#orang-pendak

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Roleplaying Races 15: Orang-Pendak

(art by young920 on DeviantArt)

And so we come to the final entry of the week, and it’s a First Edition ancestry that… well, I kinda thought was lame when I first saw it.

I don’t think I can be blamed though. After all, the orang-pendak are a species of sapient primates (already done with the vanara) that are based in part on folklore of ape-people living in the forest (also vanara) that are only really set apart by their small size with surprising strength and their unique aversion to riding on mounts or in vehicles. With only that bestiary entry to go off of, it’s easy to see why they’d be another bestiary-orphan ancestry.

But is there more to them? Certainly!

In the real world, orang-pendek (so glad to have validation that spelling it with an ‘e’ is ok) are beings from Indonesian folklore, specifically Sumatran, where the people have stories of the “short people of the forest”, which were similar to the orangutan, but different, more human-like. Certain accounts from islanders claim they are smart enough to use tools and could sometimes be territorial and violent.

Now, regardless of whether these tales are true or merely folklore based on misinterpreted sightings of orangutans or insular forest-dwelling societies, but the nature of the story has naturally attracted the attention of both legitimate biologists and cryptozoologists alike.

In any case, the Pathfinder version does not list a specific nation in the bestiary entry, but it can be assumed that they are from parts of Tian Xia. Additionally, they are described as a distant relation to sasquatches, and are just as shy and insular.

The orang-pendak are small humanoid apes covered in shaggy fur that ranges from brown to a rusty red-orange. As such, it’s easy to see how they could be mistaken for orangutans or gibbons from a distance. However, their proportions are more akin to a human’s or halflings, albeit with a hunched posture.

They are also semi-nomadic gatherers that only really hunt to round out their diet with protein, and spend most of the time subsisting on the world around them before moving on in order to minimize their impact on their surroundings. Beyond this, they are a close-knit people that are shy and distrustful of outsiders.

Surprisingly strong for their size, orang-pendaks are also empathetic and wise, but their lack of formal education hampers them somewhat.

Familiar as they are with forest terrain, they are adept at climbing and hiding within the foliage.

They also possess excellent night vision.

Orang-pendaks however, become easily unnerved and motion sick when being moved by forces other than their own autonomy, making riding mounts or in vehicles difficult and outright undesirable for them.

Their kinship with the other apes they share their territory with makes it easy for them to get along with other primates.

Their surprising upper body strength also makes them shockingly adept at destroying objects as well.

It’s nice to see a small ancestry that not only doesn’t have a strength penalty, but has a strength bonus, making those small barbarian or fighter builds much more viable. Their wisdom also lends itself well to rangers and druids, or even clerics. On the other hand, however, that intelligence penalty does make arcane magic builds somewhat limited, but the real kicker is their Own Two Feet weakness, which basically makes classes and archetypes with mounts, such as cavalier or samurai, difficult to play without using archetypes that remove and replace the mount with something more useful, to say nothing of the difficulties of overland travel in adventures where mounts or vehicles would be the superior way to travel. Like all weaknesses, however, they can be surmounted.

That does it for this week, and I hope you enjoyed it. This is the second to last time we’ll be able to do this for first edition ancestries, but fret not, I already have plans to continue into 2nd Edition, not to mention continuing to look at species from Starfinder!

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Dinosaur Druid (Druid Archetype)

(art by Hyfigh on DeviantArt)

 Long ago, in the days of yore of this blog, we covered the Saurian Shaman archetype, which was one of a series of druid archetypes centered around specific animals or groups of animals, with the general ability list being a partial transformation, as well as enhanced summoning and wild shaping revolving around the animal in question.

Needless to say, the saurian shaman and dragon shaman, with their focus on the large groups of creatures, were widely considered the only ones that didn’t leave the druid somewhat limited in abilities. There’s only so many ways that a bear shaman can apply templates to summoned bears to make them stronger, after all.

With that in mind, when I discovered that Ultimate Wilderness had given us another dinosaur-themed archetype for druids, I was a bit confused, especially when many of the mechanics between the two were thematically similar, if not mechanically the same.

However, upon further reflection, I feel there is room for both, dinosaur druids do get their wild shape sooner than saurian shamans and still get a buff for taking saurian forms, but they don’t get better dinosaur forms faster. That being said, they do have an expanded summon nature ally list of dinosaurs, even if they can’t enhance them the way the saurian shaman can or cast them as a standard action. So really, it comes down to how much simple template bookkeeping you want to do and remembering your effective level when it comes to wild shape.

In any case, dinosaur druids may hail from primeval lost worlds, or otherwise venerate the ancient megafauna of the past, which may or may not exist today. There is no denying the primal power that they wield, though.

 Drawing upon the primeval memories of the world, dinosaur druids add a large number of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles to the creatures they can spontaneously conjure, gaining a large variety of summons for any situation.

Naturally, they must choose a dinosaur companion.

When wild-shaping into dinosaurs, these druids become a bit tougher than normal. However, they also find that wild shaping into anything else, such as a beast that can actually blend into most areas, lasts mere minutes at a time compared to the hours of their saurian forms.

Additionally, they learn the primal tongue of such beasts, becoming able to speak clearly with them whenever they wish.

Judging this archetype on it’s own merit, This archetype gives you a ton of new summons, some of which have unique abilities that might appeal to you in a combat situation, though much like the normal summon nature ally list, it really is mostly about strong combat forms or unique combinations of combat, movement, and gimmicks than it is about adding diversity to your abilities by way of summoning. That being said, the wild shape bonus, while simpler than that provided by the saurian shaman, does let you gain wild shape at level 4 rather than waiting another two whole levels to get the benefits with. For this I would recommend a mixed summoning and wild shape combat build, since you definitely expect to hit hard with your summons, companion, and transformations. Pick your spells based on utility and support first, and your feats should probably be a mix of those that augment summoned creatures and bolster your own combat abilities.

 If you don’t want to replace the saurian shaman with the dinosaur druid (or vice versa), reconciling the existence of both in the lore might be your next question. You might say that saurian shamans revere dinosaurs as a totem, whereas dinosaur druids merely have a special talent for calling upon them, for example, or they might be different applications of the same power, which may lead to rivalries.

  Accompanied by a strange, three-horned beast, a mysterious traveler arrives in town, asking to speak with a leader. Many fear that she is some sort of monster-tamer, but the mayor agrees to the meeting anyway, but he wishes to hire the party as extra protection, just in case.

 Feeling estranged from the company of simians, the orang-pendak druid Ku instead prefers the company of mighty-forest-dwelling dinosaurs, knowing them all by name and treating them well. Even predatory beasts among them go to him for help. If there is anyone who can tell the party more about the great thunder lizards, they have yet to find them.

 Three decades ago, nations on both sides of the Greatfang War plundered the southern jungle for mighty dinosaurs to train as living siege weapons and battle-beasts, leading to a great many deaths. Now, the land between the two sides is rife with undead beasts, including a warsworn composed of over a dozen squirming bodies trapped inside the skeleton of a tyrannosaurus. A lone druid has now emerged from the rainforest, intent on laying each of these traumatized spirits to rest.

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Avalancher (Slayer Archetype)

 In various media, few things are more satisfying than delivering a particularly deadly blow from above. Whether it is a strike adding the force of gravity to the character’s weapon, or performing strikes and shots in the middle of a leap or fall, such maneuvers can be hard to defend against.

While they certainly have other tricks in their arsenals, some slayers master the art of such strikes, hoping that the element of surprise, higher ground, and momentum can see them to victory in seconds.

While called avalanchers due to their association with mountainous terrain, anywhere from treetops to roofs are places where this technique might crop up, since most prey, even humanoids, rarely look up.

 As one might expect, these slayers have their greatest advantage not just to accuracy and damage, but also to stealth when attacking while dropping from above, which only increases with their mastery.

Any profession that involves leaping from great height requires some understanding of how to reduce the impact of a fall, so naturally avalanchers are very good at it.

They also learn how to use their falls to avoid blows while in the air.

Whether it is in melee or with a ranged weapon, these assassins learn the art of attacking repeatedly on the way down during a leap and a fall, making them simultaneously mobile and deadly in areas with lots of vertical elevation, though such maneuvers tend to spread their attacks among several targets, and even strike for their vitals while foes are distracted by the movement itself.

Like other slayers, the true masters are able to slay or disable a foe with a single blow, but avalanchers do so against foes they strike from above, rather than those they have studied.

Interested in a slayer that tries to end things in one blow from a powerful ambush? Want to take advantage of one of the earliest tactical advantages ever conceived? This archetype may be for you. Without studied target, you’ll be relying mostly on your high ground for advantages. I recommend a high stealth and acrobatics-based build, particularly one supplemented by abilities and magic that increases mobility, so you can get into position, strike from above, and if things get dicey, retreat to your vantage point and reevaluate.

 Due to the requirement of elevation, this archetype can likely only be found in lands or settlements where such climbable terrain is available… with one exception. Ancestries and species that have the capacity for flight, such as strix or wyvarans, might pick up this skill no matter where they dwell. That being said, such flying beings might already dwell in such high places on account of the security they offer against landbound foes anyway.

  While most of their kind prefer solid ground, the orang-pendak of Noshomen have developed a knack for attacking from the treetops with a fury that throws all caution to the wind, leaping from above to club interlopers or snipe them with slings from midair. This fury has made exploration into their lands incredibly difficult, as one might imagine.

 The Bloody Beak is the public name of an order of assassins who do not share the group’s real name with anyone. Their favored method is to strike as a bird of prey from above, even going so far to use flying magic if their target flees to open land with no elevated positions. And now, a team of these killers stalks the party.

 Carefully tending the assassin-god’s hidden shrines, the constructs known as celedons act as his last line of defense against discovery, and occasionally, as cleaners when a mortal worshipper fails a killing. Such celedons stalk their prey, and drop upon them like the literal mass of blessed metal that they are.

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Alley Witch (Witch Archetype)

 There used to be a short comic floating around Tumblr called “Cornerwitch”, which was a tale of a woman in need of magic to help face an overwhelming world, which blossoms into sapphic romance at the end.

Well children, today’s archetype taps into the same ideas of hedge mages and practitioners of the old ways that do not live on the fringes of civilization, but deep within its heart, peddling their magic to those who need it.

While civilization is normally the resting place of wizards and alchemists, these so-called alley witches provide healing and magical blessings for those in need, perhaps providing such magic in return for favors whenever funds are short, making for a spellcaster that is much more accessible than most.

As we shall see, alley witches are more in tune with the city around them than most.

 Unlike other witches, these mystics are much more in tune with civilization than they are nature, so much so that they don’t have a traditional patron. Whether their patron is a spirit of civilization or the collective unconscious of the city’s denizens, they gain access to a handful of spells that revolve around gathering information, being discreet, providing for others, and even crafting temporary servants or extradimensional sanctums.

By linking their spirit to whatever city they happen to be residing in (a lengthy process that takes a month), these mages become so in tune with the urban landscape that they can read it’s flow, knowing instinctively who is best to ask a question, where to find hidden things, the nuances of the residents, and when danger is imminent.

Perhaps the most iconic ability of these witches, however, is their ability to infuse their hex magic into trinkets for others to use, be it allied adventurers, or paying customers looking for a magical edge. Of course, doing so briefly prevents the witch from using the power stored within. Most often, these will be benevolent hexes that others seek to purchase, but unscrupulous alley witches might sell access to a cursing hex to someone seeking petty vengeance.

While the ability to get a buff to several different skills and a nice utility spread of spells is good, the hex-gifting ability is what will draw many players to this archetype, providing buffs to allies that they can use at their discretion. Plus, the aesthetic of offered gifts of magic will appeal to many as well. I’d recommend a supporting buffing, debuffing, and control build, with a handful of item crafting feats as well, adding to the range of things that an alley witch can provide to not just their party, but to prospective customers.

 Depending on how accepted they are in a community, alley witches might be very public figures that are constantly working to better their home, or they might be reclusive, accepting business but keeping people at arm’s length. Regardless, their connection to the city might mean their behavior is at least partially influenced by the city they are currently bonded to.

  Called all manner of unsavory names, Vesca and her wife Bellanna sell magical trinkets to those in need despite the risk of being apprehended by the city guard or inquisition. It helps that the two of them have magic to easily escape such persecutors, continuing their good works.

 Sokho hates the city, absolutely hates it. There’s barely anything green around, there’s too much noise, and it smells funny. However, the orang-pendak hates to admit it, but he loves the people, and so he stays, infusing the magic of his people into potions and baubles for a price, which he occasionally waives for those without means.

 The party hears a scream down an alley, as small, foulness-filled oozes roll out of an alley. It seems Niala the witch was sold a bad batch of ingredients, causing her latest potion to transform into a mass of boilborn. Cleaning up the little blighters is only the first step, next is convincing the guard that the old mystic was not “conspiring to disturb the peace”. The reward for doing so is a pendant loaded with one of her many hexes.

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Aquatic Beastmaster (Hunter Archetype)

 A good while back we looked at one of two aquatic-themed archetypes for the hunter, the pelagic hunter. Today, we look at its counterpart, the aquatic beastmaster.

While the pelagic hunter boasted connections to otherworldly and supernatural aquatic creatures, this beastmaster instead favors much more mundane, but nevertheless powerful and evocative underwater beasties, plus perhaps a bit more flexibility in choice of companion, as we’ll see below.

Their focus on natural animals of the deep may lead to them being considered more trustworthy than some pelagic hunters, as they are less likely to be seen as servants of krakens or aboleths. Of course, whether they are or not is an entirely different story.

 Drawing upon various aquatic species, these hunters have their own list of animal foci to use, including the crab, which bolsters swimming and grappling; the dolphin, which focuses on identifying weaknesses and exploiting them; the eel, which lends it’s agility; the manta ray, which wards against detection and poison; the octopus, which mirrors the crab in utility; the orca, which bolsters physical might; the shark, which tracks blood in the water; the sea snake, which lashes out at those that leave themselves open and avoids similar opportunistic attacks; and the turtle, which gifts the hunter or companion with the protection of its shell.

As travelers of the deep, these hunters exclusively work with and understand aquatic creatures, even simple ones, and understand them the best.

In a similar way to many druids, these hunters know all the tricks of creatures of the deep, and can resist many of their abilities with ease.

While not as fantastical as the pelagic hunter, the aquatic beastmaster does have some appealing aspects. For example being able to take a non-aquatic companion should that suit their build for whatever reason. Additionally, in an aquatic adventure, having a big bonus to a lot of saves can be a godsend. That being said, it is somewhat disappointing that two of their animal focus choices are literally the same (honestly, the octopus could easily be redone as a bonus to stealth or disguise).

 This archetype is already a nice choice for any aquatic hunter characters you’d like to run, but the lack of companion restriction means it could just as easily be someone that lives on land as well, such as an old privateer and their seagull companion, or a coastal watchman whose sea lion companion guards the underside of the pier just as they watch from above.

  Though the story of how it got there is long and interesting, Wyrm’s Rest, a merfolk village built around the remains of a great wyrm red dragon is today better known as a trading outpost and hunting lodge of sorts. There, merfolk rangers and hunters swap rumors and stories of great beasts, and train with their companions to hunt them.

 Secluded away from the rest of the world, the orang-pendaks of Rovoe Lagoon keep to themselves, but they are no strangers to conflict, and long learned how to turn to the sea for aid, particularly against aquatic invaders like sahuagin, many patrols and raiding parties of which have been devoured by the apefolk’s giant crabs.

 The glittering schools that surround the shipwreck of the Perserverance are not fish, but animate ships in bottles that gather in miniature armadas. They are, however, aggressive to larger creatures, particularly aquatic humanoids, so many hunters warn others to steer clear of the ship.

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Wilderness Medic (Ranger Archetype)

 The concept of modern medication was born in herbalism. Certain plants were determined to have key compounds that could be extracted and used to provide useful drugs and other medicinals to those in need.

This wasn’t a perfect process, as some mixtures remained toxic if dosed incorrectly. It was, after all, the very early stages of trial and error and applying that knowledge, but it did for, the basis for modern pharmacology and of many a fantastical herbalist in fantasy rpgs.

Plenty of classes and archetypes have ways to utilize the concept of herbalism, but today we are looking at a more homegrown herbalist, rangers that heal with herbs because they were trained to use that which is on hand, perhaps as part of their desire to live off the land, or even in order to secure curatives that cannot be traced through transactions.

These wilderness medics can soothe and abate the suffering of their allies and those in need as well, and provide superior bedside manner when needed, despite the environments they find themselves in being a far cry from a traditional healer’s workplace.

 As one might expect, these rangers are highly skilled at both gathering and applying herbs and medical treatment.

Additionally, they can use their bedside manner and supply of generic herbs to treat allies, at first only stopping bleeding and reducing the potency of certain debilitating conditions, but later they can sooth other greater conditions, and remove lesser ones entirely.

This confidence also extends to more general support, bolstering the courage of others when they advise allies against foes. As a result, they can only bond with allies, rather than with a companion creature. Later on, this confidence-bolstering actually can be used to invigorate the party, rather than just alleviating fear.

Clearly meant to be used alongside the herbalism system that was first implemented in Heroes of the Wild, and later expanded upon in Ultimate Wilderness, this archetype leads to a much more support-oriented ranger that trades out some of their utility and defensive abilities for the ability to reduce nasty conditions followed by removing the minor versions, which seems to me like a novel way to incorporate healing into a class that is not traditionally a major healer. I’d recommend a ranged or back-line combat style, and support your allies not only with the class abilities but also with the stand-alone herbs as well.

 I’d like to imagine that, as healers, most of these rangers are more benevolent than not. However, healing is not something completely ignored by those of dubious morality, so you could play a more neutral or even evil one as well.

  There is a certain herb sacred to the faith of the Fire Tender’s faith. Normally, the local church pays a local herbalist to cultivate a small crop of them away from prying eyes, but yesterday, the envoy sent to collect their supply has not returned, and there is no response from the herbalist via magical means. Someone needs to find out what has happened to them.

 Described by the locals as a “strange hairy halfling with an odd accent”, the ranger Ulfos lives alone in the forest, quietly cultivating a garden of herbs both local and exotic, selling them to the townsfolk. In truth, however, he is a small ape-man called an orang-pendak, displaced from his home by circumstances he does not elaborate on.

 Legend has it that a healer of the wild stole a rare magical plant from the palace of a fey princess in order to save her family in the wake of a revolution. To this day, the princess still searches for the perpetrator, but time being what it is to the fey, she does not realize the herbalist long ago passed on. Since then, Shadowfinger Forest remains full of predatory fey who follow the orders of the princess, namely the frightening winged ankou.

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Where in the World are All of These Races? pt. 5: Orang-Pendak

Also known as the Shaggy Men of the Forest, the Orang-Pendak are one of the rare nomadic races of the frontier. Said to live high in the mountains or the deepest forests of the frontier many believe these tiny beings a myth, little more than folk tales the people tell to scare imperial travelers to the region. Even with that said the beings known as the Orang-Pendak are often one of the Imperials most staunch allies in the region, forging an alliance in the fires of the Orc Wars 2 centuries ago. In exchange for offering up a tithe of men as scouts and guides through many of the most remote locations in the frontier, the Imperium offers up protection and maintains the secrecy of their few standing monasteries and homes. So far this arrangement has worked out well for both parties, but even with their mutual relationship few outside of their kind know much about them or where there homelands are and many still believe them to be little more than a myth even within the Frontier.