Islander[]
Description: A native of a tropical island or seacoast, the Islander is equally at home on land and in the water. Carefree and hedonistic, he spends his days drifting in hand-crafted canoes, collecting colorful seashells, and munching coconuts and bark. His intimacy with the spirit world enables him to change his form and create supernatural weapons of extraordinary power.
Requirements: Standard.
Homeland Terrain:
- Required: Aquatic. (For the purposes of this kit, aquatic includes any island, beach, or coastal area, as well as rivers, oceans, lakes, and ponds).
Role: An Islander enjoys the company of people and is insatiably curious about the outworld. Though reluctant to use a steel sword, he may spend hours marveling at its shiny surfaces. He delights in sampling such exotic outworld treats as salted herring and hard cheese, and he may collapse in laughter at the sight of a knight in full armor or a matron in a velvet dress. And though other barbarians hide their heads at the sight of a color spray or dancing lights spell, an Islander may respond with wild applause and ask to see it again.
An Islander may be easily distracted by the beauty around him He may sneak off for a quick nap instead of helping to break camp, or soak in a cool stream while his companions dress game for the evening meal. Though some may consider him lazy, he charges savagely into combat if friends or family are threatened.
Secondary Skills: Bowyer/Fletcher, Crude Clothesmaker, Fisher, Small Craft Navigator.
Weapon Proficiencies: Recommended: Blowgun, club, bola*, dagger, knife, short bow, sling, spear.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
- Bonus: Swimming.
- Required: Boating*, Fishing.
- Recommended: Crude Clothesmaking*, Direction Sense, Hunting, Survival, Tracking.
- Barred: Blind fighting, Endurance, Horde Summoning*, Leadership*, Wild Fighting*.
Economic System: Crude currency.
Wealth Options: An Islander begins with 4d4 pieces of homeland currency, such as crimson seashells or small circular stones with holes in the center. Each piece of homeland currency has an outworld value of 1 cp. He also begins with 1-2 pearls (valued at 50 gp each).
Armor and Equipment: An Islander begins with no armor. He wears à tunic or skirt made of plant fibers, with strings of shells used as bracelets and necklaces. In the outworld, he has no objection to wearing any armor normally allowed barbarians, and will probably trade for hide armor (the most protective) at the earliest opportunity. He prefers armor made from aquatic creatures, such as alligators or sharks. His beginning weapon (the one he receives for free) is made of coral; it has the same value, weight, and attack bonuses as an ivory weapon (see Chapter 5).
Special Benefits[]
Aquatic Combat: When fighting in water, an Islander suffers no penalties to his attack rolls. Otherwise, he follows the standard rules for underwater combat given in Chapter 9 of the DUNGEON MASTER Guide.
Shape change: Upon achieving 7th level, the Islander can change into one of three exotic creatures. This power is usable once per day. He can remain in the new form up to an hour; once he changes back to his human form, he can't shape change again until the following day. An Islander can continue to speak in his normal voice when shape-changed. All these creatures are about five feet long.
- Mulch iguana (orange hide with yellow splotches; eats garbage and refuse). AC 5; MV 15; #AT 1; Dmg 2d4 (bite).
- Coral turtle (snapping jaws; colored pink; can breathe both air and water; shell and all exposed flesh as hard as coral). AC 1; MV 3, Sw 9; #AT 1; Dmg 2d6 (bite).
- Shadow crab (all black; can breathe both air and water; has a 5% chance per level—to a maximum of 95%—to hide in shadows, as per the thief skill). AC 3; MV 6, Sw 6; SAT 2; Dmg 2d4+2d4 (pincers).
Mana Weapon: An Islander believes in a life force called mana that represents the spiritual essence of his ancestors. With assistance from his ancestors, portions of his life force can be transferred to spears, clubs, and knives. An Islander can attempt to create such a mana weapon once per month.
An Islander must be at least 3rd level to create a mana weapon. He buries either a spear, club, or knife he made himself beneath a foot of soil or sand. After praying to his ancestors' spirits, he lies over the buried weapon and sleeps through the night. He invests 1,000 of his acquired experience points. (Note that if he doesn't have at least 1,000 experience points in excess of the number needed to advance to the next level, he cannot make a mana weapon.)
When the Islander awakens, he adds his Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence scores, then rolls percentile dice. If the result is greater than this sum, the attempt fails; he loses 100 of the 1,000 invested experience points and retains 900. He may try again next month.
If the result is less than or equal to the sum, the attempt succeeds, and he loses all 1,000 of the invested experience points. His weapon gains the following properties:
- It has a «2 bonus to attack and damage rolls.
- It is invisible to everyone except the Islander.
- It can only be wielded by the Islander; to all others, the weapons is as insubstantial as air.
An Islander may never have more than one mana weapon at a time. He earns no experience points for creating mana weapons. Inasmuch as these weapons can't be seen or used by anyone other than the Islander who made them, they have no trade value.
Special Hindrances[]
Reduced Physical Abilities: An Islander is not as physically adept as other barbarians. He leaps, springs, climbs, and protects his back at two levels less than normal, to a minimum of 1st level (see Tables 8 and 9 in Chapter 1).
Reduced Movement: An Islander has a base movement rate of 12.
Hungry Baloma: The Islander believes he is always accompanied by an invisible spirit called a baloma, derived from the essences of his ancestors. To honor the baloma and stay in its good graces, he must keep it fed. Every day, the Islander must provide the baloma a small meal, such as a fish, a portion of red meat, a few bananas, or a bowl of grain. To "feed" the baloma, the Islander buries the meal, throws it in a fire, or otherwise disposes of it. The meal may not be eaten by another person or creature; if it is, the Islander has insulted the baloma.
If the Islander insults the baloma or fails to feed it, he suffers the effects of a curse the following day (his morale and attack rolls are reduced by -1). The DM may excuse an unconscious or disabled Islander from the obligation to feed the baloma.
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