Shobhad

From PathfinderWiki
Shobhad
(Creature)

Type
Monstrous humanoid
CR
4
Environment
Cold deserts and mountains
Alignment
Adjective
Shobhad
Source: Distant Worlds, pg(s). 63
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This article might have further canon details available on StarfinderWiki.

This article covers the people of Akiton. For the language, see Shobhad (language).

The shobhads are a race of giant, four-armed, monstrous humanoid creatures native to the planet Akiton. Living in their rugged clans, known collectively as the Shobhad-neh, the shobhads reject the soft ways of humans and other races in favor of battle and honor.1

Appearance

Shobhads stand 12 feet tall and weigh around 500 pounds, most of which is muscle. Their skin is gray. Unlike most humanoids, they have four arms, which they often use to wield up to four weapons at a time. Shobhads are often seen wielding huge swords and their trademark shobhad longrifles.

When they deign to wear much clothing beyond a loincloth and harness, shobhads prefer practical clothes like animal hides to protect them from Akiton's brutal winds, though chieftains and shamans wear ornate, brightly colored ritual garb. 1

History

In ancient times, the ancestors of the shobhads were split into two warring factions. One lived in a state of barbarism as savage nomads; the other favored magic, city-building, and commerce. The civilized people abandoned Akiton to wander the planets and planes and came to be known as the witchwyrds, while the nomads became the Shobhad-neh who remain on the Red Planet.2

Habitat and ecology

Most shobhads inhabit the cold deserts and mountains of Akiton, though the rare individual can be found in human cities.1 In the northern Winterlands, Akiton's two polar ice caps, at least two tribes of white-skinned shobhad clans make their home near the ruins of the ancient witchwyrds.3

Society

The shobhads look down on humans and other Akitonian races, whom they call "the soft races" for giving up combat and hunting for relatively advanced society, which shamefully strips away one's strength. They believe the weak shame their ancestors and are condemned to a nondescript, menial life and forgettable death.4

The Shobhad-neh are in a constant state of internecine war over ancient feuds and pecking order.5

One of the most important sites to the Shobhad-neh is the titanic volcano Ka, the Pillar of the Sky, the tallest known mountain in all of Akiton's solar system. Here the giants hold an annual Clanmoot to keep a semblance of racial unity. Shobhad braves sometimes take the Test of the Mountain; those few who survive are said to gain the gift of prophecy.6

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 James L. Sutter. “Chapter 3: Aliens” in Distant Worlds, 63. Paizo Inc., 2012
  2. James L. Sutter. “Chapter 3: Aliens” in Distant Worlds, 57. Paizo Inc., 2012
  3. James L. Sutter. “Chapter 1: The Solar System” in Distant Worlds, 19. Paizo Inc., 2012
  4. Andrew Penn Romine, et al. “Other People of the Stars” in People of the Stars, 14. Paizo Inc., 2014
  5. James L. Sutter. “Chapter 1: The Solar System” in Distant Worlds, 16. Paizo Inc., 2012
  6. James L. Sutter. “Chapter 1: The Solar System” in Distant Worlds, 18. Paizo Inc., 2012