Codename: Windborn, A Player's Guide to the Friendly Skies

[ArmorArmadillo]

So, I've been more or less taking a homebrew hiatus while I wait for 4e, but I've been inspired by Logman's very cool idea, Swampgas. I always liked the environment books, and would love to start a collaborative project on one of my all-time favorite environments: The Sky.

Now, I know that people living in the sky isn't really realistic like living in the desert, living at sea, or fighting with antlers tied to a stick, but adventuring among the highest clouds has been a staple of fantasy since the first final fantasies.

Since Eberron, flying in airships seems like something D&D keeps getting keener on.

Not to mention how badly the game needs a sensible way of adjudicating aerial combat.

So, join Windborn, the project for those who aspire to clouds.

[ArmorArmadillo]

The Ground Rules:
So, this thread is to gather people to design and compile crunch and fluff to make a homebrew sourcebook on aerial adventure.

People may make suggest additions to existing topics of design or suggest additional topics. In either case, a suggestion may be considered for addition only if at least two other people, including at least one current contributor, have reviewed and agreed upon it.

Anyone who has submitted a suggested addition and been approved in such a manner have the status of contributor.

(This isn't that official, so this is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule.)

Once added, it will be up for continued edit and review, with this thread as the nexus for the project.


The hopeful end-game of this will be a pretty, well compiled, and OotS-Style illustrated PDF containing everything a player needs to run an airship.

Remember, this project is about community, and the more people who contribute, the more we'll have to work with. E pluribus homebrew, folks.

[ArmorArmadillo]

The Crunch Page
Environmental Effects

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Aerial Combat

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Races

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Kestrevae
Mountain Vestii
Cloud Vestii

Feats

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Equipment

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Variant Classes

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Prestige Classes

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Magic

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Psionics

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Magic Items

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Monsters

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Skyray

[ArmorArmadillo]

The Fluff Page
Life Among the Clouds

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An Airborne Adventure

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An Aerial Campaign

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[watsyurname529]

Sweet. I love Eberron [thank you for spelling it right] and right now I'm running a piratish campaign that probably will end up in the air.

So count on me for a lot of crunchy feats, classes, etc.

[ArmorArmadillo]

Good to hear. Since I officially have at least one person interested, I think that I should get the ball rolling on some races.

Now, races are a staple of a good environment book, but the sky is an environment that creatures can't necessarily live in all the time, rather in near-sky environments like cliffsides or mountains. Therefore, I think we should have one race that lives in the sky itself.

Imagine a playable race of fey, that were born of the magic of an ancient wind spirit. They have a perfect fly speed, and can stay in the sky indefinitely. They're adapted to higher altitudes, and live in tight-nit nomadic communities which follow the trade-winds. In lieu of permanent structures, they assemble hides of airborn animals and solid clouds (see environmental effects) into floating tents that they keep aloft through the use of specially prepared gas-balloons and large lift-fins.

I actually think this may be somehow plausible.

[watsyurname529]

Cool. I agree except for the Perfect Fly speed. That would add a hefty LA so I think it would be best to keep that to a racial PrC capstone.

Anyway, I have an idea for a sort of Cloud Spirit Fae that doesn't fly, but has some other interesting ideas. Keeping at LA +0 or maybe LA +1.

[BRC]

Ooh, this sounds like Fun!

[Gralamin]

Cool. I agree except for the Perfect Fly speed. That would add a hefty LA so I think it would be best to keep that to a racial PrC capstone.

Anyway, I have an idea for a sort of Cloud Spirit Fae that doesn't fly, but has some other interesting ideas. Keeping at LA +0 or maybe LA +1.

According to Savage Species a template that adds +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and can give you Perfect Maneuverability if you have 17 or more Dexterity is LA +2.

I like the race concept though.

And since were on the topic of races, how about creatures with a Cloudwalking ability similar to the Silver Dragons? Perhaps a studious bunch who live on the clouds, watching the world from above. Possible roles could be defenders, scholars or prophets.
Just throwing ideas out there.

[watsyurname529]

Well I still think Perfect Fly is LA +2 at least if not more. Anyway, I like your Cloudwalker idea. I think I'm going to take that and mesh with my idea to make an LA +1 Cloud Fey race and half-human ones which would be Cloud Humans and LA +0.

[TheLogman]

Your system for doing this thing is a lot better than mine, I'll admit that. Mine was originally just supposed to be my own stuff, in fact, not even that, but a gauging interest thread for my own stuff, but now, I don't even recognize it. Heck, it's become such a "group" project that I can't even choose the basic details of it.

Ah well, enough monologue. It another interesting environment, but one that suffers a great weakness. The problem with Airs and the Sky is that since Wind is something we encounter regularly, and flight is one of the best methods of transport, most Air-related stuff ends up being, well, transport and "Buffet"-ing related, to the point where we don't see blades made out of wind, but just "Gusts" of it. So, ya, it'll be nice to see some unique stuff. Personally, I'd love to contribute, but due to my terrible laziness and really bad school schedule, I never actually get much done. You might see some stuff from me though, maybe a few inventive spells or a class. If I ever get a LOT of time, I could work on Substitution levels if you want those.

[Gralamin]

Well I still think Perfect Fly is LA +2 at least if not more. Anyway, I like your Cloudwalker idea. I think I'm going to take that and mesh with my idea to make an LA +1 Cloud Fey race and half-human ones which would be Cloud Humans and LA +0.

After comparing maneuverabilities, I'd say Perfect Fly is LA+1, as is good. Average and lower is LA+0. Though, thats just my opinion.

And do we honestly need subraces? We should try to make unique races, not half-breeds, or slightly different elves, or whatever.

[ArmorArmadillo]

Your system for doing this thing is a lot better than mine, I'll admit that. Mine was originally just supposed to be my own stuff, in fact, not even that, but a gauging interest thread for my own stuff, but now, I don't even recognize it. Heck, it's become such a "group" project that I can't even choose the basic details of it.

Ah well, enough monologue. It another interesting environment, but one that suffers a great weakness. The problem with Airs and the Sky is that since Wind is something we encounter regularly, and flight is one of the best methods of transport, most Air-related stuff ends up being, well, transport and "Buffet"-ing related, to the point where we don't see blades made out of wind, but just "Gusts" of it. So, ya, it'll be nice to see some unique stuff. Personally, I'd love to contribute, but due to my terrible laziness and really bad school schedule, I never actually get much done. You might see some stuff from me though, maybe a few inventive spells or a class. If I ever get a LOT of time, I could work on Substitution levels if you want those.

Hehe, I came in late to Swampgas, so I first saw things as they generally are right now. I think you're right about air-related stuff, it hass always been soft powers like transportation, but I think air as a whole has a lot of potential for other applications.


Any additions you could give would be appreciated-I'm frankly working as much as I am right now because I'm in the middle of a week long break from school.


As far as perfect fly goes, I think it can be bumped down to good, but I think that any race that lives midair should at least be able to hover.

Here's a first draft:
Rudimentary fluff is that they are a race of people imbued with an ancient elemental air spirit, they have very thin bodies and exceptionally long appendages. Their internal organs are small and poorly developed, leading to their Con penalty. Con is one of the worst penalties, so I think it justifies a fly speed. Also, one of the environmental things I want to add are rules for elevation, owing to thin air, stronger winds, and other effects.

What exactly they look like is another matter entirely, but I want to avoid bird-people, because that steps on the toes of Raptorans and Kenku.

Kestrevae
Medium Fey
+2 Dex, -2 Constitution: Kestrevae have developed great dexterity in adapting to life among the winds, but their lighter bodies are vulnerable to injury.
Speed 10, Fly 20 (Average)
Wind Resistance (Ex): Kestrevae are born flying, and are naturally skilled at maneuvering in difficult condition. Kestrevae are treated as one size category larger when determining the effects of wind.
Borne of Air (Su): The ancestral connection of Kestrevae to the spirit of elemental air enhances their ability to channel air-based magic. The Kestrevae increase their caster level by 1 when casting spells with the air descriptor.
Natural Elevation: Kestrevae are naturally adapted to life in the highest altitudes. As a result, Kestrevae can breathe normally in high or extreme altitudes, but suffer the standard penalties of high altitude when at ground level.


Also, Gralamin, I think you're right about the sub-races. I also want to add what is necessary to keep the races at LA 0, because the base races that are offered by a book should be playable right out of the box.

[RTGoodman]

I don't know if I can find time to do anything, but one of the VT's creature competitions a few months back was called Flights of Fancy and was all flying creatures. If there are any creatures there you want, you could check with the creators and see if they'd allow you to use their stuff (though I couldn't imagine anyone would say no). Feel free to use my Silver Lionling if you want.

[Gralamin]

Good job, I like it, and I think its well balanced.

Just in case this helps to inspire anyone, I found this on Wikipedia:

Air is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. According to Plato, it is associated with the octahedron;

So lets see some d8s in here people.

Among the early Greek Pre-Socratic philosophers, Anaximenes (mid-6th century BCE) named air as the arche (first principle of the world). As it grows warm and rarefied, air becomes fire; as it cools and condenses it becomes water, then earth and rock. A similar belief was attributed by some ancient sources to Diogenes Apolloniates (late 5th century BCE), who also linked air with intelligence and soul (psyche)

Plato (427-347 BCE) took over the four elements of Empedocles. In the Timaeus, his major cosmological dialogue, the Platonic solid associated with air is the octahedron which is formed from eight equilateral triangles. This places air between fire (four triangular sides) and water (twenty triangular sides), which Plato regarded as appropriate because it is intermediate in its mobility, sharpness, and ability to penetrate. He also said of air that its minuscule components are so smooth that one can barely feel them.

In ancient Greek medicine, each of the four humours became associated with an element. Blood was the humor identified with air, since both were hot and wet

All that and more from Here

[watsyurname529]

Well the only race I know of that can fly is the Raptorean and they don't get a true fly speed until 10 HD at LA +0.

Also on my idea, I still believe flight added on with out penalty is LA +1 and many people do not like LA so I wanted to do a sort of watered down that has some of the flavor but with no LA.

The reason is I would just take the race and make a Wiz/Sorc and just fly out of reach and bombard with spells. You could pretty much be a one man army on most normal creatures.

But whatever, do what you want. I don't really know about estimating LA or monster CR; I just compare to existing creatures. Anyway I'll just stick my talents to other things.

[Gralamin]

Well the only race I know of that can fly is the Raptorean and they don't get a true fly speed until 10 HD at LA +0.

Also on my idea, I still believe flight added on with out penalty is LA +1 and many people do not like LA so I wanted to do a sort of watered down that has some of the flavor but with no LA.

The reason is I would just take the race and make a Wiz/Sorc and just fly out of reach and bombard with spells. You could pretty much be a one man army on most normal creatures.

But whatever, do what you want. I don't really know about estimating LA or monster CR; I just compare to existing creatures. Anyway I'll just stick my talents to other things.

Its honestly just a bit of an art form for balancing races. I don't think something that can fly average, has balanced ability scores, and a few small benefits is as powerful as a dwarf for example.
The only way to get races done right is to compare and contrast with other races. Creatures are a rather bad idea to look at, as most of them are hideously over LA'd. Consider for instance, that a CR 5 creature could be an ECL 10 character, yet a Level 5 Human Wizard is CR 5.

And by the time the Wizard can do any substantial damage with flight, he could already grab the fly spell.

[SilverClawShift]

I was going to suggest a race that was a far, far offshoot of the Beholders.

Beholders are naturally buoyant. They float in place without any effort on their own part, and move through the air specifically if they need to be in a different place.
So a race that is to Beholders what the changelings are to dopplegangers would be perfect for an airborn theme.

And I like this idea enough that instead of suggesting it, I'm going to make it. Here:

Foresithian

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In the time before time, the alien and unknowable entity known only as The Great Mother gave birth to the Beholder race. Since the dawn of existance, the eye tyrants have plagued reality with their savage power, reveling in slaughter that they beleive is homage to The Great Mother herself.
For you see, each Beholder beleives that it is created in the image of The Great Mother, representing the pinnacle of perfection of their race. All other beholders, no matter how similar in appearance, are naught but pathetic forgeries of her perfect child. Each Beholder is so alike in appearance that other races can barely perceive the difference, though once in a great while a clear variation or mutation arises. These 'altered' beholders, such as Eyes of the Deep, Directors, and Overseers, are usually short lived as other beholders tear them to shreds on sight. On the rare chance that they survive, they inevitably produce creatures more similar to themselves than to other beholders.

The Foresithian race is beleived by most scholars and mages to be the result of such a mutation that managed to escape, and continued to reproduce more of their kind. Foresithians are Beholders, in a very general sense. They are abberations, anomalies to the natural order itself, and they share many vague connections to their forebearer race. But the connections are very very vague, as the Foresithians vary greatly from individual to individual, much less to the Beholders themselves.

Foresithians beleive that they are the true children of The Great Mother, and that true Beholders were nothing but a womb, a vessel holding their place in reality until the Foresithian race was ready to entre existance. Now that they are here, they beleive that the Beholder race is obsolete, and will often work to destroy the eye tyrnats whenever possible.

Personality: Foresithians tend towards arrogance, being assured through racial memory that they are perfect in every way. While they are not as deluded as the beholders themselves are, a Foresithian cannot help but admire its own form and mind, taking great pride in the simple fact that it exists. They are surprisingly ready to make concessions to improve the quality of life of those around them, beleiving that no matter where they are, what they're doing, and what side of the deal they've gotten, the important part (themselves) is allready taken care of.
Physical Description: Foresithians for all the world resemble a human severed at the waist, floating lazily in the air, and covered in incredibly thick plates of leather (face included). They appear almost as unformed humans, as simple clay figures molded from beholder hide. They have no eyes on their faces, leaving only an incredibly wide and terrifying maw full of needle sharp teeth. From the tops of their heads emerge a number of thin waving stalks hanging limply to their shoulders. Each stalk is tipped with a single eye, each eyestalk can be controlled individually.
Genders: Foresithians have only one gender, a passive acceptance of another creatures magical energy. When a Foresithian is ready to produce a child, it need only find another creature and study it with one of its eye stalks. The magical energy absorbed from the creature affects the offspring the Foresithian produces.
Relations: Foresithian have flighty and neutral relations with most other races, viewing them as nothing more than background noise to their races perfection. They do not have the Beholders murderous rage towards other races, however, remaining apathetic about their existance.
Alignment: Foresithians may be of any alignment, but tend towards neutrality out of a vague dettachment from the world around them.
Lands: Foresithians have no home of their own, often taking to the sky as they age and develope the ability to control their flight. Foresithians do not feel compelled to form far reaching socieites or struggle for the land of other races, content to float around the world and take in the sights.
Religion: Foresithians are naturally drawn to worship of The Great Mother, as their racial memories tell them that she is perfect, and they are made in her image. While it is true that they are compelled to worship that evil deity, they do not feel compelled to commit evil acts in her name. A good Foresithian likely pays true worship to another deity, but holds The Great Mother in a special place in their heart.
Language: Foresithians speak common, and often pick up other languages based on where they were born, and what races magical energy tinted their conception.
Names: Foresithians do not feel compelled to give themselves names, and usually only do so when pressed by other races needing a way to address them. Names are simply titles to Foresithians, meaningless pleasantries that serve a purpose only to the extent that other creatures do.

Foresithian Racial Traits
Aberration - Foresithians are Aberrations, not fitting into any natural ecosystem or environment.
Small - As a Small creature, a foresithian gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

Okay, that's the FLUFF. Now for statting them out. They shouldn't be able to fly at low levels. Same as Rapotrans, they should gradually gain greater control over their natural bouyancy, being able to float around more freely the higher level they get.

I also think that they should get some kind of eye beam, like beholders. Something much, much weaker (maybe scaling in power a little as they attain higher levels), and something selectable at character creation. Similar to how Shifters can select what type of shifter they are (longstride, beasthide, ect). That would allow the creation of Foresithian racial feats that expand on their beholder heritage, allowing more powerful and frequent use of eyebeam powers.
Again, nothing too strong without spending enough feats to be worth giving them some muscle with it.

They might also get the ability to nullify a bit of magic affecting themselves. That might risk being too powerful, but being able to pulse an anti-magic field (limited to their own body) to shake off unwanted spell effects is an interesting idea, and fitting of the racial history. Maybe as a racial feat too?

Ah well. Rambling. This is all off the top of my head, I won't be offended if anyone thinks it sucks or should be ditched

[Gralamin]

SilverClawShift: Sounds amazingly awesome, I love the idea.

[ArmorArmadillo]

Well the only race I know of that can fly is the Raptorean and they don't get a true fly speed until 10 HD at LA +0.

Also on my idea, I still believe flight added on with out penalty is LA +1 and many people do not like LA so I wanted to do a sort of watered down that has some of the flavor but with no LA.

The reason is I would just take the race and make a Wiz/Sorc and just fly out of reach and bombard with spells. You could pretty much be a one man army on most normal creatures.

But whatever, do what you want. I don't really know about estimating LA or monster CR; I just compare to existing creatures. Anyway I'll just stick my talents to other things.

You're actually totally right. Flight is really good, it makes you pretty much immune to certain monsters and can negate some challenges, and it shouldn't be given lightly. If these weren't the first race I thought up, I'd think they should have an LA. Unfortunately, I don't think a front and center conceptual player race should have an LA.

I think it should be balanced though, so I'm going to reduce it to Average at the moment and give them only a 5 foot land speed. They can still fly, but their ability to make use of it is severely limited. Also, in any situation in which they can't fly, they have problems.


@SilverClawShift- Wow also, very cool idea. I think, however, the flavor and their unusual physical form tend more toward being monsters, or at least a "monstrous race" (akin to Gnolls or Ogres) than as a player race.


Also, as for the Raptoran "Scaling Flight" ability, it was elegant from a balance perspective but insanely awkward from a balance perspective. The entire race is flying, but unless someone has 5 class levels they can only glide? If you go to a raptoran village, will all the commoners be on the ground?

Also, its annoying to be "the flying race" but not be able to fly through your first 4 levels.

[Icewalker]

Seems like a fun idea, but because the sky is so limiting to all the normal races I think quite a few parts of the environment books will be out of your reach. I can see a lot of awesome stuff, but a full environment book might be a stretch. I probably won't be able to contribute to this unless I come up with an awesome idea and I throw it together, as I'm pretty busy and already working on several other projects. Good luck though, I'll follow the progress.

[BRC]

I might make some rules for Flying machines/mounts, maybe a race of Gnomes that live on mountaintops and spend much of their time in the skies.

[ArmorArmadillo]

Seems like a fun idea, but because the sky is so limiting to all the normal races I think quite a few parts of the environment books will be out of your reach. I can see a lot of awesome stuff, but a full environment book might be a stretch. I probably won't be able to contribute to this unless I come up with an awesome idea and I throw it together, as I'm pretty busy and already working on several other projects. **** luck though, I'll follow the progress.

Well, who knows where it'll go, but we'll do what we can


By the way, I'm still thinking about the name. Windborn is nice, but most of them seem to have been some kind of environmental hazard so far. A friend of mine suggested "Windshear", which is actually pretty nice.

[Icewalker]

Wait, what got bleeped out of my post? I thought I said 'good luck'?

Ah well, edited it. Still kind of confusing...

Windshear sounds pretty cool.

[batsofchaos]

Maybe you typoed the d as a k and came up with a racial slang?

It's a neat idea, I'll contribute if I can. I envision a massive city, floating in the sky either through some sort of spell, a magical device similar to the way the air-ships work, or stilts a-la the Jetsons.

[ArmorArmadillo]

Maybe you typoed the d as a k and came up with a racial slang?

It's a neat idea, I'll contribute if I can. I envision a massive city, floating in the sky either through some sort of spell, a magical device similar to the way the air-ships work, or stilts a-la the Jetsons.

Definitely something to add would be suspended cities, islands in the sky, and other ways of having permanent dwellings in the sky.

I think once we adjust the Kestrevae to stability, it'd be a good idea to have a race that lives among the clouds in artificial dwellings.

Maybe a race that's highly intelligent, excellent at mechanics and artifice. Perhaps an off-shoot of another mountainous race. There was some kind of schism between the two, and the artificer branch permanently migrated away from the mountains. They have no natural ability to fly, but have been able to build permanent artificial flying cities. Since then, they have developed minor adaptations to aerial life.

Possibly, there can be a single race with two subraces...similar to Githzerai and Githyanki. One is hardier, more spiritual, and lives in the mountains. The other is more intelligent, magically inclined, and lives in artificial air cities.

The next thing to decide is what they look like...should they just be humanoid with some minor aesthetic differences, or based off of a different biology. Also, how different should the two subraces be?

[BRC]

Definitely something to add would be suspended cities, islands in the sky, and other ways of having permanent dwellings in the sky.

I think once we adjust the Kestrevae to stability, it'd be a good idea to have a race that lives among the clouds in artificial dwellings.

Maybe a race that's highly intelligent, excellent at mechanics and artifice. Perhaps an off-shoot of another mountainous race. There was some kind of schism between the two, and the artificer branch permanently migrated away from the mountains. They have no natural ability to fly, but have been able to build permanent artificial flying cities. Since then, they have developed minor adaptations to aerial life.

Possibly, there can be a single race with two subraces...similar to Githzerai and Githyanki. One is hardier, more spiritual, and lives in the mountains. The other is more intelligent, magically inclined, and lives in artificial air cities.

The next thing to decide is what they look like...should they just be humanoid with some minor aesthetic differences, or based off of a different biology. Also, how different should the two subraces be?

Maybe somthing like this, The Race was driven from the surface logn ago, some of them built cities on mountaintops, some built artificial flying cities. Eventually they completally split, with the Mountaintop dwellers using animals to fly, and the Flying City Dwellers using magic and devices. The mountain dwellers have a philosiphy based around adaption and compromise, the city dwellers have a philosophy based around control and modification. (Mountain Dwellers would adapt to the cold by putting on a coat, City dwellers would adapt to the cold by building a fire)

[ArmorArmadillo]

Maybe somthing like this, The Race was driven from the surface logn ago, some of them built cities on mountaintops, some built artificial flying cities. Eventually they completally split, with the Mountaintop dwellers using animals to fly, and the Flying City Dwellers using magic and devices. The mountain dwellers have a philosiphy based around adaption and compromise, the city dwellers have a philosophy based around control and modification. (Mountain Dwellers would adapt to the cold by putting on a coat, City dwellers would adapt to the cold by building a fire)

A very good basis of fluff...here's my idea for a first draft of the racial crunch:

Vestitii (Singular Vestitian)
Mountain Vestitii
Medium Humanoid
Speed 30
-2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Mountain Vestitii are earthy and spiritual, and deeply connected to the land. However, their rigid life in the mountains have made them poorly equipped to feats of agility or self-expression.
Altitude Acclimation: Vestitii of both varieties are adapted to higher altitudes, and may treat extreme altitudes as one category lower for the purpose of determining penalties.
+2 to Climb and Survival: Mountain Vestitii are adapted to living off the land in high mountain societies. Vestitii do not lose their Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing.
Natural Affinity (Su): Mountain Vestitii are spiritually connected to the land and sky, and can gain strength from that connection. While in a natural environment (an environment that is predominately formed of unworked terrain), Mountain Vestitii gain a +1 bonus on all saving throws.
Favored Class: Druid

Cloud Vestitii
-2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Cloud Vestitii have developed a highly intellectual mindset to understand and develop their technology-driven world. However, their artificial world has left them out of touch with the natural and emotional world, and their long-term exposure to high elevations has left them physically weaker.
Altitude Acclimation: Vestitii of both varieties are adapted to higher altitudes, and may treat extreme altitudes as one category lower for the purpose of determining penalties.
+2 to Craft and Use Magic Device: Vestitii have developed a tradition of magic and technology.
Natural Technicians: Cloud Vestitii have exceptional talent in developing the artifice that supports their floating society. Cloud Vestitii are treated as having a +2 caster level when determining their ability to craft magic items.
Favored Class: Wizard

[TheThan]

sounds interesting. one of the reasons people shy away from airborn adventuring is because its hard to do. its also useful for going to planes like the elemental plane of air. I'll read through this a bit more and see what i can come up with.

[BRC]

A very good basis of fluff...here's my idea for a first draft of the racial crunch:

Vestitii (Singular Vestitian)
Mountain Vestitii
Medium Humanoid
Speed 30
-2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Mountain Vestitii are earthy and spiritual, and deeply connected to the land. However, their rigid life in the mountains have made them poorly equipped to feats of agility or self-expression.
Altitude Acclimation: Vestitii of both varieties are adapted to higher altitudes, and may treat extreme altitudes as one category lower for the purpose of determining penalties.
+2 to Climb and Survival: Mountain Vestitii are adapted to living off the land in high mountain societies. Vestitii do not lose their Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing.
Natural Affinity (Su): Mountain Vestitii are spiritually connected to the land and sky, and can gain strength from that connection. While in a natural environment (an environment that is predominately formed of unworked terrain), Mountain Vestitii gain a +1 bonus on all saving throws.
Favored Class: Druid

Cloud Vestitii
-2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Cloud Vestitii have developed a highly intellectual mindset to understand and develop their technology-driven world. However, their artificial world has left them out of touch with the natural and emotional world, and their long-term exposure to high elevations has left them physically weaker.
Altitude Acclimation: Vestitii of both varieties are adapted to higher altitudes, and may treat extreme altitudes as one category lower for the purpose of determining penalties.
+2 to Craft and Use Magic Device: Vestitii have developed a tradition of magic and technology.
Natural Technicians: Cloud Vestitii have exceptional talent in developing the artifice that supports their floating society. Cloud Vestitii are treated as having a +2 caster level when determining their ability to craft magic items.
Favored Class: Wizard

Ooh. I think I'll get to work on the two vestitii's chosen methods of airial transport.