Sergal

Littoral Predator of the East

 

Shoal Tribe

The longest-standing Sergal tribe, living in small detachments and settlements along the coast, are known as the Shoal Sergal. They are a mostly peaceful people, to the chagrin their Mountain Tribe cousins. For the past few decades, they've been at odds with both the Krodi Orcs and Mountain Sergals, both of which take advantage of their relative naivety and eagerness to trade. Their diet is rich in fat, causing their coats to carry a dull sheen and repel water. They're able to swim with ease, and can hold their breath underwater for minutes at a time.  

Mountain Tribes

For centuries, the Sergal were unified into a single clan inhabiting the coast of The Krodi Shogunate, known to them as "Lyu'ko". When the Orcish Civil War to the West grinded to a stalemate, Goro and his men pushed to the coast to establish their own nation, assuming it uninhabited. When they discovered the Sergal, they began forcing them to migrate to Mt. Yuri to clear the beaches for naval operations, herding them into the thin air and frost that lied at its peak. What followed was a short and violent rebellion that ended in a detachment of Sergal remaining at the mountain's peak, not because they were forced to, but to laugh in the face of the invaders who hoped that they would succumb to the elements. Mountain Sergal possess a long, downy double-coat.  

Wasteland K'yah

There exists a third, lesser known and informally recognized sort of Sergal, those of the Wastes.  

Playing as a Sergal

Ability Score Modifiers: +2 STR/DEX, +2 WIS/CHA, -2 INT. Sergal physiology touts lean muscle that is extraordinarily dense and lives that are accustomed to hard, natural living. This makes them stronger while maintaining lankier bodies than most, and their lifestyle lends towards more natural instincts being retained throughout generations. Unfortunately, most of their neuro-structure is dedicated to survival in a hostile environment, making them somewhat slow learners. A Shoal Sergal exchanges their additional STR for CHA.   Size: Medium. Sergal from the Mountain Clans tend to be rather tall, standing at an average of 8 to 9 feet, while those from the Shoal coasts lend towards more 'human' sizes. Mountain Sergal tend to be more hunched than their coast-born cousins.   Type: Monstrous Humanoid. Sergal, while bipedal, have extra joints and a bizarre bone structure that makes them unable to wear most hard-armors intended for more standard races.   Base Speed: 40 ft. Long digitigrade legs make the Sergal adept at long strides.  

Sergal Racial Features

Dark Vision 60ft (Ex): Sergal are natural hunters and so have developed eyes suited for this purpose. Darkvision is black-and-white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise—invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.   Disjointed Vision (Ex): Sergal have eyes that face outwards, making them adept at preventing ambush, but make it difficult for them to determine depth without practice. All ranged and thrown weapons count as Exotic.   Scent (Ex): The Sergal have developed olfactory glands to compensate for their disjointed vision, allowing them to track their foes by scent. This special quality allows a creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.   The creature can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.   When a creature detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. When the creature is within 5 feet of the source, it pinpoints the source’s location.   A creature with the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. Being predators, their olfactory senses are particularly adept at smelling blood. A Sergal can smell an actively bleeding creature from up to two miles away if conditions are right, or one mile if the creature has Fresh Wounds.   Natural Weapons (Ex): Sergal have long claws that are used to rend flesh and draw blood for ritual purposes or even writing on clay. They gain two Claw attacks (1d4, 20/x2), one for each hand. In a Grapple, the Sergal may also use their feet in this way, giving them a total of four Claw attacks (or less, if they are wielding a weapon.)   Grasping Claws (Ex): Sergal use their claws to hook into their prey to prevent escape, and twist their bodies in odd ways to get greater holds on them or even to escape. Sergal receive a +2 bonus to all offensive Grapple tests and to Escape Artist tests.   Bounding Muscles (Ex): The springy muscle and extra joint to a Sergal's legs make them particularly adept at leaps and bounds, but their lack of a finger makes finer manipulation difficult. Sergal gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics tests, but a -2 penalty to any test that requires fine manipulation of the hands.   Bestial Sprint (Ex): Sergal were once feral monsters, and so have similar instincts that still remain. As long as the Sergal is unarmed, they may Sprint instead of Disengage without provoking AoO by running on all fours, but must still rise as if they were Prone afterwards.   Sensuous (Ex): Sergal use their feelings and instincts to survive, rather than conventional knowledge. They may use WIS for Knowledge (Geography, Dungeoneering, Nature) tests instead of INT. They are equally naive, suffering a -2 Penalty to Sense Motive tests to oppose Deceive.