Post by Valen Storyteller on Mar 7, 2016 19:30:00 GMT
Why does this House Rule exist?
Simply because it has to. With five editions of D&D, plus Pathfinder, each occasionally changing things around and making new use of old terms, the nature, origin and even naming of races has become a surprisingly tangled mess, and this House Rule is meant to untangle it.
This house rule is mostly relevant for those playing Planetouched characters, and can safely be ignored by all others.
In the interest of keeping the information succinct and as free of contradiction as possible, the entire House Rule is written from an out of character, ‘outside the setting’ perspective.
Race Rationalisation Summary
No one term remains current throughout the ages. Linguistics changes as well as the coming and going of fad-terms ensure that a person of today would have difficulty speaking with someone of two hundred years ago, even if they both ostensibly spoke Common. These gradual alterations are at the heart of much of the In-Character confusion regarding several races.
In summary, all races created for past editions of D&D are available, in that they exist within the multiverse. Several of the races are exceptionally rare in Eos, but still available as player characters.
Genasi
It was once thought that there were four races of Genasi. Recently, however, a fifth form has emerged from the mingled depths of the elemental planes, and over the past century, terminology for them has become terribly muddled.
The four basic races of Genasi are found in the Pathfinder rulebook under new names, as follows:
If some specific ability modifier or special ability of past edition Genasi is interesting or necessary for your character’s concept, check with the Storyteller to create a racial variant or Race Feat that grants them.
Finally, a more recent variant of the Genasi race is capable of embodying several (or even all) of the elements, each at different times. While they call themselves the Genasi, many circles of scholars have taken to calling them the Jannasi instead, believing them to be descended from the Jann race of multi-elemental genies. These are the Genasi of D&D 4th edition, and full rules to play one are found in the New Content Thread.
Outer Planar Planetouched
The four alignments (Chaos, Law, Good, Evil) are active forces that directly and wilfully influence both the lives of mortals and the nature of the planes themselves. Some mortals draw their heritage to creatures born from one of the Outer Planes, and thus carry an indelible mark of that plane’s alignment as part of their very essence. Others are merely influenced by the planes, due to odd circumstance or families that lived within those planes for centuries.
Tieflings are descended from the lower planes, aligned with Evil. In Realmspace (the sphere that houses Toril), an act of divine intercession a century ago caused all tieflings there to have diabolic bloodlines, but this is not the fact beyond that sphere. This reality has been known to cause some surprise for natives of Realmspace upon arriving elsewhere. Tieflings can be found in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide.
Aasimar are descended from celestials, most commonly from Devas. Aasimar with other heritages sometimes have slightly altered appearances or abilities, for instance, Eladrin-descended Aasimar commonly have fey- or elf-like attributes, and many actually have elf, not human, as the non-planar part of their heritage. Aasimar can be found in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide.
The Planes of Law have two different races of Exemplars, the Modrons and the Inevitables. Modrons represent stability and predictability, and those with heritages linked to them are called Zenythri. Inevitables are exemplars of certain specific laws, existing to hunt down and punish transgressors. Those with ties to Inevitables are called Axani. In both cases, the races in question are for the most part incapable (and uninterested in) having children with mortals, and thus individuals with these bloodlines are both rare, generally being created through magic or from communities of mortals living in Law-infused planes. Find rules to play in the New Content Thread.
The Planes of Chaos are capricious and unpredictable by their very natures. Those influenced by the predominant exemplar race of Limbo, the Slaad, are called Chaond, and tend to keep the amphibian characteristics of their heritage. Another form of Chaos planetouched exist, called the Cansin. Many of them are inheritors of magic, though some claim descent from non-Slaad chaos exemplars, causing sages everywhere to scratch their heads. Rules to play Chaonds and Cansins can be found in the New Content Thread.
Coterminous Planetouched
No plane seems to influence mortals as directly or as easily as the Plane of Shadow. The result of those who form deep magical bonds with Shadow, or who live within that plane for several generations, is a Fetchlings. This race goes by many names throughout the multiverse, including being called Shadovar in Realmspace. Rules for Fetchlings are in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide
It can be assumed that the other Coterminous planes can create Planetouched races. However, there are no known Fey-Touched, Ethereal-Touched or Astral-Touched, or at the very least there are no races who are openly and broadly believed to have been created through that interaction.
Dragon-kin
Half-Dragons, Draconians, Dragonborn and Kobolds all exist in the multiverse, though most of them are very rare in Eos.
Half-Dragons are born from the union of a male humanoid and a female dragon. They are fantastically rare, though some individuals have risen to prominence in the chaotic region of northern Faytan.
Draconians were created by Takhisis in Krynnspace, and very few of them ever left that place. They are unheard-of in Eos, and an individual of the race would have to be descended from travellers, or be fantastically old, since the world of Krynn was apparently teleported right out of the sphere over a century ago.
Dragonborn are natives of Abeir, an alternate Prime Material world bound closely to Realmspace’s Toril. They are uncommon in that world, and unheard-of almost anywhere else.
Kobolds can be found in small tribes in most places, usually underground, and are plentiful in Faytan and especially in the nation of Kotharilym.
((Core Races To Be Added))
Simply because it has to. With five editions of D&D, plus Pathfinder, each occasionally changing things around and making new use of old terms, the nature, origin and even naming of races has become a surprisingly tangled mess, and this House Rule is meant to untangle it.
This house rule is mostly relevant for those playing Planetouched characters, and can safely be ignored by all others.
In the interest of keeping the information succinct and as free of contradiction as possible, the entire House Rule is written from an out of character, ‘outside the setting’ perspective.
Race Rationalisation Summary
No one term remains current throughout the ages. Linguistics changes as well as the coming and going of fad-terms ensure that a person of today would have difficulty speaking with someone of two hundred years ago, even if they both ostensibly spoke Common. These gradual alterations are at the heart of much of the In-Character confusion regarding several races.
In summary, all races created for past editions of D&D are available, in that they exist within the multiverse. Several of the races are exceptionally rare in Eos, but still available as player characters.
Genasi
It was once thought that there were four races of Genasi. Recently, however, a fifth form has emerged from the mingled depths of the elemental planes, and over the past century, terminology for them has become terribly muddled.
The four basic races of Genasi are found in the Pathfinder rulebook under new names, as follows:
If some specific ability modifier or special ability of past edition Genasi is interesting or necessary for your character’s concept, check with the Storyteller to create a racial variant or Race Feat that grants them.
Finally, a more recent variant of the Genasi race is capable of embodying several (or even all) of the elements, each at different times. While they call themselves the Genasi, many circles of scholars have taken to calling them the Jannasi instead, believing them to be descended from the Jann race of multi-elemental genies. These are the Genasi of D&D 4th edition, and full rules to play one are found in the New Content Thread.
Outer Planar Planetouched
The four alignments (Chaos, Law, Good, Evil) are active forces that directly and wilfully influence both the lives of mortals and the nature of the planes themselves. Some mortals draw their heritage to creatures born from one of the Outer Planes, and thus carry an indelible mark of that plane’s alignment as part of their very essence. Others are merely influenced by the planes, due to odd circumstance or families that lived within those planes for centuries.
Tieflings are descended from the lower planes, aligned with Evil. In Realmspace (the sphere that houses Toril), an act of divine intercession a century ago caused all tieflings there to have diabolic bloodlines, but this is not the fact beyond that sphere. This reality has been known to cause some surprise for natives of Realmspace upon arriving elsewhere. Tieflings can be found in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide.
Aasimar are descended from celestials, most commonly from Devas. Aasimar with other heritages sometimes have slightly altered appearances or abilities, for instance, Eladrin-descended Aasimar commonly have fey- or elf-like attributes, and many actually have elf, not human, as the non-planar part of their heritage. Aasimar can be found in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide.
The Planes of Law have two different races of Exemplars, the Modrons and the Inevitables. Modrons represent stability and predictability, and those with heritages linked to them are called Zenythri. Inevitables are exemplars of certain specific laws, existing to hunt down and punish transgressors. Those with ties to Inevitables are called Axani. In both cases, the races in question are for the most part incapable (and uninterested in) having children with mortals, and thus individuals with these bloodlines are both rare, generally being created through magic or from communities of mortals living in Law-infused planes. Find rules to play in the New Content Thread.
The Planes of Chaos are capricious and unpredictable by their very natures. Those influenced by the predominant exemplar race of Limbo, the Slaad, are called Chaond, and tend to keep the amphibian characteristics of their heritage. Another form of Chaos planetouched exist, called the Cansin. Many of them are inheritors of magic, though some claim descent from non-Slaad chaos exemplars, causing sages everywhere to scratch their heads. Rules to play Chaonds and Cansins can be found in the New Content Thread.
Coterminous Planetouched
No plane seems to influence mortals as directly or as easily as the Plane of Shadow. The result of those who form deep magical bonds with Shadow, or who live within that plane for several generations, is a Fetchlings. This race goes by many names throughout the multiverse, including being called Shadovar in Realmspace. Rules for Fetchlings are in the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide
It can be assumed that the other Coterminous planes can create Planetouched races. However, there are no known Fey-Touched, Ethereal-Touched or Astral-Touched, or at the very least there are no races who are openly and broadly believed to have been created through that interaction.
Dragon-kin
Half-Dragons, Draconians, Dragonborn and Kobolds all exist in the multiverse, though most of them are very rare in Eos.
Half-Dragons are born from the union of a male humanoid and a female dragon. They are fantastically rare, though some individuals have risen to prominence in the chaotic region of northern Faytan.
Draconians were created by Takhisis in Krynnspace, and very few of them ever left that place. They are unheard-of in Eos, and an individual of the race would have to be descended from travellers, or be fantastically old, since the world of Krynn was apparently teleported right out of the sphere over a century ago.
Dragonborn are natives of Abeir, an alternate Prime Material world bound closely to Realmspace’s Toril. They are uncommon in that world, and unheard-of almost anywhere else.
Kobolds can be found in small tribes in most places, usually underground, and are plentiful in Faytan and especially in the nation of Kotharilym.
((Core Races To Be Added))