Gaunt Men:
Race Stat Modifiers:
Blood Color: Blood is glowing pallid yellow color. (Though very little blood.)
* Immune Disease/Fungi & Ambient Radiation (Minimum damage vs Directed Radiation)
* Immune to Mutations caused by radiation.
* x2 damage from crushing attacks & Blaster weapons. (Elemental weapons are treated as Blasters.)
* minimum damage vs Gamma & Cosmic Ray & Disintegration energy weapons. (See Absorb Mystic Energies & Radiation)
* Halve any SAN Penalty to sanity checks.
Language: Gaunt Man (Yhtill)
Skill Bonus: Mechanisms + 2
Saving Throw Modifiers: Fortitude - 2, Reflex + 2, (+5 vs Poison [Fortitude based])
* If Tech level is below 5, make it 5.
Description:
These faceless almost skeletal humanoids once were Carcosa humans at some point in their past. Large groups of them emit a strange psychic radiation that will convert humans into Gaunt Men with long term exposure. This makes most outsiders fear them even more than the fact they looks like they are Undead. Rumors persists that the first Gaunt Men were the 'Fortunate' cursed of old Yhtill when it was consumed by the City of Carcosa during the arrival of the King in Yellow in ages past. The fact that the Gaunt Man language IS the language spoken in ancient Yhtill hints to these rumors being true. Gaunt Men feed on ambient standard, psychic & sorcerous radiations. As such they tend to favor the Yhtill Waste surrounding Lake Hali, The Radioactive Desert, the ruins in Hex 0101 & any other place with radiation or ambient psychic/sorcerous power. Gaunt Men/Women can form small mouths to speak & sing. Their voices are very ghostly & haunting. They have extremely long fingers/toes with up to three extra digits per hand/foot. They tinker with bones & space alien junk/salvage. Some tribes have 'Bone Shapers' who modify their bodies in exotic ways. They can navigate the city streets of Dim Carcosa with little difficulty & do not suffer the madness of traveling such areas. Upon 'death' they sometimes fuse with the landscape becoming 'Artifacts' or 'Constructs'. Any soul draining type of attacks will reduce a Gaunt Man/Woman to ashes upon death.
Gaunt Men who have started to fuse with the environment, becoming "Constructs".
[Art by Zdzislaw Beksinki]
Gaunt Man Age Chart:
(Adolescent) N/A *
(Adult) 10-100
(Middle Aged) 101-250
(Elderly) 251-500
(Venerable) 501-750
* As new Gaunt Men/Women are not born, they are afflicted the Adolescent chart for aging purposes is pointless. Any adolescent afflicted to become a Gaunt Man/Woman will be for age purposes considered an Adult on the chart. Though they may be small in stature due to their age before the Gaunt Affliction.
Elder Gaunt Men/Women (NPCs only) do not use this age chart and are immortal. They are the first afflicted by the Yellow King and former residents of ancient Yhitill. (Player characters cannot play Elder Gaunt Men/Women.)
Racial Modifiers:
Level: Bonuses:
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Zero Level:
0 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat: N/A
Hit Point Modifier: N/A
Saving Throws: +5 vs Supernatural/Sorcery Disease/Fungi, +3 vs Poison/Toxin,
Language: Old Yhtillic,
Race Abilities: Gaunt Vision/Hearing, Immune to Normal Disease/Fungi, Highly Resistant to Poison/Toxin,
Reduced Need For Atmosphere, Lost Limbs Can Be Regrown By Bone-Shapers,
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: Takes double damage against blunt/crushing/trample type attacks.
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Zero Level Grave-Kin Abilities:
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Highly Resistant to Poison/Toxin:
Gaunt Men/Women receive a huge bonus to poison/toxins & take 1/2 the damage, effects & duration from them. If it normally kills,
the Gaunt Man will go into a coma for 1D4 days & may appear dead to others.
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Immune to Normal Disease/Fungi:
Normal Disease and Fungi will not affect a Gaunt Man/Woman. Even supernatural/sorcery related types are half as effective and the
Gaunt Man/Woman receives a bonus to save against them.
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Gaunt Vision/Hearing:
This ability allows the Gaunt Man/Woman to see & hear without visible eyes or ears. It is some weird mystical version of 'Dark Vision' &
'Sonar Vision', combined with ability to see/hear sound waves. Strange enough they also can see in color with this vision as well. They
can see though most forms of simple invisibility. They are effectively motion trackers within 30' radius. As such they cannot be surprised
by physical creatures. While this provides them an immunity to gaze type attacks and abilities that require eye contact, it does NOT
provide immunity to sound based attacks or powers.
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Lost Limbs Can Be Regrown By Bone-Shapers:
Due to their strange mostly bone-like biology, Gaunt Men can have their limbs regrown by a Bone-Shaper. In fact most Gaunt Men will
have some kind of modification via Bone-Shaper craftsman/woman.
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Reduced Need For Atmosphere:
Gaunt Men can survive for one hour without air as opposed to minutes compared to a typical humanoid. Every half hour the Gaunt Man
must make a Fortitude save or pass out from lack of air. This becomes 15 minutes if exposed to a vacuum. The Gaunt Man will of
course be unable to speak or perform verbal spells/rituals while in an airless environment. Survival time increases at further levels.
Every three full levels of the Gaunt Man/Woman, add half hour to time needed between Fortitude checks under normal airless conditions
and an additional 15 minutes for vacuum conditions. In addition, the Gaunt Man/Woman can survive an hour longer.
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Vulnerable to Blunt/Crushing Attacks:
Gaunt Men are vulnerable to Blunt/Crushing attack forms. Such attacks will inflict double damage to Gaunt Men. Please note that when
a Gaunt Man/Woman is within the Yhtill Wastes, they do not suffer this vulnerability.
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First Level:
1 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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First Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Second Level:
2 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Second Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Third Level:
3 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Third Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Fourth Level:
4 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Fifth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Fifth Level:
5 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Fifth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Sixth Level:
6 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Sixth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Seventh Level:
7 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Seventh Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Eighth Level:
8 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Eighth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Ninth Level:
9 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Ninth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Tenth Level:
10 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Tenth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Eleventh Level:
11 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Eleventh Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Twelth Level:
12 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Twelth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Thirteenth Level:
13 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Thirteenth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Fourteenth Level:
14 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Fourteenth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Fifteenth Level:
15 Title: []
Affiliation Modifier: Chaos +10
Attributes: N/A
Combat:
Hit Point Modifier: +1
Saving Throws:
Race Abilities:
Other Resistances:
Other Vulnerabilities: x2 Damage vs all lasers.
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Fifteenth Level Gaunt Man Abilities:
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R:
At xxx Level the Gaunt Man/Woman
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Become Vulnerable to Elder God/Lawful Attacks:
By Tenth Level your Grave~Kin will start to become vulnerable to weapons and miracles of the Elder Gods and their Agents of Order.
Any such Miracle that specifically can only be used by a Lawful Cultist, Weapons of Elder God/Agent of Order design that is imbued
with their powers and energy attacks from a Stellar Vindicator or weapons blessed by a Cultist of Order will inflict double damage to
your Grave~Kin. You will also suffer the full effects of Elder Signs.
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Dirt Nap:
At level Eight you heal faster and recover from fatigue and lost power points at double the rate if you partially bury yourself within a
grave, graveyard or rest in a tomb. Ancient and powerful tombs may even increase this amount, with some in fact increasing your
healing of hit points to one per hour.
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1) Absorb Mystic Energies & Radiation:
Any time the Gaunt Man/Woman has successfully made a Will save vs any Sorcery, Psychic or Mutant power attack, he/she can absorb the Power Points of the effect to replenish his/her own Power Points. Any excess energy (past your max total) can also be used to heal hit point (1D4 hp per PP absorbed), power any abilities that requiring power points (if extra amount used within next minute.) or use the remaining power points to give your character a single save
vs Fortitude bonus done within one minute of absorbing the energies. (Fortitude bonus equal to unspent extra points, one per one bonus.)
Any radiation attack (Such as Cosmic or Gamma energy weapons) will do minimum damage to Gaunt Men and restores +1 PP per dice of damage of the attack. If a Gaunt Man/Woman is hit with a Disintegration weapon, he/she gets a +1 to Fortitude save to avoid, with an additional +1 for every three full levels of the character.
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Resistant to Undead Draining Abilities:
At Fourth level, if an Undead has the ability to perform an Energy Drain or drain an attribute permanently normally, it will be
considered temporary for your character. Energy Drains that would drive you below zero would leave you in a Coma for one day per
level past zero you were drained. If you survive the experience, all lost levels recover at the rate of one per day of rest. For attributes
so drained, those recover at the rate of one point her hour of rest. If the Undead would normally gain healing or bonuses from such
draining upon you, it does not take effect.
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Immune to Undead Draining Abilities:
At Seventh level, your "Resistance to Undead Draining Abilities" upgrades to "Immunity to Undead Draining Abilities".
Such powers just do absolutely nothing to you what so ever.
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Immunity to Sorcerous/Supernatural Diseases:
By Seventh Level your immunity to disease upgrades to a complete immunity to Sorcerous and Supernatural Diseases, including the
special abilities of high level Unclean or even the greatest Sorcery inflicted diseases.
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Spot Hidden & Secret Doors and Concealed Graves:
At 1st level the Grave Kin gets a +2 bonus to spot hidden or secrets doors. (Specialization based on Perception Skill)
This increases by an additional +1 at levels 5,10 and 15.
If the target is a concealed grave, double the listed bonuses.
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Resistant to Undead Mind Control:
By Second level your Grave~Kin has developed a high resistance to Undead Mind Control and Illusions.
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4) Navigation of Extra-Dimensional Pathways:
Similar to a spell from 'Realms of Crawling Chaos'. The Gaunt Man/woman has this as a natural ability. He/she can easily navigate the streets of Dim Carcosa & unlikely to get lost in extra-dimensional non-Euclidian geometry places, such as Limbo or the Dreamlands.
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5) Tinkering:
For unknown reasons, Gaunt Men have a natural talent for tinkering, giving them a boost to their base Mechanism skill. The only possible explanation for this, is that most the places Gaunt Men cultures have resided over the years have been within ruins & refuse yards of the Space Aliens, as they feed on ambient radiations within.
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Yhtill Form:
At level Nine when a Gaunt Men are within the area of the Yhtill Wastes but not within the City of Carcosa itself, they can assume their
previous human form at will. During this time they take normal damage against Blunt/Crushing damage and they can be affected by any
power that requires eye contact, in which they normally would be immune. Their human form will also appear 2D6 BEA higher than their
Gaunt Man/Woman form, up to a maximum of 18.
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Immunity to Non-Sorcerous Diseases:
Starting at First Level, the Grave-Kin gains immunity to any form of Non-Sorcerous Disease. If he/she had been afflicted with one prior
their body suddenly fights it off and become immune to any further infection.
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8) Induce the "Gaunt Effect":
At level ten, the Gaunt Man/Woman can spend two power points to intentionally afflict a target with the "Gaunt Effect". The target must either be willing or restrained for an hour long session where the Gaunt Man/Woman meditates while caressing the flesh of the target, infecting their flesh with their strange psychic radiations. At the end of each session the target makes a Fortitude save (with any bonuses against radiation or psychic powers applied). The target must fail the save three times in a row over three day. After that time the target will begin the slow transformation into a Gaunt Man/Woman in the next 2D4 days. If the target is within a close community of Gaunt Men while this is performed, the saving throws are at -1 for every 10 Gaunt Man/Woman (aside from the one inducing the effect) who is linked in physical contact with the character in a psychic chain.
Gaunt Men who have started to become "Constructs" after being crucified to fossilized trees in the "Orchard of the Damned" in hex 0202 by the hostile Blezarai from the village of "Urthas" and "Fort Thornskull" in Hex 0102. The "Orchard" resides on a small plateu, and the mad whispers of these unfortunates can be heard in the winds by those who pass by the cliffs. Some Sorcerers risk this area in search of spells/ritual components: "Tears of the Damned Orchard", "Fossil Finger of the Damned Orchard" and/or the rare and prized "Faceless Wailer", the head of a Gaunt Man who has resided in the orchard long enough to become an Artifact. Aside fromt eh sick amusement Sorcerer's find in such a relic, it can be used as a sort of magical battery.
[Art by Zdzislaw Beksinki]