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| #1DireachOct 02, 2014 21:19:56 | I'm building a new world for my player group to adventure in later on this year. One of the first things I did was add a few custom and modified races to the mix. You are welcome to borrow them as is if you like them, alter them, etc. They're here for sharing.
A couple of notes:
I'm not using half-orcs in my setting. The wolfborn are my replacement for half-orcs, and are mechanically almost identical.
I'm not using the duergar in my setting, either. The deep dwarves are a playable alternative to that race, with a much stronger magical/psionic bent than dwarves usually have.
The Euclideans are a race I created back in early 3rd Edition, and were a favourite of my game group. One of our dear friends, who passed away in 2010, played a Euclidean in my 3.5 campaign. I am happy to bring them back in his honour, and for the enjoyment of my friends.
Enjoy, and please share your thoughts if you wish.
Euclideans
The Euclideans are a people devoted to the acquisition of knowledge and the mastery of sciences. The Euclideans are equally devoted to hermetic traditions (wizardry and its offshoots), and to mentalism: the science of the mind. They are keen admirers of art and artists, and have produced many esteemed musicians, artists, poets, writers, and musicians.
While being on the whole peaceful and nonaggressive, the Euclideans are intensely curious, and continually seek out mysteries to plumb and new magicks and sciences to explore and study. The world is a place of wonder and intrigue that is to be understood instead of feared. Euclidean explorers frequently push headlong into place where most would never tread, armed with their vast knowledge and their desire to learn.
The Euclideans are unusual in that they do not worship the deities that most of the other races do, or even acknowledge them. To the Euclideans, the ‘gods’ are regarded as another form of extraplanar life, no more divine than they themselves are (though immeasurably more powerful). Instead, the Euclideans venerate their ancestors, the great mentalists and scientists of years gone past. The contributions and advances made during one’s life are one’s legacy to the Euclidean people, and the surest path to immortality is innovation and discovery.
Physically, the Euclideans are similar to humans, but there are some very distinct differences. Most notably, Euclideans have high, somewhat conical heads containing a four-lobed brain, and lack external ears. Their brain mass is twice that of a human’s, and they have a correspondingly higher capacity for learning and a significantly faster information processing capability. Euclideans are capable of considering multiple arguments at once, debating on several topics simultaneously, and even reading several books at once while still able to carry on a conversation. They are intensely rational, thoughtful, and logical beings. Despite this, they are not unemotional; instead, their emotions are tempered with logic, and they are far less prone to ‘act without thinking’ than other races are.
All Euclideans develop telepathic and psionic abilities as they mature. While they rarely shut themselves off among their own kind, they have learned to be more careful with their thoughts among other races. Those Euclideans with truly gifted minds may go on to become psychic warriors, psions, or pursue other psionic careers.
Illithids find Euclideans to be a particularly delightful delicacy, and will go to great lengths to capture them to devour their exquisite brains. Euclideans can conceive of no worse fate than this, even undeath, and will die fighting rather than be taken alive by illithids or their servants.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and one other attribute of your choice increases by 1. Age. Euclideans mature at the same rate as humans, but live significantly longer. Average lifespan is 180-200 years. Alignment. Euclideans enjoy order, structure, and routine. Most tend towards lawful alignments. Size. Euclideans are about the same size and build as humans, but their elongated heads makes them a bit taller on average. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Telepathy. You may communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature in order to communicate, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. Telepathic Alacrity. Your psionic ability allows you to coordinate with allies at the speed of thought. When you roll initiative at the beginning of combat, you may switch your initiative total with that of a willing party member or ally within 30 feet. This ability cannot be used with constructs or undead. Fortified Mind. You have advantage on saving throws against psychic attacks, and resistance to psychic damage. This feature also applies to unwilling telepathy used against you, such as detect thoughts. Empathic. You have proficiency in the Insight skill. Innate Psionics. You know the mage hand cantrip (hand is invisible). When you reach 3rd level, you may cast the silent image spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you may cast detect thoughts once per day. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Euclidean. Euclideans are quick studies, and can learn additional languages in half the usual time.
Deep Dwarves
Far below the delvings of their kin, the deep dwarves labour in the heart of the earth, binding elementals to carve out cities and fortresses, studying ancient magic, and maintaining a constant watchful vigil. They are on the front line of a battlefield inconceivable to surface dwellers.
Deep dwarves are about as tall as mountain dwarves, but tend to be leaner. Their skin tone ranges from soot black to ashen grey. Their eyes glitter like elabourately cut gemstones, with hues unknown to their kin: sapphire blue, amethyst violet, emerald green, ruby red. Their hair and beards are jet black, snow white, pale gold, or shining silver. Deep dwarves take enormous pride in their long beards, carefully cultivating them and keeping them well groomed at all times.
Deep dwarves are superior students and scholars, gifted with innate magic by the dwarven gods. They are more likely to follow the path of wizardry than most dwarves, and prefer the path of conjuration. Others hone their mental abilities, and become formidable hunters of illithids, aboleth, drow, and other terrors of the Underdark. These hunters are known as caradhaker, and are regarded with enormous respect by all dwarves.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2. Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet. Deep Magic. You know the mending cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you may cast the detect magic spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you may cast arcane lock once per day. None of these spells require material components.
Wolfborn
The legends of the wolfborn say that the first of their people were born from the union of the god Herne and a great she-wolf. Their children appeared human, but were born with the indomitable souls and strength of wolves. Since that time, the wolfborn have roamed the edges of civilization, free and powerful, beholden to none apart from their own leaders and their packs.
At a glance, wolfborn appear largely, or entirely, human, but there are differences. They are taller, more muscular, and more nimble than their human cousins. The most striking difference is their golden eyes: the eyes of the wolf. Wolfborn children are born with blue eyes, but as they mature, the blue fades into brown, and finally turns to gold in their early teens. Their hair runs the gamut from black to brown-grey to red-brown, and very rarely snowy white. Wolfborn do not grow blonde hair. Male wolfborn typically have abundant facial hair, and it is considered a mark of maturity to sport a full beard. Female wolfborn often have long sideburns, but not beards or moustaches.
Wolfborn and humans are cross-fertile, and can reproduce together, but the blood of the wolf is strong: any child born of human and wolfborn will be wolfborn. More than one beautiful blue-eyed baby has grown up in civilization to rapidly outstrip other children in strength and size.
Wolfborn live together in packs, a tribe-like organization usually numbering between 100-150 individuals. Each pack stakes out its territory, which can be up to 100 square miles or more, and aggressively defends it from trespassers. The heart of the territory is often a fortified village, but could also be an abandoned (or captured) fort, or sometimes a cave complex. Some wolfborn packs have no fixed territory; they are nomadic, following herd animals, and can cover hundreds of miles a year.
While the wolfborn are indisputably ferocious, they are not savages. They have a rich oral tradition of songs and poems, and love music of all kinds. Those packs that trade with human communities prize musical instruments, and artifacts crafted from gold and silver. While some wolfborn are skilled metalworkers, they do not do much mining of their own, and recast metal they trade for (or take as spoils in battle). Wolfborn readily trade fresh meat and furs in exchange for the trinkets of civilization that they can't or won't make for themselves.
Wolfborn become adventurers out of insatiable wanderlust, and the desire to prove themselves against powerful foes. Most who do so have the strong desire to one day found their own pack, and claim their own territory in the endless wilderness they call home. Wolfborn adventurers can come to consider their comrades as packmates, defending them ferociously from any threat, and are more than willing to die to protect them. The friendship of a wolfborn is both a great honour and a great responsibility.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Dexterity increases by 1. Age. Wolfborn mature slightly faster than humans, and don't tend to live as long; 70-80 years is venerable for a wolfborn. Alignment. Wolfborn cherish freedom and individuality, but also the strong bonds of the pack. They tend toward chaotic alignments. Size. Wolfborn are taller and stronger on average than a human, but also leaner. They usually stand between 6 and 6.5 feet tall, and weigh between 180-260 pounds. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision. Wolfborn have extraordinary night vision compared to humans, but often don't see colours as well. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of gray. Keen Senses. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill. Relentless Endurance. Wolfborn tenacity is legendary. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest. Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, and speak the howl-talk language of the Wolfborn. There is no written form of the wolfborn language; it is primarily used for singing songs, and communicating with packmates over long distances. Only a skilled listener can tell the difference between wolfborn howl-talk and actual wolves.
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