Races

Anurans are a frog-like people. Their skin is colourful with varying textures. They have large round eyes and sticky webbed feet.

Anurans live near any body of fresh water but prefer swamplands and wetlands. Because Anurans build their civilizations on or around water, their architecture is unique with houses built on stilts.

There are two main lineages of Anurans, the roughskins and the smoothskins. Their differences are somewhat self-explanitory with roughskins having tougher ridged skin, sometimes with warts, and are slightly larger. The smoothskins are brightly coloured with glassy more delicate looking skin.

Anurans have a natural drive to seek out an identity for themselves, boldened by curiosity and wonder. Their culture itself constantly borrows from other cultures, making each Anuran settlement unique. A common trait of Anuran culture is complex religious structure. Anurans tend to take worship and devotion rather seriously.

Lifespan. Anurans live up to 80 years old. As they age, their bright colors tend to dull.

Physical Traits. Anurans are often quite slender and are very short. They weigh around 50lbs and are about 4 feet tall.

Traditional Names. Anuran start their lives with a name given to them by their parents, which is almost always two syllables. Later on, after maturity they pick a last name for themselves which is sometimes shared by other family members.

Male Names: Burbit, Edepp, Go’depp, Gurded, Hurbert, Retinn, Sabin, Turble, Urdin

Female Names: Aida, Bella, Caida, Desha, Eidee, Finna, Gurdel, Hela, Nola

Languages. All Anurans are taught Archaic by their elders, an ancient language. They also know common.

Ability Score Increase

You add +4 your Charisma score, +2 to your Perception and Wisdom scores

Climber and Swimmer

You have a climbing and swimming speed of 30ft. You cannot use this movement if you are encumbered. You start with the climb and swim skills, and these do not count towards your starting skills and memory slots.

Amphibian

You are able to breathe water as if it were air.

Small

Although you must use small equipment, being small brings its benefits. You need only consume half the food and drink required for sustenance. You are harder to hit, having an AC of 12. You use Heavy weapons with disadvantage and you half your Carry Capacity calculations. 

The Birdfolk are feathered and winged humanoids. They have muscular multi-limbed upper bodies, a pair of arms and a pair of wings. Their feet are taloned and able to grip while in flight.

Birdfolk often live in mountain ranges and nearby other races, usually humans or mountain dwarves. Their homes are wooden and close together, sometimes stacked on one another. They are communal creatures and feel a need to socialize regularly.

There are three main lineages, Owlkin, Raptorkin, and Corvidkin. The Owlkin have a passive society and focus efforts on magic, attempting to pass as much knowledge as possible to each generation. Raptorkin are wonder seekers, they prize trade and archery. The Corvidkin are the most reserved of the Birdfolk, mostly keeping to their mountain homes and weary of outsiders.

Life goes fast for a Birdfolk. Because of a Birdfolk’s short lifespan, they are often driven to seek out adventure, especially in their 20s. Once they can no longer fly, either due to age or injury, they normally return home to live out the rest of their days in comfort.

Lifespan. Birdfolk have a short lifespan. They mature quickly, reaching adulthood at 6 years old. Birdfolk lose their flight ability at around 30 years old and die soon after.

Physical Traits. Birdfolk are tall and lean. An adult Birdfolk is 5 ½ ft to 6ft tall and about a 10 ft wingspan. Their bones are lightweight and thin, giving them a weight range of 110lbs to 130lbs.

Traditional Names. Birdfolk have two genderless names and normally do not have surnames. Their first name is in Avian, a set of musical notes they make with a song. Their second name is their name said in the common tongue, they use their second name when dealing with other races.

Second names: Art, Caaw, Clik, Cyano, Dee, Dir, Dov, Kam, Kikano, Korik, Koru, Tik, Tal, Val, Vindu, Virk

Languages. Birdfolk always speak Avian when speaking with other Birdfolk, which is almost impossible to imitate perfectly by other races. While speaking with other races, they use the common language.

Ability Score Increase

You add +2 to your Charisma, Reflex, Strength, and Wisdom scores.

Flight

You have a fly speed of 30ft. You can only use this movement if you are carrying no more than 5 times your Strength in weight and have at least 10 square feet of space. While flying, you can carry items in your talons, but cannot manipulate them. You start with the fly skill, and this does not count towards your starting skills and memory slots.

Dwarves are stout, tough, and naturally resistant to magic. Dwarves produce a natural goethite mineral in their bones, making them especially hardy and giving their skin a natural tan colour, and their bones a dark brown or black color. Dwarves have irises with a mix of magenta, blue, purple, and yellow, among other colors. Dwarven joints also are covered in calluses made of a tough protein. Dwarves usually have beards, and the culture of dwarves sees a long and well-kept beard as a wise and experienced dwarf.

There are two main lineages, the mountain dwarves, and the dark dwarves. The mountain dwarves are a noble and political people. The dark dwarves are obsessive and pursue their goals with an unending greed. Both lineages are unimaginably industrious.

Industry drives their cultures. Their shared ambition allows them to build great cities, structures, and complicated devices. Dwarves leave their great society when they have something to prove, or nothing left to lose.

Lifespan. Dwarves live long lives. They mature at the same rate of humans. They begin to grey around the ages of 200 to 250 years and can live up to 350 years old.

Physical Traits. Dwarves are short and stout. A mature dwarf’s height ranges from 4ft to 5ft. Their broad heavy bones and inclination for muscles give them a weight range of 150 to 210lbs.

Traditional Names. Surnames are important to dwarves as it communicates their clan. Normally the clan’s name is a compound name, formed by the patriarch and matriarch of a new colony, outpost, or venture.

Clan Names: Frozentide, Crystalkeeper, Ironheart, Phoenixguard, Whitestone, Titanshield, Doomsong, Ragescream, Bloodspear, Goldsworn, Thunderaxe

Male Names: Apachu, Alod, Arik, Boltred, Bormot, Gorgon, Halgrum, Nordi, Tolin, Torv, Ulfgar, Woordin, Xorn

Female Names: Ata, Amra, Claudia, Deina, Edina, Gretchen, Helga, Iris, Indigo, Ruby, Selena, Taiga, Winny

Language. Mountain dwarves often speak in the common tongue, as they focus efforts on trade and diplomacy. Dark dwarves care little for trade unless it must be done, and almost all dark dwarves explicitly speak in Dwarvish. Both lineages learn Common and Dwarvish languages growing up.

Ability Score Increase

You add +4 to your Vitality and Strength scores.

Life Underground

Knowledge of engineering and architecture comes as instinct to the dwarves. You start with the engineering skill, and this does not count towards your starting skills and memory slots.

Magic and Poison Resistance

You have a 1 in 6 chance to resist any hostile magical spell, and a 3 in 6 chance to resist poison.

Elves are slender, quick, and they have excellent senses. Elves are visually diverse, but all have long pointed ears and epicanthic folds. Elves have different brain chemistries that allow them to enter a sleep-like state instead of requiring sleep. This trance state gives elves full control of their senses while they rest. They have eagle-like sight and bat-like hearing, far surpassing other humanoids in these senses.

The main lineages of elves are the sun elves, tree elves, sea elves, and the dark elves. Sun elves have tan or darker skin with a wide range of light hair colours, they favor living in the plains or in cities with other races. Tree elves tend to live in forests, have pale skin and white, red, or blonde hair, and are more reserved, and somewhat of untrusting city-folk. Sea elves live near water, tend to have a range of blue to green skin tones with blonde or black hair, they have an arrogant superiority complex and are slow to trust others. Dark elves live almost exclusively underground and have purple, blue or white skin tones and usually have black or white hair, they are extremely aggressive with a warlike society.

Elven culture is driven by luxurious self-indulgence. They are storytellers, singers, and dancers, trying to drink in all that life has to offer for as long as they can. Since elves live such a long time, they face a choice, become jaded and bored with life, or seek out new experiences. Those who seek new experiences venture out into the world, becoming adventurers.

Lifespan. Elves live extremely long lives. They mature at the same rate as humans but stay as young adults for 600-700 years before slowly growing old and dying at around 900 years of age.

Physical Traits. Elves are tall and slender. A mature elf stands in a range from 6ft to 7ft and weighs anywhere from 120 to 140 lbs.

Traditional Names. Elves give themselves long and elegant names. An elf can go through many names throughout their lifetimes and will have multiple names at once. Often elves will shorten their names when dealing with humans and other races that use vastly different names, for ease of conversation.

Male Names: Aluyin, Cornaith, Elkaduin, Evindael, Grathangor, Ilvisatoi, Lafarallin, Navanarae, Nyvorlas, Ohm, Ruehinar, Sonnitar

Female Names: Allannia, Chandrielle, Keerliandra, Maelyrra, Mirasandoral, Rubarae, Tana’sarra, Umirathael

Languages. Elves speak elvish and the common tongue. Over the long years, travelling elves pick up many foreign languages, usually at least 1 every 50 to 100 years.

Ability Score Increase

You add +4 to your Wisdom score, and +2 to your Perception and Precision scores.

Keen Eyesight and Hearing

Your eyesight and hearing are twice as strong as other races. You double your sense ranges for hearing and seeing objects.

Long Life

You have had a longer time to develop your skills due to a lengthy adolescence. You begin with 8 skills and powers, instead of 6. You also gain an additional language.

Trance

Elves do not sleep and instead trance, not moving but fully aware of their surroundings. As an elf you are immune to magical sleep. To gain the benefits of sleep you must trance for at least 4 hours every 24 hours, though this does not need to be consecutive. 

Halflings strongly resemble humans but are quite short in comparison. They have large, padded feet which gives them the ability to walk around without making noise. Their eyes are often brown or yellow, with black sclera.

Halfling villages have been around a long time, largely going unnoticed by other races. This does not bother the Halflings of course, enjoying their seclusion and getting by without disturbance. Halflings tend to indulge in the fruits of life, often holding large celebrations and baking exquisite dishes for each other.

Some Halflings feel the pull of adventure and leave the villages in hopes for a life of diversity or in taste what delicacies the world has to offer. Others are just not built to be kept in such a small village and baking the perfect blushberry muffin is just not something to care about.

Lifespan. Halflings tend to live quite a long time. Most live up to 200 years old.

Physical Traits. Halflings are often stout, and sturdy. They stand about 4 feet tall and weigh around 90-95 lbs.

Traditional Names. Halflings like to borrow names from other races or myths that they might have heard. Their last names note their family, similar to humans.

Male Names: Cambo, Freddin, Grego, Olaf, Toddin, Vinny

Female Names: Britbo, Dee, Hilda, Rosey, Siddar, Zimmy

Family Names: Appleseed, Cakewaddle, Housebold, Moonberry, Thornheart, Toadstool

Languages. Halflings have their own dialect of Common. Many Halflings can speak normal Common but find it annoying to do so. Without significant contact with the Halfling dialect of Common, it is hopeless to attempt to understand.

Ability Score Increase

You add +2 to your Charisma, Precision, Reflex, and Vitality scores

Natural Stealth

Your padded feet and instinctually careful movements give you advantages to your ability to move silently. You start with the stealth skill, and this does not count towards your starting skills and memory slots.

Small

Although you must use small equipment, being small brings its benefits. You need only consume half the food and drink required for sustenance. You are harder to hit, having an AC of 12. You can carry half the normal weight before becoming encumbered. You use Heavy weapons with disadvantage and you half your Carry Capacity calculations. 

Humans are very diverse, skin tones, hair colors, physical builds, and eye color, to name a few. Some features are more prominent in certain parts of the world, but any version of human can be found in another part of the world without other humans giving it much thought.

Where humans largely differ from each other is culture. Each culture can be vastly different from the next, and even a village within a country can have its own rules and traditions that are unheard of elsewhere.

Lifespan. Humans can live up to 90 years old.

Physical Traits. Their weight and height can vary wildly, but normally they weigh between 90 and 250 lbs, and are within 5 to 7 feet tall.

Male Names: Ardus, Arther, Coren, Durat, Moden, Niichad, Ra, Riften, Spruce, Valrin

Female Names: Atesha, Chiren, Ghislane, Moira, Redwyn, Rhisra, Saga

Family Names: Arcturus, Betelgeuse, Heart, Horus, Iris, Longsaddle, Rigel, Sirius, Spica, Vega

Languages. Humans speak Common. Many humans also pick up one or two other languages usually due to their surroundings, such as living near a tribe of Orcs and learning Orcish.

Ability Score Increase

You add +2 to all your ability scores. 

Lacertians are large lizard-folk creatures. They are known for their strength and stand menacingly over almost all other sentient races. They are very intelligent and cunning warriors.

There are many lineages of Lacertian, though two remain to be most common. The ridgeback Lacertians are crocodile-like, muscular and menacing and the most common lineage. The second most common is the hardscale lineage, with snake-like features. Any lineage can have certain features, such as fins, ridges, or horns, on their head.

Lacertians often live in isolation from other races due to their size, as most buildings and portions are not made with their size in mind. Also, a Lacertian’s presence tends to intimidate others, usually rising suspicion in areas where tolerance of others is less than ideal.

Lifespan. Lacertians live long lives, most at least 300 years old.

Physical Traits. Lacertians are massive and stand up to 10 feet tall, towering over other races. They’re muscle dense bodies weigh around 650 lbs.

Traditional Names. Lacertians claim their own name when they decide to do so. While they have no name, they are called young-one, or horned-one, whatever sticks.

Names: Art, Claw, Firefang, Hack, Mordred, Iggy, Scale, Slash

Languages. Most Lacertians know Archaic and Common.

Ability Score Increase

You add +4 to your Vitality score, and +2 to Strength and Wisdom scores.

Swimmer

You have a swim speed of 30ft. You cannot use this movement if you are encumbered. You start with the swim skill, and this does not count towards your starting skills and memory slots.

Hold Breath

You can hold your breath a number of hours equal to half your Vitality score.

Large

You have a large size. You must consume double the amount of food and water for sustenance. You are easier to hit, having an AC of 8. You double the weight statistics for your Carry Capacity.

A physically mighty and tenacious race. Orcs tend to have tusks, have green, blue, or brown skin, and are commonly bald or have extraordinarily little hair. They are well-known for their innate predatory traits, especially their heightened smell. Orcs are great hunters and known as a naturalistic people.

There are three main lineages of orc. The first and most common are the greenskins, a sophisticated group of hunters. The greenskins are diplomatic and share resources with other races. The pale ones are a dark twisted version of the greenskins, they are dotted throughout the countryside. The degeneracy of the pale ones give orcs a bad reputation among the other races. Lastly, the bladetusk orcs are orcs that live underground and in opposition to the dwarves.

The culture of the Orc is that of honor and the hunt. A young orc must prove himself to the others of his clan, by leaving the safety of the community and taking on a great hunt. The hunt can be anything they choose but must be approved by an elder. Orcs also have a respect for the balance of nature and never excessively hunt.

Lifespan. The lifespan of an Orc is slightly less than a human, living about 70 years.

Physical Traits. Orcs are quite tall and muscular. They stand approximately 6 feet and weight about 200, to 220 lbs.

Traditional Names. Orcs take much pride in their names. They receive their first name at birth and are given their adult name after completing their hunt trial.

First Names: Araka, Belba, Ming, Simma, Tinzu, Torish, Zort

Honor Names: The Broken, Fast Hands, Sharp Eye, The Red, Diamond Eye, Icy Veins

Languages. Orcs speak their own language, Orcish, and the Common language.

Ability Score Increase

You add +4 to your Precision and +2 to your Strength and Vitality scores.

Keen Smell

Your sense of smell is superior to other races. If a creature you have smelled before (race, specific creature, or individual) has been in the area within the last 4 hours then you can make an action to track the direction of that smell, regardless of terrain. You start with the track skill, and this does not count towards your starting skills and memory slots. Lastly, you have +1 to your Notice DC.

Tenacity

You have a 3 in 6 chance to miraculously recover from death, instead of a 1 in 6 chance.