These heavily-armored, arboreal creatures are among the very few mammalian creatures to have achieved sentience in this world. Pangolins are an ancient and proud race, once famed for their careful cultivation and husbandry of the ant farms which fed them, and for their elaborate and fanciful dances. Modern pangolins, however, are intensely xenophobic and feared throughout the world for their tendency towards violent extremism.

Physical Description: Pangolins are large, scaled, bipedal mammals. Pangolins are insectivorous. The bulk of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae. Some have even been known to attack and eat intelligent insects (such as Monarus or Tardigrades).

Pangolins are armored with large, brown to reddish-brown scales formed from keratin. Curiously, it also has eyelashes. They are squat and low to the ground, with a long snout, a long, thick tail, and large front claws. Pangolins walk upright as bipeds, with most of their weight is on their columnar rear legs, and their front paws curled to protect their claws. Their tails are semi-prehensile, and are used to aid in balance when walking, and to assist in climbing. An average Pangolin is a little over four feet in height and weighs around 70 pounds, with the males being slightly larger than the females.

Pangolins have a strong sense of smell and large anal glands, the secretions of which are significant to their comminication. The young will often spew a yellow secretion from their anal glands (that is often said to smell of decay and cabbage) that is used to keep predators from taking advantage of their mothers. Adult Pangolins can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from glands near the anus, similar to the spray of a skunk.

The most marked feature of Pangolins is their large, hardened, overlapping plate-like scales. The scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins but harden as the animal matures, are made of keratin. The pangolin’s scaled body is comparable to a pine cone or globe artichoke. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armour and its face tucked under its tail. The scales are sharp, providing extra defense.

The tongues of Pangolins are extremely elongated and extend into the abdominal cavity, past their pharynx deep into the thorax. This extension lies between the sternum and the trachea. Adult pangolins can extend their tongues as much as 16 inches.

Society & Relations: Pangolins once had a large empire, controlling much of the southern lands, including the ancient city of Karna. They were the first race to recognize the sentience of the Drowned and make use of their services, and are said to have once been allied with the Dragons as well. After the predations of The Mist, however, the Pangolins became increasingly isolationist and xenophobic, turning on their allies and oppressing or killing their neighbors. They were finally driven from Karna and the surrounding lands in the 2200’s by an alliance of the Catamarok Empire and the Drowned.

Today, the Pangolins are mostly limited to the island nation of Pangola. The majority of Pangolins desire only to be left alone. However, a highly visible minority of Pangolins believe that all the lands of the south are rightfully theirs. In the 2260’s, these militant Pangolins, led by Ayatollah Manis, took the city of Keshyyk, from which they have launched an ongoing insurgent war against the Empire, using improvised explosives and guerrilla tactics. Since the death of Manis in 2281, the Pangolin insurgency has split into at least four independent splinter groups (that are known of), all with the basic goal of destabilizing the Catamarok Empire and reclaiming those lands for Pangola.

The Pangolins are inherently distrustful of all other races, and the feelings are mutual. The wanton violence of the insurgents is a black spot on the reputation of the race as a whole, and has lead to retributive violence and persecution against even the most peace-loving of pangolins.

Alignment and Religion: Pangolins claim to have been created by a being known as the Willow, whom they view as an extension of the world. They practice a strict form of Druidism and are largely intolerant of other religions (often violently so).


  • Male:
  • Female:

Racial Traits [30 Points]

  • Abilities (2 RP): +4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma. Pangolins are stocky and powerfully built, but are slow to react and have few interactions with other races.
  • Type: Monstrous Humanoid (3 RP): Monstrous humanoids are similar to humanoids, but have monstrous or animalistic features. They often have magical abilities as well. A monstrous humanoid race has the following features.
    • Monstrous humanoids have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
    • Monstrous humanoids breathe, eat, and sleep.
  • Medium (0 RP): Pangolins have no bonuses or penalties due to their size. A Medium creature has a space of 5 feet by 5 feet and a reach of 5 feet.
  • Slow and Steady (–1 RP): Pangolins have a base speed of 20 feet. A Pangolin’s speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
  • Climb (2 RP): Pangolins have a Climb speed of 20 feet and gain a +8 racial bonus on climb checks.
  • Scent (4 RP): Pangolins gain the Scent ability. This special quality allows a creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.
  • Natural Armor (8 RP): A Pangolin’s tough, scaly hide grants it a +4 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.
  • Powerful Claws (4 RP): Pangolins are able to make two attacks per round with their large powerful claws. Each attack deals 1d6 points of damage.
  • Stench (4 RP): Pangolins can secrete a terrible-smelling substance from their anal glands, that nearly every other creature finds offensive. All living creatures within a 15-foot radius (except other Pangolins) must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the user’s character level + the user’s Constitution modifier) or be sickened for 5 rounds. Creatures that succeed at the saving throw cannot be sickened by the same pangolin’s stench aura for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell or similar effect removes the effect from the sickened creature. This is a poison effect.
  • Morris Dancing (3 RP): Pangolins practice a strange form of dance involving leaping around with bells attached to their clothing and clacking sticks, and learn it from a very young age. Pangolins gain a +2 racial bonus on Perform (dance) skill checks. In addition, all Pangolins are automatically proficient with the Club and Quarterstaff, and are treated as having the Two-weapon Fighting proficiency when using one of those weapons.
  • Insectivore (1 RP): Insects and insectoid creatures are the natural food of Pangolins. Pangolins gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against Vermin, and against humanoids with the Insectoid subtype.
  • Xenophobic (0 RP): Pangolins start knowing the Pangolin language only. Pangolins with high intelligence scores may select their bonus languages from: Common, Draconic, Cat-folk, or Mangrove.

Random Starting Ages:

Adulthood Intuitive Self-Taught Trained
2 +1d4 years +1d6 years +2d4 years

Random Height and Weight:

Gender Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
Male 4 ft. 0 in. +2d6 in. 58 lbs. +2d6 x2 lbs
4 ft. 2 in. — 5 ft. 0 in. 62 – 82 lbs
Female 3 ft. 6 in. +2d6 in. 50 lbs. +2d6 x2 lbs
(3 ft. 8 in. – 4 ft. 6 in.) 54 – 74 lbs.

Aging Effects:

Race Middle Age Old Venerable Maximum Age
Pangolin 20 years 30 years 40 years 40 + 2d10 years


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