The Praell in Pathfinder

When I first created the praell, and the world of Aerth, I had intended to use them as part of a homebrew Pathfinder game. Using the guidelines laid forth in the Advanced Race Guide, I drafted the following traits and abilities. Since I have much more time for game design than I do for actual playing, it has yet to be play-tested. Should anyone be interested in using the praell in their own game, I’d love to get your feedback on the material presented below. You can find more information about the history and society of the praell in this blog post.

PRAELL RACIAL TRAITS

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence: Praells were bred for physical combat rather than academic prowess.

Praell: Praells are humanoids with the praell subtype.

Medium: Praells are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Praells have a base speed of 30 feet.

Arcane Incongruity: Whether or not it was as part of their creators’ design, praells have an unusually great difficulty in mastering the arduous art of spellcraft. Whenever a praell possesses levels in a class that grants the ability to cast spells, he treats his Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (as appropriate for the class) as two points lower (minimum 1) for all spell and class abilities.

Combat Bonus Feat: Praells select one extra combat feat at 1st level.

Fearless: Praells are immune to fear effects.

Praell Ferocity: Once per day, when a praell is reduced to fewer than 0 hit points but is not killed, it can fight on for 1 more round as if disabled. At the end of its next turn, unless brought to above 0 hit points, it immediately falls unconscious and begins to die.

Languages: Praells begin play speaking Common. Praells with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Gnoll, Goblin, Halfling, and Orc.

ALTERNATE RACIAL TRAITS

The following racial traits may be selected instead of typical praell racial traits. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

Battle-Hardened: Praells gain a +1 bonus to CMD. This trait replaces combat bonus feat.

Cornered Fury:  Whenever a praell is reduced to half its hit points or fewer and has no conscious ally within 30 feet, it gains a +2 racial bonus on melee attack rolls and to Armor Class. This trait replaces combat bonus feat.

Craftsman: Praells gain a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks to create objects from metal or stone. This trait replaces fearless.

Sprinter: Praells gain a +10 feet racial bonus on speed when using the charge, run, or withdraw actions and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. This trait replaces praell ferocity.

FAVORED CLASS OPTIONS

The following options are available to all praells who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Barbarian: Add a +1 bonus on rolls to stabilize when dying.

Fighter: Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls with a weapon of the fighter’s choice (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.

Gunslinger: Add +1/4 to the gunslinger’s grit points.

Monk: Add +1 to the monk’s CMD when resisting a bull rush or grapple attempt.

Ranger: Add +1/2 round to the duration of the bonus granted to the companions of the ranger using his hunter’s bond ability.

Rogue: Reduce the penalty for not being proficient with one weapon by 1. When the nonproficiency penalty for a weapon becomes 0 because of this ability, the rogue is treated as having the appropriate Martial or Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for that weapon.

The Praell

The “blanched devils” of Aibhilon, more commonly known as the praell, exist sparingly throughout the continent. Having been bred – some say created – ages ago by a now extinct civilization, their exact origins are lost to history. The oral traditions of the praell tell how their people scattered across Aibhilon when their creators disappeared, establishing their own dispersed settlements.

Physical Description: The praell are a race of muscular humanoids that were originally bred to a specific set of physical attributes. They stand between six and a half to seven feet tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. They are completely hairless from head to toe, with milky white eyes, and bereft of any skin pigmentation. Praell look so identical that only the normal distinctions between the sexes is typically evident. One way in which they achieve a degree of individuality is to adorn their bodies and faces with colorful tattoos and exotic piercings. It is also not uncommon for a praell to wear a distinctive piece of clothing or jewelry.
Society: Originally bred for combat, praells desire no other life than that of a warrior. Many find employment as solders, serving as part of the imperial legion or in armies of smaller kingdoms; others work as mercenaries, sentinels, or bodyguards. Those that are incapable of fighting, usually due to permanent serious injury or advanced age, continue to provide for their comrades as smiths or chirurgens.

Male and female praells hold each other in equal standing, being judged only on their physical prowess. The basic unit of praell society is the tribe, comprised of various extended families and led by a chieftain. Each village resembles a fortified camp, with palisades, warehouses for supplies, and communal barracks.
 
Relations: Having been enslaved by the Makers (see Alignment and Religion) for generations for their tailored physique, praells now seek acceptance as equals among humans. They eagerly seek out physical labors as a way to prove themselves useful since they typically lack the mental capacity for intellectual work. They are reluctant to boast about their feats of strength to non-praells, however, for fear of appearing arrogant; incurring the fear and resentment of others has oft times lead to a praell’s persecution or enslavement. In fact, despite their tentative acceptance by most, many remote populations and overly superstitious folk view the praell as abominations, earning them the epithet of “blanched devil”.

Alignment and Religion: Praell society is highly structured, more closely resembling a military outfit than a social community. Whether as a group or individually, praell always expect to uphold their end of an agreement or contract, and they expect the same from others. While typically lawful in nature, a praell’s morality can run the gambit from good to evil depending the individual’s own principles.

Praells do not worship deities the way humans do. Instead, they give reverence to those they refer to as the Makers. The Makers, according to the oral traditions, were a society of intellectuals who created, and enslaved, the praell but disappeared from the world long ago. Most scholars assume they are referring to the Suen, although no tangible evidence has ever been found to prove this. Since they are gone – probably dead – the paell expect nothing from the Makers in the way human faiths look for miracles or messages from the divine. Instead, they seek to honor the work of their creators by achieving their fullest potential in all that they do.

The Praell in 5e

Although I originally designed the praell race for use in the Pathfinder system, I also wanted to provide a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition version as well. I still have yet to play the new edition, so I hardly feel qualified in designing a new player race that could be considered on par with the core races. In the end, though, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve come up with. Since I’m unlikely to get the opportunity to play in a 5e game any time soon, let alone see a praell character in action, I’d be delighted to hear from anyone that might want to give them a test drive, or at least has more design experience with the system than I do. You can find more information about the history and society of the praell in this blog post.

Praell Traits

Your praell character has an array of attributes stemming from generations of specialized breeding.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. Praell reach maturity by their mid-teens. Those fortunate enough experience the full extent of their lives can expect to live out ten to twelve decades.

Alignment. Praell society is highly structured, resulting in generally lawful individuals. However, their morality can run the gambit from good to evil depending on the individual’s own principles.

Size. Praell stand between six and a half to seven feet tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Athletic Prowess. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Arcane Incongruity. Whether or not it was part of their creators’ design, praells have an unusually great difficulty in mastering the arduous art of spellcasting. You do not add your proficiency bonus to your spell save DC or spell attack modifier.

Fearless. You are immune to the effects of the frightened condition.

Praell Armor Training. You have proficiency with light and medium armor.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Praell. It took generations after the disappearance of their creators for the praell to develop a written language of their own. What they lack in literature, however, is compensated for in oral traditions. Few have the inclination or education to learn additional languages, but those that do usually learn the languages of those they deal with.