Stone-Warped

The half-stone creations of Ancient Humanity, made for an ancient war now forgotten

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: (+4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity): Stone-Warped are notoriously durable, but are conversely quite ponderous and slow thanks to their bulky bodies.
Size: Stone-Warped are medium sized creatures and thus gain no benefits or penalties due to their size.
Type: Stone-Warped are Humanoid Creatures with the Half-Construct Subtype and the subtype corresponding to the race they were before their transformation(Or the race whose genetics make up a majority of their construction, Player Choice).
Speed: Stone-Warped are slow and unwieldy, and have a base land speed of 20ft, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Vision: Stone-Warped gain low light vision, and are able to see twice as far as normal in dim lighting.
Languages: Stone-Warped start play with Common and High Human, and intelligent Stone-Warped may select from the following languages: (Draconic, Dwarven, Old Dwarven, Necril, Orc, Giant, Celestial)
Unusual Anatomy: Stone-Warped, thanks to their odd Half-Construct bodies, gain immunity to poison as well as a +2 on all saves made to resist effects that inflict fatigue and exhaustion and on all saves made vs mind-affecting effects. They also do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe unless they wish to gain some beneficial effect from doing so. However, Stone-Warped cannot be raised or Resurrected once they are slain much like Constructs and are treated as having both the Humanoid and Construct types for effects that go off of type.
Giant Soldiers of Stone: Their bodies fused with stone in an irregular blend of man and nature, Stone-Warped are notoriously durable and gain both an additional +2 racial bonus to Constitution and a racial +4 bonus to their natural armor as a result. Additionally, Stone-Warped are able to provide soft cover to ranged attacks for creatures hiding behind them and may as an immediate action reduce the damage of melee or ranged attack targeting them OR a ranged attack targeting a creature using them as cover by twice their Constitution Modifier(Minimum 1).
Stone Bulwark: Stone-Warped may cast Stone Shape 3/day and Wall of Stone 1/day as Spell-Like Abilities, using their HD in place of CL and their CON for the saving throw.
Constructed Empathy: Stone-Warped can communicate empathetically with constructs and certain Aurelian facilities and ruins by focusing on a given construct or section of an applicable ruin/facility within 30ft of them as a full-round action - for mindless constructs, this functions more akin to communicating with a rigid machine than a sentient creature. This does not engender loyalty or obedience from constructs or ruins/facilities - it merely facilitates communication.
Shoulder Check: Stone-Warped gain a single slam attack as a primary natural attack that deals 1d8 points of bludgeoning damage on a successful hit, with a x2 critical multiplier. They gain the Push(10ft) Universal Monster Rule with this attack. A stone-warped can instead use this ability as a move action to deal no damage but automatically push a creature within their melee reach 5ft in movement that does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
Made for War: Stone-Warped, forged in Aurelian Laboratories to serve in ancient wars, are crafted to be both perceptive and skills in the healing arts - Stone-Warped gain Perception and Heal as class skills, and gain a racial +2 to both skills.
Bulky Body: Stone-Warped, unnaturally heavy and oddly built, are treated as one size category larger for determining what combat maneuvers affect them. They also gain a static +4 racial bonus to their CMD and CMB, and are unnaturally inedible - forcing any creature whose stomach they are inside of via Swallow Whole or similar abilities(GM Discretion) to make a DC 15 + the Stone Warped's HD Fortitude Save at the start of each of their turns that the Stone-Warped remains inside of them or be forced to violently vomit up the contents of their stomach, automatically ejecting all swallowed creatures into the nearest empty squares.
Sentinel's Vigil: In a ritualistic process that requires a minute to perform, a Stone-Warped can place themselves into a silent, timeless vigil that effectively transforms them into a statue resembling themselves in an Extraordinary effect similar to Temporal Stasis - save that they become a mundane Stone Statue, unaware of the passage of the time and gaining DR 20/- as well as immunity to disease for as long they remain in stasis in this manner. Once they enter this trance, they cannot exit it unless they are dealt HP damage or unless another creature spends one minute in physical contact with them jostling them awake(Intentionally meaning to trigger an awakening). Creatures that do not mean to trigger an awakening that handle them in statue form may eventually trigger them to awaken over a longer period of time, at GM's discretion.
Faulty Construction: Stone-Warped, their bodies irregular and jumbled, rely on their stone carapaces to hold themselves together - due to this, they take 1.5x damage from all attacks made with adamantine weapons as such weapons cause havoc on their unstable internal anatomy.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The anatomy of the Stone-Warped is a strange and alien thing that often disquiets and unnerves those who encounter them. They often resemble humanoid creatures in their base nature, with two arms and two legs attached to a central torso with a head atop it, but they are all warped to some degree; Some possess fused joints or ligaments, others simply possess constant and grating pain every second they move or breathe, or their skin might be excessively stiff and inflexible, making movement difficult.
What makes them all "Stone-Warped" however, is the hideous blending of stone and flesh that came together to create their existences. As products of the ancient arcane experiments of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man that never saw completion, Stone-Warped have bodies made of a hideous amalgamation of stone and flesh, bulky in some places and thin in others, with a great deal of variety in how they appear from individual to individual. Some might resemble more humans with patches of stone across their body, while others who are less fortunate may resemble walking stone monstrosities with stone that loosely resembles muscle fiber and skin, faces and features twisted into a strange mockery of life.
Inside their bodies, Stone-Warped possess an inconsistent anatomical structure that looks to those who examine it as something straight out of a mad scientists's laboratory; The Skeletal and Musculature systems are hideously assembled, scrambled and put together wrong but yet resembling their origins: All Stone-Warped were once living creatures of some kind that were put into the fleshvats of High Humanity and transformed whether through malice long ago, accident, or perhaps capture and re-assembly by more hostile stone-warped communities.
Their organs are often wonky and out of place, and to many trained in biology their anatomy should not work or be functional at all; It is through the wonders of Arcanoscience and Genetic Engineering that they yet cling to life. Yet, they have just enough internals to hearken back to what they once were, and unlike undead or true constructs, many of these organs do still function and are vital for their continued existence. Others, however, such as the lungs or stomach - are now useless to them.

Genetics and Reproduction

Stone-Warped are mostly incapable of reproduction through normal methods, and are instead "assembled" in secretive, hidden Manufactorums generally located deep in the bowels of the old Ruined Cities of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man across Corexus, where living humanoids are put through a grueling transformation process to become a Stone-Warped...or sometimes, when times are scarce, dead ones are used as well to create a wholly new existence made of mostly stone and some dead flesh given new life through Arcanoscience. Either way, the creatures used to fuel the creation of a Stone-Warped do not survive this transformation in the true sense, and "die" to be reborn in a new Stone-Warped body as a new existence...so while vestiges may remain, many forget their old lives entirely and those that do remember possess only vestiges, though many still quest to discover who they used to be.
Though rare, it is possible for a Stone-Warped to exist to retain enough of an organic body that it can still reproduce...when such a thing happens, they generally reproduce like Humans through sexual reproduction, where the females carry their young inside them and give birth to them after several months of carrying them within them.

Growth Rate & Stages

When they are first "Constructed", a Stone-Warped goes through a several month process where their soul and mind slowly become acclimated to their new body...which roughly equates to "childhood" as other races experience it, though they go through none of the growing into adulthood others do in a truly biological or physical sense, though they may get more used their body as those initial months wear on in a similar manner.
A Stone-Warped reaches adulthood months after they are created, reach middle age around age 35, grow old around age 50, and hit venerable around age 65 at which point they die soon after.

Ecology and Habitats

The Stone-Warped are typically found underground in the ruined cities that once belonged to the ancient kingdom of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man, or in other similar underground ruins where they congregate in tribes and small civilizations around the failing factories that still produce more of their kind, forming tight-knit communities around them and others like them, or others who find themselves similarly out of the way and downtrodden.
Sometimes, Stone-Warped can be found aboveground adapting to life above and in other communities, but such a thing is rare as they are often reviled and feared by others for their odd appearances and ecelctic demeanor.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Stone-Warped, much like humans, are omnivores who can eat both plants and animals, but unlike them their jaws are capable of chewing and crushing rocks and boulders, and they can quite literally chew and digest(And get nutrients from) rocks and especially gemstones, both of which they usually prefer to killing animals or uprooting plants.

Biological Cycle

As they grow older, the pain any given Stone-Warped experiences intensifies as their lives go on, their bodies slowly breaking down as they age. The stone and flesh alike that makes them up begins to slowly decay away, grow grey and crumble, and the Arcanoscience that holds them together begins to sputter and die away until their spirit finally passes into the great beyond as they die, their bodies reused by other enterprising Stone-Warped to fuel the birth/creation of a new Stone-Warped, so the cycle may continue.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

While useful if perhaps for the magic materials and well-carved stone that makes their bodies up, Stone-Warped have few other uses or byproducts.

Facial characteristics

Stone-Warped can have a wide variety of Facial Characteristics, and while the more unlucky ones can have stony faces eternally chiseled into horrifying Rictuses or other fearful screaming visages, many Stone-Warped have solid and broad facial features as they are often literally stony and made of rock as if to resemble helmets, capable of being manipulated and having expressions like many other creatures.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Stone-Warped are found primarily underground and lamost exclusively in, near, or around the ruins of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man that dot the surface of Corexus. They are rarely found above the surface or very far from these ruins.

Average Intelligence

Stone-Warped trace their roots back to primarily humans and other half-races, but as they can come from a myriad of races they are typically no smarter or dumber than baseline creatures such as Humans.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Stone-Warped are creatures that were created and are still forged in the ruined cities of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man that now dot the landscape, and dwell mostly below ground in the ruined halls of the stone cities they once cared for and serve in...they rarely leave and enter the daylight of the surface, so they are sensitive to sudden bright lights, they eyes poorly adjusted to the harsh light of the surface.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Stone-Warped Names are very simple and typically three or less syllables in length, their simple natures and malformed appearance reflected in their short, biting names that are marked by their sharp, powerful syllables and simple styles. Linguistically, their names can come from most any nationality, be it eastern or western, as the ruins they emerge from are dotted all across the landscape.
Male: Shorok, Gigax, Yak, Syant, Joji, Batreq, etc...
Female: Lilak, Deliax, Rem, Ram, Yuki, Qulia, etc...

Beauty Ideals

Stone-Warped, due to their hideous and often monstrous exterior, tend to look towards a creature's spirit to find beauty, and often have a cultural emphasis on "inner beauty". They find it incredibly easy to look past the exterior to see who others truly are, as they themselves are so twisted outside.

Gender Ideals

While Stone-Warped mostly lack "gender" in a true sense outside of a few rare examples who retain enough organic parts of their bodies to reproduce, they distinguish gender mostly by the appearance of the physical form, but place no further emphasis on gender.

Courtship Ideals

Stone-Warped courtship is much more intrinsically related to getting to know another creature's personality and true nature, and they often simply prefer to spend time together with one another to court each other, or hold other such simplistic values.

Relationship Ideals

Stone-Warped relationships are things based on what lies inside rather than out, and is ideally a thing between two creatures who have seen each other's true selves, and accept them for who they are.

History

Stone-Warped were beings created in the ancient fleshlabs of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man to combat their mortal foes, the High Lamia of The Aenorian Empire, with the intention of creating partially inorganic creatures that would be unappetizing enough for the beautiful but maneating High Lamia...yet, in a crucial design flaw, the creators of the Stone-Warped had not considered the fact that High Lamia had stomach acids strong enough to dissolve stone and metal...and that they were most all perfectly willing to swallow stone, so long as it squirmed and moved as it did so.
Such was the cruel fate of the Stone-Warped, as projects abandoned by their creators before they could even be completed...and while many were repurposed as menial workers and later on as warriors, the fact does not change that as a race, the Stone-Warped were never truly finished.

Common Myths and Legends

Stone-Warped tell many a tale of the mythical figure known as The Warfather, of an ancient General of The Aurelian Hegemony of Man who saw potential in them and turned them into his personal fighting force of elite warriors...they speak of this figure as their savior, and the only one who took pity on them and saw worth in them, who has since ascended into godhood and become something more.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Stone-Warped communities can range from incredibly hostile to simply paranoid of others, depending on the community and its location.

Alternate Racial Trait List:
NO LONGER ACCURATE. UNDERGOING REWORK.
Stone-Warped Alternate Racial Traits

Racial Feat List:
NO LONGER ACCURATE. UNDERGOING REWORK.
Stone-Warped Racial Feats

Origin/Ancestry

High Humans(Creators)

Lifespan

40 Years

Conservation Status

Stone-Warped are a rare sight outside of the underground ruins they tend to inhabit, but they are not endangered, and merely avoid contact with others due to their oft-hideous appearances and unsettling existences.

Average Height

5.7ft - 7.1ft (1.74m - 2.16m)

Average Weight

Varies wildly, but Stone-Warped tend to be much heavier than humans.

Average Physique

Stone-Warped are large-bodied, automata-esque creatures whose appearances can run an incredibly wide gamut - many are often made to resemble stone statues(And carved as if they were wearing armor) while others may resemble fleshy half-stone monstrosities; In either case, they possess bodies blended from stone, flesh, and other Arcanoscience that are often are hulking, large, unwieldy, and their muscles and skin are often indistinguishable from stone.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Stone-Warped bodies are often tinged the color of rock and stone, and can range from slate-grey to black and any other rock-like color in between.

Related Reading