Rakshasa

Note: The Rakshasa race may only be selected by spending a Major Award and required DM application!

Introduction

Rakshasas are evil outsiders that are now native to the Material Plane. They are capable of taking any humanoid form. A Rakshasa's true form is that of a powerfully built Human with the head of an animal. They are commonly powerful sorcerers and they disdain physical fighting as ignoble.

Creating a Rakshasa on Arelith

• Alignment Restriction: Lawful Evil
• Requires Major Reward
• Requires DM-approved application
• Base race can be any non-award subrace of the original NWN races (Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling) with 0 ECL (like Planetouched races).

Playing a Hidden Monstrous Races

If playing a race that has the ability to hide it monstrous nature, you must understand that should they become well-known and outed then they should expect to be considered and treated as a Monstrous Race and all the rules that applies to playing a monster race will apply to your character.

If outed as one of these races, whilst entering settlements would not be a rule break, you should likely expect to be thrown out by PCs or NPCs, with little recourse.

Character Adjustments

Rakshasas may take the form of any playable humanoid race by using their innate ability and the -polymorph console command.

Note that this is a superficial appearance change, and does not provide the benefits of the race that the Rakshasa is imitating.

Abilities:

• +2 Dex
• +2 Cha
• SR 26
• 5/+2 DR
• +8 Bluff
• Skill Affinity: Listen
• Skill Affinity: Spot
• Keen Senses
• +10 to Seeing Track Details

+3 ECL

Base Races Available for Polymorph: Human, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Moon Elf, Lightfoot Halfling, Rock Gnome, Shield Dwarf, Drow, Troglodyte, Hobgoblin, Goblin, Kobold, Gnoll

Notes

• Bonus Languages:
  • Infernal
  • Undercommon

Appearance

• Height: 6 to 7 feet tall (1,8 - 2,1 m)
• Weight: 250 to 300 pounds (110 - 140 kg)
• Hands: Backward facing

Rakshasa Shapechanging

When not shapeshifted, a Rakshasa will appear in its natural animal headed humanoid form.

Race Selection

Alternate races can be selected using the radial menu. For races with non-dynamic models, the Rakshasa can access two different models which will be selected randomly when shifting. (i.e. You have a 50% chance to turn into a Gnoll Warrior rather than a regular Gnoll.)

Note: Head models of selected races can be changed via the -head command. If a head model would result in an invisible head after shifting, a random valid head model for that race will be assigned automatically.

Polymorphing

The same appearance will be used every time the Rakshasa polymorphs, until it is altered.

A Rakshasa never shows as "Rakshasa" when examined while shifted, instead their selected shifted form race will be displayed. Only by examining their unshifted form will their true race be revealed.

Note: Polymorphing does not make the Rakshasa immune to disguise checks, so players are advised to invest in Bluff or Perform, in order to achieve effective disguises.

Outlook

Greedier than most devils, rakshasas insatiably desire wealth and power. However, more than just taking what they can, rakshasas prefer stealing and looting from those who would suffer most from such actions—the destitute, the desperate, and those who rely on specific items. Rakshasas take great pride in ruining the lives of mortals, stealing everything from them, killing their families, and spreading horrible lies and rumors.

When a rakshasa first enters a territory, it does its best to maintain a low profile, seeking out weak-willed individuals that it uses as pawns and lackeys. It finds a base to host its insidious dealings, often fronted by an innocuous business or even a temple to some neutral deity. Over time, however, the rakshasa tightens the reins on both his victims and his lackeys, demanding larger and larger portions of their freedom, wealth, and power.

Rakshasa society could be described as a malevolent meritocracy, where only the fittest survive. Rakshasas constantly rank each other based on the power they accumulate, their cunning and subtlety, and their willingness to show a complete lack of morals. Female rakshasas raise their young alone, punctuating their children’s lives with doting praise, constant tests, harsh discipline, and ruthless training. As a young rakshasa matures, it learns the meanings of both loss and power—that which is gained might easily be taken away, often by those who gave it in the first place.

While rakshasas are forced to admit that the gods have powers greater than their own, most rakshasas scoff at the concept of divinity as a whole. The gods are among the most powerful beings in existence, to be sure, but too many examples of powerful, ambitious, or merely lucky mortals attaining divinity exist for rakshasas to pay religious homage to such creatures. Rakshasas see their own transitions from mortals to otherworldly beings as marks of their own fathomless potential and their initial steps on the path to godhood. However, the rakshasa do serve the planar power Ravanna a ten-headed being that was the paragon of their tyrannical ideals of decadence, cunning and narcissism. Most Clerics were chosen by Ravanna based on his needs and desires rather than them coming to serve him and it was practically suicidal by those who knew of him to ignore commands for such summons from his great priests.

Mythology

Considered by some the very embodiment of evil rakshasas dominate all they encounter as masterful manipulators, powerful sorcerers, and terrible foes. Greedy, treacherous, immortal beings, rakshasas delight in plotting the downfall of others while raising their own status, making them consummate arch-villains. In addition to their own abilities, rakshasas are charismatic individuals who draw large numbers of minions into their service, surrounding themselves with cadres of deadly and varied servitors. Clever and deceitful by nature, rakshasas are the bane of righteous creatures, as they prefer hiding in the shadows and using layers of lies, corruption, and double-crosses to keep themselves safe.

A cloud of uncertainty conceals the rakshasas' origins. Numerous tales and legends say that they came from "a distant land," slowly corrupting the societies they encountered before moving on to richer grounds, Rakshasas possess all the earmarks of having the same Lineage as devils, although they dwell primarily on the Material Plane. Even if they know their actual background, no rakshasa willingly parts with such information, and they often spin intricate webs of lies to further confuse the issue. The most popular theories include a race of fiendish animals somewhere in the rakshasas’ distant past, intermingled with some unknown breed of devils. However, even this possibility seems unlikely considering rakshasas' uniquely insidious natures.

There exist countless documented cases of the rakshasas’ sinister impact upon the world, even if some only suggest the fiends claws manipulating major political players. Although vain and egotistical, rakshasas favor staying behind the scenes, pulling political strings with aplomb. They are linked to the toppling of untold organizations, merchant houses, churches, and even entire governments. Scholars who go through the effort of untangling the skeins of history discover rakshasas lurking behind some of the most deplorable crimes and tragedies imaginable. Those who delve too deeply, however, risk drawing the attention of one or more rakshasas, who might briefly band together in order to quash an investigation before it uncovers too much.

Polymorph Roleplay Tips

• The basic polymorph ability only changes your shape. It does not affect your mannerisms or way of speaking. Ranking up in Bluff or Perform reflects training to act like a member of another humanoid culture.

• For example, the polymorph widget only changes your shape to that of an elf. To affect elven grace, outlook, and reverence of the Seldarine, train in Bluff or Perform.

• When another PC sees past your disguise, they're spotting suspicious imperfections in your attempt to pass yourself off as a member of a different humanoid culture.

• For example, an astute spotter might notice that your battle axe is missing the traditional runic emblems of a Gold Dwarf of the Smoking Mountains, or that you lack the peculiar accent of the East Rift.

• As a disguise artist, give some thought to your alter ego personas. Develop descriptions of each, as well as an identity and a backstory. Doing so will alleviate suspicion and make your infiltration attempts more engaging and enjoyable all around. Shapeshifting is a core Rakshasa ability - enjoy it!