Nyth
Welcome to Nyth Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest! What’s a nyth, you ask? Well, as you are about to find out, nyth are a new race of psychic outsiders who focus on mental powers and are able to enter the dreams of others. Of course, I could tell you more, but the whole race is explained in detail below, so read on.
The Nyth
Nyth are a race of psychic creatures born on the Astral Plane, and are formed from the remains of particularly potent dreams which leave behind a powerful psychic imprint on the fabric of the plane. Nyth are creatures born of thoughts and emotions made flesh, and as such they have weak and frail bodies, but powerful and vibrant minds. While all nyth possess a strong intellect, they also feel things more deeply than other races, making them complex individuals. Their close connection with dreams allows them to observe the dreams of others, an activity in which they take great pleasure, choosing to know others in a way that no other being really can.
Physical Appearance: Nyth are generally humanoid in appearance, but vary significantly from humans and other common races in appearance. Nyth have extremely gaunt and frail bodies, with exceptionally long, thin limbs with delicate appendages. Their heads are about 50% larger than those of a typical human, with very complex eyes with two pupils and no irises. Their whole bodies are covered in a soft, very short fur, which shifts in color from pale in bright light to dull blackish-brown in darkness, making them somewhat hard to see. All nyth are colorblind, and though capable of vocalization, none speak with words, instead communicating their thoughts directly in a way that many observers find off-putting. Male and female nyth are very hard to tell apart at a glance, though nyth themselves find this observation humorous, as the differences to them are quite obvious, such as females having slightly more rounded eyes and males having upturned noses. Nyth don’t walk along the ground but rather float above it, gliding along with the greatest of ease.
Society: Nyth are outsiders created by the dreams of mortals which leave a psychic imprint on the Astral Plane. On the Astral Plane, the whole of the nyth race is contained within a single massive tower of writhing quicksilver with no apparent entrances or exits, which hangs forgotten in a particularly empty expanse of the Astral Plane. No outsider has ever seen the inside of this tower, and the wonders contained therein are recounted differently by different nyth, leading some to believe that the nyth each experience their home differently.
While nyth society appears cold and alien to outsiders, in truth they live in vibrant harmony with one another. While the nyth in general seem obsessed with observing the universe outside their walls, they are particularly interested in the minds of mortals whose dreams spawned their race. The purpose of this obsession, however, is unknown to the nyth, if there is a purpose at all beyond mere entertainment. While most nyth prefer to observe, rather than interact with the world at large, individual nyth frequently make exceptions.
Alignment and Religion: The alignment of a nyth depends largely on the kind of dream from which she was born, with pleasant dreams spawning good nyth, dreams of work or other mundane tasks giving rise to lawful nyth, dreams of leisure giving birth to chaotic nyth, and nightmares giving rise to evil nyth. Very occasionally, dreams containing all these elements might give rise to neutral nyth, but this is rare.
The nyth are in general opposed to religion, being aware of their origins and being capable of interacting with the world in ways most mortals could only dream of. However, as an unaligned race of outsiders, various deities and philosophies among the planes have relentlessly tried to convert the nyth to their way of thinking, and a wide variety of religious practices have taken root within nyth society.
Relations: Nyth get along extremely well with any creature who dreams, or at least they do in their own minds. Other races often see the nyth as alien and strange, considering their methods of speech and movement to be unnatural and monstrous, and thus mistrusting the entire race. Still, this doesn’t stop some members of other races from working with the nyth, whose skills often prove invaluable to them.
Adventurers: Nyth often leave their home on the Astral Plane in search of more dreams to observe and more people to experience. Very occasionally, nyth send out one of their numbers for a specific task, and a few nyth may be driven by a desire to adventure, instilled in them from the dreams in which they were born. Adventuring nyth draw upon their extreme mental prowess for power, typically favoring careers as psychics or mesmerists, though wizards and sorcerers are not unheard of. In addition, a secret cult of nyth, devoted to the retrieval of a number of objects which they hold sacred, roam the planes as some of the finest occultists anywhere.
Male Names: Avon, Cerer, Ethron, Jaier, Mavon, Resis, Veder, Zovon.
Female Names Bexa, Gerdo, Kerex, Lete, Povan, Sedix, Weda, Yavern.
Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Nyth are physically diminished but mentally powerful, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha, -2 Str, -2 Con
Type: Nyth are outsiders with the native subtype.
Size: Nyth are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to size.
Base Speed: Nyth have a base land speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Nyth begin play speaking Common and Nyth, and may select any language as a bonus language.
Skill Racial Traits
Sense Thought Patterns: Nyth gain a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. This bonus increases to +4 if they engage in conversation with a target for at least 1 minute.
Other Racial Traits
Psychic Movement: Nyth move about the world by floating over the ground, approximately 1 foot in the air. This allows them to move over surface plates, caltrops and the like, possibly allowing them to avoid some traps. Additionally, because of the way they move, nyth increase their maneuverability when flying by one step. Because they constantly remain a foot or so above the ground, they are at significantly less peril from falling than other characters, causing them to suffer only half of all fall damage. Finally, a nyth cannot be tripped.
Observe Dreams: Nyth can enter the dreams of sleeping characters to observe what goes on in their dreams and communicate with the sleeper, if they so choose. To enter a character’s dream, the nyth must first touch an unconscious individual and attempt to observe his dreams. In so doing, the nyth actually creates a temporary construct on the Astral Plane, to which the nyth physically travels and to which the dreamer’s psychic avatar also travels. These dreamscapes function in much the same way as an immersive mindscape, except that it is created by the dreamer’s dream, and is an exact replica of the dreamer’s dream. The nyth appears adjacent to the dreamer and is by default completely invisible and undetectable by the dreamer, though he may choose to reveal his presence at any time as a free action. Unlike a normal mindscape, the dreamscape created by this ability poses no danger to a character within the dream, and the nyth can choose to leave at any time. While the nyth is able to interact with the dreamer, he may not do any damage to the dreamer, except with spells and effects which specifically harm dreaming characters. Nightmare and similar effects can be cast upon the dreamer while in the dreamscape, and the dreamer suffers a -2 penalty on saving throws to resist such effects. The dreamscape collapses and the dreamer’s psychic presence and the nyth are returned to the material world if the dreamer wakes up.