Sandskin Dai-Yukai
The towering Titanesses made slaves and beasts of burden
All Female Race
Base Racial Traits
Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Strength, +4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom) The Sandskin are incredibly strong and incredibly durable, yet due to their immense size, are hardly nimble at all and lack the book smarts other races have due to their highly tribal lifestyle and culture. Size: The Sandskin are huge sized creatures. They stand on average, anywhere between 16-32 feet tall, though they tend to fall on the taller side of that range. Sandskin gain no additional bonuses to ability scores due to their size. All ability score bonuses are factored into the race. Type: The Sandskin are creatures with the Humanoid type and the Half-Undead and Giant subtypes, and gain the associated benefits and penalties, being linked closely to both undeath and Giantkin due to their mixed and powerful ancestry. This type means they are treated as undead for the purposes of Positive and Negative Energy, gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws versus disease and mind-affecting effects, and do not eat unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities, though they still must breathe and sleep. They also take no penalties from energy-drain effects, though they can still be killed if they accrue more negative levels than they have hit dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels they’ve gained are removed with any additional saving throws. Speed: The Sandskin have a base land speed of 30ft. Vision: The Sandskin, due to their Half-Undead nature, gain Darkvision out to sixty feet, as well as Low-light vision from their Giant heritage. Additionally, they are capable of seeing through sandstorms and other head based extreme weather conditions, ignoring the miss chance for these obstructions up to their normal normal range of vision. Languages: Sandskin start play speaking Common and Necril. Sandskin with high INT may choose between the following as bonus languages: (Giant, Orc, Elven, Dwarven, Sylvan, Abyssal, and Infernal). Adapted to Heat: Due to their nature as slaves and beasts of burden being found mainly in the blisteringly hot deserts of Ea, Sandskin are unaffected by sandstorms or hot-weather of any kind. They take no perception penalties and can see at their normal range of vision inside them. Amazonian Physique: Sandskin have incredibly muscular and strong bodies, and gain a +2 Racial Bonus to Strength, and gain a +2 racial bonus on any strength-based skill check. Sandskin Defenses: Sandskin have skin as thick as iron, and gain +2 natural armor. They gain resistance 15 against all fire damage, but also take 50% more damage from cold. Slam: Sandskin gain two slam attacks that deal 1d8 damage each. These count as primary attacks if you possess no other natural attacks, otherwise they are not primary. Mighty Grip: Sandskin gain a racial +4 on CMB checks on creatures smaller than they are. They also gain the 'Constrict' Universal Monster Rule, dealing bludgeoning damage equal to two steps higher than their slam attack.(2d6 by default). Additionally, Sandskin can throw a sentient creature they are grappling with a successful CMB check if the target is unwilling, taking no penalties as they normally would for improvised weapon usage. The range increment for such a throw is treated as their Strength score X 5. Sandskin also gain a +10 to their CMD to avoid being disarmed. Mighty Trample: Sandskin are masters of trampling their foes with their massive size, and always possess the 'Trample' universal monster rule. The base damage for this trample is always two dice steps higher than their slam(1d8 becomes 2d6), and the DC to avoid it is (10 + 1/2 HD + STRMOD). Sandskin do not provoke attacks of opportunity when trampling as if they had the Improved Overrun feat, but do not get the bonuses to trample/overrun the feat would give them and can still take Improved Overrun to gain the bonuses. Sirocco Aura: Within a 50ft radius of a Sandskin, whirling blasts of sand buffet the area and all within it. The blistering sand and wind gusts cause a -4 penalty on Perception checks and ranged attacks. The wind itself blows in a clockwise rotation around the Sandskin, and functions as severe wind. Any effect that causes these winds to drop below severe (such as control weather or control winds) cancels the sandstorm effect entirely. This ability can be suppressed or activated as a standard action. Slave's Resilience: Sandskin are a race more used than any other to slavery and being the thrall of another creature, and over their unending eons of servitude and servility to the slavers of the desert their minds and bodies alike have hardened to resist the yoke of another creature. Sandskin gain a racial +4 on all saves vs enchantment effects as well as a +2 on all saves versus drugs or poisons. Hlodvi's Concordat: Sandskin are said to be not only the descendants of undead, but also a powerful Jotun King who once made an agreement with the world itself to grant him passage through stone and structures, despite his immense size. The Sandskin are said to have inherited this pact, long forgotten by all but the world itself, and despite their size limitations, are capable of entering any structure or space designed for medium or larger creatures as if they were the appropriate size, though cannot enter any such space designed for beings below medium sized and do not grow when entering such a location designed for larger creatures. This is an innate supernatural ability and a blessing from the planet itself, and cannot be suppressed or negated in any way, even by an antimagic field. Beasts of Burden: Sandskin are mainly used as Beasts of Burden by their slaver masters, and due to this Sandskin are the target of a permanent Ant Haul effect that cannot be dispelled or suppressed even by an antimagic field or mage's disjunction. This counts as an extraordinary ability. Sandskin also grant a +6 to the ride checks of any creatures attempting to ride them or use them as mounts. Sandskin are also immune to non-magical difficult terrain.
Race Flavor:
Basic Information
Anatomy
Sandskin are huge even amongst Giantkind, and as they on average stand easily over 30ft(9 meters) tall...though some amongst them can reach as high as twice this. Despite this size, they are built mostly like normal humanoids...they have two muscular legs that end in feet with five toes each, and burly arms that end in hands with five fingers each. They are all universally female, and thus all possess feminine bodily qualities and reproductive organs.
There has been almost no study into the anatomy of Sandskin even by their owners, but modern biologists and scholars have agreed that they likely possess a highly developed and incredibly durable skeletal system that is likely three or four times as thick and twice as well-built as the human norm in order to support their massive and muscular bodies. Likewise, their musculature system is surmised to be more akin to tightly interwoven bands of iron than normal muscle, and is estimated to be nearly four times as effective than is normal for normal creatures, allowing them to be stronger, have more stamina, and be more resistant to physical attack. Their organs, likewise, are assumed to be at most half-functional on average, and their digestive tract and all associated systems with the digestion and processing of food are assumed to be entirely non-functional and redundant.
What is known about Sandskin is that their bodies possess many qualities generally ascribed to male races, such as high levels of testosterone and even higher muscle mass than normal...these traits were bred and beat into them by their owners and masters, who desired them to be less feminine so they might serve them better as beasts of burden.
Biological Traits
Sandskin Dai Yukai are universally an all-female race, and though they are mainly found in the sandblasted deserts of the world, there is a bit of variation that can be expected between the different tribes. Skin color, facial bone structure and overall appearance are common things that may vary, but the other predominant variation are the designs and color of the markings each Sandskin etches upon their skin, which usually signify who owns them or, in the case of free Sandskin, who used to own them. In this way, some Sandskin develop massive canvases on their bodies of former owners.
They are typified by a massive amount of muscle mass even for creatures their size that means they as a people are incredibly strong and durable, their muscles often each as large as a fully grown adult medium sized creature, though this can vary slightly between individuals.
Hair color can vary as well, and Sandskin hair can run the range of color from any darker color to even some brighter and lighter colors like white, silver, and other white-adjacent colors to better blend into their snowy homes.
Additionally, Sandskin generally have sharp, bony, horn-like protrusions that extrude from their head and shoulders, giving them the appearance of demons or evil creatures from folklore.
As they are half undead creatures, they have a very different physiology compared to other creatures...they have no need to process or digest food, though their bodies are still alive enough to require breathing and other mundane bodily processes. This also gives them a large lifespan, but also gives them a large bit of variation between tribes on exactly how dead their members are. Some are closer to death than life, others are the opposite, but most Dai-Yukai have one foot in the grave at least. However, Sandskin are a bit more alive than their frigid sisters of the north, and their bodies are capable of normal bodily processes such as sweat and sleep that their more dead ancestors cannot experience.
Their eyes are typically deep reds, blacks, and other reddish colors, but can also run from white, silver, to platinum.
Genetics and Reproduction
Being an All-Female race, Sandskin are naturally forced to rely on other races to reproduce. Each Sandskin is capable of reproduction and, when they become pregnant, carry their young inside them and give birth as is normal for humans or similar creatures after a period of about 4 to 8 months, giving birth to an infant female of their species or, more likely, an infant of the father's species.
Though they are not infertile per se, Sandskin are a race cursed by their own immense strength. So strong and mighty are they that their bodies outright reject any attempts to impregnate them if the non-Sandskin in the coupling is not of sufficient strength both in body and mind...because of this, only the mightiest warriors of the humanoid races can even hope to allow the Sandskin to come down with child, and often die in the process of reproduction if they prove weak enough. Their long years of slavery have lessened this curse somewhat, as their masters have gone to great lengths to make them even the slightest bit more fertile...as a result, Sandskin can sometimes successfully breed with weaker races, but due to the horrible internal state of their drug-addicted and mutated bodies if such a coupling produced a child it almost always means the death of the partner. To their owners, however, the death of a few strong warriors means nothing if it means more Sandskin to enslave.
Because of this, the Sandskin often rely more on the more monstrous races that call the arid climates of the world their homes, such as the Dragonborn, Goliaths, or the Chaotic, Furious Wulven...these races have a much higher chance of allowing a coupling with a Sandskin to at the very least bear fruit and give the Sandskin a child...though, even then, the natural odds of a coupling producing a Sandskin child are unnaturally low, meaning barely one in every 100 children comes out as a Sandskin instead of as the race of the father.
When they do become pregnant, Sandskin carry their child inside them for a length of time ranging from about 4 to 8 months, during which time they swell to massive proportions and become significantly weaker than their non-gestating kin. However, their enormous power is still incredibly daunting, and many female Sandskin chieftains or overlords have maintained their throne even during the vulnerable throes of labor. Sandskin birth typically takes place in a solitary temple or location designed for specifically such a purpose, as the might of a Sandskin in the thrashing throes of childbirth is a force that can level even the mightiest buildings.
Growth Rate & Stages
Sandskin generally reach adolescence at the age of 30, and become adults by no older than 50. Even as childen, Sandskin, when they are born into slavery as they often are, are expected to work and do chores for their owners and masters...and often, are sold as valuable commodities to wealthy buyers. During this time, they are taught the ways of obedience and servitude by their masters, though more enterprising masters also teach their Sandskin slaves language, intelligence, and even history and other bits of knowledge to ensure they serve them better...once they hit adulthood, Sandskin are sold off if they weren't already and put to full work as beasts of burden and menial laborers, or whatever tasks they are demanded to do.
Once they are bought for the first time and each time they change hands during their lives, Sandskin are branded with a unique mark and design to represent their new owner.
Sandskin typically live slightly shorter lives than their frigid sisters thanks to the tough life of slavery and drug abuse, generally living to the ancient age of 350 and rarely upwards of 400 before dying of old age.
Ecology and Habitats
As they are incredibly resilient to heat and inversely incredibly weak to cold and frost, Sandskin are exclusively found in the deserts of the world...and rarely can be found in more tropical or mild climes.
Sandskin, since they rarely form conclaves of their own and are more commonly slaves, simply follow the whims of their owners and do as they are told wherever they live.
When they do become free and band together into conclaves, they often live incredibly reclusive lives and often treasure and protect the natural world...for they often prefer the company of animals and beasts over that of men and sentient creatures.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Sandskin have no need to eat at all, a fact which pleases their masters, but they can and sometimes do when it pleases them and when they have sufficient food to feed their tribe. When they choose to eat, Sandskin are omnivores capable of eating anything they can fit down their massive gullets...even stone and metal. Their stomach's digestive acids are so legendarily potent than they can dissolve stone and even some weaker metals, allowing them to subsist for a long while on even the scarcest supplies of food.
Though they are capable of it, Sandskin shun and dislike the practice of eating other sentient life.
Biological Cycle
As Sandskin age, their bony protrusions become longer and sharper as they skin begins to dull and get more greyish in appearance. Their bodies frequently mutate and grow out of control in more unfortunate cases of old age, as their lifetime of forced drug use and abuse begin to catch up with them and cause them to grow extra limbs or similar mutations. Generally, their organs will decay from the abuse and the stress and they will collapse from exhaustion long before they die of old age...but, assuming they live long enough, they organs will eventually grow old and begin to shut down as their skin grows dull and wrinkly. Their hair will begin to fall out and their eyes will often go bad and render them blind, as well.
Commonly, it is considered one of the few common courtesies afforded to a Sandskin by their owner, or their kin if they are free, to put them out of their misery as they reach old age...if only to spare them from the pain of the coming mutations and agony of their failing bodies crumbling around them in a sort of living hell.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Sandskin have no centralized social structure to call their own, and are often found in singular or sometimes a small group that is owned as property by those who purchase them.
In the rare instances where they become free and manage to form conclaves of their own kind, they often put extreme emphasis on equality amongst each other, and form merit-based societies where each members works towards the betterment of the whole, and where each cares for the other members as their own kin, and do anything to protect the other members of the society. These rare Sandskin conclaves are incredibly hostile towards the very idea of caste-based societies, slavery, or any notion of putting another being down for the sake of another's gain. If one Sandskin requires something done, it is very common for the other members of the conclave to help them out with little ask of reward or personal gain, as these Sandskin have incredibly tight bonds and communal ideals that drive them to gladly help or assist others of their kind for the simple reason that they are of the same species.
Altogether, Sandskin are a people with an incredibly strong racial identity that can often never be broken even under threat of death. They trust one another, would die for one another, and cannot possibly fathom betraying or putting down another Sandskin for paltry personal gain...as there are so few of them to begin with, they believe heavily in communal teamwork and that they all must get along as one to continue their kind.
Domestication
Sandskin are a people enslaved, and as they have lived in slavery for nearly a millennia this lifestyle has altered them significantly from their more frigid sisters. This slavery has primarily almost entirely erased their cultural identity, and the Sandskin as a race know next to nothing about their people or their history...also, they have been brought closer to life from their state of half-undeath, so much so that they now require sleep and even now sweat and excrete as a living creature does.
Many of them have been so altered by this lifetime of slavery that they have a hard time articulating their own desires or ideals, or generally doing anything that is not demanded of them from a master or owner.
Thanks to lifetimes of drug use forced upon them by their masters to make them more compliant and docile, mutation is common amongst Sandskin...the best example of which are the bony spines that protrude from their head and shoulders. This drug use has also irrevocably altered their skin color from deep blue to red, and has almost entirely removed many of their more feminine traits such as their wide hips for childbirth...while their existing feminine traits that remain have been diminished and made more masculine, though they are still female.
The one benefit that has possible come from their domestication is that, compared to their frigid sisters in the north, Sandskin are more fertile and capable of having children...such that though their fertility rate still doesn't let them mate with humans or other plentiful races almost ever, it can be done...though it is incredibly rare, it is possible. However, thanks to their drug-addled and mutation ridden bodies, the death rate of their mates is altogether higher.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Sandskin are slaves, and are commonly exploited for the bony horn-like protrusions that grow upon their heads and shoulders...which is often made into jewelry or trophies. Sandskin muscle fibers and even bodily fluids such as blood and sweat are valued as well as that of incredibly strong warriors, and sold to hardy desert warriors as products to make them stronger.
Facial characteristics
Sandskin have sharp, jagged faces with features that are as rough and brutal as they themselves. They have sharp jawlines, eyes that are often sunken into their faces, and often have sharp ridges that are raised from their faces. They often have long, flowing hair that they often braid or tie off to prevent it from interfering in combat, and altogether have features that give them a very hostile or cold neutral expression.
Additionally, Sandskin generally have sharp, bony, horn-like protrusions that extrude from their head and shoulders, giving them the appearance of demons or evil creatures from folklore.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Sandskin, having been enslaved from their original frozen homes, are found almost exclusively within the scorching deserts of the world, but can be found anywhere else hot that their owners and masters care to take them.
Average Intelligence
Sandskin are ironically smarter than their more frigid sisters, and are at the very least are as intelligent as baseline humanity, and are capable of growing smarter with practice and learning...though they are a bit less wise than their sisters thanks to their brutal slave lifestyles.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Powerful not only in body, Sandskin have an excellent and even feared range of visual acuity that lets them not only see excellently in the dark, but their eyes have been mutated and trained to be used to low-light conditions and, most notably, to whirling sandstorms and windstorms and mists, and Sandskin are said to be able to see through all such extreme environmental conditions as easily as if they weren't even there.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Sandskin are primarily slaves, and it is not incredibly common for them to be given names in the first place that are something beyond numbers or simple one-word phrases. However, when owned by particularly caring or interested masters or when they become free and choose their own names, they generally have names similar to arabic or middle-eastern names, but can sometimes borrow the naming traditions from the races they grow up with or are owned by.
Beauty Ideals
Sandskin have little personal ideals of beauty thanks to their lives as slaves, but they do consider their brandings of servitude and scars a sign of beauty.
Gender Ideals
Sandskin have only one gender, and on top of being slaves this means they have little "ideal" form for themselves. For enslaved Sandskin, their ideal is often a simple one that obeys their masters, does not disobey them, and does as they are told.
Conversely, a free Sandskin often has a basic ideal of a creature who does not bend to the commands of another, but often spend their newfound freedom searching for this ideal.
Courtship Ideals
Sandskin, being slaves, are seldom allowed the freedom to court others...even as free people, they spend more time searching for a meaning in their lives that they rarely develop complex Courtship ideals. If they spend enough time as a free being, they often come to develop Courtship ideals favoring spending a good amount of time getting to know the other creature, truly and without a doubt. They want to get to know who a creature truly is, past their lies and exterior facades, and find the truth of a being that they care to court...this is a born out of a general suspicion of other beings thanks to their years of slavery, and a desire to avoid such a thing happening again.
Relationship Ideals
Sandskin, as slaves, are seldom allowed the freedom to develop relationships and thus have little in the way of relationship ideals.
When they become free beings, these relationship ideals are often based on the notion of treating every being based on their actions and merits alone, and to give them each the benefit of the doubt until they prove themselves unworthy of it. They prefer relationships of equals, where both partners strive to better each other, protect each other, and further the relationship as a team and group, putting themselves at equal levels in the process.
Average Technological Level
Sandskin are mostly slaves, and have little technology of their own.
Common Etiquette Rules
If it is up to them and they are free, Sandskin treat all beings they meet with at least a surface level of courtesy unless they can tell they are slavers or similar beings who enslave or conquer others, to whom they show no mercy. Otherwise, they strive to offer others at least basic courtesies when they meet...no matter the race of those they meet, they at least give them the courtesy of a conversation or meeting to gauge their personality.
However, because of their innate suspicion, they often are fully prepared to strike and kill at a moments notice should the one they are meeting show signs of evil or intent to attack.
To others of their kind, they almost universally welcome them as trusted sisters and allies, and strive to welcome them into the fold and free them from bondage wherever possible. It is almost completely foreign of a concept to Sandskin to distrust or betray another Sandskin, or to refuse them common courtesy and shelter.
Common Dress Code
Sandskin place little cultural importance on complicated dress, and as slaves they often wear little more than rags and scraps.
As free-willed beings, they often wear leathers and cloth that covers their essential parts but leaves many parts such as their shoulders, stomach, and legs and arms exposed due to their lack of access to complicated or large materials, and the simple fact they often don't care to bundle up tightly thanks to their immense amount of innate resistance to heat and weather.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Sandskin may have once had common customs and traditions when they were true Dai-Yukai, but now they are little more than creatures with little to no culture or traditions to call their own.
Common Taboos
Sandskin have one taboo that stands above all others, and that is to enslave or cage another being. To do so is considered taboo in the extreme, as is to flatten, crush, attack or kill another creature simple for getting near or being a certain race or way. They always strive to at least justify their killings, and never enslave or imprison another creature unless extenuating circumstances call for it.
History
Sandskin are Dai-Yukai that were abducted from their island home long ago and turned into slaves through rigorous conditioning and brutal methods to serve as massive beasts of burden and slave labor within the harsh environments of the desert. Most of their own history as a race is lost to the enslaved Sandskin, and few among them, if any, can even recall their own racial history or that they once came from an island home in anything other than distant myths and legend many believe to be fake.
Common Myths and Legends
While the truth of it is dubious at best, Sandskin have a loose cultural myth that one day they will be released from their bondage by an "Angel of Irons" who will descend as figure from the heavens to lead them to freedom...they look up to this Angel in Irons as a folk hero, and a being who will one day arrive to save them all.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Sandskin, unlike their frigid sisters of the north, get along surprisingly well with most other races they come across assuming they are free-willed and not enslaved. They will offer common courtesy and shelter to those they meet assuming they are returned in kind, and often are only hostile once those they meet prove hostile to them. They are mostly kind and get along well with others, and if left alone will prefer to keep to themselves and quietly build up their strength and save others of their kind from bondage...as well as helping the occasional traveler who stumbles across them, assuming their intentions aren't hostile...but once a creature has proven themselves enemy to a Sandskin, they soon find out that doing so will make them an enemy for life...and will often make enemies out of the entire Sandskin population nearby.
Alternate Racial Trait List: Sandskin Alternate Racial Traits
Racial Feat List: Sandskin Racial Feats
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
350 years
Conservation Status
Sandskin are incredibly low in population, and mostly spend their lives in slavery and servitude. However, this small number means slavers often make incredibly lucrative livings "breeding" Sandskin with other powerful creatures to produce mighty offspring...thus ensuring that Sandskin, while not free themselves, are slowly expanding in population and number.
Average Height
8.6 - 9.4 Meters. Can get as large as 18 meters.
Average Weight
16 - 45 Tons
Average Physique
Sandskin are constantly used as slaves to do menial labor, carry heavy items, or even be simple transportation for their masters. Due to this highly physical lifestyle, Sandskin are extremely muscular and even more durable, with rippling muscles born of long hours toiling away in the hot desert sun. They often have incredibly toned bodies that are covered in scars, cuts, injuries both new and old, and countless markings and tattoos that tell a tale of previous owners and masters. Unlike their frigid sisters, their bodies retain little in the way of feminine suppleness and they are built incredibly masculine, and though they have feminine qualities they are often masked behind their more obvious masculine natures such as rippling muscles, hyperactive physiques and testosterone-laden bodies. Additionally, Sandskin generally have sharp, bony, horn-like protrusions that extrude from their head and shoulders, giving them the appearance of demons or evil creatures from folklore.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Sandskin bodies are generally typified with their deep blood-red skin, colored and marked with countless inks and stamps from previous owners, masters, others who once held dominion over them, and even markings they do themselves to celebrate becoming free creatures. Their skin is often covered in a fine layer of sand, grime, and sweat thanks to their thankless lives as slaves and beasts of burden.
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