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Pathfinder 2 easy Tree

STRIX

ANCESTRY

RARE

HUMANOID

STRIX

Hit Points 8

Size Medium; Speed 25 feet

Ability Boosts Dexterity, Free

Languages Common, Strix

Additional Languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if positive). Choose from Draconic, Gnome, Infernal, Jotun, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

Senses Low-Light Vision

Wings All strix possess powerful wings. While not all strix focus on honing their flying skills, a strong flap of their wings allows strix to travel longer distances when jumping. When Leaping horizontally, you move an additional 5 feet. You don’t automatically fail your checks to High Jump or Long Jump if you don’t Stride at least 10 feet first. In addition, when you make a Long Jump, you can jump a distance up to 10 feet further than your Athletics check result, though still with the normal maximum of your Speed.

Known as itarii in their own language, strix are reclusive avian humanoids devoted to their homelands and their tribes. They defend their precious communities with broad wingspans and razor talons.

Strix value ferocity, vengeance, and devotion above all else. Their dark, formidable wingspans and long history of taking revenge for their fallen family members have painted them as winged devils in the eyes of neighboring human populations. In contradiction to their misunderstood nature, strix boast a spiritual, artistic, and compassionate culture that is rarely seen outside of their roosts.

As strix populations begin to resurge and spread beyond the mountainous region known as the Devil’s Perch, their tribes now speckle the landscape of Cheliax and surrounding nations. Soaring over mountains, forests, and beaches, strix are always brought home by the deep connections they share with their kinfolk.

If you want a character who is loyal yet enigmatic, fierce yet artistic, and who yearns to soar above the world, you should play a strix.

You Might...

  • Dedicate and endear yourself to your family, friends, or community.
  • Harbor an inherited distrust of humans.
  • Keep strangers at arm’s length and perhaps exhibit naivete about the world beyond your homeland.

Others Probably...

  • Appreciate your dedicated friendship, even if they don’t grasp the cultural history behind it.
  • Treat you on occasion like a carrier pigeon, asking you to deliver letters or other similar favors.
  • Find your appearance frightening due to complete inexperience with strix.

Physical Description

Strix are avian-influenced humanoids with intimidating talons and feathered wings sprouting from their backs. With an average height of 6 feet, strix are taller than most humans but are very light for their size. Strix are considered mature at 14 years of age and have an average lifespan of 40 years. They have pointed ears and large eyes that are typically black from sclera to pupil, but occasionally appear as a piercing golden color. Strix lack the ability to move their eyes independently of their head, resulting in distinctive jerky movements as their gaze snaps between targets. Their bodies are usually taut with defined musculature—a result of the strength necessary to flex their wings.

Society

Strix are rare and reclusive people who cling to their ancestral territories. They live in modest-sized tribes, but some reside in smaller bands of tight-knit individuals. The largest settlements of strix reside on Devil’s Perch, but a small number of their ilk have traveled far across Golarion. Strix feel an intense empathy and attachment to their family and other community members. They prioritize the needs of their community over their individual desires, and their bands and tribes benefit from an easy yet expertly organized division of labor. Strix tribes are led by a rokoa, a female tribal leader.

A long history of conflict with the nearby nation of Cheliax has bred into most strix a deep fear and suspicion of humans—who they call kotaara. Strix have struggled to keep hold of their territories and maintain their numbers in the face of constant conflict with these enemies who, in addition to trying to destroy what they believe to be winged devils, vastly outnumber them. Due to their strongly bonded groups, the loss of a single tribe member is devastating.

Alignment and Religion

Due to their deep respect for the rules of a functioning society, strix are rarely chaotic, but some may be flexible on adopting the rules of outside societies. Strix are typically nonreligious and instead use stories from an epic known as the Korrsat Akra, or “The Scattered Nest,” to tell them of their origins and give them direction on their current place in the world. They have a deep investment in the lives of their fellows and experience intense grief at their passing. Pharasma is a common influence among religious strix due to the popularity of religious and spiritual practices honoring the lives and deaths in their beloved community. Gozreh is also an everyday influence for many strix, who beseech the Wind and the Waves to give them satisfying tailwinds for flight and protect their kin when the sky turns dark with fury. Erastil and even Torag represent two versions of social order and may be unifying deities across entire tribes.

Names

Strix names consist of sounds that are reminiscent of chirping, screeches, or trilling by various birds, and their naming conventions are influenced primarily by tradition and spirituality. Strix in small communities might share a common syllable among all their names to express their unity. Due to their deep affection for their family members, naming children after other loved ones is very common, occasionally with an additional syllable or slight change to the pronunciation.

Sample Names

Chiit-iir, Cicreeti, Ikatarii, Irkoata, Kaata, Kiilo, Kirii, Rahka, Roatatwiil, Turiilo, Turuk, Twilii

Strix Adventurers

Adventuring strix most commonly take the emissary, hermit, nomad, scout, or street urchin backgrounds.

Strix are agile combatants and prudent adventurers who excel as druids, fighters, monks, rangers, or rogues.

Strix Settlements

Strix settlements, called roosts, are lofty dwellings at the highest point of the local landscape. Mountains are a particular favorite, especially if they provide tall spires that make foot traffic impossible. Strix living in forests build their communities around the largest trees available, and seaside dwellers prefer to nestle their dwellings along perilous cliffs.

By far, the largest strix community resides at Ciricskree, which translates from the Strix language to “the Shrieking Spire.” This tribe of over 500 individuals is the cultural epicenter for the Devil’s Perch and the entire Avistani strix population. Additional settlements include the Ikaraka in the Barrowood forest at the base of the Menador Mountains, and the small Blackcove tribe along the shore, who have established a tolerant trading relationship with a nearby fishing village.

Strix Storytelling

Strix utilize storytelling to convey a verbal history of their people and perform poetic tales that sound like songs when sung in their native tongue. Nestling strix grow up hearing their histories sung to them as lullabies and serenades of daily life. Powerful moments are punctuated with screeches, and mournful recounts float in the air like soft cooing. One common story tells of a vengeful strix whose wings turned gloriously red, but who hid his face with a mask, ashamed of the actions that led to his glory. Another crooned to nestlings warns of a mysterious parasite that hides in filthy feathers.

Rokoas

Strix tribes are led by a spiritual, social, and military leader called a rokoa. Rokoas are elder female leaders who consult a council of other warriors and spiritualists to make decisions for the entirety of the community. Young female strix are selected early as potential successors to the tribe’s current rokoa. Often the rokoa herself chooses her favorite protégé to pass along her storytelling recitations, battle stratagems, and spiritual understanding.

TABLE 1: STRIX HERITAGES
Exclusive Heritages Description
nightglider strixLOAG You are a dedicated nocturnal avian, keeping watch and predating in the most lightless environments.
predator strixLOAG You come from a line of strix with exceptionally broad wings and lengthy talons.
scavenger strixLOAG Your ancestors originated from a land where food was scarce and threats were many.
shoreline strixLOAG You’re the descendant of strix who traveled to the coasts.
songbird strixLOAG You descend from a talented line of strix storytellers.
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: STRIX ANCESTRY FEATS
Level 1 Strix Feats Prerequisites Benefits
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.
Nestling FallLOAG — You trust the strength of your wings and can spread them to glide safely to the ground.
Story CroonerLOAG — You’re a talented story weaver and use your voice effectively.
Strix DefenderLOAG — Your ancestral feud with humans gives you experience dealing with vicious foes, and your vengeance knows no bounds.
Strix LoreLOAG — You’re well connected to your tribe and perhaps even strix communities beyond your own, where you’ve learned about the land and techniques of graceful movement.
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 Strix Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rAnimal Soul SiblingsSG-04 — Your eyes have been opened to the spiritual essence suffusing the world.
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.
Feathered CloakLOAG — To blend in with the grounded and wingless, you fold your wings just so on your back, creating the illusion of a feathered cloak.
rFey InfluenceLOIL — You have been exposed to powerful fey magic.
Fledgling FlightLOAG — You can fly through the air in short bursts at half your land Speed.
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.
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.
Strix VengeanceLOAG — You dedicate yourself to destroying those who harm your kin.
Thrown VoiceLOAG — You’ve learned how to throw your voice through the winds, tricking others as to your location.
Level 9 Strix Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rDrain EmotionLOIL Fey Influence You touch an adjacent creature and attempt to draw out its excess emotion.
Ferocious GustLOAG — With heavy wing beats, you whip up a furious gust and direct it at your opponents.
rFey AscensionLOIL Fey Influence The fey influence on your form and features grows even more powerful and notable.
Juvenile FlightLOAG — You unfold your wings for travel and can keep them unfolded for 10 minutes.
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.
Rokoan ArtsLOAG — Ancestral spirits have begun to bond themselves to you, granting you powers characteristic of a rokoa.
Wing StepLOAG — With a sharp flap of your wings, you stay light on your feet as you move.
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 Strix Feats Prerequisites Benefits
Ancestor’s TransformationLOAG — You can commune with ancestor spirits to assume the form of an enormous primeval strix.
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.
Fully FlightedLOAG Juvenile Flight You gain the effects of Juvenile Flight at all times, rather than just once per day for 10 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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 Strix 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.