The Jonagites claim to be the descendants of a large adventuring party who became isolated in a foreign land centuries ago. They discovered incredible technology in the depths of ancient ruins, but found no sign of its creators. The original members of the party never saw true civilization again, but their semi-settled descendants survived through unconventional tactics and advanced body modification, and returned to Arkady.

The Jonagites used magical alteration to enable their Dwarven and Elven members to breed, a feat normally impossible due to complex biology.

This magically-induced breeding and small genetic pool has in many ways left them physically weaker than their predecessors, but their determination to survive and the knowledge that is the legacy of their adventuring ancestors has produced a people who are not to be trifled with.

Physical Description: Jonagites are short, wiry humanoids that have assumed the aspects of many “common” races. Males and females alike range from between 3 and 5 1/2 feet in height. Males of the species are capable of truly impressive beards and occasionally have fur on their ears as well. Their ears are elfin but gently curving, as opposed to the straight ears of aelfar and hulder. Their hair spans a range of diverse but muted colors. The most prominent traits of their varied ancestors has become diluted in time, but a general adaptability and mild but justified paranoia remains.

They are capable of long lives, as old as 200 owing to dwarven and elven blood in their veins, but they rarely survive past 120 as poor health frequently takes them before.

Society: Jonagite society is often nomadic. Small in number and possessing no “native” country of any reasonable size, they have few permanent settlements, though insular communities do arise in a particular nation.

Leadership in Jonagite society is typically determined by competence; in most communities the Jonagite leader is elected for life. However, his rule can be challenged by any adult member, typically at the end of each month or season (to prevent sudden challenges from interfering with daily business).

They are practical to a fault; frivolity is often viewed as a sign of weakness, and vanity taboo. They are frequently traders, tinkers and rogues, and they also make phenomenal healers and doctors, though they are often lacking in “bedside manner.” They are known to purvey powerful stimulants and narcotics with both practical and recreational benefits; this can cause conflict with certain morally inclined nations.

They are quite permissive when it comes to relations with most races, provided that the two individuals are strong, trustworthy and capable. Though same-gender and even same-family relations are acceptable in Jonagite society, a child-bearing marriage with a non-Jonagite is a civic duty in many communities, and such individuals are expected to put aside their personal feelings in order to fulfill it. Leadership in Jonagite society is typically determined by competence; in most communities the Jonagite leader is elected for life. However, his rule can be challenged by any adult member, typically at the end of each month or season (to prevent sudden challenges from interfering with daily business).

Each community has their own unique trial, ranging from highly ritualized duels to intense, prolonged games of strategy. Technically a challenge can be outright denied, but denying several challenges in a row in this way will undermine the people’s confidence in the leader, and is dangerous, since it might encourage others to remove him from his post in a more “direct” manner.

Relations: Jonagites are tolerated nearly everywhere, but being accepted is another story altogether. Their chief allies and compatriots are the Aelfar, as they share a kinship with these fellow outcasts. Dwarves admire their craftsmanship but cringe at their origins, while humans regard them as more than a bit shady. Orcs hold no respect for their scrawny bodies and cautious, aloof demeanor. Hulder tolerate them only for the purposes of their knowledge, and quite personally loathe them for their “polluted blood.”

Alignment and Religion: Jonagites are rarely religious; their few clerics tend to follow whichever religion was common where they were raised, and they tend to be healers rather than divine warriors. Jonagites of all sorts tend toward neutral, chaotic neutral in particular owing to the strange way their minds work - but countless exceptions to the rule exist, and the rare Jonagite paladin is among the fiercest soldiers to be found.

Adventurers: Jonagites, ironically enough considering their origin, rarely adventure for the mere sake of it, practical beings that they are. However, they are acutely aware that they are a race in sharp decline. A Jonagite may seek to journey with a party of adventurers in order to obtain medical or magical knowledge that might improve the lives of their fellow Jonagites. The less scholarly-minded among them still know that the chances of meeting a strong and capable mate are much higher in an adventuring party.

Integration into a Campaign

Jonagites were designed for the Caneis campaign setting, but their story and origins are more than suitable for other d20 fantasy settings.

Players are likely to encounter Jonagites living in areas where many other civilized races would not; in repurposed strongholds or ruins that have been reclaimed and readapted for their own purposes, for instance. If they are friendly, they may offer aid and shelter (though rarely without strings attached of some sort) or they may simply be merchants, who peddle many rare and exotic goods from foreign lands. They carry with them a tradition of skilled healing, and many seek them for aid when confronted with a grievous illness or curse.

Jonagites also make dangerous enemies. Jonagites with particularly debilitating conditions, too great even for their medicinal skills to solve, may have their allies turn to thievery to sustain them or even fell magic, requiring blood or soul sacrifice, to cure them, and may seek to subdue an adventuring party for that purpose. And though most consider themselves refined enough to avoid such barbaric behavior, it is not unheard of for a band of Jonagite travelers to kidnap or coerce a potential mate, so as to bear healthier children for their race.

Above all, Jonagites excel at making simple plans and carrying them out simply and skillfully. Rare is the Jonagite mastermind who sends a group on a false quest to destroy them, when a well-placed symbol of death or explosive will end the quest early and eliminate any possible loose ends. Likewise, the Jonagite with a heroic bent will eschew the quest for the holy weapon and the blessings of a goddess in favor of taking on villainy with superior numbers and the element of surprise. When faced with the proverbial Gordian Knot, expect the Jonagite to be the first to suggest cutting it.

Standard Racial Traits

Jonagite Player Characters

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Jonagites are descended from hardy stock, but centuries of inbreeding has dwindled their physicalities and perturbed their minds. Jonagites receive a -2 penalty to either Strength or Dexterity, and a -2 to either Intelligence or Wisdom.
• Type: Jonagites are Humanoids with the human subtype.
• Size: Most Jonagites are Medium humanoids.
• Base Speed: Jonagites have a base speed of 30 feet
• Languages: Jonagites speak Common and Jonagite. Jonagites with high intelligence scores can learn any language, except secret languages.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Mother of Invention: Jonagites receive a bonus feat at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level. These feats must be selected from the Jonagite racial feat list (see bottom).

Offense Racial Traits

• Weapon Familiarity: Jonagites treat Scissorblades and Stinger Arms as Martial weapons.

Alternate Racial Traits

When creating a Jonagite PC, with your GM’s permission, you may select any of these character traits:

• Of Unusual Size: Jonagites’ small gene pool combined with Dwarven heritage mean that an oddly high number of them are shorter than the norm. These Jonagites are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. They also have a base speed of 20 feet. This trait replaces Medium size.
• Marvel Specimen: Your remarkable health and fitness defies your muddled heritage, but the fawning of your native people has not been good for your perspective. You gain a -5 on Sense Motive and Diplomacy checks with non-Jonagites and a +2 to any one stat. Jonagite surgeons are loath to sully your beauty and health with artificial enhancements. You may select only one Mother of Invention feat (take this feat at first level). This trait replaces the normal Jonagite traits and the normal Jonagite racial penalties, and modifies the Mother of Invention feat.
• Scholar of the Body: Many Jonagites are less-inclined to physical pursuits, and instead are trained from a young age in the ways of healing. A Jonagite with this trait gains +2 to all Heal and Knowledge (nature) checks. This trait replaces Weapon Familiarity.

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Mother Of Invention Feats

The following feats are available to a Jonagite character who meets the prerequisites.

• Steel Strike This delicate surgical procedure requires that metal bits be implanted into the subject’s fists; this allows the user to fight as if they had the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. These metal bits are also required to use the weapons known as (“Iron Fang Fist”) and (“Iron Tooth Fist”). Jonagite monks can have the same bits implanted in their elbows and knees during this procedure. A monk using (“Iron Fang Fist”) or (“Iron Tooth Fist”) increases their unarmed strike damage progression by 1 step; any nonmonk character merely inflicts 1d6 damage with these weapons and are not considered unarmed.
• Chatoyancy This is a surgical operation on the subject’s eyes, which causes them to shine like a cat’s. This procedure gives the user darkvision out to 60 feet. This feat can be taken twice; if taken by a creature that already has darkvision, they gain the see in darkness and light blindness traits instead.
• Pain Aegis This procedure works to dull pain in the most sensitive areas of the body, reducing the subject’s weak points and allowing the user to strike with greater force. The subject gains a +1 on all fortitude saves and a +2 on all melee damage rolls.
• Growth Stabilizer A painful procedure designed to strengthen the bodies of arcane casters over time, without requiring drastic physical training. The recipient must have at least 1 level in a class that grants 1d10 or more hit die per level. All class levels grant 1d8 hit die instead of their normal hit die.
• Inversion Armor This highly intricate procedure actually changes the location of some of the subject’s vital organs. They gain a 20% chance to ignore any critical hit scored on them.
• Dermal Enhancement This procedure inserts tiny subdermal plates designed to resist all but the most focused blows. The subject gains a +1 natural armor bonus to their AC, DR 1/piercing, and one additional hit point. This feat may be taken up to five times, but each time after the first imposes a -1 penalty to Charisma, as the subject’s thickening skin appears more and more unnatural.
• Vocal Enhancement This delicate operation on the subject’s vocal chords produces a more appealing voice; the subject gains a +1 bonus to their Charisma score and a +5 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff Checks.
• Siren Vocalist This operation requires Vocal Enhancement and the bardic performance class feature. Through highly invasive procedures on the lungs and throat, the subject gains a +1 to their Charisma score and gains 2 rounds of bardic performance per day, but each additional treatment after the first results in a -1 penalty to Constitution. This feat may be taken up to four times.
• Metal Muscle This operation involves a combination of stimulants and mechanical enhancers. It increases the subject’s Strength by 2 points, but confers 50% vulnerability to electricity. Moreover, electricity damages the implants, negating the benefit for 1d2 hours. This feat can be taken twice, increasing vulnerability to 100%.
• Lightning Legs This procedure strengthens the subject’s legs to allow for swifter sprints and efficient maneuvers. The subject’s base speed increases by 10. In addition, if the subject has the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, they gain a +1 to hit and damage when performing an Unarmed Strike with their legs.

(Because Mother of Invention feats are not actually dependent on racial traits, it is possible for a non-Jonagite character to take them as normal feats; however, the procedure would need to be performed by a Jonagite surgeon, and it is highly frowned upon to operate on outsiders. This would be an option only for a highly-respected ally of Jonagite leadership, or, even more unlikely, non-Jonagites with knowledge of their well-guarded technology - and even then for a substantial fee.)