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Pathfinder 2 easy Tree

AZARKETI

ANCESTRY

UNCOMMON

AMPHIBIOUS

AZARKETI

HUMANOID

Hit Points 8

Size Medium; Speed 20 feet, Swim 30 feet

Ability Boosts Constitution, Charisma, Free; Ability Flaw Wisdom

Languages Common, Alghollthu

Additional Languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from Aklo, Aquan, Azlanti, Draconic, Elven, and Undercommon and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

Senses Low-Light Vision

Hydration While you are an amphibious being equally as capable on land as in the water, your body requires you to return to aquatic environments at least once in a 24-hour period. You must submerge in water in order to rehydrate your water-acclimated skin. If you fail to do this, your skin begins to crack and your gills become painful. After the first 24 hours outside of water, you take a –1 status penalty to Fortitude saves. After 48 hours, you struggle to breathe air and begin to suffocate until returned to water.

Azarketis, inheritors of a shattered empire’s legacy, hold their proud traditions close but still surface to interact with the rest of the world.

The aquatic humanoids of the Inner Sea share a somber and burdened history. Most refer to these aquatic peoples as gillmen or sometimes Low Azlanti, though they typically refer to themselves as azarketi, an Azlanti word that translates roughly to “people of the seas.” After Earthfall, these proud humans were mutated into aquatic servants by their alghollthu foes. Feeling like they don’t fully belong with their human brethren nor with the sea that binds them, many azarketis struggle for a sense of identity and purpose. Though they remain distrusted by the surface dwellers, azarketis celebrate their unique lineage and their descent from the venerated Azlanti culture.

You Might...

  • Ambitiously seek to defy negative perceptions and prejudice laid against you.
  • Be reclusive and skeptical of strangers.
  • Regard the water as your home, but be intrigued by societies along the shore.

Others Probably...

  • Assume you are an ambassador to the sea and ask for your advice on nautical matters.
  • Misunderstand your gentle gestures and mild expressions.
  • Treat you with distrust or suspicion and anticipate betrayal from you.

Physical Description

Azarketis appear as regal, athletic humans. Their soft, hydrophilic skin ranges in tones from pearlescent white to pinkish, greenish, or brown tones reminiscent of coral. Azarketis with hair are somewhat rare; many sport fins or scaled ridges on their heads instead. Like the Azlanti people from which they descend, they often have violet eyes. Their aquatic lineage is obvious thanks to the sets of three gills on either side of their necks, as well as their webbed hands and feet. Azarketis have been known to live longer than humans, although they mature at about the same rate.

Society

Azarketis lack the center for combined culture that helps other groups maintain a cohesive identity. The vastness of the oceans and waterways spread these swift-swimming people across the Inner Sea and beyond. Many azarketis rely only on the small familial groups in their immediate community and prefer smaller populations with comrades they trust and know intimately.

Some azarketis prefer to foster connections with their surface-dwelling brethren. Living in ports, river towns and along the shore allows azarketis a greater scope of opportunities not afforded to exclusively land or sea peoples.

Although integrating with land society can be difficult, azarketis manage by forming bonded communities. Members will often have fond familial names for one another, regardless of actual relation.

If they have the means, some azarketis dress in attire reflecting their Azlanti heritage. More commonly, azarketis do their best to remain inconspicuous when they emerge from the water. Many will wear shemaghs or other head wrappings, which both hide their gills and provide a few extra comfortable hours out of water if soaked before donning.

Alignment and Religion

As they are typically outsiders to the domains of surface life, azarketis tend toward deities with an affinity for the ocean or other forms of water, the most popular being Gozreh. They are also likely to give reverence to other deities of nature or navigation, such as Desna.

Some azarketis are tempted toward the call of the deep and serve their old alghollthu masters as gods. These individuals are enticed by eldritch entities such as the mysterious veiled masters—powerful beings of the deep ocean responsible for both uplifting and destroying the Azlanti people.

Azarketis vary wildly in beliefs and values, as evidenced by their broad divergence in allegiance; thus, azarketis can be of any alignment.

Names

Azarketis often take the names of nautical, weather, or geographical features important to the azarketi’s family. Other azarketi groups will choose human names in order to encourage conformity with surface cultures. Some azarketi names have been passed down through so many generations that they still use ancient Azlanti roots or refer to bodies of water that no longer exist.

Sample Names

Aft, Aliz, Cascade, Delta, Harbor, Ilani, Inkua, Jib, Lagoon, Lobay, Marine, Tidal, Windward, Zarket

Azarketi Adventurers

With their affinity to water, nautical navigation skills, and athletic capabilities, azarketis make ideal rangers. Azarketis’ versatility both on land and in water make them particularly formidable fighters, while their direct connection to the sea leads many others to become druids. As many azarketis have a connection to alghollthus’ occult magic, it’s not uncommon for azarketis to be sorcerers, though studious individuals sometimes become bards or wizards instead.

Azarketi Enclaves

Azarketis are mostly concentrated around the Inner Sea region. The Isle of Kortos hosts several pockets of azarketi settlements, helped by the presence of the azarketi city Kienek-Li to the north of Starstone Isle. Gilltown is the largest azarketi community in Absalom, but azarketis are also prevalent in the city’s seaside districts.

Some azarketis live near the ruins of Old Azlant or in the deepest trenches of the ocean and lead isolated and mysterious lives. River azarketis settle at the bases of waterfalls, or hidden away in the caves behind them. Small nomadic azarketi groups have taken to land in rainy or marshy locations, though such groups are rare.

Legacy of Azlant

Directly descended from the people of Azlant, azarketis have preserved their ancestors’ culture through art, oral traditions, songs, and stories. Azarketi scholars study the history of Azlant and Earthfall, elders recite tales of Azlanti legends, and musicians sing songs to long-lost gods. Most azarketis know the location of the nearest Azlanti ruin, and many possess a piece of Azlanti jewelry.

Other Sea Creatures

Azarketis are one of many ancestries to live beneath the water’s surface. They have the most contact with locathahs, humanoid fish-folk with an easygoing, friendly demeanor. Azarketis find merfolk territorial neighbors, though their shared private tendencies lead to mostly amicable relations. Together they combat their shared enemies, the monstrous but intelligent sahuagins.

Alghollthus

Azarketis have a complex relationship with alghollthus, who saved but then enslaved their people. Alvadnas have the greatest chance of meeting an alghollthu face to face. Azarketi sentiments toward these creatures vary: some fight fiercely against their ancient enemies; others bargain for power or safety, or even serve through compulsion.

TABLE 1: AZARKETI HERITAGES
Exclusive Heritages Description
ancient scale azarketiLOAAWS Your lineage stems from azarketis who remain dedicated to their deep-sea roots.
benthic azarketiLOAAWS Your heritage traces to azarketis living deep beneath the sea, and you can handle the chilling depths more easily than most.
inured azarketiLOAG Your ancestors had to survive in polluted water that made every breath noxious.
mistbreath azarketiLOAAWS You descend from azarketis who migrated to land environments that could support their need for water.
murkeyed azarketiLOAG You live in murky waters and have grown accustomed to life in a low-visibility environment.
river azarketiLOAAWS You come from azarketis who abandoned the oceans for the fresh water of inland life.
spined azarketiLOAG Your fins conceal launchable toxic spines.
tactile azarketiLOAG Your skin can detect the slightest changes in ocean currents.
thalassic azarketiLOAAWS You trace your lineage from azarketis who lived their lives among the great oceans and seas of the world.
Versatile Heritages Description
AasimarAPG You descend from celestials or were touched by the celestial realms, gaining an air of awe and grace, as well as features distinctive to your celestial forebears.
AphoriteLOAG You were born with a connection to Axis, the Plane of Law.
ArdandeRE Your elemental heritage is reflected in the oils and fragrances of plants, in tree resin that fossilizes into amber, or in the gentle smell of a flower.
BeastkinLOAG The blood of a beast flows through your veins, granting you the ferocity and might of animals.
ChangelingAPG Your mother was a hag.
DhampirAPG You are the scion of a vampire, half living and half undead, gifted with uncanny charm and grace, a bloodless pallor, and elongated incisors.
DuskwalkerAPG Thanks to an ancient bargain, your soul has been reborn as a duskwalker, a planar scion with a connection to psychopomps and the Boneyard.
GanziLOAG Your blood is touched by primal chaos.
IfritLOAG You descend from fire elementals or bear the mark of the Inner Spheres, and your features illustrate the influence that elemental fire has over you.
OreadLOAG An earth elemental ancestor has influenced your bloodline, and your features highlight this elemental planar connection.
ReflectionDA You were created as a duplicate of another creature, intentionally or accidentally, though you might not know of your origins.
SuliLOAG You are descended from a janni or otherwise embody a dichotomy of opposing elemental planar forces.
SylphLOAG You are descended from air elementals or were born under the element’s influence.
TalosRE Your physical features reflect the influence a zuhra or other metal elemental has had over your bloodline.
TieflingAPG You descend from fiends or bear the mark of the fiendish realms, manifesting as some unusual feature that belies your heritage, such as horns or a tail.
UndineLOAG A water elemental ancestor influences your bloodline.
draconic scionBAD You possess the power of dragons, whether you descended from dragons, learned from dragons, were transformed by exposure to draconic energy, or reincarnated from a past life as a dragon.
TABLE 2: AZARKETI ANCESTRY FEATS
Level 1 Azarketi Feats Prerequisites Benefits
Alghollthu BoundLOAAWS — Although you may not even be aware, the alghollthus your ancestors once served maintain a stranglehold on the deepest, tethered parts of your mind.
Ancestral InsightLOAG — You have extensive knowledge of your ancestors’ ancient origins.
Azarketi LoreLOAAWS — You have learned the history and origins of your people and how to connect to both your land and sea heritage.
Azarketi Weapon FamiliarityLOAAWS — You are familiar with weapons that excel underwater.
CynicalLOAAWS — You’ve been approached with suspicion and distrust throughout your life and return these sentiments back to the strangers you encounter.
Hydraulic DeflectionLOAG — Drawing moisture from the atmosphere, you create a disc of hovering water that deflects attacks.
rLet’s Try That AgainSG-04 — You feel a sense of deja vu when you’ve made a mistake, almost as if you weren’t so careless in a past life and could certainly do better if given another chance.
rLike a RoachSG-04 — Living with the bare necessities isn’t terribly hard for someone who has defied death, and like a cockroach, you always know how to survive.
Pelagic AptitudeLOAG — You’ve learned special tricks to survive underwater.
Perfect DiveLOAAWS — You dive into the water with exceptional skill and connection to the waves, urging the water itself to cushion your fall.
Striking RetributionLOAG — You have an appropriately intense hatred for alghollthus.
Surface SkimmerLOAAWS — By sinking gently beneath the waves, you obscure your presence and utilize the water as a barrier between you and land combatants.
rWeight of ExperienceSG-04 — The experience you’ve accumulated over multiple lifetimes envelops you like a weighted blanket, providing comfort and bestowing confidence under pressure.
rWisdom From Another LifeSG-04 — You absorbed a wide variety of facts before you died, and your soul still remembers slivers of this precious knowledge.
Level 5 Azarketi Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rAnimal Soul SiblingsSG-04 — Your eyes have been opened to the spiritual essence suffusing the world.
Aquatic ConversationalistLOAG — You can ask questions of, receive answers from, and use the Diplomacy skill with animals with the amphibious or aquatic traits.
Azarketi Weapon AptitudeLOAAWS Azarketi Weapon Familiarity You become familiar with using your weapons both in and out of water.
Drag DownLOAAWS — While swimming in water at least 10 feet deep, you grab an adjacent creature (on nearby land or in the water) and pull it below the surface.
rEmpathy IncarnateSG-04 — Reincarnation has given you a compassionate perspective and enabled you to relate to almost everyone you speak with, putting them at ease and quickly generating trust.
rFey InfluenceLOIL — You have been exposed to powerful fey magic.
rI’Ve Had Many JobsSG-04 — Finding and excelling at odd jobs is child’s play to one who has worked many occupations during many lives.
Marine AllyLOAG — You’ve befriended a sea creature, which becomes magically bonded to you.
rReincarnated RidiculerSG-04 — You’ve practiced the art of taunting an enemy, ensuring they know death will only make you stronger.
rSleep of the RebornSG-04 — Philosophers compare the cycle of life, death, and rebirth to sleeping, dreaming, and waking.
Water ConjurationLOAG — You carry the ocean with you wherever you go.
Level 9 Azarketi Feats Prerequisites Benefits
Aboleth TransmutationLOAAWS — You have tapped into the ancient magic used by alghollthu masters (also known as aboleths) to mold the flesh of your ancestors.
Azarketi PurificationLOAG — You can cast purify food and drink as a primal innate spell, but only on liquids.
rDrain EmotionLOIL Fey Influence You touch an adjacent creature and attempt to draw out its excess emotion.
rFey AscensionLOIL Fey Influence The fey influence on your form and features grows even more powerful and notable.
rLingering EchoesSG-04 — Not everyone is reincarnated, and you feel a strong connection with the spiritual echoes of those who didn’t receive the same opportunity as you.
rPlant Soul SiblingsSG-04 Animal Soul Siblings You’re now able to connect with the spirits present in the greenery of the natural world.
rRapid RetrainingSG-04 — Some feel trapped by their choices and have a tough time reinventing themselves.
Replenishing HydrationLOAAWS — You draw life from the water around you.
RiptideLOAAWS Drag Down, expert in Athletics You Stride up to 10 feet to enter the water, bringing the grabbed creature with you into the water.
Water DancerLOAG — You glide through the water with graceful ease.
Water StriderLOAG — Water cradles your every step, allowing you to walk on its surface.
rYou Seem Somewhat FamiliarSG-04 — You fought hundreds of foes in your various past lives, and now and then, something about a new opponent tugs at your memory, almost as if you defeated their grandparent long ago.
Level 13 Azarketi Feats Prerequisites Benefits
Aquatic AdaptationLOAG — If you and up to four other creatures are in contact with a body of water deep enough for you to fully submerge, you can spend 10 minutes adapting the creatures to that specific body of water.
Aquatic CamouflageLOAG — You blend into the waves.
Azarketi Weapon ExpertiseLOAAWS Azarketi Weapon Familiarity Your mastery with weapons both above and below water is unmatched.
rCannibalize MagicLOIL Fey Influence The fey magic inside of you is a vital part of your body, and you can steal other sources of magic to replenish yours.
rClinging to LifeSG-04 — This life still holds much for you, and you aren’t ready to fall back into the River of Souls just yet.
rEldritch CalmLOIL Fey Influence Your fey heritage has altered your mindset to more resemble the uncanny perspective of the fey.
rGlamourLOIL Fey Influence You unlock a new level of fey power and can manipulate the perceptions of others using a font of First World magic.
Hydraulic ManeuversLOAG — You batter your foes with a torrent of water siphoned from your surroundings.
rI Sense MalevolenceSG-04 — Your time in theRiver of Souls has given you deep insight into the machinations of those who refuse to move on.
rLinguistic RevivalSG-04 — You achieved fluency in different languages with each reincarnation, and your brain remembers much of the grammar, idioms, and obscenities that you spouted in old lives.
Mist StriderLOAG Water Strider You condense the moisture in the air, solidifying it so it can hold your weight.
rPain Is TemporarySG-04 — Sangpotshi practitioners know that suffering is a fleeting sensation that ultimately strengthens the soul and prepares it for a new reincarnation.
RehydrationLOAG — You surround your body with a thin layer of water drawn from the moisture in the air.
rStone Soul SiblingsSG-04 Plant Soul Siblings Your connection with nature’s spirits has progressed to the point where you can even have casual conversation with pebbles and boulders.
rUnbreakable ResolveSG-04 — The experience of coming back after death has granted you a strong sense of resolve; devilish words, slick spells, and conniving trickery can’t easily catch you off guard.
Level 17 Azarketi Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rBoneyard AcquaintanceSG-04 — Before your soul returned to the Material Plane, you interacted with a host of other souls on their way to the Boneyard.
rFey TranscendenceLOIL Fey Influence You become a powerful fey creature, gaining strengths tied to the First World but also some of the weakness against which all fey must contend.
rIndomitable SpiritSG-04 — Your soul has accumulated countless particles of quintessence over myriad deaths and rebirths, and for one moment, this raw material from the Great Beyond envelops you and your comrades.
rRelease the LightSG-04 — Many people report seeing a bright light before their death.
rSee You in HellSG-04 — You aren’t sure if you’ll be reincarnated again, so you might as well take this foe with you.
rThis Time, Bring the BodySG-04 — Death sends a soul into the River of Souls.
Underwater VolcanoLOAG — You can cast volcanic eruption as a 7th-level primal innate spell once per day, except that you can only evoke the volcano on the floor of a body of water, and the effects that normally happen to flying creatures happen to swimming creatures instead.