Phlegmatic
The Phlegmatic Calthryn are more common than most people suspect. Their habits tend to keep them from being spotted, while their appearance itself is rather unremarkable. When they are recognized it is usually due to their preferences in combat, although an older Earth Strider is uniquely recognizable for completely shedding his mortal shell to become completely made up of earth. Reclusive by nature, the Phlegmatic Calthryn can make powerful allies or enemies, so caution when dealing with them is strongly advised.
In Appearance, the Earth Striders darker coloration allows them to blend in easily with various darker skinned peoples in Archian. Their skin tends towards shades of brown, giving them an exotic, but not completely unnatural look. Their hair coloration tends towards dark browns almost to the point of becoming black, whilst their eye coloration stays predominantly brown, although darker, unusual colors have been noted. Perhaps the only notable things about their appearance is that they weigh significantly more than humans of like size, and they often move with powerful strides, although their limbs often move stiffly. In time, they shed their mortal shell completely and at that time, Phlegmatic Calthryn are immediately recognizable for what they are.
The choices an Earth Strider has for weapons and armor are nearly unlimited at young ages, but with experience and age, they quickly find their options slowly reducing themselves. Early on in their lives, they find that any armor, both natural and metal is appealing to them, but does little more than cover their already dense body. Their natural body starts out at AC 8, so the addition of armor equal to or less than leather is strictly a cosmetic change. Other armors like studded leather function normally, and serve to provide an additional degree of protection. When it comes to weapons, the Phlegmatic Calthryn have no difficulty using any type of weapon, they are just exceptionally slow in using them. Weapons such as missile weapons which require a fair degree of manual skill, are foreign to the Earth Striders, since their bodies are not the most graceful to perform, hence their aversion to most missile weapons like bows and similar weapons. Therefore, most Earth Striders prefer to use their fists, which can inflict greater damage than a normal human fist. In game terms, the Phlegmatic Calthryn are 4 points slower using weaponry of any sort. An example is a longsword with a 5 speed factor. In the hands of an Earth Strider the longsword would have a 9 speed factor, adjusted later by other factors if applicable. The hands of a Phlegmatic Calthryn strike individuals like warhammers, inflicting 1d4+1 damage per hit, plus additional bonuses for specialization and strength if applicable. In game terms, the speed at which they strike with their fists is equivalent to a warhammer the speed factor is 4.
The opposition earth has for air, seems like a minor one. Earth daily exposes itself to the air and air does likewise. It seems that their fundamental differences are not as enemies but as opposing existences. To this end, the Earth Striders are non-concerned about the presence of air near them. Their only concern is separation from earth. As long as Earth Striders stay in contact with the earth their worries are limited, however, forced separation will physically send an older Phlegmatic Calthryn directly back to the elemental plane of earth. While younger Earth Striders suffer from loss of contact as if they immediately had all physical ability scores (Str, Con, Dex) cut in half. Further separation results in a decline that is equivalent to a loss of a day's rest for a human, but it happens at a rate such that 1 hour for the Calthryn is equal to the full day of no rest for a human. Their preferred method of rest and rejuvenation is to lie flat out on the ground with their physical bodies in contact with the earth. As they age, they prefer to be deeper and deeper into the earth to rest, so at first they are happy with normal ground, and then they begin to dig down a bit into the ground, or preferring to rest within caves. This obsession passes quickly once their mortal shell is shed.
With time and experience, the Phlegmatic Calthryn gain several new abilities and options that distinguish them readily from other Calthryn. Their first skill which they acquire is the ability to enlarge or shrink any earthen objects. This ability functions like the 1st level mage spell, Enlarge and it's reverse, but it only works on earthen objects. At low levels of experience many Earth Striders use this ability to enlarge themselves, and as they gain experience they progressively are able to enlarge themselves further. The next ability that manifests itself is the same for all Calthryn they slowly begin to learn to attune themselves to the magical nature of the plane to produce spell-like effects. All Earth Striders can picks spells from the school of Elemental Earth and the Sphere of Elemental Earth. **Note: Selection of spells is limited in the Player's Handbook, so the Tome of Magic and further references are advised** The limitation to these spell-like effects is that only 2 spells total of a particular spell level can ever be completely attuned to the Calthryn for usage. An example of this is a Calthryn with 2 earth spells from the School of Elemental Earth, or 1 spell from the school and 1 from the sphere, or 2 spells from the Sphere of Elemental Earth. In this way the maximum number of spells per spell level is preserved. Another ability that manifests for the Earth Striders is the complete shedding of their mortal shell. Due to their very nature, the Phlegmatic Calthryn can create a body for themselves that is resistant enough to be maintained for long periods of time. At the point in their progression when they reach their elemental form (7th level), they become an elemental force that possesses a body composed entirely of the earth from which they arise. At this point in their existence they are the fastest of all Calthryn on the land. They are able to move at a rate of 36 through any earthen material by leaving their physical bodies behind and reforming a new one at the new location. At this point in time, most Phlegmatic Calthryn abandon any weapons and armor and choose instead to rely upon their natural armor class and weaponry. Their armor class is directly dependent on the material from which they arise from, and for that part, a table is presented at the end of this document to demonstrate those materials.
Phlegmatic Calthryn AC in Elemental Form:
| Material: |
Relative AC: |
|
|
| Peat / Humus |
8 |
| Sand / Loose Soil |
7 |
| Normal Soil |
6 |
| Limestone |
5 |
| Normal Stone / Quartz |
4 |
| Granite / Volcanic |
3 |
| Marble |
2 |