The Artathi are a fiercely caste bound race of catlike humanoids. They live upon and rule their steppe?.
The artathi of have five different castes: Il'artathi (resembling lions), Ahl'artathi (pumas), Sal'artathi (cheetah), Vyk'artathi (jaguar), and the Letathen or casteless ones. Each caste has distinct physical and social characteristics. The castes work together symbiotically to fulfill all the needs of the artathi. The only positions in artathi society that are not caste dependant are that of the rulership. Any artathi may submit his name when a new ruler is called up. The only other methods of surpassing the caste an artathi is born into is to leave the steppe (relegating the artathi to the status of letathen) or to challenge an elder of another caste to a contest. The elder decides the form of the contest and frequently designs it to his advantage. If the challenger is succesful in the contest then he is considered a member of that caste. Each caste contains thirty elders that are acknowledged as the most powerful in some way. When an elder dies the remaining elders choose a new one.
The Il'artathi are very tall and strong. Their fur is tawny and with only faint stripes. Their tail ends in a small tuft. Male il'artathi frequently grow manes. The length or size of the mane is a reflection of their position within their caste. Any il'artathi that leaves his caste to make his own way is no longer entitled to this mane. The caste fills the roles of leadership within the artathi. The lower members of the caste fulfill simple duties of providing communication between the castes, and the higher members are generals of the artathi army, or judges of cities or regions in the steppe. The il'artathi make up a small portion of artathi population, but their duties make them fairly visible to outsiders. The current ruler of the artathi is a female il'artathi by the name of Revel.
Ahl'artathi are the thinkers of artathi society. They are of middling height but their bodies are not as sturdy as the Il'artathi. Their fur is a mottled of tawny and reddish brown. They are the only caste without stripes or spots of some sort. Their tails are smooth to the end. Through magic or skill they plan and strategize the actions of the castes. Ahl'artathi providing the information and plans that il'artathi execute. To outsiders this caste appears to be the "secret" rulers of the steppe. This theory is supported by the fact that fully half of the last dozen rulers of the steppe have been ahl'artathi. Lower members of the ahl'artathi are responsible for record keeping, or small magics that are needed by other castes. Higher members scry the borders of the steppe and keep the climate of the steppe under careful control. There are approximately four times as many ahl'artathi as there are il'artathi.
The Sal'artathi are tall and very fast. Their incredibly lean bodies make up in dexterity and speed what they lack in strength and endurance. They have tan fur with many round black spots. Their tails are covered in spots that merge into rings at the end. The Sal'artathi fill the roles of messengers and scouts within the castes. Lower members are constantly on the move relaying messages between il'artathi, or scouting as directed by the ahl'artathi. Even within the military the sal'artathi lack of toughness leads to them being subservient to the vyk'artathi, and even letathen soldiers. This required subservience has caused a significant number of sal'artathi to leave the steppe to make their own way in the world. There are now only as many sal'artathi on the steppe as there are ahl'artathi.
The Vyk'artathi are a compact but strong caste that glorifies strength. They are the shortest caste and also less intelligent and charismatic than the other castes. Their fur is covered in large black rosettes and ranges in colour from tawny to reddish. The rosettes continue all the way down the tail. Vyk'artathi pride themselves as being the ones that accomplish the most physically challenging tasks. Their roles range from miners to shock troop warriors. Additionally many of the vyk'artathi display talents at psionic disciplines. They artathi army contains a large number of psychic warriors that can quickly stop any invaders. Unlike other castes the only benefit to be a higher ranking member of the vyk'artathi is to face greater challenges. There are nearly twice as many vyk'artathi as there are ahl'artathi.
Although members of one caste are capable of mating with the other, the offspring from such an union are mongrels. Those unlucky enough to be tainted as such from birth are considered to be letathen, casteless ones, and are thought as the lowest members of artathi. While their status may be the lowest, they are the majority in numbers at least. They range vastly in size and appearance as is expected due to their mixed origins. They fill base roles in society such as farmers, fishers, and trade members. They are also the merchants and the artists. A fair number also serve as military garrisons, in support of vyk'artathi troops. While they are the lowest caste, they are also the most mobile. Letathen are the most common successes in contests to join other castes. Every year dozens of letathen join other castes. Likewise members of other castes may join the letathen if they spurn their born roles. The most well known example of this is a group of former ahl'artathi that are now letathen artists.
Artathi naming can be very complicated, with each artathi receiving a birth name. They also receive a name given by their caste (unless they are Letathen) and may finally be given additional "honour" names. Typically an artathi will only use one name when travelling outside The Steppe?.
All artathi have the following racial traits:
In addition to these traits each caste has different ability score adjustments and favoured classes. If an artathi changes caste, it does not change its caste traits to match the new caste.
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity.
Favoured Class: Commander (Path of the Sword p69.), Paladin.
+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
Favoured Class: Mage (Elements of Magic), Wizard or Sorceror.
+4 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
Favoured Class: Scout (Complete Adventurer), Ninja (Complete Adventurer).
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence.
Favoured Class: Psychic Warrior, Samura (Complete Warrior).
+2 Dexterity.
Favoured Class: Letathen can choose any one class as their favored class at 1st level. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.
Base Age 14 modifiers as half-elf
| Heights and Weight by caste | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caste | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
| Il'Artathi | 7' 0" | 2d6 | 200 lb. | x (2d6) lb. |
| Ahl'Artathi | 5' 6" | 2d6 | 140 lb. | x (2d6) lb. |
| Sal'Artathi | 6' 0" | 2d6 | 160 lb. | x (2d6) lb. |
| Vyk'Artathi | 5' 0" | 2d6 | 145 lb. | x (2d6) lb. |
| Letathen | 5' 2" | 2d12 | 135 | x (2d6) lb. |
| The Artathi Paragon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells Per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Dodge Increase | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Special Ability Increase | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Ability Boost (+2) | +1 level of existing class |
Artathi paragons have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Artathi paragons are the emblems of what each caste should be as a result their important abilities are generally the same as their favoured classes.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d8. Class Skills
The artathi paragon's class skills are those of the caste's favoured class.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier. Class Features
All of the following are class features of the artathi paragon.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Artathi paragons are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor.
Spells per Day: At 2nd and 3rd level, an artathi paragon gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic or item creation feats, bard or assassin abilities, and so on). This essentially means that he adds these bonuses to the level in the spellcasting class, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
If a character had more than one spellcasting class before he became an artathi paragon, he must decide to which class he adds each level of artathi paragon. If an artathi paragon has no levels in a spellcasting class, and his favoured class is not a caster, this class feature has no effect. If the favoured class is a caster then the paragon casts spells as if he was that class with the level of this bonus.
Dodge increase (Ex): At 1st level, an artathi paragon's racial dodge bonus increases to +3.
Special Ability increase (Ex): At 2nd level, an artathi paragon determines his abilities from the special column for his favoured class as if he were one level higher. If the paragon has no levels in the favoured class then he receives the abilities in the special column, and only the abilities in the special column, as if he had one level in that class.
Ability Boost (Ex): At 3rd level, an artathi paragon increases one ability score by 2 points. This ability score must be either Dexterity or an ability that their caste receives a bonus to.