Crucian
Crucians are a strange, armor-plated, desert-dwelling race of crablike humanoids native to the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. They are a savage, warlike race who divide themselves up into tribal units that jealously guard oases, occasionally banding together under a ruthless and charismatic leader to raid the denizens of cooler climes... and that's about all we can tell you about them. Sorry, but these guys were a playable monster race who showed up as an NPC race in the Miniatures Handbook and weren't made playable until Sandstorm, the desert splatbook for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. They're not exactly brimming with fluff.
They are not to be confused with Third Edition's OTHER race of intelligent crablike humanoids.
Official Fluff[edit | edit source]
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Comfortable in the brutal heat of the desert, battle-hardened crucians rely on their natural shell armor to protect them in all situations. Crucians are humanoids that sport broad, flat shells, like desert crabs, encompassing their upper bodies in natural protection. Not content with just their shells, they often wear additional leather chaps and armlets to protect the rest of their bodies. They decorate their shells with brightly colored painted sigils, as well as deeply etched tallies of their personal triumphs on the sandy field of conflict. Most crucians prefer to wield enormous warhammers, weighted to crack even the hardest enemy shells.
Crucians are highly territorial, and they organize into small bands, each group protecting a prized water source. Crucian bands regularly raid one another's oases, which accounts for their warlike demeanor. Every twenty years or so, a leader rises among the crucians and forges the various bands into a mighty force. This crucian army strikes out into cooler lands for booty and conquest, only to fall back into the desert once the creatures have wreaked their fill of misery.
In negotiations, crucians are known to be cunning. They often employ verbal feints to draw others out and get a better read on them, and they are keenly interested in figuring out how both friends and enemies think. When they can, crucians prefer to attack as a solid line to prevent enemies from getting at their flanks.
PC Stats[edit | edit source]
- +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +6 Constitution, -2 Charisma.
- Medium-size.
- Crucian base land speed is 20 feet.
- Low-light vision.
- +8 natural armor. A crucian's crablike shell gives it remarkable protection.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Draconic. Bonus Language: Sphinx.
- Favored Class: Druid.
- Level Adjustment +2.
Note that these stats are quite different from the ones that it has as an NPC. In particular, the NPC version has 3 racial hit dice and all the goodies that come from 3 levels of humanoid, and the official PC stats don't. This is commonly assumed to be a misprint. Feel free to modify the official stats by adding the following:
- Racial Hit Dice: A crucian begins with three levels of humanoid, which provide 3d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +2, and base saving throws of Fort +3, Ref +1, and Will +3.
- Racial Feats: A crucian's humanoid levels give it two feats.