Behind the Dark Fist - Zalani

The last of the races. And surprise surprise, they're peace-loving!

I was also sort of uninspired when I did what I did with the Zalani.  
So uninspired that I'm not sure what kind of introductory essay to  
give them. They're another one of those creatures that might have  
gotten their own MC entry in the appendices of UTDF, but instead were  
just described as black gargoyles. As opposed to white or asian  
gargoyles!? Oh man, I really do amuse myself.

True to that description, they are based off the 2nd edition  
Gargoyle. Their class selection is a really mixed bag, and their  
level limits feel sort of arbitrary to me. Maybe I'll look at them  
again when I have more energy. I didn't like them in the first  
writeup either. I can't decide what stat boots/dings a gargoyle might  
have without completely zonking their Intelligence and making them  
totally contrary to what the Zalani are presented as.

It did sort of strike me that the Zalani and the Kra'aken are sort of  
mirror images of each other, each appearing to be something  
otherworldly -- but then I remembered that they're both pacifistic,  
and that sort of negates a potential part of the analogy. But THEN I  
had the idea to make the Kra'aken secretly the most evil race in the  
universe, which would be ironic because they look like angels, and --  
d'oh, there I go again Metzenizing everything. Ah, me.

Anyway, here are black gargoyles now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Zalani - Last only alphabetically among the races of the Twelve  
Spheres, Zalanispace is the home to the demonic-looking Zalani race.  
Though a basically peaceful race (like most of the races the Vodoni  
conquered -- funny how that works out) that prides itself on the  
skills its members possess as artists, diplomats, merchants and  
shipbuilders. Though at first Vulkaran was intimidated by the  
Zalani's appearances, believing the entire sphere to be inhabited by  
some rare breed of fiends, he eventually conquered the Zalani and put  
them to work in building the Vodoni fleet. Zalani design innovations  
a not at all insignificant part of the Vodoni Empire's devastating  
military might, and so the Zalani actually enjoyed a fair deal of  
autonomy during Vulkaran's reign.
For this same reason, Zalanispace is one of the most heavily occupied  
of the Twelve Spheres. All of the old Vodoni shipyards in the sphere  
have been shut down, and the Vodoni ships that were captured by the  
Elves and their allies were destroyed as symbols of the old regime.  
This has horrified the Zalani shipbuilders, and ultimately turned  
most of the Zalani race against the outsiders. Though the Zalani are  
neither bold nor aggressive enough to strike against the occupiers,  
many Zalani architects and shipbuilders have fled their homesphere  
and joined up with the Neo-Imperialists. In secret shipyards dotted  
across the Twelve Spheres, these Zalani supervise the construction of  
new Vodoni ships for the purpose of expelling the occupiers back to  
their precious "known spheres."
In appearance, the Zalani resemble nothing so much as large (7'  
tall), black-scaled reptilian gargoyles. They are, in fact, descended  
from gargoyles, which accounts for the physical resemblance and  
several other traits. For instance, Zalani can use their scaly wings  
to fly at speed 15 (MC C), and their thick hide provides a base AC 5.  
It should be noted that the Zalani actually have hides and are not  
made from living stone like Gargoyles, thus the Zalani lack a  
gargoyle's immunity to normal weapons. Zalani have natural attacks,  
which they can resort to when deprived of weapons: two claw attacks  
for 1d3 damage, a bite for 1d6 and a goring horn attack for 1d4  
damage. Zalani tails are also prehensile like those of monkeys, and  
they can use them to hold tools or objects, but their tails are not  
strong enough to handle weapons effectively.
Zalani may be Fighters (to 9th level -- optionally with the Merchant  
kit from the Spacefarer's Handbook), Mages (to 7th level), Clerics  
(to 10th level -- optionally with the Diplomat or Medicus kits from  
the Spacefarer's Handbook), or Thieves (to 12th level -- optionally  
with the Merchant-Rogue kit from the AL-QADIM setting). If the Trader  
class from the revised DARK SUN setting is available, Zalani can also  
use that class (also to 12th level). Zalani also dabble in Psionics,  
advancing only to 6th level. If the DM is aware of any other kits  
which seem to fit the Zalani culture (or, the three-or-four  
paragraphs of culture they've thus far been given), feel free to  
allow Zalani characters to use them as well.
All Zalani must select an occupation to go with their class. The  
occupation must revolve around some "art of peace" that the Zalani  
uses its knowledge and skills to advance. Common "arts of peace"  
include artistic pursuits (painting, sculpture, pottery, etc.),  
diplomacy, sport archery, trade, politics, cooking -- and, of course,  
shipbuilding, which Zalani shipbuilders maintain is still an "art of  
peace" even though they mostly only ever build warships. The Zalani  
receives one bonus proficiency at the beginning of play to reflect  
the character's chosen "art of peace," subject to DM approval. If the  
character cannot reasonably and logically justify the choice of bonus  
proficiency within the context of the character's pursuit of a  
peaceful art, the player probably does not have the proper mindset to  
play a Zalani character.