Atlas    Languages    The Multiverse    World Timeline Campaigns    Characters    Modules Creatures    Monstrous Index    Encounter Maker Religions Personalities Magic Items Lore & Stories Rule Additions    Feats    House Rules    Prestige Classes    Races Spells    Domains Links Go to Creature: AnkuburusAveraBlack PhylisBone WalkerBradelCarachesChaos FiendChaos WraithDark IncarnateDemon, ArguliaDemon, AtarniaDemon, NahakDevil, Flesh Rend...DinDragon, MirrorDramorian ReaperDwarf, Daernartho...Eater of ColorElf, DrakherElf, EarinaiElf, GaliadreElf, LeretherElf, NadristiElf, SelereElf, TenerthorEloamEmrionFlame LordForest MassiffGolth-Qua'nGrim CloudHaruninkiHousheeHustiIncasos, Bashlika...Incasos, BlightIncasos, Geltutoo...Incasos, Infaelud...Incasos, JulahdonIncasos, MaeldradIncasos, Mandrago...Incasos, Mealafis...Incasos, TaturakKadahar, GreaterKadahar, LesserLeshyLiving IceLupinalMoredhelMoredwraithMwellwretOruliProckSakarabruSand GorgonSand Spider, Hunt...ShadowmanShub-Naddar, Caus...Shub-Naddar, Cete...Shub-Naddar, OozeShub-Naddar, Over...SilothreniSkhullSkull BearerSpirit HunterS'ratStonemite SwarmStorm WraithTsadutanWaynhimWomberingWorm, TsalanaZith

Silothreni

Appearance

The Silothreni (sing. & plural), or formally known as the Silothrenium, are a race of underground humanoids which are distantly related to the Haruninki. Once both races were known as one race called the Sultan. Details on the parting of these two races from each other can be found in The Breaking of the Sultan. Many Silothreni are gifted mages since their culture is sheltered by the god Shistar, Lord of Magic and Mystery.
    Silothreni have a dark tone to their slightly translucent skin, glossy like that of highly polished marble. This causes them to appear both dark and pale at the same time. Due to the photosensitivity of their skin, Silothreni are very careful of exposing themselves to direct sunlight. Solar exposure causes painful burns and sores upon their skin. For this reason, any Silothreni who comes above ground will usually be thoroughly clothed. Silothreni who live closer to the surface are known to employ exposure to the sunlight as a punishment to rogue Silothreni, however most of the Silothreni live too far beneath the earth to make the dangerous journey to the world above.
    Silothreni are also very tall. Many which hail from the deeper parts of the earth walk with a stoop due to their height and the cramped quarters of the underworld. Females tend to be slightly taller than males on average, though there are still many males who are the tallest of all Silothreni, being nearly seven feet tall. Silothreni tend to be fairly thin and gangly. Though they are not a physically impressive race, there are Silothreni who are strong, despite their weak appearance. Still, most Silothreni are not warriors. Thousands of years under the influence of the god Shistar has made the race strong in magical and intellectual endeavors.
    Silothreni tend to be more elegant in their bone structure, not like the Haruninki who have hard, well-defined muscles and bones. They move with a different grace too. While the Haruninki move with a cat-like predators grace, the Silothreni move more with the grace of a slender swan, each step considered and purposefully placed, but perfect in execution. The aristocracy and subterfuge of Silothreni society encourages grace and thoughtfulness as shields to protect one from revealing one's intentions from an observer and to keep a strict facade up to cover one's true emotions from potential enemies.

Combat

Most Silothreni are not great warriors, but great thinkers. Make no mistake though, the Underhalls are a deadly place and the Silothreni are capable of defending themselves by means other than magic.
    Spells: Silothreni with Intelligence scores of 10 or higher may cast the 0th level spells (cantrips) of detect magic, detect poison, mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, and resistance each once per day. All Silothreni are subjected to a rigorous basic education in magical theory. Worshipers of Shistar among the Silothreni also believe that these powers are gifts from their god. Silothreni cast these spells as 1st level sorcerers and must abide by the same restrictions when casting spells (spell failure, concentration checks, etc). Silothreni sorcerers and wizards receive these spells as bonus cantrips in addition to the number of cantrips that they may know.
    Direction Sense (Ex): +4 racial bonus to Survival checks made avoid becoming lost. All Silothreni have a natural sense of true north which they can use to assist them in navigation while traveling. A Silothreni knows the direction of true north as naturally as a human knows up from down.
    Resistance to Poison (Ex): +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison. Silothreni are naturally resistant to toxins. Some legends allude that as the Elders forced them to dwell in the Underhalls they gifted them with the ability to resist poisons even as they cursed them to a sunless existance, knowing that many of the underworld races employed powerful poisons to fell their foes and that the air beneath the ground is not always pure.
    Photosensitive Skin (Ex): Silothreni are especially sensitive to sunlight and suffer two points of subdual damage for each hour that they are openly exposed to direct sunlight. Historians believe that this sensitivity to sunlight is due to a powerful curse placed on the race by the Elders of the Haruninki when the two races split. For this reason, most Silothreni dress in dark clothes which cover all of their skin when traveling above ground. This has no effect on the Silothreni's vision above ground.
    Skills: +4 racial bonus on Move Silently, Listen, and Hide skills. Silothreni are naturally adept at moving silently and hiding, both skills being essential to survival underground. These traits were inherited from the Haruninki, but have become more developed due to the environment that the Silothreni live in.

Habitat/Society

The Silothreni think of themselves as elite and above the other races of the Underhalls. Many races fear the magical powers held by Silothreni mages and are reluctant to tread into the deeper depths of the Underhalls where the Silothreni make their lairs, far from the world of the sun. The Silothreni are not a very unified race though, held together mostly though religious belief than for any love or trust of each other. Since plagued by mysterious Haruninkian entities called Elders, the Silothreni constantly move with suspicion among each other. This has kept the race from growing larger than it is. However, the Silothreni clans still tend to keep together as they view the original denizens of the Underhalls with even more suspicion. The other races of the Underhalls have never been kind to the Silothreni and for many it was not so long ago when the Silothreni came down to the Underhalls in the droves, upsetting the balance of their domains.
    In those times which first followed their banishment to the underworld the Silothreni were weak and unprepared to war with the creatures which had thrived in the dark for hundreds of generations. They had already suffered humiliation and slaughter at the hands of the Sultanese blood-mages and blood-priests, and it was only with great effort that they were not completely destroyed when they first came to the Underhalls. Silothreni attribute their survival to the intervention of the god Shistar, who took them as its people and gifted them with many talents in magic.
    Unlike the Haruninki, the Silothreni have recovered well from the slaughter houses run at the hands of the Sultanese blood-mages. There are as many females as males within the society. Rather than one sex or the other being dominant though, sages, sorcerers, and priests of Shistar or wizards of great knowledge are the leaders of their society. Silothreni clans are ranked by the magical and sage knowledge which each possesses. Most Underhall civilizations of Silothreni are composed of a dozen clans and most clans are lead by several large families whose wizened members sit on a council that rules over the clan. The lord of the most powerful, wise, and largest of the families which sits of the council typically presides supreme over the clan. Joining and interlinking the clans together are the faithful to Shistar. Followers of Shistar typically do not claim loyalty to any one clan, but to the worship of Shistar. Clan leaders usually defer to the will of the mystics and leaders of the Church of Shistar which a priest finds its necessary to intervene.

Ecology

Silothreni tend to live in the lower parts of the Underhalls. There they live off the corpses of those they defeat and the prey which they hunt. Silothreni also cultivate large gardens of fungi and other plant life which grows in their world without sunlight. As with any other inhabitant of the Underhalls, the Silothreni only survive because they are strong and intelligent. Beholders, Shub-naddar, Drakher, and Illithid civilizations constantly threaten their lives in the Underhalls, keeping the race strong and alert.

History

Much of the history of the Silothreni dating before their arrival in the Underhalls can be found in The Breaking of the Sultan. Since then, their history is full of civil war between their clans and great wars against other denizens of the Underhalls. The Silothreni are proud of their history of great magical advancements, many of which are secrets long lost to other races. It is said that the Silothreni still know the secrets of blood magic, though most find it too vile to practice. Silothreni are also said to possess the secrets of runecraft and possess knowledge of the ancient use of a mystical power called Sol, a talent of magic which was lost to the world shortly after the UnHoly wars and the Divine Arrival.

Variants and Resources

Silothreni Player Characters