Venau Knight Alternate Racial Traits

Coldborn: Gain Tremorsense 30ft. Replaces Glacial Soul.
Some Venau Knights have traveled and lived amongst the snow drifts, ice slides, and blizzards of Venau for so long that they have learned how to see through the very ground, and become as one with the cold environment of the north. They are respected by the hunters who travel the tundras as valuable allies, and frequently make use of their talents by adventuring and becoming warriors.

Uttercold Soul: Uttercold does not bypass your innate defenses or resistances against cold or the resistances of those you choose within 10ft of you. Gain Immunity to Cold and automatically deal 1d4 points of cold damage that bypasses immunities and resistances when you strike a creature with a melee attack. Replaces Glacial Soul and Undead Defenses.
Born with a splinter of Uttercold lodged in their soul, some Venau Knights hold innate resistances against the deadly ice, though they lose a few of their Undead Defenses because of the shard lodged in their soul. So frigid are they, this coldness infects those nearby, granting them the very same immunity.

Well-Crafted: Gain Toughness as bonus feat, and double all numerical bonuses; Replaces Fear Aura.
While most Venau Knights are summoned in droves by the Dread Lich Barkhan, some rare few have the privilege of being handcrafted to perfection by the Grand Lich himself. These Venau Knights are excellently formed, and while they are less terrifying than their kin, they are infinitely tougher for it. However...they frequently find themselves needing their enhanced toughness, as they quite often brag loudly and proudly about their origins...which frequently earns the ire of listeners due to the unending nature of their bragging.

Uttercold Aura: Gain an aura of absolute, freezing cold that chills the soul, not just the physical form, that reaches out to 30ft around you. Any enemies within this aura take 1d6 cold damage that bypasses ALL immunities at the start of your turn and become fatigued, though a creature that is already fatigued cannot be affected by an additional fatigue, and takes no additional effect, though still takes the damage. Creatures within the aura must make a reflex save to halve the damage from the aura and negate the fatigue effect.(DC 10 + 1/2HD + CHAMOD). You may disable and enable this aura as a swift action. Replaces Fear Aura.
Though rare, some undead in venau are born from the deep snowbanks that fill the lands of the icy nation, forming naturally from the corpses of those unfortunate beings who met an icy demise in the unflinchingly brutal lands of Venau. Surrounded in an aura of cold and Hoarfrost so utterly, absolutely cold that it freezes the soul as well as the physical shell, freezing the bone and blood as well as stealing one’s energy from them, these ‘Uttercold Undead’ are as cold and frosty as their namesake, the cold they emit capable of chilling even themselves and other beings normally immune to the cold’s effects. As such, they make life uncomfortable for the citizens of Venau, but are not disparaged greatly.

Ancient One: Gain racial +4 to knowledge history and knowledge local, they are always class skills; replaces Horrifying Visage.
Some Venau Knights are formed naturally over time, and can trace their origins back to the earliest days of recorded history. These Knights are normally quite sagacious, wise, and calm, always preferring to think before they speak and do even the smallest actions with deliberate, careful intent...a fact which can cause others to see them as slow. However, these undead are simply, and frequently, enraptured with the world they’ve found themselves thrust into, which so frequently defies their expectations. They have a small, secret curiosity burning inside them, and enjoy discovery and adventure beneath their sage-like exterior.

Ice-Encrusted Hunter: Gain racial +4 to Survival and Perception, they are always class skills; Replaces Horrifying Visage.
Some Venau Knights take up jobs and livelihoods as talented rangers of the frozen tundra, living lives in tune with the nature-rich, untouched wonderland that Venau so frequently is. Adept at navigating and enduring powerful blizzards, blistering winds, and icy chills, these Venau Knights are deadly capable hunters despite, or perhaps because of, this...and have grown accustomed to being as perceptive as possible, and having to track wild game through waist-deep snow drifts.

Undead Scholar: Gain racial +4 to spellcraft and knowledge arcana; Replaces Horrifying Visage.
Venau is a nation renowned the world over for its magical libraries and know-how, and it is hardly surprising the citizens there take great advantage of such a treasure. The Venau Knights are no different, and several take up residence in Mortheim and other cities and become scholars of the arcane, using the vast knowledge and resources at their disposal to gain deep, rich knowledge of many topics. They are ravenous for knowledge and new experiences, and love nothing more than creating magical trinkets, items, and spells with their own hands.

Undead Statesman: Gain racial +4 to Diplomacy, Sense Motive, and Bluff, two are always class skills; Replaces Horrifying Visage.
While the leader of Venau is famous in many lands for his power, magical knowledge, and wisdom, the unfortunate Venau Knights he summons know his true nature...that of a lackadaisical, whimsical, flippant slacker. Albeit one who means well, and does right by his country, but to the unfortunate Venau Knights who are foisted the roles and responsibilities of their frivolous lord, the courts and the ways of the Statesman are second nature to them. They are deeply experienced with charming the populace, playing up the better parts of their lord, and reading the mood of the people to see how the country is going...and as such, they are capable wordsmiths.

Kinslayer: Gain Deathwatch as a constant spell-like ability, and gain +2 on all attack and damage rolls and +1 AC against Undead creatures. Replaces Undead Defenses.
In hushed voices and whispered rumors, other nations speak of an elite task force maintained by Venau, and commanded by Barkhan himself...one which specializes in hunting down and destroying the undead in Venau who revert back to their hostile natures. The Venau Knights trained in the ways of the Kinslayer have a burden bigger than themselves forced upon them; they are trained for decades to hunt and kill their fellows, to put them down like dogs in the snow, to find them and end them at all costs, for the sake of peace. This training has granted them innate powers over seeing the lifeforce of other beings, and an innate, burning hatred against others of their kind because of it.

Drowned Dead: Gain Fast Healing 4 so long as you are submerge, partially submerged(>51%), or atop a sailing vessel in salt water, fresh water, or brackish water. Stagnant, poisoned, or trapped water (such as water within an artificial pit or a bag of holding) does not activate this ability. Replaces Undead Defenses.
While exceedingly rare, some Venau Knights form naturally from the corpses of pirates, sailors, merchants, and privateers who die in the frozen seas off the coasts of Venau. Washing up on shore, born out of the despair and helplessness which surrounded their deaths, they frequently become citizens of the snow-coated nation, and, though they frequently contain little memories of their life before due to the tragic nature of their deaths, retain their hearts of adventure, and make up the bulk of Venau’s undead navy, their former love of the ocean granting them innate healing abilities when they return to the element in which they were born.

Member of the Royal Harem: Gain a racial +4 bonus to resist all magical and non-magical charm effects and immunity to all Polymorph effects except those you cast on yourself. You may allow a polymorph effect to affect you, but you must willingly and consciously make the choice to allow it. In addition, gain EITHER of the below racial traits: Can only be taken by females. Replaces Undead Defenses and Weapon Proficiencies.

• Harem Escapee: Gain +1 on all attack and damage rolls against undead creatures

• Bride of the Mad Lich King: Gain a racial +2 bonus to saving throws, AC, and any checks against all divine spells, spell-like abilities, and effects.

Famously in possession of a ‘Royal Harem’, the Lich King Barkhan has collected many races and many women in his journeys, offering them all a place back in his nation at his side, in his harem, to be taken care of and treated like royalty. While his citizens regard such a thing as odd, and even disgusting, but otherwise simply ignore it as one of the Lich’s many whims, the women he brings back with him occasionally come out changed...more resistant to charm, and incapable of having their physical forms changed, these women either claim to have run away from such a place, abandoning him and his harem for a life of freedom...while yet others claim to have given themselves over to him body and soul, becoming his brides and sharing his visions and goals...though those who do rapidly become staunch advocates against the gods, for reasons unknown.

Caledonian Remnant: Gain Skilled as a racial trait(+1 skill rank per level). Additionally, gain a racial +2 bonus to Sense Motive, Knowledge(History), and Diplomacy, and one is always a class skill for you. Replaces Weapon Proficiencies.
In the ancient days before Venau as a country existed, the legends tell of a previous, similar attempt by a Mad Lich to craft a nation of his very own on the same spot as Venau...a country of unknown name that was said to be a country of exclusively undead, where they could live in peace without mortal interference, it was known for its frequently absent, but insanely powerful, undead lich king...yet, was reduced to so much rubble overnight, while he was away. Those few that survived this event were called the ‘Remnant’, and while even fewer exist today, they hearken back to a time of the arts, of skill and creation...of a peaceful nation well-versed in the arts that was crushed by the forces of the mortal world.

Tundraborn Survivor: Gain a racial +4 to survival checks and treat the 'Cold' terrain as favored terrain, as per the ranger class feature. Replaces Undead Defenses OR Weapon Proficiencies.
Not as uncommon sight as some might think, there exist small, sometimes single-house settlements within the snowy tundra of Venau...homes of trappers, of hunters, and other such beings who prefer ekeing out an existence within the cold, brutal environs of the snow and ice rather than the cities. These Venau Knights who have lived long years out in the cold tundra hunting, gathering, and trapping, have become intimately familiar with Cold Environments in general, and are more capable in them.