S&W Race: Necali

Necali (Gardeners)

The necali are slightly smaller than humans, approximately four-and-a-half feet to five-and-a-half feet tall. They have a broad face and large, wide-set eyes, and are fairly attractive. They have slender tentacles in place of hair, and pale skin that shifts colors with their moods. They prefer warmer climates, and both men and women usually wear nothing more than a shendyt, a kilt-like garment.

Necali are a communal people with an ingrained loyalty to their family. They see themselves as gardeners and caretakers, and have a skillful touch with plants. Outside of their homeland, many travel in groups as seasonal field workers. Smaller families sometimes travel as entertainers, usually with a menagerie of some kind. They are naturally calm and controlled, necessities when their emotions radiate on their skin. Their subdued mannerisms and simple lifestyle lead many to think them easily controlled, even docile, but they are highly rational and organized, with long-term view that measures time in seasons and years rather than days or weeks.

Rumor places the necali homeland far to the south and west, although some believe they have come even farther afield. In their own lands, the necali are masters of a crumbling empire that dominated a vast prairie, but decades of drought have nearly destroyed it. Many necali have been forced out as a result.

Necali adventure for a variety of reasons. Some seek information or magic to salvage their homeland; others look for riches to take home and use to buy security. Many view themselves as caretakers of people, not plants, and look to order the new society around them.

Necali can see in the dark (darkvision) with a range of 60 feet. Their keen eyesight also gives them a +1 bonus to hit with ranged weapons. They have a +2 bonus to saves against natural poisons (those inflicted by plants or animals, but not concocted or magical poisons).

Necali can be Fighters (7th level), Magic-Users (8th level), Monks (5th level), and Thieves (7th level). A necali with Prime Attribute of 14+ for their class can exceed the limit by one level; two levels if their attribute is 17+.

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1d6 Random Nectali Adventurers

1. A younger member of a necali troupe wants to get out from under her family’s thumb.
2. A scout looking for a new place for his family to settle
3. A spy surveying the local area as a possible conquest
4. An escaped slave, searching for the rest of her family
5. A magician researching druidic magic
6. A former guardsman looking to prove his worth to a potential employer