Spiker
Spikers are a minor planar race hailing from Dungeons & Dragons, and one of several such races included in the Planar Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. Apparently related to bladelings, spikers are all but indistinguishable from them; they are a war-like race characterized by a metallic-hued skin bristling with wicked bio-metal spikes, with violet-colored eyes and oily blood cementing their inhuman nature. They revel in battle, and tend to a strict, militaristic existence, with those who have a more chaotic streak going off-plane to seek their fortunes.
Really, they're bargain-bin bladelings, and the Planar Handbook doesn't even try to disguise it, giving them the most simplistic fluff that it can - the freaking Fire Gnome and Frost Dwarf have more cultural nuance than they do! For this reason, if no other, nobody has ever remembered the spikers.
PC Stats[edit]
- Humanoid (Extraplanar): Spikers are humanoids native to Acheron. They gain the extraplanar subtype when not on Acheron.
- Medium: As Medium creatures, spikers have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- A spiker's base land speed is 30 feet.
- Spikers have darkvision out to 60 feet.
- Natural Armor: A spiker's metallic hide offers protection from physical attacks in the form of a +1 bonus to natural armor.
- Damage reduction 2/piercing or slashing: A spiker's spiny skin grants resistance to bludgeoning attacks, though piercing or slashing attacks slip through normally.
- Resistance to acid 5: Despite the metallic hue of their hide, spikers are not metallic in nature and suffer no special effect from rusting attacks and the like.
- Weapon Proficiency: Spikers receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat for armor spikes as a bonus feat. This allows them to use their natural spiked skin as a weapon without penalty (see below).
- Natural Spikes (Ex): A spiker's skin is replete with sharp, jagged spikes. A spiker can deal extra piercing damage on a successful grapple check, or deal piercing damage with a melee attack, as if she wore armor spikes. Because of their spiked skin, spikers have a difficult time wearing armor. The maximum Dexterity bonus of the armor is reduced by 1, and the armor check penalty is worsened by 2. For instance, a chain shirt worn by a spiker has a maximum Dexterity bonus of +3 (instead of +4) and an armor check penalty of -4 (rather than -2). These changes don't affect the armor's arcane spell failure chance, nor do they apply to shields used by the spiker.
- Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Language: Infernal.
Favored Class: Fighter.