Slaad: Crazy Toads from before Time by Weredrago2

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Slaad

The Slaad are a race of bipedal, humanoid frogs that have existed since near the beginning of time. Against all odds, they’re still around. Their ancient civilizations have long since been lost to chaos and madness, the remaining Slaad empires degenerating into scattered city-states on swamp and jungle planets. The few Slaad that held onto their power and sanity set themselves up as sorcerer kings, ruling over tribes of cooperative Viashino and Slaad subspecies. Those who held onto their power, but not their sanity, became feared Slaadi daemon princes in the Warp, cursing their Materium counterparts to this day.

The Slaad are also notable for their supposed claim to the Syrneth legacy. They were created by the Syrne, that much can be seen in their mysterious breeding machines. What cannot be explained is that the Slaad insist the came before the Eldarin, serving as lieutenants in the Syrneth armies and entrusted to protect and guide the Wheel when their creators vanished. As you can see, they failed spectacularly. There may be a degree of truth to the story, but we may never know for sure.


Physical Characteristics

Average Height: 1.0-1.5 m
Average Weight: 45-75 kg
Languages: Trade, Primordial
Common Personality Traits: Self-centered, gluttonous, erratic behavior, survivalist mindset, coward.
Common Physical Traits: Slimy, warty, fat, green, mutated to various degrees.
Example Names: Kaeru, Thuan, Zgotar, Latay, Grenouille, Croak.


Racial Statistics

Characteristic Bonus: +1 Constitution or Dexterity
Skill Bonus: +1 Acrobatics and +1 Athletics
Power: Leapfrog: Slaad have a horizontal jump distance equal to their speed, and can jump from a standing start as if they had a running start. Should they fail a test to jump, Slaad can still jump a distance equal to their Strength or Dexterity in meters.
Size: 3





Physical Qualities

After eons of genetic drift, the Slaad mutated into several subspecies. The Slaad have a loose caste system to make up for these changes. The castes are all genetically compatible, but the results are rarely pretty. Slann are the ruling class, squat and fat sorcerers who rule with wisdom and laser beams. Neraphim are nomadic traders and merchants, sailing across the Umbra to explore the shifting tides of madness. The most numerous of the Slaad are Bullywugs, typically stereotyped as dumb savages with spears. Bullywugs make up the peasant class. The red and blue Slaad of any subspecies make up the warrior caste.

Slaad can live for hundreds of years. Most of the time, only the Slann do, as countless soldiers are lost to protect them. Slaad are amphibious and oviparous. Though rare, red Slaad are known to sometimes give birth to blue Slaad, and vice versa. The exact reason for this is unknown, but families with shifting colors prefer not to talk about it.


Playing a Slaad

Slaad are also known to judge by color. Red Slaad hate blue Sladd, and vice versa. Green and brown are the most common Slaad colors, so red and blue Slaad are obligated to feel superior to both of them. Those who take up arms against their chromatic counterparts are looked down upon, considering how low the Slaad numbers are. Their intolerance often manifests as passive aggressive behavior when they need to cooperate with each other.

The Slaad are a dying race. They are backwards in multiple ways, and are only still around by the good graces of the Council. Birth rates are dropping ever lower, and the Sorcerer Kings must balance their concentration between the mounting problems in their cities and the constant temptation to let the Warp overtake them. The red and blue Slaad would likely slaughter each other if it wasn't for the Slann to intervene. Neraphim are only slightly better off, needing to constantly move through the Umbra to evade better armed pirates and raiders.

Some Bullywugs, dissatisfied with their treatment by the ruling and the warrior caste, have started an empire of their own. These "Keronians", as they call themselves, are a major threat to only one group of people: themselves. As it turns out, running your empire like a mob does not work out in the long run. These incompetent clone soldiers still exist because they can attack the occasional ship in the backwater ends of space and have it go unnoticed. Unless someone were to intervene, the Slaad will be doomed to stagnate until they go extinct.


Slaad Heroes

Mochah is known by his tribe as the Old One. He is a Slaad so impossibly old, that the other elders have known him as the Old One since they were born. When he could be called young, Mochah drank the Elixir of Life so that he could be there to guide his people into the future. Though he changed little physically, his long life has made him rather eccentric. Despite his growing mental instability, he has never regretted his decision to stand by his Slaad in their time of need. It’s likely that he never will.

Sorel is a shining white outcast, an itinerant Neraph who makes the bold (and ever so slightly heretical) claim of being the spawn of the twisted Slaadi daemon prince Rennbuu. There is little doubt as to the state of her sanity, as only a true psycho would claim heritage of those who fell to Chaos in one breath and proclaim herself the Lord of Anarchy in the next. She fancies herself an artist, one who works in the medium of explosions, gore, and Psychic Phenomena. She's always a hit at the Rakdos parties.

Slippy is a Bullywug ace pilot of the Keronian Armada, the 13th cloned replica of the Empire's founder. There seems to be some degeneration from the last 12 copies of him, because Slippy is an idiot who can hardly fly a plane. Despite this, Slippy finds himself showered in praise and prizes because of his fantastic ability to cause all other fighter craft around him to explode. The Keronian government has sent Slippy on solo missions time and time again, in order to guarantee that the only casualties will belong to their enemies.





Racial Feats

Glorious Achromatic Toad [Slaad, Paragon]
You are a colorless Slaad born with an intimate connection to the Warp. You gain a free rank in any Magic School, and may purchase ranks in it as if it appeared on your class track. You can spend Pressure to add to the final total of a magic check.

Death Croaking [Slaad]
Your subsonic croaking is the thing of legends. Once per scene, you can make a Constitution + Performer test against the Static Defense of everyone within 5m of you as a half action. Everyone affected by your attack is Deafened until your next turn. If you get two raises, they're also Stunned. You can use this ability twice per Scene at Level 3, and three times per Scene at Level 5.

Highly Distracting Amphibian [Slaad]
The humiliatingly pink-and-purple-shaded Neraphim have a very unique defensive ability: They are so distracting that they can manage to divert attention from their own weapons. Once per Scene, you can make a single attack (that cannot be or benefit from a special attack or trick shot) as if you had made a successful Feint against the target. Even ninja frogs can't keep cutters from getting wise to their tricks!

Neraphic Armor [Slaad]
Your skin is thick and warty. Gain Armor Plating equal to your Constitution.

Ogdoad Librarian [Viashino, Slaad]
You have studied the tablets left by the Syrneth to such an extent that you can actually make heads or tails of them. You can speak, read, and write in the Syrneth language.

Poison Gas [Slaad]
Your breath smells totally wicked. Once per scene, you may make an attack with your breath weapon. It uses the weapon profile of a Hand Flamer, only targets roll against Toxic instead of Fire when hit. You can use this breath weapon twice per scene at level 3, and three times per scene at level 5.

Warrior Slaad [Slaad]
Red and Blue Slaad are known to be bigger and stronger than their other-colored counterparts. Select a color.

• Red: Red Slaad are huge. They get +2 Size and deal +0k1 damage with their unarmed strikes. Gain the Hatred (Blue Slaad) feat.
• Blue: Blue Slaad are also huge. They get +1 Resilience and a Claw weapon with the following profile (1k2 R; Brawling), but their bodies have a Max Dex of 3. Gain the Hatred (Red Slaad) feat.