Campaign Design - Race: Halflings

Halflings
(adapted from the Player's Handbook)

Halflings are clever, capable opportunists. Halfling individuals and clans find room for themselves wherever they can. Most halflings are nomads, whether wandering as horse tribesmen on the At'viras Steppes and the Tozlan Desert, or sailing the seas as one of the many sea merchant clans or piloting pirate ships from the Gorovlic Islands, or simply traveling as wandering trading clans in wagons or riverboats. Often they are strangers and wanderer, and others react to them with suspicion or curiosity. Halflings might be reliable, hard-working citizens, or they might be pirates or raiders waiting for the opportunity to prey upon the unwary. Regardless, halflings are cunning and resourceful survivors.

Personality: Halflings prefer trouble to boredom. They are notoriously curious. Relying on their ability to survive or escape danger, they demonstrate a daring that many larger people cannot match. Halfling clans are nomadic wanderers going wherever circumstance and opportunity takes them, and they tend to spend gold as quickly as they acquire it. Because of their affinity for wandering and their smaller subsistence requirements, halflings have come to dominate sea and river trade, as well as controlling most of the inhospitable desert and plains regions of the three worlds.

Physical Description: Halflings stand about 3 feet tall and usually weigh between 30 and 35 pounds. Their skin is ruddy and their hair is usually black and straight. They have brown or black eyes. Halfling men rarely wear beards, but long hair is common, and among the sea faring clans, mustaches are as well. They generally wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes.

Relations: Halflings usually try to get along with everyone else. Halfling merchants and traders are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, alvar, khülen, or gnomes and making themselves valuable and welcome. Since human society changes faster than the societies of the longer lived races, it is human society that most frequently offers halflings opportunities to exploit, so haflings are often found in or around human lands.

However, because halflings are so often found among pirate crews and nomadic raiding parties, most members of other races are generally wary around halflings. Even halfling merchants have a reputation as sharp traders, and as a result most people encountering a halfling make sure to keep a clear eye and their hand on their purse.

Alignment: Halflings run the full range of alignments. They are comfortable dealing with change, but they also rely upon intangible constants such as clan ties and personal honor. Many halflings are benevolent and friendly, seeking to establish trading partnerships with outsiders, while others are ruthless and unscrupulous.

Halfling Lands: Halflings can be found wandering the open plains and steppes as well as the wild deserts of the three worlds. Both the At'viras Steppes and the Tozlu Desert are the home of many halfling clans of nomads. However, the true halfling "homeland" is the rocky archipelago of the Gorovlic Islands, and the numerous ports of call that can be found there. Halfling merchant seamen and pirates both make their homes among these small isles, and almost all of the largest halfling settlements are found there. A large number of halflings have completely abandoned life on land, and taken up seafaring, living their lives aboard family-run merchant ships.

Halflings can also be found scattered throughout most lands in small, tight-knit communities of wanderers, usually plying riverboats or caravans of wains. While they work readlity with others, they often make friends only among their own kind.

Religion: Most halflings worship Aíne, the patron of the race, and the celestial mistress of diplomacy and commerce, which are matters close to the halfling heart. Some halflings follow Caire, and others hold Eiur in high regard. Those that ply the rivers and seas of the three worlds are prone to follow Hler, while the nomads and desert dwellers often extol the virtues of Syfa. Those halflings that turn to evil are prone to follow almost any of the Demon Lords, but they are most often found in the service of Seþra or Vaßatar.

Language: Seafaring halflings all speak Gorovlic, while those who wander the wide steppes and deserts most commonly speak one of the many dialects of Tozlan. For dealing with outsiders, halflings commonly learn another language, most often Enslaic, Rhadynnic, or Sorglish.

Names: Halflings from the Gorovlic Islands have names that are typically Gorovlic or Tozlan, such as Bojan, Coskun, Cvitko, Dragan, Erdal, Kursat, Milovan, or Vladko. Halflings that live among other peoples sometimes adopt names similar to those of the local populace in an effort to fit in with their neighbors.

• Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.


• Size: Small. As Small creatures, halflings gain a +1 size bonus to AC, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but use smaller weapons, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.


• Movement: Halflings have a base speed of 20 feet.


• Athletic: +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, and Move Silently checks. Halflings are agile, surefooted, and athletic.


• Lucky: +1 racial bonus on all saving throws. Halflings are surprisingly capable of avoiding mishaps.


• Fearless: +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear. This bonus stacks with the halfling +1 bonus on saving throws in general.


• Sharp Ears: +2 racial bonus on Listen checks. Halflings have keen ears.


• Automatic Languages: Either Gorovlic or Tozlan plus Enslaic, Rhadynnic, or Sorglish.


• Favored Class: Scout (from Complete Adventurer).


• Favored Class: Expert.


• Exclusive Class: Swashbuckler (from Complete Warrior).

Home     Player Character Races

Campaign Design - Race: Gnomes

Gnomes
(adapted from the Player's Handbook and Races of Destiny)

Gnomes are a race that literally inscribed with the power of magic. No one knows when it was done, but all accounts agree that at some point in the past, the alvar took the gnomish race and infused them with magical power, so that all are now born with luminous runes of power in their very flesh. Because of this, gnomes have become the masters of arcane knowledge. While the alvar have a natural affinity for magic, gnomes gravitate towards the scholarly study of the art, and as a result have come to dominate arcane educational centers, and the practice of alchemy.

Personality: Gnomes are inquisitive. They love to find things out by personal experience. At times they are even reckless. Their curiosity makes them natural scholars, arcanists, and engineers, but their racial tendencies also makes them natural explorers, bards, and investigators. While they are devoted to their studious pursuits, they also have a great sense of humor and love puns, jokes, games, and pranks. Gnomes are contemplative and tend to be somewhat cautious, choosing to study a situation and develop a plan before acting. They tend to create detailed plans for even the most mundane activities, and many are fond of charts, diagrams, and schematics, often making ludicrously overcomplicated plans and devices to accomplish relatively mundane tasks or to carry out practical jokes.

Physical Description: Gnomes stand about three to three and a half feet tall and generally weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their skin runs from a deep reddish tan to a woody brown. All gnomes are bald, but males grow facial hair, with most sporting well-groomed beards. Gnomes are primarily an urban race, found in cities and towns. Gnomes, even the poor ones, favor the most expensive and well-made clothing they can find, with fine embroidery. long robes and cape, and multiple layers. Gnomes also have a fondness for gems and other fine jewelry.

The most striking physical features of gnomes are the luminous symbols that adorn their bald heads, markings that allow them to tap the arcane power that has been imbued into the race. Most gnomes are proud of their heritage, wearing their luminous markings with pride, but some are resentful of the idea that their ancestors were modified to make the race what it is today.

Relations: Gnomes generally get along well with most other races. Gnomes and halflings tend to be especially friendly, leading scholars in some quarters to speculate that the original stock that the alvar drew gnomes from may have actually been a group of halflings. Others dismiss this as nonsense and attribute the affinity between the two races as being the result of their shared need to stand against the "big folk" that surround them. Gnomes and ironborn are very close as well, for the obvious reason that all known ironborn were created by and in the service of the gnome-dominated Collegium.

Gnomish relations with other races are generally decent, as gnomes have established a racial reputation as being mostly even handed and fair minded, a reputation heavily influenced by the policies established by the Collegium in Enselm.

Alignment: Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend towards law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or consultants. Those who tend towards chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or artists. Gnomes are usually good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than spiteful. Evil gnomes are rare, but they are usually terrifying.

Gnomish Lands: The city of Enselm is the heart of gnome culture and influence. Although gnomes can be found throughout the three worlds, usually engaged in some sort of scholarly, arcane, or mercantile pursuit, the largest concentration of gnomes is found in and around the cross-world city of Enselm.

Religion: Gnomes are generally more interested in arcane learning than the worship of divine power, however most hold Caire in high regard as the patron of their race, and many have a soft spot for Brid as well. Most gnomes also honor Füllar and Woda, due to the interest those deities have in arcane knowledge. Evil gnomes are prone to worship Ishi and Kivutar.

Language: Gnomes speak Enslaic, which has become synonymous with "Gnomish" in the minds of many people. Most gnomes also speak Rhadynnic or Sorglish. Given Enselm's position spanning the three worlds, and the natural gnomish inclination towards scholarship, many of the best linguists and linguistic scholars in the worlds are gnomes.

Names: Gnomish names are almost always Enslaic in form, although some gnomes have been known to adopt Zwersprache names in the Hartzstadt style.

• Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom


• Size: Small. As Small creatures, gnomes gain a +1 size bonus to AC, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but use smaller weapons, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.


• Movement: Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.


• Luminous Sigils (Su): The sigils that decorate a gnome’s head glow softly, providing illumination equal to that of a candle. Gnomes can make their sigil disappear by concentrating for a moment (as a standard action), but they don't receive the sigil's benefits and can't use any special abilities granted by gnomish words while they're doused. Restoring the sigils to visibility is a free action. Luminous sigils are insubstantial and disappear into any matter they touch. A gnome's sigil remains present and in effect even when a gnome takes another form, unless they would lose their supernatural abilities as a result of the form change.


• Glyphic Resonance (Ex): Gnomes are the physical embodiment of magical language, so they interact strangely with symbol-based spells. This group includes all spells whose names contain the word glyph, rune, sigil, or symbol. When a gnome encounters such magic, one of two things happens: either the gnome's resonance overpowers the spell, or the foreign magic corrupts the mystical language that defines the gnome. Gnomes have a -4 racial penalty on saving throws against these effects if their level is less than the caster level of the spell. If a gnome’s level equals or exceeds the spell's caster level, she is immune to the effect.


• Power Sigils (Su): In addition to the array of dimly glowing luminous sigils that decorate their head, a 1^st level gnome has a single brightly glowing power sigil that grants them certain bonuses. A power sigil can be discerned from other sigils surrounding a gnome with a DC 10 Spot check and identified with the DC 15 Knowledge (Arcana) check. For every new level of spells beyond 1^st that the gnome can cast in different spell casting class, a gnome gains another different power sigil and the bonus granted by each power sigil increases to +2. Depending on the combination of power sigils they choose, a gnome gains one or more extra special abilities. The benefit of each power sigil is given below, along with the Common translation of each sigil's name.


• Ra (Vigor) +1 bonus on Strength checks and Strength-based skill checks.


• Cui (Life) +1 bonus on Wisdom checks, Constitution checks, and Wisdom- or Constitution-based skill checks.


• Gû (Magic) +1 bonus to caster level for all spells and spell-like abilities (up to a maximum value equal to the gnome's character level).


• Nau (Mind) +1 bonus on Intelligence checks and Intelligence-based skill checks.


• Cel (Grace) +1 bonus on Dexterity checks and Dexterity-based skill checks.


• Mân (Soul) +1 bonus on Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks.


• Gnomish Words (Su): Each combination of two power sigil's names makes an gnomish word of great power and grants extra abilities to a character that possesses the two power sigils. The benefits of each word are:


• Ragû: (vigor-magic) A gnome can use their Strength score to determine the bonus spells they gain for a high ability score instead of the normal ability score used by their class to determine this feature. If they have more than one spell casting class, they may use their Strength score in place of any or all of the ability score used by their classes for this purpose.


• Racui: (vigor-life) Twice per day the gnome can spend a turn or rebuke attempt as a swift action to gain a bonus to weapon damage rolls equal to their Wisdom bonus. This effect lasts until the beginning of their next turn, and it applies only to weapons with which they have selected the Weapon Focus feat.


• Racel: (vigor-grace) When the gnome deals damage to a target with a sneak attack or a critical hit, they gain a +2 dodge bonus to their AC against that target until the beginning of their next turn.


• Cuigû: (life-magic) The gnome can spend a turn undead attempt as a swift action to add 1d8 points to the damage healed by any cure spell they cast before the end of the next turn, or a rebuke undead attempt as a swift action to add 1d8 points to the damage dealt by any inflict spell they cast before the end of their next turn. They may use this ability twice per day.


• Cuimân: (life-soul) Twice per day the gnome can expend a spell slot (but not a slot holding a prepared spell) as a swift action to gain a bonus equal to the spell's level on turning checks, turning damage rolls, and on attack and damage rolls when making a smite attack. This effect lasts until the beginning of the gnome's next turn.


• Naura: (mind-vigor) During the time when the gnome prepares spells, they can choose to leave up to two spell slots unfilled to gain the ability to cast any other prepared spell (or spells) of the same level as if it had been prepared with the Still Spell feat. This effect lasts until the next time the gnome prepares spells. They cannot fill the vacant spell slot (or slots) until the next time they prepare spells.


• Naucui: (mind-life) Twice per day the gnome can spend one or more turn or rebuke undead attempts as a swift action to add a metamagic effect to a spell they are casting with no effect on the spell's casting time or effective level. They must have the metamagic feat whose effect they want to apply. The gnome must expend a number of turn or rebuke attempts equal to the normal level adjustment of the metamagic feat. If they choose to apply the Heighten Spell effect, it costs one turn attempt per level that they heighten the spell, up to a maximum of 9^th level.


• Naugû: (mind-magic) During the time when the gnome prepares spells, they can choose to leave up to two spell slots unfilled to add +1 to the save DCs of all her other spells of that level (including spells from different classes). If they leave two spell slots unfilled, they must be at different spell levels. This effect lasts until the next time the gnome prepares spells. They cannot fill the vacant spell slot or slots until the next time they prepare spells.


• Celcui: (grace-life) Twice per day the gnome can expend a spell slot (but not a slot holding a prepared spell) as a swift action to gain an insight bonus equal to their Wisdom bonus on Reflex saves and their Dexterity bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance. This effect lasts for 1 minute per spell level of the spell slot expended.


• Celgû: (grace-magic) The gnome can use their Dexterity score to determine the bonus spells they gain for a high ability score instead of the normal ability score used by their class to determine this feature. If they have more than one spell casting class, they may use their Dexterity score in place of any or all of the ability scores used by their classes for this purpose.


• Celnau: (grace-mind) During the time when the gnome prepares spells, they can choose to leave a 1^st- or 2^nd-level spell slot unfilled to add an insight bonus equal to the spell slot's level on attack rolls when making an unarmed strike or a sneak attack. This effect lasts until the next time a gnome prepares spells. They cannot fill the vacant spell slot until the next time they prepare spells.


• Mânra: (soul-vigor) Twice per day, a gnome can expend a spell slot (but not a slot holding a prepared spell) as a swift action to gain an insight bonus equal to the spell's level to AC and on weapon damage rolls. This effect lasts until the beginning of the gnome's next turn and the damage bonus applies only to weapons with which they have selected the Weapon Focus feat.


• Mangû: (soul-magic) Twice per day the gnome can expend a spell slot (but not a slot holding a prepared spell) as an immediate action to gain an insight bonus equal to the spell's level on the next saving throw they make before the start of their next turn.


• Mânnau: (soul-mind) Twice per day, the gnome can use a spell slot (but not a slot holding a prepared spell) to spontaneously cast any of their prepared spells of the same spell level. The spell is cast using the caster level at which it is prepared.


• Mâncel: (soul-grace) The gnome can expend a spell slot (but not a prepared spell) as a swift action to add 1d6 per spell level to their unarmed strike damage rolls and their sneak attack damage rolls. This effect lasts until the beginning of their next turn, and they may use it twice per day.


• Educated Insight: +2 racial bonus on skill checks for any one Knowledge skill (chosen at character creation). Education and learning are important in gnome culture.


• Nose for Alchemy: +2 bonus on Craft: Alchemy checks.


• Arcane Intuition: Use Magic Device is always a class skill for gnomes; they have an inborn ability to understand and wield magical items.


• Automatic Languages: Enslaic and either Rhadynnic or Sorglish.


• Favored class: Wizard.


• Favored class: Apprentice.


• Exclusive class: Arcane Engineer (from Path of Magic).

Home     Player Character Races

Campaign Design - Race: Ironborn

Ironborn
(adapted from the Ebberon Campaign Setting and The Book of Iron Might)

The Ironborn are a race of living constructs made to serve the Collegium. They developed sentience as a side effect of arcane experiments that sought to make them into useful and versatile servants. With each successive model that emerged from the Collegium's arcane forges in Enselm, the Ironborn evolved until they became a new kind of creature.

Personality: The ironborn were made to serve as bodyguards, spies, trackers, and other types of servants for the mages of the Collegium in Enselm. When they are called upon to perform a task, they pursue it with single minded dedication, displaying adaptability impossible for mindless constructs. Though they are created to serve their wizardly masters, the Collegium recognizes their status as free-willed beings, and grants them their freedom after a set period of training and service. Once on their own, some settle into lives as artisans or laborers, while others wander as adventurers or enlist as mercenaries. Though ironborn have been created for almost every possible purpose, most have been built for combat, serving as an iron ring to guard their arcane masters in the Collegium.

Each ironborn was built for a specific purpose, and most pursue that purpose with a focused intensity. Even when granted their freedom, many Ironborn choose to remain in the service of the Collegium to continue to pursue their purpose. Others don't feel the call of their vocation as strongly, but they still feel confident in pursing it - it simply feels right to follow the prescribed path. When freed, they may leave the service of the Collegium but still pursue their predetermined calling. Still others choose an even more independent path: questioning the method of their creation, studying the nature of sentience and consciousness, and pondering what it means to be alive. Some outsiders speculate that this last group of ironborn are actually the reason that the Collegium built the race, but if so, the Blue Mages are not forthcoming with confirmation.

Physical Description: Though other races fall into standard ranges of height, weight, and size, the ironborn face no such restrictions. Each is crafted to fulfill a specific purpose. Warriors might be eight feet tall, with massive barrel chests and hulking, spiked arms. A scout or explorer might be no taller than a halfling, with nimble hands and strong legs.

Most ironborn are crafted from iron, steel, bronze, copper, silver, and sometimes mithril, adamantium, or darkwood. They have humanoid shapes and bodies built to enhance the purpose for which they were built. In all other respects, their shapes and forms are as varied as their personalities and vocations.

Relations: As the designed servants of the Blue Mages of the Collegium, the ironborn are seen by many as extension of their creators' will. Those on generally friendly terms with the Collegium, such as the Hartzstadt dwarves, will generally react favorably towards an ironborn they encounter. Those who fear or distrust the Blue Mages are likely to view any ironborn with suspicion, even and ironborn that claims to be acting on its own. Many outsiders will assume, for good or ill, that any ironborn is actually a servant working on behalf of the Blue Mages.

Alignment: As befits creatures created by the carefully even-handed Collegium, the ironborn tend towards neutrality, and a majority tend towards lawfulness, with an innate respect for authority. They were built to serve, not to wonder whether their service is right. Though they are capable of independent thought and moral speculation, most do not choose to wrestle with ethical questions.

Ironborn Lands: The ironborn have no lands of their own, but their "home" is Enselm, where all known ironborn were built in the arcane forges of the Collegium. Many free ironborn have migrated elsewhere, often taking up residence in places like Hartzstadt where they are accepted into dwarven society, or, for martially inclined ironborn, places like the Shield Lands where their skills make them welcome immigrants.

Religion: As constructed beings designed to serve an order of arcane spell casters, most ironborn are simply uninterested in religion. In some quarters, the idea that an ironborn could have a soul or would be of interest to a divine power is regarded as heretical. Even so, a not inconsequential number of ironborn venerate one or more of the celestial powers, and a handful have been known to honor some of the infernal lords. Most religiously inclined ironborn favor Hœnir, but many also honor Heim, Füllar, or Wünd. A very small number of ironborn have been created specifically to serve as divine spell casters, all of whom have been devoted to Füllar or Hœnir, who the most religious of the ironborn have claimed as the patrons of their race.

Language: As all known ironborn are created by the Collegium, they speak Enslaic and either Rhadynnic, Sorglish, or Zwersprache.

Names: As one might expect, ironborn typically have Enslaic names, although as creatures that are sentient from the moment of their creation, they typically choose their own names, usually at the end of their initial training. Some ironborn bear perfectly ordinary Enslaic names, while others take a name that is a description of themselves or their built in purpose. A handful ask their creators to bestow a name upon them, seeing this as a mark of their fealty. Names are one area in which the ironborn sense of humor and love of puns comes into play, and many have names that are a play on words or a groan inducing pun.

• Living Construct (Ex): Ironborn are living constructs with some of the advantages and disadvantages of both living creatures and constructs. A living construct is a subtype of construct, given sentience and free will through powerful and complex creation enhancements. A living construct is a sentient, artificially constructed creature that combines aspects of both constructs and living beings.


• A living construct has the type “Construct (Living)”, and is not subject to spells or effects that only target humanoids, monstrous humanoids or other creature types.
• As a created life form, a living construct has a Constitution score.
• A living construct is affected by spells that target constructs as well as spells that target living creatures. Because of this, damage dealt to a living construct can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, and a living construct is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool provide only half effect for a living construct.
• A living construct is not immune to mind-affecting effects.
• A living construct is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, nausea, and energy drain.
• A living construct is not immune to death effects or necromancy effects, except those mentioned here.
• A living construct responds slightly differently to reaching zero or negative hit points than other living creatures do. When it reaches hit point total ranging from zero to a negative total equal to its Constitution modifier, a living construct is disabled, just like a living creature. It can only take a single move action or standard action each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are between a negative total equal to its Constitution modifier and a negative total equal to its Constitutions score, a living construct is inert. It is unconscious and helpless, and it cannot perform any actions. However, an inert living construct does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt, exactly like a living creature that is stable.
• A living construct cannot heal damage naturally. It must be healed or repaired.
• A living construct is subject to critical hits.
• A living construct does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes’ feast and potions.
• A living construct is immune to the effects of fatigue and exhaustion.
• A living construct can be raised or resurrected.
• A living construct cannot benefit from the rage ability, whether such ability is gained as a class ability (such as the ability of the barbarian class) or as the result of a spell or magic item. As a created life form, a living construct simply does not have the necessary metabolic elements to rage.
• A living construct is vulnerable to antimagic zones, dead magic zones, and areas where magic is suppressed, just like a normal construct.
• A living construct suffers none of the drawbacks and gains none of the benefits of aging. They never die of natural causes and are immune to any attacks or effects that age a character.


• Ability Scores: An ironborn may take a +2 racial bonus to any ability score other than Strength in return for a -2 penalty to any other ability score. Or, an ironborn may take a +2 bonus to Strength in return for a -2 penalty to any two other ability scores. Ironborn are custom-built and created with the attributes best suited to their intended purpose.


• Size: A standard ironborn is Medium size. However, as living constructs, they can be built in other sizes. Some ironborn are Small, and a very small fraction are built as Large creatures.


• Small ironborn gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but use smaller weapons, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character. A Small ironborn takes a -2 penalty to Strength in addition to the usual ironborn racial ability score adjustments, or it can drop the penalty to Strength in exchange for not gaining the secondary benefit of any ironborn feats that have a primary and secondary benefit unless they take the feat twice.
• Large ironborn gain a natural reach of 10 feet, can use larger weapons, and their lifting and carrying limits are twice those of a Medium creature, but take a -4 penalty on Hide checks and a -1 size penalty on attack rolls and Armor Class. A Large ironborn takes a -2 penalty to Dexterity in addition to the usual ironborn racial ability score adjustments due to their ponderous bulk. If they take an ironborn feat that has a primary and secondary benefit, they do not gain the secondary benefit unless they take the feat twice.


• Movement: Medium and Large ironborn have a base speed of 30 feet. Small ironborn have a base speed of 20 feet.


• Feats: Ironborn characters may (but are not required to) select feats from the list of ironborn feats.


• Composite Plating (Ex): The composite plating used to build the ironborn provides a +2 armor bonus. This plating is not natural armor and does not stack with other effects that give an armor bonus (other than natural armor). This composite plating occupies the armor/robe body location, and thus, an ironborn cannot wear armor or magical robes. Ironborn plating can be enchanted just like armor can be, though they must be present for the entire time it takes to enchant them. Composite plating also provides an ironborn with a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows you to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets you ignore this penalty as well.


• Light Fortification (Ex): When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on an ironborn there is a 25% chance that it is negated, and damage is instead rolled normally.


• Rust Vulnerability: An ironborn suffers damage from a rusting attack, as it disintegrates its body. Use the damage value given for the spell or effect if one is mentioned. If a damage value is not given, the ironborn makes a save using the DC and save type indicated for the effect, if any. If no save is allowed or if the save fails, the ironborn takes 1d6 points of damage for each of its Hit Dice, with half damage on a successful save.


• Natural Attack (Ex): A Medium ironborn has a slam attack that deals 1d4 plus Strength bonus points of bludgeoning damage. A Large ironborn's slam attack deals 1d6 plus Strength bonus points of bludgeoning damage, while a Small ironborn's slam attack deals 1d3 plus Strength bonus points of bludgeoning damage. This is a natural weapon.


• Unblooded (Ex): As living constructs ironborn have no lineage, and thus cannot have a Heritage Bloodline.


• Automatic Languages: Enslaic and either Rhadynnic, Sorglish, or Zwersprache.


• Favored Class: Monk. An ironborn monk's composite plating does not interfere with its class abilities. Any effect that increases the weight of the composite plating, such as the Admantine Body feat, does interfere with an ironborn monk's class abilities.


• Favored Class: Warrior.


• Exclusive Class: Commander (from Path of the Sword).

Home     Player Character Races

Campaign Design - The Grym

The Grym (also y'Grym)

Followers of the druidic tradition believe that the most powerful force in the universe is the world power, specified by the faith as the Grym, which represents the very shape of creation. While the devotees of the Lords of Heaven (and their evil opposition among the cults of the Lords of Hell) ascribe divinity to ethereal spirits divorced from, but holding authority over, the mundane world, those who follow the druidic teachings see the divine in the very elements of the world: The sun, the sky, the water, the earth, the trees and the other elements of the natural world. Druids consider the various spiritual beings honored by other faiths simply to be subordinate manifestations of the Grym. Although most common among shifter communities, where it is often the dominant faith, the druidic tradition has adherents of all races, mostly humans, halflings, and dwarves, but also including giants, gnomes, goblins, and orcs among others. Druids are almost all unified by their shared knowledge of the ancient Aralaic language, but on most other issues one can find few commonalities that could credibly be said to extend throughout the faith.

Druids teach the power of the natural world, and claim they draw their abilities from it. According to the druids, only by unlocking the secrets hidden in the mountains, forests, and rivers can true understanding be gained. Like the devotees of Füllar, druids believe that prophecy can be found in the movements of the stars, but they also believe that omens and portents can be found in the sounds of the wind, the fall of rocks from a mountain, the shape of a tree, the currents in a lake, and the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Druid shrines are typically sacred groves, hidden pools, natural springs, or rock formations, but adherents to this faith also erect henges, dolmens, menhirs, and other arrangements of standing stones to mark important holy sites. Detailing all of the druidic beliefs is impossible, since they share so few universal tenets, and many druid circles oppose one another; in rare cases, opposing circles have been known to settle their differences via bloodshed.

Druids believe that a number of religious rites must be performed to honor the Grym, and if done incorrectly will spell disaster. Druids lead and direct these rituals, which constitute an important part of daily life in druidic communities, usually involving complex invocations. These rites are learned during the long years of training. While performing the rituals a druid must not eat or drink, must wear the correct clothing, and must follow a variety of other specific taboos. Unlike most other churches, there is only a loose governing authority over the druids, and the rites vary from place to place, and some druid circles have dark and sometimes frightening interpretations of the appetites they attribute to the Grym. Druid practices come in a variety of forms: Because the Grym is an all-encompassing entity, circles can be found that variously espouse the divinity of the orderly, random, benevolent, or even malevolent nature of the world power.

In organization, druids are far less centralized than the priesthoods of other faiths. Each druid begins his career as a member of a druid circle (and unless he becomes a hierophant, may stay one), a loose collection of like-minded druids connected by ties of family, clan, tribe, philosophy, or merely locality. Some druid circles are tied to a particular location, and thus they may have many members located in a single area; others may be devoted to a particular belief or philosophy, and thus be comprised of a handful of members scattered across a vast area. Once in a while, a druid finds that his beliefs conflict with those of his circle, and in such cases a druid might seek out a new circle to join or, rarely, establish a new circle. While some details of practice and minor tenets of belief vary from circle to circle, the similarities generally far outnumber the differences, a condition probably attributable to the overarching authority of the hierophants, a council of powerful druids that theoretically has authority over all of the various circles. Within druid circles, there are generally four ranks of members. Although these ranks roughly correspond to the druid class level of the member (due to the requirements of the ordeals), the correlation is not exact, and some junior members of druid circles may not even be members of the druid class at all – adepts, bards, and rangers are the most common non-druid members. Some druids transcend their circles and are elevated to the rank of hierophant, but there is no formal procedure for choosing a hierophant, and the entire process, such as there is, is shrouded in mystery. The ranks are:

Initiate: Initiate are those members studying to enter the ranks of druids and become ovates. They spend much of his time studying under more experienced members of the druidic order. They are not considered full druids until they complete their basic studies and undergo the ovedic ordeal, at which they must demonstrate their skills and learning. Before an initiate may attempt the ovedic ordeal, he must spend at least seven years in study, but some circle members remain initiates throughout their careers, for example, a ranger who is a member of a druid circle might remain an initiate his entire life.

Ovate: Ovates are members of the first level of a druidic circle that is actually composed of individuals who are considered priests of the druidic faith. An ovate has learned all of the legends, stories, histories, and myths that make up the religious foundation of the druidic faith, and has mastered the ability to tap into the power of the Grym and wield power as a result. Ovates are usually members of the druid class, but on occasion, a powerful adept, bard, or ranger might pass the test and become an ovate.

Ollave: An ovate who has trained for fourteen years may undertake the ollave ordeal. An ollave is regarded as a full priest, and accorded significant authority in druid circles. Authority does not come without responsibility, and an ollave is expected to act as a judge, counselor, mediator, or diviner if requested. Ollaves are expected to lead community rituals, and interpret omens, dreams, and signs. Ollaves are almost always members of the druid class, the requirements of the ollave ordeal virtually preclude members of any other class from passing the test.

Druid: While ovates and ollaves are accorded the rank of priests in the druid circle, and thus are technically druids, only the highest ranking priests bear the title druid. An ollave who have trained for at least seven more years (for a total of twenty-one years of training) may attempt to become a full druid. This requires yet another, more difficult ordeal and the assent of the other members of the circle. All members of a circle of druid rank are members of the druid class, and are usually significantly powerful members as well. Full druids are responsible for the governance of their circle, and charged with overseeing the most important issues confronting the circle. Druids are the judges of last resort, the diviners and soothsayers of the most important portents, and so forth.

Hierophant: The hierophants are a shadowy group of powerful priests that transcend the normal circles that druids normally work within. The exact number of this secretive rank is not generally known. Though they are "above" the druid circles, they don't really exert authority over them, but instead seem to be primarily concerned with pursuing the hidden esoteric and obscure mysteries rather than engaging in power politics. Once in a great while, the ranks of the heirophants gather together to debate some pressing matter, and on even rare occasions they have been moved to act in concert to stave off some dire threat, but these instances are so uncommon that none have taken place within living memory.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Vaßatar

Vaßatar

The Finder of Secrets; The Deceiver; Demon Lord of Kobolds, Avarice, and Thievery

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Domains: (Kobold), Labyrinth, Secrecy, Secrets, Snares, Trickery.

Summon Monster: Vaßatar's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and shadow creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A halfling skull impaled with a dart.
Favored Weapon: "Greed's ally" (dart, dart thrower, or hand crossbow).

When not disguised, Vaßatar appears as a black-skinned kobold. He is physically weak and cowardly, using protective wards, disguises, and traps to keep those he imagines are his enemies at bay. And because he is paranoid, he imagines everyone to be his enemy. As he is the very essence of greed, he imagines that everyone is after his possessions as well, and so secretes them in hidden vaults protected by elaborate and deadly traps and snares. He is a liar and a cheat, advocating that one should obtain and keep wealth by any means possible, and as a result, even the other demon lords despise him.

Before the War in Heaven, Vaßatar fell in love with Aíne, and sought to woo her, but she was repelled by his grasping rapacity and selfishness and rejected his suit out of hand. In the War in Heaven, he was snubbed by the other demon lords, and only Belial regarded him as anything other than an annoyance, sending him to serve as a spy. After the demon lords seized Aíne as their prisoner, they left Vaßatar to guard her, and he surrounded her cell with an array of deadly traps and unsuccessfully renewed his attempts to win her affection. When Caire overcame his pitfalls and other deadly devices to rescue Aíne, he humiliated Vaßatar and earned the kobold lord's enmity forever.

Vaßatar is the patron of thieves, con-men, and kobolds. He is the living embodiment of greed and avarice, and is looked to by merchants who seek to fleece their customers rather than engage in honest trade. Misers, hoarders, and skinflints are also his within his concern, although many do not realize that they are honoring him through their actions.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Tuni

Tuni

The Reaper of Life; The Bringer of Darkness; Lord of the Crypt; Lord of Ghouls; The Closed Mouth; Demon Lord of Death and Darkness

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Cleric Domains: Darkness, Death, Grave, Murder, Necromancy, Undeath.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Darkness, Envy, Undead.

Summon Monster: Tuni's clerics and favored souls can summon bone and corpse creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A six-fingered white hand, or a white right hand.
Favored Weapon: "The reaper of the living" (scythe).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Tuni is always depicted riding a pale, spectral horse and carrying his great scythe, with which he cuts down mortal lives like wheat. He is always shown in a gray cloak with a hood that hides his features in impenetrable shadow, and no legend details his appearance further. Tuni is silent, just as death is silent. His name is rarely spoken, as no mortal desires to draw this entity’s attention to themselves.

All of Tuni’s clerics are male, and are expected to become husbands to one of the priestesses of Tunar. His clerics are said to take vows of silence and obedience to their spouses once they are married, serving as powerful lieutenants to their wives. Many of Tuni's clerics choose to become undead, to better serve their infernal master and better serve as tools for their spouse's will.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Tunar

Tunar

The Pitiless Queen; The Blood-Drinker; The Dark Lady; Demon Mistress of Vampires and the Underworld

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Cleric Domains: Deathbound, Envy, Infernal, Mysticism, Undead, (Vampire).
Unholy Warrior Domains: Darkness, Envy, Undead.

Summon Monster: Tunar's clerics and favored souls can summon axiomatic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A six-fingered white hand, or a white left hand.
Favored Weapon: "The lash of lamentation" (whip or whip-dagger).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Tunar always shows herself as an unbelievably ugly old crone dressed in a black cloak. She is said to be so terrible in appearance that any mortal who sees her will flee in horror until they collapse from exhaustion. Her hair is entwined with poisonous snakes, and her skin is pallid and deathly. Tunar is usually represented holding a barbed whip with which she tortures those who displease her until the torment drives them insane. She is the spouse of Tuni and their worshipers are invariably found together in an order of priests known as “The White Hand”. Tunar and Tuni rule the dreaded land of Helas from their underworld fortress named Elvidnir, located in the deepest pit of Hell.

All of Tunar’s clerics are female, and each of them is expected to find a mate from among Tuni’s priesthood. The land of Loring is a stronghold of her worship, and she and Tuni are counted as the supreme powers of that realm.

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