Papyrians

The People of the Book

The age-old question is where did these strange people come from, and what is there purpose? There have been several answers none of which have ever been confirmed. No god or goddess has ever taken the credit for creating the race, but what is known is that they did not appear until the third age. Some historians claim the papyrians to have been built by some forgotten deity or demon. The papyrians are very obviously, when studying their anatomy, made of paper or papyrus and ink, this purposes the discovery of such tools and technologies required to make these products would first be needed to create the constructs. The Papyrians hold no knowledge to their creator, however a driving passion fashions a unique racial personality centered around the collection of knowledge. Unlike the Androids of the Arcanium the papyrians are numerous and of separate consciousness. Rare among the world of men papyrians are derived beyond all else to learn and to achieve knowledge that none other know. Their unique rune-like language, known as papyri, is only understood by papyrians. Papyri language holds no magical power but is significant to the lives of the papyrians in many ways.

The papyrians appear as pale-skinned humans, standing the same height but significantly lighter in weight. Papyrians are reclusive and usually wish to meld with the society they are held within. This becomes harder as a papyrian ages for many reasons the most prominent being the skin. At a young age, a papyrian has dazzlingly white skin that begins to fade over time becoming yellower and more brittle as they age. As a papyrian gains knowledge, the language of papyri becomes more imprinted upon their minds and their skin. The knowledge held within the minds of a papyrian is explained simply upon the skin of the papyrians. A papyrian is able to simply absorb knowledge by touching something with writing on it or a living creature with the knowledge, this oddity has led some papyrians to become spies and also has resulted in a false racial bias towards the papyrians in the fear that they steal knowledge from the unsuspecting citizen.

To humans, these writings may appear to be tattoos, however, they occur naturally as a papyrian learns. The writing appears to have very little predictability as to where it is written when the knowledge is gained, however the face, normally does not receive writing until late in age. A papyrian has never lived long enough to see their bodies covered completely with papyri however many have tried. Because of these physical features papyrians as they age become more and more reclusive sharing their secrets with only those they learn to trust. At a young age, however, Papyrians seek out the company of humans who normally mistake them as human. Among humans and other races, papyrians are able to learn quickly through study and through the absorption of knowledge.

The Papyrians have existed fairly harmoniously among the people of the world their most compatible friends have been the elves or dwarves. The dynamics between the two, elves and dwarves are very different. Among the elves, papyrians live harmoniously readily learning alongside the scholars of the elves. Among the dwarves, papyrians have a very different role. Among the dwarves, papyrians fulfill the roles of managers and scribes who are usually hidden away until a trade or diplomatic missions are conducted where they are used to keep the fellow dwarves honest. Across the land, Papyrians are known as expert scribes and historians. Because of their thirst for knowledge papyrians sometimes have hard times staying in the same place unless that place is a library. Papyrians are also experts at analysing things and try to avoid conflict until they know the weaknesses of their enemies. Humans find these traits as deplorable due to their natural fright of their privacy being intruded upon. Many other races see papyrians as oddities and usually find them interesting but not necessarily threatening. Most notoriously the Drow are known for using enslaved Papyrians as spies to discover the weaknesses and secrets of their rivals.

Restricted Information

Half-Construct

Half-constructs gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease, mind-affecting effects,poison, and effects that cause either exhaustion or fatigue.
Half-constructs cannot be raised or resurrected.
Half-constructs do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. This means that a half-construct can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required for the construct to survive or stay in good health.

Standard Racial Traits

Ability Score Racial Traits: Papyrian characters gain a +2 racial bonus to wisdom and intelligence ability scores and also receive a -2 strength and -4 constitution to embody their frail stature.
Size: Papyrians are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Papyrians have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Papyrians begin play speaking Common and Papyri, a solely written language. Papyri much like Drow Sign and Druidic is a secret language only known by Papyrians. Papyrians with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

Spell Resistance: 11 + class level spell resistance
Curiosity: +4 Diplomacy for finding out knowledge, Knowledge History +2, Knowledge Local +2

Senses Racial Traits

Constant Divination: Always detect magic

Magical Racial Traits

Absorb Knowledge: Absorb knowledge from person or book (touch attack). Absorbed knowledge becomes imprinted on the skin of the Papyrian. This ability can be used once per day.
Mindbook: Papyrians always have access to a spellbook. They have no page limits, and can add to that spellbook using absorb knowledge. Otherwise, spellcraft must be used to transfer spells.

Racial Vulnerabilities

Flammable: Fire deals x3 damage
Buoyancy: Papyrians cannot dive due to their natural buoyancy, they can only float on water. A Papyrian takes a bonus of +3 on swim checks above water but takes a -10 penalty when attempting to swim downward.
Knowledge Driven: Papyrians will study an enemy before they fight, -2 initiative. The Papyrian then gains a +5 knowledge check against the enemy and can role to determine the stats or weaknesses of that enemy regardless of whether they are studied in that knowledge or not.

Alternate Racial Traits

Scrollskin: A papyrian can transfer one scroll per day to their body and cast it as a normal spell. There can only be 1+INT modifier stored in this way. The spell must match the magic type (Divine, Arcane, etc.) or sacrifice its Caster Level to match that of the Papyrian's Character Level. This ability replaces Mindbook.
Flame Retardant: Some Papyrians learn how to channel their inner magical abilities to protect themselves instead of using that magic to observe the world around them. Fire damage only deals x1.5 damage in comparison to the normal x3. This ability replaces Flammable and Constant Divination.
Obsessive Compulsive: Papyrians can sometimes be driven mad by disorganized or chaotic situations. Chaotic Auras, Monsters, and Areas cause a penalty to concentration and perception checks by -5. In nonchaotic situations a Papyrian recieves a +5 bonus to concentration and perception checks. Protection from Chaos removes this ability however does not provide any of the normal bonuses. This ability replaces Knowledge Driven. (Obsessive Compulsive Papyrians usually carry around potions of Protection from Chaos to focus in stressful situations.)
Library Born: Papyrians who grew up in libraries have an innate understanding of the world but lack basic social skills. They can treat any knowledge check as trained and also gain a +1 racial bonus in all trained knowledge. This trait replaces Curiosity.
Natural Investigator: Some Papyrian's are trained to hone their skills in investigation and research using their magical prowess and natural curiosity. A Papyrian gains an investigator's Inspiration pool this ability does not stack with the class ability or Amateur Investigator. A Papyrian may use this ability 1+ INT modifier per day. This ability replaces Curiosity and Constant Divination.

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