Brood (3.5 Race)

[Matthew]

Brood
A Brood stands as tall as the average human, but they weigh 50% more and have a toned muscular build. Their skin and hair are as varied as the humans that they look like.
The Brood favor Regal looking and comfortable clothing and lightweight armor.
Each Brood member can shapeshift into one dragon their choice. While limited, this means that the Brood race is made up of different breeds of dragon types.
Broods speak Dragonic and Common.

• -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma
  
• Humanoid (Dragonblood/Shapeshifter)
  
• Medium size: As Medium Creatures, Brood have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  
• Brood Base land Speed is 40 feet.
  
• Immunity to magic sleep and paralysis effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
  
• Darkvision: Brood can see in the dark up to 40 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Brood can function just fine with no light at all.
  
• Low-light Vision: A Brood can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
  
• Dragon Shape: This ability gives a brood the ability to choose one creature with the dragon type at first level. In which the Brood could shapeshift into that creature and back again once per 2 levels per day. This ability functions like the alternate form special ability, except as noted here.
  The effect lasts for 1 hour per character level, or until he changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn't provoke an attack of ooportunity.
  Any gear worn or carried by the Brood melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When the Brood reverts to his true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on his body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the Brood's feet.
  The form chosen must be that of an dragon type animal the Brood is familiar with or has battled. The new form's Hit Dice equals 2 for every class level the Brood takes.
  The Brood gains the spell like abilities of the creature that they shape shift into.
  
• +2 Natural Armor
  
• +2 Racial bonus to Knowledge Arcana, Spot, and Listen
  
• Automatic Languages: Common and Dragonic. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
  
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass Brood takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.
  
• Level Adjustment: +5
  

[Matthew]

The Brood are a race of humanoid creatures native to Toril, Abeir’s long sundered twin. Before the Spellplague the Brood nation of Rougechanter was located in an unknown part of the continent. After the Spellplague the nation was lost to all time, scattering its people through the world. Most do not know what has become of the Brood. The Brood and the Dragons have a strong dislike of each other, for reasons unknown to most.

Physical Characteristics

Standing on average between 5’4” and 5’10”, the Brood are about the same height as most humans. Though their weight is considerably heavier, commonly possessing a mass between 240 and 285 lbs. The Brood looks almost exactly like a human does. Their hair and skin colors are as varied as humans. Brood eyes have no real set hue and can appear in many different colors.

The only visible difference between the Brood and humans is that the Brood tend to have a faint scaly complexion to their skin. This scaly complexion firms their skin making it stronger than humans. The scales tend to add a different shade of color then the broods natural skin color. The scale colors tend to show up as; Blacks, Blues, Greens, Reds, Whites, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Silver. Reports of rainbow and none hued colored scale Broods have shown up.

The Brood have the ability to shift their form into one of the many dragon types seemingly at will. The color of their scales tends to suggest what type of dragon they shift into. With the proper training, Brood can learn to utilize spell like abilities of the dragon that they can turn into.

Young Brood are born live like their humanoid relatives. They grow at a slightly faster rate than those of humans. They reach the equivalent maturity of a human child of 10 by the age 9. This rate of maturations slows severely within 2 years and the Brood are not considered physically mature for another seven years. Once they do reach adulthood, the Brood can expect a lifespan upwards of 3 centuries.

Like many humanoids, the Brood are mammalians and are warm-blooded creatures. Their internal body temperature is warmer than most humanoids. They are hot enough to feel slightly warm to the human touch. While it would seem disadvantageous, the Brood’s scales help to displace body heat at an effective rate. This means that the Brood are as comfortable in cold climates, and are no more vulnerable to heat than humans.

Like most of the other mammalian races the Brood females have mammary glands that enable them to nurse their young with milk. They feed their young for several months before their first teeth begin to come in. A Brood will then wean their child off of milk with soft food and towards normal Brood eating habits. They typically like eating meats and a vast variety of vegetables. A typical Brood meal is generally plain and unassuming, but is surprisingly filling and delicious.

Abilities

The Brood has a number of abilities that set them apart. They are more resilient and charismatic then the typical humanoid. The Brood are not as agile as other humanoids but they are more able to avoid attacks easier than other humanoids. The most potent of all Brood abilities is their ability to shapeshift into a dragon. The type of dragon they can shapeshift into depends on the Brood's scale color.

The Brood also has additional abilities. Primarily the Brood has dark and low-light visions similar to the Elves and Dwarves. They are also immune to sleep and paralysis spells, and resistant to enchantment spells and effects. They can also utilize the spells of the dragon they shift into in their natural form. This gives them a potentially useful edge in battle to enable them to keep fighting longer.