Race: Rantar

So here's the first non-aquatic race native to our setting. The rantar are a race of, as a member of the Dungeon Master's Block called them, angry tiny gadget crafting creatures. Art is by the talented Leon.

Rantar

Home to the boreal forests and tundra of Sylvanor, the rantar have managed to thrive despite the dangers that surround them. Only recently have the colonists made contact with this furred race, and they swiftly gained a reputation for having no concept of fighting fair. In one instance with a trading convoy returning to the logging village of Lumber-Fall from the mining town Golstatt, a single rantar stood on the road while dozens armed with crossbows hid in the trees. While no violence occurred and the rantar even identified an ailment that was afflicting the youngest member of the convoy, it set a bad tone.

A later meeting under less stressful circumstances explained the rantar mentality: nearly everything is bigger, stronger, more powerful, or any combination thereof. With such overwhelming dangers, it speaks highly of the rantar's ability to survive. In large part, this is due to their proclivity towards traps. They know that they cannot survive against most enemies in a straight fight, so they use traps to level the playing field.

Ecology and Society. Short and covered in fur, rantar look like woodland animals at first glance. Their fur is mostly some shade of gray, though parts are black or white and some rantar have a gray-brown fur color. Their bushy tails have black rings, and a band of black fur around the eyes makes outsiders think of bandits. Their hands are black with tiny claws that most file down. Most rantar range between two and two and a half feet in height and weigh between twenty and thirty-five pounds. Their eyes tend towards dark brown or green, and often seem to blend with the black patches around their eyes.

Rantar mature much faster than any of the standard races, reaching physical maturity between eight and ten years of age. As a consequence, the few rantar that are not killed by predators, monsters, or disease rarely live past their early fifties. Traditionally monogamous, most rantar are wed by the time they reach thirteen, by fifteen if a rantar couple doesn’t have children on the way then their fellows begin wondering why they are taking so long.

Rantar society is centered around the sam’lad. Everything that they do is dedicated to ensuring that the sam’lad, their family, survives. A central part of their society, communal bonding, courtship, even greetings, are pranks. When a young rantar male wishes to court a girl, the majority of the courtship is a constantly escalating prank war between the couple.

Relations. Living as far to the north as they do, most nations have never heard of the rantar. The frontier villages find them to be decent trading partners, though trading with the rantar brings a separate host of problems all its own in the form of pranks.

Rantar villages are home to a single sam’lad, and the sam’lads are fairly isolationist. Most form their own relations with their neighbors, but one cannot assume that rantar from two sam’lads will behave in the same way. This has led to villages that trade with rantar greeting any from differing sam’lads with caution, unsure if they will accidentally insult or offend them.

Religion. The first thing noticed by outsiders about the rantar faith could be summed up in a single word: balance. Every force has an equal and opposite force, be it godly or otherwise. The rulers of the pantheon consist of four kings: Dazhbog the King of Night, Razhbog the King of Day, Grolzhbog the King of Death, and Movzhbog the King of Life. Each king acts as a balance to his opposite, and each pair act as a balance to the other pair.

The gods are respected and feared, for they are the only thing that the rantar cannot overcome with tricks and traps, something that terrifies the rantar. Offerings of food, drink, and gadgets are made to the gods to appease their wrath and avert their gaze. Elaborate ceremonies on specific occasions are held to subvert the gods when necessary, such as the burning of the effigy of Szubanros to free the ancestor spirits that he freezes to bring about winter.

Adventurers. Many rantar will leave their sam’lad for a time to explore and experience the wider world. The same curiosity and drive that pushes them to develop more and more cunning traps and elaborate pranks will drive some to see the world. When the day of departure arrives, the entire sam’lad will see them off. A day of celebration, the following day is spent performing a Pakhardony, a Walking Funeral. The sam’lad knows that the world is dangerous for the lone rantar, and many never return.

Male Names. Ambert, Borok, Janos, Kelian, Marko, Ranos, Rostarod, Szeramir, Tolazs, Varga

Female Names. Donizaja, Gaveta, Lisana, Liza, Maslaliya, Pollilla, Relilana, Riana, Salien, Ulla

Sam’lad Names. Avdonovich, Bekilov, Dragomirov, Ekizhin, Emarin, Emorov, Karnokov, Kushkin, Omin, Zuyev

Rantar Racial Features

+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -4 Strength: Rantar are quick and clever, but their small size makes them much weaker than other races.

Rantar Rantar are humanoids with the rantar subtype.

Normal Speed Rantar have a speed of 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision: You are accustomed to the forest floor and the month-long nights of Sylvanor. You can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Master Tinker: You gain a +1 racial bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. In addition, you are automatically proficient with any weapon you have personally crafted.

Running Reload: You gain the Rapid Reload (pick the crossbow type) and Run feats as bonus feats.
Stealthy: Perception and Stealth are always class skills for you.
Trapmaker: You gain a +2 racial bonus to Craft (traps).

Weapon Familiarity:You are automatically proficient with hand crossbows and either light repeating crossbows or heavy repeating crossbows.

Languages Rantar adventurers begin play speaking Common and Rantar. Rantar with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.

Length and Weight

Gender           Base Height   Modifier         Base Weight   Modifier

Female              2’                  1d4                  20 lbs.            ×5

Male                  2’2”              1d4                  25 lbs.            ×5

Age Stats

Adulthood -- 9

     Simple                           1d4

     Intuitive                         1d6

     Trained                          2d4

Middle Age -- 20

Old -- 35

Venerable -- 55

Maximum -- +2d4

Sample Rantar Character

Makaros Bakov

Rantar Slayer 1

Humanoid (Rantar)  CG

Init +4; Senses Perception +4, low-light vision

Defense

AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +1 size)

hp 12 (1d10+2)

Fortitude +4, Reflex +7, Will +0

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee glaive +1 (1d8/*3) or short sword +1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +6 (1d6)

Tactics

During Combat Whenever possible Makaros avoids melee combat. If he is able to attack from stealth, he tries to lead his targets to a region where he can kill them, but they can't find him.

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 6

Base Attack +1; CMB +6 (+7 grapple); CMD 17

Feats Run, Rapid Reload (light crossbow), Skill Focus (Stealth)

Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +3, Craft (traps) +9, Craft (bows) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Perception +4, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +14, Survival +6, Swim +3

Languages Common, Dwarven, Goblin, Orc, Rantar

Traits Deft Dodger,

SQ Low-light vision, master tinker, track

Gear light crossbow, quiver with 20 bolts, studded leather armor, glaive, short sword, fujara thieves' tools, slayer's kit

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