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Boojum's Shattered Skies campaign (background and plans so far--story coming soon)
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<blockquote data-quote="Boojum" data-source="post: 1822369" data-attributes="member: 21028"><p><strong>Brief Race Write-ups</strong></p><p></p><p>Thanks for the kind words, Ledded. I'm very glad you're enjoying it and hope you continue to do so.</p><p></p><p>I'm still working on the summary, but in the meantime, I realized that I didn't have a specific listing of the races in the game in this thread. The version of the primer that I gave to my players had about 15 pages of game rule information that I cut out when I posted it here to avoid bogging down in crunchy bits, but that also meant that I excised the racial descriptions, which might make the characters a bit easier to visualize. Therefore, I'm putting the short descriptions of each race in this post, but cutting out the game stats.</p><p></p><p>Con Beo: The Con Beo, or children of the bear, are a tribe of orcs that redeemed themselves by their valor in the Dragonwar. They were taken in by the father of the gods, who removed the taint from their blood and led them far away to a secluded homeland. They have strong animistic beliefs, but are also very loyal to the all-father, who they visualize as a giant bear. In appearance, they combine the size and ruggedness of orcs with some of the smoothness and pleasant appearance of elves. When the taint was removed from the Con Beo, they were stabilized as their own race, and their children are their own, neither orcs nor elves. Recently, however, this changed with the birth of an elf to the Con Beo. Named Ky My, she earned the position of chieftain within the tribe and married a manifestation of the great bear, bearing twins. What all of this means for the Con Beo is unknown, although outside scholars scoff at the idea that one of the gods could come to them, since they are known to be imprisoned. Many Con Beo shun the use of weapons and armor, preferring to emulate the bear. Their skins are often covered with elaborate tattoos and runes.</p><p></p><p>Zokh-Dre (Dwarf): The race of dwarves was created from the blood of the all-father by the goddess of prophecy, who sacrificed herself to do so, as a last-ditch effort to fight off hordes of demons during the Godswar. Because of this, all dwarves have blood-red skin, and the race possesses the gift of prophecy and a hatred of infernal creatures. They refer to themselves as Zokh-Dre, which means “bloodborn” in their tongue, and members of other races would be well-advised to use this term, or at least simply “bloodborn” rather than “dwarf”, if they don’t want to cause offense. Dwarven society is organized around holdfasts—underground citadels built to guard prisonstones, where great heroes of the Godswar are locked in eternal combat with demon princes and archdevils to prevent them ever again escaping. Alone of the major races, Dwarven society adheres to the worship of the old gods, despite the fact that they no longer answer prayers and are imprisoned inside the center of the world. </p><p></p><p>Sha (Elf): The elves were the first race created by the gods. When they were created, each of the five severed fingers of the all-father was taken up by one of the gods and formed into an individual to that god’s taste. The elves were afraid to fight in the Godswar, sending only a small contingent of troops, and for this cowardice the all-father cursed them, so that their children would be hideous and aggressive monsters. 9 out of 10 elven pregnancies result in the birth of an orc, with the remainder split evenly among the 5 bloodlines. Ritual infanticide is common among elven communities. The bloodlines of the five progenitors remain distinct, and the bloodline of a newborn child appears to be random, often not matching that of either of their parents. </p><p>Sha’ayuge (might elf, spirit-heir of Garodan): Sha’ayuge are physically the largest of the elves, averaging nearly 7 feet tall with a fairly robust build. They tend to be jovial and well-liked, but lack subtlety, tending toward the simplest method of dealing with any problem. </p><p>Sha’nukayli (blade elf, spirit-heir of Kuvasha): Although they are the smallest of the elves, averaging just over four feet and slightly built, few people underestimate a blade elf more than once. They tend to have very intense, somewhat paranoid personalities, always eagerly watching their surroundings for potential foes. They often go through life alone, since they make few friends, and their enemies usually don’t live long. </p><p>Sha’quaftha (counsel elf, spirit-heir of Wamura). Sha’quaftha average around 4 ¾ feet tall, with a sturdier build than sha’nukayli. They usually have calm, relaxed personalities, wanting to look at all sides of an issue before making a decision, and generally acting as a peacekeeper when conflict starts to arise. </p><p>Sha’raman (maker elf, spirit-heir of Maliara). Sha’raman tend to be about 5 ½ feet tall. They tend to have studious, intent personalities, focused on accomplishing the task at hand in the most efficient manner possible. </p><p>Sha’vashirri (song elf, spirit-heir of Argentrell). Sha’vashirri are typically about 5 ½ feet tall, with relatively slender builds and classically beautiful features. They are usually out to enjoy life to the fullest, and tend to have somewhat flighty personalities.</p><p></p><p>Entropon: An entropon is a being that has had a close brush with the pure chaos and entropic force of the Devourer, and somehow survived, albeit forever infused with that energy. Some entropons were warped while on the surface, escaping from the Devourer’s minions at the last possible moment before death, while others were deliberately exposed to the energy by cults such as the Children of Oblivion. A few mad souls even expose themselves to it deliberately for the power they believe it grants them. Regardless of their origin, they are shunned in most societies, especially since the “taint” always breeds true. </p><p>Change is the only constant for an entropon. Their bodies and minds are forever warped by the power of chaos and are forever dissolving and reforming themselves into new patterns. An entropon retains the size and general appearance of whatever race he originally belonged to, but all other racial traits are lost. The height, weight, voice, and one distinctive facial feature remain stable, allowing others to recognize an individual, but all other aspects of appearance are constantly flickering among all the possibilities for an individual of the character’s original race, clearly marking him as an entropon.</p><p></p><p>Feytouched: Believed to derive from crossbreeding between humans and a variety of fey creatures, such as dryads, nymphs, pixies, and satyrs, the feytouched have emerged relatively recently as a stable race in their own right. They appear much like humans, but with somewhat lighter, more angular features, and with traces of their ancestry visible, depending on the individual. A feytouched descended from a satyr might have hooves, horns, or furry legs while one descended from a pixie could have vestigial wings. Their personalities vary nearly as widely as those of humans do, though they are colored by their closer connection with nature, additional patience resulting both from their longer lifespan and from their understanding of the long time scale of the natural world, and the predilections of the type of fey they are descended from. For the most part, the feytouched live peacefully in small villages in wilderness areas, sometimes trading with travelers or nearby settlements of other races, but they have also produced some great adventurers, as well as a number of fanatical crusaders against the excesses of civilization and technology when they encroach too much on nature. Note that although several types of fey are exclusively of one sex, the same is not true of feytouched, and all of the subtypes are found in both sexes. Feytouched tend toward Chaotic Good alignment, but all alignments are found among them. The following traits are common to all feytouched, with additional abilities dependent on the type of fey that the individual most closely resembles.</p><p>Dryadtouched: Dryadtouched tend to have thin, elfin features. Their skin and hair sometimes bear a slight visual resemblance to the bark and leaves of a tree. They usually have very patient personalities, but can be roused to great wrath when large sections of woodlands are destroyed.</p><p>Nymphtouched: Nymphtouched inherit an echo of the unearthly beauty of their ancestors. They often have gentle, playful personalities, but their moods can change suddenly and unpredictably.</p><p>Pixietouched: The smallest of the feytouched, pixietouched often have thin, elfin features and mischievous personalities.</p><p>Satyrtouched: Satyrtouched often have horns, hooves, or fur showing their descent. They usually love wine and music, wanting simply to enjoy life, but have also been forced to learn to protect themselves and their people.</p><p></p><p>Gnome: In the days before the Sundering, the gnomes had built a great civilization with steam-powered marvels improving all aspects of their lives. When the Devourer, the embodiment of entropy, was formed, it was drawn first to the greatest concentrations of order and technology, the gnomish cities. The vast majority of gnomes perished in the first few weeks, with only the few that were away from the cities spared. After the Sundering, these survivors were too few and too scattered to replenish their race, and they slowly lapsed into extinction.</p><p></p><p>Half-elf: Half-elves are relatively similar to those on other worlds, with the only differences being that they can result from either human-elf or human-orc pairings, with either one having about a 10% chance of producing a half-elf, and that they possess some minor knacks related to one of the elven bloodlines. As well as most of the standard abilities described in the Player’s Handbook, half-elves in Shattered Skies have the following additional ability.</p><p></p><p>Half-orc: Half-orcs are mechanically the same as those on other worlds. The only difference to note is that they can arise from either human-elf or human-orc pairings, with either one having a 90% chance to produce a half-orc.</p><p></p><p>Halfling: Most halflings live in fairly small, self-sufficient nomadic bands, either following herds of animals or driving their own herds. More than any of the other races, halflings live in and among animals of all sorts, depending on them for most of the necessities of life, and this has given them an easy rapport with creatures of all sorts. Combined with their small stature, which allows the easy use of a wide variety of mounts, this has led to them developing a reputation as the best breeders of animals, as well as fearsome light cavalry. Although most tribes are peaceful, the sight of a band of halflings swooping in on large birds, bats, or merely unnaturally fast horses for deadly hit-and-run raids is justly dreaded. Halfling society is built around the clan, and halflings are slow to trust outsiders, but loyal to the death to those who they have accepted as their clanmates. Halflings tend to have lean, weathered features, and both sexes wear their hair in elaborately braided topknots, the patterns of which serve as clan identification marks.</p><p></p><p>Halfling, Feral: Although significant populations of all the major races were left behind on the surface at the time of the Sundering, and isolated groups of each of them has managed to eke out a bare-existence living by avoiding the notice of the Devourer, only the halflings truly adapted themselves and their way of life to thrive in the harsh environment. Forced to abandon all products of order or technology, including all but the simplest tools and weapons, the isolated halflings relied on their talent for animal husbandry for food, and turned inward to their minds for defense, awakening their latent psionic abilities as a way to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity. In recent times, some of these feral halflings have been “rescued” by airship expeditions to the surface, and brought into the skies, where they struggled to adapt to a very different way of life. Some of these few have taught their mental powers to members of other races, and they have begun to spread through the rest of society. Feral halflings dress in barely worked skins and let their hair grow wild. They speak a rough dialect of the halfling language.</p><p></p><p>Human: The most widespread and adaptable of races, humans range widely in traits, outlook, and skills. Despite being a relatively young race, they have produced some of the greatest heroes and most dastardly villains of the world. They have all the normal racial traits described in the Player’s Handbook.</p><p></p><p>Kobold: Approximately 800 years before the Sundering, a large confederation of kobold tribes was afflicted by a horrific disease known as scale rot, which threatened to wipe them out. In desperation, their chieftain turned to a nearby human kingdom for medical aid. The humans agreed, but only on the condition that the kobolds agree to serve them. The chieftain, with no other option, agreed to the terms, selling his people into slavery to save their lives. Since then, kobolds have spread rapidly and become all but ubiquitous throughout human society. A few lands have abolished the practice of slavery, but most still practice it, and everywhere kobolds occupy the bottom rung of society, performing all the tasks that are beneath the other races. Although there are some kobolds that agitate for a mass uprising to “throw off the yoke of tyranny”, most are fairly content with their station. They are safer, better housed, and better fed in most lands than they were in their tribal days, and although they do not occupy public positions of leadership, some kobolds can wield quite a bit of behind-the-scenes influence. Enslaved kobolds are generally a bit less scrawny and paranoid than their wild cousins, and their scale color varies from dark green to tan, with rare albino kobolds considered touched by the spirits and accorded great respect.</p><p></p><p>Myrmidus: When Abaddon was released from his imprisonment, he knew that he would need mortal servitors in addition to the demons that served him. He disappeared into the dark places of the earth and out of mortal thought for millennia, biding his time while slowly consolidating his position, building his power, and subtly spreading chaos and destruction through his agents. During this time, one of his greatest accomplishments was the creation of the myrmida from a race of peaceful ant-like people dwelling in a cavern system and barely approaching sentience. When he was done with them, they had been physically and mentally advanced, split into several specialized subraces, and given a telepathic hive-mind, but had also been given a taste for blood and a hatred of other living things. Although the vast majority of myrmida are implacable foes of all other races, a few have broken free from the control of the hive mind and rejected the teachings of Abaddon. These rare rebels face a difficult existence, as they are feared, distrusted, and sometimes attacked on sight in most lands, and are hunted by their own people as aberrations. Nearly all of these rogues are of the soldier subrace, as they have been given enough intelligence to function reasonably effective on their own without being utterly steeped in unholy energies as those of higher subraces are. A typical myrmidus is about 5 feet tall, standing on four of its six limbs while using the other two as hands. They appear as large insects in nearly all aspects of their body, and their coloration is black with occasional tinges of red. It is almost impossible for members of other races to tell individual myrmida apart by sight. They have are unable to use their speech organs for languages other than their own, which consists of clicks and whistles, but can communicate telepathically when desired (which is often very unnerving for those meeting them for the first time).</p><p></p><p>In addition to these, the three races from <u>Steam-trains & Sorcery</u> are allowed as standard options. These are: automaton (steam-powered construct), neo-colobus monkey (monkeys given basic sentience through breeding, surgery, and drugs), and scrapling (beings stitched together from dead body parts and given life).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Boojum, post: 1822369, member: 21028"] [b]Brief Race Write-ups[/b] Thanks for the kind words, Ledded. I'm very glad you're enjoying it and hope you continue to do so. I'm still working on the summary, but in the meantime, I realized that I didn't have a specific listing of the races in the game in this thread. The version of the primer that I gave to my players had about 15 pages of game rule information that I cut out when I posted it here to avoid bogging down in crunchy bits, but that also meant that I excised the racial descriptions, which might make the characters a bit easier to visualize. Therefore, I'm putting the short descriptions of each race in this post, but cutting out the game stats. Con Beo: The Con Beo, or children of the bear, are a tribe of orcs that redeemed themselves by their valor in the Dragonwar. They were taken in by the father of the gods, who removed the taint from their blood and led them far away to a secluded homeland. They have strong animistic beliefs, but are also very loyal to the all-father, who they visualize as a giant bear. In appearance, they combine the size and ruggedness of orcs with some of the smoothness and pleasant appearance of elves. When the taint was removed from the Con Beo, they were stabilized as their own race, and their children are their own, neither orcs nor elves. Recently, however, this changed with the birth of an elf to the Con Beo. Named Ky My, she earned the position of chieftain within the tribe and married a manifestation of the great bear, bearing twins. What all of this means for the Con Beo is unknown, although outside scholars scoff at the idea that one of the gods could come to them, since they are known to be imprisoned. Many Con Beo shun the use of weapons and armor, preferring to emulate the bear. Their skins are often covered with elaborate tattoos and runes. Zokh-Dre (Dwarf): The race of dwarves was created from the blood of the all-father by the goddess of prophecy, who sacrificed herself to do so, as a last-ditch effort to fight off hordes of demons during the Godswar. Because of this, all dwarves have blood-red skin, and the race possesses the gift of prophecy and a hatred of infernal creatures. They refer to themselves as Zokh-Dre, which means “bloodborn” in their tongue, and members of other races would be well-advised to use this term, or at least simply “bloodborn” rather than “dwarf”, if they don’t want to cause offense. Dwarven society is organized around holdfasts—underground citadels built to guard prisonstones, where great heroes of the Godswar are locked in eternal combat with demon princes and archdevils to prevent them ever again escaping. Alone of the major races, Dwarven society adheres to the worship of the old gods, despite the fact that they no longer answer prayers and are imprisoned inside the center of the world. Sha (Elf): The elves were the first race created by the gods. When they were created, each of the five severed fingers of the all-father was taken up by one of the gods and formed into an individual to that god’s taste. The elves were afraid to fight in the Godswar, sending only a small contingent of troops, and for this cowardice the all-father cursed them, so that their children would be hideous and aggressive monsters. 9 out of 10 elven pregnancies result in the birth of an orc, with the remainder split evenly among the 5 bloodlines. Ritual infanticide is common among elven communities. The bloodlines of the five progenitors remain distinct, and the bloodline of a newborn child appears to be random, often not matching that of either of their parents. Sha’ayuge (might elf, spirit-heir of Garodan): Sha’ayuge are physically the largest of the elves, averaging nearly 7 feet tall with a fairly robust build. They tend to be jovial and well-liked, but lack subtlety, tending toward the simplest method of dealing with any problem. Sha’nukayli (blade elf, spirit-heir of Kuvasha): Although they are the smallest of the elves, averaging just over four feet and slightly built, few people underestimate a blade elf more than once. They tend to have very intense, somewhat paranoid personalities, always eagerly watching their surroundings for potential foes. They often go through life alone, since they make few friends, and their enemies usually don’t live long. Sha’quaftha (counsel elf, spirit-heir of Wamura). Sha’quaftha average around 4 ¾ feet tall, with a sturdier build than sha’nukayli. They usually have calm, relaxed personalities, wanting to look at all sides of an issue before making a decision, and generally acting as a peacekeeper when conflict starts to arise. Sha’raman (maker elf, spirit-heir of Maliara). Sha’raman tend to be about 5 ½ feet tall. They tend to have studious, intent personalities, focused on accomplishing the task at hand in the most efficient manner possible. Sha’vashirri (song elf, spirit-heir of Argentrell). Sha’vashirri are typically about 5 ½ feet tall, with relatively slender builds and classically beautiful features. They are usually out to enjoy life to the fullest, and tend to have somewhat flighty personalities. Entropon: An entropon is a being that has had a close brush with the pure chaos and entropic force of the Devourer, and somehow survived, albeit forever infused with that energy. Some entropons were warped while on the surface, escaping from the Devourer’s minions at the last possible moment before death, while others were deliberately exposed to the energy by cults such as the Children of Oblivion. A few mad souls even expose themselves to it deliberately for the power they believe it grants them. Regardless of their origin, they are shunned in most societies, especially since the “taint” always breeds true. Change is the only constant for an entropon. Their bodies and minds are forever warped by the power of chaos and are forever dissolving and reforming themselves into new patterns. An entropon retains the size and general appearance of whatever race he originally belonged to, but all other racial traits are lost. The height, weight, voice, and one distinctive facial feature remain stable, allowing others to recognize an individual, but all other aspects of appearance are constantly flickering among all the possibilities for an individual of the character’s original race, clearly marking him as an entropon. Feytouched: Believed to derive from crossbreeding between humans and a variety of fey creatures, such as dryads, nymphs, pixies, and satyrs, the feytouched have emerged relatively recently as a stable race in their own right. They appear much like humans, but with somewhat lighter, more angular features, and with traces of their ancestry visible, depending on the individual. A feytouched descended from a satyr might have hooves, horns, or furry legs while one descended from a pixie could have vestigial wings. Their personalities vary nearly as widely as those of humans do, though they are colored by their closer connection with nature, additional patience resulting both from their longer lifespan and from their understanding of the long time scale of the natural world, and the predilections of the type of fey they are descended from. For the most part, the feytouched live peacefully in small villages in wilderness areas, sometimes trading with travelers or nearby settlements of other races, but they have also produced some great adventurers, as well as a number of fanatical crusaders against the excesses of civilization and technology when they encroach too much on nature. Note that although several types of fey are exclusively of one sex, the same is not true of feytouched, and all of the subtypes are found in both sexes. Feytouched tend toward Chaotic Good alignment, but all alignments are found among them. The following traits are common to all feytouched, with additional abilities dependent on the type of fey that the individual most closely resembles. Dryadtouched: Dryadtouched tend to have thin, elfin features. Their skin and hair sometimes bear a slight visual resemblance to the bark and leaves of a tree. They usually have very patient personalities, but can be roused to great wrath when large sections of woodlands are destroyed. Nymphtouched: Nymphtouched inherit an echo of the unearthly beauty of their ancestors. They often have gentle, playful personalities, but their moods can change suddenly and unpredictably. Pixietouched: The smallest of the feytouched, pixietouched often have thin, elfin features and mischievous personalities. Satyrtouched: Satyrtouched often have horns, hooves, or fur showing their descent. They usually love wine and music, wanting simply to enjoy life, but have also been forced to learn to protect themselves and their people. Gnome: In the days before the Sundering, the gnomes had built a great civilization with steam-powered marvels improving all aspects of their lives. When the Devourer, the embodiment of entropy, was formed, it was drawn first to the greatest concentrations of order and technology, the gnomish cities. The vast majority of gnomes perished in the first few weeks, with only the few that were away from the cities spared. After the Sundering, these survivors were too few and too scattered to replenish their race, and they slowly lapsed into extinction. Half-elf: Half-elves are relatively similar to those on other worlds, with the only differences being that they can result from either human-elf or human-orc pairings, with either one having about a 10% chance of producing a half-elf, and that they possess some minor knacks related to one of the elven bloodlines. As well as most of the standard abilities described in the Player’s Handbook, half-elves in Shattered Skies have the following additional ability. Half-orc: Half-orcs are mechanically the same as those on other worlds. The only difference to note is that they can arise from either human-elf or human-orc pairings, with either one having a 90% chance to produce a half-orc. Halfling: Most halflings live in fairly small, self-sufficient nomadic bands, either following herds of animals or driving their own herds. More than any of the other races, halflings live in and among animals of all sorts, depending on them for most of the necessities of life, and this has given them an easy rapport with creatures of all sorts. Combined with their small stature, which allows the easy use of a wide variety of mounts, this has led to them developing a reputation as the best breeders of animals, as well as fearsome light cavalry. Although most tribes are peaceful, the sight of a band of halflings swooping in on large birds, bats, or merely unnaturally fast horses for deadly hit-and-run raids is justly dreaded. Halfling society is built around the clan, and halflings are slow to trust outsiders, but loyal to the death to those who they have accepted as their clanmates. Halflings tend to have lean, weathered features, and both sexes wear their hair in elaborately braided topknots, the patterns of which serve as clan identification marks. Halfling, Feral: Although significant populations of all the major races were left behind on the surface at the time of the Sundering, and isolated groups of each of them has managed to eke out a bare-existence living by avoiding the notice of the Devourer, only the halflings truly adapted themselves and their way of life to thrive in the harsh environment. Forced to abandon all products of order or technology, including all but the simplest tools and weapons, the isolated halflings relied on their talent for animal husbandry for food, and turned inward to their minds for defense, awakening their latent psionic abilities as a way to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity. In recent times, some of these feral halflings have been “rescued” by airship expeditions to the surface, and brought into the skies, where they struggled to adapt to a very different way of life. Some of these few have taught their mental powers to members of other races, and they have begun to spread through the rest of society. Feral halflings dress in barely worked skins and let their hair grow wild. They speak a rough dialect of the halfling language. Human: The most widespread and adaptable of races, humans range widely in traits, outlook, and skills. Despite being a relatively young race, they have produced some of the greatest heroes and most dastardly villains of the world. They have all the normal racial traits described in the Player’s Handbook. Kobold: Approximately 800 years before the Sundering, a large confederation of kobold tribes was afflicted by a horrific disease known as scale rot, which threatened to wipe them out. In desperation, their chieftain turned to a nearby human kingdom for medical aid. The humans agreed, but only on the condition that the kobolds agree to serve them. The chieftain, with no other option, agreed to the terms, selling his people into slavery to save their lives. Since then, kobolds have spread rapidly and become all but ubiquitous throughout human society. A few lands have abolished the practice of slavery, but most still practice it, and everywhere kobolds occupy the bottom rung of society, performing all the tasks that are beneath the other races. Although there are some kobolds that agitate for a mass uprising to “throw off the yoke of tyranny”, most are fairly content with their station. They are safer, better housed, and better fed in most lands than they were in their tribal days, and although they do not occupy public positions of leadership, some kobolds can wield quite a bit of behind-the-scenes influence. Enslaved kobolds are generally a bit less scrawny and paranoid than their wild cousins, and their scale color varies from dark green to tan, with rare albino kobolds considered touched by the spirits and accorded great respect. Myrmidus: When Abaddon was released from his imprisonment, he knew that he would need mortal servitors in addition to the demons that served him. He disappeared into the dark places of the earth and out of mortal thought for millennia, biding his time while slowly consolidating his position, building his power, and subtly spreading chaos and destruction through his agents. During this time, one of his greatest accomplishments was the creation of the myrmida from a race of peaceful ant-like people dwelling in a cavern system and barely approaching sentience. When he was done with them, they had been physically and mentally advanced, split into several specialized subraces, and given a telepathic hive-mind, but had also been given a taste for blood and a hatred of other living things. Although the vast majority of myrmida are implacable foes of all other races, a few have broken free from the control of the hive mind and rejected the teachings of Abaddon. These rare rebels face a difficult existence, as they are feared, distrusted, and sometimes attacked on sight in most lands, and are hunted by their own people as aberrations. Nearly all of these rogues are of the soldier subrace, as they have been given enough intelligence to function reasonably effective on their own without being utterly steeped in unholy energies as those of higher subraces are. A typical myrmidus is about 5 feet tall, standing on four of its six limbs while using the other two as hands. They appear as large insects in nearly all aspects of their body, and their coloration is black with occasional tinges of red. It is almost impossible for members of other races to tell individual myrmida apart by sight. They have are unable to use their speech organs for languages other than their own, which consists of clicks and whistles, but can communicate telepathically when desired (which is often very unnerving for those meeting them for the first time). In addition to these, the three races from [U]Steam-trains & Sorcery[/U] are allowed as standard options. These are: automaton (steam-powered construct), neo-colobus monkey (monkeys given basic sentience through breeding, surgery, and drugs), and scrapling (beings stitched together from dead body parts and given life). [/QUOTE]
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