Varag

A varag.

Varags are a goblinoid race born from hobgoblins engaging in magical bestiality with dire wolves (no, seriously). They first appeared in the Monster Manual IV for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition.

In appearance, the mage-bred varags mostly resemble a 7ft tall hobgoblin, but they are far more hirsute, have hunched postures, and possess double-jointed legs (which faciliate their preference for moving on all fours), distinctly clawed fingers, bestial paw-like feet, and two curving horns that sweep away from their skulls.

Also known as blood chasers, these dim-witted, animalistic creatures are little better than animals, and even other goblinoids think of them as feral, stupid creatures. Their mentalities, societies and behavioral traits are distinctly lupine in nature, a result of their dire wolf ancestry, but impeded by their heightened savagery and low intellects. They can understand the goblinoid language, but their primitive physiologies and dim wits make it almost impossible for them to speak it; varags mostly use hand gestures, howls and shrieks to communicate.

In the wild, varags gravitate towards a pack-like structure, with the strongest and smartest taking the role of the pack alpha. Wild varag packs are extremely dangerous, mostly because not only are varags naturally aggressive and vicious, they have tremendous appetites for flesh.

See, the creators of varags actually weren't sexual deviants, they intended for them to be super-soldiers. They wanted something that would be capable of hitting hard and moving with incredible speed. As a result, they boosted the metabolic rates of these goblinoids; it worked, making them extremely quick and agile, but it also meant they needed to eat voraciously. A healthy varag needs to consume three times as much food per day as a normal hobgoblin, or twice as much food if it spends the bulk of its time sleeping. Feeding it a normal amount of food will leave it critically undernourished, halving its formidable speed and putting it at risk of starvation.

But it gets worse. You see, varags retain a very goblinoid approach to sexuality; so long as they have unrestricted access to each other, male and female varags will mate incessantly. And a female varag will give birth to a litter of two or three pups within 5 or 6 months of conception. Varags reach adulthood by eight years old, and even at the age of 1 year are consuming as much food as an adult hobgoblin.

It goes without saying that wild varag packs can devastate the countryside, breeding into massive plague-like hordes that sweep across the land and devour every living creature they can catch.

Ironically, varags are less dangerous when in their natural state of being controlled by hobgoblins. Well aware of the rampant & voracious nature of their charges, hobgoblins strictly control the population of varags, doing their best to seclude females from males and producing only as many as they feel comfortable they can support.

The place varags hold in hobgoblin society is somewhere between mercenaries and beloved pet dogs. Proving their status as the smartest of the goblinoids, hobgoblins remain firmly aware of the fact that varags are capable of flattening them without breaking a sweat, and do everything they can to reinforce the initial mage-bred affection for their people. Varags naturally look for strong role models to guide them and offer encouragement, and hobgoblins play to this; they offer generous praise for even the smallest accomplishments, and ensure that varags are always fed well. And it works; the instinctive affection that varags feel means they will protect hobgoblins at all costs, immediately rushing to the aid of any hobgoblin without the slightest concern for their own safety.

That said... when it comes to the conflict between a varag's heart and its belly, its belly always wins. Varag devotion wanes when food becomes scarce, so a warband that can't feed its varags will see them become restless. Worse, it will see them start actively looking for "better masters", which means the once-loyal goblinoids will desert their handlers if they get hungry enough.

Ultimately, a varag's loyalty is to its belly. If desperate enough, they have even been known to serve non-hobgoblins, predominantly orcs (who sort of look like hobgoblins) and goblins (who they think of as just really tiny hobgoblins).

Varag PCs

Despite this, varags are playable. That said, they're amongst the most powerful of all goblinoids, and their Level Adjustment would normally be through the roof... except, varags came out quite late in 3e's lifespan. As such, they were provided with a 5 level "Varag Racial Class", to instead escape Level Adjustment's failures.

Varag Base Stats:

+2 Strength, -4 Intelligence

Medium

Humanoid (Goblinoid)

Base Land Speed 40 feet

Darkvision 60 feet

+4 racial bonus on Move Silently

+4 racial bonus on Survival checks made when tracking by scent

Favored Class: Varag/Scout

Varag Racial Class:

Class Skills: Jump, Move Silently, Survival

Feats: Like any character, a varag gets 1 feat at 1st level and another at every Hit Dice total divisible by 3, in addition to any bonus feats granted by class features or other sources.

Ability Score Increases: Upon attaining any Hit Die total divisible by 4, a varag increases one ability score by +1, as per a normal character.

Level 1: 1d8 (8) hit points, Reflex Save +2, (2 + Int modifier, minimum of 1) x 4 Skill Points, +1 Natural Armor Bonus

Level 2: 1d8 hit points, Base Attack Bonus +1, Reflex Save +3, 2 + Int modifier (minimum of 1) Skill Points, +2 Dexterity, Scent (10 feet), Bonus Feat: Run

Level 3: +2 Natural Armor Bonus, +2 Constitution, Racial Bonus to Move Silently increases to +8, Scent (20 feet)

Level 4: 1d8 hit points, Fortitude Save +1, Will Save +1, 2 + Int modifier (minimum of 1) Skill Points, +2 Dexterity, Scent (30 feet)

Level 5: +3 Natural Armor Bonus, +2 Strength, Can Always Take 10 on Move Silently (even when rushed/threatened), Bonus Feat: Spring Attack