Editing Half-Satyr (section)

==Piper==
Precisely why pipers are only born to an [[elf]] or [[halfling]] mother is never made clear. Perhaps the author wanted to give a nod to those races distant, ambiguous [[fey]] ancestry - hey, halflings ''were'' suggested to be a "mortalized" breed of [[brownie]] back in AD&D!

Anyway, pipers, also called fetches, panlings, pucks and rakes, are almost always raised by their mothers, because satyrs make absolutely lousy deadbeat dads - not abusive, but irresponsible, incapable of offering discipline, and generally lackluster at putting any effort in beyond being affectionate. Which you'd honestly expect. Unfortunately for their poor mothers, pipers take after their fathers in terms of personality and are born party animals. Indeed, these lusty, play-loving folk not only believe in living and enjoying every moment to the fullest, they actively disbelieve in being depressed or moody. They have a point when they observe that no situation can be improved by such behavior, but still, it's noted that this constant giddiness makes pipers quite annoying, even to people who know them well.

Such is the cheerful and boisterous nature of pipers that they can maintain a positive atttiude even in the face of certain doom. They're not fools, though, for all that they like playing the role of jester; they know that evil exists, and are willing to take up arms against it. While they tend to prefer to "help" the world by acting as sources of cheer and encouragement to the downtrodden and inspiration to those who could be great, they are quite willing to become adventurers. Indeed, like all [[fey]], the capacity for primal rage runs deep and strong in pipers, and more than one person who dismissed a piper as a "useless romantic" has been surprised.

When roused to anger or sorrow, a piper doesn't set that emotion aside easily. They are a passionate breed, for good and for ill.

Physically, pipers resemble hearty fey humanoids, most closely resembling a [[half-elf]] with their combination of broad shoulders, strong arms & backs, striking facial features and long, elfin ears - longer than average for an elf's. All pipers sport a pair of 2-inch long, slightly backwards-curving horns that protrude from their forehads. Their feet are human-like, not the hooves of their fathers, but they are extremely tough - a minority have elongated feet and require specialized boots to help them emulate the distintive tip-toe gait of a satyr, which means they become quite slow should they loose access to their shoes. They tend to be dusky in color, with dark brown or ruddy skin and black, brown or auburn hair. This hair grows quite robustly; male pipers invariably sport heavy facial hair, with stubble reappearing within hours if they shave, and dense hair on their limbs and torsos, whilst female pipers have little body hair but sport huge volumes of curly, fast-growing locks on their head.

Ironically, despite saying that there are male pipers, their entry in Bastards & Bloodlines talks almost exclusively about female ones... which is a nice change because, again, you'd kind of expect that if satyrs are all male, it's the sons who become more satyrs whilst the daughters are the ones who get only "half" of that fundamental satyrness.

Pipers who are somehow allowed to grow up in satyr company become true wild children, and whilst they may occasionally be taken in by [[dryad]]s, [[nymph]]s or [[treant]]s who seek to better their minds, they usually never leave the forest. Ironically, these "wild" pipers usually meet sticky ends, since they lack the formidable natural defenses of their fathers. 

Civilized pipers are a true trial to their mothers and their communities; they just cannot follow rules that forbid anything that looks fun or sounds interesting, and whilst they reach physical maturity quickly, becoming seeming adults by the age of 13, emotional maturity falls far behind the human norm, never mind the elven; most pipers don't learn the wisdom to overcome their impulses until decades old. Fortunately, they have natural respect for their mothers, so those with strong mothers learn faster, and they can actually make something of themselves as skilled [[bard]]s, [[ranger]]s and [[druid]]s.

In terms of racial relationships, obviously, pipers get on best with their sylvan relatives - [[elves]], [[halfling]]s, [[gnome]]s, etcetera. They also have a particular approval of [[human]]s, which needs no further explanation beyond the fact that pipers inherit the libidos of their satyr fathers. As you'd expect, these pretty-looking, flighty creatures may not have a particular antipathy for [[dwarves]] and [[half-orc]]s, but they have a definite knack for annoying them and so few of these races can stand them.

Class-wise, pipers get on best with those who embrace the magical or natural world - [[cleric]]s, [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|sorcerers]] and [[wizard]]s alongside the expected [[druid]]s and [[ranger]]s. Of course, their absolute favorite class to hang out with are [[bard]]s.

::+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
::Medium
::Base land speed 40 feet
::Low-Light Vision
::Speak With Animals (Sp): Can be cast as a free action a number of times per day equal to the piper's Charisma bonus (1) with a casting level as per a cleric of the piper's character level.
::Musical Component: Pipers casting spells with verbal components must play some form of pipes instead of speaking. On the plus side, they increase the save DC of Charm and Sonic type spells by +2.
::Racial Skills: Animal Empathy, Bluff, Gather Information, Innuendo and Perform are always class skills for pipers.
::Musical Soul: Pipers gain a +3 bonus to Perform checks made when dancing or playing woodwind instruments.
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Bard]]
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +2

{{D&D2e-Races}}
[[Category: Mixed Races]]