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MystErikEry 03-18-07, 02:14 AM

Talarashtar The quori spirits that infuse the kalashtar had long since resigned themselves to an existance outside of Dal Quor, never able to return for fear of alerting the Dreaming Dark to their presence and being destroyed. However, after hundreds of years, a secret way to touch the realm of Dal Quor has been discovered by some of the more maddened kalashtar, succumbing to their quori side's desire and yearning for their homeland, battleground though it was. Kalashtar who have reforged the link between themselves and the world of dreams live uneasily between light and shadow and are called talarashtar by some, meaning "Shadowy Dreams" in Quor. The means by which this group touches Dal Quor will depend on the campaign specifics. Whether by powerful psionics or magics, a freak planar phenomenon, or each individual kalashtar's psionic pursuits, the secret to touching the plane involves dreaming without actually endangering the quori spirit or host. Personality: Like kalashtar, talarashtar are a true hybrid of human and quori spirits and seek generally to improve their own personal abilities rather than relying on any outside sources. However, unlike most kalashtar, the talarashtar have a stronger reliance on the quori spirit inside of them. As they allow the spirit to gently touch the world of dreams, its influence on them is heightened : as more pieces of the quori spirit are able to touch Dal Quor at once, the greater portion of the whole is imprinted on every dreamer. Talarashtar with the same name suffixes are even more likely to be similar to one another than normal kalashtar, almost to an uncanny extent. Physical Description: Talarashtar look no different from kalashtar. Relations: Talarashtar are generally well-suited to diplomacy, especially relating well to humans. However, unlike their kalashtar brethern, they tend to prefer kalashtar or talarashtar company, and can be especially suspicious of others being under the influence of the Inspired due to the dangers they put themselves in whenever they sleep and dream. Depending on the campaign details, kalashtar may oppose the activities of the talarashtar as they may fear the quori that might utilize the links to destroy the kalashtar once and for all. Some talarashtar would then keep their dreaming a secret from their brethern. In other cases, kalashtar might support the talarashtar, believing that their dreamtouching talents will aid the fight against the Dreaming Dark. Alignment: Talarashtar are generally chaotic good. Like kalashtar, they have a strong sense of well-being for all living things, but they have striven to break away from the kalashtar practices and rituals by once again returning to the chaos of dreams. Talarashtar Lands: The talarashtar share lands with both kalashtar and humans, sometimes attempting to blend in perfectly with either race. Religion: Talarashtar also follow the Path of Light, just like the kalashtar. Talarashtar Racial Traits Medium: As Medium creatures, Talarashtar have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Talarashtar base land speed is 30 feet. +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells and abilities, and possession: The talarashtar's dual spirits help them resist spells that target their minds. Quori Dreamer (Ex): Talarashtar merely brush the realm of dreams when they sleep, but doing so may still be dangerous for their quori spirit. Talarashtar lose their racial saving throw bonus against mind-affecting spells and abilities, and receive a -4 penalty, against any spell or effect that relies on the target's ability to dream (such as the nightmare spell). Dreamtouched Spirit (Ex): Talarashtar are closely bonded to their quori spirit due to dreams. Choose one of the following four basic personality traits below; this choice can never be changed later. A talarashtar that takes levels in the atavist prestige class must choose the same personality. Aggressive: +1 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble. Cautious: +1 racial bonus on Hide, Move Silently, and Search. Insightful: +1 racial bonus on Listen and Spot. Sociable: +1 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Sense Motive. +2 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate a human: Talarashtar also have a close physical resemblance to humans. Kalashtar Heritage: Talarashtar are considered kalashtar for the purposes of qualifying for feats or prestige classes and for using magic or psionic items. Racial Aid: Due to strengthening their ties to quori spirits, talarashtar are better able to aid those who host such quori spirits. Talarashtar provide a +3 bonus (instead of the regular +2 bonus) when succeeding an Aid Another check when supporting another kalashtar or talarashtar, or an Inspired. This bonus improves to +4 when supporting a kalashtar or talarashtar who shares the same quori spirit (and thus name suffix). Naturally Psionic: Talarashtar gain 1 extra power point per character level, regardless of whether they choose a psionic class. Psi-Like Abilities: Mindlink (1/day). This ability is like the power manifested by a wilder of 1/2 the talarashtar's Hit Dice (minimum 1st level). Automatic Languages: Common and Quor. Bonus Languages: Draconic and Riedran. Favored Class: Psion. A multiclass talarashtar's psion class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Okay, what do you think? I'm hoping it's still balanced; it's going to be essentially the Kalashtar, but they lose the dreaming ability in exchange for Racial Aid (both are situational, but Racial Aid is slightly better than an immunity to such dream effects so I compensated by making such abilities more effective against them) and they lose their normal skill bonuses for a set of smaller skill bonuses that depends on their quori spirit personality (exactly similar to the atavist prestige class)... although I'm not sure if this added flexibility makes it more powerful than the +2 to three social skills they had before (although it does go from a +6 total to a +4 to +2 total, with the better skills getting the +2 only)...