Penthe

The penthe are a humanoid species that can trace its ancestry to humanity at some pre-historical point. Biological testing has proven the penthe are indeed humans, despite their outward physical differences. Penthe in their native form are stocky humanoids with wide, flat facial features and exceptionally long arms with seven delicate, elongated fingers on each hand. Their skin is a vibrant explosion of complex lambent pattern, like tree frogs hued in neon. Additional features of angle and expression created from self-generated pale energy enhance their visage, much like a holographic display, and range from subtle enhancements to full-blown projected masks. The visual expressions of individual Penthe are unique and shift through the Penthe’s lifetime, a statement of their self-identity, purpose and position within their culture.

When penthe cross over to the Material Plane, however, much of this vibrant majesty is left behind. They retain a similar body shape but their skin dulls to a leathery gray. They lack all the dream-like beauty of their natural forms, and are commonly dressed in drab, utilitarian survival clothing to withstand the wind-blasted badlands that dominate their planet. Penthe in the Material Plane commonly mark their exposed skin with pigmented clays, a pale imitation of their true forms that help them feel more comfortable in the material plane.

Penthe have the ability to create waking avatars for short periods of time instead of physically going meatside, a process akin to dreaming in reverse. They enter a comatose stasis while resting or sleeping in the Dimension of Dreams and form a corporeal body identical to their physical form in the Material Plane. Most penthe encountered by outsiders at one of their outposts are waking avatars serving as guards, diplomats and other functionaries. Those penthe who act as longer-term guides on expeditions across Calcarata’s surface or who leave the planet to explore the universe always do so in their actual physical bodies.

Penthe speak their own distinct language that shares common roots with Common. The alphabet and language structure of the two are similar but have deviated far enough from each other over the centuries to require translation. Many penthe, especially those whose purpose places them in contact with other species, gain fluency in Common (Hymnas) as well.

Penthe society is structured around individual purpose, with communal family units known as consortiums being composed of penthe of a single purpose or function, in many ways like a guild. Juvenile penthe learn the basics of their parent’s consortium but are tested for a wide range of aptitudes and interests in order to encourage growth towards their purpose. When penthe come of age, they undergo a ceremonial trial which reaffirms their purpose and places them in a new consortium. It is rare but not unheard of for a penthe to redefine its purpose later in life. Doing so is an undertaking not declared frivolously, as penthe who do so suffer a great loss of status and must leave their communal family behind to rebuild their reputation within a new consortium.

The majority of consortiums are centered in just a few penthe cities, but some have purposes that are spiritual or more esoteric in nature. These nomadic penthe travel the wilds, living a more primal lifestyle than their urban cousins. Their expertise in survival and knowledge of Calcarata’s wildlife makes them frequently called upon as guides to visitors, and it is early contact with penthe from these consortiums that led to the outside universe’s initial assumptions that they are a relatively primitive species.

Outsiders frequently find the penthe’s technology a confusing jumble. Their clothing, equipment and vehicles within the Dimension of Dream are clearly influenced by the technology of races which have contacted them, including humans both within the Hierarchy and without, the erahthi, and the okanta. At the same time, their society has developed over thousands of years and has envisioned technology of imagination that exists solely in the dreamscape. When penthe are meatside, they tend to rely on imported equipment and technology from other races as suits their needs.

Racial Traits

Ability Adjustments: +2 to any 1 ability.

Hit Points: 4

Size and Type: Penthe are Medium humanoids and have the penthe subtype.

Dream Denizen: Penthe are native to the Dimension of Dreams, physically present within that dimension. Penthe can physically enter dreamscapes in the Dimension of Dreams and dwell within those dreams without disorientation or other debilitating effects. Penthe can physically enter the Material Plane, using spells such as plane shift or by crossing at a fray (a place of diminished boundary between the Material Plane and Dimension of Dreams). When within a fray, penthe find it an easy task to physically cross between the Dimension of Dreams and the Material Plane, requiring only 1 minute of concentration to do so.

Waking Avatar: Once per day, a penthe in the Dimension of Dreams can enter a comatose state after resting for at least 10 minutes to create a waking avatar in the Material Plane. These waking avatars appear with none of the penthe’s regular equipment, but otherwise act as if the penthe was physically present. Waking avatars are immune to sleep effects. Spells and abilities used by the penthe’s waking avatar are depleted as normal. A penthe can dissipate her waking avatar as a standard action, leaving behind any worn or carried gear originating from the Material Plane and awakening from her comatose state in the Dimension of Dreams. Should the waking avatar die, the penthe awakens in the Dimension of Dreams with the exhausted condition. A waking avatar requires as much food and water as normal but this provides no actual nourishment for the penthe in the Dimension of Dreams, and a penthe that spends too much time in its waking avatar suffers from starvation and thirst regardless of how well it maintains its waking avatar’s needs.

Guarded Consciousness: Penthe gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects.

Languages: Penthe begin play speaking Penthe instead of Common. Penthe with high Intelligence can select additional languages, including Common/Hymnas. In addition, a penthe chooses either the dreamspeaker racial trait or the dream warrior racial trait.

Dream Warrior: Some penthe are skilled with dream- crafted weapons and can even briefly manifest such weapons on the Material Plane. These penthe gain the benefits of the Weapon Focus feat with any weapon crafted within the Dimension of Dreams that they are proficient with, including any weapon manifested using this racial trait. Once per day as a swift action while on the Material Plane, these penthe can manifest a weapon with which they are proficient and with an item level less than or equal to the penthe’s character level +2 into their free hand(s). This weapon lasts as long as the penthe holds it, up to 1 minute. The weapon deals damage as normal for its type and if the penthe is at least 5th level, the weapon is treated as magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. Reloading a manifested weapon takes the same action as normal, but the penthe can manifest regular ammunition or extra batteries for the weapon as needed to reload. Fired ammunition vanishes a round after it is used.

Dreamspeaker: Many penthe can tap into the power of sleep, dreams and prescient reverie. These penthe gain the benefits of the Spell Focus feat with divination spells and spells that generate sleep effects they cast. Penthe of 4th level or higher who have a Charisma score of 13 or higher can use the dream speech spell-like ability once per day with a caster level equal to the penthe’s character level.

Dream Speech (Sp)

The penthe can send a message to a sleeping creature in the form of a dream. The penthe enters a trance while naming the recipient or identify him or her by some title that leaves no doubt as to identity. While in the trance the penthe is unaware of its own surroundings or of activities around it as if deeply asleep and is helpless. If the penthe is disturbed during the trance, the trance ends and the ability is used up. If the recipient is awake when the penthe enters the trance, the penthe can choose to end the trance, which uses up the ability, or to remain in the trance. The penthe can remain in the trance until the recipient goes to sleep, then enter the recipient’s dream and deliver the message.

The penthe appears in the intended recipient’s dream and delivers the message. The message can be of any length, and the recipient remembers it perfectly upon waking. This communication is one-way. The recipient cannot ask questions or offer information, nor can the penthe gain any information by observing the dreams of the recipient. Once the message is delivered, the trance ends. The penthe and the recipient must be on the same plane of existence or on the Plane of Dreams. Creatures that do not sleep or dream cannot be contacted by this spell.

Frays

These places of diminished boundary between the Material Plane and Dimension of Dreams make it easier for creatures to cross between. They are most common on the penthe homeworld of Calcarata but can be found anywhere where the planar verges of these two planes bleed into one another. A creature that falls asleep on the Material Plane in a fray finds its consciousness automatically transported to the Dimension of Dreams, creating a lucid body in a shared dreamscape that resembles the material world. Creatures who enter a dreamscape in a lucid body must succeed at a DC 15 Charisma check or arrive in the dreamscape with some kind of disadvantage, such as without vital equipment or in a dangerous environment. If this save is successful, the dreamer manifests in a safe location in a lucid body with all of their equipment. Creatures who wish to resist entering this shared dreamscape upon going to sleep can attempt a DC 15 Will save, choosing either to not dream or to dream themselves into their own personal dreamscape if successful. If a creature attempts to resist this effect but fails its Will save, it suffers a -2 penalty on its Charisma check to not arrive in the Dimension of Dreams at a disadvantage.

While adventuring in a dreamscape in a lucid body, equipment and spells used are not expended, and the dreamer’s physical body suffers no harm and the dreamer merely awakens back in the Material Plane if slain in a dreamscape. Items found or created within a dreamscape cannot be brought back into the waking world.

There are instances where adventurers can physically enter a dreamscape, but this manner of travel is far more dangerous than that of dreaming a lucid body. A dreamer in a physical body expends equipment and spell slots normally and can take damage and die as if they were on the Material Plane. Items found or created within dreamscapes still vanish if a dreamer tries to remove them from the dreamscape, even if the dreamer is in a physical body.

Penthe find it an easy task to physically cross between the Dimension of Dreams and the Material Plane when within a fray, requiring only 1 minute of concentration to do so.