Triton (4e Race)

Tritons

By Redtallin

The first rulers of the seas, the Tritons are a proud people, slow to trust outsiders.

Racial Traits

Average Height: 5'9"-6'8"

Average Weight: 145-225 lbs

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Strength or Wisdom

Size: Medium

Speed: 6, Swim 6 squares

Vision: Low-Light

Languages: Common

Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Endurance

Aquatic: You are an aquatic creature. You can breathe and speak normally underwater.

Adaptive Resistance: Choose one of the following damage types: Fire, Cold, or Lightning. You gain a resistance to that damage type equal to 2 + 1/2 of your level. When you take an extended rest, you can change this resistance to another type.

Triton Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency with the trident.

Seaspeak: You gain a moderate racial bonus to diplomacy checks made to communicate with creatures that have the aquatic subtype.

Reflective Scales: You can use Reflective Scales as an encounter power.

Reflective Scales	Triton Racial Power
Using the element which you are versed in, you cause a blowback on the fool who dared strike you.
Encounter  Fire, Lightning, or Cold
Immediate Reaction	Melee Touch or Ranged 10
Trigger: You are dealt fire, lightning, or cold damage.
Target: One Creature
Effect: The target takes damage of the triggering type equal to 1d6 plus your resistance to that damage type.
Level 10: 2d6 plus your resistance to that damage type.   Level 21: 3d6 plus your resistance to that damage type.

Tritons are a race of noble warriors, well adapted to their home in the Everdeep Sea. Their contacts with other races are few, and they are quick to attack any ships that pass through their territory. A people that proves themselves capable warriors can earn the friendship of these aloof marauders.

Play a Triton if you want...

• To be a confident, adaptable, self-sufficient warrior.
  
• To be a part of a mysterious lost civilization.
  
• To be a member of a race that favors the ranger, avenger, and fighter classes.

Physical Qualities

Tritons are tall, but not musclebound, with broad chests and shoulders. An aquatic people, they have strong legs for swimming and walking alike. Their feet end in two long webbed toes. Triton hair is usually white or nearly white, and Male and female tritons alike tend to keep it long, sometimes tied back in a ponytail or topknot, but often loose and free.

Their most distinctive feature is the tiny scales that cover their entire bodies. These scales protect the Tritons from the elemental energies that seep into the everdeep sea from the elemental chaos. Most Tritons are either red, blue, or yellow, hues that protect them from fire, cold and lightning respectively, but some have learned to change their scales to black or white to defend against more exotic dangers. All Tritons are capable of changing the color of their scales, but it takes several minutes of restful concentration for them to do so. More experienced Triton warriors can generate a striped pattern of scales, to defend against two elements at the same time.

Tritons have a somewhat longer lifespan than humans, living anywhere from 90 to 120 years.

Attitudes and Beliefs

The Everdeep Sea floats above a massive scar in the earth. The walls between the world and the Elemental Chaos are thin here, and volcanic vents spew elemental fire into the sea, only yards from ice-cold currents. The skies themselves give into the elemental fury, as unnatural storms are common. This is the home of the Tritons, a race of deep-sea warriors who protect their land fanatically from outsiders.

The most common triton origin myth goes something like this: during the Dawn War, a great battle was fought in what is now the Everdeep Sea, carving out a massive trench and throwing up several islands which dot the sea. The battle weakened the walls between the primal and elemental planes, something the gods couldn't easily repair. To defend against the threat of elemental creatures escaping into the world, the goddess Melora created a race of beings to guard this sea, a race of beings uniquely fit to brave the harsh environment. These were the ancestors of the tritons. There are other stories about the Triton's origins, such as a tale of shipwrecked humans or elves who were twisted by the elemental energies of the Everdeep, but these are considered heresy, and are not well tolerated.

All peoples, as far as the tritons are concerned, must prove themselves worth of the Triton's friendship. This generally means anyone new to the area is in for a trial by combat: best their warriors several times, and the Tritons are likely to extend an alliance. Their justice system is similar, with disputes between citizens settled by duels. Punishments are generally meted out in a gladiator arena, with a more powerful opponent for a more serious crime; victory earns the convicted a pardon.

Triton adventurers are common enough in the Everdeep, where small raiding parties frequently clash with the more barbaric Sahuagin inhabitants of the area. Tritons rarely leave the Everdeep, however. The rest of the world simply seems boring to them, and their traditions teach them their duty is to their homeland. Still, a Triton might venture out into the world after hearing of a great adventure or battle, to seek the unique glories of a land far away.

Triton Communities

Like in many glorious stories about kingdoms sunken deep under the waves, the triton have marvelous abodes in the deep sea. Most of their homes and infrastructure is made of shell, pearl and stones from the sea trench. Forges are erected near the volcanic temperatures of the trenches, where fantastic weapons are made under the unique and crushing pressure of the ocean. They are a very militaristic society, emphasizing strength and honor above all. People note them to be awfully arrogant and believing them to be saviors of many on land, who know not of the horrors the tritons keep from encroaching.

Tritons speak Seaspeak, the language of dolphins and whales. While their relationship with dolphins is cordial, the true allies of the tritons are the orca whales, powerful marine predators who share the triton's warrior spirit. Many who witness a triton riding on the back of one of these awesome creatures assume the orca is the property of the triton, but in reality the two are equal partners in combat. The orca is often treated better than most tamed beasts on land by their owners.

Roleplaying a Triton

When creating a triton adventurer, here are a few points to consider.

Arrogance. A triton often believes their own way to be the best. They only are willing to back down in the event their strength is shown to be insufficient. Therefore, they are most eager to take the leadership roles in most groups. Even when subservient, they tend to be spiteful towards those in authority, and they never respect those they view as undeserving.

Sea Lover. Tritons share a deep passion for the waters. They despise civilizations who encroach on the life in the blue yonder, and it makes their blood boil to see pollution. To them, water is the lifeblood of the world, which is why it needs to be respected. Evil and foul creatures like krakens and sahuagin merely sully its pristine state of beauty and balance.

Dichotomous. To a triton, the world is clearly divided into categories. Good and evil, strong and weak; there is little grey area for them. It is the reason why they can be so staunch in their positions. They usually see themselves as the good protectors, and so will look with disdain at any ill an ally commits, as well as speak vocally about any wrong they perceive. That being said, their sense of good and honor prevent them from ever abandoning a friend in need, or turning a deaf ear to the cries of the helpless.

Triton Characteristics: Arrogant, self-righteous, strong, loud, stalwart

Triton Male Names: Cogos, Munvos, Nenves, Dhanras

Triton Female Names: Digryn, Shlutryn, Drolen, Muythyn

Surnames: Ogenzath, Bundahath, Bamasath, Orostath

Triton Adventurers

Tritons will leave the safety of their homes sometimes when they feel a calling. Given their great sense of law and duty, many feel impelled to play white knights to the helpless and alien races of land. Others seek different fortunes, perhaps not having been able to get the life they desired in their original home.

Ranger: Triton rangers are sometimes called sea riders due to their love of the creatures of the sea, who are so obedient that they will allow themselves to be ridden by a triton. Tritons are not particularly strong arcane users, and so they rely mostly on trained martial strength. They often worship Melora and have perfect abilities to match this class.

Avenger: These triton are rather rare, but not unheard of. The encroaches of Erathis and her civilizations onto nature sometimes force Melora's hand. She then deigns some tritons her defenders of the sea. They are zealous individuals that have license to kill and destroy the goddess' banes, living and machine. Play this race-class combination if you want to utilize divine powers alongside melee prowess.

Fighter: Fighter triton are perhaps the most common. They are protectors, first and foremost. Their speed in the battlefield as well as water allows them to reach allies in need. Their protective scales also aid in bolstering defenses.

Three sample triton adventurers are described below.

Loros Ghalasath is a triton fighter who used to protect his own platoon in battles against the more dastardly creatures of the deep. After a failed mission, he saw himself as a failure. Broken, he left his home to find new purpose. Seeing the ill that occurred on land as well as the sea drives a stake into his heart and spurs him into action. However, without a central conviction to revive his spirit, this adrenaline is often short lived. He seeks to rekindle his old fighting spirit on his journey while helping and protecting others.

Aragryn Felebenath is a triton avenger chosen by Melora to sabotage minotaur forges along the coast. Thus, she left home to uphold her duty. She bears a hatred of Erathis as the others do. Nature should not be exploited solely the gain of one side, she believes. She had seen a community by the sea choked to death by the coal mine dumping toxic slurry into their waters, and she vows to never let that happen again.

Denes Alfasthath is a triton ranger mastering the ways of the beast masters. He feels most at peace with beasts, rather than even those of his own kind. While he prays to Melora as goddess of the hunt, he does not hunt himself. He sees the beasts of the sea as his friends. Due to this demeanor, he often neglected training and so was looked down upon by other triton. Thus, he ran away to pursue his life on his own terms. Slowly, as he travels with his comrades, he is seeing the appeal of beings other than beasts.

Triton Feats

Heroic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Breach	As an adept swimmer, you can leap up like the other majestic animals of the sea.
Brightscale	Your scales gain yet another property thanks to your ability to adapt.
Cleanse the Chaos	By Melora's will, you strike at those who try to encroach from the realm of primordials onto the natural world.
Conch Call	You can emulate noises that all creatures of the sea can understand.
Darkscale	Your scales ward off the very essential energies of death.
Trident Stretch	Your skills with the trident allow you to utilize it's reach more.
Triton Stormcaster	Utilizing your trademark trident, you can imbue magic and interact with great powers.
Triton Tidespeaker	Your symbolic weapon becomes imbued as a conduit to channel energy.
Triton Trident Mastery	Your power wielding your proficient weapon of choice grows and you can use it in ways inconceivable before.

Paragon Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Echosense	Using your amazing senses, you can perceive without sight like a bat does via echolocation.
Greater Spell Reflection	Your scales gain a stronger resistance and add to the power of your ability to reflect damage.
Stripedscale	Your scales adaptivity allows you to draw on multiple resistances at once.

Epic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Shiftscale	Your adaptive nature is no longer a chore to use, and you can utilize its ability even in the heat of battle.

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