Shirrec (3.5e Race)

Shirrec

Personality

A previously carnivorous race, the Shirrec have adapted to not eating other species on sight. They have a great love of music and take to it with the same calculating efficiency that they live their lives by. They are excellent craftsmen and their metalworking skills are much sought after. A strong matriarchal social structure and heavy sense of duty rule their lives.

Physical Description

The typical male is a 6 to 7ft tall praying mantis, with large green compound eyes, sharp mandibles, spiny green carapace and long antennae. They have two arms with rudimentry fingers and two legs, having lost the use of some in their recent evolutionary past. The females are tend to be about a foot taller, with brown carapace and eyes.

Relations

Seeing what was once prey rise up and say, "we will not be eaten", was a great shock to them. But after massive debate the Shirrec reasoned that any species capable of becoming more than just prey was worthy of healthy respect. A small minority of Shirrec still cling to the idea that all other races are just meat that hasn't stopped walking around yet.

Alignment

Any, but mostly tending towards Lawful and Neutral alignments.

Lands

Shirrec dislike the cold and prefer to live in mildly tropical conditions.

Religion

Most of the general population of Shirrec have no religion other than a utter devotion to their matriarch, but contact with other races has persuaded many to take to a wide variety of faiths.

Language

The Shirrec have their own language "Shirreci" which consists of a mixture of clicks and whirrs almost incomprehensible to other races. They are capable of learning most other languages but speech is interspersed with the clicking of their mandibles. Written Shirreci is formed of angular pictograms and is read from right-to-left.

Names

Shirreci speech is so different that it would be almost impossible for me to give examples, but their names are small, around one or two syllables, with little distinction between male and female. Feel free to be creative here.

Racial Traits

+2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma. Shirrec are fast, agile hunters, however they are still not used to dealing with other species.

Shirrec gain the Improved Initiative feat for free.

Shirrec gain +2 on Craft and Jump checks, but get -2 on checks vs cold.

+2 Natural Armour bonus.

Natural Weapons: All Shirrec have powerful jaws and a pair of vicious barbed hooks grown from the base of the wrist, each about 3ft long. These give them 1 bite attack (1d6) and 2 claw attacks (1d6 each).

If a Shirrec does nothing except study a target for 1 round it may make a special Lunge attack with both its hooks, with a 20ft range increment and dealing 2d6+2 damage. If a successful Grapple check is made it may cling to the target and bite for 1d6+2 damage each round until the Grapple is broken.

Compound Eyes: Shirrec have extraordinarily powerful eyesight, conferring a +2 bonus on Spot and Appraise checks, Low-Light Vision and negative modifiers for attacking a moving target do not apply.

Monstrous Humanoid, Its a giant praying mantis, go figure.

Size: Medium, no size related bonuses.

Shirrec base land speed is 40ft:

• Automatic Languages: Shirreci, Common. Bonus Languages: Any
• Favored Class: Ranger
• Level Adjustment: +1

Vital Statistics

Table: Shirrec Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
30 years	+1d6	+1d8	+1d10

Warning: Shirrec are larvae for 20 years after their birth and are underdeveloped for the next 5 and as such cannot be PC's younger than 25.

Table: Shirrec Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
80 years	160 years	210 years	260 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: Shirrec Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	6ft 5in	2d6	100 lb.	× 2d4 lb.
Female	7ft 5in	2d8	120 lb.	× 2d4 lb.

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