The Teotl were created by the Tzarachntl at the height of their power before the cataclysm.  Some believe that the Tzarachntl sought to prove themselves as the equals of the gods by creating a race of mortals.  Others reason that the Arch-Empress needed powerful soldiers for the coming conflict.  What is certain is that war of the divines soon followed, and ever since then the Teotl have considered themselves the cause.  Their creators, both the Old Gods and the Tzarachntl, were consequently destroyed, but the Teotl survived and now their oldest societies are called the Tzahualtzhetl (or colloquially, "Those that Waltz in Hell").

Physical Description: Young Teotl appear as a swirling mass of tentacles, ranging in coloration and texture from jellyfish-like polyps to entagling vines.  Typically, they have specialized appendages, such as eye stalks, protruding from a central core, or heart.  They are native to salt water, fresh water, swamps, and intertidal zones, and are natural swimmers - although they can also remain on land indefinitely.  When among other races, they typcially contort their body to match the local populace, allowing them to present a semblance of familiarity.  Their sometimes translucent flesh is as diverse as that of humans, varying between greens, browns, and violet hues, with occasional fern-like fronds, leaves, or similar marks of added distinctiveness.

As they age, they have a powerful urge to collect rare metals and precious stones, which they eventually use to create an armor similar to shellfish.  Perhaps by design, the Teotl can instinctually advance these shells to a level of sophistication surpassing most magics and technologies, producing true power armors.  This transformation turns these feeble plants into veritable war machines (called Exiptla), and so the practice is forbidden amongst most societies in which they dwell.

Society: The oldest clans of the Teotl belong to the Tzahualtzhetl Culture, directly descended from the Tzarachntl.  

Alignment and Religion:  Teotl are gregarious and friendly, but also frugal and miserly.  Many feel a collective guilt or shame for their heritage, and so they seek to prove their worth in societies that can look past their alien appearance and dark history.  Some Teotl embrace their legacy and primal urges, working instead to reforge themselves into a force to be reckoned with.  In any case, these people can be found with any combination of public and private alignments.

Adventurers:  Many Teotl become adventures simply out of a need to acquire more rare metals and precious stones.  Others seek escape from oppression, or greener pastures and brighter days ahead.  Most, however, simply prefer to remain amongst their own kind, and so Teotl adventurers are relatively rare.

Male Names: 

Female Names: 

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Teotl gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice and a -2 racial penalty to another at creation to represent their varied nature.
  
• Type: Teotl are plants with the teotl subtype, sentient plant subtype, and the swarm subtype (they are composed of tiny vines or tentacles).

• Sentient Plants have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), paralysis, poison, polymorph, and stun effects.

• Sentient Plants are immune to sleep effects, but affected by other spells that affect sentient creatures and by spells that affect plants.
• Sentient Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from this activity.  This means that a sentient plant creature can sleep in order to regain spells, but sleep is not required to survive or stay in good health.
• Swarms are immune to critical hits, flanking, tripping, bull rushing, grappling, or any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures, with the exception of mind-affect effects (if the swarm is sentient).  
• Swarms cannot initiate a grapple, do not threathen creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack (see below).  However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.
• Swarms composed of tiny creatures take half damage from slashing and piercing weapons, but half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area.
• Swarms reduced to 0 hit points or less break up into their constituent creatures (and cannot reform naturally), though damage taken until that point does not degrade their ability to attack or resist attack.  They are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage.  A swarm rendered unconscious by means of nonlethal damage becomes disorganized and dispersed, and does not reform until its hit points exceed its nonlethal damage.  
• Size: Teotl are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.  As medium swarms composed of tiny creatures, they may choose to occupy any two contiguous squares (or cubes), and can squeeze through any space large enough for a tiny creature.  Teotl can still wear armor or wield weapons as normal medium creatures.
• Speed: Teotl have a base speed of 20 feet.  They also have a swim speed of 30 feet, which grants them a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks.
• Languages: Teotl begin play knowing <span>Tzahualtzhetl Scent Language and </span><span>Tzahualtzhetl Sign Language (or whatever scent and sign languages are local to their region).

Defensive Racial Traits

• Knotting: Teotl can "knot" themselves together as a free action, temporarily losing the benefits and drawbacks of the swarm subtype (so that they may be targeted by healing spells, etc.).  Teotl can "unknot" themselves as a standard action, regaining the benefits and drawbacks of the swarm subtype.  This ability cannot be used when the Teotl creature has 0 or fewer hit points.
  

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Camouflage: Teotl gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while in swamps, coastal reefs, or on beaches.
  
• Master Metalworker: Teotl have a +2 bonus on checks to identify or craft items made of rare metals and precious stones.  They are also treated as proficient with any armor they have personally crafted.
  

Offensive Racial Traits

• Natural Attack: Teotl have a natural attack as standard for swarms.  They deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. These attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.  The damage increases based on the following table:

  Swarm Damage by HD

  Swarm HD |	Swarm Base Damage |
  1-5	1d6
  6-10	2d6
  11-15	3d6
  16-20	4d6
  21 or more	5d6

• Distraction:  Teotl with the swarm subtype possess the distraction ability.  Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a caster level check (DC 20+spell level).  Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Will save.

Senses Racial Traits

• All-Around Vision:  Teotl can position their eye stalks to see in all directions, granting them a +4 racial bonus on Perception checks and making them immune to flanking (even when knotted).
  
• Scent:  Members of this race gain the scent ability.
  
• Deaf:  Members of this race are deaf, with no ears or sense of sound.
  

Weakness Racial Traits

• Elemental Vulnerability:  Teotl have vulnerability to cold and fire.
  

 Other Racial Traits

• Amphibious:  Teotl are amphibious and can breathe both air and water.
• Photosynthesis: Teotl need only 25% of the food and water that a typical human needs if they have access to the sun, soil, and water for 4 hours a day.  If they do not, they require twice as much food and water.

 

Notes: Other plant or plant-like races may count as Teotl for purposes of meeting prerequisites or for other in-game purposes, and vice versa.  Warforged may count as sentient teotl power armors, and thus qualify as teotl under some circumstances (ask the GM).  Teotl cost 5 extra Character Points during character creation.

 

Alternative Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

• Treespeech:  Some Teotl have the ability to converse with plants as if subject to a continual speak with plants spell.  This trait replaces two bonus langagues the Teotl character could have learned.
• Woodland Stride:  Sometimes it is better to flee safely than to cower in the shade.  This functions as the druid class feature of the same name, and replaces camouflage.
• Deep Sighted:  For Teotl to live deep beneath the surface, specialized eye stalks are needed.  They gain low-light vision and dark vision.  This trait replaces All-Around Vision.
• Singing Leaves:  Rare specimens have learned to "sing" using vibrating leaves or other appendages.  This allows them to hear and speak at the cost of other senses, but they take a -2 penalty on wisdom-, intelligence-, and charisma-based checks related to sound.  On land, this gives them tremorsense out to a range of 30 ft.  In water, they instead have blindsense out to 30 ft.  This trait replaces All-Around Vision, Deaf, and Scent.
• Terrestrial:  Some Teotl have forsaken the sea entirely.  They gain a climb speed of 30 ft and get a +16 racial bonus on Climb checks.  This trait replaces their swim speed, racial skill bonus to swim, and the amphibious trait.
• Swarming:  Teotl are used to living and fighting communally with others of their kind.  Up to two teotl can share the same square at the same time.  If two teotl that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares.  This trait replaces knotting.
• Fertile Soil:  A sorcerer teotl with the verdant bloodline trats her Charisma score as 2 points higher for all socerer spells and class abilities.  A teotl cleric with the Plant domain uses her domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.  This trait does not give the teotl early access to level-based powers; it only affects powers that she could already use without this trait.  This trait replaces master metalworker.
• Hydrated Vitality:  Dark depth teotl gain fast healing 2 for 1 round anytime they submerge completely within a body of natural salt water, fresh water, or brackish water.  Stagnant, poisoned, or trapped water (such as water within an artificial pit or a bag of holding) does not activate this ability.  A teotl can heal up to 2 hit points per level per day with this ability, after which it ceases to function.  This ability replaces photosynthesis.

 

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

• a

 

Racial Archetypes

The following racial archetypes are available to Teotl:

• a

 

Racial Feats

The following feats are available to a teotl character who meets the prerequisites.

• (see Briarborn or Oakling racial feats)

 

Racial Classes and/or Prestige Classes

The following classes and/or prestige classes are available to a teotl character who meets the prerequisites.

• Exiptla Prestige Class