Race: Raver

Raver

Size/Type: Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 1d8-1 (3 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: +11 (+1 Dex), touch 11, flatfooted 10
Attacks: Bite +0 Melee
Damage: Bite 1d4
Face/Reach: 5ft. by 5ft. / 5ft.
Special Attacks: Mimicry (Ex)
Special Qualities: Low-light Vision (Ex)
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6, Jump +3, Move Silently +6, Survival +3
Feats: Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Stealthy
Languages: Avian
Climate/Terrain: Any Forest, Any Hills, Any Land, Any Mountains, Any Plains
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: Coins: None , Goods: None , Items: None
Alignment: Often Neutral

Ravers are bird-like humanoids with a passing resemblance to crows, possessing feathers, beaks, and taloned hands and feet. Feathers are typically black, although a few ravers are born with white feathers and feathers typically fade to grey as the ravers approaches old or venerable ages. Ravers stand about five feet tall, weighing close to a hundred pounds, with the male ravers being slightly heavier than the female.

Ravers beaks are long, sharp and most frequently as black their feathers (though yellow beaks, or yellow flecked beaks, are not uncommon, especially in ravers youth). Ravers hands and feet are hard talons, with strong grips, and a similar coloration to their beaks. Despite any physiological differences, like most other intelligent races, ravers hands have thumbs, and their toes are all forward facing. A few ravers are born with vestigial wings (reminiscent of their pre-apocalyptic form), that although are never strong enough for flight, are considered a good omen.

A second variety of ravers, the kite ravers, typically have brown and white feathers and smaller, more hooked beaks. Humans have likened them to black-eared kites.

Ravers young are laid in eggs, one a day, generally over a period of two or three days (though clutches can be as large as six or as small as a single egg.) Each egg measures about nine inches long, possessing a sky-blue shell with dark green or black speckles. The child incubates for six months within its egg, and, when it hatches, it stands about a foot tall and is featherless with a yellow beak and yellow talons. Ravers grow quickly, being able to walk within a month of hatching and reaching full height by six or seven years of age. As ravers age, their beaks and talons all darken in color, the beaks more swiftly than the hands or feet. Ravers are considered physically mature at around 10 years in age.

RAVER SOCIETY
Ravers mostly dwell in villages built in high, rocky places. Farming is poor in these regions, but the primarily carnivorous ravers raise goats or boars and hunt the wild beasts that live in the mountains. Often, a raver’s town will have a small mine and smelter that provides iron, copper and bronze depending on what ores are available.

Although ravers are a very individualistic race, they enjoy the companionship of others and understand the benefits of a strong community. Each raver is a law unto himself, bound only by his own conscience and sense of honor.

Though ravers seek out conflict so as to test their skill, they are not an especially war-like race and, tend to avoid mingling in the affairs of other races, so far as the other races allow the ravers to pursue their own private goals.

Ravers seldom judge races as a whole, preferring to allow each individual to stand, or fall, according to his or her own actions. This is not to say ravers are foolish in their interactions or overly trusting. Ravers regard most non-ravers with some caution and suspicion until they know them well enough to trust them. However, the caution and suspicion is usually not of a hostile nature and ravers typically allow people a chance to prove themselves one way or another. For this reason ravers often begin new relationships by testing the worthiness of an individual.

Ravers cannot stand foolishness, corruption and pride in other races and will sometimes go out of their way to make examples of those they find particularly grating. Ravers are often willing to aid noble endeavors which appeal to their sense of adventure.

COMBAT
Ravers have an instinctive talent for melee combat, and they are trained to use blades from the first year of their lives onward. They are also naturally stealthy creatures, and as such often utilize surprise attacks whenever possible, especially in concert with their mimicry ability to throw their opponents off balance. This makes up for the fact that their hollow bones and low constitution hamper them in a fight.

Ravers as Characters

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom: Ravers are a naturally graceful race, given to introspection, though their light frame means they are not as hardy as some other races.
• Medium Size: Ravers are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Normal Speed: Ravers have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: Ravers can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
• Bite: Ravers have a natural bite attack that inflicts 1d4 points of damage on a hit. If the raver is otherwise unarmed, it is a primary attack; otherwise it is a secondary attack.
• Sneaky Survivors: Ravers always count Jump, Survival, Move Silent and Hide as class skills. They also possess the Stealthy Feat, giving them a +2 on all Hide and Move Silent rolls.
• Mimicry: Ravers can replicate sounds at will, using Bluff checks (opposed by Sense Motive) to reproduce exact sounds and voices.
• Sword Trained: Ravers are able to use all archaic weapons without penalty.
• Languages: Ravers are able to speak Avian, but can learn regional human languages.
• Adult: 11, Middle: 30, Old: 45, Venerable: 55 (Max +2d6)
• Height: Both 4′6″ + 2d6″
  Weight: Males 90 lbs +(2d6×2 lbs.), Females 70 lbs  +(2d6×2 lbs.)

Level Adjustment: +1