Undines are humans who trace their ancestry to creatures from the Plane of Water. Even at first glance, one notices the potency of their ancestry, for an undine’s very flesh mimics the color of lakes, seas, and oceans. Whether they have the blood of marids or water mephits as their kin, all undines define themselves through their ancestry. They perceive their individual differences as gifts and explore the supernatural aspects of their unique heritage to the fullest.
The undines are a proud ancestry and show little outward fear. While good-natured and somewhat playful among their own kind, they behave with slightly more reserve and seriousness in the company of non-undines. They have excellent emotional control, and can edge their tempers from calm to raging and back again within but a few minutes. While some might dub their behavior erratic, undines are simply a bit more outwardly melodramatic than most ancestries. As close friends, some find them overly possessive, though they are also extremely protective of those they care about.
Undines tend to settle near water, usually in warmer climates. Though land-dwellers, they spend a fair amount of time in the water. For this reason, most dress sparsely, wearing only enough clothing to protect themselves from the elements, and few wear shoes. They avoid wearing jewelry around their necks and keep their hair slicked back and tied into tight knots.
Male Names: Aven, Dharak, Ghiv, Jamash, Maakor, Ondir, Radid, Shiradahz.
Female Names: Afzara, Baarah, Calah, Iryani, Maarin, Nylgune, Pari, Radabeh, Urdahna.
Undines display a wide variation of skin tones, ranging from pale turquoise to deep blue to sea green. An undine’s straight, thick hair tends to be of a similar, yet slightly darker color than her skin. All have limpid blue eyes. Aside from their coloration, their most defining traits remain their fin-like ears and webbed hands and feet.
Undines define themselves as a unique species and are capable of producing undine offspring. While they remain able to interbreed with humans, they tend to keep to themselves, and form small, reclusive communities near bodies of water, or in some cases, floating settlements. A typical undine community lives under the guidance of a small council comprising officials appointed by consensus. Council positions can be held indefinitely, though a community unhappy with the performance of a council member can call for her resignation.
Intermarriage in undine communities is common, with children raised communally. A fair amount of regional diversity exists in undine culture, as influenced by the specific ancestry of independent settlements. It should also be noted that not all undines in a single settlement claim the same ancestry, as undines may marry other undines from outside their own communities.
Undines hold no biases or prejudices toward anyone. Their communities rely primarily on trade, giving them ample opportunity to interact with a diverse range of outsiders. They have no qualms about establishing neighborhoods within the settlements of others, provided adequate respect is given to both the undines and any nearby bodies of water. Still, in such instances, a given undine community does what it can to retain its autonomy.
Undines get along well with elves and gnomes. Often they share protective duties over forested lakes and streams. They barter most freely with humans and dwarves for resources such as metal and cloth.
Their principal interests lie in the welfare of their people, and thus their moral concerns focus upon the community and upon themselves. This view also allows them to interact with a broad scope of non-undine ancestries with whom they trade.
While not deeply religious, undines possess a strong spiritual connection to their supernatural ancestors and to water. Those who pursue nonsecular paths almost always worship the gods of their ancestors or gods whose portfolios feature some aspect of water.
On occasion, an undine leaves her people to seek out a life of adventure. Like water, some undines feel compelled to move, and adventuring gives them an ample excuse for living on the road. Others adventure for less wholesome reasons, and exile is a common punishment for crimes within undine society. Undines’ affinity toward water makes them particularly good druids.
Languages: Common and Aquan.
Agile: Undines are graceful and agile. They start with a d6 in Agility instead of a d4. This increases maximum Agility to d12+1.
Darkvision: Undine eyes are able to pierce the darkness. They ignore penalties for Illumination up to 10” (20 yards).
Elemental Sorcery: Undine sorcerers with the Elemental (water) Bloodline reduce the Rank Requirement for Advanced Bloodline to Veteran.
Graceful Swimmers: Undines can always move their full Pace in water.
Innate Power: Havoc (Spirit to cast, 1/day (hydraulic push)). This cannot include any Power Modifiers.
Native Outsider: An undine's Type is Outsider rather than Humanoid.
Reduced Strength: An undine suffers -1 to Strength rolls.
Spirited: Undines are perceptive. They start with a d6 in Spirit instead of a d4. This increases maximum Spirit to d12+1.
Acid Breath: Undines whose heritage can be traced to a water mephit can wield acid as a weapon. Replace havoc with burst (acid breath). This modifies Innate Power.
Hydrated Vitality (Fast): This undine gains Fast Regeneration for two rounds when she is fully submerged in salt, fresh, or brackish water for at least 10 min. Only two Wounds can be recovered this way per day. This replaces Agile and can't be taken with Hydrated Vitality (Slow).
Hydrated Vitality (Slow): This undine gains Slow Regeneration when she is fully submerged in salt, fresh, or brackish water for at least 10 min. This replaces Elemental Sorcery and can't be taken with Hydrated Vitality (Fast).
Water Sense: These undines can sense vibrations in water, granting them Blindsense 10" (20 yards) in water. This replaces Darkvision.