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Description

The darfellans were once a peaceful race of hunter-gatherers who lived among the surf and sea stacks of forbidding coastlines. Then the sahuagin discovered them, beginning a century-long struggle that almost ended in the extinction of the darfellan race. The remaining darfellans are brooding wanderers who crave the chance to exact a final measure of vengeance against the sahuagin who wiped out their kin.

A typical darfellan has a hulking, muscular build with a broad back, powerful arms, and a wide neck and head. A darfellan stands not much over 6 feet tall and weighs nearly 200 pounds.

A darfellan's most striking feature is his or her jetblack skin, glossy and hairless, broken by varied white markings. The size, shape, and location of the white areas distinguish family groups and quickly identify an individual's heritage to other darfellans and those who know how to read darfellan markings. Occasionally individuals are born who are entirely black or, much more rarely, wholly white. Such births are always seen as portentous, and the children are destined to hold positions of importance among the people—whether they are so inclined or not. The appearance of an entirely white darfellan is taken as a sign of great events, and the people's history is filled with stories of the upheavals that
followed such births.

Combat

Natural Attack: A darfellan has a natural bite attack that deals 1d6 points of damage. If fighting without a weapon, a darfellan uses his bite as a primary attack, adding 1—1/2 times his Strength bonus to damage. If armed with a weapon, he can use his bite or weapon, as he chooses. When making a full attack, a darfellan normally uses the weapon as his primary attack along with the bite as a natural secondary attack (at —5 attack). If the darfellan gets extra attacks by virtue of a base attack bonus of +6 or higher, he gets them only with his primary attack.

Racial Traits

• A darfellan has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A darfellan can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A darfellan can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
• Hold Breath (Ex): A darfellan can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to 8 × his Constitution score before he risks drowning. For a typical darfellan, this is 96 rounds, or almost 10 minutes.
• Echolocation: In the water, a darfellan can emit a series of whistles, then instinctively pinpoint nearby creatures by hearing the echo. Darfellans have blindsense out to 20 feet, but the blindsense doesn't extend beyond the water.
• Racial Hatred: A darfellan normally exudes a brooding calm, but the mere presence of a sahuagin is enough to send the darfellan into a blood-mad fury. Darfellans gain a +2 racial bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls when fighting sahuagin.