Backgrounds and Preferred Classes

[Samloyal23]

Aldea, the Hidden City of the Fey, is hidden behind layers of illusions, only the inhabitants know its true location. Many individual buildings are covered in illusions for further protection and some "buildings" are extradimensional spaces enchanted into rocks trees. The elite of Aldea are the Sidhe, but elves and feys of all types populate the city. No other races are aloud to know the location of Aldea, and anyone who reveals this information is subject to the fatal ire of the Sidhe.

Pixietouched
One of your ancestors was a pixie, so you have some fey blood.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Aldea, Cha 13+.
Benefits: You have fey blood, for all effects related to race you are considered a fey. You gain Invisibility as a spell-like ability, usable for 1 minute per level each day. Hide, move silently, spot, and listen are always class skills for you. You may switch your preferred class to Illusionist, Sorcerer, or Warlock. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Fey Courtier
Your family is part of the Fey elite, you grew up in a world of allegiances, scheming, and betrayal used to the finer things in life...
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Aldea, Cha 13+.
Benefits: You have fey blood, for all effects related to race you are considered a fey. Appraise, bluff, diplomacy, innuendo, intimidate and perform are always class skills for you. If you have at least 3 ranks in perform you may Fascinate as a bard at your character level. You can switch preferred class to Bard, Ranger, or Warlock. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Nixietouched
Your family mixed with nixies, so you have some fey blood.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Aldea, Con 13+.
Benefits: You have fey blood, for all effects related to race you are considered a fey. You can breathe water as well as air. Hide and swim are always class skills for you. You can switch your preferred class to Ranger or Sorcerer. Once you have a chosen a preferred class you cannot change it.

Grigtouched
Your family mixed with grigs, so you have some fey blood.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Aldea, Dex 13+.
Benefits: You have fey blood, for all effects related to race you are considered a fey. Hide, jump, move silently, and perform are always class skills for you. You can use Jump and Ventriloquism as spell-like abilities for 1 round per level each day at your character level.

 

[Samloyal23]

Irium, called the "City of Lost Gods" by their neighbours in Valora, was founded by believers in Zeus and his fellow elder Olympians who refused to concede that Athena had overthrown the ancient god of the sky. Built not long after the founding of Valora, it has always had a tense relationship with that city. The deeply religious and conservative Iriumans are mostly farmers and fishermen, the small, poor city has no great academies or libraries and is not known for scholarship or the arts. The poor often have to sell their children or themselves into slavery.

Salt of the Earth
You come from simple, hardworking rural folk.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Irium, cannot be Chaotic.
Benefits: Profession (any), craft (any) and wilderness lore are always class skills for you. You are bad liar and have few social graces but have a good heart and strong morals. You gain a +4 reaction bonus but suffer a -2 penalty on all bluff, diplomacy, and innuendo checks. You can switch your preferred class to Ranger or Cleric. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Irium Purist
You are a staunch conservative raised to follow the old ways.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Irium, cannot be chaotic.
Benefits: You gain a +2 on saves versus Will, knowledge (religion) is always a class skill for you, and you may change your preferred class to Cleric or Paladin. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Irium Temple Clerk
You were trained from childhood to be part of the temple bureaucracy that runs Irium.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Irium, cannot be Chaotic.
Benefits: Craft (calligraphy), decipher script, diplomacy, intimidate, knowledge (history, local, nobility and royalty, and religion), and profession (bookkeeper and scribe) are always class skills for you. You gain 1 bonus language. You can switch your preferred class to Cleric or Wizard. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.

 

[Samloyal23]

Valora, the City of Wisdom, is renown for its academies, museums, librarires, theatres, and galleries. All Valorans receive a higher education and are encouraged to learn a variety of arts and crafts. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is revered above all other gods here, and Valorans take it on faith that she overthrew the reign of Zeus and the elder Olympians to become the queen of the Heavens. Murals, statues, and fountains fill the city and the Temple of the Young Gods is one of the most famous monumental feats in the known world. Nothing is more important to a Valoran than knowledge and beautry.

Academy Artist
You were educated in an art academy as part of educated elite.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Valora or Aldea.
Benefits: Craft and perform are always class skills for you. You gain a +2 bonus on all Perform checks and on checks with one Craft skill that involves art, such as calligraphy, painting, sculpture, or weaving. In addition, if you have the bardic music ability, you may use it three additional times per day. You may change your preferred class to Bard or Illusionist. Once you have selected a preferred class you may not change it.

Valoran Literati
You are a scholar trained to be an expert in a given field of study in on of the Valoran academies.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Valora, Int 13+
Benefits: Knowledge (any), and perform (any) are always class skills for you. Pick 1 knowledge skill you are trained in and add your character level to your rank in that skill. You gain 2 bonus languages. You can switch your preferred class to Bard or Wizard. Once your choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Valoran Street Artist
You grew up surround by inspiring display of art and beauty and made your way by creating your own works of art for crowds in the marketplace.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Valora, Cha 13+
Benefits: Bluff, craft (any), diplomacy, and perform (any) are always class skills for you. Pick 3 craft or perform skills and add 1/2 your character level to your rank in each one. You can switch your preferred class to Alchemist, Artificer, or Bard. Once your choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

Valoran Intelligentsia
You were raised among the intellectual elite of Valora.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from the city of Valora, int 13+.
Benefits: diplomacy, knowledge (any), and perform (any) are always class skills for you. You gain one extra language and 2 extra skill points. You can change your preferred class to Wizard or Bard. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Military Scholar
You were trained in the arts of war by the priestesses of Athena and use your brains more than your brawn.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from the city of Valora, Int and Wis 13+
Benefits: You can add your Int modifier to all attack and damage rolls and your Wis modifier to your AC in addition to the standard modifiers. Climb, jump, knowledge (local and nobility), swim, and tumble are always class skills for you. If you pass a knowledge check to recall information about an opponent you get a +2 bonus on attack and defense rolls when facing this opponent. You must have at least 10 minutes to recall what you know about the enemy to gain this bonus. You can switch your preferred class to Fighter, Paladin, or Ranger. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

 

[Samloyal23]

Shosnar, the city of Set, is surrounded by swamps and heavily fortified. The ruler of Shosnar, Queen Aneh-tet, is a paranoid and treacherous vampire and her moods have altered the face of the city. A city of narrow streets and twisting alleys, with secret passages and hidden lairs of debauchery, Shosnar has grown more corrupt with each year since the cult of Set, the Lord of Serpents, rose to power in the city. Although all of the old gods of Thosia have temples in Shosnar, only that of Set is frequently visited, and anyone praying to another god too loudly is liable to be accused of treason. Bast and Osiris are especially hated by the dark regime that rules this city. Foreigners are only allowed in the Merchant Ward, and must leave the city by sunset or risk accusations of espionage unless on official business for the city. Those without proper papers from the temple of Set may be arrested for no cause. To help facilitate trade a village on a small island off the cost has been built for merchants from other cities to live in connected to the city by a narrow bridge. Subterfuge, manipulation, and treachery are the meat and wine of the people of Shosnar...

Shosnar Swamp Dweller
You are at home in the bogs around the city of Shosnar and skilled at hunting in this environment.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shosnar.
Benefits: Hide, move silently, spot, and wilderness lore are always class skills for you. You receive a +2 bonus on wilderness lore checks while in marsh terrain. In addition, you can take a 5-foot step while in the bogs and undergrowth of a marsh, ignoring the usual movement penalties of the terrain for this purpose. You can switch your preferred class to Ranger. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Witchborn of Shosnar
You come from a family tainted by the influence of dark forces.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be born in Shosnar.
Benefits: Bluff, diplomacy, knowledge (arcana), scry, and spellcraft are always class skills for you. You receive a +2 bonus to the DC of any enchantmant effect you can create with a spell or invocation. You may change your preferred class to Sorcerer or Warlock. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Thosian Mamluk
You were born into slavery as a warrior of Shosnar according to old Thosian customs.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shosnar, Strength 13+.
Benefits: Climb, jump, and tumble are always class skills for you. You gain a +2 bonus on Reflex checks but suffer a -2 penalty on Will checks due to your indoctrination and training. You may switch your preferred class to Fighter.

Thosian Subtlety
You are skilled in deception and treachery and used to getting your way.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shosnar, Cha 13+.
Benefits: Bluff, diplomacy, innuendo, intimidate, and pickpocket are always class skills for you. Anytime you buy or sell something you come out ahead by 10+level%, either getting more for what you are selling or paying less for something you buy, without the other party realising it for 24 hours. You can change your preferred class to Rogue or Trader. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it.

 

[Samloyal23]

Burghausen, the city of Steam, is built into the side of a mountain overlooking a north facing shoreline. Under this mountain is an extensive system of mines used to exploit the only known veins of envisjarn, a strange, hard, anti-magical metal, as well as deep lines of coal laden with diamonds. Burghausen's mostly dwarven populace prides itself on mechanical skills and knowledge of alchemy, and these are reflected in the advanced engineering of the city. Solar furnaces heat water for the public baths, warm homes, and cook food. Indoor plumbing runs throughout the city bringing heated water into homes and disposing of sewage. Homes are built with mechanical conveniences and dirigibles and hot air balloons are regularly land on the cliffside decks of nobles homes. Firearms were invented here less than 300 years ago and there manufacture is still a closely guarded secret in Burghausen, but there use is getting more common. Duels with flintlocks and blunderbusses are deadly affairs and strictly illegal but happen in the deeper regions of the mines, away from prying eyes...

Burghausen Crafter
You were raised in a craft shop and used to dealing with chemicals and mechanical devices.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be born in Burghausen
Benefits: Craft (any), alchemy, and disable device are always class skills for you. Pick 2 of these skills and add 1/2 your level to your rank in each. You can change your preferred class to Alchemist or Artificer. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Burghausen Flyer
You spent your youth working on the dirigibles and balloons of your clan and became used to great heights.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be born in Burghausen or Skytop Village, Dex 13+.
Benefits: Balance, bluff, climb, diplomacy, jump, profession (pilot), and use rope are always class skills for you. You have no fear of heights and can slow your falls as a monk of 4+1/2 your level. You get a +2 bonus on Reflex checks. You can change your preferred class to Trader or Corsair. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Burghausen Musketeer
You were impressed into the local guard as a youth and trained in firearms and fencing.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be born in Burghausen, Dex 13+.
Benefits: You are proficient in simple and martial firearms and rapier. Climb, jump, and tumble are always class skills for you. You receive a free flintlock pistol or musket and one bag of ammunition. If called to duty in a time of war you must serve or face charges of desertion. You can switch your preferred class to Fighter, Ranger, or Corsair. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Burghausen Mine-Rat
you spent your entire youth in the deepest mines of the dwarves, rarely ever seeing daylight, and became adapted to the dark.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Burghausen.
Benefits: Balance, climb, jump, profession (miner), and use rope are always class skills for you. In melee, every time you miss because of concealment, you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit. An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don’t lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn’t get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker’s bonuses do still apply for ranged attacks, however. You take only half the usual penalty to speed for being unable to see. Darkness and poor visibility in general reduces your speed to three-quarters normal, instead of one-half. You are light Sensitive, being dazzled in sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell. You can change your preferred class to Ranger or Rogue. Once you have selected a preferred class you cannot change it again.
Normal: Regular attack roll modifiers for invisible attackers trying to hit you apply, and you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC. The speed reduction for darkness and poor visibility also applies.
Special: This feat is of no use against a character who is the subject of a blink spell.

Burghausen Guild Banker
Your clan has a long tradition as bankers and moneylenders and you were educated in the family business.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Burghausen.
Benefits: Bureaucracy, diplomacy, forgery, knowledge (economics, nobility and royalty, and numeracy), and profession (bookkeeper and moneylender) are always class skills for you. Pick 2 of these class and add 1/2 your level to your rank in each. Anytime you have to trade one currency for another you come out ahead of the normal exchange rate by 10+level%. You begin with double the normal amount of gold for your class. You can switch your preferred class to Trader or Rogue. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.

 

[Samloyal23]

Skytop Village is less than a hundred years old, being founded by the merchants guild of Burghausen to make it easier for them the to trade with the Aarakocra that migrate to the island every spring. Aarakocra, being a bit phobic about caves and tunnels just refused to enter the great markets of Burghausen because they were inside a mountain. So, using their newly inventerd hot air balloons, the merchants of Burghausen started carrying supplies to the top of Skytop Mountain, the tallest peak on the island, where many of the birdmen had encampments, and started setting up booths to vend their wares and small smithys to make craft goods on the spot. When the first dirigibles were built, about 50 years ago, things started really moving with the larger loads of cargo and passengers they could carry. Skytop Village is still small, but it is a bustling hub of trade now, full of humans, iron dwarves, aarakocra, and other races from around the island.

Skyborn Leaper
You grew up at high altitude on a snow-capped peak, becoming hardy and agile.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Skytop Village, dex 13+.
Benefits: Balance, climbing, jumping, and rope use are always class skills for you. You receive a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves and are not affected by altitude sickness at altitudes below 20,000 feet. You may change your preferred class to Ranger or Druid. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Guild Merchant
You come from a clan with numerous connections in the craft guilds of Burghausen. You can get a good deal on almost anything you buy or sell.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Burghausen or Skytop.
Benefits: Appraise, bluff, and diplomacy are always class skills for you. When you sell weapons, magic items, or other adventuring goods, you get 75% of the list price rather than 50%. Once per month, you can buy any single item at 75% of the offered price. You can switch your preferred class to Trader or Corsair. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Treetop Hunter
You grew up in the dense forests below the snowline and you’re used to going out on a limb to get what you want.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, you must be from Skytop, Dex 13+.
Benefits: Balance, climb, jump, wilderness lore are always class skills for you. You get a +2 bonus on Balance and Climb checks. You are always aclimated to altitudes of 15,000 feet or less. You do not lose your Dexterity bonus to AC when climbing, and attackers do not gain any bonuses to attack you while you are climbing. If you are shooting downward from at least 20 feet above a target you get a +2 attack bonus with any type of bow or crossbow. You can switch your preferred class to Ranger or Fighter. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.

 

[kitcik]

Some of these newer ones are really cool.

 

[Samloyal23]

If anything looks broken, feel free to comment, and please let me know what you think of the cities I'm describing too...

 

[Samloyal23]

An isolated village on the mainland, Shame was a penal colony started by the Burghausen guilds to get rid of people who refused to work or disrupted the work of others, and other cities later sent their own longterm prisoners there as well. Sometimes exile was unjustified but it was considered better than slave labour in the mines. The mainland is barely inhabitable, with rain a rare event and not a tree in sight for miles. The soil is virtually dead, little grows there that can be eaten. The descendents of convicts living there now get what they can from the sea and work hard to tend small garden plots. Most of what they own is salvaged from the ships that landed there ancestors here and flotsam and jetsam off the ocean. There's never enough wood to build any ship that could make it back to civilisation, so the people of Shame make do with what they have. Gangs and criminal "bosses" rule Shame and frequently war with each other. It is a rough, crude town of a few thousand souls, mostly Iron Dwarves, but members of many races are found here, so it is the most racially diverse place in the know world. Beyond it is a vast range of mountains, the Shoulders of Atlas, that few have scaled and live to tell the tale, so there is no place else for the Shameful to go...

Shameful Brute
You are big and tough and use your strength to get ahead and survive living in Shame.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shame, Str 13+
Benefits: You get a +2 bonus on unarmed attack and damage rolls, including grappling, and +2 starting hp. Climb and jump are always class skills for you. You are illiterate. You receive 1/4 the normal starting money for your class. You can switch your preferred class to Barbarian or Rogue. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Hardy Survivor
You grew up working hard and getting barely enough to eat, using your knowledge of the wilderness to eke out a living.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shame, Con 13+.
Benefits: You only require 1/2 the normal amount of food, water, and rest of someone of your size and race. You get a +2 bonus all Fortitude checks. Climb, knowledge (nature), swim, and wilderness lore are always class skills for you. You add 1/2 your level to 2 of these skills. You receive 1/4 the normal starting money for your class. You can change your preferred class to Ranger or Barbarian. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.

Rugged Mountaineer
You are one of the few who has dared to live on the Shoulders of Atlas, hunting the wild beasts that dwell on the slopes of these steep, treacherous mountains.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from Shame, Str 13+, Wis 13+.
Benefits: Balance, climb, jump, knowledge (nature), use rope, and wilderness lore are always class skills for you. You add 1/2 your level to your rank in 2 of these skills. You are aclimated to altitudes up to 20,000 feet. You get a +2 bonus on Fortitude checks. You have 1/5 the normal starting money for your class. You can switch your preferred class to Barbarian, Druid, or Ranger. Once you choose a preferred class you cannot change it again.

 

[Samloyal23]

The White Waste is a vast arctic plain north of the Shoulders of Atlas mountains. Sparsely populated by a few barbarian tribes of humans and trolls, it is a region of pure wilderness. The largest community in the area is a village of a scant 500 souls, most of the local tribes being nomadic.

White Waste Survivor
You grew up in the White Waste hunting polar bears and walrus, making you tough but savage.
Prerequisites: 1st-level only, must be from the White Waste, Str 13+, Con 13+.
Benefits: Climb, jump, spot, and wilderness lore are always class skills for you. Pick 2 of these skills and add 1/2 your level to your rank in each. You have resistance (10) to cold. You are proficient in one type of spear. You have a favoured enemy as per the Ranger class ability. You must choose Animal (any arctic creature) or Troll. If you are Trollborn you may choose Human. You can switch your preferred class to Barbarian or Ranger. Once you select a preferred class you cannot change it again.