Appearance

day that one saw a pegasus-feather cloak or such a handsome spellscale sporting it. Many of the patrons knew Sjach, though. A few called out greetings that he returned. From a table near the back, Sjach heard the riffling of cards and the chink of stacking coins. He ambled over to the table, giving friendly nods to the players. A game seemed well under way. The cards were pretty, with different types of dragons pictured on them. Sjach watched for a few minutes, mentally noting which players would pose real challenges and which would be easy pickings. “Everyone add two coins to the hoard,” one player said with a laugh. Silver clattered onto the center of the table. A player laid down a card and snatched up some cards from the middle of the table. Then, another player placed a third card that matched two others in front of her. The other participants groaned and pushed stacks of coins her way. Sjach was about to sit down when he overheard a voice from nearby exclaim, “Wyvern! Where are we going to fi nd a wizard willing to fi ght such a beast?” With a smile, Sjach smoothed the scales of his eye ridges and turned toward the speaker. Adventure beckoned. “Looking for an able-bodied and bold arcanist?” he asked, approaching a booth fi lled with three adventuring types. “I am he.” A halfl ing covered in dark leather and a well-dressed human wearing a prominent symbol of Heironeous gazed at Sjach for a moment and then turned toward the other individual in the booth. Remarkable! Sjach thought. Defi nitely dragonblood, but certainly not a spellscale. He looked at the stern expression on the woman’s scaled face. She was broad and powerful, shorter than a human. Is this a dragonborn? Sjach had heard mention of them but was not sure they were more than rumor. The group’s leader, for the deference of the halfl ing and human made her role clear, looked at Sjach for a long time. “Perhaps,” she said. “Perhaps you are. I’m Vyth, called by Bahamut to fi ght the wicked spawn of Tiamat. Interested in hunting a wyvern?” Sjach smirked and nodded. “Eminently so, lady. Sounds entertaining, to say the least.” By nightfall, they were camped miles away on the trail of the beast. Vyth drilled everyone at length on suitable tactics for the upcoming confl ict. As Sjach fell asleep, he realized that he had forgotten to send word to his wife that he was going out of town. Ah, well. She’ll understand, he thought as he dozed. more elegant than other scaled humanoids such as kobolds or lizardfolk.

SPELLSCALE RACIAL TRAITS

• +2 Charisma, –2 Constitution. Spellscales are charming creatures who often neglect their physical bodies while pursuing intellectual or social interests. • Medium: As Medium creatures, spellscales have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. • Spellscale base land speed is 30 feet. • Low-Light Vision: A spellscale can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. • Humanoid (dragonblood): Spellscales are humanoids with the dragonblood subtype. For all effects related to race, a spellscale is considered a dragon. • Blood Quickening: Each day, a spellscale can perform a draconic meditation to gain a benefi t. Variations of this meditation are described in the Blood-Quickening

Meditations sidebar, page 25. • Automatic Languages: Common and Draconic. Bonus

Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, and Halfl ing. • Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multiclass spellscale’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

AGE

Spellscales mature quickly compared to other humanoids. Sorcerers of spellscale descent often start their adventuring lives earlier than members of most other races.

Table 2–1: Random Starting Ages Bard Cleric Barbarian Fighter Druid Rogue Paladin Monk

Races Adulthood Sorcerer Ranger Wizard

Spellscale 12 years +1d4 +1d6 +2d4

Table 2–2: Aging Effects Middle Maximum

Race Age Old Venerable Age

Spellscale 35 years 70 years 140 years +2d10 years

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT

Unlike in most other humanoid races, spellscale females tend to be larger than males. Spellscales stand as tall as short humans, with little difference in weight between the sexes.

APPEARANCE

Spellscales exhibit all the best characteristics of dragons in a compact humanoid form. Their skin, formed of lustrous scales, comes in a wide variety of hues, including nearly every color of the rainbow. No spellscale is merely one color, but each displays a rich spectrum of variants on his main color. A spellscale who is primarily green might have patterns of a deeper, forest green over his body, fi ngernails and toenails of a slightly lighter green, and eye ridges and nostrils that are a deep greenish aquamarine. The coloration is complex, making a spellscale look much

Table 2–3: Random Height and Weight Base Height Base Weight

Races Height Modifi er Weight Modifi er

Spellscale, male 4´7˝ +2d6 90 lb. × (2d8) lb.

Spellscale, female 4´10˝ +2d8 100 lb. × (2d8) lb.

CLOTHING

Spellscales dress eccentrically, but their effusive charm enables them to create pleasing looks. The fashions and stylings they use are clearly and purposefully unconventional. Every aspect of dressing is a variable that spellscales experiment with.