The Advent

Foreword

In the past thirty years of my life, I have oft found myself lingering in the shadow of my father’s work, merely tracing the intricate lines he so delicately drew between worlds, grasping at the truths he un-covered like a child reaching for the stars. He, who we today call to be a Seer, stood between the realms as few could— guided by the paths that only those of the Kin can walk. It is the distillation of his wisdom that you hold now, though it is not my place to claim his brilliance as my own.

What you find here is but a humble summary of the corner of his vast and intricate knowledge of the nature of reality; a crude attempt at refining his seminal work, my sole inheritance which he left to me when he left my life two decades ago, to return to his everlasting journey to explore the lands, the stars, and the great tapestry of different universal fabrics which make up the great network of realities which we exist within. Though I know not why he left this knowledge to me, I have taken on the task of preserving his words, and sharing them with the people of this world and others, that we may better understand the context of the reality which we inhabit, even if actual comprehension of these details is unachievable for any but those of the Kin, and those who stand in a plane of existence higher than our own, which we may at best glimpse in moments of madness. It is my hope that in doing so, I may preserve the spirit of his work, even as I offer it only in this more condensed form, for the sake of protecting us all. The minds of the Kin work in a way alien to the minds of normal mortals, and so in exactness I cannot describe his work, for were I to do so, I fear I would drive all semblance of sanity from the minds of those likely to read this booklet. Instead, I shall simplify it, possibly more than necessary, to protect your minds. Do be grateful, please.

As a child of two worlds, I have always known that the boundaries between them are delicate things; woven with threads that shift and blur as easily as one might shift their focus. This perspective has ever given me a most unique perspective on life, and- admittedly- has, at times, made it difficult to see anything from an absolute perspective like most mortals do. Perhaps that is why I never could settle on any singular gender identity, and rather shift so freely between them…

But ah, I’m rambling. My apologies.

The way I was raised, I was taught that understanding comes not from rigid definitions, but rather from the acceptance of fluidity and change. That is the lens through which I present this knowledge to you.

You will find that much of this work is founded not on scientific certainty as many of you may prefer, but rather, it is founded on the understanding of the interplay of order and entropy which shapes the nature of all realities which we know to exist. Laws bound the scope of chaos, but can never exist in a vacuum. They only exist in the context of how they relate to other laws and the entropy they bind. Take from it as you will, and remember that the strength of this knowledge lies not in its finality, but in its ability to adapt, grow, and change, to fit the forms taken by reality as shaped by those fickle gods who stand above, shaping reality to their whims. Assume nothing in this book to give a comprehensive summary of the laws of your own particular world, but rather, understand it to act as a summary of how laws apply more universally between otherwise disparate realities. I wish you luck in your pursuit of knowledge and truth; may your sanity yet remain by the end of your long journey.

– Tyrannus, Child of the Seer

This book is written from the in-character perspective of a character known as Tyrannus. While the main body of the book is written in-character from their perspective, in order to cover all a player needs to know in order to actually play this system, we must also cover in-formation outside the scope of what is possible to know within the context of the setting. This is referred to as meta-information; the ways in which the laws Tyrannus describes are applied practically by players and game masters.

All meta-information in this book will be written in this color. If you see it on a page, you know that the important thing to know- how to actually apply the rules they describe- are listed there.

Introduction: The Nature of Reality

Reality.. Is a strange concept. We think of it as absolute, constant, and yet it is but a construct, shaped by the whims of the gods to fit their individual tastes. To them, their realities are works of art. To us, they are the standard by which we define our entire existence. How truly bizarre that concept must seem to the everyday man, who lives within that reality, unaware of the wider network by which the world they live within is linked to its neighbors. And yet it is so; and yet it shall ever be. How strange it is, truly.

However, though the shape and form which is taken by each weave is different, the loom upon which they are woven is much the same; and, as such, though each reality does follow its own laws and evoke its own patterns, the form they take is still always recognizable as a fabric; the works of the gods, though unique, are always made with-in the same medium. And so it is only natural that beneath it all, they share a few commonalities, and all follow a few universal laws that do not change with the turning of the strings, the rising of the warp, and the twining of the weft.

To get away from the analogy of fabric for a moment… All realities are unique, and yet they all follow a few of the same fundamental rules. As far as I can tell, these are as follows:

Order binds Chaos. Reality is created through the enforcement of laws which bind chaos, thereby giving it meaningful form. Though Order may reign, Chaos underpins all of reality, ever fighting to break free of its bonds.

Souls born of Spirit. All living beings have souls, and the soul is formed from the power of Spirit. Souls may be refined through spirit, as well, allowing them greater influence over reality.

Entropy erodes Order. Order binds chaos, but in time, laws break down as entropy grows, loosing chaos upon reality. Without maintenance, Order will decay, until Chaos conquers all.

Mind over Matter. The mind, born of the soul, is the greatest force in the universe. With sufficient power, volume of information, and spiritual refinement, the mind— the soul— may override all other things.

In addition to these laws, I find that there are four elements which exist in our universe, uncoupled to any singular reality, which all realities by definition are required to incorporate. These are as follows:

Space. Space is the fundamental fact of all realities; every reality is forced to define the space within which it exists for otherwise it cannot exist. While some worlds have more or less spacial dimensions- that is, parallel axes along which things local to that reality may move- as far as I can tell, there are always at minimum two, and at maximum, there may be five. Objects and creatures from realities with higher spacial dimensions cannot exist within realities that lack those spacial dimensions; for lack of a better term.. They just don’t seem to fit.

Time. Time flows ever forward across all realities, though its flow may grow stagnant, and it may ebb and flow at different rates across different worlds. Never does time flow backwards. It is incredibly difficult to move against the flow of time, but as far as I can tell… It does seem to be possible? At least in theory, provided one was able to control a source of negative energy.

Spirit. Spirit flows through our universe and through all disparate realities. While it flows stronger in some than in others, all worlds require it to exist, and all living souls are born of it.

Matter. Matter is formed from the distillation of spirit into physical form, which is why it is possible for it to be transferred between different realities without harm. It is theoretically possible to reverse this process through the application of entropy.

In our system, all rules exist purely to control and focus chaos. The rules we set out in this book operate under the principles of ordered chaos, as all tabletop RPGs do. In our particular system, we use dice as the source of our chaos (plus our players, of course).

The three most common dice used in our system are the six-sided die (d6), the twelve-sided die (d12) and the twenty-sided die (d20). Our system does however also utilizes the four-sided die (d4), the eight-sided die (d8) and the ten-sided die (d10) to a lesser degree.

It is recommended that a player equip themselves with at least four six sided dice (4d6), two twelve-sided dice (2d12) and two twenty-sided dice (2d20). In addition, one d4, one d8 and one d10 are necessary.

For play materials, a player should bring their dice, along with a writing pad, pen and pencil. Printed character sheets are also recommended, but not necessary. You can see an example in the back of this book.

Further details of how the chaos introduced by dice gets “bounded” will be seen through the rules and mechanics outlined later in this book.

Chapter 1: Spiritual Power & Systems of Growth

Spiritual power is the fundamental power of the universe, which flows through all realities, the source of power and of entropy in all realities. All forms of energy and power are derived from spiritual power, and similarly, all systems of power are derived from spiritual power. The laws that make such power able to manifest are them-selves written in spirit, and fundamental to the forms of each reality. Not all realities have methods to use this power, and most of these systems of power are not transferable between realities.

In every individual setting, the systems of power will differ. Some worlds may use a standard class system as seen in many other table-top systems, while others may use skill trees, feats, and the like. When travelling between worlds, some systems of power may transfer to one degree or another, while most will not. As such, character progression along this path is partially forfeit when one abandons the world from which they came from. However, the resource itself- Spiritual Power (SP)- is not reduced in any way when one steps between disparate realities.

Most campaigns are not expected to bridge multiple worlds, so this information may not be useful to all players, though. In more basic terms, SP is used like a currency which allows a character to purchase abilities and advancements that are specific to the world which they inhabit. When a character leaves their world and steps into a new setting with new rules and a new power structure, these advancements are not technically lost, but are more often than not they will not function in the new reality. If a character then returns to the world in which they gained those abilities and advancements, then they become available to them once more.

This being said, there is also a form of strength that a soul gains innately when it is host to a large pool of spiritual power, even when unfiltered through the structure of a power system, and there are a few abilities that use spirit alone, and are not bound to any singular reality. These abilities are rare, and can only be learned through the instruction of a mentor, or through the study of particular tomes. Those who use spiritual power directly in a system of power untied to any laws of reality- or rather, only bound to universal laws and not subjective ones- are known as Spiritualists.

As far as I can tell, the population to most commonly produce spiritualists are the Kin. Though their origins are difficult to pin down, these creatures seem to transcend the concepts of “realities” which we mortals subscribe to, even though they are now bound by such scope. Some of the Kin subscribe to local power systems, but many prefer to manipulate spirit in its pure, raw, unfiltered form. However, unlike most mortal spiritualists, the power systems of the Kin are incredibly complex and intricate, and highly flexible. This is why mortals successfully combating members of the Kin is so rare across all realities; the rules they follow are so complex and alien to us that it is like comparing the theories of a toddler to the essays of a professional scholar.

The power system used by Spiritualists is known as “Spiritualism”, and is both highly complex and structured and fundamental to the way the many worlds of this system work. Spiritualism is the only spirit-based power system whose abilities are completely 100% transferrable between realities without any loss of efficacy.

However, its intricacies are beyond the comprehension of a mortal mind; even immortals rarely grasp more than the basics of it. These abilities are also poorly documented and researched. Most of the time, they can only be learned through studying the notes of others.

Though some of the abilities of spiritualists are covered in the book you now hold, that information is intended for game masters, not for players. Information about such things will only be revealed when or if the Game Master chooses to do so.

The only widely known techniques of spiritualism are Bracing and Soulbinding. Bracing allows one to make a luck check to attempt to resist an attack on the soul; add one point to your modifier for every 3000 points of spiritual power you currently possess. It is a very inefficient form of defense, but needs little training to perform. Soulbinding is covered in a later section of the book, under the fourth chapter: “Attunement and Soulbinding”.

Spirit is not the only route to power, though; what is arguably a more reliable route to such is experience, skill, and practice. These things are not tied to any external system of power, and are rather completely internal, relying upon one’s learned experience and practice rather than upon anything so nebulous as the rules of one’s reality. Many people learn of spirit and assume it to be the be-all end-all of advancement at first, and then totally neglect the fact that, without experience and practice using such abilities, one may never make full use of them, and they will instead always be squandered. Do not mistake me; the refinement and utilization of one’s soul and spiritual energy is an incredibly potent tool. But in my humble opinion, a tool is only useful if you know how to use it.

Alongside the resource of SP is another advancement resource which we call Experience Points (XP). XP is used to purchase skill advancements and improve one’s proficiency with weapons, armor, skills, magic, knowledge and more. Though XP is not as flashy as the powers granted by SP, it is fundamental to building up a character’s actual “power” in combat and utility situations. No matter how hard you can swing a sword, if you can’t hit anyone or defend, you’ll die.

Experience points are used for many things, but primarily, it is used in the XP shop to purchase advancements of proficiency in both combat and noncombat skills. They can be gained through combat, but are more easily gained through study, practice, and professional tutelage. Below is the list of standard skills available in this system:

• Acrobatics (Dexterity)
• Animal Handling (Charisma)
• Arcana (Intelligence)
• Athletics (Strength)
• Craft ▲ (Intelligence)
• Deception (Perception)
• History (Charisma)
• Insight (Perception)
• Intimidation (Conviction)
• Investigation (Perception)
• Medicine (Intelligence)
• Nature (Intelligence)
• Performance (Charisma)
• Persuasion (Charisma)
• Religion (Wisdom)
• Sleight of Hand (Dexterity)
• Stealth (Dexterity)
• Survival (Intelligence)
• Society (Wisdom)
• Diplomacy (Charisma)
• Etiquette (Charisma)
• Riding ▲ (Dexterity)
• Language ▲ (Intelligence)
• Navigation (Intelligence)
• Research (Intelligence)
• Tactics (Intelligence)
• Theology (Intelligence)
• Tradecraft (Intelligence)
• Trapping (Intelligence)
• Resolve (Conviction)

In addition to the noncombat skills listed above, there are the following combat skills a character can invest in:

• Light Armor
• Medium Armor
• Heavy Armor
• Large shields
• Small shields
• Short blades
• Long blades
• Hafted weapons
• Bludgeons
• Polearms
• Flails & Whips
• Bow & arrows
• Throwing weapons
• Smallarms
• Longarms
• Hand-to-hand

Noncombat skills can have up to eight levels of proficiency. Combat skills can have up to six levels of proficiency. For each level in a skill, when a player rolls a check with that skill, they may add two points to their modifier in that skill; the same applies to attack rolls. With armor proficiencies, each point increases one’s defense score when wearing such armor by an equal amount. In addition, for every three points of proficiency one has in an armor proficiency, the effective bulk of their armor is lowered by one third (rounded down) while it is equipped. Mastery over armor also entirely negates many of the drawbacks of it; see chapter 3, “Equipment”, for further details.

The standard experience shop is listed below. Some settings may add to this list, but none of them will take away from it.

Experience Shop

• Learn a new noncombat skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 XP
• Advance a noncombat skill . . . . . . . . . . 300 XP, +200 XP/Skill Level
• Learn a new weapon skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 XP
• Advance a weapon skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 XP, +250 XP/Skill Level
• Learn a new armor skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 XP
• Advance an armor skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 XP, +300 XP/Skill Level
• Learn a new weapon technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 XP
• Advance a weapon technique . . . . . . . . 600 XP, +600 XP/Skill Level
• Improve an ability score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 XP * Current Value

In the noncombat skills section earlier, some skills were marked with a symbol that looked like a triangle (▲). These skills are base skills, meaning each setting has specific sub-skills for them. Each sub-skill for these skills counts as a single individual skill, and you do not advance the base skill itself, nor will you ever be asked to roll a check with them. Treat them as categories, not normal skills.

All skills start out without any proficiency (effective level of -1) until the character learns the skill, bringing them up to level 0. Every subsequent advancement costs an amount of XP equal to 300 + (200 * current skill level) for non-combat skills. These values are adjusted according to the costs of different types of skills. With no proficiency in a skill whatsoever (level -1), characters take a penalty to their rolls of -2 points for any attempts to use the skill. Characters wearing armor they’re unfamiliar with take a penalty of -1 point to their defense score, and lose 10 feet of movement speed, while also taking a penalty of -1 to all dexterity and strength skill and ability checks.

If a character does not have the necessary XP in order to learn the skill on their own, they may choose to hire a tutor to teach them the skill instead. This allows them to get to a basic level of proficiency over the course of a few days without it costing them any XP, there-by learning the skill and reaching a proficiency level of 0 in it. Tutors can also help a student learn the first two levels of a skill at a decreased XP cost, depending upon their own experience and the quality of their instruction. This is left up to the GM’s discretion. For all levels after level 2, though, a character generally cannot gain at a decreased XP cost, and must rather improve their abilities either by studying properly under a master in order to earn XP, or through independent study and practice to do the same.

In the experience shop table, you may have noticed the listing of Weapon Techniques and how they have not been mentioned up to this point. Weapon techniques are specific skills, techniques or abilities for different types of weapons that are designed to grant specific, situational bonuses to characters in a combat scenario. The specifics of these weapon techniques can be found in chapter 4: Combat Mechanics.

Chapter 2: Character Creation

All creatures in our universe are unique. While in some realities, the gods took inspiration from one another and made all their creations with inspiration from one another, other realities are filled with entirely unique interpretations of the concepts of life. As such, it is difficult to pin down exactly what “life” means in this universe. In my own world, it generally is organic nature, with all living creatures being made from flesh and blood that relies on oxygen as a source of bodily energy. But this is not the case in all worlds. In one particular world I am fairly familiar with, all life is elemental in nature, constructs born of the world’s Five Elements magic system. Living golems born of stone and fire roam the lands and war with one another, while creatures like plants and animals in my own populate the environment. A bizarre place indeed.

The only thing I have found which all living creatures have in common is the possession of a soul. Without it, thought and life are impossible, as far as I can tell. Souls are born of Spirit, and are able to be improved upon and refined through spirit. Structures may be formed in the soul to integrate with various systems of power in the universe as well, and while their functions are generally lost, the structures themselves can, at times, grant innate benefits to the soul which are not lost upon transferrance.

In this book, I will not cover in depth any singular power system; however, I will, in short, cover the power system of my own world, as well as one or two other systems in short form so that you may gain an understanding of the varied forms which these systems of power may take.

Example 1: Nexus Weaving

The power system which my world subscribes to is known as Nexus Weaving. Aetherial threads of power weave a great web through all reality, invisible to the naked eye. With glasses or spectacles made from obsidian lenses, the physical world is filtered out from one’s vision, and these threads become visible. There are seven colors of threads, with the most important being the Red threads which bind energy, the Blue threads which manipulate matter, the White threads which manipulate pure spirit, the Green threads which manipulate living energy, the Silver threads which manipulate conscious thought and the Bronze threads which manipulate aetherial creatures; unbound souls. There is also one more color which one may encounter in the world in rare moments of death and decay; the Black threads, which drain all other threads of their power, known as the Threads of Death.

Power is made manifest through the manipulation of these threads, weaving knots and lacework and patterns which make manifest the weaver’s will. Generally speaking, the more threads which one may bind, the more powerful the spells they weave; however, with each added thread, the resistance increases exponentially by a factor of 1.2. When this resistance grows greater than the weaver can counter-act, the caster risks Fraying, where the threads of the spell come unraveled while the weaver is still manipulating it, causing it to activate prematurely, often backfiring upon the weaver.

At higher levels, these weaves begin to get differentiated by being placed into categories. I won’t go into detail here, but instantaneous spells are known as Weaves; spells which activate after a delay or upon a conditional are known as Webs; spells which create passive and continuous effects are known as Lattices.

Example 2: Shards of Creation

This is a rather unique power system, as it came about when a god placed a piece of their own essence in the world. This piece of their essence was known as the Origin, or in other circles, as the Splinter. When its bearer was killed by a spiritualist, his soul shattered, and the Splinter within broke with it, distributing across the entirety of their reality the shards of this original power. These shards, each containing the tiniest fragment of the power of that reality’s creator deity, grants those who possess them limited authority over that world’s bound Spirit, and its derivatives, filtered through the Intent of their given shard.

While I have visited this reality, I chose to surrender my shards when I left it, since I never intended to return and they would be of no use to me in my own reality. As such, my knowledge is limited. However, I know as follows:

The Shards are created from one original splinter which specifically contained a portion of the creator god’s authority over the reality they had created. It seems that this was done intentionally, as other-wise, the power would likely have allowed the inhabitants far greater power than they actually gain from these shards. They do gain influence over the various forms taken by Spirit bound to that world, yes, but they have no influence over spirit bound to other worlds, or even just to other creatures within that world.

All Shards have an attunement, an Intent. This Intent reflects what part of reality they hold influence over, and with time, they begin to reshape one’s cognitive processes to better align with their own. In truth, this is the primary reason why I chose to excise my own shards upon leaving the world, rather than keeping them for study.

Example 3: The Aether

The last system I will cover in this book is an interesting one. In this world, Spirit has been split into many different distinct forms of energy and matter, but the most notable form of energy for our discussion is known by the people of that world as the Aether; magical energy which can be shaped through human will, much like spiritual energy itself, but with far less training and a much more free process. This can allow practitioners to extend their perceptions and shape the world around them, among other things. However, this more traditional form of magic, known simply as the Art by many, or by the name Tirnatuq in its original tongue, is now over-shadowed by a more modern magic system known as Arcanism, which was long ago derived from study of the magic system used by the Dragons in that world.

Arcanism is interesting to me because it is a highly scientific system of magic. It involves the crystallization of Spiritual Energy into a series of “spheres” within one’s soul. Each of these spheres acts as both a reservoir and filter, converting the unbound Aether into a form of bound energy known as Mana. Each subsequent sphere is more dense than the one which came before it, and they must be arranged in such a way that they all orbit one another in a stable manner so as to balance each other out and stabilize the soul. The mana in these spheres can then be extracted later on to be filtered through various focuses, amplified to various frequencies, and be formed into either very simple or extraordinarily complex spells. I personally visited this reality, and can attest to the genius of this system’s design. One thing I found most curious, though, is that, when I left, the spheres remained full of this power. I have failed to find any way to replenish it outside that reality, though, once spent.

There are many more incredibly interesting systems of power to be found across the universe, but I have decided to keep this section short for reasons of conciseness. I could go on and on about it, though… Perhaps I will write a few more books, after this, taking a scholarly look at several realities and discussing the systems of power used within them.

But in any case. Let us turn to some of the other factors which make creatures of various realities unique, and what things are generally the same. One thing in particular I’d like to mention is the diversity in physical construction of so many of these creatures. The term I’ve chosen to use when discussing different creatures in my books, for intelligent creatures specifically, is Race. A creature’s race can describe three things, in this context; their species, their ethnicity, and their culture. When explaining the traits of a given race, I do generally address each of these things individually, being careful to specify what traits are innate, what traits are learned, and what traits are generally coincidental. On the following pages, I will give a few examples I know of, so you may gain a reference for how intelligent life may differ in form across disparate realities.

These races are given as examples and templates for your GM to customize when designing different settings. While some worlds may include one or two of these races, many will not contain any of these races, and none will contain all four. Reference the races of your specific world when building your player characters, not the ones here, unless your GM gives you permission to play a world-hopper.

Example 1: Seravis

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Vedrani

Age of Majority: 17

Life expectancy: 60

Body plan: Humanoid

Soul plan: Spheroidal

The Seravis are a race of people from the world described in the 2nd example of the previous section. They are members of the Human species, which is an unusually common one across many different realities. My theory about such is that humans were originally native to a single world and have since spread across the universe through the Gates, taking advantage of their purely biological system of reproduction that is not dependant upon rules particular to any singular reality. Almost all of the races in the world described in example 3 are either themselves humans, or descended from humans; there are even small populations of them present on my own world. Humans can generally be split into two categories after reaching their age of majority, known as the two sexes: male and female. There are, however, many states of being found in between these two primary states of existence. Unlike my own people, the Kavreni, the Seravis, along with most human populations I have studied, subscribe to a binary system of genders, with most males choosing to subscribe to a more aggressive and guarded gender identity and most females subscribing to a more complicated and open one. I don’t understand it very well myself, to be honest with you; it seems to me far too limiting compared to the Kavreni system. Seravis have long noses, with often curly hair of darker coloration, with blue or green eyes and amber-colored skin. In their native culture, they wear many flowing robes and dresses, with some warriors shortening the skirts and adding pants to the ensemble. They have hands with five fingers, as is typical of humans, but most Seravis are more dextrous with their left hands than their rights.

Innate traits (human) :

• Sustenance. Humans need to consume water and food in order to survive. They are also susceptible to disease. See the health section later in this book for details.
• Breath and Blood. Humans are purely physical life forms and rely on oxygen or similar compounds to survive. This is distributed throughout their body using the blood stream. If a human loses too much blood, or lacks oxygen, they will die. Spiritual energy can replace oxygen, in a pinch.
• Resilience. Humans, as biological creatures, are able to recover from wounds naturally with time. Humans recover 1 hit point at the start of each day, if they are rested and fed.
• Adaptation. Humans are innately flexible creatures, able to adapt to the needs of their environment. Add +1 to any ability score of your choice at character creation.

Ethnic traits (Vedrani) :

• Dexterous. The vedrani ethnicity is known for its flexibility, and their unusual dexterity, especially with their left hands. They gain a +1 bonus to dexterity, and can add a modifier of +1 to dexterity-based checks and attack rolls which utilize only their left hand.
• Climate adaptation. Vedrani are adapted to the hot, humid climate of their homeland. They have a climate modifier of -2.

Racial traits (Learned):

• Weapon training. Seravis are taught to handle weapons from a young age. You gain one free point of proficiency in one weapon type of your choice at character creation.

Example 2: Ferrasi

Species: Engar

Ethnicity: Iras

Age of Majority: 24

Life expectancy: 260

Body plan: Golemoid

Soul plan: Rhomboid

The Ferrasi are a curious race. They are members of a mechanical species known as the Engar. Mechanical life-forms are a subject of interest for me, which is why I visited their home world some years ago; I am lucky to have my father’s maps in order to navigate the gates so adeptly as to speak with these beings within my lifetime.
Engar, like most golemoids, have geometric souls—sturdy and orderly but inflexible and slow to adapt. They don’t begin experiencing emotions until the age of 16 and aren’t considered adults until they have learned to recognize and quantify their emotions in exact numbers, so they may recognize variables affecting their logic and use such data to inform their decision-making. The way they think feels to me quite alien, as I am much more fluid and flexible in my ways of thought, whereas the Engar are the embodiment of order, with all their thought processes being deliberate and highly logical. It is fascinating to interact with such different creatures…
Ah, but I’m getting carried away. My apologies. The Ferrasi society is one of law, order, and structure. They are of the Iras ethnicity, forging the frames of themselves and their children from iron and steel. They don’t have any concept of gender identity, but rather define themselves by their behaviours, personalities, hobbies, and trades. While many cultures of Engar prefer straight, mechanical lines and derive beauty in sharp, perfect angles, the Iras prefer curves, with those that come close to mathematically perfect in form being perceived as particularly serene. Most Ferrasi have frames with four legs and two arms; additional appendages are rare.

Innate traits (engar) :

• Sustenance. Engar need to consume spiritual energy or one of its derivatives on a regular schedule. For every day an Engar goes without consuming appropriate energy, they must rest an extra hour per day. If this number ever reaches 24, the Engar enters a coma until they are fed again or until they die.
• Mechanical. Engar are made from inorganic materials shaped into a body. They cannot be healed by way of healing magic or the like, nor do they heal naturally. They must instead be repaired by a skilled trades-person.
• Adaptation. Engar are highly logical creatures; their minds are sturdy but inflexible. They gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence but also take a –1 penalty to Wisdom.
• Emotional quantization. Engar are considered adults once they can recognize and quantize their own emotions. They have advantage on saves made to resist Fear or Charm.

Ethnic traits (Iras) :

• Resilient. The Iras are made from iron or steel, forged into bars and gears. They have an innate armor class of 16 and take half damage from mundane weapons as well as from fire and frost. They take a –1 penalty to their Dexterity score due to their inflexibility.
• Climate Extremists. Reduce the relative severity of any extreme climates by up to 2 points.

Racial traits (Learned):

• Artist. Most Ferrasi take up one of the trades at a young age. You gain two free points of proficiency in a Craft skill of your choice; these points may be split between two skills.

Example 3: Skelan

Species: Drakan

Ethnicity: Selanite

Age of Majority: 8

Life expectancy: 40

Body plan: Draconoid

Soul plan: Spheroid

The Skelan are another interesting race, and this particular one is one of the only draconoid races native to my own reality, which makes them somewhat special to me in this book. Skelan are members of the Drakan species of draconoids, known for their much smaller builds and less-than-stellar lifespans—a harsh contrast to many other draconoids. The Selanite ethnicity in particular is characterized by metallic blue and gray scales as well as their short stature, standing but four feet tall at the shoulder. They make up for this with their length, which ranges from seven to fourteen feet when fully grown. They also have functional wings and are capable of flying at speeds of up to twelve miles per hour; in tight spaces they manage roughly half that.
The Skelan are mostly nomadic, flying from site to site with the changing of the seasons—alone, until they bond with a soul-sibling. This bond occurs on the spiritual level and is performed through soulbinding. It allows both parties to communicate simple concepts telepathically and always know where the other is. While most Skelan take their own kind as soul-siblings, they have been known to bond with Kavreni, or even Humans, from time to time. A fascinating, enigmatic people indeed.
Skelan are capable of nexus weaving as well, but they do not use the same techniques for it as the humanoid races of my world. Their magic feels more… natural somehow—pure and primal. It’s hard to explain better than that.

Innate traits (drakan) :

• Sustenance. Drakan need to consume food and water in order to survive. They are immune to mundane diseases. See the health section later in this book for details.
• Blood and Fire. Drakan are beings born of blood and fire, and both flow through their veins. When a Drakan sustains a wound, they must bathe in fire as they rest in order to heal. When they complete a standard long rest while fire-bathing, Drakan regain hit points equal to 4 + their Constitution modifier.
• Spiritualists. Drakan have a natural sense for the flow of spiritual power and can learn spiritualisms twice as fast as other creatures. They also gain one free point of proficiency in the Arcana skill at character creation.
• Wings. Drakan possess a pair of wings, as is typical of draconoids. Functionality depends upon ethnicity.
• Climate Extremists. Reduce the relative severity of any extreme climates by up to 2 points.

Ethnic traits (Selanite) :

• Flight. Selanites have functional wings with a wingspan twice their body length. They have a fly speed of 60 ft per round.
• Soul-bond. Selanites can perform the Soulbinding spiritualism instinctively, without training. When they bond another creature, that creature becomes their soul-sibling. Soul-siblings can send simple thoughts telepathically to one another and always know each other’s rough location.

Racial traits (Learned):

• Navigator. Skelan have advantage on all Navigation checks.

Example 4: Sibre

Species: Vangar

Ethnicity: Sibre

Age of Majority: N/A

Life expectancy: N/A

Body plan: Intelloid

Soul plan: Crystalline

The Sibre are particularly interesting to me, as they’re an example of a purely spiritual race. The Vangar are Intelloids—beings that exist only as collections of information and thought processes, embodied in the form of data-containing structures such as crystal lattices, calculative machines, and autonomous information-handling devices. They are also capable of being created artificially, under the right conditions, and may inhabit living structures animated purely by spirit.
The Sibre are a specific subtype of Vangar that typically manifest within natural crystalline cave structures. They are incredibly intelligent creatures, yet entirely immotile by their own means. Some members of the Sibre welcome this state of being, choosing simply to grow their crystalline forms and learn what knowledge comes. Others, driven by boundless curiosity, essentially chop off their own heads—liberating fragments of their consciousness and using magic, machines, or other living beings to explore the world on their own terms.
Native to the world of the Ferrasi, some Sibre have formed a symbiosis with various Engar races. A long-standing debate between the peoples persists: is the soul a manifestation of the self, or merely the occupant of a vessel?

Innate traits (vangar) :

• Born of Intellect. Vangar embody crystallized information. They gain a +4 bonus to Intelligence and a +2 bonus to Wisdom.
• Immotile. Vangar cannot move or mechanically interact with their environments. They automatically fail all Strength- and Dexterity-based checks or saves and effectively possess no Strength or Dexterity scores.
• Spiritualists. Vangar have a natural sense for spiritual power and learn spiritualisms twice as fast as other creatures. They also gain one free point of proficiency in the Arcana skill at character creation.

Sibre traits :

• Crystal Body. Sibre are born in bodies of crystal. They take half damage from slashing and piercing attacks but double damage from bludgeoning attacks. They have an innate defense score of 14.
• Telepathy. Sibre can project conscious thoughts to any creatures within 15 ft. They may also create a two-way link with up to four creatures within that range; once linked, both parties may communicate telepathically across distances up to four miles unless the path is completely blocked by stone or metal.
• Genius. Sibre gain eight free proficiency points to distribute during character creation.

Most settings will give all backgrounds an equal number of proficiency points, for the sake of fairness. If you wish to make a custom background, speak with your game master first.