Mazian Sparkers/Zappers

Mazian Sparker
Tiny Magical Beast Hit Dice: 2d10+2 (13 hp) Initiative: +7 Speed: 30ft (6 squares), climb 15 ft, swim 15 ft Armor Class: 17 (+2 size, +3 dex, +2 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-8 Attacks: Bite +2 melee (1d3-2) Full Attack: Bite +2 melee (1d3-2) Space/Reach: 2.5ft / 0 ft Special Attacks: stunning shock Special Qualities: darkvision 60 ft, electricity sense, immunity to electricity, low-light vision, domesticated, tinker's assistant Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1 Abilities: Str 6, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6 Skills: Climb +12, Hide +12, Jump +8, Listen +4, Spot +4, Swim +8 Feats: Improved Initiative

''This creature looks much like a shocker lizard in that it is the same shape, but there are several key differences. For one, it is significantly smaller than a typical shocker lizard, and most strikingly, it comes in a bright neon color with a patterned hide. Tt seems friendly, and clicks excitedly when it sees you, making your hair stand on end.''

Mazian sparkers are intensely domesticated offshoots of wild shocker lizards, and are to shocker lizards as dogs are to wolves. Centuries ago, as tinkers and technology were spreading across Mazio, several enterprising tinkers captured several colonies of shocker lizards, fascinated with their ability to generate electricity, and enlisted the help of animal trainers to train them for sale. A few expansions of the business later with more captures of shocker lizard colonies, and the tinkers began a long-term project, spectically breeding and selecting the shocker lizards for desirable traits. Two different schools of thought arose, and they divided their business in half and continued to operate in opposite directions.

The first school of thought wanted the shocker lizards to be smaller, more intelligent, and more pet-like, suitable for a household. They found the shocker lizards sold best to other tinkers, as little pets and companions to have around the workshop. After spreading across all of Mazio and a century of spending time in workshops later, the shocker lizard had been fully domesticated into a new species that breeds true, dubbed the 'Mazian Sparker'.

The Mazian sparkers are companions matching any other pet animal, and typically have excitable, gregarious, and affectionate personalities. However, sparkers have also diversified into many breeds in the manner of cats and dogs, and different breeds can have different personality types themselves. The more striking difference between breeds is coloration; sparkers are no longer usually the dark blue color of their shocker lizard ancestors, but come in an entire spectrum of bright neon colors (though breeds in the duller and darker colors do exist). Mazian sparkers, being smaller and bred to be more suitable as a pet, have far weaker electrical genrating abilities than their ancestors; it is impossible for them to administer a lethal shock, even with many sparkers in one place (though when grouped together, they do tend to excitedly fill the air with charged static electricity, and cause harmless little sparks low-power arcing in the vicinity). They also have much more control over their electricity generation, and it is impossible for them to accidentally administer a genuine shock to even someone to picks them up and handles them, unless provoked.

Stunning Shock (Su): Once per round, a Mazian sparker can deliver an electrical shock to an opponent in the same space as it, within a distance of several inches. This attack deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage to living opponents (Reflex DC 12 half). The save DC is constitution-based.

Electricity Sense (Ex): Mazian sparkers automatically detect any electrical discharges within 100 feet.

Domesticated: Mazian sparkers can be trained to do tricks with the Handle Animal skill as if they were animals.

Tinker's Assistant: Mazian Sparkers were originally bred and trained by tinkers, and have been pets of tinkers for many generations. They were selected for intelligence, and tinkers always kept them in their workshops where they worked on their machines. Having been around machines for so long, Mazian sparkers can learn a unique trick, 'Fix' (Handle Animal DC 20). When a tinker is creating or repairing any machine of Large size or bigger, the sparker can move about the machine, intuitively finding problem areas that need work, and making their signature clicking noise to attract the tinker to the area, directing their efforts. This has the effect of providing a +2 circumstance bonus on Craft (technological device) checks to build or repair any device of Large size or bigger. The second unique trick they can learn is a variant of 'Seek', 'Seek Spark' (Handle Animal DC 15). The sparker uses its electricity sense and homes in on any electrical sources or discharges it detects.

Skills: Mazian sparkers have a +2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks. Mazian sparkers use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks. A Mazian sparker has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened. A Mazian sparker has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can alwas choose to take 10 on a swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Mazian Zapper
Medium Magical Beast Hit Dice: 2d10+3 (15 hp) Initiative: +6 Speed: 50ft (10 squares), climb 25 ft, swim 25 ft Armor Class: 15 (+1 dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+4 Attacks: Bite +4 melee (1d6+2) Full Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d6+2) Space/Reach: 5ft / 5ft Special Attacks: single shock, combined shock Special Qualities: darkvision 60 ft, electricity sense, immunity to electricity, low-light vision, domesticated, shocking mount Saves: Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6 Skills: Climb +10, Hide +2, Jump +6, Listen +4, Spot +4, Swim +12 Feats: Improved Initiative

''The creature before you looks like a shocker lizard, but is much bigger. It has the same basic shape as a shocker lizard, but is colored some bright neon. The air around you is filled with a humming, making your hair stand on end, and you feel a harmless jolt as it makes a clicking sound, though it doesn't seem hostile at the moment. Though, depending on what the rider on its back has to say...''

Mazian zappers are the second branch of the project in Mazio to domestiate shocker lizards. Where the first school of thought wanted a smaller, more pet-suitable electric lizard, the second school of thought wanted to make them bigger, more powerful, even suitable as a full mount for the smaller races.

After generations of breeding, it was a success, and a new subspecies of shocker lizard emerged. Like the Mazian sparker, the Mazian zapper has diversified into many breeds mostly differing on coloration, of which they come in many bright colors (and a few darker ones), and the zappers were bred to be domestic and easily trainable, and have better control over their shocking ability. That is where the similarities end, however.

Mazian zappers are larger than a normal shocker lizard (though some rare wild shocker lizards can grow to impressive sizes themselves), and their ability to shock is correspondingly more powerful. However, with this increased power also comes increased control; the shocker lizards that would become zappers were specifically selectively bred for those that had the greatest control over their shocking. This has the dual effect of allowing someone to ride on a zapper and be completely unharmed as they use their power, and also that a zapper can choose whether the electricity they generate is merely incapacitating, or deadly.

Mazian zappers are now very common all over Mazio, and are most extensively used by the military (though they still require an exostic saddle to ride). Almost all halfling or gnome cavalry divisions in the Mazian military, and even the odd goblin division, use Mazian sparkers exclusively over any other mount despite not being as hardy or tough, and having a reduced load capacity, as other options. Their shocking ability is considered invaluable as impromptu artillery on the battlefield, as well as the military and also mercenary bounty hunters prizing them for their reliable assistance in capturing someone alive.

Carrying Capacity: A light load for a Mazian zapper is 58 pounds; a medium load, 59-116 pounds; and a heavy load, 117-175 pounds. A Mazian zapper can drag 875 pounds.

Single Shock (Su): Once per round, a Mazian zapper can deliver an electrical shock to a single opponent within 5 feet. The zapper can choose (or be commanded, see below) whether or not the attack deals nonlethal or lethal electrical damage. Either way, this attack deals 4d6 points of damage to living opponents (Reflex DC 13 half). The save DC is constitution-based.

Combined Shock (Su): Whenever two or more Mazian zappers are within 30 feet of each other, they can work together to create a combined arc of electricity greater than any one alone can. This effect has a radius of 30 feet, centered on any one contributing zapper. The zappers have such control over their shock that they can choose (or be commanded, see below) whether or not the attack deals nonlethal or lethal electrical damage, however, in the event that not all the zappers match, a single lethal contributor makes the entire attack lethal. Either way, the shock deals 4d6 points of damage for every zapper contributing to it, to a maximum of 24d6. A Reflex save (DC 10 + the number of zappers contributing)

Electricity Sense (Ex): Mazian zappers automatically detect any electrical discharges within 300 feet.

Domesticated: Mazian zappers can be trained to do tricks with the Handle Animal skill as if they were animals.

Shocking Mount: With the exceptionally refined control Mazian zappers have over the electrical aura they constantly generate, even when actively firing a bolt of electricity, they leave their riders unharmed as the electricity passes harmlessly over rather than through them. In fact, a rider of a Mazian sparker gains the benefit of immunity to electricity as they are sheathed in a conductive aura that redirects all incoming electricity harmlessly over them. In addition, Mazian zappers are almost always trained to shock on command with a new Trick, 'Zap live/dead' (Handle Animal DC 20 to teach). With a point and the words, a rider can direct the zapper to use its Single Shock on a single designated target, as well as choosing whether or not the shock is lethal or nonlethal. In addition, if two or more zappers close together are given the command to shock the same target at the same time, they will automatically initiate a Combined Shock. The second unique trick they can learn is a variant of 'Seek', 'Seek Spark' (Handle Animal DC 15). The sparker uses its electricity sense and homes in on any electrical sources or discharges it detects.

Skills: Mazian sparkers have a +2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks. Mazian sparkers use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks. A Mazian sparker has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened. A Mazian sparker has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can alwas choose to take 10 on a swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.