Optional Rules

Dark Sun characters have always been more powerful than other campaign's characters. Dark Sun uses few alternate rules to represent this impact.

Automatic Bonus Progression This variant removes all items bonuses to rolls and DCs provided by magic items and replaces it with a new kind of bonus -- potency-- to reflect a character's innate ability instead.

Free Archetype Every character receives a free multiclass archetype at level 2. I recommend the Psychic dedication for all characters to represent the natural psychic ability of all athasians

Gradual Attribute Boosts Characters gain attribute boosts more gradually as they level up.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

For thousands of years, the Tablelands have remained untouched: its politics frozen in a delicate stalemate, its life in a balance even more delicate. It is true that the Sorcerer-Kings amused themselves with their petty wars, rattling sabers to punctuate the passing of ages. It is true that, occasionally, another city would be swallowed by the wastes. But there were no surprises. The Sorcerer-Kings steered everything from their omnipotent perches, content in their superiority, but ever thirsting for challenge. All that has changed. The Tablelands have been thrown into turmoil, the likes of which have not been seen since times forgotten. The Sorcerer-Kings have been thrown into confusion, grasping for the tedium they so recently lamented. And yet I fear the worst is yet to come. Change is in the air, and change has never come gently to Athas.

Athas’s savage, primal landscape is the result of long centuries of ecological and magical abuses. The world is dying. It breathes its last gasps as water turns to silt, grasslands become sandy wastes, and jungles decay into stony barrens. Still, life finds ways to endure even in these hellish conditions. In fact, it thrives. Children growing up beneath the crimson sun don’t aspire to become heroes. True heroes who champion causes or try to make the world a better place are as rare as steel on Athas. Living to see the next dawn is more important than defending a set of beliefs, so survival ultimately motivates all living creatures—not virtue or righteousness.

Today, Athas rushes toward its future. If the course of destruction is to be diverted, if Athas is to be restored, then heroes must grab the reins of destiny and give new hope and promise to the world. It will not be easy. In fact, it will be extremely difficult. But it is possible. The denizens of the Tablelands have suffered under oppression for thousands of years, and now, a boiling point has been reached. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but someday, change will come.

Ten Things to Know

Every player needs to know and remember these facts about the world of Athas.

1. Dark Sun is Different from
Traditional pathfinder

Many monsters, classes, spells, or magic items from the core rulebooks simply are not available in Athas.

Many races are not available because Athas has a very different background than most fantasy settings.

2. Tone and Attitude.

Athas puts the survival of the fittest concept to its fullest.

Those who cannot adapt to endure the tyrannical Sorcerer‐Kings, the unrelenting sun, or the many dangers of the wastes will certainly perish.

Illiteracy and slavery are commonplace, while magic is feared and hated. The term “hero” has a very different meaning on Athas.

3. A Burnt World.

Thousands of years of reckless spellcasting and epic wars have turned Athas into a barren world, on the verge of an ecological collapse. From the first moments of dawn until the last twinkling of dusk, the crimson sun shimmers in the olive–tinged sky like a fiery puddle of blood, creating temperatures up to 150° F (65° C) by late afternoon. Water is scarce, so most Athasians need to come up with alternative solutions for dealing with the heat or perish.

4. A World Without Metal.

Metals are very rare on Athas. Its scarcity has forced Athasians to rely on barter and different materials, such as ceramic, to use as currency. It also hampers industrial and economic development as well; mills and workshops rarely have quality tools to produce everyday products.

Even though most Athasians have developed ways of creating weapons and armor made of nonmetallic components, the advantage of having metal equipment in battle is huge.

5. The Will and The Way.

From the lowliest slave to the most powerful Sorcerer‐King, psionics pervade all levels of Athasian society. Virtually every individual has some mental ability, and every city‐state has some sort of psionic academy available. Athasians use the term Will to refer to someone’s innate ability for psionics and the Way for the study of psionics.

6. A World Without Gods.

Athas is a world without true deities. Powerful Sorcerer‐Kings often masquerade as gods but, though their powers are great and their worshippers many, they are not true gods. Arcane magic requires life force, either from plants or animals, to be used. All divine power comes from the Elemental Planes and primarily power from the Spirits of the Land that inhabit geographic features.

7. Planar Insulation.

Barriers exist between Athas and other planes. In the case of other planes of existence, the Gray impedes planar travel, except to the Elemental Planes. Consequently, travel via spell jamming is impossible, and planar travel is much more difficult. The same holds true for those trying to contact or reach Athas. The barrier formed by the Gray impedes travel in both directions.

8. The Struggle For Survival.

The basic necessities of life are scarce on Athas. This means that every society must devote itself to attaining food and safeguarding its water supply, while protecting themselves from raiding tribes, monsters, and other city‐states. This essentially means that most Athasian must devote a large deal of their lives just to survive.

9. The Seven City‐states.

The Tyr Region is the center of the world of Athas, at least as far as the people of the seven city‐states are concerned. It’s here, along the shores of the Silt Sea and in the shadows of the Ringing Mountains that civilization clings to a few scattered areas of fertile land and fresh water.

The majority of the population lives in the city‐states of Tyr, Urik, Raam, Draj, Nibenay, Gulg, and Balic. The remainder live in remote villages built around oases and wells or wander about in nomadic tribes searching for what they need to survive.

10. New Races and Classes

In addition to the common player character races found in the Core Rulebook, players can choose to play aarakocra, dray, half‐giant, mul, and thri‐kreen in Dark Sun. Aarakocra are bird people that fly above the wastes. Dray are a dragon like race created by the Sorcerer-King Dregoth. Half‐giants are creatures with great strength, but dull wits.

A mul is a hybrid race that combines the natural dwarven resilience and stubbornness with the adaptability from humans. Thri‐kreen are insectoid creatures that roam the Athasian wastes in search for prey. The following races do not exist on Athas and therefore are not playable races: gnome, goblin, and other races listed in any other sourcebooks.

There is one new class to pick, psychic warrior. However, with that there is a few classes from the Pathfinder that are not playable classes: bard, gunslinger, inventor, sorcerer, thaumaturge, and witch. In most cases a class is exactly as described in the Pathfinder unless otherwise noted in their brief descriptions. Due to the nature of magic (both arcane and divine) on this world the landscape for typical wizards, and clerics have changed dramatically.

The World of Athas

The world of Athas is an interconnected network of City-States, Merchant Houses, and villages. Ancient grudges and fresh wounds simmer after the death of Sorcerer-King Kalak. Tensions are high, and the need for heroes is desperate.

The world of Dark Sun is focused on the Tyr region of Athas. Seven City-States dominate and control most of the Tyr region: Balic, Draj, Gulg, Nibenay, Raam, Tyr, and Urik. Recently the ancient city of Kemalok has been found and has brought new hope to the Tyr region. Most PCs will start in the Tyr region, one of the major humanoid population centers of Athas.

Tyr Region

The Tyr region has been divided amongst the powerful City-States across the region. These City-States are generally ruled by a Sorcerer King or Queen. Almost all races can be found in a City-State but halflings and Thri-Kreen are generally not native to the cities. Smaller villages and outposts dot the Tyr region and may be independent or under the control of a merchant house or City-State.

Tyr

City-State

Council of Advisors

15,000 (70% human, 10% dwarf, 6% mul, 3% elf, 1% half-elf, 9% half-giant, 1% thri-kreen, a few halflings) another 15,000 exist in the fields and noble estates surrounding Tyr. Natives called “Tyrians”.

Formerly Kalak's profile, currently a star on purple background

Iron, silk

Freemen, Guildsmen, Nobles, Templars

King Tithian

As far as most Athasians are concerned, Tyr has always existed. Certainly, it has endured through the entire Desert Age, and even with the fall of its sorcerer-king, it seems likely to endure for centuries to come. And throughout all the long years of its existence, it was a city-state enslaved. That has all changed. In the courts of the other city-states, rumors of King Kalak’s overthrow are only whispered, but in Tyr, the repercussions howl through the streets. Many scheme to succeed Kalak, and the templars and other power groups vying for control struggle to keep the city-state from disintegrating into anarchy at the hands of people eager to enjoy their freedom. Nobles and merchants clamor for influence, and commoners and freed slaves openly celebrate, challenging civic authority and social boundaries at every turn. Tyr hunkers within high walls in the middle of the fertile Tyr Valley, which lies in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. From miles away, a traveler can make out the massive spires of the Golden Tower rising over the city state’s walls.

City-State Lore

Most PCs will be natives of one of the City-States of Athas. This nationality will likely be an important part of their character. Some characters will gain a City-State Lore based on their background.

City-State Dialect

The Common language in Athas has various dialects. Each City-State has its own dialect and travelers will often use the trade tongue when speaking in other City-States. When picking languages, consider the languages local to your home region.

Not far from the tower, a brick step-pyramid soars above the walls: the Ziggurat of Kalak, multicolored and resplendent under the desert sun. The city walls are parched sandstone, smoothed by time and centuries of continual repair. Beyond Tyr loom the ramparts of the Ringing Mountains, whose topmost peaks glint with a dusting of snow during the months of Sun Descending.

Urik

City-State

Sorcerer King

32,000 (75% human, 3% dwarf, 6% mul, 2% elf, 1% half-elf, 10% half-giant, 3% thri-kreen, and 1% halfling). Natives called “Urikites” or the slightly derogatory “Uri”.

Hamanu’s face; Hamanu in battle dress; Hamanu surrounded by red fire; and so on.

Obsidian, water, slaves, silk, pottery

King Hamanu

Located in the hilly region northeast of Tyr, between the Dragon’s Bowl and the Smoking Crown Mountains, the square, clean lines of the city-state of Urik can be found. Urik sits in a fertile belt maintained by careful irrigation from deep wells. Grain fields and fruit-bearing orchards surround the city-state in neat rows. Urik gleams, its stone walls steeped in yellow pigment made from the sulfurous waters of the nearby Lake of Golden Dreams. Statues of bold, bipedal lions march to war across its walls. Lion heads carved from stone serve as merlons atop the dizzying walls, where sentries stand guard, bows never far from their hands. As much an imposing fortress as it is a city-state, Urik is protected by intimidating walls and fearless defenders.

Draj

City-State

Kemalok

City 13

Fort Harbeth

Trading Fortress 9

Planes of Dark Sun

Athas is a world alone in its planar cosmology, unattached to the rest of the multiverse. Athas sits at the center surrounded by the Black, Gray, and the Elemental and Paraelemental planes, all of which influence the material plane differently. Each plane is a piece that composes the world of Athas, though some connections are more noticeable than others.

The planes of Athas are complex and exist as the total embodiment of a concept in all its forms. The planes interact with Athas and manifest their concepts and effects on the material plane. This can come in the form of being coterminous or remote - in which the planes effect becomes more or less dramatic across the world, or in the form of Manifest Zones which directly affect a small region of the world.

Planar Traits

Each plane, dimension, and demiplane has its own properties and attributes. Planar traits can be broken down into five categories: scope, gravity, time, morphic, and planar essence. Combined, those traits describe the laws and makeup of the plane. These appear in the plane’s traits entry, though any trait that matches the Material Plane (described in the Normal entry in each section below) is omitted.

Enhanced and Impeded Magic

Some planes enhance certain magic and impede opposing effects. A plane that enhances a particular type of magic grants anyone Casting a Spell with that trait a +1-circumstance bonus to their spell DC or spell attack roll with that spell. Impeded magic means a character who Casts a Spell or Activates an Item with the specified trait must succeed at a DC 6 flat check or lose the spell or activation.

Scope Trait

Most planes are immeasurable, so immense they are impossible to quantify. Which immeasurable planes, if any, are infinite is a subject of debate among philosophers and scholars alike. Since so many planes are immeasurable, those planes omit a scope trait. Otherwise, the plane likely has either the finite or unbounded trait.

Finite: Finite planes consist of a limited amount of space (Material Plane).

Immeasurable: Immeasurable planes are immeasurably large, perhaps infinite.

Gravity Traits

Many planes have unusual gravity.

Normal: Bodies of great mass are the centers of gravity, and objects fall toward those centers with a measured amount of force relative to the size of the body.

Microgravity: There is little to no gravity on this plane. Creatures float in space unless they can push off a surface or use some force to propel themselves throughout the plane.

Subjective Gravity: All bodies of mass can be centers of gravity with the same force, but only if a non-mindless creature wills it. Unattended items, objects, and mindless creatures treat the plane as having microgravity. Creatures on a plane with subjective gravity can move normally along a solid surface by imagining “down” near their feet. Designating this downward direction is a free action that has the concentration trait. If suspended in midair, a creature can replicate flight by choosing a “down” direction and falling in that direction, moving up to their Speed or fly Speed. This pseudo-flight uses the Fly action.

Time Traits

Time flows differently on many planes.

Normal: Time passes the same way it does on the Material Plane. One hour on a plane with normal time equals 1 hour on the Material Plane.

Timeless: Time still passes, but the effects of time are diminished. Creatures on these planes don’t feel hunger, thirst, or the effects of aging or natural healing. The effects of poison, diseases, and other kinds of healing may also be diminished on certain timeless planes. Spell energy and other effects still dissipate, so the durations of spells and other effects function as normal. The danger of this trait is that when a creature leaves a timeless plane and enters a plane with another time trait, the effects of hunger, thirst, aging, and other effects slowed or arrested by the timeless trait occur retroactively in the instant of transition, possibly causing the creature to immediately starve or die of old age.

Planar Essence Traits

Planar essence traits describe a plane’s fundamental nature. For example, many of the Inner Sphere’s planes are infused with an element or energy, each of which affects magic on those planes, and the Shadow Plane is awash with shadow.

Planar Stat Blocks

Each of the planes listed in the following pages includes a short stat block of key information. The plane’s type—whether it is a plane, dimension, or demiplane—appears in the stat block’s heading, followed by the traits that define that plane. The following entries also provide important information about each plane.

Inner Sphere Planes

The planes of the Inner Sphere form the heart of dark sun. They are the home of mortal life, the focus of elemental attention, the source of mortal souls, and the origin point of the great cycle of quintessence that fuels the motions and stability of reality itself.

Arranged in a nested shell, the planes of the Inner Sphere include, from outer to inner: the Elemental Chaos: Air, Earth, Fire, Magma, Rain, Silt, Sun, and Water, which surround the universe of the Material Plane (Athas).

Plane of Rain

Plane

Religion

In a world without gods, spiritualism on Athas has unlocked the secrets of the raw forces of which the very planet is comprised: earth, air, fire, and water. However, other forces exist which seek to supplant them and rise to ascendancy in their place. These forces have taken up battle against the elements of creation on the element’s own ground in the form of entropic perversions of the elements themselves: magma, rain, silt, and sun.

Faiths

Anyone can be spiritual, but those who do so devoutly should take care to pursue the faith’s edicts (behaviors the faith encourages) and avoid its anathemas (actions considered blasphemous). Each faith has benefits available to the most ardent devotees of the various supreme beings. You get these benefits only if you’re a cleric of the one of the various supreme beings or some other rule specifically gives you a devotee benefit.

Elemental Clerics

The champions of the elemental lords tend to hold the same environmental views as their elemental masters. This is a result of the peculiar selection process of the elementals and of the initiation that all clerics must suffer.

Air

Clerics who make pacts with the denizens of the Plane of Air are perhaps the most misunderstood of all the elemental clerics. They are wanderers, diviners, travelers, and mystics. Like the winds, their minds are constantly wandering, and they rarely seem focused on a current problem or situation. Some say that is because they are empowered by flighty patrons, and others say that repetitive viewing of the future drives one mad.
Edicts fight all forms of bondage whenever possible, including slavery, and preserve the earth and water
Anathema except any form of bondage, including slavery, allow an innocent to remain jailed.

Devotee Benefits

Dexterity or Wisdom

harm or heal

can choose holy

Performance

Shortbow

Air, Freedom, Knowledge, Travel

1st: gust of wind, 2nd: summon elemental*, 3rd: wall
of wind, 4th: fly, 5th: elemental form*, 6th: teleport, 7th: unfettered pack, 8th: punishing winds

Special: You can’t cast any spell with the Earth trait. Your Summon Elemental and Elemental Form spells only allow you to summon creatures with the Air trait or to take the form of an air elemental.

Earth

Earth endures, and like the mountains and the drying plains, earth clerics must bear the brunt of the fight for Athas' s survival.

Because air, fire, and water all depend on growing things for their enrichment, and because earth alone must sustain itself, it is the earth clerics who must carry on the burden of preventing the environmental holocaust looming over Athas. For, if they do not preserve the land, will not the death of Athas weigh upon their shoulders?
Edicts oppose defilers and teach the nature of the life cycle, attempt to reform any friendly defiler, teach proper agriculture techniques
Anathema do not travel with a known defiler, work with one, or allow a defiler to defile in their presence

Devotee Benefits

Strength or Constitution

harm or heal

can choose holy

Nature

Warhammer

Creation, Earth, Might, Protection

1st: pummeling rubble, 2nd: summon elemental*, 3rd:
one with stone, 4th: shape stone, 5th: elemental form*, 6th: petrify , 7th: planar seal 8th: earthquake

Special: You can’t cast any spell with the Air trait. Your Summon Elemental and Elemental Form spells only allow you to summon creatures with the Earth trait or to take the form of an earth elemental.

Fire

The most feared and unpredictable of the Athasian clerics are those of the Elemental Plane of Fire.

Devotee Benefits

Rain

The creatures of rain wish only to return their patron's cool caresses to Athas. To do this, the forests that protect and hold the world's water must return. Clerics of rain are required to protect existing forests, and to plant and encourage the growth of new ones.
Edicts return the cool caress of rain back to Athas, protect forests, and encourage the growth of new forests
Anathema destroy grasses and forests, allow a defiler to defile in their presence

Devotee Benefits

Devotee Benefits

Devotee Benefits

Nibenay

The Shadow King is a bizarre and secretive ruler whose eerie title only begins to convey his nature. Impossibly old, he founded the eponymous Nibenay well over a millennium ago. His citizenry barely knows him to exist at all, as it is his way to spend all his time within his walled off inner city. His public appearances are so rare that rumors of his death and conspiracy theories of the Templars perpetuating the charade of his existence to maintain their position of power are commonplace. When these rumors and theories are sufficiently pervasive to support civil unrest, usually once per generation, Nibenay himself emerges to quash the disobedience personally. He then retreats to his sanctum, content to leave matters in the hands of his priesthood until the current generation forgets and the cycle repeats.

All of Nibenay’s Templars are women, and they encourage worship of their husband-ruler. Conjecture exists that each serves him as both wife and priestess. His Templars are the only people to move freely between Nibenay’s private inner city and the larger City-State over which he presides. Slaves that are taken into the compound never return, and Nobles and freemen are never allowed within. The rumors of the dark experiments and practices within the inner city are too terrible to deserve retelling.
Edicts battle the enemies of the Shadow-King, uphold the laws of Nibenay, encourage worship of the Shadow-King
Anathema disobey the edicts of the Shadow-King, revolt against Nibenay

Aarakocra

Aarakocra Names

As with much of their speech, aarakocra names include clicks, trills, and whistles to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has two to four syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, aarakocra may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

Male Names: Akthag, Awnunaak, Cawthra, Driikaak, Gazziija, Kraah, Krekkekelar, Nakaaka, Thraka.

Female Names: Arraako, Kariko, Kekko, Lisako, Troho.

Tribal Names: Cloud Gliders, Sky Divers, Peak Masters, Far Eyes, Brothers of the Sun.

Aarakocra Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As an aarakocra, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

Spirit Arts

FEAT 9

Dray

Created many centuries ago by the Sorcerer-King of Giustenal to serve as a race of sorcerous warriors, dray, as they call themselves—are a strong, resilient race of dragon like humanoids. Most dray were cast out of their home by their creator, Dregoth, and a handful of dray survived when Giustenal was destroyed. From those ancient refugees arose a race of mercenaries, sorcerers, and slave traders known for their calculating (and sometimes duplicitous) ways.

Created in his image

Dray are tall, lean draconic beings with scaly skin, hairless bodies, and clawed limbs. They have no wings, though they do have tails. The first generation dray are less than the perfect beings Dregoth envisioned. Their claws are jagged, their scales mottled and uneven, their bodies slightly bent and mutated. The second generation are near replicas of the dragon king, with proud draconic heads atop long necks. Straight, ivory teeth are set in neat rows within their long jaws. Their leathery scales come in a variety of colors, and their long, whip like tails stretch out majestically behind them.

Dray Names

Dray have personal names given at birth, but they put their clan names first as a mark of honor. A childhood name or nickname is often used among clutch mates as a descriptive term or a term of endearment. The name might recall an event or center on a habit.

Male Names: Arjhan, Balasar, Bharash, Donaar, Ghesh, Heskan, Kriv, Medrash, Mehen, Nadarr, Pandjed, Patrin, Rhogar, Shamash, Shedinn, Tarhun, Torinn

Female Names: Akra, Biri, Daar, Farideh, Harann, Havilar, Jheri, Kava, Korinn, Mishann, Nala, Perra, Raiann, Sora, Surina, Thava, Uadjit

Clan Names: Clethtinthiallor, Daardendrian, Delmirev, Drachedandion, Fenkenkabradon, Kepeshkmolik, Kerrhylon, Kimbatuul, Linxakasendalor, Myastan, Nemmonis, Norixius, Ophinshtalajiir, Prexijandilin, Shestendeliath, Turnuroth, Verthisathurgiesh, Yarjerit

Dray Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later.

A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

First Generation Dray

The first generation of dray created were bestial shadows of dragons, and though their bodies are misshapen and mutated they are extremely durable creatures. They are monstrous in appearance and in demeanor, tending toward ferocity rather than wisdom or intellect. Most first generation dray despise Dregoth for having rejected them.

You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 8. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saves against dragon breath, effects with the sleep trait, and effects that would make you paralyzed.

Second Generation Dray

The second generation of dray created were more refined in form, in body and in mind. They are not necessarily superior to their progenitors, but they consider themselves to be so, and so does their creator. These dray are frequently arcanist, often favoring defiling magic. Most second generation dray still revere Dregoth, though many do not know he has returned in undeath.

You gain an extra Charisma attribute boost but gain a Dexterity attribute Flaw. Second generation dray have a trace of draconic magic flowing through their veins. Choose one cantrip from the arcane spell list. You can Cast this Spell as an arcane innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up. You are trained in the spell attack modifier and spell DC statistics, and your key spellcasting ability is Charisma.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a dray, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

9th Level

Dangle

FEAT 9

Dwarf

Persistent Minds

Dwarves are known for their stoicism and single-mindedness. They prefer to occupy themselves with meaningful tasks, and often approach these tasks with an intensity rarely seen in other races. Once they fix their minds on the task at hand, be it a challenging bit of engineering, an intricate work of craft, a struggle for survival, or a quest for revenge, it's impossible to abandon it or leave the work half done.

Dwarves will simply fail to listen to reason and will treat any who hinder them as obstacles that must be removed. On the other hand, people who help a dwarf accomplish its task or share its goals are treated with respect and considered good companions.

The commitment to a single task is called a dwarf's focus. A dwarf will work to complete its focus above all else, for the compulsion to succeed is built into the dwarven nature. They literally live for their focus; if a dwarf dies without completing its focus, the need remains so strong that the dwarf may return as an undead to finish the task that drives it.

Dwarf Names

A dwarf receives its name by the community leader, who usually grants it to them after they have completed their first focus, in accordance with their ancient traditions. Thus, they jealously strive to honor their names and never misuse or bring shame to it.

    Male Names: Birgaz, Bontar, Brul, Caelum, Caro, Daled, Drog, Ghedran, Gralth, Gram, Hai, Jo'orsh, Jurgan, Kov, Krom, Lian, Lodo, Ltak, Lyanius, Murd, Nati, Portek, Rkard, Sa'ram, Sult, Veso.

Female Names: Ardin, Erda, Ghava, Greshin, Gudak, Fyra, Kesi, Lazra, N'kadir, Palashi, Vashara.

Dwarf Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Ancient-Blooded Dwarf

Dwarven heroes of old could shrug off their enemies’ magic, and some of that resistance manifests in you. You gain the Call on Ancient Blood reaction.

Call on Ancient Blood You attempt a saving throw against a magical effect, but you haven’t rolled yet. Your ancestors’ innate resistance to magic surges before slowly ebbing down. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws on the triggering save and other saves against magical effects until the end of this turn.

Hit Points

10

Size

Medium

Speed

20 feet

Attribute Boosts

Constitution

Wisdom
Free

Attribute Flaw

Charisma

Languages

Common

Dwarven
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

Traits

Dwarf

Humanoid

Darkvision

You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.

Dwarven Focus

A dwarf's focus is the central point of its existence. You gain the Additional Lore feat and the Assurance feat for the chosen Lore. Once a focus is completed a dwarf can gain a new focus by retraining to a different Lore subcategory in 1 day of downtime.

Anvil Dwarf

You are a descendant of a famed crafter and have your own amazing talent. Other dwarves might consider this a blessing from your ancestor, depending on where you grew up. You become trained in Crafting (or another skill if you were already trained in Crafting) and gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat, but you can pick two different specialties instead of one.

Death Warden Dwarf

Your ancestors were tomb guardians, and their power to ward off death passed on to you. If you roll a success on a saving throw against an effect that has the void trait or was created by an undead creature, you get a critical success instead.

Desert Dwarf

You have a remarkable adaptation to hot environments from ancestors who inhabited blazing deserts. This grants you fire resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1), and you treat environmental heat effects as if they were one step less extreme (incredible heat becomes extreme, extreme heat becomes severe, and so on).

Elemental Heart Dwarf

Through a connection to a genie of the Elemental Planes, you can exude a burst of energy. Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, electricity, fire, holy, or unholy. Once chosen, this can't be changed. You gain the Energy Emanation activity.

Energy Emanation (primal) once per day Energy bursts forth from your body. You deal 1d6 damage of your chosen type to all adjacent creatures (basic Reflex save using your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher). At 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, this damage increases by 1d6.

Oathkeeper Dwarf

Growing up, you never tried to lie to get what you wanted, and even when necessary, lying makes you uncomfortable. The especially faithful might even have thought that you were blessed by the elements. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to Sense Motive and to Perception DCs against attempts to Lie to you. Furthermore, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks to convince others you speak the truth when you are telling the truth, and you take a –4 circumstance penalty to Lie and to your Deception DC against Sense Motive.

Rock Dwarf

Your ancestors lived and worked among a quarry of the mountains or in the depths of the earth. This makes you solid as a rock when you plant your feet.

You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your Fortitude or Reflex DC against attempts to Reposition, Shove, or Trip you. This bonus also applies to saving throws against spells or effects that attempt to force you to move or knock you prone.

In addition, if any effect would force you to move 10 feet or more, you are moved only half the distance.

Strong-Blooded Dwarf

Your blood runs hearty and strong, and you can shake off toxins. You gain poison resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1), and each of your successful saving throws against a poison affliction reduces its stage by 2, or by 1 for a virulent poison. Each critical success against an ongoing poison reduces its stage by 3, or by 2 for a virulent poison.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a dwarf, you select from among the following ancestry feats

1st Level

Adaptive Vision

FEAT 1

DWARF

After years of working under the harsh sun of Athas, you've become accustomed to dazzling flashes of light and sudden shifts in illumination. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against visual effects. If you roll a success on a saving throw against a visual effect, you get a critical success instead.

Avenge In Glory

FEAT 1

DWARF

once per day

Death Warden Dwarf

An ally within 30 feet gains the dying condition.

You honor your ally’s life, gaining temporary Hit Points equal to your level for 1 minute. As long as you have these temporary Hit Points, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack and damage rolls.

Cultured Dwarf

FEAT 1

DWARF

Your interactions with other cultures have not only taught you about many other ancestries but have also helped you realize the value of your own. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Diplomacy and Society. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.

You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for the Lore corresponding to your culture (for instance, Kled Lore or Ledopolus Lore).

Dwarven Doughtiness

FEAT 1

13th Level

Earthen Power

FEAT 13

Elf

Indolent and Unscrupulous

Most Athasians consider elves lazy and deceitful. It's true that many elves dislike hard work and prefer to live in the moment, avoiding unpleasant tasks and drudgery. If work can wait for even another moment, then it will. For an elf, the future is a dark, deadly place, so it strives to make every moment as enjoyable and full as possible. They also enjoy taking advantage of, steal from, lie to, or misdirect outsiders, not out of malice so much as a desire to separate the gullible from their items of value.

Still, elves do work. In some ways, they work harder than members of other races. While they detest hard labor and will never voluntarily set out to construct anything more durable than a tent or small hut, they will spend hours on end haggling and negotiating with potential customers. When it's important to maintain a valuable trading relationship, elves honor their word and barter in good faith. But the moment they perceive an opportunity that is too good to pass up, they abandon their previous deals.

Elf Names

Names are very important to elves, and they take a great deal of time and care before selecting one. Much thought goes into the selection of names, and tribal leaders consider naming young runners as one of their most solemn duties. Elven names are derived from two sources, the name of their tribe, and a given name based upon the elven tradition of a child's first interesting thing while learning to run. While this might seem an easy task, tribal leaders watch for occurrences that are both significant and that fit the child's personality, for traditions hold that names help shape the elves they are given to. With the proper name, a young elf can grow to become a great elf. With the wrong name, the same elf will disappear in the wastes. Some childhood names are changed because of extraordinary actions undertaken during a youth's rites of passage, but such changes do not happen very often.

• Male Names: Abyuuk, Botuu, Coraanu, Dukkoti, Eevuu, Galek, Haaku, Ikan, Jaarati, Kathak, Lobuu, Mutami, Nuuko, Quaar, Radurak, Sorak, Traako.
• Female Names: Alaa, Areela, Celba, Deryssa, Ekee, Elas, Enala, Esylk, Grissi, Guuta, Hukaa, Ittee, Jeila, Katza, Keelorr, Nuuta, Nysia, Tala, Utaa, Yalana.
• Tribe Names: Clearwater, Night Runner, Shadow, Silt Stalker, Silver Hand, Sky Singer, Swiftwing, Water Hunter, Wind Dancer.

Elf Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As an elf, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

Elven Aloofness

FEAT 1

Desert Stealth

FEAT 5

ELF

expert in Stealth

You are in a desert or rocky badland environment near an environmental feature that would allow you to Take Cover.

You are skilled at quickly hiding behind bits of rocky terrain or desert plants. You Take Cover and then use that cover to Hide.

Elven Instincts

FEAT 5

ELF

Your senses let you react rapidly. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks made as initiative rolls. Additionally, if your initiative roll result is tied with that of an opponent, you go first, regardless of whether you rolled Perception or not.

Elven Suspicion

FEAT 5

ELF

Elves have seen elven tribes rice and fall, often at the hands of outside forces. As a result, they have developed a wariness of others who might seek to influence or control them. You've been trained to resist such manipulation, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against effects that would make you controlled, such as dominate, and to Perception checks to Sense Motive when trying to determine if a creature is under the influence of such an effect. When you roll a success on a saving throw against such an effect, you get a critical success instead.

Martial Experience

FEAT 5

ELF

You've crossed blades with a wide variety of foes wielding a wide variety of weapons, and you've learned the basics of fighting with nearly any of them. When wielding a weapon, you aren't proficient with, treat your level as your proficiency bonus.

At 11th level, you become trained in all weapons.

Wildborn Adept

FEAT 5

ELF

Wildborn Magic

The whispers of the spirits of the land grant you more diverse access to simple primal magic. You can cast light, tangle vine and, vitality lash, as innate primal spells at will. If you chose one of those spells with Wildborn Magic, you can select a new spell for Wildborn Magic.

9th Level

Arcane Acumen

FEAT 9

ELF

at least one innate spell gained from an elf ancestry feat

The arcane magic you possess grows in power and complexity. Choose one common 2nd-rank spell from the same tradition as an innate spell you previously gained from another elf ancestry feat (from the arcane list if you have Ancient Blooded, for example). You can cast that spell as an innate spell once per day, using the same tradition as the list you chose the spell from.

Your magic is adaptable. By spending 1 day of downtime, you can change the spell you chose to a different common 2nd-rank spell from the same tradition.

Brightness Seeker

FEAT 9

ELF

Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes studying your surroundings in search of omens related to a particular course of action to cast augury as an innate occult spell. Unless the result of the augury was “nothing,” you gain the following reaction for the next 30 minutes:

Call Upon The Brightness You attempt an attack roll, skill check, or saving throw while performing the course of action from your augury, but you haven’t rolled yet. You gain a +1 status bonus to the triggering check, or a +2 status bonus if the result of the augury was “woe” and you proceeded anyway.

Elf Step

FEAT 9

ELF

You move in a graceful dance, and even your steps are broad. You Step 5 feet twice.

Improved Elf Run

FEAT 9

ELF

Elf Run

You know how to get the most effort out of your allies during travel. When Hustling in a group during exploration mode, your group can Hustle for as long as the member who could Hustle longest on their own, plus an additional 20 minutes beyond that.

Polished Knowledge

FEAT 9

ELF

Cultivated Knowledge

You’ve continued to refine the knowledge and skills you’ve gained through your travels. When you choose a skill in which to become trained with Cultivated Knowledge, you can also choose a skill in which you are already trained and become an expert in that skill. This lasts until your Cultivated Knowledge expires.

When the effects of Cultivated Knowledge and Polished Knowledge expire, you can retrain one of your skill increases. The skill increase you gain from this retraining must either make you trained in the skill you chose with Cultivated Knowledge or make you an expert in the skill you chose with Polished Knowledge.

Sense Thoughts

FEAT 9

ELF

Share Thoughts

You have an even stronger knack for communicating psychically. You can cast mind reading as an innate occult spell once per day.

13th Level

Avenge Ally

FEAT 13

Fleshwarped

Fleshwarps are people whose forms were created or radically transformed by magic, alchemy, or unnatural energies like the Pristine Tower. Their unorthodox appearance can make it difficult for them to find a place for themselves in the world.

Magic and unnatural energies that can warp bone and twist sinew are rare on Athas. Fleshwarps are those who have been permanently altered by such methods—sometimes a sapient being created whole cloth from inanimate flesh, but often a victim unwillingly transformed by strange energies or sadistic creators.

The ancestry name “fleshwarp” is an umbrella term, since on Athas the actual fleshwarping process is more infamously well-known than are alterations caused by uncontrolled magic, or the Pristine Tower. Whether practiced by Sorcerer Kings and Queens fleshwarping is the craft of reshaping flesh and mind in vats of foul magical reagents. This has led some scholars of monsters to argue that only those beings created by the Pristine Tower should be considered fleshwarps. Regardless of the source of their altered forms, fleshwarps bear their new shape forever, transformed beings living a wild and strange existence beyond what was possible for their original ancestry.

Although fleshwarps are humanoid, no two look the same. One might possess limbs in unusual places and skin as smooth as glass, while another might have a thick matting of spiny fur. Some might have animalistic features, like a boar snout, scales, or cloven hooves. Others have entirely alien appearances, such as bulging eyes on the backs of their hands. Some may have only subtly uncanny features that differentiate them, such as glowing teeth, smoking eyes, or fingernails made of bone. The only commonality among fleshwarps is their mismatched nature. Let your imagination run wild when creating a fleshwarp character!

If you want a character who is tough and hardy, can change their form as they grow, and can use their wholly unique appearance to inspire awe or fear in others, you should play a fleshwarp.

You Might...

• Embrace your unusual appearance to inspire respect or fear.
• Be used to relying on yourself.
• Distrust large groups of people, particularly mobs, based on past experiences.

Others Probably

• Find your physiology fascinating or terrifying.
• Assume you are an expert on strange creatures or occult phenomena.
• Consider you an enigmatic and unpredictable—and perhaps even dangerous—outsider.

Physical Description

Fleshwarps are humanoids, ranging from 5 to 7 feet tall and from just under 100 pounds to more than 300 pounds. The proportion and appearance of their limbs and features differ widely, but fleshwarps functionally have two legs, two arms, and a single head; a fleshwarp with more limbs than this should consider an appropriate ancestry feat to reflect this variance, or one of their limbs might be vestigial and mostly nonfunctional. Fleshwarps differ widely in their appearance due to the unique circumstances of their creation. Even fleshwarp siblings or two people transformed through the same procedure might look wildly different.

Society

Fleshwarps are so few in number that congregations of them are rare. They most often live on their own, with a small family group, or at the outskirts of a community. Some thrive in cities, however, where they can remain anonymous among the crowds while pursuing careers that allow them to avoid contact with people who might fear or persecute them.

Fleshwarps value endurance and are quick to learn from others, so those who come into contact with others of their kind usually share stories that help each other survive, hide, or thrive more effectively. How a fleshwarp formed can be a painful or horrifying subject, one they consider rude to discuss with anyone besides close friends or loved ones.

Beliefs

Fleshwarps have little to gain from the broader society, and therefore rarely work to support society in turn, beyond perhaps helping other fleshwarps. They need to be able to adapt quickly to survive on their own. Although bigoted or short-sighted people view fleshwarps as monsters, fleshwarps are no more or less prone to evil than any other people, and most seek only to live their lives without trouble. While alienation doesn't force a fleshwarp to feel contempt for others, neither does it encourage a fleshwarp to avoid it. This is especially true for fleshwarps living in the societies that gave birth to their traumatic transformation. Fleshwarps aren't often casually religious; most either have little to do with the elements at all or are exceptionally devout.

Fleshwarped Names

Fleshwarps can come from—and thus have names from—any culture or ancestry, but some give themselves new names after being transformed, whether to celebrate the change, recognize a new phase of their lives, or conceal their past identity. Many fleshwarps also carry a descriptive nickname granted to them by others, such as “Triple Handed,” “Barkfoot,” or “Many-Mouth.” Fleshwarps don't keep nicknames they find personally offensive, but they tend to keep ones that describe their distinctive appearances or that are given by people they care about.

Fleshwarped Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Created Fleshwarp

Either through foul defiling magic or psionics, you were created by someone else, voluntarily, or not. Your manufactured body is durable; you don't need to eat and can't starve. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against diseases.

Discarded Fleshwarp

The lifeshapers who warped your form labeled you a “discard on discovery”—a euphemism for destroying you on sight. An anomaly among anomalies, your body stubbornly repudiates the efforts of lifeshapers seeking to mold you to their grandiose visions, and your immune responses blunt the worst effects of unwanted fleshwarping attempts. If you roll a success on a saving throw against a polymorph effect, you get a critical success instead.

Mutated Fleshwarp

Transformed by uncontrolled magic, by proximity to the Pristine Tower, or by some other mean, you were once a member of a "normal" Athasian ancestry, but not anymore. Due to your toughened or redundant organs, the DC for your checks to recover from persistent bleed damage is 10 instead of 15, and it's reduced to 5 instead of 10 if you have particularly effective assistance recovering from the persistent damage.

Shapewrought Fleshwarp

A powerful defiler, psionicist, or even a sorcerer-monarch, has reshaped you to make you more resilient. You have nevertheless turned the psychic toll of your transformation into a strength. You gain resistance to mental damage equal to half your level (minimum 1).

Surgewise Fleshwarp

The undulations of your body's cilia are hyper-attuned to wellsprings of psionics; they trill and thrum with insights into psychic energies, and their vibrations alert you to the presence of secrets. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Occultism. If you're trained in Occultism, you instead become trained in another skill of your choice. You also gain the Oddity Identification skill feat.

Unknown Origin Fleshwarp

Nobody knows who or what has made you the way you are now. Your emotions are dulled and hard to influence. When you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a fleshwarp, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

5th Level

Embodied Dreadnought
Subjectivity

FEAT 5

Half-Elf

Natural Survivalists

Intolerance and social rejection has given the half-elf its greatest attribute – self-reliance. As a loner, usually without permanent residence, a half-elf survives the rigors of life in the wilderness completely on its own. The skills involved in survival are only half of the challenge they face – half-elves must also learn to deal with the absence of companionship, the complete lack of conversation and basic friendship. Consequently, these lonesome folk turn for companionship to the animal world, training beasts of the air and sands as servants and friends.

Half-elves hold self-reliance as their most valued trait, never expecting or asking for help no matter what their situation. Self-taught and naturally adept at learning, half-elves dabble in a variety of areas, mastering the skills they need to survive on their own. Some half-elves are bitter and sullen, but most seek to make the best of their circumstances. More than anything, half-elves take pride in defeating expectations.

Half-Elf Names

Half-elves usually pick human or elven naming conventions. As a result of social rejection from both races, they often come up with twisted forms of human and elven names or invent their own.

• Male Names: Boaz, Brazin, Ero, Fyrian, Gathalimay, Laban, Lafus, Luris, Melestan, Mirch, Navarch, Poortool, Regg, Ruach, Solzak, Vok, Wek, Wheetan, Xutan.
• Female Names: Alie, Arya, Aso, Drewet, Feera, Feykaar, Krysta, Lorelei, Mila, Ranis, Sareka, Thania, Vaerhirmana.

9th Level

Pinch Time

FEAT 9

Half-Giant

Fickle Minds

Half-giants switch attitudes very quickly, taking on new values to fit new situations. A half-giant whose peaceful farming life is disrupted by marauders may soon adopt the morals of the very renegades who sacked its village. Goals and lifestyles switch easily, usually based on the charismatic individual that crosses paths with the half-giant or as a reaction to a significant change around it.

Such attitude may present half-giants as unpredictable folk, but more often than not this is not the case. Given the right circumstances, an influential personality can turn a half-giant into an obedient and predictable follower. It will demonstrate friendliness and eagerness to help its companion and remain loyal most of the time — that is, until some powerful personality seizes the opportunity to influence it, or a major event occurs that shakes its behavior.

Half-Giant Names

A half-giant's name depends on whether it's free or enslaved. Free half-giants are likely to borrow the naming conventions of the people they interact with, whereas enslaved ones are usually given a human name.

• Male Names: Crag, Den-du, Doorub, Gaanon, Gall, Garchom, Ghurs, Gigus, Hurgen, Jaryx, Junnai, Pegen, T'sor, Tah, Tak, Tutoc.
• Female Names: Atrocla, Astara, Baraka, Camla, Er'the, G'rshun, Hezze, Katid, Mura, Ot, Romla, Tal, Vun, Zambia.

Half-Giant Heritage

Your parents were both half-giants. You have an enormous stature and other telltale signs of giant heritage. You gain the giant trait and begin with 12 starting hit points. Half-Giants start with a Strength, Constitution, and a Free attribute boost and gain an Intelligence attribute flaw. You gain the Big Boned trait.

Throw Rock

FEAT 1

Halfling

Self-Improvement

Halfling culture cares for each individual's inner well-being and spiritual unity with race and environment. They have little concept of conquest or monetary wealth, and vices that other societies take for granted — such as greed and avarice — are particularly discouraged. Treasure that appeals to other characters holds little interest to a halfling. It is more concerned with promoting halfling culture, its own knowledge, or its inner well-being. A halfling will never lie to or betray another halfling.

Expanding Knowledge

Halflings face difficulties at first, in adjusting to other customs and points of view, but as a generally openminded race, they tend to be curious or confused by the actions of others rather than initially combative. Halfling adventurers will attempt to learn all they can about other cultures but will almost never adopt those cultures as their own. Their shamans teach that the customs of others are no threat to their own, so a halfling adventurer will welcome the chance to learn another point of view, rather than instantly try to change it.

Halfling Names

Halflings have a given name, provided to them by their community. They stick to that name as a mark of their heritage, even though they might adopt many different names from the other cultures.

• Male Names: Cha, Derlan, Fullgrin, Lokee, Nok, Pauk, Pletaw, Purhas, Urga-zoltapl, Zivlil.
• Female Names: Alansa, Anezka, Dokala, Grelzen, Horga, Jikx, Joura, La, Nasaha, Tar, Vensa.

Halfling Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Forest Ridge Halfling

Accustomed to the vibrant life of the forest ridge, the soothing sounds of the forest and plentiful vegetation have provided you with the means to find rest and relaxation especially replenishing. When you regain Hit Points overnight, add your level to the Hit Points regained. When anyone uses the Medicine skill to Treat your Wounds, you can eat a snack to add your level to the Hit Points you regain from their treatment.

Green-touched Halfling

The blood of the life shapers is so strong within you that you’re truly one of them. Choose one cantrip from the primal spell list. You can cast this spell as a primal innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up. You gain the trained proficiency rank in primal spell attack rolls and spell DCs, and your key spellcasting ability is Charisma. You can change this cantrip to a different one from the same list once per day by meditating to realign yourself with the Green; this is a 10-minute activity that has the concentrate trait.

Gutsy Halfling

Your tribe is known for keeping a level head and staving off fear when in difficult situations, making them wise leaders and sometimes even heroes. When you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead.

Nomadic Halfling

Your ancestors have left the forest ridge and have travelled across the Tyr region, never content to settle down. You gain two additional languages of your choice, chosen from among the common and uncommon languages available to you, and every time you take the Multilingual feat, you gain another new language.

Observant Halfling

Your finely honed senses quickly clue you in to danger or trickery. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your Perception DC, though not to your Perception checks.

Twilight Halfling

Your ancestors hunted under the concealing cover of the jungle, whether for good or ill, and over time they developed the ability to see in twilight beyond even the usual keen sight of halflings. You gain low-light vision.

Wildwood Halfling

You hail from deep in the jungle or forest, and you’ve learned how to use your small size to wriggle through undergrowth, vines, and other obstacles. You ignore difficult terrain from trees, foliage, and undergrowth.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a halfling, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

Halfling Superstition

FEAT 1

5th Level

Ambush Awareness

FEAT 5

Very Sneaky

FEAT 13

Human

Bereft of Past

What generally passes for the history of Athas is actually a jumble of folklore and propaganda. Prohibited by the Sorcerer-Kings and templars from keeping written histories, most humans know only the stories told in their communities. These tales paint the despots as saviors, gods, or anointed champions who, through selfless actions, saved Athas from certain destruction. Many humans scoff at these tales, however, being more concerned with the problems of the present than devoting themselves to the lessons of the past.

Still, there are those who chafe against tyranny's chains, but hold their tongues, seeing no reason to jeopardize the shelter, water, and food they receive in the city-states they usually live in return for their loyalty. The most daring, ambitious, relentless, or even foolish among them are usually the ones who defy the comforts of a city-state to choose the life of adventure.

Natural-Born Diplomats

Many humans learn at an early age to get along with everyone, defusing hostility and finding common ground. Since humans are generally more tolerant of other races, they can easily adapt to situations involving elves or dwarves, and even more exotic races such as halflings and thri-kreen. Where other, less tolerant races come into contact with one another, humans often serve as diplomatic buffers.

Human Names

Humans generally adopt the culture of the city-state they live in or are closest too. Since they are a race in constant motion, however, and due to their diversity, it is all too common to meet humans of different ethnic groups living behind the walls of the same city. As such, their naming conventions have been mostly blurred, and humans welcome any names suitable for themselves or others.

• Male Names: Agis, Astemba, Azzer, Banoc, Brevit, Canth, Daclamitus, Dote, Etheros, Evrim, Faldar, Frayne, G'rshun, Gammeg, Grak, Hargat, Ibl, Jedra, Kargash, Kilay, Kyuln, Leoricius, Limrick, Maetan, Marut, Morlak, Nylorac, Ojoba, Paxitus, Quay, Ragoner, Raka, Rathoras, Salust, Sizzkus, Styan, Tabaros, Taiy, Thanik, Thaxos, Toth, Varnag, Weom, Xamres, Ydris, Zaethus, Zeburon.
• Female Names: Amandia, Astara, Averil, Buris, Camla, Catrion, Damras, Dorjan, E'la, Faria, Haarna, Jaseela, Jun, Katid, Kelira, Korla, Lestria, Llunet, Nadia, Nanda, Nauhyotl, Ode, Rasia, Rayne, Sa-rea, Shallin, Sycia, Talara, Tamar, Tara, Tella, Temmnya, Tierney, Ular, Veeshte, Ves.

Human Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later.

Half-Elf

Either one of your parents was an elf, or one or both were half-elves. You have pointed ears and other telltale signs of elf heritage. You gain the elf trait, the half-elf trait, and low-light vision. In addition, you can select elf, half-elf, and human feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat.

Half-Giant

Your parents were both half-giants. You have an enormous stature and other telltale signs of giant heritage. You gain the giant trait and begin with 10 starting hit points. Half-Giants start with a Strength, Constitution, and a Free attribute boost and gain an Intelligence attribute flaw. You gain the Big Boned trait.

Natural Ambition

FEAT 1

Multitalented

FEAT 9

Lizardfolk

Nikaal

The nikaal are 5 to 6 feet tall and weigh 150 to 250 pounds. Although their facial features are similar to humans, their scales and eyes set them apart. Their bodies are covered with fine, purple scales that regulate the body temperature in the searing desert sun and prevent evaporation of vital fluids. Nikaalian eyes have a distinctly serpentine shape and color.

Nikaals are a race of nomadic tribes of wanderers and explorers. They rarely remain in one place for more than a week, and some suspect they have traveled to the Tablelands from a faraway homeland beyond the Ringing Mountains.

Nikaal tribes wander from city to city, trading goods bought at the last city or picked up on their travels. Only during tribal crises, such as the appointment of a new elder, does a tribe stop for more than a week. Though supposed to have journeyed from beyond the Ringing Mountains, the nikaals‘ origin is shrouded in mystery.

Pterran

Pterrans are 5 to 6 1/2 feet tall reptiles with light brown scaly skin, sharp teeth, and a short tail. Pterrans wear little clothing, preferring belts and loincloths, or sashes. They walk upright, like humanoids, and have opposing thumbs and three– fingered, talon–clawed hands. Pterrans have two shoulder stumps, remnants of wings they possessed long ago, and a finlike growth juts out at the back of their heads. Pterrans weigh between 180 to 220 pounds. There is no visible distinction between male and female pterrans.

Pterrans are rarely seen in the Tablelands. They live their lives in the Hinterlands, rarely leaving the safety of their villages. However, the recent earthquake and subsequent storms have brought disruption into the pterran’s lives. More pterrans now venture outside their homes, and come to the Tyr region to seek trade and information.

Ssurran

Ssurrans range in size from 4 to 6 feet tall and weighing anywhere between 180 and 225 pounds, and there’s little difference between male and female ssurrans in terms of body shape or size. Their thick leathery hide is found in all manner of earthen tones, and has seen them adapt well to the harsh Athasian climate and provides some manner of camouflage in the desert environment. Their heads feature a pronounced, toothy snout –-perpetually curved into a slight, sly smile-– and small, dark eyes. Their crocodilian appearance is completed by a thick, non-prehensile tail, between 2 and 3 feet in length, used for balance, posture, and communication.

Lizardfolk Names

Lizardfolk names come from their ancient language and tend to be traditional. Names are typically chosen by the clan’s astrologer in accordance to omens and which star signs are ascendant when a lizardfolk egg hatches, though occasionally a lizardfolk’s parents may name a hatchling for an ancestor or a beloved historical hero.

• Lizardfolk Names: Arasheg, Barashk, Essaru, Enshuk, Gishkim, Hazi, Inishish, Kutak, Nasha, Shulkuru, Tizkar, Utakish, Zelkekek

Lizardfolk Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Nikaal

You can flare your neck frill and flex your dorsal spines, Demoralizing your foes. When you do, Demoralize loses the auditory trait and gains the visual trait, and you don't take a

penalty when you attempt to Demoralize a creature that doesn't understand your language.

You also gain the Threatening Approach action. Nikaal have an attribute boost to Constitution and Strength and an attribute flaw in Charisma.

Threatening Approach You Stride to be adjacent to a foe and Demoralize that foe. If you succeed, the foe is frightened 2 instead of frightened 1.

Pterran

You move easily through thick forest and jungle, using every branch or bush. You can always use the Take Cover action when in forest or jungle terrain to gain cover, even if you're not next to an obstacle you would normally be able to Take Cover behind. You gain the Terrain Stalker feat, even if you're not trained in Stealth, and you must choose underbrush as your chosen terrain. Pterran have an attribute boost in Charisma and Wisdom and an attribute flaw in Dexterity.

Ssurran

Your thick scales help you retain water and combat the sun's glare. You gain fire resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). Environmental heat effects are one step less extreme for you, and you can go 10 times as long as normal before you are affected by starvation or thirst. However, unless you wear protective gear or take shelter, environmental cold effects are one step more extreme for you. Ssurran have an attribute boost in Constitution and Strength and an attribute flaw in Dexterity.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a thri-kreen, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

1st Level

Bone Magic

FEAT 1

LIZARDFOLK

Your connection to your lizardfolk ancestors manifests as a simple primal spell that you cast using a fragment of an ancestor's bones. Choose one cantrip from the primal spell list. You can cast this cantrip as a primal innate spell at will, and it's heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up.

Consult The Stars

FEAT 1

LIZARDFOLK

You find wisdom in the movements of the heavens. Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes to draw upon your readings of a recent night's sky to gain the trained proficiency rank in one skill of your choice; the chosen skill's key attribute must be Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. This proficiency lasts until your next daily preparation. Since this proficiency is temporary, you can't use it as a prerequisite for a skill increase or a permanent character option like a feat.

Lightning Tongue

FEAT 1

Flexible Tail

FEAT 5

Primal Rampage

FEAT 13

Mul

Gruff and Taciturn

Muls are hard, driven, pragmatic folk with little remorse or sympathy in their hearts. Many grow up under the lash, subjected to brutal training for the arena or grinding toil in fields or quarries. As a result, muls have a hard time offering friendship and trust to anyone. More than a few muls, scarred by the hardships of their upbringings, spend their days as bitter, violent misanthropes. Others are suspicious, grasping mercenaries who have learned never to lift a finger on behalf of another person without establishing what they will gain from providing aid. Despite their tendency to be sullen or self-centered, muls don't have a particular enmity for any people and can learn to work alongside others. Growing up in the slave pits and the underclass of society taught them how to figure out who to trust, who not to, and how to gain favor and reputation among others, slaves, or free people; their survival demanded nothing less.

Lust for Freedom

Muls who set their hearts on freedom are difficult to keep in chains. Some escape to the wilds and become raiders or join tribes of ex-slaves, whereas others who escape become mercenaries and sell their fighting skills to whomever they can. Muls who don't flee captivity can win their freedom in the arena or by completing a dangerous task for their masters. A few highly prized gladiators receive so many privileges and comforts that they are effectively free, enjoying great latitude to go where they want and do as they wish.

Mul Names

Muls favor one simple name, generally a human one or variants. They don't have families, so they don't get to pick a last name, but sometimes they use place names to denote their place of origin, like "Mersten of Nibenay" or "Tomak of Tyr".

• Male Names: Aram, Borthomar, Bost, Darok, Darus, Durn, Eben, Erekard, Gard, Harask, Marok, Morg, Rikard, Sanozar, Tomak, Uskan, Zedath, Zorus.
• Female Names: Aisa, Aivel, Brithis, Callia, Demosis, Elina, Faivel, Himithis, Laivi, Mersten, Narisel, Raina, Reshel, Saditha, Tirshel, Uisel, Zerima.

Mul Heritage

One or your parents was a dwarf. Muls resemble powerfully build humans but with broad shoulders, powerful thighs, thick arms but swept-back ears that come to subtle points. You gain the dwarf trait, mul trait, and dark vision. In addition, you can select dwarf, human, or mul feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat.

Ancestry Feats

You can select dwarf, human, or mul feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat.

Mul Superstition

FEAT 1

Mask of Pain

FEAT 9

Tari

Tari Names

Every tari family has perhaps two dozen names that have been passed down from generation to generation, sometimes with minor alterations or alternative nicknames. A grandfather might be Grivver, for example, while his daughter goes by Griva and her son is simply Griv. Ratfolk are often assigned nicknames and sobriquets by humanoids they interact with, but most tari find these names distasteful and endure them only when outside tari communities.

Tari Names: Barnan, Chikis, Chonan, Deto, Jass, Jix, Knagi, Kubi, Lolo, Ninnec, Nos, Rak, Renzi, Skigim, Tali, Zess

Tari Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Sewer Rat

You come from a long line of ratfolk with a community based in the sewers beneath a large settlement. You are immune to the disease putrid plague. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against diseases and poisons. If you roll a success on a saving throw against a disease or poison, you get a critical success instead. If you have a different ability that would improve the save in this way (such as the battle hardened fighter class feature), if you roll a critical failure on the save you get a failure instead.

Shadow Rat

Your ancestors lived in dark spaces underground, granting you dark fur and a vaguely unnatural mien that unnerves sapient creatures and frightens animals. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Intimidation and can use Intimidation to Coerce animals. When you Demoralize an animal, you don’t take a penalty for not sharing a language with it. If you would automatically become trained in Intimidation (from your background or class, for example), you become trained in another skill of your choice.

Animals’ attitudes toward you begin one degree worse than normal, usually starting at unfriendly instead of indifferent for domesticated animals, and hostile instead of unfriendly for wild animals.

Tunnel Rat

Your incredibly small bones allow you to easily compress your body and squeeze through gaps. You gain the Quick Squeeze feat as a bonus feat, even if you aren't trained in Acrobatics. Tight spaces not tight enough to require the Squeeze action aren't difficult terrain for you.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a thri-kreen, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

Warren Friend

FEAT 1

13th Level

Shinstabber

FEAT 13

Thri-Kreen

Natural Hunters

All thri-kreen are obsessed with the hunt, the daily ritual that makes up much of their life. They strive to become skilled and wise hunters, capable of stalking and catching what they need and then moving on before a region is depleted of game.

Non-kreen sometimes view this preoccupation with gathering food and maintaining traveling supplies as a bit strange, especially considering that thri-kreen hunt throughout the night while other races "lazily lie around". Being strict carnivores, thri-kreen will look toward other intelligent races as sources of food in extreme emergencies, but they won't turn to other members of their clutch or packs for food — no matter how desperate the situation.

Combat is just another kind of hunt. Thri-kreen rarely fight out of malice and see no need for aggression unless it is the best means of obtaining the resources they need to survive, or where under self-defense. After a victorious battle, a thri-kreen' s first instinct is to collect any useful possessions that belonged to the enemy or to harvest the body for food.

Thri-Kreen Names

Thri-kreen begin their life and are given a simple name related to something they were observed doing. When the thri-kreen reach adulthood, they take a name that reflects goals or some other aspect of the life path to be pursued. There is no difference between male and females names; both genders use the same names.

• Thri-Kreen Names: Cha'ka, Chuka-tet, Drasna, Drik-chkit, Hakka, Ka'cha, Ka'tho, Klik-chaka'da, Lakta-cho, Qhak'cha, Qhik-ik-cha, Sa'Relka, T'Chai, Tak-tha.

Thri-kreen Heritages

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Resourceful Thri-kreen

You have better aptitude to crafting then most other thri-kreen. You become trained in Crafting (or another skill if you were already trained in Crafting) and gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat, but you can pick two different specialties instead of one.

Scarred Thri-Kreen

Your chitin carries the marks of your harsh life. The marks on your skin show your exceptional hardiness and vitality. You gain 12 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 8. You also gain the Diehard feat.

Scavenger Thri-Kreen

Your ancestors originated from a land where food was scarce, and threats were many. You are trained in Survival. You gain the Forager skill feat as a bonus feat. Your thoroughness when gathering food provides you a +1 circumstance bonus to Survival checks to Subsist.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a thri-kreen, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

Stealthy

FEAT 1

Greater Enhanced Venom

FEAT 17

Versatile Ancestries

There exist instances of these versatile ancestries throughout the world of Athas, as such they are Uncommon or Rare in rarity. However, the following Ancestries are typically the result of unique circumstances around the birth of a child.

Athas is home to a variety of versatile heritages. Some are born to unusual creatures or arise through specific mundane or supernatural circumstances. Many, however, result from an infusion of extraplanar energy, whether through direct parentage, more distant ancestors, or simply direct exposure to the quintessence of that plane. These individuals are known as planar scions.

Because the circumstances that give rise to versatile heritages aren't limited to a single ancestry, a versatile heritage can be chosen by a character of nearly any ancestry. Some versatile heritages are more common among some ancestries than others, and some might list additional restrictions specific to that heritage. Your GM may place other restrictions on which ancestries can use a given versatile heritage based on the story and setting.

Playing a Versatile
Heritage

To play a character with a versatile heritage, first select your ancestry, just like you would for any character. You gain Hit Points, size, Speed, attribute boosts and attribute flaws, languages, traits, and other abilities from that ancestry.

Then, instead of choosing a heritage from those normally available to that ancestry, apply your chosen versatile heritage. You gain all the features from your versatile heritage, some of which might modify or replace statistics, abilities, or traits from your ancestry.

Since a versatile heritage is a heritage, you can have only one, and you can't have any other heritage in addition to your versatile heritage.

Sometimes a versatile heritage might give you an ability that conflicts with an ability from your ancestry. In these cases, you choose which of the conflicting abilities your character has.

When selecting ancestry feats, you can choose from those available to your ancestry as well as those specific to your versatile heritage.

Lineage Feats

Some ancestry feats within a versatile heritage have the lineage trait.

These feats specify a physiological lineage your character has—such as the type of genie that birthed a naari character, or the type of shadow that influenced a shadow-touched birth.

In This Book

This book includes the rules for ten versatile heritages, all of which are planar scions.

Shadow-Touched

Like those that were gray-touched, shadow-touched are individuals infused with the power of the Black. Shadow-touched are a striking people whose skin appears entirely drained of color. These lithe and shadowy beings seem to sink and vanish into the gloom. They see in darkness, exercise control over shadows, and have strange occult powers. Some shadow-touched develop their powers enough to pass between the Black and Material Planes, leaving other ancestries to whisper about figures that emerge from shaded corners and then vanish without a trace.

Many Ancestries

Though a character can have only one heritage, it doesn't mean characters with lineages tracing back to multiple ancestries or heritages don't exist. It's certainly possible for an oread to be born to a half-elf mother, or for a gray-touched to appear in a community of death warden dwarves. In these cases, the influence of the versatile heritage overshadows the other heritage—the oread heritage overshadows the half-elf heritage, and the gray-touched abilities replace those of the death warden dwarf heritage. So, while, superficially, a character might bear a resemblance to both heritages, mechanically, they only gain the benefits of the versatile heritage.

Supernatural Origins

The circumstances that give rise to individuals with versatile heritages vary widely, from direct biological descendance to clandestine rituals, planar incursions, or unique mystical phenomena. It's up to you to decide the details of your character's heritage and how they came into being. The sections in this book provide some broad suggestions that you can use as a jumping-off point, but these aren't restrictions. It's your story to tell!

Geniekin

1st Level

Dualborn

FEAT 1

Genie Weapon Familiarity

FEAT 1

Planar Sidestep

FEAT 13

ARDANDE

CONCENTRATE

NAARI

OREAD

PRIMAL

SYLPH

UNDINE

once per day

A creature hits you with a melee Strike.

You shift your body briefly between planes, reducing the damage from your foe's attack. You gain resistance 25 to all damage against the triggering attack. Observers simply see you shimmer with elemental energy for a moment, just as the attack lands.

Ardande