Page 94 - Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations

NEOGI SOCIETY — Special Qualities (see above): Immunity to mind-affecting
There’s nothing to admire about neogi culture. These crea- spells and abilities.
tures are vicious murderers, plunderers, and slavers that only — Automatic Languages: Common, Undercommon. Bonus
occasionally attempt to disguise their bottomless avarice as Languages: Any other than secret languages.
mercantile interest. Their rapacity has made them the rivals — Favored Class: Wizard.
of every thinking race in the world. Neogi traders lie, steal, — Level Adjustment: +3.
cheat, and deceive at every opportunity, but they have the
ability to travel in places where humanoids would meet a swift
and terrible death, and they can deal with creatures that would NEOGI ANATOMY
be absolutely inimical to any human trader. This means that Neogi have been likened to gigantic wolf spiders. With

neogi can get their claws on all sorts of unwholesome goods eight limbs supporting a flattened, barrel-shaped abdomen,

and commodities, and greedy humans always hope to profit the similarity is undeniable. It is also misleading, because TAKERS CHAPTER 5
by commerce with the neogi and their clients. neogi are not arachnids. They are warm-blooded creatures THE SLAVE
Of all the races that neogi enslave, umber hulks are their similar to mammals, but with a unique, asexual method for
favorites. Every adult neogi possesses at least one umber hulk, reproduction.
raised from birth to a life of slavery and conditioned to accept A neogi’s eight limbs have two joints in addition to the shoulder
that situation as the natural order. These umber hulk slaves joint. Each “knee” joint hinges the leg in an opposite direction so

take orders from any neogi without question or thought. that it can fold up flat against the underside of the body when the
Umber hulk guards keep less compliant slaves (those under creature is at rest, or when it’s slung in a special carrying harness
the effect of the neogi’s enslave ability) under control and also on the back of an umber hulk slave. The front pair of limbs serves
act as soldiers in neogi armies and slave raids. both as legs and arms. These forelegs have no hands, but they do
In the neogi worldview, ownership is what fuels the universe. have clawlike, vestigial thumbs that are surprisingly deft at fine

Everything belongs to the neogi as a whole—if not now, then manipulation. They are the equal of human hands for most tasks
it did in the past or it will in the future. Even a neogi can be but don’t have as strong a grip as a human.
owned as a slave by another neogi, and the slaves can own The body of a neogi departs radically from that of a spider
property and slaves, and those slaves can own property and in the structure of the neck and head. The neck is long and
other slaves, and so on. sinuous. It extends from the front of the body, curves upward
and gracefully back, and then curves forward again in an S
NEOGI CHARACTERS shape. At the end of the neck is a small head suggestive of an
Neogi spawn and great old masters are not suitable as charac- eel’s head. Two small, dark eyes are positioned so far forward
ters. An adult neogi possesses the following racial traits. on the face that they can be mistaken for nostrils. A neogi has
— –4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, –2 Constitution, +4 Intelligence, excellent vision forward, but it must turn its neck to see much
+4 Wisdom, +6 Charisma. to the side. It can easily rotate its neck through 270 degrees
— Small size (+1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack for all-around vision.
rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, –4 penalty on grapple checks, Below the eyes is a large mouth so wide that it seems almost
lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters). as if the entire bottom portion of the head is hinged to swing
— A neogi’s base land speed is 30 feet, with a climb speed of downward. The jaws are lined with hundreds of tiny, needlelike
20 feet. teeth. A few of these teeth are actually hollow, like a snake’s
— Darkvision out to 60 feet. fangs, and serve the same purpose—they deliver poison

— Racial Hit Dice: A neogi begins with five levels of aberration, through a bite.
which provide 5d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base The abdomen of a neogi is covered with coarse, light brown
saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +1, and Will +4. fur. Neogi are vain about this fur. They dye it in various bright
— Racial Skills: A neogi’s aberration levels give it skill points colors and patterns that have social and fashion significance to

equal to 8 × (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are other neogi. Beneath the fur, and on the neck and head where
Appraise, Balance, Climb, Disable Device, Intimidate, Jump, fur does not grow, a neogi’s skin is smooth, slick, and tight,
Search, and Spot. Neogi use their Dexterity modifier instead of ranging from pale off-white to tan to splotchy, charcoal black.

their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks, and their Neogi sometimes apply dyes to their skin, too. A well-appointed
Climb speed gives them a +8 bonus on Climb checks. A neogi can neogi can appear as a blaze of yellow, red, blue, purple, mauve,
always take 10 while climbing, even if rushed or threatened. and other colors in swirling and banded patterns.
— Racial Feats: A neogi’s aberration levels give it two feats. Neogi fur is not heavy enough to provide much warmth in
Neogi gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. cold weather, and they are quite sensitive to temperature. They
— Weapon Proficiency: Neogi are proficient with simple prefer temperate climates: not too hot and certainly not too

weapons. cold. The ships in which they travel from realm to realm rely
— +3 natural armor bonus. on magic to protect against extremes of climate. Where they
— Natural Weapons: Bite (1d4 plus poison), 2 claws (1d3). build outposts, they search for a surface location that offers
— Special Attacks (see above): Enslave, poison. a good combination of climate and security. If one can’t be
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