Tso

Medium-Size Aberration
Hit Dice:	7d8+7 (39 hp)
Initiative:	+2 (Dex)
Speed:	30 ft., climb 10 ft.
Armor Class:	19 (+2 Dex, +7 natural armor)
Base Attack/Grapple:	0
Attack:	0
Full Attack:	2 claws +5 melee, 1 bite +0 melee; greatsword +1 melee
Space/Reach:	5ft. by 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks:	Poison, enslave the will, spells
Special Qualities:	Spell cooperation, darkvision
Saves:	Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities:	Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 13
Skills:	Concentration +7, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +9, Bluff +7, Innuendo (+5)*, Spellcraft +8, Climb +10*Tso, due to their ranks in Bluff, receive a +2 to their Innuendo skill when using it to transmit messages.
Feats:	Multiweapon Fighting, Multidexterity, Spell Penetration
Environment:	Any land or underground; Outlands, any lawful plane
Organization:	Brood (2-5), Nest (5-20), or Troupe (20-40)**
Challenge Rating:	5
Treasure:	Standard (double coins)
Alignment:	Lawful Evil
Advancement:	By character class
Level Adjustment:	0

The Tso are a vile race of interplanar slavers, traders, smugglers and cheats who plague the lower-planar areas of the Outlands, as well as the rougher lawful areas of the Great Wheel. The tso busy themselves conducting multiple forms of commerce in just about any shady or illegal product or service known on the planes. Their goods and services arrange from slavery to procurement of illegal services such as theft and murder. All that matters to the tso is the bottom line, as they spend their entire lives in the pursuit of profit. The Tso are repulsive in appearance by humanoid standards. They are somewhat centauroid in form, with the lower body of a giant spider with segmented legs, and a large, ponderous abdomen. Their lower bodies are armored in black chitin, which protects them from the strongest blows of many warriors. A tso has the neck and head that resembles those of a giant eel, with dry, leathery skin, and mouthful of sharp and needle-like teeth that drip venom. They stand upon two spider-like legs, and utilize four arms with clawed hands for most tasks. The Tso are a very social race. From cradle to grave, they enjoy working together, using the efforts of the group as a whole to maximize profit and minimize risks. At all times, they surround themselves with slaves, and a group of tso will often be accompanied by three times as many slaves as tso. The Tso travel the planes in bizarre vessels shaped similarly to giant, mechanical spiders. These ships, known as aracheas, or arachantine, remain a mystery to most planewalkers, as one has never been attacked and captured successfully. This is largely due to the ability of these crafts to shift between planes, seemingly at will. CombatThe tso can be very dangerous in combat, if they feel like they have no options left. However, by and large, they prefer to let slaves fight their battles for them and prefer this option when available. Even when using slaves to fight for it, the tso will try to avoid getting them killed. Letting valuable property be destroyed will just cost money. At the same time, combat is very often a common way in which tso gain new property. If a tso feels itself in a position where it has no choice but to defend itself, it can become very dangerous, as it has formidable abilities in combat.Poison(Ex): Tso possess a vile bite attack, which can inject a dangerous toxin capable of harming even the most hardy of adventurers. Initial Dmg 1d6 Con, secondary Dmg Paralysis 2d6 mins. Tso poison is resisted by a Fortitude save (DC 14)Enslave the Will (Su): This ability enslaves the victim for 7 weeks by touch. This ability is resisted by a Will save (DC 16). This ability is somewhat similar to the thrall psionic power. The victim sees themselves as the property of the tso that enslaved them, and will obey all commands excepting those resulting in the victim inflicting harm on themselves. If commanded to perform an action against their nature, the victim receives another saving throw. If failed, they perform the action, but if it successful, they refuse the action but remain enslaved to the tso.Spells (Su): All tso have the abilities of sorcerers. Most of them have four levels as sorcerers, though rare tso range as far as 10th level (save DC 11 + spell level).Spell Cooperation (Su): The tso, being communal creatures, have developed the dangerous ability to cast spells through cooperating with each other. When spellcasting as a group, tso act as a spellcaster of level equal to that of the highest level member present, plus one level for every extra caster. In a group like this, tso can only have their lead member casting spells. Increased levels lead to increased spell effects, and higher numbers of spells, as well as, possibly, access to higher level spells than any tso in the group could ordinarily cast on their own. When cooperating, tso must remain within 20 feet of each other.Darkvision (Ex): Tso have darkvision to 60 feet.Habitat/SocietyEach tso ship or group is led by the oldest and most powerful Tso there. They have a ranking system which examines personal power, as measured by sorcerous might, wealth, slaves, and other factors to provide a pecking order, from the highest tso in a group, to the lowest. Each brood is an entity unto itself, providing a combined business and family in which tso remain. The creatures actually hate and fear being separated from their peers for prolonged periods of time.Tso will use any means possible to increase their wealth, utilizing business savvy, a devotion to creating incredibly binding legal contracts, and ruthless business sense to corner markets, and take advantage of any situation where they can turn a profit. In business, tso have no morals, and will partake in the trade of anything to which a price is attached.0EcologyThe tso methods of reproduction are as gruesome as their appearances might seem. When a brood decides to reproduce, one of the older members is selected, and the rest of the brood paralyzes that member, who is then implanted with eggs. The brood-mother undergoes massive chemical changes which result in a great increase in size, and becomes unable to move. Within a period of 8 to 10 weeks, between 3 and 6 young will typically be born, eating their way out of the body of the brood-mother, who dies in horrible agony. Tso are born possessing full adult faculties, being simply smaller versions of their full-grown peers. The brood collectively raises the new brood, who grow to adulthood within one year, and are initiated into the brood, having to gradually raise themselves from the lowest positions in the brood to wherever their abilities and intelligence can take them. If a brood eventually grows too large, it will split, some members leaving the arachea to form a new brood and create their own brood ship.