Deer Therians

Physical Description
Deer Clan therians have heads resembling those of various deer species, and the vast majority have antlers. They also have humanoid bodies with five fingers and five toes. Only male Deer Clan therians have antlers.The members of the Musk Deer Clan are an exception. Musk Deer lack antlers altogether. They instead having long, tusk-like teeth they can use to make gore attacks.

Society
Deer Clan society is segregated by age, gender, and occupation. Instead of living in a nuclear family, a Deer might live in a lodge of young male hunters; a garrison of veteran female warriors; an harem of wives who share a single husband; or a nursery of mothers with young children. The default name of a segregated group within a nomadic Deer Clan is a camp, while one within a permanent settlement is called a lodge, taking its name from the type of building most often constructed by Deer.

While some occupations are predominantly male or predominantly female, most male camps or lodges have equivalent female groups, and vice versa. There are, for example, lodges of female hunters and camps of fathers responsible for raising sons old enough to be separated from their mothers. Harems are an exception in that they are exclusively female. Male deer are notoriously jealous, to a degree that renders polyandry impractical.

The camps and lodges in Deer Clan society function very much like families in other cultures, except their membership changes over time as individuals move through different phases of life. Members of a camp or lodge live and work together, but they are not forbidden from associating with members outside groups. In Deer Clans with nomadic and rural lifestyles, camps and lodges may live far enough apart that meetings between their members are special occasions. In urban areas, the boundaries between different lodges are less evident.

Relations
The Deer Clans have a close relationship with numerous spirits of nature, allowing them to live in remote wilderness areas whose supernatural guardians are hostile to members of most other races. Even the large Reindeer cities of the northern tundra are built with the blessing of local spirits, whom residents honor by carefully managing the use of local natural resources.

The remote nature of Deer Clan territory makes encounters between Deer and other humanoids relatively uncommon. Deer may share their territory with a few hermits and with small households of other humanoids, but they spend most of their time interacting with their own kind and with wilderness creatures that others might call monsters or spirits. The most frequent interactions between Deer and other humanoids involve trade. Deer value hunting as a cultural and spiritual activity but their diets are predominantly herbivorous, resulting in a generous surplus of meat and other animal byproducts. These products, some of which are harvested from rare and valuable prey, are traded for salt, which the Deer Clans use to preserve surplus meat and to create hard, salty candy popular with Deer of all ages.

Alignment and Religion
The moral outlook of the Deer Clans mirrors that of their nature spirit allies. Members of the clans widely value the preservation of the natural world, but few Deer hold strong opinions on other moral issues. The result is a strong tendency towards neutrality.

Deer are rarely malicious or unfair in their dealings with others, but most are unwilling to involve themselves in conflicts that do not directly impact their own lives, even when others are suffering. Deer Clan religion reflects these priorities. Deer tend to worship distant or amoral deities that preside over the natural world. Religious services are celebrations of the land and the seasons, placing little emphasis on abstract concepts like good and evil. Religious instruction focuses on respect for the natural world, the proper use of natural resources, and opposition to unnatural influences. The well-being of specific individuals is less important than the health of the ecosystem as a whole.

Adventurers
Deer Clan therians are migratory by nature. Even city-dwelling Deer are likely to move from one lodge to another several times in their lives. Taken by itself, this suggests that Deer Clan adventurers should be a common sight. However, most Deer are reluctant to get involved in conflicts and intrigues beyond the borders of their own remote homelands.

Adventuring Deer in other lands are relatively rare. Deer Clan adventurers take a "fight or flight" approach to armed conflict. Deer attack without hesitation when they are certain they have an advantage over hostile combatants, but attempt to circumvent seemingly-superior opponents when possible. Once Deer decide to either attack or avoid an opponent, they can be very stubborn in sticking to their chosen course of action. Accordingly, Deer do not make such decisions lightly.

Whenever possible, Deer assess the capabilities of their opponents with the help of scouts and divination magic. Some even test opponents by attacking with mercenaries or summoned allies before personally joining the fray. Deer also encourage foes to engage in boasting, monologues, and other posturing prior to combat, affording the Deer additional time to actively perceive their opponents and their surroundings.

Deer Clan Racial Traits
Racial Heritage: At 1st level, choose and gain one of the racial traits listed below. Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. You can only select the Elk Clan or Reindeer Clan racial trait if you are Medium. You can only select the Musk Deer Clan racial trait if you are Small.
 * Diverse Ability Scores: Your racial ability score modifiers are determined by your other racial traits, as detailed below.
 * Medium or Small: At 1st level, choose Medium or Small. You are a creature of the chosen size. Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. You gain racial ability score and othe rmodifiers based upon your size, as follows.
 * Medium: +2 Wisdom, –2 Intelligence. You receive no other bonuses or penalties due to size.
 * Small: +2 Wisdom, –2 Strength. You gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, a –1 penalty to your Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense due to size, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
 * Faun: You are an humanoid with the faun subtype. You receive no bonuses or penalties for having this subtype.
 * Normal Speed: You have a base land speed of 30 feet if you are Medium, 20 feet if you are Small.
 * Low-Light Vision: You can see twice as far as humans in areas of low light, and can see any distance in moonlight.
 * Scent: You gain scent with a range of 5 feet. At character level 6th, the range of your scent increases to 30 feet.
 * Natural Armor: You gain a +1 natural armor bonus. At character level 10th, this bonus increases to +2.
 * Natural Weapons: You gain a gore attack. This is a primary natural attack which deals 1d4 points of damage if you are Medium, 1d3 points of damage if you are Small.
 * Deer Clan: Like most other Deer, you are nimble and evasive. You gain a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity. You can select the Deer Clan Heritage feat as a ranger combat feat, regardless of your chosen combat style.
 * Elk Clan: Your people are hardy survivalists. You gain a +2 racial bonus to Strength. You can select the Deer Clan Heritage feat as a ranger combat style feat, regardless of your chosen combat style.
 * Musk Deer Clan: Members of your clan have no antlers; they instead have long, tusk-like teeth capable of making gore attacks. You gain a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity. You can select the Deer Clan Heritage feat with the barbarian's rage power class feature as if it were a rage power. The benefits of a feat chosen with the rage power class feature apply even when you are not raging.
 * Reindeer Clan: You were raised in an harsh, wintery environment eating food few people outside your clan could stomach. You gain a +2 racial bonus to Constitution. You can select the Deer Clan Heritage feat as a ranger combat feat, regardless of your chosen combat style.


 * Languages: You begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Additional languages you gain can be chosen from the list of all languages that are not secret languages (such as Druidic).

Additional Traits
A Deer Clan therian can gain one or more of the following additional racial traits by taking the Deer Clan Heritage feat described in the next section herein.


 * Fast Movement (Ex): Your base land speed increases by 10 feet. This increase stacks with all others.
 * Faster Movement (Ex): Your base land speed increases by 10 feet. This increase stacks with all others.
 * Hard to Catch (Su): If you do not already have the liberation granted power of the Liberation cleric domain, you gain that ability as if you were a 1st-level cleric with the Liberation domain. You can use the liberation ability a number of additional rounds per day equal to your character level.
 * Hooves (Ex): You gain two hoof attacks. Each time you make a hoof attack, you can make that attack using either your foot (which is cloven) or your fist (the outside of which is covered in hard, hoof-like material). Each hoof attack is a primary natural attack which deals 1d4 points of damage if you are Medium, 1d3 points of damage if you are Small.
 * Improved Gore (Ex): The damage dealt by your gore attack increases to 1d6 if you are Medium, 1d4 if you are Small.

OGL Section 15 - Copyright Notice
Animal Races: Clan of the Deer. © 2014, Eric Morton. Author: Eric Morton.