Koup'ira - the lobster men of my setting

In my pathfinder setting I decided that for the aquatic races I didn't want to go the lazy route of taking a surface race and slapping gills on them, thanks in large part to the aquatic episodes of DMB with Rich Howard. In addition, Rich's article on Tribality where he goes through his design process in creating an aquatic race guided my design process when creating the aquatic races of my world.

With that out of the way, here's the koup'ira:

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Though the koup’ira are the most likely of the oceanic races to have any interactions with surface races, most inland regions of the Green Coast have never heard of them. For the most part, the koup’ira only interact with coastal cities to trade for goods that they cannot make or get underwater. On these trading trips they do their best to stay out of local politics, heading into the ocean should local politics try to involve them. Beneath the waves however, the koup’ira possess wondrous kingdoms stretching further than any surface dweller would imagine possible.

Physical Description: Koup’ira superficially resemble long crustaceans with a hard shell, mandibles, multiple legs and a pair of arms ending in large pincers. The koup’ira that directly interact with land based races tend to be roughly four and a half feet tall and nearly twice as long. These koup’ira are not yet adults, and by the time they reach adulthood they will no longer be able to support their own weight out of water.

Society: Koup’ira society places less direct emphasis on family than most surface races, but more on lineage. One’s career is determined by one’s parents, their job. The children of merchants become merchants themselves, and pairings are found within one’s own career: soldiers pair with soldiers, psychics with psychics, etc. Young koup’ira are expected to venture out away from home for a number of years, to get the wanderlust and need for adventure out of their systems.

Relations: Koup’ira typically have cool relations with most other oceanic races. The essentially immortal dohrnii are too flighty and obsessed with the esoteric for their tastes, the pteroi don’t take anything seriously, and the shark-like zang are seen as little better than the marauding sahuagin. The ten armed squoros are viewed with respect tinged with suspicion, while the mammalian tabemisu are viewed as surface dwellers with fins. Their relations with surface cities are limited to trade for goods, typically copper based alloys and red meat.


Alignment and Religion: Practicing ancestor worship, the closest that the koup’ira have to a deity is Kaikepa, the First King. Revered as the founder of koup’ira society after uniting the disparate warring tribes, every kingdom’s royal line traces their lineage back to Kaikepa. The laws laid down by him all those centuries ago have instilled within the koup’ira a tendency towards community, making sure that the whole is cared for and maintained even if individuals suffer for it. Because of this, most koup’ira tend towards Lawful Neutral.


Adventurers: Adventuring koup’ira are almost always adolescents. Most lose the desire to travel and see the world when they reach adulthood, leaving the adventuring life behind to work in the field that their parents did. Rare is the koup’ira that never feels a need to settle down.


Male Names: Awamoana, Karamu, Karikaipo, Manatui, Manea’kailang, Paakiga, Pakani, Paoranek Waika, Watke, Wikiha


Female Names: Haukea, Hinatisao, Iolana, Kaui, Kikapua, Koulang, Rana, Ura Kana, Uruanga, Waikana


Koup’ira, adolescent Racial Features

• +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity: Koup’ira are both tough and wise, but their exoskeletons make them somewhat clumsy.
  Racial Buoyancy¹: -140, Depth Tolerance²: 500 feet
• Medium: Adolescent koup’ira are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Slow and Steady: Adolescent koup’ira have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance. They also possess a swim speed of 20 feet.
• Carapace: The koup’ira’s thick shell grants them a +2 natural armor bonus to armor class.
• Crafting Arms: Koup’ira gain a +2 racial bonus on all Craft skill checks to make something.
• Partially Amphibious: Though koup’ira have lungs, their lungs are designed more like gills and require that they spend most of their time submerged in water. Koup’ira can spend a number of hours equal to their Constitution modifier (minimum 1) above water before their lungs begin to dry out. Treat this as suffocating (Core Rulebook 445).
• Pincers: Koup’ira’s upper arms end in a pair of pincers. Treat these pincers as natural weapons that deal 1d4 plus Strength modifier points of damage. These pincers cannot be used while a weapon or shield is being wielded on that side of the body.
• Scavenger: Koup’ira gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Perception checks to find hidden objects (including traps and secret doors), determine whether food is spoiled, or identify a potion by taste.
• Stability: Koup’ira’s multiple legs, while not strong enough above water to improve their carrying capacity, grant a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
• Languages: Koup’ira adventurers begin play speaking Common and Koup’irola. Koup’ira with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aquan, Dohrnira, Dwarven, Halfling, Squoran, and Zang.
  

Length and Weight
Gender     Base Length    Modifier    Base Weight  Modifier
Female     7’5”                  -2d12       500 lbs.         ×7
Male         7’6”                  -2d12       505 lbs.         ×7

Age Stats
Adulthood -- 60
Barbarian, Kineticist, Rogue, Spiritualist -8d4
Fighter, Occultist, Psychic, Ranger -6d4
Medium, Mesmerist, Monk -5d4
Middle Age -- 140
Old -- 250
Venerable -- 475
Maximum -- none, koup’ira do not die from old age


Sample Koup’ira Character

Ikawaka CR 1/2
Koup’ira Fighter 1 XP 200
Humanoid (koup’ira) LN
Init +5; Senses Perception +1
Defense
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+5 armor, +1 Dex, +2 shield, +2 natural)
hp 15 (1d10+5)
Fortitude +6, Reflex +1, Will +0
Offense
Speed 20 ft., 20 ft. swim
Melee trident +4 (1d8+3) or greatspear³ +4 (2d6+4/19-20) or pincers +4 (1d4+3)
Tactics
During Combat For most battles Ikawaka prefers to use his trident and shield, but when facing hordes of weaker enemies he will swap out the shield and trident for his greatspear, using his pincers only as a last resort.
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Attack +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Improved Initiative, Shield Focus
Skills Climb +4, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Perception +1, Swim +8
Languages Common, Dwarven, Koup’irola
Traits Armor Expert, Mercenary
SQ Partially Amphibious, Scavenger, Stability
Gear trident, greatspear, light shield (sea turtle shell), scaly armor, backpack, kelp rope (50 ft.)


1. Buoyancy is a mechanic developed by Alluria Publishing for their Cerulean Seas setting. It is used in place of weight and can be positive or negative, representing a tendency towards sinking or floating.
2. Another mechanic from Cerulean Seas, depth tolerance is how deep a race can typically go before suffering ill effects from the water pressure. A similar mechanic is also used for races that are native to the deep ocean like angler fish or goblin sharks.
3. A weapon used by various oceanic races, the greatspear is a reflavored greatsword that deals piercing damage rather than slashing damage.
Image was a commission done by the talented Russell Tuller on Deviant Art