Player Character Races

Posted by EarthDragon on 22nd August 2015.

Races adapted into 3.5 terms from various sources and ideas.

Within The Unification, there are a wide diversity of races. Humans are the most common, but not by as much as might be seen in other worlds. The elven and dwarven races make up a significant minority, as do hrrubans, elan, gith, and some of the half-breed races. Less common are the more obscure half-breeds, animara and maenads.

Each of the entries below gives a brief description of the race (or races, in some cases) under each heading, and contains a link that brings up the more specific information on each race.

There is also a section below the races list on "bloodlines", which are monstrous bloodlines that can be selected as part of a character's heritage. These bloodlines are expanded upon in a list of expandable entries after the general rules on bloodlines. The racial diversity available within The Unification should satisfy the requirements of almost any player, save any that have a burning desire to play gnomes, which do not exist on the world containing The Unification.

Animara

Animara are shapechanging humanoids who have a human form, an animal form, and a hybrid form.

B'taan

B'taan are abandoned children of fey who have the ability to somewhat alter their shape and appearance naturally. Note that a b'taan is not the same as a character of another race with a fey bloodline.

Del'Romi

Del'Romi are humanoid plants with special powers in nature and a susceptability to intense pleasure in very bright light.

Diabolus

Diaboli are humanoids that appear to be a mixture of animal and monstrous forms.

Dvati

Single-souled bonded twins with white skin, dvati are particularly unusual humanoids found in rare instances within The Unification. Some distrust them and regard them as little more than Fallen, but not all share this view.

Dwarven Races

There are two strains of full-blood dwarves within The Unification.

Lo'Khosh are dark and generally evil dwarves who are generally not as focused and driven as their less-evil and more common cousins.

Lo'menni are the more commonly known dwarves within The Unification, who are very focused and driven compared to other races.

Elan

Elan are human-looking psionic creations of effectively indefinite lifespan.

Elven Races

Elves are a somewhat fractured and splintered race within The Unification, with five distinct, full-blooded, elven races present throughout the region.

Anath are elves that are adapted primarily for the desert and live within the driest regions of The Unification.

Eled, also known as Elder elves or Færie, are what might be called "high" elves, and are considerably less common than Kored.

Imir are elves evolved especially for battle, and they have become increasingly common over recent decades, given the constant struggle with the Fallen.

Kored are the most common type of elf, originally evolved for life in forests. They are often referred to as "green elves", even when they live in cities or farming communities, in recognition of their arboreal origins.

Mored are dark elves who have unusual powers. They are usually evil, though there are enough that aren't to put paid to that as an assumption about the species in general.

Er-Hat'tan

Er-Hat'tan are elf-like fey with an affinity to magic and a limited ability to teleport during encounters.

G'hor-Khut

G'hor-Khut are large humanoids with mottled skin who traditionally live among the highest peaks. Over the centuries, some have migrated down from the mountains into The Unification.

Gith

Gith are a degenerate off-shoot of the race that gave birth to githyanki and githzerai.

Githyanki

Githyanki are extraplanar raiders and thieves who crop up and raid parts of The Unification from time to time. Over the centuries, some have given up their extraplanar travels and given up their ways and taken up honest living, or at least focused their raiding on The Unification and its environs.

Githzerai

Githzerai are ascetic cousins of the githyanki, and distant cousins of the gith. The githyanki are are devoted to developing their full personal potential, often focusing on the mental arts.

Half-Breed Races

The Unification is, unsurprisingly given the level of magic permeating the very soil and air, home to a wide array of mixtures of races. There are a number of bloodlines that manifest in a number of instances, but there are eight specific instances of half-breed races found at varying rates in different populations.

Aasimar are a plane-touched creature that is basically half-human and half-celestial.

Dracul are the cursed, and rather unfortunate, spawn of a human and a vampire.

K'aith are a diminished mix of human and one of the elven sub-species.

K'han-Dush are a widely mistrusted mix of human and orc. Orcs are generally amonth the Fallen.

Kh'Bon are a mix of human and Lomenni. They inherent the stamina of their dwarven parent, but generally do not share their focus.

Khor'bon, in spite of their similar sounding name are essentially the opposite of Kh'Bon, being a mix of human and giant. Giants are generally among the Fallen.

Sandana are hybrids between humans and various nature spirits.

Tiefling are a plane-touched creature that are mixtures of humans and evil outsiders.

Halfling Races

There are two variants of halfling known with The Unification, neither common, and neither typically what one would call "civilised".

Loh'cet are commonly known as "deep" halflings and they live near the lands of the Lo'menni or sometimes the Lo'Khosh. They are generally fairly civilised.

So'van are wild, dangerous halfling that live in tribes and are cannibalistic (or, at least, they eat the flesh of intelligent being, though not necessarily of their own kind).

Hrruban

Hrruban are feline humanoids from the plains. They are, by nature, nomadic hunters, but some have become farmers or moved to the cities.

Human Races

There are two basic types of humans within The Unification, civilised and, well, less-civilised. The less-civilised are generally found outside The Unification.

Athaotin, while considered uncivilised by the majority of humans, are actually quite cultured. They are, however, often shadowed by the Fallen given their location outside the protection of The Unification.

Humans, at least "civilised" humans, do not have any special name within The Unification. Nor do they have any terribly special powers or abilities.

Koben

Koben are dwarf-like humanoids of the wilderness who sometimes wander into the borders of The Unification.

Maenad

Maenad are human-like creatures with sparkling skin, rumoured to be short-tempered and wild.



Bloodlines

Posted by EarthDragon on 22nd August 2015.

All Bloodline material taken or adapted from the core 3.5 source Unearthed Arcana.

Though not a race, bloodlines are a concept that can occur with relative ease in The Unification, after all, the races have been forced into close association with those different from themselves, and all sorts of strange things happen when you are faced with endless warfare and little, if any, hope.

Only the following bloodlines still manifest in The Unification: Celestial (though exceedingly rare), Demon (as bloodlines go, relatively common, though still rare in the general populace), Devil (as for demon), Doppelganger (quite rare), Black Dragon, Blue Dragon, Green Dragon, Red Dragon, Fey (fairly common), Hag, Lycanthrope (relatively common), Troll, and Vampire (quite rare). Note that, for the purposes of dealings with the other planes, and for dealing with darkfriends, the following bloodlines are considered to make the character effectively a darkfriend merely by dint of having the bloodline: Demon, Devil, any of the Dragons (note there are no good dragon bloodlines available), Hag, Lycanthrope, Troll, Vampire. The Fey bloodline can go either way, depending on the character’s behaviour and treatment of darkfriends in general. Celestial bloodlines are never regarded as darkfriends unless the character has done something terrible. The “dark” bloodlines and those that are evil, but not “dark” can be redeemed from status as automatic darkfriends, but it takes much time and effort, and much of the effort must be quite public and garner quite a lot of (not always desirable) attention. It is possible, however, to shed the darkfriend assumption or status once it’s been gained. It is just bloody hard work.

Every so often, an individual is born who stands out a little from the rest of his people. This individual displays characteristics associated with a different kind of creature, such as a dragon, giant, celestial, or demon. Such a character is said to have a bloodline. Bloodlines can exist for any of a number of reasons. Perhaps the character has an unusual ancestor, such as a dragon who took alternate form to live among humans or elves. The character might be a throwback to an earlier age, when all species were more closely related. The bloodline might be the result of unusual supernatural energies present during conception, pregnancy, or birth. It could also be an omen sent by the gods, part of an ancient prophecy or dire legend.

Bloodline Strength and Source

Every bloodline has both a source (the kind of creature from which its characteristics are drawn) and a strength (minor, intermediate, or major). The stronger the bloodline, the more potent the granted traits and benefits granted. Every source has a minor bloodline associated with it. A minor bloodline doesn’t alter a character much, and thus don’t represent a very significant power increase over an ordinary character. In some cases, the only bloodline associated with a source is minor. This is most often true of sources derived from relatively weak creatures such as hags. Many sources also have intermediate bloodlines. These affect the character’s power level more drastically, and come from more potent races, such many dragons. Major bloodlines only come from the most powerful and primal of sources, including celestials, demons, devils, and the mightiest of dragons. A character with a major bloodline is a potent scion of his ancestor, displaying significant powers and abilities.

Bloodline Levels

Over the course of his career, a character with a bloodline becomes more powerful than one without a bloodline. Because the power gain is gradual over a span of twenty levels, a static level adjustment doesn’t truly reflect this difference. Instead, a bloodline character must take one or more levels of “bloodline” at various points in his career, as noted on the Bloodline Levels table. Before a character with a bloodline reaches the indicated character level, he must take one class level of “bloodline.” Class levels of “bloodline” do not increase a character’s character level the way a normal class level does, but they do provide certain benefits (see below). If the character does not take a class level of bloodline before reaching the character level indicated on the table, he gains no further bloodline traits and must take a 20% penalty on all future XP gains. As soon as he meets the minimum bloodline level, he gains all bloodline abilities due him according to his character level, and the XP penalty no longer applies. A bloodline level grants no increase in base attack bonus or base save bonuses, no hit points or skill points, and no class features. It counts as a normal class level (with no class skills) for the purpose of determining maximum skill ranks. Levels of bloodline never result in XP penalties for multiclass characters. Include the character’s bloodline level when calculating any character ability based on his class levels (such as caster level for spellcasting characters, or save DCs for characters with special abilities whose DCs are based on class level). The character doesn’t gain any abilities, spells known, or spells per day from the addition of his bloodline levels, though—only the calculations of his level-based abilities are affected. If a character has levels in two or more classes in addition to his bloodline levels, each class gains the benefit of adding the bloodline levels when calculating abilities.

Bloodline Level Bloodline Strength
Minor Intermediate Major
1st 12th 6th 3rd
2nd n/a 12th 6th
3rd n/a n/a 12th

Bloodline Traits

Depending on the strength of a character's bloodline, he gains a new bloodline trait every one, two, or four character levels (or effective character levels, for characters with a level adjustment greater than +0). The traits gained are given in each bloodline description.

Bloodline Trait Descriptions

Bloodline traits fall into four categories.

Ability Boost

You gain a permanent +1 increase to the given ability score. This is similar to the ability increase gained by characters at every fourth level.

Bloodline Affinity

You gain a bonus (either +2, +4, or +6) on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, and Perform checks made to interact with creatures of your bloodline.

Skill Boost

You receive a +2 bonus on checks made with the given skill.

Special

You gain a special ability. Common bloodline special abilities include bonus feats, natural armour, special attacks (such as the ability to smite evil or smite good), special qualities (such as resistance to energy, spell resistance, or scent), or spell-like abilities.

If you already have a feat that a bloodline provides as a bonus feat, you may choose a different feat. For example, the minor celestial bloodline grants Alertness as a bonus feat at 8th level, If a character with this bloodline already has Alertness by the time he reaches 8th level, he can choose any other feat instead (subject to normal prerequisites, of course).

Celestial

A character with a celestial bloodline can trace her heritage to beings of the Upper Planes, much like an aasimar or celestial creature. Most angels, archons, guardinals, and eladrins have the ability to interbreed with humanoids, and examples of celestial creatures descending from the heavens to live with mortals often appear in myth and legend. Descendants of such relationships often have silver or golden hair, a proud bearing, or a piercing stare.

Demon

A character with a demon bloodline has one or more ancestors of demonic origin. The most common source of such a bloodline is a succubus, but any demon capable of taking humanoid form might be responsible for the character's unusual traits. Characters with a demon bloodline may bear some minor characteristic reminiscent of such an ancestor: sinister glowing eyes, a faint smell of brimstone, or a love of brutality.

Devil

For a character with a devil bloodline, an erinyes is often the source. However, other devils with the ability to use a polymorph effect, such as gelugons or pit fiends, have been known to consort with mortals. A character with this bloodline may also possess tiny horns or unusually sharp teeth.

Doppelganger

The ultimate humanoid shape changer, a doppelganger can be anyone, anywhere, at any time. It's easy to imagine even a single doppelganger being responsible for a plethora of offspring tainted with shapechanging powers.

Dragon, Black

The sinister black dragon occasionally makes a close "alliance" with a like-minded humanoid, and that can lead to a black dragon bloodline. A character with this bloodline shares his ancestor's cunning and malevolence, and may have a sunken, almost skeletal appearance to his face.

Dragon, Blue

In times long past, blue dragons often interacted with the kings and queens of great desert empires. The bloodlines created by such intermingling were treated as a mark of royalty, though such empires have long since vanished. An individual bearing a blue dragon bloodline tends to be territorial and may smell faintly of ozone.

Dragon, Green

In certain rare instances, green dragons have been known to take control of (rather than simply devour) small enclaves of forest-dwelling humanoids. Some of those humanoids later give birth to half-dragon offspring, creating bloodlines that last centuries. Descendants of a green dragon are often voracious and belligerent, picking fights with little or no provocation.

Dragon, Red

Though most evil dragons don't enjoy friendly relationships with humanoids, red dragons do occasionally spawn bloodlines among humanoids. Such descendants exhibit extraordinary powers beyond those of their people. A character with a red dragon bloodline is usually covetous and vain, and may smell faintly of smoke.

Fey

Every culture tells stories of fey creatures taking mortal lovers, so it's no surprise that individuals display fey bloodlines from time to time. Regardless of whether it descended from a dryad, nymph, satyr, or other kind of fey, a creature with a fey bloodline often has a personality that is both aloof and carefree.

Hag

Many hags have the ability to change their appearance, making it possible for them to interact with creatures of other races. Though horrible to contemplate, some use this ability to lure in mates, in the hopes that the offspring can help them further their evil plots. The descendants of a hag tend to be strong but ugly, and often share their ancestor's love of schemes.

Lycanthrope

When he isn't murdering innocent townsfolk, the typical lycanthropic character may enjoy an almost entirely normal social life—even having a family. While the offspring of an afflicted lycanthrope might not share the curse itself, the bloodline might still pass its characteristics down the generations, allowing later descendants to display some of the lycanthrope's attributes. Regardless of the original animal stock, the carriers of lycanthropic bloodlines tend to share similar characteristics, including a feral stare and an overabundance of body hair.

Troll

Though the origin of such a bloodline is almost too hideous to contemplate, there are nonetheless a few creatures who display a certain trollish fortitude. Such characters tend to bear many scars from old wounds, and are often ferocious in attitude.

Vampire

The vampire's powers of persuasion have led more than one weak-willed humanoid into its deadly clutch of intimacy. Though it seems impossible that any child could result from such a union, tales of humanoids possessing some of the vampire's physical and mental prowess abound. These pale, haunted creatures are inevitably cloaked in mystery and deception, for even good aligned descendants of vampires fear retribution from those mistaking them for the undead.