Shemaji

The industrious denizens of the northern grasslands and forests, robust and stalwart

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 to any two Ability Scores): Shemaji are suprisingly diverse creatures, and can reasonably come from all walks of life and thus come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and builds.
Size: Shemaji are medium-sized creatures, and thus gain no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Type: Shemaji are Humanoid creatures with the Shemaji subtype. While they are not strictly capable of breathing underwater, they are capable of holding their breath for 2 minutes per point of CONMOD they possess.
Speed: Shemaji possess a 30ft base land speed as well as a 30ft swim speed.
Vision: Shemaji possess a unique sense that allows them to detect running water within 60ft. This sense, as it is based on their excellent hearing, does not thus function if there are soundproof obstacles between them and such a water source.
Languages: Shemaji begin play speaking Shemajj ONLY. A Shemaji with high INT can select from Tiwanga, Low Ironite, Terran, Aquan, Sylvan, Chotaran, and Orc as Bonus Languages.
Shaving Gnaw: Shemaji gain a Bite Attack as a primary natural attack that deals 1d10 B/P/S damage at base with a x2 critical multiplier that ignores up to 10pts of Hardness on every attack. They may use Dexterity instead of Strength for Attack and/or Damage rolls with this Bite Attack if doing so would be beneficial to them. As an immediate action when they successfully damage a target with this bite attack, they can reduce the struck target's AC by an amount equal to the ability score modifier used for their Bite Attack's damage. This reduction applies to the target's Armor(or Natural Armor if they do not possess Armor) and cannot reduce either below 0. Mending restores 1d4 points of this damage per cast, and make whole fixes it entirely. Armor can also be repaired normally, undoing the reduction, and natural armor restores 1 point of armor per day.
Rough Woodsmen: Shemaji can shape natural and worked wood as per Wood Shape by spending at least one minute in steady concentration biting, clawing, and otherwise "carving" it. Larger pieces of wood may require multiple minutes or hours or days worth of work to mould, GM discretion. Unlike normal for Wood Shape, they have no chance of failure for moving parts. They may also affect worked wood items or structures with a permanent Ironwood effect, though to do so on larger items or structures requires much longer or many Shemaji working in concert. Once a given item or structure has been made into Ironwood, however, this racial trait cannot be used to shape it.
Natural Engineers: Shemaji gain a +4 racial bonus on Knowledge(Engineering) checks and a +2 racial bonus on Survival and Craft() checks. By concentrating for one full minute, they can get a good sense for their surrounding environment and ecosystem - its overall health, ailments, and the best general ways to help, change, or alter it for the better. They also auto-succeed all knowledge checks to identify such threats or issues.
Woodland Trappers: Shemaji may select 3 traps at character creation from the Ranger Trap List or the Overall list of Traps(None of which can have a CR greater than their HD) - they may replicate these traps at-will by spending a full-round action that provokes Attacks of Opportunity to set them up from surrounding material on hand. These traps, even if they are originally magical in nature, are wholly Extraordinary once built - relying on mundane means to bring about otherwise magical effects. They gain an additional trap of their choice to build in this manner at 5HD and every 5HD afterwards. At GM's discretion, they may be unable to find the materials nearby to build certain traps from their chosen list.
Megaproject Craftsmen: Shemaji, while not as uniquely talented at crafting as other species, possess a powerful communal talent for craftsmanship - Shemaji can aid others in crafting mundane and magical items similar to the Cooperative Crafting Feat. Unlike that feat, however, the +2 bonus to any Craft or Spellcraft checks related to making them item stacks with others with this racial trait and they instead add 10% to the GP Value of items that can be crafted each day rather than doubling it(Which also stacks in the same manner). Additionally, each such creature who joins in reduces the total crafting time by 1% to a minimum of 10% of the total crafting time. Shemaji that take the Cooperative Crafting Feat double the +2 bonus, the 10% addition, and the Crafting Time percentage reduction instead of the feat's normal effects.
Heavy Tail: Shemaji, with long and unique tails able to be used for a variety of purposes, can wield them as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity to activate one of the following effects:

• Gain Tremorsense(30ft) for one round, by pounding their tails upon the ground to "listen" to nearby vibrations.


• Become immune to either Trip, Bull Rush, Reposition, or Drag Maneuvers(Choose One) for 1 round by using their tails to support or anchor their weight.


• Make an enemy within their natural reach flat-footed to the next attack made against them as if the Shemaji had auto-succeeded a Feint against them by using their tail to catch them off guard.

True Foreman: By consuming a masterwork tool for the Craft() skill and destroying it as a standard action, a Shemaji can make a CL check to dispel a permanent Transmutation effect on a creature within their melee reach(Baleful Polymorph, Flesh to Stone, Etc) - if this check is successful, they "Carve" the effect off the target and dispel it. Only one such 'Dispel' attempt can be made per target per 24hr period. Using this ability does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity. This ability is Supernatural in nature. For each creature with this racial trait who successfully aids another on this check, they gain a stacking +2 bonus to the dispel check.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The anatomy of the Shemaji is, like that of many creatures on Ruatiwanga, a topic of much interest to many biologist and scholars of the continent's incredibly diverse species - and like many other races on Ruatiwanga, the Shemaji(Loosely translating to "Water Demons" in an ancient Nabī tongue) have yet to be studied in earnest by any notable scholars due in large part to their own natural isolation from the rest of the continent and its species. As creatures who thrive in the far distant northern reaches of Ruatiwanga, in the lands more temperate grasslands and towering Redwood Forests as well as its swampy marshes, they are often naturally insulated from the attentions of other species by this virtue alone - though they are quite obviously humanoid creatures with two arms, two legs, and a head located atop their torso.
Much like with the beavers from whom they are believed to be descended or created from(Depending on the tales of the Nabī one believes), the Shemaji's most prominent anatomical feature is their enormous teeth - which often range in color from light bronze to dark jade depending on a variety of environmental factors. These teeth, even more deadly than those of the animal species they hail from, draw their unique color from an iron or otherwise ferrous/metallic coating that makes them incredibly durable - allowing them to shave through wood and sometimes even metal with little to no issues whatsoever.
Otherwise, their anatomy is largely standard for humanoids - possessing all the same bodily systems as other humanoid species while possessing a unique tail that, while powerful, is largely helpful for swimming, balancing, and a small host of other bodily functions.

Biological Traits

Perhaps the best known biological trait of the Shemaji is their teeth and the different colors they often take on - colors that, to many Shemaji populations, are as much a signifier of age and status and wealth as they are anything else. These teeth, that are often orange by nature, can shift in color as the Shemaji age and as they scrape their teeth across new material - meaning that their teeth often take on the properties of metals that they "bite into" often enough as well as the colors of the metal in question.

Genetics and Reproduction

Shemaji, like many other creatures, reproduce sexually - with males impregnating females through intercourse, who give live birth to young Shemaji inside well-guarded dugouts within a Shemaji village(Often in a den or dugout accessible only via swimming underwater) in litters of 3-6. Once born, a Shemaji become capable of independent action incredibly quickly - often swimming within the first hour of their birth and becoming master swimmers within the first weeks and months of their life, though they do not biologically reach maturity until around 8-10 years of age(Though they are not considered "Adults" by others of their kind until a few years later).

Growth Rate & Stages

Once born, Shemaji reach maturity in some areas incredibly rapidly yet do not reach full biological maturity until around 8-10 years of age. Once they reach this threshold, they enjoy a long life and do not reach middle age until around 70 years old - becoming old around age 125 and reaching venerable around age 150, dying shortly thereafter.

Ecology and Habitats

Shemaji live primarily in ponds, lakes, rivers, marshes, streams and adjacent wetland areas - though many populations can also be found in the low-lying temperate grasslands and coniferous forests of Northern Ruatiwanga as well, their original and most populous habitats are nonetheless wetlands. Regardless of their chosen ecological habitat, Shemaji are fairly universal in their interaction with it - gravitating towards running water such as lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, streams, and other water sources where they often alter their surrounding environment through the construction of massive villages that can, at their pinnacle, stretch from shore to shore of enormous rivers a hundred or two feet wide. These villages, built atop highly intricate dams, form the bedrock of Shemaji habitats - allowing them easy access to both land and water(As they require the latter to properly birth their young and teach them) and giving the very nature-minded species a "home base" of sorts which is often used to further their other task of helping stabilize their surrounding environment.
While often little more than fighting soil erosion and maintaining their local environment, Shemaji populations are nonetheless incredibly environmentally conscious as they are, in many ways, the most vulnerable to ecological and environmental pollution - thus they are often careful to seek out and eliminate threats to their ecosystem such as invasive species, invading creatures from other planes, or most commonly simply natural environmental imbalances.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Shemaji altogether require little in the way of consumption, as they are strictly herbivores and are incapable of eating meat in any significant capacity - foraging plants and even sticks and all manner of plantlife in between depending on the season.

Biological Cycle

As the seasons pass, Shemaji find themselves constantly shaving down their own enormous teeth to keep them from growing out of control - a practice best tempered by their near-constant woodworking and craftsmanship, as their teeth grow at surprisingly rapid paces as they age. Their fur growing greyer and their teeth changing colors as they age with what is believed to be a yearly molting of their fur, they eventually grow physically infirm in extreme old age.

Behaviour

All told, Shemaji are incredibly communal creatures that place a great emphasis on family units - they believe heavily in communal living, respecting the elderly, honoring one's parents, and doing right by one's community and often dwell in truly enormous settlements in multi-generational households that sometimes, in especially storied Shemaji lineages, can contain up to five, six, or even up to ten generations of Shemaji living within its walls at any given time. Earnest and honest, they tend to be laborers and craftsmen at heart - as their own biology(Mainly their teeth) requires them to constantly be "working" to keep themselves in shape and their teeth from overgrowing.
Many Shemaji populations hold cultural and spiritual beliefs that best summed up as "Rising Tides lift all boats" - always the first to offer a helping hand to those in need even if they themselves are already scarce in supplies or need themselves, Shemaji tend to be optimistic and generous by nature; and tend to eschew "city living" in favor of hard, frontier life due to cultural emphasis on honest labor, hard work, and "simple living". However, most Shemaji culture is dominated by a hierarchy of seniority and age that often drives many young Shemaji from their homes to seek their fortunes elsewhere - as the almost tyrannical authority of a given settlement's "Elders" is often unbearable for many up and coming members of the species.
For those who do head out on adventures(While not common a profession, is not unheard of especially in younger Shemaji) and eventually find their way into city life, they often find themselves gravitating towards any job that lets them protect and interact with others on a daily basis; making them natural Town Guards.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Shemaji faces are much similar to the beavers to whom they trace their origins.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Shemaji are found almost exclusively in the northern reaches of the Ruatiwangan Continent and essentially nowhere else - making their homes in the natural wetlands, temperate grasslands, and coniferous forests of the north far from the arid savannahs and humid rainforests.

Average Intelligence

Shemaji are, for all intents and purposes, identical to Humans in terms of their baseline intelligence - completely average and capable of being a great deal dumber or smarter depending on the Shemaji in question.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

While they are not possessed of any species senses per se, a lifetime of adaptation to aquatic and temperate environments near water sources has given the Shemaji the uncanny ability to track and locate sources of running water - an ability they often use to construct their villages and settlements.

Alternate Racial Trait List:
NOT YET BUILT.

Racial Feat List:
NOT YET BUILT.

Lifespan

150 years

Conservation Status

Though they are rare in the southern reaches of Ruatiwanga, as their native homelands are the fertile grasslands and sprawling forests on the continent's northern edge, the Shemaji are nonetheless plentiful and one of the most populous and diverse species on Ruatiwanga.

Average Height

2.8ft - 4.2ft (0.85m - 1.28m)

Average Weight

125lbs - 235lbs (56.70kg - 106.59kg)

Average Physique

Shemaji are often likened by visitors to Ruatiwanga as "Furry Dwarves" - a comparison that is often considered complimentory by Shemaji and insulting to Dwarves - for their physicality alone: Short, Stout, and Dense. Dense, muscular, and short in stature, Shemaji make up for in sturdiness what they lack in height.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Shemaji fur can run the gamut from dark brown to ginger, auburn, or a host of other autumnal and/or earthen colors. Their teeth, often Orange at birth and for most of their juvenile and adult lives, grow darker and more steely with age and can often change color in response to different minerals the enamel around their enormous teeth absorbs; meaning even colors such as dark jade-green are not unheard for the esteemed Shemaji who are lucky enough to come into contact with Adamantine.