Esper (3.5e Race)

Author: Aeturo (talk) Date Created: 1/17/2017 Status: Really needs input. I'm bad at balance Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Esper

Long ago was a race of men who left humanity in search of power. These are those who have unlocked powerful psionics at the cost of their bodies

Personality

Espers tend to be one of a few extremes. Some are adventurous and outgoing, ready to explore the world and conquer it's challenges. Others can be quite sagacious and quiet, with their goals being more scholarly or based in curiosity than adventuring just to adventure. The third extreme is the quintessential monk, wise and peaceful...well sort of peaceful. Monks can flurry for a reason. These are what the race gravitate towards, but is in no way absolute. As human offshoots, the Espers are capable of being as varied as a human is, but their extreme mental ability pushes them towards these personalities.

Physical Description

Espers appear much like humans do in terms of physical appearance but their bodies are atrociously atrophied. Most of the musculature in an Esper's body is gone from their races history of neglecting it. Additionally, the Espers have a third eye in the center of their forehead and are constantly kept floating by their own psionic energies. They could disguise themselves as a human by closing their third eye and pretending to stand but they still have to use Psychic Energy to keep themselves standing. Espers commonly wear flowing, thin, garb because it adds little to their weight. Some of the more powerful or adventurous Espers occasionally wear light armor but it typically strains them so they abstain.

Relations

Espers are commonly mistaken for psionically powerful humans and as such are typically treated as a human would be. Espers typically find something of value in each race and view very few with disdain. For example, the dwarves can teach them stoneworking and their dependability is admirable; the elves can teach them the ways of typical magic and natural magic and the Espers may find their ability to coexist with the natural world seamlessly fascinating; and even the orcs can teach them how to handle warfare and how to survive the hardships orcs have to go through and an Esper would love to have a powerful orc to defend them and open pickle jars for them.

Alignment

Espers tend towards the neutral but, like humans, are capable of being any alignment. Espers can be great heroes or cunning masterminds.

Lands

Espers typically congregate in their own colleges, monasteries, or other such places where their psionics can be practiced in open view and they may pursue mental perfection unhindered.

Religion

Espers don't tend towards religious worship but typically will worship gods of magic as they typically personify Knowledge and Power.

Language

Common

Names

Espers have the same naming conventions as humans but many of their names sound more similar to our world's Middle Eastern and Asian names rather than European ones but this is not a hard and fast rule.

Racial Traits

• -10 to a minimum of 3 Strength, -10 to a minimum of 3 Dexterity, -10 to a minimum of 3 Constitution, +10 Intelligence or +10 Wisdom or +10 Charisma: In their search for mental perfection Espers have completely atrophied their bodies
• Humanoid 
• Medium: As a Medium creature, an esper has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
• Esper base land speed is Can crawl at a speed of 5 if necessary but rely on their hover most of the time feet. Hover 30 to a maximum of 15 feet off the ground. 
• Darkvision: An esper can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and an esper can function just fine with no light at all. 
• Natural Psychokinetic Power (Su): Can use a Greater Mage Hand at will. Can use one "mage hand" per five levels in a psionic-based class. 
• Throw Object (Su): When holding an object of medium size or smaller with the Natural Psychokinetic Power it can throw it up to 40 feet to deal 1d8 + chosen mental stat modifier in damage. 
• due to the Esper's atrophied body it cannot support any armor heavier than light and while wearing light armor it always takes a -1 penalty to AC. But they may use a mental stat which did not receive the +10 in place of their Dexterity stat for AC.: Frail Body, Sharp Mind 
• Perfection of Mind, Neglection of Body: In a Manifesting Class the Esper learns powers and gains power points as if he were two levels higher in the class but in any other kind of class, meaning a non manifester, his BAB drops a category to a minimum of no BAB. This does make them poor choices for touch attack-based casters which was intentional. 
• Partial Psionic Retention: Even in a field of Anti-Psionics, or Anti-Magic if your campaign classifies Psionics as magic, you retain your ability to hover and the Natural Psychokinetic Power ability but you no longer add your mental modifier to the damage of the thrown object and your hover speed drops to 20. Additionally, you are dealt 1 point of damage each turn you stay in a field of anti psionics. 
• Mental Protection: The Esper may use his chosen mental attribute for determining HP instead of his constitution but may never have a HD larger than d8. 
• I AM PERFECTION: Once per month as a full-round action the Esper may assume a form which turns them into a font of psychic energy. This has obvious visual clues. Perhaps your green hair begins to glow, or your eyes turn bluish and your hair spikes up and turn yellow, or perhaps four spoons float around you and you grow a beard but regardless of the visual cues, the mechanical aspects are the same. For a number of turns equal to the levels you have in a psionic class, you gain an additional +10 to the chosen mental stat and 5 bonus levels, that go away after the ability ends, in a Psionic Class you have at least one level, if you have no psionic levels this defaults to Wilder, and all items within 100 feet that are not held or bolted, or fastened in another fashion, down begin to float up to huge size. You may attack with these as if you were using Natural Psychokinetic Power but the base damage is now a 1d8. Once it ends you take 5 damage per level you have which can bring you to 0 HP but no lower and you fall unconscious for 1 week. If you hit 0 as a result of this damage you fall unconscious for a month and must wait a month after waking up before you may use it again. 
• Note: There's no such thing, to my knowledge, as a Favored ACF but Eiji-Kun's Third Eye Psion works very well thematically with the class and it would be the race's favored ACF if such a thing existed
• Automatic Languages: Common
• Bonus Languages: Any
• Favored Class: Psion
• Level Adjustment: +3
• Effective Character Level: 4

Vital Statistics

Table: Esper Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
24 years	++1d4 months	++1d4 years	++1d6 years

Table: Esper Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
75 years	120 years	180 years	++4d10 years past 180 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Esper Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 5"	++1d12 inches	50 lbs lb.	× (+1d12 lbs) lb.
Female	5' 2"	++1d12 inches	40 lbs lb.	× (+1d12 lbs) lb.

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