Half-Rakshasa
by Wade Norton, Dragon #313
Infamous for their greed and avarice, rakshasas often seek their victories by altering their forms and seducing powerful leaders or popular heroes. During the course of the seduction, a rakshasa often attempts to bend or break such a figure's ethical foundations with insidious pillow talk and hidden manipulations. If it suits the rakshasa's plans, a scandalous pregnancy might result. The rakshasa rarely has interest in any offspring resulting from such a tryst, and the child is left in the hands of the now disgraced humanoid.
Half-rakshasa offspring are almost always reviled, both for the scandal associated with their births and for their inherent tendency toward evil and trickery. Half-rakshasas inherit the rakshasa love of an opulent lifestyle and surround themselves as best they can with fineries. They prefer to clothe themselves in the sheerest of silks and don the brightest gems.
A half-rakshasa tends toward evil, but since its non-rakshasa parent often raises it, virtues and morals can be instilled while the child is still young and its mind is malleable. Should the rakshasa parent see a future use for its half-blood offspring, rest assured it will try to corrupt the child.
Creating a Half-Rakshasa
"Half-rakshasa" is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature") of Small to Large size.
A half-rakshasa uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Speed: The base creature's land speed increases by 10 feet.
Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor bonus improves by +4.
Attacks: If the base creature lacked claw attacks, it gains two claw attacks. When not using weapons, the half-rakshasa may attack with both claws at its highest attack value and gaining its full Strength bonus to damage with each claw. When using a weapon, a half-rakshasa often uses a claw attack as a secondary natural attack.
Damage: The half-rakshasa's claw attack deals damage according to its size as shown below.
| Size | Claw Damage |
| Small | 1d3 |
| Medium | 1d4 |
| Large | 1d6 |
Special Attacks: A half-rakshasa has all the special attacks of the base creature and gains the following special attacks.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will - empathy; 3/day - disguise self. Caster level equal to racial HD or 1st-level caster if the base creature lacks racial HD. Save DC equal to 10 + spell level + Charisma modifier.
Special Qualities: A half-rakshasa has all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the following special quality.
Damage reduction (Su): A half-rakshasa has damage reduction 5/magic or piercing.
Abilities: Change from the base creature as follows: Dex +2, Con +2, Cha +2.
Organization: Same as the base creature or solitary.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.
Alignment: Often evil (any)
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +3.