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Sheferu Species Reference Sheet

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Commissioned from :iconrikkoshaye:

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So this is one of the races of a Pathfinder campaign setting I'm working on.
The sheferu, also known as the snakekin or the serpentfolk, were once human.
At the dawn of civilization, the people of the city of Harnesut asked their patron deity, the cobra goddess Neidjet, to bless their children with her beauty and magic. She answered their prayers and the children born by the people of Harnesut became the sheferu, the children of Neidjet.
However, there was also a sheferu girl born with the hood of a cobra. This girl was the divine daughter of Neidjet and she would go on to lead Harnesut, unify the cities of the Abu river and establish one of the greatest civilizations in history.
The hood which marked this ruler's divine blood would go on to be inherited by her descendants, marking their divine right to rule.

As the sheferu evolved from humans, they are still mammals and are capable of interbreeding with humans. Also, like humans, sheferu breastfeed their young.
If a sheferu has an offspring with a human, there is a 50% chance that said offspring will be either sheferu or human, there are no hybrids. Likewise, if the human offspring then goes on to sire another offspring with a human of non-sheferu descent, there is a 25% chance that the offspring will be sheferu, and so on.

One of the reasons I made this race is because I've found D&D and Pathfinder to have a very negative view of snakes and snake-people. This probably stems from our Judeo-Christian roots, which paints snakes as evil.
However, in many ancient cultures, snakes were seen as symbols of wisdom, rejuvenation, immortality, and even magic. I wanted to restore these traits in order to subvert the fictional stereotype that exist almost everywhere these days.

Anyway, here are the mechanics if you want to use the sheferu for your Pathfinder game:

+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Humanoid (sheferu)
Medium: As Medium creatures, sheferu have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Sheferu have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Sheferu can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Enchantment Resistance: Sheferu gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.
Magical Blood: Sheferu receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks.
Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Nimble: +2 racial dodge bonus to Armor Class.
Languages: Sheferu begin play speaking Common and Sheferu. Sheferu with high Intelligence scores can choose may choose from a pool of seven languages.

The sheferu are an outgoing, creative, and nimble race. I think their racial traits would make them excellent Sorcerers, Bards, Rogues, and perhaps even Wizards.
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thelittledagger's avatar

Perfect. A lot of fourth edition pissants complain that it's overpowered. Sheferu are perfect as a player race.