Mortapomp (ˈmȯr-tᵊ-ˈpämp)
Nothing lies beneath the mask, for everything is laid bear by it.
The unusual union of the guides of the dead, and the living, mortapomps are attuned to the cycle of life and death, granting them special awareness and powers to death with both the living and the dead.
Physical Description: Mortapomps are leanly built, humanoid-looking with reasonably lengthed arms, though their bodily build can come closer to the average humanoid excluding their height. Their skin is is only ever white, grey, onyx, or some shade in between, with hair that is usually dark but can rarely be white, and can grow long quickly if not properly kept. Mortapomps seem to wear elaborate masks reminiscent of those worn by psychopomps, however these masks are actually their faces, often carved by the individual themselves. However at birth a mortapomp will have a very basic mask simply to cover themselves but will feel an immense desire to craft one themselves when capable, as such while normally similar to psychopomps their mask can look be whatever gave them inspiration. For the masks with eyes, their colours are often odd, such as silver, pale blue, or dark purple.
Despite any appearance their mask may take, a mortapomp's mask doesn't need to serve any function, and as such, does not require eyes, a nose, mouth, or any normal or identifiable feature, and is purely for expression of self by a mortapomp. As mortapomps do not breath and their faculties that facilitate eating, drinking, and vision are not handled by identifiable features on or in their body. If one were to peer under a mortapomp's mask, they would only see a featureless slate for the mask to be placed upon.
Society: As Mortapomps are the union of mortal and psychopomp, they have no culture of their own and instead take on the culture of wherever they grow up. However this is normally affected by their point of view and awareness of death and undeath, as well as their long age leaving them fearing the time where they outlive their compatriots for the first time, leaving older mortapomps to eventually become distant or apathetic. Their long age and awareness of a half-psychopomp causes them to highly enjoy scenarios where they can interact with other mortapomps or psychopomps, even in the case such a meeting occurs due to hunting undead, which even becomes a joyous occasion when multiple mortapomps and psychopomps are hunting together.
Relations: Mortapomp's long lives leave them to prefer others who can live as long as them and enjoy their presence more openly since their life expectancy no longer causes heartache. As such mortapomps enjoy other half outsiders such as ifrits or tieflings though they must still overcome the barrier of their mortal awareness. In regards to shorter lived races, older mortapomps become incredibly apathetic outwardly as even knowing that they will meet again in the afterlife when the mortapomps sheds it's mortal coil and becomes a full psychopomp, the amount of time spent with any race like orc or human is an incredibly short amount of time compared to how long they lived, but rarely some can still openly enjoy such relationships though their point of view on it can differ. In regards to cultures that accept the manipulation of soul energy or the soul cycle, while psychopomps and soul knights will very actively act against such kingdoms, mortapomps are less likely to be able to act on their disdain and will not stomach such a thing if they are unable to prevent such actions and are likely to move away, while others become bandits in such regions.
Alignment and Religion: Due to their psychopomp heritage and natural inclinations that make them despise undead, a massive majority of mortapomps worship kreaver and ysajeb for their relations to death, the afterlife, and ysajeb's crackdown against the existence of undead. While they despise undead, this has no effect on their moral inclination otherwise. Their inherent withdrawn point of view leaves them likely to be true neutral but this is not to be confused with apathy, as mortapomps can have wildly varying cultural and moral views, and can be of any alignment, however, they commonly have a personal code and are rarely wild or without discipline and lean towards lawful when they are not true neutral. A mortapomp of the chaotic alignment is known to have a wild, unnatural, or badly crafted mask due the the wild abandon that they would embody while creating it.
Adventurers: Mortapomps can commonly have reason to join other adventurers due to their hate for undead, they would be one of the first to take up arms at such rumours and they dislike more permanent relationships that happen from living in a steady location. Mortapomps are well liked in many adventuring parties thanks to their natural specialty against undead. Mortapomps are also capable of a wide variety of roles in both the frontline and backline.
| Adulthood | Intuitive | Self-Taught | Trained |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 years | +3d6 years (103 – 118 years) | +5d6 years (105 – 130 years) | +9d6 years (109 – 154 years) |
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 5 ft. | +2d10 in. (5 ft. 2 in. – 6 ft. 8 in.) | 110 lbs. | +(2d10×4 lbs.) (118 – 190 lbs.) |
| Female | 4 ft. 7 in. | +2d10 in. (4 ft. 9 in. – 6 ft. 1 in.) | 75 lbs. | +(2d10×4 lbs.) (83 – 165 lbs.) |
Standard Racial Traits
- Ability Score Modifiers: Mortapomps have supernatural insights from their psychopomp blood and reflexes to match, but their connection to death can leave them distant and withdrawn from normal social interaction. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and –2 Charisma.
- Type: Mortapomps are outsiders with the native subtype.
- Size: Mortapomps are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Base Speed: Mortapomps have a base speed of 30 feet.
- Languages: Mortapomps begin play speaking Common and either Abyssal, Celestial, or Infernal. Mortapomps with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Draconic, Dwarven, Halfling, Infernal. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
- Darkvision: Mortapomps have darkvision, allowing them to see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
- Soul Sense: Mortapomps have a dim sense of the souls of others who are very near. If a living or undead creature comes within 5-ft. of a mortapomp, the mortapomp becomes aware of the creature’s presence, its general location, and whether it is living or undead. This ability functions similarly to blindsense with a range of 5 feet against living creatures and undead. If an undead consciousness possesses or controls a living body (as with a ghost’s malevolence ability), this sense detects only the living creature.
- Shepherd of Souls: While mortapomps find themselves disconnected from most living creatures, they possess a special connection to psychopomps and undead. mortapomps receive a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Intimidate checks made against undead, and a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks made against psychopomps.
- Grave’s Mercy: Psychopomps instinctively recognize a mortapomp as one of their own and do not immediately taking a mortapomp’s soul to the afterlife. When a mortapomp would die from hit point damage, the mortapomp does not die until the end of the mortapomps next turn. If the mortapomp receives enough healing by then that the mortapomp’s hit points are at an amount greater than the mortapomp’s negative Constitution score, the mortapomp does not die.
- Mask: Mortapomps wear special masks as part of themselves that represent their face. While wearing their chosen mask, they gain a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, and negative energy effects. This mask always takes up their face slot and mortapomps cannot wear any other magic item in the face slot. However, if the mask possesses a magical properties, they gain the benefit from this item as well. Any creature may attempt to take off a mortapomp's mask, including the mortapomp itself, by rolling a will save (DC 15 + the mortapomp's charisma modifier + the mortapomp's total character level).
- Reaper’s Scythe (Su): Mortapomps can spend a swift action to wreathe their weapons with an otherworldly glow. While wreathed in the glowing energy of the grave, the mortapomp’s weapons count as ghost touch for the purpose of damaging incorporeal creatures and can deal critical damage to incorporeal creatures unless they are also immune to critical hits from a different source (such as in the case of a ghost ooze). Furthermore, the mortapomp’s weapon attacks can deal damage to haunts as if they were positive energy attacks. A mortapomp can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to the mortapomp’s character level. These rounds need not be consecutive.
- Faceless: While Mortapomps needs to eat or drink to survive, they do not do so by normal means. Instead, they assimilate the food and drink, directly absorbing it and absorbing the food and drink into its body; this consumes the meal as though it had been eaten. Mortapomps consume potions and other ingested materials in the same fashion. Since they never actually ingest anything, they can’t normally be exposed to ingested poisons.
Alternate Racial Traits
The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.- Fleeting Spirit: Some mortapomps possess such an affinity with spirits that they are able to briefly manifest as a spirit themselves. When dying or dead, they may manifest their incorporeal soul in their square as a free action on their turn. They may then act for one round with whatever abilities they can still use while incorporeal, and at the end of their turn, the spirit fades away. The spirit has an amount of hit points equal to the mortapomp’s full maximum hit point total, but if an enemy somehow destroys the spirit during the mortapomp’s turn, the mortapomp may never be raised or resurrected. This ability replaces the grave’s mercy and soul sense racial traits.
- Unliving Hunter: Some mortapomps focus more on corporeal undead than on spirits, ghosts, and other such intangible creatures. They learn special techniques to better hunt such creatures, gaining a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against corporeal undead. This ability replaces the reaper’s scythe racial trait.
Favored Class Options
The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.- Alchemist: Add +10 minutes to the duration of the alchemist’s mutagens.
- Barbarian: Add +1 to the barbarian’s total number of rage rounds per day.
- Bard: Choose one bardic performance; treat the bard as +1/2 level higher when determining the effects of that performance.
- Cavalier: Add +1/2 to the cavalier’s bonus on damage against targets of his challenge when challenging an undead creature.
- Cleric: The cleric takes 1 less damage from negative energy and negative energy-based effects. Each time the cleric selects this reward, increase the amount of damage negated by 1.
- Druid: Add +1/2 to the druid’s Diplomacy, Intimidate, and spirit empathy checks made to influence spirits, lost souls, psychopomps, and undead.
- Fighter: Add a +1 bonus on rolls to stabilize when dying.
- Inquisitor: Add +1 to the range of the inquisitor’s soul sense. This option has no effect unless the inquisitor has selected it five times (or another increment of five).
- Magus: Add +1/2 to the magus’s spell damage against undead.
- Monk: For one round per day for each time the monk selects this option, as a free action he may treat his soul sense as blindsight against living or undead creatures within range. These rounds need not be consecutive.
- Oracle: Add +1/2 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.
- Paladin: Add +1/6 to the morale bonus on saving throws provided by the paladin’s auras.
- Psion: Add +1/3 to the psion’s saving throw against powers or effects from undead.
- Psychic Warrior: Add a +1 bonus on rolls to stabilize when dying.
- Ranger: Add +1/3 to the ranger’s favored enemy bonus against undead.
- Rogue: Add +1/2 to the damage done by the rogue’s sneak attacks against undead.
- Sorcerer: Add +1/2 to the sorcerer’s spell damage against undead.
- Soulknife: Add +1/3 to the soulknife’s psychic strike damage against undead.
- Summoner: Add +1 hit point or +1 skill rank to the summoner’s eidolon.
- Wilder: Add +1/2 to the wilder’s power damage against undead.
- Witch: Add +1/2 to the witch’s spell damage against undead.
- Wizard: Add +1/3 to the wizard’s saving throws when resisting necromancy spells or spell-like abilities.
Related Organizations
Feats
Bonded Mask (Mortapomp) Your connection to your mask is stronger than most mortapomps. Prerequisite(s): Cha 13, mortapomp. Benefit(s): You form a stronger attachment to the mask you are wearing when you gain this feat. This allows you to enhance the usual benefits you receive from this mask, gaining an additional +2 bonus to all saving throws against negative energy effects, death effects, and energy drain. Your mask gains 5 hardness and 10 hit points from this bond, and you receive a +4 bonus to CMD to avoid steal combat maneuvers targeting your mask. If you ever lose your current mask or decide to change the mask to which you are bonded, you lose both the bonus from this feat and the bonus from the mask racial ability until you have bonded a new mask, which takes 1 week of wearing the new mask followed by an 8-hour period of meditation using rare incense and herbs costing 100 gold pieces per character level. Any magical or non-magical mask can be attuned via this ritual except intelligent masks and artifacts.Frightful Mask (Mortapomp) Your mask has an otherworldly feel to it, seeming to stare into the souls of your enemies and strike fear in their hearts. Prerequisite(s): Bonded Mask, mortapomp. Benefit(s): While wearing your bonded mask, your visage unnerves your enemies. You gain a +2 bonus to Intimidate checks while wearing your bonded mask, and you may demoralize two enemies instead of one whenever you use the demoralize combat option. If you inflict the shaken condition on an opponent by any means, the duration of the condition increases by 1 round. Once per day, you can spend a standard action to stare at a shaken opponent. The opponent must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened for 1 round. If your opponent fails the save by 5 or more, they are instead panicked for 1 round.
Impregnable Mask (Mortapomp) You store vital essence in your mask, making it hard to kill you with ordinary weapons. Prerequisite(s): Bonded Mask, base attack bonus +4, mortapomp. Benefit(s): You shift some of your vital essence into your bonded mask, making it hard to harm you while the mask is whole. While wearing your bonded mask, you gain DR 2/adamantine, which is reduced to DR 1/adamantine if your bonded mask has the broken condition.
Second Sight (Mortapomp) Your training has refined your ability to sense the souls of others. Prerequisite(s): Wis 13, Blind-Fight, mortapomp, soul sight racial ability. Benefit(s): The range of your soul sight is increased by 5 feet. Special: This feat can be taken multiple times. Each time it is taken, the range of soul sight is increased by 5 feet.
