Tarkal

Description

 

Enigmatic and secretive, the Tarkal are a mix of arachnid and completely non-humanoid crustacean. They reach around 1.30m in height and are wider than they are tall. They have 6 limbs in total: 4 of them are legs and 2 are arms with tripartite and articulated pincers, specialized for manipulating objects. Their body is covered by a thin layer of chitin that presents gradient variations of warm colors, covered by a mottled pattern of cold colors.
A Tarkal does not have vocal cords and is unable to speak, although it has hearing similar to that of a human. They communicate through their innate ability of telepathy. Spellcasters of this species have developed a complex language of clicking their mouth chelicerae to use as a verbal component of their spells, which makes it very difficult for arcanists of other species to identify spells cast by a Tarkal.
They do not drink water and acquire all the moisture they need through food, consuming the equivalent of one and a half times the daily amount of food of an adult human. Because of this, they prefer moist foods or soak dry foods in water, juices or fruit or insect pulp. They are an omnivorous species, capable of consuming vegetables or meat without distinction.
They were “kidnapped” from the distant sphere of Is from a dimensional rift that connected Is to the planet of If five thousand years ago, and a large number of the Tarkal ancestors were swallowed up by this arcane maelstrom in one fell swoop. This event is attributed to a magical anomaly generated by the heart of the world of If.

 

Ancestry traits:

Hit points: 8
Attribute Improvements: Intelligence, Wisdom and a free.
Attribute Flaws: Charisma.
Age: A Tarkal lives for about 150 years and reaches adulthood at the age of 30.
Alignment: Always Lawful or Neutral. Often loyal and neutral.
Size: About 1.30 m tall and 60 kg. Its size is medium.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Telepathy (Su): A Tarkal is naturally mute and relies on its telepathy to communicate with any other creature. He needs to know the language of his interlocutor, otherwise he will hear an unintelligible voice in his mind. The range of this ability is 36 meters+3m per character level. Whoever hears Tarkal “feels” the point from which the voice is projected, so this ability cannot be used stealthily. He can project his communication through walls, as long as they are no more than 1 meter thick of rock or 50 cm of metal.

Exotic Arcane Language(ex): This ability only applies to a Tarkal who has a spellcaster class. Tarkal spellcasters developed a magical language based on sonic clicks of their chelicerae to replace the verbal components of magic. This does not make your spells silent, on the contrary. They need to produce loud pops to cast. However, the uniqueness of this form of conjuration makes it very difficult for another caster who is not of the same species to understand the spell. Attempts of the identify magic skill used to understand spells cast by a Tarkal receive a -4 penalty. A non-caster Tarkal replaces this ability with the ability below, “stability”. A multiclass Tarkal who starts his record as a non-caster and acquires a caster level later will need to acquire the “exotic arcane language” skill as a talent, otherwise he will not be able to cast any spell with a verbal component.

Stability (ex): Tarkal receives a +4 racial bonus to his Defense against Combat Maneuvers when resisting a collision or an attempt to knock him down while on Solid ground.

Intellectual Compulsion: The Tarkal value knowledge above all else. If they find magical items or scrolls, grimoires and tomes of knowledge that are difficult to access, they must succeed in a Will save with a DC equal to 10+item level or they will feel compelled to acquire the object, even if it is dangerous, although there is a reasonable chance of being successful. This does not apply if the object is owned by someone. In this case, Tarkal will not steal, but will have to make an effort to negotiate the purchase of the item, even if it costs him dearly.

Unique Physiology: Tarkal cannot wear magical rings or necklaces. They also cannot use any type of clothing or armor that has not been specially developed for their physiology. However, they can use up to 6 bracelets (one on each paw) as long as their effects or bonuses are not of the same type.

Night vision (ex): A Tarkal sees perfectly in mundane (but not magical) darkness to a range of 120 feet and is capable of distinguishing colors in these conditions. How this ability works is unknown to scholars on the planet of If.
Languages: the Tarkal have their own mental language called “T’Kel” and also know the common language. An individual with a high Intelligence score can choose his or her additional languages from the following list: Floti, Brutese, Faerie, Draconic.

TARKAL’S HERITAGES

Tarkal do not have heritage in the sense of specific cultures or ethnic groups, however they all receive specific training according to the skills they displayed when young, to develop them to their peak.

Choose a single additional skill below:

Natural Armor(ex): You are a private and your exoskeleton has been trained to withstand damage. In this way, you receive a natural armor bonus equivalent to ¼ of your character level and your pincers deal lethal damage instead of bashing damage.

OR

Innate Spellcasting (Sp): Your intrinsic facility for understanding the arcane weave makes you able to cast an 1st level arcane spell as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equivalent to ¼ of your character level.

OR

Natural Tools(Ex): Your predisposition to the engineering trade from a young age led to you being assigned to artificer training. Your pincers demonstrate extraordinary fine motor skills and are treated as craftsman’s tools and masterpiece thief tools. You cannot acquire any talents that consider your pincers as natural weapons if you choose this ability.

Society

Tarkal culture is collectivist and utilitarian in the extreme. The interests of the species as a whole are absolute. The individual must serve as an efficient cog in the great social machine. They avoid physical violence at all costs, as they consider it a barbaric inferiority. In most cases, conflicts between the Tarkal will be resolved by debates in telepathic parliaments of several individuals until a consensus is established. If agreement is impossible, the majority vote wins. Individual conflicts between two Tarkal will almost always be resolved through an intellectual challenge that will be judged by others of their kind. Whoever wins the challenge will be considered to have reason due to their superior mental capacity.
They are capable of processing emotions, although culturally they are considered deviations from rational thought and therefore unproductive manifestations of the mind. They are encouraged from birth to analyze the world in a logical and objective way, eliminating from their attention everything that is not strictly necessary to achieve their goals.
The closest thing to entertainment of this kind are artistic creations based on mathematical patterns, as well as mental or metamagic challenge competitions whose true objective is to try to generate scientific progress and new technologies for the species. Artificers and conjurers are valued as cogs in a function of great importance in their society. Those with lesser intellectual potential are employed as foot soldiers to physically defend their colonies with weapons, a role that embarrasses them, but is necessary due to the mental mediocrity and barbarity of the other species that surround them.
Tarkal are hermaphrodites and are able to plan in advance when they will lay their eggs, self-inducing a state of fertility by retreating to a protected nest, in which they will reduce their activity to a minimum and consume twice as much food for 3 months. After this period, they will lay 2 to 3 eggs that will hatch within 6 months. They have no concept of paternity and the puppies must be protected and educated by the entire Tarkal society, regardless of who laid them.
They have a cuneiform writing system that uses their pincers to write. Every Tarkal is literate.

 

Religion

The Tarkal are essentially materialists, although they are aware of the existence of Divine Aspects. Religiosity is not a prominent feature of their society, however a Tarkal cleric will very often choose the Aspect of Knowledge. They understand the Aspects as very powerful sources of knowledge that have transcended the limitations of the material world that can give them access to extraordinary knowledge. In this way, they have a utilitarian approach to spirituality.

Relationships with other species:

Floti: Humans are already irrational and chaotic. Floti behave like human children. However, it is necessary to admit that their ability to glide makes them very useful in strategic situations. Their short existence makes them unable to obtain the knowledge necessary for an accurate reading of reality. Poor creatures.

Magibrutes: although they are essentially humans who have undergone mutations, the prejudice of human societies deprives them of full intellectual development. Their superior physical capabilities already make them useful. If they possessed knowledge and technique, the magibrute society would be extremely efficient. Their physiological relationship with Arcanium is fascinating.

Humans: live in society, but value individualism, in an endless war of all against all. This is illogical, as are their constant emotional reactions to everything. They are creatures driven by greed and irrationality. However, it is necessary to admit their technical development capacity. If they learned to act collectively and logically, their progress would be much faster and more efficient.

Phaemon: the fey and infernal nature of these people makes them erratic, illogical and emotional. They are unproductive influences on Tarkal society. I should not waste attention and energy on these individuals.

Sandon: a practically organic artificial humanoid, developed directly by a Divine Aspect. How fascinating! No doubt their intricate creation derives from god-level cognition, yet they exhibit compulsive behavioral flaws. Having them around can be an excellent source of learning, it is important to record their behavior for later studies.

Tarkal Adventurers

Although they have a strong collectivist sense, the Tarkal are also a scientific and diplomatic species. Tarkal individuals may be sent as diplomatic emissaries to kingdoms ruled by other species, or as field researchers to investigate, record, and catalog arcane or natural phenomena in distant lands. Finally, your character may be an exile considered dangerous or unproductive in their home colony.

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