Erebus

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate or warm lands
Organization solitary, pair, or gestalt (3–20)

Erebuses have human origins but have evolved into their own species, primarily due to the human inhabitants on a remote planet who experimented with instant mental communication between members of their species. The lead scientist had already opened up his mind’s potential to give him incredible psychic gifts, and he used those to augment the technological aspects of his peoples’ advancement.

The procedure was successful, and Erebus became the core of an Overmind connecting everyone on the planet. With all minds working as a harmonious collective, the erebuses expanded beyond their planet. As time passed, the Overmind lost all of its progenitor’s personality, and it currently acts as a hub for its scattered people. The intense gestalt on the erebus home world has allowed them to repel even magically or technologically superior invaders, since the erebuses can instantaneously coordinate a response. Away from their home, though, they lose the strong connection among themselves but retain an empathic connection which eases communication among their species.

Even an erebus born apart from the gestalt mind still feels a connection to it and finds a way to contact the Overmind before reaching adulthood.

Adventuring erebuses are the norm, since their collected knowledge and experiences add to the whole and provide the Overmind a better understanding of the current state of the universe.

Most erebuses leave their home planet upon reaching maturity and only return near the end of their natural lifespans, passing their memories on to the gestalt before dying.

Erebuses tend toward true neutral alignments, but their individual experiences shift their viewpoints.

Erebuses are split equally between good and evil, but the connection to a gestalt makes them more prone to shift to lawful alignments as opposed to chaotic. Extreme alignments are exceedingly rare among erebuses. Their focus on the mind and its capabilities leads many erebuses to choose psychic as their primary class or to pursue psionic disciplines. Some erebuses choose classes, such as cavalier where they can share teamwork feats with their allies, in order to simulate the connection they have with erebuses.

Average erebuses stand at 5 and a half feet tall.

Their dense flesh causes them to weigh more than humanoids of their size, and they weigh in excess of 300 pounds. Erebuses enjoy long lives, nearly matching an elf’s lifespan.

Erebus Racial Traits

Ability Adjustments: +2 Int, +2 Cha Hit Points: 2 Size and Type: Erebuses are Medium humanoids with the erebus subtype.

Erebus Vision: Erebuses have low-light vision.

Mental Fortitude: Erebuses spend some time in a gestalt mind, enforcing their mental endurance. They receive a +2 racial bonus on Will saves to resist mind-affecting effects. In addition, if they fail such a save, they receive another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming it has a duration greater than 1 round).

Force of Will: Erebuses add +1 to the saving throw DCs for enchantment spells and spell-like abilities.

Skilled: Erebuses gain an additional skill rank per level.

Limited Mental Connection: Erebuses have a +8 racial bonus on Bluff checks to pass secret messages to other erebuses and cannot deliver a wrong message to an erebus regardless of the check.