Jallorn
2013-12-27, 07:17 PM
The world, the gnomes claim, used to have more land, and less water. Now, the people of the world are isolated and cramped, but a new era approaches. Until recently, the elves dominated the region. Though the elves are slow to act and slow to adapt, holding the largest island has given them the resources to capitalize on their intellectual advantages. Even when they lost half their people to the Great Betrayal of the Drow, they could call upon the halflings to farm their lands, and their new children, the Warforged, to defend them.
Even the organized, ordered, and warlike thri-keen couldn't deny the might of the elves, and their limited naval technology limited how far they could extend their military might.
The seeds of change came with the humans. Beyond the belief of anyone in the region, the humans claimed to hail from a long chain of nations stretching west beyond the horizon. They claimed a history of seafaring older than the oldest living elf, and displayed remarkable ability to decipher and adapt the elves' technology. It wasn't long before the elves' technological lead narrowed, and it was mostly just their skill with the mystic arts that they kept secret.
At the same time, the drow reappeared on the stage. Radically different from the elves they once were, they commoditized the arts of the orcish evolutionists; they sold mostly body modifications, grafts, and symbiotic organisms, but some of their best artisans could even craft living tools and weapons.
Between the thri-keen ambition, the drow desire for repatriation, the elven fear of loss of control through the spreading of their technology, and the wild card that is humanity, the region is a powder keg, and that's just the major players. At the same time, humanity has introduced a new idea to the region, one they continue to engage in: colonies. Some are seen as extensions of the existing government, but many are simply civillians getting a hold of a ship and setting off to make a new home. Of these latter, most are considered illegal, and serve as pirate bases.
This is a world on the brink of wars, on the brink of riches, and always always in the middle of a great adventure.
The Darfellan are an open, friendly people of great strength. They are also largely enslaved by the Thri-Keen, specifically for their strength. Amphibious, the Darfellan who are free are almost universally hell bent on freeing their kin and crushing the Thri-Keen. They have nothing but hatred for Thri-Keen or slavers, and little more for anyone who associates with them. They are, quite naturally, friendly with the Elves as enemies of the Thri-Keen.
+2 Str, +2 Cha, -2 Dex
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Darfellan, Aquatic)
Aquatic Capabilities: Darfellan are a semi-aquatic species, their original home being an atoll. As a result, they are a bit clumsier and slower on land, possessing a land speed of only 20, but are also strong swimmers, having a swim speed of 40 and a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A darfellan can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A darfellan can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line. A darfellan can also hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to 8 x his Constitution score before he risks drowning. Finally, darfellan have a kind of echolocation, granting them 40 foot blindsight in the water, and 20 foot blindsense out of it. Neither sense extends past the surface of the water, and each must be triggered as a free action.
Spontaneous Attack: Due to their great strength, Darfellan have always found it advantageous to strike when least expected, and strike hard. Once per encounter, per charisma modifier, a Darfellan may declare an attack to be spontaneous, dealing twice as much base weapon and ability modifier damage. Energy damage and damage resulting from psionic or magical enhancements except indirect ones such as a boost to Str from a Belt of Giant Strength.
Pariahs exiled from Elven society for trying to kill a member of the Elven royal family, the Drow were sure they would die until they encountered the Orcoids. Learning from the Orcoids the art of biological manipulation, and helping them to advance it, the Drow found the tools needed to adapt to a new home. Claiming a small cluster of islands (and secretly a network of tunnels under the surprisingly high under the water mesa) the Drow adapted themselves, settling on a standard shape, and then continued to experiment with biotech.
Drow reproduce quite a bit faster than elves, and while they are somewhat less agile, they are also somewhat more patient as a result of tweaking their perception of time. Drow no longer find short-time to be quite the headache the elves find it to be. Instead, largely due to the great number of orcoids that live among them, drow have adjusted to short-time as the norm, and long-time, while still accessible and very much desirable, is more akin to a fantastic high.
+2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Str
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Elf)
Bio-Engineering: After learning the arts of Evolutionism from the orcs, and finding their new home, the drow, then still elves, came to the conclusion that to survive, great changes would have to be wrought on their people. Among other adaptations, drow have Low-Light Vision, a +2 racial modifier to Stealth checks, and Craft (Bio-Tech) as a class skill, even if it normally wouldn't be.
Psionic Realization: Also thanks to the arts of Evolutionism, though due to the parallel skills rather than physical modification, the drow have unlocked more of their psionic potential than they had as elves. They have combined this with a greater awareness of their surroundings, and lessons learned from their first tweaks with time perception to give them incredible reaction speed from thought to decision. Drow gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level, and may spend up to twice their level in power points to gain an equivalent bonus on an Initiative Roll before rolling it.
Sitting as one of two great powers in the region, (the other be the Non-player race Thri-Keen) and as the rulers of the single largest landmass, the Elves are quite secure in their supperiority. With Halflings and Warforged to tend the fields and live rurally, and Warforged to fill the other pools of unskilled labor, the Elves, much diminished in population since the loss of several houses to the punishment of the Great Betrayal, live their lives primarily as artists. Secure in their stability, the Elves glide through long-time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258370), perfecting their art and generally living it up. A few of them serve in the navy, directing the ships manned mostly by Warforged, or serve as ambassadors to other races, but most disdain the headaches of short-time.
+2 Dex, +2 Int -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Elf)
Long-Time Practice: Elves live their lives in long-time, and as a result, have the patience to perfect skills in a way that other races don't. At first level, an elf chooses a skill. That skill is always a class skill for the elf, they gain a free rank in that skill at odd levels, may choose to take 10 with that skill at any time, and gain a +2 racial bonus with that skill.
Controlled Logic: Elves are renowned for their logic and self-control, often even to the degree of aloofness. This is quality allows them to hold onto information much better than other races. Once per day per intelligence modifier, an elf may take 15 on any knowledge check they would normally take 10 on.
The first race to "civilize," Gnomes, while not as long lived as Elves have a longer history. They tell of a time when there was less water in the world, and more land, when they built great cities. They tell, too, of a great cataclysm that left their cities submerged, and the land diminished. Now, the Gnomes live on the winds, gliding around the world on great balloons, powered by mystical artifacts. They live mostly to travel and see the world and its different people. Mysterious and always bearing tales and artifacts from strange lands, Gnomes are generally welcomed and treated well wherever they go.
+2 Any one stat, -2 Str
Size: Small
Type: Humanoid (Gnome)
Skilled: Gnomes enjoy trying new things, and devote themselves to mastery more than most people. As a result, the average gnome can do a lot more than the average member of most other races. They get an extra four skill points at first level, and an extra skill point every level after first.
Diverse People: Gnomes are the most widespread of people, and it shows in their character. The difference in any two gnomes' outlook on the world may be as different as two different species' outlooks. And yet, gnomes are known for their ability to get along with and tolerate different species, let alone their own kind. As a result, gnomes get a bonus feat at first level.
These apelike people are strange and adventurous. With no central government to speak of, the Hadozee have spread across the region, working on ships, mostly for the Elves, but of late they have signed onto Human ships with increasing regularity. The Hadozee have suffered greatly at the hands of the Thri-Keen, and are one of the two most populous people to make up the Thri-Keen's slaves. Due to their lack of a national connection, however, the Hadozee rarely care about freeing slaves unless the opportunity is right in front of them. The exceptions come in the form of family, however.
+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Hadozee)
Arboreal Grace: Hadozee have flaps of skin under their arms that allow them to glide from height to height. When gliding, a hadozee negates damage from a fall of any height, and travels 20 feet horizontally for every 5 feet of descent. A hadozee glides at a speed of 40 feet (average maneuverability) and thus only falls ten feet a round while gliding. An unconscious hadozee cannot glide. Hadozee also possess a climb speed of 20, and get a +8 racial bonus on all climb checks, but not other uses of the athletics skill. A hadozee does not lose their dexterity bonus to AC while climbing, and can climb unimpeded while holding something in one hand.
Natural Stalker: Hadozee are skilled at moving silently with speed, often up in trees, but no less on the ground. Hadozee may move up to their full speed without taking a penalty to their move silently check.
Simple, friendly, and cute are the adjectives most Elves would associate with Halflings. Of all the races they've met, the Halflings are the most tolerable, even sometimes likeable, to the Elves. A people who desire little more than the simple pleasures in life, the Halflings welcomed Elvish protection, and their two population centers are their home island, and the Elvish farms. Wary of strangers, but friendly once you get to know them, Halflings prefer small villages where everyone can know everyone, which suits the Elves just fine, they don't really want them in their cities; they're fun for a little while, but having them as a constant presence is too much.
Size: Small
Type: Humanoid (Halfling)
+4 Dex, -2 Con
Traditional Sport: Halflings mastered the war sling long ago as a simple herding weapon. Against the larger predators, they needed a weapon of power and range, and when they encountered the other races, they found that it was still the best weapon for them. In the relative peace provided by the elves and warforged, it has become a sport more than a tool or weapon, and so practically every single halfling can use the war sling. Halflings gain Exotic Weapon Proficiency (War Sling) as a bonus feat at first level, and have a +2 racial bonus to damage when attacking with a War Sling.
Invented Distraction: Being small, halflings developed a natural ability to create and take advantage of distractions. Once per day per Charisma modifier, a halfling may grant themselves or all allies within sixty feet and line of effect a 10% miss chance for two rounds.
Humans are new to the region, the first species to expand so far from their home island. They are also unique for posessing a divisivness within their species, while still identifying with the Humans of other nations. They are quick to heal, able to work long hours, and yet also quick of mind and quite passionate. They are easily the most unpredictable of people and possess more complexities in their societies than any other race. They have also found a unique niche, able to trade between the many diverse species, and even between the rivalries that exist, not because of any superior Charisma, but simply because they are so adaptable. The single most terrifying thing about the humans, at least to the Elves and Thri-Keen, however, is the rate at which they co-opt and adapt the knowledge, technology, and skills of other races, sometimes even without being directly taught how the right ways.
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Human)
+2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Any but Con
Enduring Effort: Humans are known for their ability to work longer and harder than just about every other race. Their sheer determination to get a job done is terrifying. Once per day per character level, a human may ignore an effect that would cause them to become fatigued or exhausted. In addition, they get a +2 bonus to Will Saves to resist fear effects and mind effecting spells, powers, spell-like abilities, and psionic-like abilities.
Durable Bodies: Humans can not only survive wounds that would be fatal to other races, they can keep going, pushing past the pain. As a free action once per day per character level, a human may gain a number of temporary hit points equal to his Constitution modifier that last until the end of the encounter. They also add half their character level when determining the negative hit point total necessary to kill them, and upon falling to -1 hit points, may choose to act as if disabled instead of dying as the Diehard feat, except that the human does not automatically stabilize and may continue bleeding out. However, upon reaching negative hit points equaling his Constitution modifier (if non-negative) the human will fall unconscious and be dying as normal. At the end of any encounter that the human uses this trait, he becomes Fatigued. Enduring Effort cannot be used to negate this Fatigue unless four uses of Enduring Effort are expended.
Orcoids were a slowly dying people when the exiled Elves who would become the Sea Elves and the Drow found them. Now, they're a slightly slower dying people. A naturally psionic people, the Orcoids discovered a way to change their physiology, and adapted to their changing environment slowly, barely keeping up. A spiritual people with strong connections to their land, the Orcoids didn't even think of pushing the boundaries of this ability until the Elves showed up. By then, their sense of fairness and compassion for even the least among them and their diminishing food sources meant that they were slowly wasting away. The Elves learned the talents of the Orcoids and began to push the boundaries, applying their analytical minds to the instinctual skills. Those who would become Drow left to find their people a homeland, citing the insufficient resources on the island, and promising to send aid, while those who would become the Sea Elves stayed, swearing to solve the problem once and for all by helping the Orcoids evolve beyond it.
It was a ruse, however, and once the Sea Elves had been born, able to live under the water, they turned on the Orcoids, slaughtering their brightest Evolutionists and destroying their three coastal cities. Only the single inland city survived. When the Drow returned with food, they found a broken people ravaged by disease and starvation. The extended an offer of amnesty, and many of the Orcoids accepted it, moving to the Drow home and becoming to the Drow very like the Halflings are to the Elves. Those who didn't, however, remained Orcoids. So there is one small city left to the Orcoids, with a small population that has a hard time of it. But they sell their skills as physiology manipulators to those as can pay. A few Orcoids wander the seas, trading their skills similarly, but there are less and less each year, and they tend to be much more guarded about teaching their skills to others.
+2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Dex
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Orc)
Naturally Adaptive: Orcs are much more physically adaptive than the other races, in fact, their natural processes gave rise to the profession of the Evolutionist. At first level, an orc gains one mutation. Whenever the orc gains a level, they may change this mutation. If the orc has levels in Evolutionist, they use those levels to determine their mutator level for their racial mutation. Otherwise, they have a mutator level of 1. Orcs also get Craft (Bio-Tech) as a class skill even if they wouldn't normally, and a +2 racial modifier to Craft (Bio-Tech).
Dark History: Orcs have a bleak history, though their present isn't incredibly better. Thanks to their memory of the Great Betrayal, orcs are wary of others, they learned their lesson well. Although their culture lacks much of the brutality it once had, long before the elves encountered them, both the orcs and the other races remember it, notably the gnomes. Orcs get a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks made to sense motive, and Persuasion checks made to intimidate. Finally, Orcs were once a nocturnal people, though they have mostly adapted to a diurnal lifestyle to accommodate the other races. They still retain excellent night vision, however, and possess Low Light Vision.
A reptilian people who initiated conflict with their neighbors the Elves and lost, the Skarn are the only people to have truly widespread use the magic of Incarnum. So devoted are the Skarn to their magic, in fact, that their main religion revolves around it, and, quite naturally, places them in a position of honor. Currently, however, the Skarn are officially a vasal state to the Elves, paying concessions and supporting them in any conflicts. The predominant beliefs among the Skarn are that the situation is either punishment for their hubris or a test of their deservedness. In either case, it is no secret that they would like to escape the dominance of the Elves.
+2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Incarnum, Skarn)
Sharp Spines: Skarn possess sharp spines along their back and arms, the latter of which they often employ as weapons. Skarn have a pair of spine primary natural attacks, which deal 1d6 points of piercing damage. A skarn can’t attack with his spines and a weapon wielded by the same arm in the same round. If a skarn is wielding a shield on either arm, he can't use that attack at all.
Inherent Essentia: While other races have shown capacity to employ Incarnum, the skarn find an instinctual talent for Incarnum from the start of their life. A skarn's essentia pool is permanently increased by 1. If he doesn’t have an essentia pool, this trait grants him one with a single point of essentia. In addition, they have two inherent qualities they may invest their essentia in. First, they may invest essentia into their spines, enlarging them and enhancing their strength, increasing their damage dice in size as the Improved Natural Attack feat, one step per essentia point. Second, they may invest essentia in their instincts, granting a +1 racial bonus to all Will Saves, Fortitude Saves, and Reflex Saves per point of essentia.
Invented, created, and employed by the Elves, Warforged make up the working class of Elven society. Each Halfling village has a small number, generally between five and ten, who help do the heavy lifting at the local farms and in town, especially when it comes to building, and there are also a fair number who make up the unskilled laborers, especially builders, of the Elven cities. Warforged serve this role perfectly, having the patience to not intrude upon Elven long-time, and the ability to handle those things that require short-time thinking, mostly. Warforged were first created to serve as a military, however, possibly the single thing Elves find the most demanding upon their minds unless they are a war-artist. As a result, Warforged make up the majority of Elven military and naval personnel.
Despite appearances, Warforged are not slaves, and they are free to claim their independence whenever they like, and a few do, but mostly they are happy with their lot. They don't need much in the way of material needs, and aren't too bright or adventurous. In addition, there is nothing a Warforged loves more than to see something he has created, or to perfect his skills. They are like Elves in that fashion, drawing joy from the process and result of the application of work and skill. Those Warforged who crave mastery of skill tend to be military Warforged, perfecting their ability to fight, while those who crave creation tend towards civilian positions. Those few who crave both are smiths or the like, crafting beautiful creations with their own aesthetic, similar to, yet unique from, Elven aesthetics.
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int
Size: Medium
Type: Construct (Living Construct)
Composite Plating: The plating used to build a warforged 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 same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a warforged cannot wear armor or magic robes. Warforged can be enchanted just as armor can be. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to enchant him. Composite plating also provides a warforged with a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows a warforged to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets him ignore this penalty as well.
Light Fortification: When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on a warforged, there is a 25% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.
Solid Arms: A Warforged has a natural weapon in the form of a slam attack that deals 1d6 points of damage.
Xeph are both the race with the greatest natural psionic affinity, and the first people in the region to have encountered the Humans. The Xeph are best described as, "fast." They are fast of body and fast of mind, and as a result, they and the Elves find each other quite irritating. Despite that, they maintain mostly peaceful relations. Xeph are also known for being prolific explorers, though they always return home. Of all the other races, Xeph admire Gnomes the most, and a sighting of a Gnomish balloon is considered good luck.
Xeph also happen to be the shortest lived of all the races, and tend to approach everything with an unchallenged passion. The level of mastery that they can sometimes achieve in a very short time is marvelous to the longer lived races; even humans are impressed by their tenacity.
+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Str
Size: Small
Type: Humanois (Psionic, Xeph)
Naturally Psionic: All Xeph have some degree of psionic capability. They gain 2 bonus power points at level 1, and gain a single 1st level power taken from the Psion/Wilder power list as a psi-like ability.
Fleet of Foot: Despite their small size, Xeph move quickly. Xeph have a base land speed of 30, and once per round, as a free action, they may spend a power point to increase their speed by 10 for three rounds.
Even the organized, ordered, and warlike thri-keen couldn't deny the might of the elves, and their limited naval technology limited how far they could extend their military might.
The seeds of change came with the humans. Beyond the belief of anyone in the region, the humans claimed to hail from a long chain of nations stretching west beyond the horizon. They claimed a history of seafaring older than the oldest living elf, and displayed remarkable ability to decipher and adapt the elves' technology. It wasn't long before the elves' technological lead narrowed, and it was mostly just their skill with the mystic arts that they kept secret.
At the same time, the drow reappeared on the stage. Radically different from the elves they once were, they commoditized the arts of the orcish evolutionists; they sold mostly body modifications, grafts, and symbiotic organisms, but some of their best artisans could even craft living tools and weapons.
Between the thri-keen ambition, the drow desire for repatriation, the elven fear of loss of control through the spreading of their technology, and the wild card that is humanity, the region is a powder keg, and that's just the major players. At the same time, humanity has introduced a new idea to the region, one they continue to engage in: colonies. Some are seen as extensions of the existing government, but many are simply civillians getting a hold of a ship and setting off to make a new home. Of these latter, most are considered illegal, and serve as pirate bases.
This is a world on the brink of wars, on the brink of riches, and always always in the middle of a great adventure.
The Darfellan are an open, friendly people of great strength. They are also largely enslaved by the Thri-Keen, specifically for their strength. Amphibious, the Darfellan who are free are almost universally hell bent on freeing their kin and crushing the Thri-Keen. They have nothing but hatred for Thri-Keen or slavers, and little more for anyone who associates with them. They are, quite naturally, friendly with the Elves as enemies of the Thri-Keen.
+2 Str, +2 Cha, -2 Dex
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Darfellan, Aquatic)
Aquatic Capabilities: Darfellan are a semi-aquatic species, their original home being an atoll. As a result, they are a bit clumsier and slower on land, possessing a land speed of only 20, but are also strong swimmers, having a swim speed of 40 and a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A darfellan can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A darfellan can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line. A darfellan can also hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to 8 x his Constitution score before he risks drowning. Finally, darfellan have a kind of echolocation, granting them 40 foot blindsight in the water, and 20 foot blindsense out of it. Neither sense extends past the surface of the water, and each must be triggered as a free action.
Spontaneous Attack: Due to their great strength, Darfellan have always found it advantageous to strike when least expected, and strike hard. Once per encounter, per charisma modifier, a Darfellan may declare an attack to be spontaneous, dealing twice as much base weapon and ability modifier damage. Energy damage and damage resulting from psionic or magical enhancements except indirect ones such as a boost to Str from a Belt of Giant Strength.
Pariahs exiled from Elven society for trying to kill a member of the Elven royal family, the Drow were sure they would die until they encountered the Orcoids. Learning from the Orcoids the art of biological manipulation, and helping them to advance it, the Drow found the tools needed to adapt to a new home. Claiming a small cluster of islands (and secretly a network of tunnels under the surprisingly high under the water mesa) the Drow adapted themselves, settling on a standard shape, and then continued to experiment with biotech.
Drow reproduce quite a bit faster than elves, and while they are somewhat less agile, they are also somewhat more patient as a result of tweaking their perception of time. Drow no longer find short-time to be quite the headache the elves find it to be. Instead, largely due to the great number of orcoids that live among them, drow have adjusted to short-time as the norm, and long-time, while still accessible and very much desirable, is more akin to a fantastic high.
+2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Str
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Elf)
Bio-Engineering: After learning the arts of Evolutionism from the orcs, and finding their new home, the drow, then still elves, came to the conclusion that to survive, great changes would have to be wrought on their people. Among other adaptations, drow have Low-Light Vision, a +2 racial modifier to Stealth checks, and Craft (Bio-Tech) as a class skill, even if it normally wouldn't be.
Psionic Realization: Also thanks to the arts of Evolutionism, though due to the parallel skills rather than physical modification, the drow have unlocked more of their psionic potential than they had as elves. They have combined this with a greater awareness of their surroundings, and lessons learned from their first tweaks with time perception to give them incredible reaction speed from thought to decision. Drow gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level, and may spend up to twice their level in power points to gain an equivalent bonus on an Initiative Roll before rolling it.
Sitting as one of two great powers in the region, (the other be the Non-player race Thri-Keen) and as the rulers of the single largest landmass, the Elves are quite secure in their supperiority. With Halflings and Warforged to tend the fields and live rurally, and Warforged to fill the other pools of unskilled labor, the Elves, much diminished in population since the loss of several houses to the punishment of the Great Betrayal, live their lives primarily as artists. Secure in their stability, the Elves glide through long-time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258370), perfecting their art and generally living it up. A few of them serve in the navy, directing the ships manned mostly by Warforged, or serve as ambassadors to other races, but most disdain the headaches of short-time.
+2 Dex, +2 Int -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Elf)
Long-Time Practice: Elves live their lives in long-time, and as a result, have the patience to perfect skills in a way that other races don't. At first level, an elf chooses a skill. That skill is always a class skill for the elf, they gain a free rank in that skill at odd levels, may choose to take 10 with that skill at any time, and gain a +2 racial bonus with that skill.
Controlled Logic: Elves are renowned for their logic and self-control, often even to the degree of aloofness. This is quality allows them to hold onto information much better than other races. Once per day per intelligence modifier, an elf may take 15 on any knowledge check they would normally take 10 on.
The first race to "civilize," Gnomes, while not as long lived as Elves have a longer history. They tell of a time when there was less water in the world, and more land, when they built great cities. They tell, too, of a great cataclysm that left their cities submerged, and the land diminished. Now, the Gnomes live on the winds, gliding around the world on great balloons, powered by mystical artifacts. They live mostly to travel and see the world and its different people. Mysterious and always bearing tales and artifacts from strange lands, Gnomes are generally welcomed and treated well wherever they go.
+2 Any one stat, -2 Str
Size: Small
Type: Humanoid (Gnome)
Skilled: Gnomes enjoy trying new things, and devote themselves to mastery more than most people. As a result, the average gnome can do a lot more than the average member of most other races. They get an extra four skill points at first level, and an extra skill point every level after first.
Diverse People: Gnomes are the most widespread of people, and it shows in their character. The difference in any two gnomes' outlook on the world may be as different as two different species' outlooks. And yet, gnomes are known for their ability to get along with and tolerate different species, let alone their own kind. As a result, gnomes get a bonus feat at first level.
These apelike people are strange and adventurous. With no central government to speak of, the Hadozee have spread across the region, working on ships, mostly for the Elves, but of late they have signed onto Human ships with increasing regularity. The Hadozee have suffered greatly at the hands of the Thri-Keen, and are one of the two most populous people to make up the Thri-Keen's slaves. Due to their lack of a national connection, however, the Hadozee rarely care about freeing slaves unless the opportunity is right in front of them. The exceptions come in the form of family, however.
+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Hadozee)
Arboreal Grace: Hadozee have flaps of skin under their arms that allow them to glide from height to height. When gliding, a hadozee negates damage from a fall of any height, and travels 20 feet horizontally for every 5 feet of descent. A hadozee glides at a speed of 40 feet (average maneuverability) and thus only falls ten feet a round while gliding. An unconscious hadozee cannot glide. Hadozee also possess a climb speed of 20, and get a +8 racial bonus on all climb checks, but not other uses of the athletics skill. A hadozee does not lose their dexterity bonus to AC while climbing, and can climb unimpeded while holding something in one hand.
Natural Stalker: Hadozee are skilled at moving silently with speed, often up in trees, but no less on the ground. Hadozee may move up to their full speed without taking a penalty to their move silently check.
Simple, friendly, and cute are the adjectives most Elves would associate with Halflings. Of all the races they've met, the Halflings are the most tolerable, even sometimes likeable, to the Elves. A people who desire little more than the simple pleasures in life, the Halflings welcomed Elvish protection, and their two population centers are their home island, and the Elvish farms. Wary of strangers, but friendly once you get to know them, Halflings prefer small villages where everyone can know everyone, which suits the Elves just fine, they don't really want them in their cities; they're fun for a little while, but having them as a constant presence is too much.
Size: Small
Type: Humanoid (Halfling)
+4 Dex, -2 Con
Traditional Sport: Halflings mastered the war sling long ago as a simple herding weapon. Against the larger predators, they needed a weapon of power and range, and when they encountered the other races, they found that it was still the best weapon for them. In the relative peace provided by the elves and warforged, it has become a sport more than a tool or weapon, and so practically every single halfling can use the war sling. Halflings gain Exotic Weapon Proficiency (War Sling) as a bonus feat at first level, and have a +2 racial bonus to damage when attacking with a War Sling.
Invented Distraction: Being small, halflings developed a natural ability to create and take advantage of distractions. Once per day per Charisma modifier, a halfling may grant themselves or all allies within sixty feet and line of effect a 10% miss chance for two rounds.
Humans are new to the region, the first species to expand so far from their home island. They are also unique for posessing a divisivness within their species, while still identifying with the Humans of other nations. They are quick to heal, able to work long hours, and yet also quick of mind and quite passionate. They are easily the most unpredictable of people and possess more complexities in their societies than any other race. They have also found a unique niche, able to trade between the many diverse species, and even between the rivalries that exist, not because of any superior Charisma, but simply because they are so adaptable. The single most terrifying thing about the humans, at least to the Elves and Thri-Keen, however, is the rate at which they co-opt and adapt the knowledge, technology, and skills of other races, sometimes even without being directly taught how the right ways.
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Human)
+2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Any but Con
Enduring Effort: Humans are known for their ability to work longer and harder than just about every other race. Their sheer determination to get a job done is terrifying. Once per day per character level, a human may ignore an effect that would cause them to become fatigued or exhausted. In addition, they get a +2 bonus to Will Saves to resist fear effects and mind effecting spells, powers, spell-like abilities, and psionic-like abilities.
Durable Bodies: Humans can not only survive wounds that would be fatal to other races, they can keep going, pushing past the pain. As a free action once per day per character level, a human may gain a number of temporary hit points equal to his Constitution modifier that last until the end of the encounter. They also add half their character level when determining the negative hit point total necessary to kill them, and upon falling to -1 hit points, may choose to act as if disabled instead of dying as the Diehard feat, except that the human does not automatically stabilize and may continue bleeding out. However, upon reaching negative hit points equaling his Constitution modifier (if non-negative) the human will fall unconscious and be dying as normal. At the end of any encounter that the human uses this trait, he becomes Fatigued. Enduring Effort cannot be used to negate this Fatigue unless four uses of Enduring Effort are expended.
Orcoids were a slowly dying people when the exiled Elves who would become the Sea Elves and the Drow found them. Now, they're a slightly slower dying people. A naturally psionic people, the Orcoids discovered a way to change their physiology, and adapted to their changing environment slowly, barely keeping up. A spiritual people with strong connections to their land, the Orcoids didn't even think of pushing the boundaries of this ability until the Elves showed up. By then, their sense of fairness and compassion for even the least among them and their diminishing food sources meant that they were slowly wasting away. The Elves learned the talents of the Orcoids and began to push the boundaries, applying their analytical minds to the instinctual skills. Those who would become Drow left to find their people a homeland, citing the insufficient resources on the island, and promising to send aid, while those who would become the Sea Elves stayed, swearing to solve the problem once and for all by helping the Orcoids evolve beyond it.
It was a ruse, however, and once the Sea Elves had been born, able to live under the water, they turned on the Orcoids, slaughtering their brightest Evolutionists and destroying their three coastal cities. Only the single inland city survived. When the Drow returned with food, they found a broken people ravaged by disease and starvation. The extended an offer of amnesty, and many of the Orcoids accepted it, moving to the Drow home and becoming to the Drow very like the Halflings are to the Elves. Those who didn't, however, remained Orcoids. So there is one small city left to the Orcoids, with a small population that has a hard time of it. But they sell their skills as physiology manipulators to those as can pay. A few Orcoids wander the seas, trading their skills similarly, but there are less and less each year, and they tend to be much more guarded about teaching their skills to others.
+2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Dex
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Orc)
Naturally Adaptive: Orcs are much more physically adaptive than the other races, in fact, their natural processes gave rise to the profession of the Evolutionist. At first level, an orc gains one mutation. Whenever the orc gains a level, they may change this mutation. If the orc has levels in Evolutionist, they use those levels to determine their mutator level for their racial mutation. Otherwise, they have a mutator level of 1. Orcs also get Craft (Bio-Tech) as a class skill even if they wouldn't normally, and a +2 racial modifier to Craft (Bio-Tech).
Dark History: Orcs have a bleak history, though their present isn't incredibly better. Thanks to their memory of the Great Betrayal, orcs are wary of others, they learned their lesson well. Although their culture lacks much of the brutality it once had, long before the elves encountered them, both the orcs and the other races remember it, notably the gnomes. Orcs get a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks made to sense motive, and Persuasion checks made to intimidate. Finally, Orcs were once a nocturnal people, though they have mostly adapted to a diurnal lifestyle to accommodate the other races. They still retain excellent night vision, however, and possess Low Light Vision.
A reptilian people who initiated conflict with their neighbors the Elves and lost, the Skarn are the only people to have truly widespread use the magic of Incarnum. So devoted are the Skarn to their magic, in fact, that their main religion revolves around it, and, quite naturally, places them in a position of honor. Currently, however, the Skarn are officially a vasal state to the Elves, paying concessions and supporting them in any conflicts. The predominant beliefs among the Skarn are that the situation is either punishment for their hubris or a test of their deservedness. In either case, it is no secret that they would like to escape the dominance of the Elves.
+2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Incarnum, Skarn)
Sharp Spines: Skarn possess sharp spines along their back and arms, the latter of which they often employ as weapons. Skarn have a pair of spine primary natural attacks, which deal 1d6 points of piercing damage. A skarn can’t attack with his spines and a weapon wielded by the same arm in the same round. If a skarn is wielding a shield on either arm, he can't use that attack at all.
Inherent Essentia: While other races have shown capacity to employ Incarnum, the skarn find an instinctual talent for Incarnum from the start of their life. A skarn's essentia pool is permanently increased by 1. If he doesn’t have an essentia pool, this trait grants him one with a single point of essentia. In addition, they have two inherent qualities they may invest their essentia in. First, they may invest essentia into their spines, enlarging them and enhancing their strength, increasing their damage dice in size as the Improved Natural Attack feat, one step per essentia point. Second, they may invest essentia in their instincts, granting a +1 racial bonus to all Will Saves, Fortitude Saves, and Reflex Saves per point of essentia.
Invented, created, and employed by the Elves, Warforged make up the working class of Elven society. Each Halfling village has a small number, generally between five and ten, who help do the heavy lifting at the local farms and in town, especially when it comes to building, and there are also a fair number who make up the unskilled laborers, especially builders, of the Elven cities. Warforged serve this role perfectly, having the patience to not intrude upon Elven long-time, and the ability to handle those things that require short-time thinking, mostly. Warforged were first created to serve as a military, however, possibly the single thing Elves find the most demanding upon their minds unless they are a war-artist. As a result, Warforged make up the majority of Elven military and naval personnel.
Despite appearances, Warforged are not slaves, and they are free to claim their independence whenever they like, and a few do, but mostly they are happy with their lot. They don't need much in the way of material needs, and aren't too bright or adventurous. In addition, there is nothing a Warforged loves more than to see something he has created, or to perfect his skills. They are like Elves in that fashion, drawing joy from the process and result of the application of work and skill. Those Warforged who crave mastery of skill tend to be military Warforged, perfecting their ability to fight, while those who crave creation tend towards civilian positions. Those few who crave both are smiths or the like, crafting beautiful creations with their own aesthetic, similar to, yet unique from, Elven aesthetics.
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int
Size: Medium
Type: Construct (Living Construct)
Composite Plating: The plating used to build a warforged 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 same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a warforged cannot wear armor or magic robes. Warforged can be enchanted just as armor can be. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to enchant him. Composite plating also provides a warforged with a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows a warforged to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets him ignore this penalty as well.
Light Fortification: When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on a warforged, there is a 25% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.
Solid Arms: A Warforged has a natural weapon in the form of a slam attack that deals 1d6 points of damage.
Xeph are both the race with the greatest natural psionic affinity, and the first people in the region to have encountered the Humans. The Xeph are best described as, "fast." They are fast of body and fast of mind, and as a result, they and the Elves find each other quite irritating. Despite that, they maintain mostly peaceful relations. Xeph are also known for being prolific explorers, though they always return home. Of all the other races, Xeph admire Gnomes the most, and a sighting of a Gnomish balloon is considered good luck.
Xeph also happen to be the shortest lived of all the races, and tend to approach everything with an unchallenged passion. The level of mastery that they can sometimes achieve in a very short time is marvelous to the longer lived races; even humans are impressed by their tenacity.
+2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Str
Size: Small
Type: Humanois (Psionic, Xeph)
Naturally Psionic: All Xeph have some degree of psionic capability. They gain 2 bonus power points at level 1, and gain a single 1st level power taken from the Psion/Wilder power list as a psi-like ability.
Fleet of Foot: Despite their small size, Xeph move quickly. Xeph have a base land speed of 30, and once per round, as a free action, they may spend a power point to increase their speed by 10 for three rounds.