needs to align with elves who dwell nearby.

Names

Naiads often choose names based on ancient epic heroes, famous landmarks and features, or natural phenomenon. Though, their names are often the Sylvan words for such things, and may sound unfamiliar to those without a grasp of the language.

Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +4 Charisma: Naiads aren't particularly strong, but they are quick and charming with a good grasp of the world around them.
• Fey (Aquatic): Naiads, as aquatic fey creatures, have a supernatural connection to nature and water.
• Medium: A naiad gains no bonuses or penalties for her size.
• Naiad base land speed is 100 feet: Naiads also have a swim speed of 100 feet.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): A naiad can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Amphibious (Ex): Naiads can breathe both water and air.
• Adept Swimmer: Swim is always treated as a class skill. A naiad has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. She can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. She can use the run action while swimming, provided she swims in a straight line.
• Natural Performer: Perform is always treated as a class skill. In addition, naiads gain a +2 racial bonus on all Perform skill checks.
• Wild Heart: Handle Animal is always treated as a class skill. A naiad gains a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal skill checks.
• Beauteous Wrath (Su): As a standard action, a wrathful naiad can stun or blind (her choice at the time of using this ability) a creature within 30 feet with a look. To use the blinding power of this ability, the target must be looking at the naiad. The target must succeed on a DC (10 + 0.5 ½ her HD + her Cha modifier) Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round, or blinded (as though by the blindness spell) for 1d4 rounds.
• Fey Grace (Su): A naiad adds her Charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to her Armor Class.
• Automatic Languages: Sylvan, Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any.
• Level Adjustment:+2

LA 0 Variant Racial Traits

• −2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, −2 Constitution, +2 Charisma: Naiads are delicate, but they are quick and charming.
• Fey
• Medium: A naiad gains no bonuses or penalties for her size.
• Naiad base land speed is 30 feet.
• Adept Swimmer: Swim speed of 30 feet. A naiad has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. She can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. She can use the run action while swimming, provided she swims in a straight line.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): A naiad can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Racial Skills: Handle Animal, Perform and Swim are always treated as class skills.
• Automatic Languages: Sylvan, Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any.
• Level Adjustment: +0

A variant naiad may spend a feat to gain one of the following naiad racial abilities:

• Amphibious (Ex) and Aquatic: Naiads can breathe both water and air. Naiads, as aquatic fey creatures, have a supernatural connection to nature and water.
• Beauteous Wrath (Su): 3/day as a standard action, a wrathful naiad can stun or blind (her choice at the time of using this ability) a creature within 30 feet with a look. To use the blinding power of this ability, the target must be looking at the naiad. The target must succeed on a DC (10 + 0.5 ½ her HD + her Cha modifier) Fortitude save or be stunned or blinded (as though by the blindness spell) for 1d3 rounds.
• Fey Grace (Su): A naiad adds her Charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to her Armor Class.

Vital Statistics

Table: Naiad Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
150 years	+1d20	+2d20	+1d%

Table: Naiad Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
350 years	530 years	700 years	+4d% 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: Naiad Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 5"	+2d6	85 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
Female	4' 5"	+2d6	80 lb.	× (1d6) lb.

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