Half-Satyr
by Wade Norton, Dragon #313
Known for tracking the beautiful women who pass through their woods and seducing them with their pipes and song, satyrs deserve their lascivious reputation. Often, these trysts result in the conception of a half-fey son. These children, sometimes seen as boons to their community, other times as devil-spawn and abandoned, share some of their father's fey-traits with their mother's more humanoid characteristics. They often appear as ruddy, rugged individuals with curly red or black hair and protruding foreheads. Their toes are often fused together, giving a hoof-like appearance, and at least half of them have small rudimentary horns just visible under their thick hair.
Elven and human communities living in or near heavily forested areas most often host half-satyrs, although half-satyrs born to dwarven clans or even orc tribes are not unheard of. The half-satyr's inherent affinity for music and rhythm often grant them special places in these societies, be it in the local bar with a set of pipes or a lute, or in the front lines of mongrel hordes with leather war-drums. Their hardy natures and resiliency insures some degree of success regardless of what profession they choose. Women that meet half-satyrs are often attracted to the air of bravura and daring they carry about themselves. This same charismatic aura propels many half-satyrs into positions of leadership within their communities, although their often reckless natures can just as easily make them shunned outcasts.
Creating a Half-Satyr
"Half-satyr" is an inherited template that can be added to any giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature") of Small to Large size.
A half-satyr uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor bonus improves by +2.
Attack: A half-satyr has a head butt attack. A half-satyr fighting with a weapon or natural attack usually attacks with its weapon or natural attack.
Full Attack: A half-satyr fighting with weapons or natural attacks usually attacks with its head butt as a secondary attack.
Damage: A half-satyr has a head butt attack. This attack deals bludgeoning damage according to the half-satyr's size.
| Size | Head Butt Damage |
| Small | 1d3 |
| Medium | 1d4 |
| Large | 1d6 |
Special Qualities: A half-satyr has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities.
Fey Bloodline (Ex): Half-satyrs are considered fey creatures when enchantment magic is directed against them. For example, the charm person spell does not affect a half-satyr creature, but charm monster affects them normally. Half-satyrs can also activate magical items restricted to fey creatures.
Low-Light Vision (Ex): A half-satyr can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. The half-satyr retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Skills: Half-satyrs have a +2 racial bonus to Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Perform (any one performance type), and Spot.
Environment: Same as the base creature or temperate forests.
Organization: Same as the base creature or solitary.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature.
Alignment: Often chaotic (any).
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +1.