The noble Kartika race has existed quietly for thousands of years, in deep deserts and remote oases, not getting involved in the great wars of other races. Since the Purge, however, they have been discovered by Tiagarathian Crusaders, who, in a break from tradition, allowed the Kartika to remain living as they were. Since this acceptance, the Kartika have swelled in numbers and now live within human and private communities throughout Salenheim and the Northern Continent.

Personality:

The average Kartik is slippery and sly, often untrustworthy, but in the same vein, they find it difficult to trust anyone. They are usually slow to anger, but once angered a Kartik’s rage is terrible. If a Kartik is befriended, she is a loyal and devoted friend, but will expect the same devotion. In a battle, the Kartika prefer the execution of a perfect plan to simply charging in with reckless abandon. They generally care little for useless items, having carved out a precarious existence in barren deserts – they would prefer to have the money from the sale of a beautiful statuette or painting than have the art.

Physical description:

The Kartika are a race with unusual appearance. Their torsos and heads are much the same as humans, but they slither upon thick snake-like tails instead of legs. They are usually around the same height as a human, but when reared up one can reach 2.5 or even 3 metres. They also weigh slightly more, due to their tails, averaging between 80 and 150 kilograms. Males are only marginally, if at all, larger than females. Their skin and scales are usually a golden tan colour, though it can be darker or lighter and vary to copper or silvery tones. They have hair only on their heads, which ranges between dark reds to light golden brown through to silvery blonde. Often the hair is reflected in the colour of a Kartik’s scales. Men have no facial hair. Hair is usually worn long, between chest and hip length on both males and females, and is straight and carefully groomed. Kartika tend to wear little or no clothing in their native lands, preferring the sun to touch all parts of their skin, but in human lands they indulge their hosts’ sense of modesty, wearing loose, light clothing on their heads and torsos. Both sexes have a liking for jewellery and piercings on their face and body.

Relations:

Kartika get along passably with everyone except most mutants, whom they see as aberrations, though their difficult-to-gain trust means that they are unlikely to forge strong friendships with members of other races they have only met once or twice. Even a mutant may gain a Kartik's trust if he earns it however, as the race does not lend itself to prejudices. It seems odd that kartika and vampyres should get along as well as they do, however if they keep an open mind they find they share many similarities and few differences.

Alignment:

Kartika tend towards law, though the best and worst can be found among them, as with humans. There has been a slow movement away from law in the younger generations, as Kartika have observed the mistakes of the strongly lawful Tiagarathians.

Kartika lands:

Kartika lands are nearly always ruled by a council of elders in a tribe-like system, and areas that have been gifted to Kartika tribes lie throughout the Greater and Lesser Salenheim Deserts and the Northern Continent, as well as other more remote regions that tribes have held for thousands of years. Kartika also live in human lands and are generally well-accepted by people who can accept their alarming appearance and accept the rules of the local area, though keeping to themselves largely. Several Kartika tribes have used their various talents to begin enterprises that travel across desert and water more quickly than humans may.

Religion:

Kartika worship a variety of tribal gods and totems, but by far their principal god is Matis, the sun god, whom Tiagarathians recognise as the third embodiment of Tiagarath himself, thus explaining their unusual lenience to the Kartika.

Language:

The Kartika speak Kartikan, which has its own flowing script. Even its spoken form is smooth and flowing, incorporating rolled ‘s’ sounds and complex inflections. The Kartika have little literature, as, despite their written language they still have an oral tradition.

Names:

Kartika names are acquired when the Kartik reaches maturity at the age of 27. He or she will travel into the desert, aiming for an oasis that is sacred to their tribe. Upon reaching the oasis, they will meditate, staring into their silent reflection for some time. Finally, their reflection will ripple and transform into an animal or object which will serve as their totem, and, combined with the time of day the vision occurred, their name.

Common naming system:

Usually, a Kartik will choose their name by combining, in the most attractive sounding way possible, the words for the time of day and the animal that appeared to them:

Time of day:	Animal:
Blue light = Belgar	Lizard = Felt
Sunrise = Matir	Mouse = Kasar
Morning = Gar	Deer = Fla
Noon = Garli	Hare = Flasar
Afternoon = Togar	Lynx = Peso
Gold light = Rogar	Tortoise = Drus
Sunset = Matil	Snake = Yts
Moonrise = Satir	Hawk = Mapeso
Moonset = Satil	Human = Kas
Full moon = Sa	Vulture = Mafelt
Half moon = Sang	Small bird = Masar
Crescent moon = Sarg	Fish = Tres
Gibbous moon = Salp	Monkey = Geld
New moon = Sang	Goat = Kafal

Racial Traits:

• Medium: As Medium creatures, Kartika have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

• Tail: Due to their tail rather than legs, Kartika gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Move Silently, Escape Artist, Swim, Climb, Grapple and Balance checks. However, they have a -5 circumstance penalty on Jump, Hide, and Tumble checks. They are also unable to ride living mounts, though they can use specially built mechanical ones. They can carry 1.5 times as much as a normal Medium creature of their strength. Kartika are, however, unable, short of magic or advanced technology, to disguise themselves as a member of any other race.

• Cold-blooded: As the Kartika are cold-blooded, they are far more susceptible to cold temperatures than other races. As opposed to the normal need to make a Fortitude save (DC15, +1/previous check) every hour when temperatures fall below 5° Celsius, or every 10 minutes if temperatures fall below -15°C. A Kartika must make the Fortitude save every hour when temperatures fall below 15°C and every 10 minutes if it falls below 5°C. Below this temperature, the character also takes a -1 on all attacks and checks based on a physical ability. Lethal damage will begin to be dealt at -5°C. However, if the temperature is above 35°C, they gain a +2 Circumstance bonus on all checks based on a physical ability and attacks.

• Uninformed: Most Kartika struggle with using gunpowder weapons and advanced technology, and thus these weapons and advanced armour are treated as exotic weapons except where it is specifically stated a character may use them. For example, a Kartika Gunslinger will still be able to use gunpowder weapons, but a Kartika Priest will not.

• Poison: Upon making a successful Grapple check, a Kartika may perform a bite attack as a touch attack using dexterity. If this is successful, the victim takes 1 Constitution damage (no save) and then 1d4 Constitution damage for the next 1d4 hours or until the victim makes a DC20 Fortitude save. If the victim is reduced to 0 Constitution, it dies.

• Automatic Languages: Common and Kartikan. Bonus Languages:

• Favoured class: Explorer. A multi-class Kartik’s Explorer class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multi-classing.