My Babies

The Azrohim

Azrohim are  cruel, arrogant, haughty and cunning by nature. They have set themselves as the “nobility” in power vacuum of Veylia. They dwell in the Bolt-keep Castle and in the remains of Centralia Castle. They force the Veylians to work as serfs on the land (in the Village of Drudgery) and generally treat them as chattel to be exploited, tormented and occasionally eaten.

Most Azrohim are hedonistic and proud; content to carve a measure of power and security of the world around them and vacillate in their courts. They treat most other races as mere monsters.
Azhrohim support their lifestyles by exploiting the effort of their slaves, hunting for meat, and raiding the ruins of Veylia. Even the lowliest of them is exceedingly proud and fancies him or herself as a person of some inherent importance. The Azrohim are aggressive and warlike, and complement their skill in battle with their congenital magical power.

Appearance

They resemble attractive humans or half-elves, but are marked by their striking skintone which ranges from deep blue to pale gray. This odd coloration is a result of a racially inherited argyria. Their hair ranges from white to silver or black.Their eyes are proportionally quite large, and they have a rather disturbing range of expression. Their tongues are freaky-long.

Azrohim are fond of finery and war-gear, and affect noble costumes.

"Want to go to the slave-pit and practice evil-laughing?"

"Thank you no. I was just on my way to a gang-initiation with the girls." 

Origin and Social Structure
The Azrohim are named for their ancestor- the demigod Hazor, who bred with the Veylians to create a race in his own image. Though they revere Hazor as their creator, the leaders among them are actually working against his resurrection. They realize that the party is over if Hazor ever returns. For this reason, most Azrohim pay polite lip-service to the Hazorite priesthood, though they do not support them in any real way.

Their ruler is King Kador who keeps court in Boltkeep Castle. Centralia Castle is ruled by Lord Rast. Lord Rast and King Kador are deeply suspicious of each other, and Lord Rast would rather be king himself

Besides the hobgoblins, they are the only group in Veylia with the infrastructure and the skill to work iron. For this reason, they have the bulk of the steel weapons and armor, and most such weapons found elsewhere will be of Azrohim-make or Ancient origin.

They are very fond of finery, artwork, jewelry and luxury goods. Their tastes are decadent and rather baroque. Life in their court is a constant fashion show full of petty one-upmanship.
The Azrohim are prone to infighting, rivalry and vendetta amongst their family houses. The greater families maintain manor houses within the inner wall of Boltkeep castle

They speak Veylian, and the learned among them speak Hazoric.

 

Use in a Setting

The Azrohim are largely inspired by the wicked Normans in Robin Hood movies.

They are ambiguously evil and loads of fun to inflict on players.
Azrohim are designed to be complex villains and potentially allies to the players. They are designed to be a combat threat through a range of power levels.

They are wicked, but may form alliances, or develop fixations with player characters. Outright, lethal hostility is not their style. If they want to victimize someone, they are more likely to invite them to dinner first, or go to the formality of declaring vendetta. If they have no interest, they may simply snub the player characters and consider that to be sufficient disparagement.  

What. He has a good face for it.

 

Azrohim are usually  LAWFUL EVIL. They are self-serving and enjoy cruelty. Their vanity however, lends them a sense of honor. Azrohim are NEVER neutral good or lawful good. It simply isn’t in their nature.
 

Azrohim names tend to have a Gallic or Middle-Eastern Flair.

Male: Alef, Aque, Bayan, Duran, Fakrayah, Gerloy, Guffran, Haku, Indiroh, Jerahim, Kador, Kaffei, Malabeth, Nazor, Ragomir, Roheek, Seldovis, Tartorek, Zaff

Female: Anju, Aquella, Bizar, Courora, Dailla, Fella, Hazalah, Jubbilah, Kantara, Kawthar, Laviah, Leyliana, Majell, Musnir, Nazeera, Nookie, Qubila, Raella, Ragimundi, Song, Zylah,

When met as a random encounter,
Azrohim almost always travel in a small band of 3 to 8. All will be armed and most will be mounted as well. They may be attended by Veyahim slaves. Typically, when out and about they are:

~On a hunting trip. This is not only a source of food, but it is also a great amusement and social function for Azrohim. Ladies often attend and participate. Falconry and bow-hunting are thought to be suitable sporting skills for an Azrohim lady. They may have an encampment nearby. The encampments are very comfortable with lots of food and wine. 

~Hunting for Veylian scavengers. Part of keeping the slaves under control is punishing those who choose to live free. They do so with great gusto. Azrohim raiding bands may be in search of hidden Veylian warrens or villages which they raid and destroy. Or they might be stalking individual fuigitives. Though Veylian scavengers are usually easy prey for the Azrohim, there is an inherent risk in hunting for them, and it is considered great sport.

~In search of an escaped slave.  Slaves are decidedly expendable. If an Azrohim will go so far as to chase after one, it is likely that the slave has some special quality; is skilled or exceptionally beautiful, or has stolen something or knows a compromising secret.

~Plundering. Azrohim have their basic commodities produced reliably by their slaves. But to the Azrohim, a life without luxury is not worth living! Gold, gems, furs, exotic meat, rare fruit, all these things lie in the wilderness of Veylia. For this reason, Azrohim may be encountered practically anywhere in Veylia.

Combat and Magic

Azrohim favor chain and scale armor and can all be assumed to be proficient horsemen. They prefer crossbows to longbows, and all males relish melee combat. Females tend to prefer the arts of emotional abuse and back-biting. They have a great sense of group tactics, which sometimes gives way to personal bravado. They enjoy toying with their opponents, and often use their magic to frighten and to torment.

 

 

 

King Kador is 16^th lvl and Lord Rast is 14^th level

Kador has 4 lieutenants of 10^th level, Rast has 3.
Each lieutenant has 4-5 captains of about 5^th level
There are also several bravos and champions in either court, ranging from 4^th to 7^th
The vast majority of ladies are 0^th or 1^st level, males are 1^st or 2^nd

Azrohim as Player characters

The Azrohim Race is also a character class, so one can level up as an azrohim. Other classes may be applied by multi-classing.

 

Azrohim get +2 to their Charisma score and -2 to their wisdom.

Azrohim have low-light vision, and can confer darkvision on themselves with the use of a racial spell.

Their magic is considered to be charisma-based. They regain their daily spells without studying or meditating. Azrohim must sleep for at least 4 hours and it must literally be the next day before they can regain their spells. Azrohim may choose their daily spells from their spells know. Spells know are chosen from the list of Azrohim spells



HD: d8
Saves: as an elf or rogue, depending on your system

Azrohim Magic

Azrohim have magical abilities as a racial feature.

Eating the still-warm heart of a recently slain Azrohim can confer their magic power to the eater. The eater will gain one spell known and one spell per day, starting at the lowest increment. The player may chose which spell to learn.

This is slightly taboo amongst Azrohim, and only done to make a serious point.

Eating too many Azrohim hearts will cause the eater to develop argyria and resemble and Azrohim.

Unique Azrohim Spells: 

Canaan Party Trick

0^th lvl illusion
Components: V,S
Casting time: full round
Range: touch
Save: Will/ enchantment
Duration: 1 hour per caster level

This illusion enchants water to seem to be red wine. The caster can enchant 1 gallon of water per caster level. The caster must be touching the water or holding the vessel in order to cast this spell. The affected water will smell, taste and look like common red wine, though a discriminating palette will notice a distinct lack of “character,” “body” or “terroir” in the “wine.” In reality, the enchanted water has no alcohol and the drinker will not become intoxicated (though they may believe themselves to be intoxicated)

Those who succeed a saving throw see through the illusion. Particularly suspicious imbibers may make a save when first examining/smelling/scrutinizing the liquid. Other wise, those who drink it will only get a saving throw after knocking back a few. They may make a save, but with penalties as if they were intoxicated in the first place. Those who fail this save will continue believing that they are drinking wine and getting drunk. If the majority of the people drinking have failed the save, others will suffer a penalty of 2 to their save. Those who continue the illusory drinking binge may find themselves still partying when they might otherwise have grown tired or too drunk. They will find themselves remarkable not hung over the next morning.
This spell is mostly used for interventions, practical jokes, cheating at drinking contests, and satiating tipsy guests when the real wine has run out.
The caster of the spell will never see the liquid as anything other than water, unless he can somehow be tricked into thinking that it is a different batch of wine. Then he becomes susceptible to the illusion. The main effect of this is that caster can not trick himself into believing he is drunk, no matter how badly he needs a drink.

Darkvision
1st level enchantment
Components: S
Casting Time: one round
Duration: one hour per level
Range: self
Save: NA

The Azrohim can give themselves darkvision up to 60 feet for a limited time.  

Elf Shot

0^th level illusion
Components: S
Casting time: standard action
Duration: Intantaneous
Range:100 ft+ 10 per caster level
Save: Will  (vs enchantment)

The victim of Elf Shot experiences a sudden, painful stabbing sensation in some part of the body. The pain peaks instantly and fades completely after a round. Elf Shot does no actual damage. It is nonetheless useful for distracting and frightening the target. Its victims believe that they are being attacked, and must react accordingly. For instance, if the target is casting a spell, the target must make a concentration check as if being attacked normally. If they are climbing, a climb check may be required to prevent them from falling, and so on. Its generally a great way to bung up someone’s skill checks.

The target may make a will save. If successful, the target realizes that the pain is illusory, and  gains a +4 bonus to any checks incurred by the Elf Shot
Elf shot may also be used on mounts, incurring a ride check as if the steed were actually taking damage. An afflicted steed may dash off suddenly or try to buck the rider. An intelligent mount will make its own will save. If the beast is not particularly intelligent, the rider may make the will save, and apply the bonus to the ride check.

Nausea

1^st level Necromancy
Compnent: VS
Casting time: Standard Action
Duration: 1 turn per caster level
Range: 50 ft
Save: Fort negates (vs poison)

The caster may target 3 HD+(1HD per caster level) of creatures. Those who fail the save become sickened and may vomit.

 Scent of the Hound

1^st level transmutation
Component: VS
Casting time, full round
Duration: 1 turn plus 1 turn per caster level
Range: self
Save: NA

The Caster gains the Scent feat for the duration of the spell. The caster may use this to track or find creatures or objects  which have recently passed. It also allows the caster to distinguish between the scents of individuals, provided that the caster is familiar with the “type.” For example, an Azrohim may clearly distinguish the scent of other Azrohim, and certain other Veylians. But all locothath smell fishy, and all lamia smell like rotten meat, until the caster has spent sufficient time amongst lamia to learn the difference between individuals.

Scent only works in atmospheres otherwise breathable by the caster.  Fluid mediums like air or water shift and convect and it is practically impossibly to scent anything in them, unless there has been very little circulation or ventilation (as in a closed chamber) Usually scents stick to the ground or to objects and the caster must get close to the ground or pick up said object and sniff it in order to detect anything.

Enjoy the Azrohim. They enjoy you.