Ambassador Lyran Representative of the Great Mother in Llaza. Lyran is a 30 year old salsham'ai, about 2 1/2 feet tall, with light brown skin and slightly darker hair and eyes. She tends to wear more grand versions of traditional costume; heavily embroidered tunics and exquisitely dyed fur-lined ponchos, reflecting her status. This outfit is often decorated with amber and precious stones. She also has the disconcerting habit of riding her personal matoo directly into meetings with humans and other larger species to counteract the height disadvantage. Bomboo is a very well-behaved and polite matoo, content to sit and chew on a sugar-root without making mess or noise. A few secret signals from Lyran, however, and he can fidget and murmur to himself which will usually disconcert the most implacable negotiator. Lyran is a close relative of the Great Mother and served as her personal clerk for several years before being sent to work for the previous Ambassador in Llaza. She has been in the post for the last five years. She is intelligent, witty, broad minded and patient - well-suited to dealing with the often exasperating machinations of the Merchants League. She has many friends and contacts throughout the city and is generally well-liked and respected. Even her enemies acknowledge that she is honourable and fair. She is also a regular visitor to the Viceroy's private Dragon Scales game, which is usually held once a month. This is nominally a social occasion but a lot of wheeling and dealing goes on. Her office and apartments are in a stilt house in Little Thalsa and while it is still a bit cramped for human visitors it is designed on a larger size than most salsham'ai accommodation as a concession to the many non-salsham'ai visitors she receives. She has a small honour guard from the salsham'ai military and several clerks and servants. Her primary duty is to represent the Motherhood and protect salsham'ai trading interests, however the strong Salsham'ai sense of family responsibility extends to the salsham'ai community in Llaza, even though most are officially citizens of the city. She therefore often represents the Little Thalsa community on civic occasions and will strive to help all salsham'ai in Llaza whether residents or visitors. Ambassador Lyran Female salsham’ai Ari7: CR 3; Small Humanoid; AL NG Abilities Str 6 (-2), Dex 14 (+2), Con 10 (+0), Int 14 (+2), Wis 15 (+2), Cha 16 (+3) Initiative +2; Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft. Armour Class 15 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +2 ring of protection) touch 15, flat-footed 13 Saves Fortitude +2, Reflex +4, Will +7 Hit Dice 7d8; hit points 31 Base Attack Bonus/Grapple +5/+1 Melee Unarmed +3 (1d2 nonlethal) Special Attacks None Special Qualities Arboreal, camouflage, prehensile feet Skills: Climb +10, Diplomacy +18, Gather Information +10, Handle Animal +10, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (gaming) +6, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nature) +4, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (trade) +9, Ride +8, Sense Motive +11 Feats: Animal Affinity, Negotiator, Skill Focus (diplomacy) Languages: High Imperial, Low Imperial, Themnassic, Tlaxan Possessions: Pas Aat Crystal* containing eagle's splendour (Caster level 8th), Ring of Protection +2 *A Pas Aat crystal contains a single use of a spell that can be accessed by anyone who holds the crystal and spends a standard action concentrating on it. Arboreal: Salsham'ai have a climb speed of 10 feet per round. They can always count the Climb skill as a class skill. They gain a +8 racial bonus in all Climb checks. They must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC or more than 0, but may always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened whilst climbing. If they choose an accelerated climb, they move at normal ground speed (20 feet per round) and make a single Climb check at -5 penalty. Salsham'ai cannot use the run action whilst climbing. Camouflage: Salsham'ai have an almost instinctive colour-change ability. This is subtle, and works best in their natural habitat. A salsham'ai gains a +4 racial bonus to Hide if in woodlands, or +2 if in surroundings with woodland tones (such as next to a log cabin). This colour change only affects their skin tone, not their clothing so if the salsham'ai is wearing something brightly coloured, she does not get this bonus. Prehensile Feet: Salsham’ai are able to grasp and manipulate objects with their feet almost as well as their hands. This enables them to attack and perform skills requiring manual dexterity (such as Sleight or Disable Device) using their feet. Their grip is not perfect, however, and any check made whilst using feet as the primary manipulating appendage takes a -4 penalty. Further, the character needs to use his hands to steady himself (such as by hanging from a branch, for example) whilst using feet to manipulate anything. At the Gamesmaster’s discretion, a salsham’ai may also get a +2 racial bonus to checks to prevent a fall (see under Climb skill) and related actions such as a Reflex save to avoid a pit trap. Skills:salsham'ai have a +2 racial bonus to Craft, Diplomacy and Knowledge (nature) checks (included above). Bomboo Male advanced matoo: CR 3; Medium Animal; AL N Abilities Str 20 (+5), Dex 15 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 2 (-4), Wis 13 (+1), Cha 7 (-2) Initiative +2; Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. Armour Class 15 (+2 Dex, +3 natural) touch 12, flat-footed 13 Saves Fortitude +7, Reflex +7, Will +5 Hit Dice 6d8+12; hit points 39 Base Attack Bonus/Grapple +4/+9 Melee Slam +9 (1d6+5) Full Attack 2 slams +9 (1d6+5) Special Attacks None Special Qualties Low-light vision, scent Skills: Climb +15, Listen +6, Spot +6 Feats: Alertness, Fast Climbing, Iron Will Tricks: Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, Perform, Stay (c) 2006 The Creative Conclave. Contact us.

Links The City of Llaza Imperial Culture (dragon scales) Matoo Merchants League Salsham'ai Viceroy Bevorin Daas