Eclipse D20 – The Piscin

Piscin (63 CP / +1 ECL racial template)

Piscin, also known as Hexcats, Witch-Cats, or (in adventurous cases) “Pawdawans” are bobcat sized humanoid felines, typically found hanging around human civilizations – usually taking basic positions in pest control, personal service, babysitting, cooking, and similar jobs where they can live comfortably on irregular, and poorly-paid, work since their personal expenses and living requirements tend to be pretty minimal. They are slightly larger and heavier than a typical house cat, usually have tufted ears, are comfortable moving on both all fours and standing up, and have frontal paw-hands. With a fairly impressive racial knack for a modest selection of useful spells they also make excellent adventuring companions or squires, although they are not the best in direct combat.

Personally, they tend to act a lot like any other cat; rubbing against friends (and thus scent-marking them), regarding most attempts to get them to go away as invitations to play, climbing things to peer down at people, sleeping wherever they please (and in positions that would snap a humans spine), pouncing on small prey, and alternating between collapsing in an apparently boneless puddle and bounding around wildly.

On Ailewelia Piscin are a new species – the creations of epic-level alchemy and an assortment of other magics. Why did the characters invest time, money, and magic in this project? Because one of the players likes tales about helpful cats – Puss In Boots, Magnifi-Cat, The Game Of Rat And Dragon, and many more – and decided that his character wanted some cute little cat-people aides of his own. And so the party – who are all willing to throw immense amounts of magic and not a little money into basically random projects – made it happen. This is, of course, why they’re rather highly magical; they were designed by some powerful mystics instead of being sculpted by gods or evolving naturally.

Ability Modifiers: +2 Dex (12 CP in Template). Unsurprisingly for a feline, Piscin are fast and agile.

Shrinking I, Corrupted / Reduces base movement to 20′ (8 CP). Piscin are on the lower end of the “Small” size range, and generally stand about two and a half feet to three feet tall (76-91 CM) (plus tail if measuring length) and weigh in at about fifteen to twenty pounds (7-9 KG). -2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 to AC and Attacks, +4 to stealth related skills and any knockback suffered, -4 to grappling, smashing doors, and similar checks.

Natural Magic: Piscin start off with three levels of Charisma Based Spontaneous Bardic Spellcasting, Corrupted for Reduced Cost (Extremely limited spell list, 16 CP), choosing their spells from the following list.

• L0: Dancing Lights, Know Direction, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation, and Spark.
• L1: Color Spray, Escaping Ward, Inspiring Word, Lesser Vigor*, Snapdragon Fireworks, and Shadow Trap.
• L2: Cure Moderate Wounds, Full Pouch, Lesser Thunderclap (As per Great Thunderclap, but 5′ Radius), Resist Energy, Summon Swarm, and Vortex Of Blades (Melee Attack all desired foes within [Reach + 5]).
• L3: Campfire Wall, Greater Pyrotechnics (no fire source required), Summon Unicorn, Prayer, Stinking Cloud, and The Laborer’s Word (Hedge Magic, this site).
• L4: Cure Critical Wounds, Fireball, Greater Mirror Image, Hold Monster, Ruin Delver’s Fortune, and Secure Shelter.
• L5: Cursed Gaze (as Bestow Curse but Medium Range), Greater Blink, Greater Heroism, Mislead, Panacea, and Restoration
• L6: Cloudkill, Dirge Of The Victorious Knights, Greater Shout, Heal (5 Points/Level, 100 maximum), Hero’s Feast, and Raise Dead.

Why is this only corrupted? A total of 42 spells to pick from – six of them being Cantrips – is downright pathetic! And yes, yes it is. Still, most of those are fairly good spells – and they include a fair variety of damaging, condition-inflicting, buffing, healing, utility, and defensive options. While it isn’t power overwhelming its not at all a bad support package.

Innate Enchantment (Up to 7500 GP Value, 8 CP):

• Boots Of The Cat (1000 GP): Piscin take the minimum possible damage from falls and always land on their feet.
• Speak With Animals (x.5, felines only, 1000 GP).
• Mule Cords (1000 GP). Piscin can carry surprising amounts of gear around despite their small size.
• Personal Haste (2000 GP). Piscin are actually quite fast (+30′ Movement, 50′ Total) and gain one extra attack at full BAB when making a melee attack. What do you expect? They’re CATS.
• Embrace The Wild (x.8, always Low-Light Vision and Scent, +2 to Listen and Spot, 1600 GP). Unsurprisingly, Piscin have catlike senses. This is a cheap way to get it,
• Endure Elements (1/Day, Personal-Only, 280 GP). They’ve got fur – but do not shed.
• Lesser Restoration (1/Day, Personal-Only, d280 GP). Piscin tend to recover quickly.
• Lesser Vigor (1/Day, Personal-Only, 280 GP). Piscin tend to heal quickly.
• Explorer’s Outfit (10 GP). Piscin don’t actually need clothing or shoes. They do kind of like hats.
• Bedroll (.1 GP). Piscin tend to sleep comfortably almost anywhere.

On Ailewelia, where the Abundant Magic (x.8) modifier applies, that leaves 1568 GP left over. So Piscin there get Personal-Only Skill Mastery (+2 on each of their Adept Skills, 560 GP), a +1 Competence Bonus to BAB with Questionably Practical Weapons (as described below, Personal-Only Weapon Mastery, 560 GP), and a Pin Of Perfume (user is always nice and clean and smells nice too, 200 GP).

Immunity to the XP cost of their Racial Innate Enchantments (Uncommon, Minor, Trivial, 1 CP).

Immunity to Antimagical, “Dead Magic”, and Dispelling effects (Common/Minor/Epic, Specialized and Corrupted / only to protect Innate Enchantments, Only those that come with being a Piscin, 6 CP).

Adept: Cat Style Martial Art, Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble (6 CP).

• Cat Style +5 (2 CP): Defenses 2, Strike. Fighting as cats, Piscin can do 1d4 + (Str Mod) damage (lethal or nonlethal, always considered armed) with their claws and gain a +2 bonus to their AC. While this isn’t particularly incredible by adventurer standards, it’s a reasonably effective defense for a small cat. Given that most Piscin have a decent dexterity bonus, they usually have another boost or two in here.
• Hide +3 (1 CP). Note that this stacks with the +4 bonus for being Small.
• Move Silently +5 (2 CP). Also stacks with the +4 bonus for being Small. Piscin can be quite sneaky when they want to be.
• Tumble +3 (1 CP).

Cat Style (Dex):

Honestly, this shouldn’t really need any description.

• Requires: Being in the form of a cat.
• Basic Abilities: Defenses 4 (Treat as Natural Armor), Power 1, Strike, Synergy (Climb) and Toughness 4.
• Advanced and Master Techniques: Instant Stand, Mighty Blow, Weapon Kata (Any one questionably practical weapon), and Blind-Fight.
• Occult Techniques: Inner Strength II, Light Foot, Vanishing Technique.

* “Questionably Practical Weapons” include things like weaponized dueling cloaks with bladed edges and/or weights sewn into them, gunblades, double-ended spears, lantern shields, coup sticks, entrenching tools, pendjepit, whips, aclys, full moons, mongwanga, hinged scythes, wind fire wheels, lajatang, urumi, and various other tools, implements, and personal items which someone has decided make great weapons when that position is – when looked at objectively – really, REALLY, doubtful. The only good things about most of them is that no one in their right mind will consider them to be serious weapons and that many of them can also be used as effective tools of some type, which is sometimes useful.

Piscin Gadgets: Piscin (save for Pawdawans) rarely have the money for any notable magic. They can, however, cause various minor tokens and curiosities to manifest a little bit of magic, at least in their paws. This is their version of Shaping (Use of Charms and Talismans version, 6 CP). (See The Practical Enchanter for details on Charms and Talismans)

Racial Disadvantages:

• Incompetent (Intimidate). Piscin are just too cute. Who could be scared of them?
• Accursed (Cute and Cuddly). Piscin are cuddly and find it near-impossible to resist being glomped. They all too often find themselves taken out of action by random people who decide to hug them, pet them, scoop them up and cuddle them, or scratch their ears.

With a net cost of 63 CP, Piscin are a +1 ECL species – although it is not uncommon for them to spend 32 CP from their first level point allotment to buy off their ECL adjustment.

I believe that helper cats are an important part of a video game called “monster hunter”, which may be the root of some of the items that the requesting player wanted them to have – but since I’ve never played any monster hunter it is hard to be entirely sure.

As a synthetic race (and one meant to be usable in other settings) the Piscin lack the biggest special advantage of most Ailewelian nonhumans – getting to stack their Innate Enchantments with external magics. On the other hand, few of their innate enchantments actually need to be able to stack with anything to remain effective – and their built-in spellcasting progression can be completed by ECL 15 (level fourteen if they buy off their ECL) for a mere 91 additional CP. Sure, that’s a chunk – a good quarter of their base CP at that level – but it’s probably well worth it.

Sadly, the Piscin have no package deals on Ailewelia yet. There aren’t even any full ADULTS there yet – but something roguish seems most likely. As might be expected for a player design, the Piscin are a fairly high-efficiency build – but, unlike many such, are not particularly game-breaking, Just really, really, helpful.