Swinling (3.5e Race)

Swinlings

People cursed in the distant past for their vanity, their new appearances made their modern descendants humble and fearful.

Personality

Swinlings are meek, shy creatures, preferring to avoid the spotlight whenever possible. A job that lends itself to unsung heroes and humble martyrs is a job a swinling would love to do. They hide out of sight in most towns and cities, trying to appear as small and unassuming as they can, taking whatever small jobs they can to make ends meet, and occasionally taking up arms beside adventurers to provide them with support in their brave battles. In spite of their shyness among friends and social peers, a swinling is a truly remarkable sight on the battlefield. Swift, strong, and sturdy, these valiant warriors lend their steel an almost supernatural grace in carving through their foes. As a result, the second best thing to have than a swinling spouse, is a swinling in your adventuring party.

Physical Description

The swinlings are a race of creatures that seem to be derived from the common domestic pig. They appear like humans, but slightly shorter and smaller in stature, and with the floppy, fleshy ears and snout-like nose of a pig. In addition, they typically have dark brown or black fingernails and toenails. Their hair colors and eye colors vary as much as humans, but there is one curious thing about this race. All swinlings are beautiful. All but the most racist members of other races would admit that, apart from the nose and ears, a typical swinling is gorgeous. The men are hardy and handsome, the women slender and gracious.

Relations

In some human cities, a swinling is thought of as a prized slave or concubine, and as such, their trepidation in such places is rightly justified. In others, their beauty would be welcomed with open arms, and so they find it easier to break out of their initial, shy shells. Either way, a swinling bride or groom is a status symbol in the few lands where they reside. Among other races, swinlings are largely unheard of, except among those members of the race who mingle often with humans in their cities.

Alignment

Swinlings gravitate most often toward neutrality and good above all else. Neutral Good swinlings are most common, followed by True Neutral, and then Neutral Evil. The other alignments are about equally uncommon among their race.

Lands

Swinlings don’t come from an ancient empire, have no major settlements of their own, and are rather few in number. It’s often wondered where they came from. Theories range from a cursed breed of vain former humans to the result of some forgotten arcane experiment on simple domesticated pigs. They are most common in the largest human cities, and a rare sight nearly everywhere else, with only the occasional swinling village dotting the landscape. Whatever their origin, they are a welcome sight, to some exploitable, to others amicable.

Religion

Swinlings aren’t a particularly religious race, and as such gravitate toward no one deity in particular. Deities with a neutral aspect naturally have the greatest draw for their kind. The swinlings believe they were created when their distant, distant ancestors angered the gods with their vanity and their pride in their beauty. These deities cursed these arrogant people, changing them from beautiful humans and elves to the first of the swinlings. As such, most try to avoid the sight of the gods, and those who actively worship do so often and pitifully, sometimes driven to tears by repentance at the sins of their ancestors. The gods, for their part, seem willing to take the modern swinlings on a case-by-case basis, the sins of their distant ancestors having very little influence on the race now.

Language

All swinlings speak Common, as a matter of necessity. Most learn Halfling as well, to speak with the halflings who so often live in the seedier parts of human cities. Some learn other languages, to better converse with different races, but most remain comfortable speaking only the trade tongue of humans. If Undercommon is in use among thieves and in slums, then they learn it as well.

Names

Swinling names are most similar to those of the humans they gravitate towards, and yet carry their own unique flavor and style to them. They often seem simpler, perhaps more rural to the urban humans they live with. The family names for swinlings are the same as those of humans, perhaps lending credence to the theory that their distant ancestors were once human.

Male Names: Patrick, Gavin, Martin, Riley, William, Toby, Brandon, Ritchie, Doyle, Jeffrey, Dustin, Oscar, Rufus, Caleb, Oscar

Female Names: Debbie, Earlene, Stephanie, Isabella, Caitlin, Kathy, Elizabeth, Lisa, Angelique, Elena, Georgia, Judy, Teri, Suzie, Tina

Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma: Swinlings, while quite beautiful to look upon, are so shy and self-conscious that they have trouble speaking up or attracting attention to themselves, even on those rare occasions where they wish to. They remain quite graceful in combat, however.
• Humanoid (Swinling): The swinlings, while close to humans, are their own distinct race.
• Medium: As Medium sized creatures, swinlings have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Swinling base land speed is 30 ft.
• Darkvision: Swinlings can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and swinlings can function just fine with no light at all.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Move Silently, and Hide checks.
• +2 racial bonus on all saving throws.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Orc, Undercommon
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass swinling takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.

Vital Statistics

Table: Swinling Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
15 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6

Table: Swinling Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
35 years	53 years	70 years	+2d20 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: Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 7"	+2d8	110 lb.	× (2d4) lb.
Female	4' 2"	+2d8	75 lb.	× (2d4) lb.

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