Editing Jozhal

{{NeedsImages}}

'''Jozhal''' are... well, you know how [[Dark Sun]] made a big deal out of killing off [[lizardfolk]], only to stop and realize "Oh shit! Reptilian humanoids are a great fit for this kind of [[Post-Apocalyptic]] [[Sword & Sorcery]] setting!" Jozhals are amongst the myriad attempts [[TSR]] made to fix that mistake.

Standing about four feet tall, a jozhal is a small, slender, bipedal reptile with long, lanky limbs, a serpentine neck and tail, and dexterous clawed hands. Basically, they're a miniature theropod-type [[dinosaur]], like a Compsognathus or the smaller raptors, but fully sapient. Seriously, they basically look like a miniature version of the [[erdlu]] or [[crodlu]]. Their mostr unique physical trait is their chameleon-like ability to change colors in order to blend into their environments.

Living in small family groups that average four to five creatures, the jozhal are highly intelligent omnivores who are defined by the unusual trait of both having a deep appreciation for magic but also an intense reverence for nature; as a result, they strive to make sure to never overstress their native environment and often wield surprisingly powerful spells, which can be either [[elementalist|elemental cleric]], [[druid]]ic or [[Wizard|preserver]] in nature. They regard Athasian [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s as dangerous, foolish creatures (and, let's be fair, it's not hard to see why), so they do their best to avoid them... except when they sense that travelers have magic items, in which case they'll do their best to nick said items.

The fanmade 3e update for Jozhal in "Terrors of Athas" expands on this point considerably, noting that the jozhal go so far as to cannibalize their dead and salvage their hides and bones for gear out of a desire to live in balance, and they particularly revile humans and elves for their destructive behavior.

=Playing Jozhal=
Jozhal actually make an appearance as a non-hostile race in the [[Prism Pentad]], and even help out the protagonists. So, whilst [[TSR]] never revisted their list of playable [[Dark Sun]] races beyond the [[Aarakocra]], [[Pterran]] and [[Dray]], fans decided to take up the slack, converting jozhal into a PC race for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition in the Complete Book of Athasian Humanoids.

::Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 5/18, Dexterity 8/20, Constitution 5/20, Intelligence 8/20, Wisdom 5/20, Charisma 5/17
::Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, -1 Constitution, -2 Charisma (note: increase Cha by +2 when dealing with NPCs of the same race)
::Racial Class/Level Limits: [[Fighter]] 10, [[Gladiator]] 8, [[Ranger]] 8, [[Wizard|Preserver]] 12, [[Cleric]] 12, [[Druid]] 8, [[Thief]] 10, [[Psion]]icist Unlimited
:::Racial Thieving Skill Adjustments: Pick Pockets +5%, Open Locks -5%, Move Silently +10%, Hide in Shados +15%, Climb Walls -15%, Read Languages +5%, Detect Magic +10%, Detect Illusion +5%, Forge Documents -5%, Bribe Officials -10%
::Natural Armor Class: 5
::Movement: 18
::Camouflage: By changing their color to blend in, jozhal can attempt to become invisible; a creature must successfully pass a Wisdom check to detect a camouflaged jozhal.
::Ambush: If a jozhal makes a surprise attack after having gone unseen and undetected, its target suffers a -2 penalty to their Surprise check.
::Natural Weapons: A jozhal can make either 2 Claw attacks (1d4 damage) or one Bite attack (1d8 damage) per round.
::10% Magic Resistance
::Infravision 60'
::From 4th level, regardless of class, a jozhal can cast Detect Magic 1/day.
::Jozhal cannot wear armor of any kind; they are too small and wierdly shaped.
::Roleplaying Disadvantage: The jozhal love for magic (and willingness to steal magical gear) is well known. Creatures with a low opinion of magic users will often dislike jozhal, and of course, they will immediately be blamed for magical stuff going missing.
::Mandatory Initial NW Proficiency: Spellcraft

Naturally, this was then followed into [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]] with Terrors of Athas:
::Ability Modifiers: +4 Dexterity, +4 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
::Size: Small
::Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
::Speed: 30ft
::Weapon Proficiency: All Simple Weapons, Jozhal NAtural Weapons
::+4 racial bonus on Hide checks.
::+4 racial bonus on Use Magic Device checks.
::+1 natural armor bonus.
::Natural Weapons: Bite (1d4 damage)
::Special Attacks:
:::Psi-Like Abilities: Burst 3/day, Empty Mind (+4 bonus) 3/day, Dimension Swap 1/day. Manifester level 6th and included. Save DCS are Charisma based.
::Special Qualities:
:::Spell Resistance (Ex): A jozhal has spell resistance equal to its Hit Dice + 5.
::Automatic Languages: Jozhal, Common. Bonus Languages: [[Aarakocra]], [[Elf|Elven]], [[Dwarf|Dwarven]], [[Thri-Kreen]], [[Pterran]].
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Cleric]]
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +2

[[Category: Dark Sun]] [[Category: Monsters]]