Strix:

Stat adjustments: +2 dexterity, +2 wisdom, -2 charisma

Innate spells: none

Size: medium

Standard alignments: any non-good

Classes allowed: barbarian, bard, druid, fighter, monk, oracle, psion, psywarrior, ranger, sorcerer, thief, warlock

Normal adventuring starting age: 13-16

Average life span: 40

Racial Traits:

Hatred - +1 to attack bonus when fighting humans

Suspicious - +2 to saving throws vs illusion

Low Light Vision - +2 to sight bonus to see in the dark

Kill or be Killed- +2 to perception and stealth

Ebon Wings - flight ability

Human neighbors tell horrific tales of slaughter woven with frightened suspicion when speaking of strix. Strix, however, tell a tale of encroachment and a struggle for land and resources. For ages, humans invaded strix lands, fighting bloody battles against the fierce, black-skinned creatures they thought to be winged devils. Over time, strix have developed a hatred for humankind and now fiercely protect their dwindling numbers.

Strix are humanoid creatures, with most of their bodies presenting human traits. However, their skin tends to be very dark blue or black, and their hair either the palest white or the darkest black. Their eyes are usually mono-color, and usually pure, pupiless white or even red. They have saurian or bird-like feet, and feathery black wings, making them excellent fliers. They typically wear very light or almost no clothing, as armor tends to impede their ability to fly.

Strix have an innate hatred for civilization, cities, or anything that represents human culture. They are fierce and deadly, and in groups they will often slaughter bands of travelers or even small military patrols, many times eating the corpses of their victims.

Though fierce, Strix do have established society. There are many smaller clans, each centered around a female leader, or rokoa, who acts as the clan's spiritual leader and story teller. They believe that an ancient storm carried them away from their homeland, leaving them as castaways.

Most strix don't expend much effort on worshiping particular gods, and instead view religion through the same lens of distrust and suspicion through which they view society. They see themselves as a cursed race, and believe that the storm that carried them from their homeland to deposit them where they now live also carried them from the world of the gods. Now they rely on the strength and power of their ancestors, retelling their stories in order to make the clans strong and wise. They believe that only through understanding their own circumstances and respecting their ancestors' lives will they find freedom from this ancient curse. A clan's rokoa is the closest thing a strix clan has to a religious leader, and members accept that the rokoa may channel or otherwise have access to the stories and memories of strix who came before.

Warning: This is an advanced race, known as a PK-race. It imposes disadvantages on your gameplay: If revealed, you may be attacked on sight and shunned in cities throughout the realm. You start with your NOPK-flag turned off and other players may attack you because of your race. You may not, however, attack a player of a standard race without additional provocation.