and

other factors. Identity helps you roleplay your

2. Characters character in a consistent manner.

As a player, you control a character given to you or
one you create using the rules presented in this
chapter. You might play a devout follower of the
High One, a mage driven by curiosity, a traveling
entertainer who happens to be good at swordplay,
or a cunning investigator with a knack for finding
clues. You could play a human, much like yourself,
an elf, a dwarf, or something exotic like a
clockwork or salamander. You can master the
secrets of magic, call upon the supernatural power
of your patron deity, be a crook, a hero, or
someone in between. You can play the character
you want to play and be anyone you choose to
become.
Creating a character involves make a few big
choices and recording the results of those choices
on a character sheet. (You can find a sheet at the
back of this book or on the company website.) The
choices you make determine your attributes,
profession, ancestry, personality, and the path you
take to develop your character. There are no right
or wrong options and you can make your
selections in any order. And if you can’t decide,
each section includes tables to let you randomize
some or all aspects about your character.
Obviously, this chapter is intended for players. If
you plan to be the Sage, take some time to make a
few characters so you understand how the process
works and can help the other players make their
own characters.
The main sections cover the following subjects.
Level: Your character has a level. Most games
start at level 1/2, but the Sage might start the
game at a higher level.
Attributes: The basic building blocks of all
characters. Your attribute scores broadly define
what tasks you’re best at performing.
Ancestry: A great many intelligent people live in
the borderlands and any of them might take up a
quest. Ancestries provide you with traits that
describe your physical capabilities.
Starting Equipment: This section describes the
objects you have in your possession at the start of
your adventuring career.
Profession: Your profession tells you what you
did to make ends meet before becoming an
adventurer and grants you one or more benefits.
Identity: As people living in the world, all
characters have identities made up of their
experiences, personality, culture, religious beliefs,

1
Attributes
descriptions offer broad details about the people
to ground them in the setting in addition to
descriptions of what a typical member looks like.
Assign scores to your four attributes. Choose one You can adjust these details in any way you like to
of the following sets of scores and modifiers and reflect your character’s unique nature.
assign one score and modifier to one attribute You might prefer to randomize your ancestry
until you have assigned all four. If you can’t decide selection, in which case roll a d6. On a 4 or lower,
on which set to choose, roll a d20 and let the die you have a human ancestry. On a 5 or higher, roll a
decide. d20 to determine your ancestry.
Make Strength your high score if you want to be Faeries: Changelings, elves, hobgoblins, and
durable and excel at fighting in hand-to-hand spirits belong to an immortal people known as
combat. faeries. Such beings have nothing to fear from
Make Agility your high score if you want to be death by natural causes; short of violence or
light on your feet, nimble, and excel at fighting mishap, they can live forever.
with ranged weapons.
Make Intellect your high score if you want to use ANCESTRIES
magic and know things. Ancestry Description
Human One of countless people in the world.
Make Will your high score for using magic and
1. Archon An angel cast out of Paradise.
would have the resolve and courage to face the
2. Cambion A fiendish humanoid.
darkness.
3. Changeling A faerie shapechanger.
STARTING SCORES AND MODIFIERS 4. Clockwork A sentient machine.
d20 Scores and Modifiers 5. Daeva An ancient one reborn into a human
1–4 11 (+1), 11 (+1), 10 (+0), 10 (+0) body.
5–8 12 (+2), 10 (+0), 10 (+0), 10 (+0) 6. Dhampir A mortal, living vampire.
9–12 12 (+2), 11 (+1), 10 (+0), 9 (–1) 7. Dragonet A miniature dragon.
13–16 12 (+2), 11 (+1), 11 (+1), 8 (–2) 8. Dwarf A stout, hirsute humanoid.
17–20 11 (+1), 11 (+1), 11 (+1), 9 (–1) 9. Elf An aristocratic faerie.
10. Faun A humanoid with animal features.

Defense
11. Fenoderee A big, hairy brute.
12. Halfling A lucky person of diminutive size.
13. Hobgoblin A sneaky faerie.
Your Defense score equals your Agility score. If
14. Marid A humanoid with ties to elemental
your Agility gains a permanent increase, your magic.
Defense also increase. Note that your ancestry 15. Revenant A human caught between life and
might increase or decrease your Defense and you death.
can increase your Defense by wearing armor and 16. Sphinx A leonine humanoid.
wielding a buckler, shield, or similar weapon. 17. Spriggan An plant with a humanoid body.
18. Sprite A small, magical faerie.

Health 19. Triton

20. Warg
An aquatic humanoid.
A humanoid who can become a wolf.
Your Strength score determines your starting
Health score, such that your Health score equals Ancestry Traits and
your Strength score. When your Strength score
gains a permanent increase, you increase your Languages
Health as well. Your Health score increases as you Your ancestry grants you one or more traits, each
gain levels. of which is defined in the ancestry's description,
and one or more languages, which are detailed in

Ancestry chapter 1.

Choose your ancestry. Your choice of ancestry

determines how your character fits into the world
and the people to whom they belong. Humans are
the most numerous and diverse people, but they
share the lands with a great many other folks,
from fallen angels to sentient machinery. Ancestry

2
Human
settlements where they can, but the changeable
nature of the Weird Wizard’s territory combined
The world has become a humancentric place, one with a whole host of strange and otherworldly
in which the cultures and communities of humans monsters stacks up quite a few obstacles for both
have steered the course taken by history. Humans settlers and the people already living there. These
overcame the hardships of their primitive origins peoples need help if they would see another
and advanced in fields of magic, science, art, season in the borderlands and that help, more
philosophy, and religion. The greatest civilizations often than not, comes in the form of heroes
to ever have arisen in the known world were looking for adventure.
forged by human hands, and monuments of those As a human character, you stand apart from
glory days still stand tall. Even though the great other common people in the Known World. Every
human nations of antiquity have all tumbled into human character is more well-rounded and more
ruin, the fate of their predecessors has in no way versatile, in a particular way, than members of
diminished the ambition, drive, or ingenuity of other ancestries or even other humans. You and
today's humans. Each individual, in fact, is born others like you are exceptional because you have a
with a set of physical and mental capabilities that knack or a special capability that you have
outshines what members of other ancestries can cultivated, giving you an edge over ordinary
boast at the start of their lives. humans.
Although the human family is incredibly large See the end of this chapter for typical human
and diverse, the differences between individuals names.
are what distinguishes them from other Exceptional You have natural gifts,
ancestries. A human might be tall or short, big and propensities, and other qualities that give you an
bulky, small and slight. Humans' skin tones run the edge over other people. When you choose this
gamut from blue-black to bone white. Typical ancestry, you increase your lowest two attribute
height and weight ranges from four to seven feet scores by 1 each.
tall and from 80 to 400 pounds, though examples In addition, you can use the talent gained from
of shorter, taller, lighter, and heavier people your profession two additional times.
abound. The differences in appearance have, at Languages Common
times, led to enmity between different groups, and
a tendency toward xenophobia still persists in
some isolated communities, but over the passage
of time more and more humans have come to
appreciate their common origin and similar
nature, looking past the physical qualities that
make them individually distinctive.
Humans in the borderlands are either natives or
refugees from the Old Country. Many natives have
lived in the borderlands for generations, having
settled here at some time in the distant past.
Others might have always lived here, and claim
descent from ancient nations that might have
ruled these lands.
The refugees have come to the borderlands from
the realms of the Old Country, who even now fight
over the scraps left after the collapse of the Great
Kingdom, the dominant power there for nearly
five hundred years. As the war rages, disease,
famine, and other hardships make life intolerable
in that region, and thus a host of these people have
fled their homeland to discover what a future in
this new country might hold. Most of these
refugees live in the borderlands, a lawless
countryside belonging neither to the old nations
nor the Weird Wizard. Others have pushed fully
into the New Lands, founding towns and

3
Archon ARCHON TRAITS
Immune frightened, poisoned.
Metallic Body Your Defense score equals either your Strength
Every archon begins life as an angel, one whose score or your Agility score.
sole purpose is to serve the High One in all things. Divine Word As a minor action, you can speak a word of
Angels fight on behalf of their deity, bear messages power. Each enemy in your zone that can hear you must
handed down from on high, safeguard Paradise, make a Will roll and, on a failure, grant 1 boon on all rolls to
attack it until the end of your next turn.
and perform other tasks when called upon to do Once you use this trait, you must rest for at least 1 hour
so. Any angels who demonstrate a hint of before you can use it again.
independence or perform an act of free will are
branded as corrupted. In some cases, the stigma
might seem unjust, especially when the angel
acted in the interests of Paradise and the souls
housed there, but the laws of the High One make
no exceptions. Any angels branded in this way are
cast out of Paradise, stripped of their wings, and
doomed to live out their days in the mortal world.
Aside from their lack of wings, archons look like
the angels they used to be. In Paradise, an angel's
skin color denotes its status, whether a common
soldier (copper), a messenger (silver), or a leader
(gold). In contrast, all fallen angels have copper
skin, and none of them display any indication of
their previous status. Like angels, all archons
stand 6 feet tall and weigh exactly 160 pounds.
Because the High One creates all angels, archons
have no reproductive organs and no notions of
gender. Archons do not age and do not die of
natural causes, although a mishap or an act of
violence can still be fatal.
After an archon is exiled, it often spends some
time casting about for a new purpose to give
meaning to its life. Depending on the severity of Its
infraction, an archon might champion the High
One as It once did, while one who developed a
strong personality might reject the High One and
oppose its maker in all things. The ethics an
archon adopts have nothing to do with their
former fealty to the High One and nearly all
subscribe to a moral code independent of divine
decrees.
Angels fall from grace so infrequently that years
might pass before one archon encounters another.
Archons lack the numbers to establish a city or a
nation of their own, so they typically adopt a
culture of their liking and integrate themselves
into that society. Archons who pursue evil ends
might make servants of mortals, bending them to
their will through force of personality, magical
compulsion, or terrible threats.
Sample archon names include Astaphaios,
Elalos, Iao, Paraplex, Saboath, Samael, and Yabei.
Speak in Tongues When you speak, you can
speak so that any creature that can hear you and
knows at least one language understands what
you say. You understand all spoken languages.

4
Cambion
from superstition and intolerance in the
borderlands.
It has been more than a thousand years since the Sample cambion names include Aeshtar,
cambions ruled over the empire that would Apollya, Balaan, Haboreem, Nyhasa, Opach,
crumble into the Devastation. It has been so long Paecca, Rammon, and Tunrida.
since the Old Empire stood at the center of things Languages Common, Archaic
that memory of the ancient cambions is almost
entirely in the province of scholars of antiquity CAMBION TRAITS
alone. At present, time seems to have traveled Fireborn You take half damage from fire and you roll to resist
backward as these diabolical humanoids have harmful effects of fire with 1 boon. Finally, you ignore the
begun appearing in the borderlands in greater and effects of heat exposure.
Fiery Step As a minor action, fire and smoke spill out from
greater numbers.
your body. Each creature within reach makes a luck roll and
It should not surprise anyone that cambions takes 1d6 damage on a failure. Smoke obscures your zone
must contend with fear and suspicion by their until the start of your next turn and you teleport to an
looks alone. Cambions have humanoid bodies, but adjacent zone.
Once you use this trait, you must rest for at least 1 hour
skin color that ranges from bright red to coal
before you can use it again.
black, though human tones might be present,
though covered with odd patterns. Horns jut out
from their brows and bright yellow eyes peer out
from dark sockets. Further, cambions have
backward bending legs and long, muscular tails
that might sport spines, hooks, or have scales.
Cambions stand between 5 and 6 feet tall and
weigh from 100 to 300 pounds based on body
type.
The cambions knew themselves as the Azakai,
but humans and others named them cambions, an
old word that indicates the offspring of a mortal
and a fiend. While not true cambions, so many
embraced the word that they recognize it as their
own now and few, if any, ever refer to their kind by
their original moniker.
Legends about the cambions tell different
stories, though all suggest the cambions were
themselves once human. One story claims these
humans bore witness to the Adversary’s fall and
were poisoned and changed by the enemy’s hatred
for the High One. Others claim the gods cursed
them for their wickedness, turning them into the
devils with whom they held congress. Some have
gone so far as to name them fiends, believing them
to have escaped Perdition to vex the mortal world.
In the time of the Old Empire, the cambions
lived in great city-states that stood on the mighty
nation’s western shore, each remembered for
grave wickedness and tyranny by the dreaded
arcane cabals that ruled there. When the Empire
slid into the Devastation, it took with it the city-
states and sent the surviving cambions fleeing.
The subsequent rise of religious institutions has
seen them turned into scapegoats. Many had
suffered existences of toil, hardship, and want, but
the fall of the Great Kingdom freed them and they,
along with everyone else, might find a future free

5
Changeling
become unconscious, you immediately revert to your natural
form.
Your new appearance can have any features you choose,
That changelings can be anyone and at any time but the form must be humanoid in shape, of flesh and blood,
might make poor justification for people’s and be about the size of a typical human. Although you can
appear to be a member of any ancestry that meets this
aversion to them, but it remains all the same. Even criteria, your ancestry traits remain unchanged regardless of
among the faeries, noted for their multifarious your appearance. You can even assume the appearance of
forms and natures, give pause when it comes to another person, provided you can see them. The change to
changelings, since many have played the part of your appearance applies to your body and voice only; any
objects you wear or carry remain unchanged. If you alter
trickster, ne’er-do-well, and spy at times over the
your height or weight dramatically, you might damage or
long march of years. But for the changeling, the destroy your clothing, or some of your possessions might fall
reputation thrust upon them might seem unfair, to the ground.
for are they not as free to decide how to act as they Startling Change As a minor action, you can contort your
features to startle one enemy in your reach. If the enemy is
are how they will look?
not immune to the frightened affliction, you make your next
Changelings decide their appearance. They can roll to attack it with 1 boon before the end of your turn.
look like young children or old folks standing on Once you use this trait, you must rest for at least 1 hour
death’s door. They might assume a human form or before you can use it again.
one of faerie origins. So long as they adopt a guise

of flesh and blood, they can be any person they
choose.
But the masks they wear conceal forms some
might find strange, perhaps upsetting, for they
share kindship with other humanoid people in
shape alone. Instead, pale, rubbery skin stretches
over thin, spindly bodies that lack any gender cues
or organs for that matter. They have overlarge
heads with equally large black eyes that sit above
the merest suggestion of facial features. While in
their natural forms, even changelings find it
difficult to discern who is who. In natural forms,
changelings stand between 3 and 4 feet tall and
weigh between 50 and 100 pounds. Changelings
can have any gender they choose or none at all.
Being faeries, most changelings live on the
mortal world’s edges, found in the faerie realms
where they might keep company with other
faeries or live alone. Like other faeries, notions of
community and society have little appeal to
changelings and so they congregate with others or
not as their whims take them. Some changelings
do find their way into the mortal world: infant
changelings could start their lives adopting the
guise of a mortal child whom faeries filched in the
darkest hours of night only to flee after the truth
comes to light. Others infiltrate communities to
observe, to hide, or to sabotage.
Changelings’ names include Buttons, Coy, Grins,
Malice, Mask, and Spite
Languages Common, Sylvan
CHANGELING TRAITS
Immune infection
Iron Weakness You are weakened while you carry or wear an
iron or iron-alloy object.
Change Self As a minor action, your body flows into a new
shape, letting you appear to be someone else. You keep this
new appearance until you use Change Self again. If you

6
Clockwork
• You must be repaired with spare parts to regain lost
Health. See "Kits and Tools" in chapter @: Equipment for
details.
Clockworks first appeared shortly after the Weird
Wizard arrived in the New Lands as it was his
hands that put them together. These creations
became their maker’s devoted servants and
undertook construction of the Forbidden City and
cleared the lands all around it of those hostile to
their master. Later, the clockworks toiled as
servants and soldiers, each given a specific task
that framed their entire existence.
The Weird Wizard’s recent disappearance has
seen many clockworks set aside the tasks for
which they were made and set out to see the
world. Before, native peoples looked upon the
clockworks with fear since they most often served
as soldiers who were unswerving in their
obedience to their master. Now that the
clockworks have gained independence, they
decide how they will behave, where they go, and
with whom they interact.
The means for creating more clockworks have
gone with the Weird Wizard, though this fact has
not stopped some from trying to recreate the
methods. Headless of the damage they do,
deranged engineers hunt clockworks so they can
take them apart and, perhaps, divine the secrets of
their making. In dismantling them, though, the
mind contained in the mechanical body vanishes
and the person is forever lost.
Clockwork bodies facilitate the tasks for which
they were created. Most clockworks stand
between 4 and 8 feet tall and weigh as much as
800 pounds. All clockworks have humanoid
shapes, but soldiers tend to have animal heads—
stags, wolves, and lions being the most common.
Clockworks who were servants more closely
resembled humans, some slim and sleek, others
short and portly. Clockworks are made from base
metals and their components carry little value
apart from contributing to their existence.
Clockworks use strings of numbers for their
names, but might adopt a single numeral, such as
Seven, or nicknames: Gears, Motor, and
Rustbucket.
Languages Common
CLOCKWORK TRAITS
Immune poisoned; exposure, deprivation, infection,
suffocation, transformation
Sapient Machine Your mechanical body grants you the
following benefits and drawbacks:
• Increase your starting Health by 3.
• Your Defense score equals either your Strength score or
your Agility score.
• You derive no benefit from ingesting anything, including
magical substances.

7
Daeva
Sample daeva names include Ariel, Casiel, Dina,
Kafziel, and Uriel.
Even now, all these thousands of years later, one Languages Arcane, Common
can still find wreckage from the Lost Continent of DAEVA TRAITS
Oraldia washing up the shores of other lands. The Luminous Body As a minor action, you can choose to emit
abundance of these artifacts proves an ancient faint light, dim light, bright light, or no light at all. The choice
land existed, but whether the legends of their remains until you use this trait again.
All-Out Effort When you make an attribute roll, you can add
mastery of magic, the people’s confrontation with
your attribute score to the roll in place of your attribute
the gods, and the doom their hubris earned them modifier.
remain the subject of much division among You can use this trait once and regain the use of it after a
scholars of antiquity. The old stories paint a full night’s rest.
picture of an enlightened society that had stamped
out all the sufferings mortals must endure and
extended their lives so that they could live

indefinitely. Their push toward immortality
angered Lord Death and his outrage at their
arrogance saw him direct his wrath at the island
nation.
The resulting apocalypse wiped out the people
of Oraldia, who were called daevas, but these
cunning people devised a way to escape even the
doom Lord Death designed for them. The best and
brightest minds escaped their physical bodies and
trapped their essence in crystals for safe keeping
and scattered them all over creation. A mortal
touch awakens the consciousness contained in the
shard and uses the mortal’s body to recreate the
daeva’s form. Virtuous daevas might form a
symbiotic relationship with the mortal souls,
allowing those mortals to live out their days until
the normal end, while the cruel and wicked simply
take the bodies by force.
Rebirth gives the daevas a chance to live again,
but at the expense of their memories and much of
their identities. Time chipped away at the essence
contained in the shards so that, for many, only will
and purpose remain. Once resurrected, they might
regain some memories, some knowledge thought
lost, but they might not ever come close to
reclaiming their full identities.
The gods watch daevas. Having been challenged
by them once before, the gods have no interest in
seeing these people return in numbers sufficient
to threaten their dominion. For these reason, the
gods, especially the old gods, sometimes choose
daevas to be their vessels as a way to blunt their
efforts to challenge them again.
Daevas appear as light bound to physical form.
They can control the intensity of their light, such
that they might appear as bright, luminous beings
or dim themselves so that they look carved from
pale marble. All have chiseled, commanding
features with sculpted physiques. They stand from
6 to 7 feet tall and weigh from 200 to 400 pounds.

8
Dhampir
attribute rolls with 1 boon for 1 minute. Once you use this
trait, you lose access to it for 1 hour.
Sunlight Weakness You are weakened while in zones lit by
Being undead, vampires lack the means to sire or direct sunlight.
bear offspring as they once did before the curse of
vampirism transformed them into blood-drinking
monsters, but their state between life and death
does not, all at once, strip away their human
impulses and desires. Many vampires seek the
company of friends, loved ones, companions to
ease their passage through an unending roll of
days and when the need grows strong enough,
they might spare a human on whom they feed,
allowing their victim to live.
Those humans bitten by vampires find
themselves transformed by a hideous curse. No
longer can they tolerate the sun’s light and, though
they must eat and drink as they always did, they
also experience an uncanny thirst for blood that
drives them to distraction. Called dhampirs, these
vampiric offspring stand in two worlds: one of the
living and the other of the dead.
The vampires control Sanguine, a vast
necropolis under Aegon, former capital of the
Great Kingdom, and there do the dhampirs live in
the greatest numbers. For their masters, the
dhampir act as envoys, spies, and protectors of the
ways in and out of the dreadful city. The vampires
have used the chaos on the surface to emerge from
hiding and hunt the living. The violence and
bloodshed have seen many dhampirs spread out,
some reaching the borderlands, either fleeing
their makers or scouting out new populations on
which their masters might feed.
Dhampirs always appear human and fall within
their typical ranges of height and weight. After
months go by without feeding, the dhampir pales
and appears unhealthy. Body mass, color, and even
speech changes by denying their thirst. A week of
regular feeding though can restore to them their
vigor and make them appear at the prime of their
lives.
Dhampirs use typical human names, such as
those found at the end of this chapter.
Languages Common
DHAMPIR TRAITS
Immune poisoned
Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
Teeth Your teeth are natural melee weapons with the finesse,
off-hand properties. Your attacks with these weapons deal
1d6 damage.
Blood Drinker When you use your teeth to deal damage to a
flesh and blood creature you have grabbed or are wrestling,
you can choose to feed on that creature. The target makes a
Strength roll and, on a failure, loses 1d6 Health, while you
regain an equal amount of lost Health, and also make

9
Dragonet
Even if you wield weapons in both hands and in your tail,
you can at most attack with two weapons at a time.
Fire Breath As a minor action, you can breathe fire at one
The dragonets claim kinship to the mighty creature or object in your zone. The target makes an Agility
dragons, who dwarf them in size, strength, and roll and, on a failure, takes 1d6 damage.
Once you use this talent, you lose access to it (luck ends).
sheer destructive potential, but any dragonet and
they’ll tell you that the larger breed is a woeful
throwback to a less enlightened time and that they
remain hopeful that dragons embrace their
cunning and set aside their dreadful tempers to
engage the world as they do: in peace. For ages,
the dragonets lived alongside the people of Erth
and have largely succeeded in finding common
cause with them.
Their long association with other people makes
dragonets common sights in most urban centers.
Only in the most backward, remote communities
do dragonets remain unknown. One can find
dragonets in the courts of nobles, performing for
change in the village green, hefting a small
knapsack and charging off into the unknown with
other adventures. Many dragonets crave
excitement and seek it out wherever they go.
Few communities belong exclusively to the
dragonets, though most folks know about the Auld
Wood, where the Dragon Queen holds court over a
shimmering lake in whose depths is said to rest a
mirror that leads to other worlds. Here, the
ancient regent watches over her children, urging
them to good action and to keep the peace with
other peoples. Under her guidance, the dragonets
avoided conflict with the wargs, faeries, orcs, and
countless others; rather than fight tooth and nail,
they discover their common interests and find
ways to achieve them.
Dragonets share the same physical traits one
expects to find in dragons and other dragon-like
beings, but with small compact bodies that reach
up to 3 feet long at adulthood and weighing 50 to
60 pounds. They all have long, prehensile tails that
serve them as an extra appendage, small wings
that let them flutter in the air, and needle-sharp
teeth and claws. Scales of any color cover their
bodies and most glitter in the light like jewels.
Dragonets have long, complex names, but
usually go by nicknames such as Coil, Petal, Scales,
Smoke, and Snarf. The longer names include
Agonreesilius, Medemexemel, Predacrionus, and
Trivalanxanthus.
Languages Common
DRAGONET TRAITS
Winged You can fly while you are not injured.
Prehensile Tail Your tail counts as an extra limb. Like your
hands, you can use it to grasp small objects and even wield
weapons, though the weapons must have the off-hand trait.

10
Dwarf
Languages Common, Runic
DWARF TRAITS
The Great Kingdom’s founding in the Old Country Health Increase your Health score by 3.
came at the expense of the dwarfs, whose Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
strongholds stood since before the dark times of Durable Whenever you would become poisoned or exposed to
infection, make a luck roll. On a success, you are not
the Empire. Rich in precious metals and
poisoned or you ignore the infection.
gemstones extracted from the bones of the earth, Rooted When an effect would move you against your will, you
dwarfs riddled the lands with miles and miles of can make a Strength roll. On a success, you do not move.
passages to feed their appetite for treasure. Their
delving unearthed old horrors, things buried to
keep them from the light of day, and so while
struggling to contain the monsters they had
released, invading humans struck the comprised
strongholds and plundered their vaults and the
treasure they took would help establish the
kingdom who would rule the continent for
centuries.
Some dwarfs cling to their old kingdoms, as
diminished as they have become, but most quit the
mountains of their ancestors to live among the
conquerors, enriching themselves by the mastery
of their people’s trade and custom. Dwarf-forged
weapons and armor saw some dwarfs returned to
their former wealth, but others refused to deal
with the treacherous humans or their ilk and cast
about for new homes or spent their days pining
for the ones they had lost.
While exceptions exist, most dwarfs see no
difference between culture and ancestral identity.
Being a dwarf means honoring one’s ancestors,
even going so far as to pray to them, acting with
honor, never forgetting a slight, and making things
that last to inspire those who come after. Dwarfs
value precious metals and gemstones as they are
rare materials with which they can display their
skills and produce wondrous treasures to raise the
esteem of their peoples. Some might paint them as
greedy, vain, and bitter, but dwarfs have pride in
themselves, their people, and their history and
never shrink away from telling others what they
have done and can do. And these aren’t boasts.
When a dwarf makes a promise or speaks an oath,
they never fail to follow through.
What dwarfs lack in height, standing 3 to 4 feet
tall, they make up with strength and durability.
Dwarfs have dense, compact bodies, often muscled
and covered in coarse hair. Facial hair has always
been a point of pride with dwarfs and a well-
groomed beard, all silky and soft, plays a large
part in courtship for both potential grooms and
brides. Dwarf mothers even carry their newborn
babes in swaddling made from the luxurious
growth from their chins.
Sample dwarf names include Beregon, Brata,
Corfin, Corfina, Dugan, Edga, Ragnar, and Vala.

11
Elf
Light Step You make rolls to balance and sneak with 1 boon.
Immortal Feat When you make an attribute roll, you can roll
an additional d20 and sum the dice. You can use this trait
Few people can claim with honesty to have ever once and regain the use of it after a full night’s rest.
set eyes on an elf let alone exchanged words with
one. The elves have, by and large, been content to ELF DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
d20 Distinctive Feature
pass their days in the bliss and comfort found in 1 You have the ears of a rabbit, a goat, or some
the magical kingdoms they created for themselves other creature.
and other faeries long ago. Sickened by war and 2 You have green skin in spring, gold in summer,
death, many faeries withdrew from the mortal red in autumn, and white in winter.
lands and found refuge in that of Faerie, a place 3 You have slitted or oblong pupils, or eyes of an
both in the world and out. unusual color.
Despite their common predilection toward 4 You have a bushy fox tail, a hairless rat tail, or a
idleness and decadence, some elves find the lands deer’s short tail.
beyond and its people intriguing, sometimes 5 You have feathers instead of hair.
enough so that the elves might meddle in mortal 6 You have the legs of a grasshopper, bird, or
affairs. As elves have little understanding of the cat.
morality to which humans and others cleave, they 7 You have butterfly or moth wings. They flutter
thinking nothing of taking what they want from when you want, but they cannot lift you off the
ground.
mortals, be it a particularly fetching urn or a
8 You have a pelt of soft fur.
strapping young man whose physique is itself a
9 Long, delicate antennae extend from your
work of art. brow.
Most elves, after coming of age, undergo a Time 10 Soft scales cover your hands and feet and
of Wandering, in which they travel the realms of extend up your limbs, gradually giving way to
faerie and beyond to see, experience, and learn as skin.
much as they can before returning to the paradise 11 You have antennae emerging from your
in which all elves dwell. In this time, some elves forehead.
forge friendships with other peoples and might 12 You have a frog’s mouth and tongue.
overcome their natural amorality, discovering 13 You have webbed fingers and toes.
empathy and even compassion for others. Of 14 The air smells pleasant and clean around you.
course, there are also those who see the lands they 15 Your skin glitters and sparkles.
visit as an opportunity to make mischief and 16 Animal images on your skin move about as if
wreak havoc and thus people who do have chance alive.
encounters with the mercurial faeries use caution. 17 You have fur on your arms and legs.
18 In moonlight, glowing motes, like fireflies,
Elves have humanoid bodies with qualities
dance around your body.
mortals likely deem striking for beauty and
19 You have an extra digit or one less digit on
perfection, and made more appealing by their
each hand and foot.
juxtaposition against other, stranger physical 20 Your movements leave faint streaks in the air
characteristics. Pointed ears and almond-shaped that fade a second later.
eyes might be common, but one could also have
the ears of a rabbit, the legs of a cat, a bushy fox
tail, butterfly wings, or even be hollow inside.
Elves stand between 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 feet tall, with
slim builds, weighing no more than 130 pounds.
Sample elf names include Aeron, Ethelren,
Faenor, Gilgorian, Ilmodea, Llorwydon, Maelena,
Nilroth, Pwyla, Rillifan, Senthorina, and Tilwillin.
Languages Common, Sylvan
ELF TRAITS
Immune infection
Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
Keen Senses You can see twice as far as a human can. You can
hear a whisper from up to two zones away, normal speech
from up to four zones away, and shouting from a distance of
eight zones.
Iron Weakness You are weakened while you carry or wear an
iron or iron-alloy object.

12
Faun
Sample faun names include Azyen, Bora,
Cedwena, Dallia, Erek, Finilfan, Goro, Hert, Iowen,
In forests dark and dangerous there dwell the Lugh, Ophen, and Tuff.
fauns. According to the sacred hunters, faun Languages Common
priests of the Horned God, the fauns were made in FAUN TRAITS
their maker’s likeness and given dominion over Fast When you run, increase the number of zones you can
the wild places in the world. And there they have move by one.
lived, brooking no trespass into their territory, Leaper You make Agility rolls to jump and leap with 1 boon.
You can run across challenging terrain without needing to
fierce as they are in the defense of their lands and
make an Agility roll.
people. In recent days, however, something Wild Camouflage You can hide in wilderness zones even when
changed in the faun communities and now, more you are being observed, but only if the zone contains no
and more, have the fauns emerged from their enemies.
homelands to treat with other peoples.

Beastmen attacks against faun communities saw
the change in attitudes toward dealing with other
peoples. Many faun leaders realized isolation
would mean extinction and thus the fauns reached
out to the wargs, centaurs, and other peoples to
form an alliance to fight against the ravagers. This
first step has allowed many fauns to see other
ways of doing things and seeded them with an
interest in other people that has only recently
born fruit. Fauns remain rare among the
newcomers and unknown in the free cities, but
more and more they emerge from the woodlands
on errands of commerce and peace.
Fauns still guard the routes to their
communities and use wild beasts and magic to
conceal the paths they use to come and go.
Preserving their environment and honoring
nature play large roles in how they conduct
themselves in the wild. Fauns believe the Horned
One gave them license to take what they need, but
they know not to test their god’s wrath by taking
his gifts for granted. Respect for the environment,
cultivation, and conservation are the cornerstones
to their societies.
One could describe fauns as human-animal
hybrids, but such would do them a disservice.
These people are not products of some magical
misunion; they are perfectly whole and natural.
Fauns stand between 4 and 5 feet tall on
backward-bending legs that end in cloven hoofs.
They have spare frames, with typical weight
ranging between 90 and 140 pounds. Thick, wiry
fur covers their legs until it reaches their waists,
where it gives way to smooth skin. Hair covers
their arms and grows thickly on their heads. Male
fauns have curling horns growing from the sides of
their heads and most have facial hair. Fur
coloration runs from silver white to black, while
skin color sees the same shades as one finds
among humans. Tattooing and scarification tend to
be common, with images and words chosen to
capture important moments in their lives.

13
Fenoderee
sharp points. They have broad hands and feet,
with spatulate digits that end in darkened nails.
In ancient times, the trolls cozened the fenoderees Sample fenoderee names include Alobar, Bisten,
into believing the faeries were their enemies and Coora, Danwyth, Krunk, Odof, Pugh, Tenten, and
in so doing enlisted them in their hateful war for Uben.
dominion over Erth. The fenoderees fought with Languages Common, Runic
all their fury and might their bodies possessed, but FENODEREE TRAITS
found they could not reconcile the stories about Health Your Health score increases by 12.
the fair folk with what they saw as they fought Great Reach Your melee attacks count as having the reach
and, after realizing they had been duped, turned property. If the weapon already has the reach property, you
make rolls to attack with it with 1 boon.
against their masters and helped the faeries bring
Hulking You make Strength rolls with 1 boon and impose 1
them low. bane on rolls against your Strength.
As the faeries withdrew to recover from the
horrors of this fighting, the fenoderees were left to
find a place for themselves, free to decide for the
first time who they would be and what they would
do in this war-torn world. A great many
fenoderees turned their efforts toward repairing
the damage, to healing the land of the damage that
magic had done to it. From their labors, new
forests grew from the ashes of the old, mountains
regained their heights, and the waters flowed pure
once more.
Now, millennia later, new peoples have spread
across the lands and use them as they choose,
plunder the world of its riches to feed their
ambitions. Fenoderees grieve for the damage done
to their charge, but know their time approaches its
end and that soon, there will be no fenoderees left
to preserve the world against future harm. Such
knowledge has made some fenoderees bitter,
violent even, but most seek to educate the other
peoples, to encourage them to tread lightly and
preserve what they can. Too bad, then, that many
take a look and attack what they fear for the
message fenoderees bring is good and noble.
Fenoderees might live among other peoples or
in small groups in the wilderness, where they use
magic to shape their environment without
destroying it. Their spells can bring forth what
they need to eat, can shape trees to shelter them
from the elements, and purify the water to nourish
them. As peaceful as they are, though, when
roused to anger, they become terrifying brutes,
able to tear others limb from limb if given good
enough cause.
Considering their enormous size and stature, it’s
easy to understand why people fear the fenoderee,
even though most tend to be peaceful. Fenederee
stand between 7 and 9 feet tall and weigh as much
as 500 pounds. Thick, coarse fur covers their
bodies, being reddish brown, gray, or black.
Curling horns, reminiscent of those found on rams,
grow out from the sides of their heads and end in

14
Halfling
To call halflings small humans would be a
mistake for though they resemble humans in some
Fate seems to bend to accommodate the halflings. superficial ways, they have a number of qualities
When they toss a coin, it almost always comes up that set them apart. For one, halflings stand 3 feet
in their favor. They kill at dice games, manage to plus or minus a few inches and most weigh
come through the worst scraps without a scrape, between 30 and 40 pounds. Halflings have three
and situations always seem to go their way. Why fingers and a thumb on each hand and four toes on
are halflings so lucky? Maybe the gods favor them. each foot. They have large, pointed ears that lack
Maybe they don’t quite belong in the world, so bad lobes and have tufts of fur growing from the tips.
things rarely touch them. Maybe it’s not luck. It Halfling make use of the common names of the
could be that halflings have a knack for spotting Borderland, as found at the end of this chapter.
danger and avoid it. Languages Common, Ranger Signs
Halflings have never stayed in one place long HALFLING TRAITS
enough to create a settlement. No matter how Lucky You make luck rolls with 1 boon.
much they like the place, the horizon always calls Pluck When you become frightened, you can make a luck roll.
and before they know it, they’ve traveled halfway On a success, you do not become frightened. Once you use
this trait, you lose access to it (luck ends).
to wherever they’re feet take them next. So rather
than have houses and gardens, halfling live out
their lives from the backs of their colorful wagons,
going wherever the road takes them.
Nearly all halfling communities comprise
several extended and multigenerational families
and together they make up one of a hundred or so
clans found in the borderlands and in the Old
Country. Each family owns a fleet of covered
wagons that are more like little homes on wheels,
with sleeping quarters for everyone. When young
halfling would wed, the pair work together to
build their own wagon in which to live and raise
their children. Halfling clans herd livestock,
usually goats and sheep, but larger clans might
have cattle. To supplement their diets, they live by
foraging, scavenging, and trading with others.
One might think the traveling life to be spare,
but halfling communities have produced some of
the greatest storytellers, musicians, and thespians
the world has known. Generally, each clan has a
specialty to encourage settlements to welcome
them for a time. They might put on shows, musical
acts, theater, or offer miscellaneous goods or have
tradespeople to help make repairs, tend to the
sick, and so on.
No one knows where the halflings came from,
but stories about them have been make their
rounds since the days of the Old Empire and most
believe they were still traveling before its
founding. Many halflings tell stories about the
Lands of Plenty, a place promised to them by the
gods of old, and that one day they will find it. And
when they do, they will gather up all the clans to
bring them to their new homes. Whether this
place exists or not doesn’t matter to most
halflings, though there are some who say it’s just a
few miles away; life is a journey and there’s no
direction to go other than forward.

15
Hobgoblin
from which grow tufts of hair. They have a wide
range of coloration, from milk white to obsidian
Although they have similar names, goblins and black and everything in between.
hobgoblins have little in common. Goblins Common hobgoblin names include Cumble, Goff,
comprise those faeries who shunned by their own Mikl, Peck, Shimshim, Tounce, and Verge.
kind after following the Goblin King out of the Languages Common, Sylvan
hidden realms to drive mortals from the world and HOBGOBLIN TRAITS
wreak havoc wherever they can. Hobgoblins, on Immune infection
the other hand, are secretive faeries who often live Iron Weakness You are weakened while you carry or wear an
among mortal communities, unseen, undetected, iron or iron-alloy object.
Dark Vision You need no light to see in your zone.
unless they choose otherwise.
Sneaky When you become hidden, you become invisible until
The name hobgoblin means house goblin, a you use an action, a reaction, or a minor action. While
name given to all kinds of household faeries who, invisible in this way, you move soundlessly unless you
for one reason or other, decide to pitch in with the choose to do otherwise.
chores and labor in return for small gifts of

clothing, baubles, and a bit of cream, which some
faeries seem to love. The faeries sometimes found
living under homes, hidden away in small towns,
or in the tunnels under the southern cities have
come to be called house goblins, even though few
have little interest in mending shoes or milking
the cows.
Instead, hobgoblins form small communities
inside mortal lands. Rather than flee from
humanity’s spread, hobgoblins employed their
magical nature to conceal themselves, to stay out
of view, and live by taking what they need from
their mortal neighbors, and leave something that
hobgoblins see as having an equal value behind.
For example, a hobgoblin might snatch a fresh-
baked pie from a window sill and leave a bit of
ribbon as payment. The hobgoblin believes the
ribbon has equal value from the effort it took to
acquire it.
Hobgoblin communities tend to be tight-packed
warrens that spread through tunnels excavated
under human settlements and in the borderlands.
Among themselves, hobgoblins have no sense of
ownership; they share everything and contribute
to the good of their communities with whatever
skills they have. Many hobgoblins have
considerable skill as artisans and some of the best
tailors, cobblers, and jewelers in the known world
happen to be hobgoblins.
Few people ever see hobgoblins, so good are
these faeries as disappearing and sneaking.
Hobgoblins have magical means by which they can
disappear and while invisible, they mute the
sounds they make so that others remain ignorant
of their existence. When they do deign to show
themselves, they appear as little people, between
2-1/2 and 3-1/2 feet tall, with rotund bodies and
spindly limbs. Hobgoblins weigh between 40 and
60 pounds. They have long, pointed noses, small
bright eyes under bushy eyebrows, and large ears

16
Marid
1–5 Wind blasts each creature within reach. An affected
creature makes a Strength roll and, on a failure, is
moved out of your reach. Then, for 1 minute, you
Conceptions of the Known World grew to make Agility rolls with 1 boon.
encompass the Four Kingdoms of the Marid when 6–10 The ground trembles around you. Each creature on
the ground in your reach makes an Agility roll and,
explorers and merchants landed in the on a failure, falls prone. Then, for 1 minute, you
borderlands just a decade ago. Although strange in make Strength rolls with 1 boon.
appearance and custom, the marid learned the 11–15 Fire rushes out from your body. Each creature in
local languages and adapted to what was to them your reach makes an Agility roll and, on a failure,
takes 1d6 damage. Then, for 1 minute, you make
alien cultures with ease, so much so that many
Intellect rolls with 1 boon.
question their purpose. Although the marid gave 16–20 Water gathers around you and carries you to safety.
no cause for animosity and seemed eager to learn You can move to any space you choose in your zone
all they could of this continent, they kept to or an adjacent one. This movement does not trigger
free attacks. Then, for 1 minute, you make Will rolls
themselves for the most part and founded
with 1 boon.
settlements outside the walls of the free cities that Once you use this trait, you lose access to it for 1 minute.
had welcomed them. The marid remain few in
number, being the explorers who traveled across
the ocean and their descendants since arriving
here.
The Four Kingdoms grew their fortunes through
trading and having established routes to even
more distant lands, of which little to nothing is
known, the marid sought to expand their
operations into new territory, which prompted
their exploratory mission. The marid have gold to
spend and goods for trading and have set up
trading houses in the Free Cities and in the
Borderlands.
The marid have shown interest in local religions
and are particularly interested in divine magic, but
few have converted to any religion and instead
continue to honor the nameless elemental spirits
that have come to represent different aspects of
their culture and beliefs. For them, studying and
mastering elemental magic shows a singular
devotion to spirituality as these elements grant
control over the fundamental forces underpinning
reality.
Marids appear human, and have human heights
and weights, but with blue skin that grows lighter
as they age. Infants, for example, have midnight
blue skin, while elders are pale blue almost white.
All marids have white hair, though most adults
shave their scalps and eschew facial hair. They also
all have blue on blue eyes. Most have taken to
wear clothing of local fashions, though many
elders have yet to shed the hooded gray robes they
all wore when they first arrived.
Typical marid names include Aazim, Aanisha,
Laela, Milak, Omar, Sinar, and Zara.
Languages Common, Maridian, plus one of your
choice.
MARID TRAITS
Elemental Outburst As reaction after you are harmed, you can
use this trait to release elemental energy from within your
body. Roll a d20 to see what happens.

17
Revenant
for repairing their injuries, so some wear and tear
is normal and it’s nothing to see a revenant with
Lord Death gave mortals the gift of death so they fine stitching that keeps cuts closed and cosmetics
could live again in their offspring. Each generation use to cover abrasions and punctures.
dies to give room to the next and anyone who Revenants use names common to those found in
violates the natural order of things makes an the Borderlands. See the end of this chapter for
enemy of the Father of Endings and the cultists of examples.
the Last Door who serve him. Necromancers, Languages Common
undead, unbound spirits and worse all offend the REVENANT TRAITS
dark lord and divine retribution against these who Immune poisoned; deprivation, exposure, infection,
would cheat the god his due can be swift and transformation.
terrible. Yet from time to time, Lord Death allows a Chill of the Grave You take half damage from cold.
Undead You are not alive. While you are not injured, you take
mortal to remain in the world after death, to live
half damage from weapons.
on, in a fashion, for some inscrutable purpose. Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
Those given a second chance at life are known as One Foot in the Grave While unconscious, you continue to
revenants. receive information from your senses. If you are
incapacitated, you make the luck roll to heal 1 damage with
It is not mercy that stays Lord Death’s hand;
1 boon.
some other purpose drives this decision. One Inert Anatomy When you rest, you heal damage and regain
person might die before the time ordained by the Health only if you, or someone tending you, has a healer’s kit
Fates, another could have some crucial task left to sew up your injuries and repair your damage.
unfulfilled, while another still might be destined to
accomplish a great work that will serve the greater
good. Some revenants return to life only to fall
dead a few days later and never rise again, while
others become ancient, hoary things, withered
skin clinging taught to their bones, still drawing
breath despite their great age. The seeming
randomness about who does and who does not
become a revenant suggests to some that there
might be no divine plan, but rather a hitch in the
workings of reality, and the more revenants at
large in the world, the more reality frays.
Revenants are a people apart from humans and
other mortals, regardless of how much they
resemble their kin. Those revenants who crave
society must find it among the living and make
places for themselves in the towns and villages. As
their appearance might frighten people, and so
revenants who cannot shake their decaying
appearance might live and work alone as they
pursue the purpose that keeps their souls
anchored to their flesh.
A typical revenant appears as they did in life,
but with a deathly pallor. The skin loses its color,
hair becomes brittle and might fall out, while the
lips draw back to reveal their teeth. Those who
persist for long periods might become gaunt, even
skeletal, until they become indistinguishable from
corpses. Luckily, enough revenants exist that a
cottage industry has grown to help revenants
stave off the worst of time’s effects. Special
ointments keep the skin soft and pliable, while
herbal bundles can be sewn into the flesh to keep
parasites at bay and mask the odors of the body’s
gradual decline. Revenants have no natural means

18
Sphinx
Sample sphinx names include Adalmach, Asir,
Caledius, Egedia, Faesa, Iona, Mezzen, Ozara, and
Across the Sea of Fear, east of the Jungles of Za, Yzil.
there lies a great and mighty nation, the Immortal Languages Common, Sphinx
Kingdom of Aegus, the land of the sphinxes. For SPHINX TRAITS
thousands of years, the sphinxes have held this Nimble You…
land and thrown back every effort to invade it. • … suffer no drawbacks from running.
Isolation born from a general contempt of the • … impose 1 bane on rolls to attack from free attacks.
• … lose half as much Health from landing after a fall.
lesser peoples living beyond its boundaries, Aegus
• …make the Agility roll with 2 boons when you use a
secured its borders and made no move to add to reaction to dodge.
its prodigious holdings, seeing no need as their
lands held all that they needed and more.
Something has changed in the last century. The
rivers dried up, the forests withered, and the
grasslands became desert wastes. Among the
sphinxes, their already modest birthrate
plummeted and fewer and fewer young were born.
Believing their lands to be cursed, many sphinxes
have left their dying lands to find their futures
elsewhere. In a great diaspora, sphinxes press into
the Jungles of Za, to the Emerald Islands far to the
south, and north, across the Sea of Fear, to the
borderlands and beyond.
In Aegus, the sphinxes worshiped the same gods
that make up those of the Old Faith, though their
interpretations of these deities and the names by
which they call them differ. It’s held there that the
Sun God, whom they name Aram, rules the
pantheon of gods and his wife, the Orisu, rules
over the night. Death, called Nekron, hates
creation and sends his jackals to steal away the
living to languish in his dark realm.
The priests hold substantial power in Aegus and
their chief function is to support the queen who
rules as the mortal wife of Aram. When she passes,
her soul ascends to join the past queens who dwell
in the night skies as stars. The queen’s consorts
serve as her guards, advisors, and companions,
and when their queen dies, they follow her into
death.
Until recently, the only sphinxes people knew
appeared as Empire-era sculptures and in old
paintings that offered a stylized interpretation of
these peoples. In reality, sphinxes fall in the
human ranges of height and weight. They have
leonine bodies capable of walking upright or on all
fours, with short, golden fur covering their bodies
from head to feet. They have the tails of lions
extending from the base of their spines and their
facial features suggest some mingling of human
and lion. Males have thick dark manes that extend
from the back of their skulls and necks to form a
collar of sorts that falls upon their shoulders.
Finally, all sphinxes have vestigial feathered wings
extending out from their backs.

19
Spriggan
Morning Dew in the Dawn’s Light, Reaching of
Limbs to the Sky, and Stillness of Night’s Darkest
Grandfather Tree strode the lands of Erth and Hours, though they often abbreviate their names
planted seeds to cover creation with a wondrous for other peoples.
garden. The seeds took root and sprouted into Languages Common
trees, flowers, grasses, vines, and so much more, SPRIGGAN TRAITS
but they also unfolded from the soil and pulled Ambulatory Plant As a plant, you nourish yourself by
themselves free to become the world’s first absorbing sunlight, and nutrients from the ground. Rather
spriggans. These sentient plants believe than consume provisions to avoid the effects of deprivation,
you can plant your feet in damp earth in a sunlit zone. If you
themselves to be the offspring of the great green
spend at least 1 hour in this zone under these conditions,
god and thus most commit their long lives to you count as if you become immune to deprivation from
preserving the world’s most garden-like regions hunger and thirst for 24 hours.
from exploitation and ruin. Flammable You take double damage from fire. When you take
damage from fire, make a luck roll with 1 bane. On a failure,
Travelers might pass through a spriggan
you catch fire (luck ends).
community a dozen times without ever realizing Claws Your fingers end in claws that are natural weapons with
they had done so. Being plants, albeit mobile ones, the finesse and keen +1d6 properties. Your claw attacks deal
spriggans have no need for shelter, to grow crops 1d6 damage.
Plant Ally When you use an action to make a Claws attack, you
or keep livestock for food. They can nourish
can choose your target from any creature or object in reach
themselves by sinking their feet in the soil and or in your zone or an adjacent one provided there are plants
reaching up to absorb the sun’s light through their in the zone.
fingerlike branches. And neither rain nor the Plant Strider You ignore the effects of moving across
challenging terrain caused by plants.
elements bother them. All a spriggan community
needs to thrive is a place where they can root
themselves when they need and congregate when

they want.
Having few reasons to interact with the outside
world, makes spriggans rare sights beyond their
forest homes. Spriggans find ready allies in
fenoderees, some wargs, and other woodland folk
and if something threatens their friends, a whole
grove of spriggans might rally to the cause. Other
spriggans might set out to start new groves, carry
out a mission for their maker, or succumb to their
curiosity to discover just what lays beyond the
woods.
Spriggans appear as humanoids but in place of
flesh and blood, they have a thin layer of bark
covering springy wood that has the same
flexibility and freedom that another creature
might have. Spriggan eyes shine like green candle
flames and they have small gaps for mouths move
enough to let them speak, but they have no noses
nor do they have ears. And in place of hair, they
have a crest of leafy branches that rise from the
tops of their heads and sprout in places from their
bodies.
While rooted, though, spriggans appear as
ordinary woody shrubs, with sparse greenery and
plenty of thorns to dissuade creatures from
disturbing them. Although immobile while rooted
in place, spriggans remain aware of their
surroundings and can pull themselves free to deal
with any threats.
Sample spriggan names include Hush of
Winter’s Heart, Laughter of the Melting Snow,

20
Sprite
Wild Speech You can communicate with normal animals such
as cats, dogs, pigs, and horses. You can interpret the noises
animals make, as well as their body language to get the gist
Sprites, sometimes called the children of the of what they say to you.
forest, remained in the mortal world when the Wee Form As an action, you cause your body, along with
everything you wear and carry, to shrink down until you are
other faeries left. They chose to stay for they three inches tall. While at this reduced size, you are
would not owe a debt to the elves who fashioned harmless. In other words, neither your attacks, spells, nor
these new realms and would instead go their own talents deal damage, cause others to lose Health, or bestow
way. By necessity, sprites have remained hidden in afflictions. When you speak, your shouts sound like
whispers. If you walk, you can reach the edge of your zone. If
the mortal world, leading secretive lives to avoid
you run, you can run into a space in an adjacent zone. Unless
encounters with the foolish, short-lived peoples a creature is specifically looking for you, though, you count
who seem bound and determined to spread as if you were invisible.
everywhere and make a mess of everything. Wild Escape As a reaction when harmed, you gain a move
which you must use immediately or lose it. Your movement
Sprites build nothing, make nothing that lasts.
does not enable enemies to make free attacks against you.
They have accidental communities where multiple Once you use this talent, you must rest for 1 hour before you
gather to frolic and play, love and laugh, all while can use it again.
singing, playing music, and telling outlandish
stories about the people they met, places the visit,
and the foolishness they encounter as they explore
the world. Sprites have a reputation for being silly,
empty-headed faeries without a care in the world,
but for all that they love jesting and play, they
become quite serious when it matters most. They
can be stalwart companions, reliable and
courageous. They never make oaths because their
word is worthless, but when they feel a bond
growing with someone, they do everything they
can to avoid letting them down.
A great many sprites cause trouble for mortals.
They steal, rile up horses, free livestock, lead
children astray, leave insulting messages, pull on
hair, and more, but they might take pity on some
mortals, being moved by their grief and suffering.
This is why many sprites have come out of the
wilds to help the newcomers become settled in the
borderlands, for they see in their faces, loss, pain,
and sorrow, and no sprite likes those things, not in
others and especially not in themselves.
In their normal forms, sprites stand 2 feet tall
and weigh about 20 pounds. They have slim
bodies and appear in all the colors of the rainbow.
Sprites make their clothes from found things, a
scrap of cloth, a garland of flowers, a skirt of
woven grasses, but have little interest in wearing
the skins of dead animals. Sprites have natural
magic that lets them change their shapes. They
can become small birds, the size of wrens,
butterflies, or motes of light that float over the
ground, looking ever so much like fireflies.
Typical sprite names include Acorn, Berry, Joy,
Leaf, Ribald, Squirrel, and Wix.
Languages Common, Sylvan
SPRITE TRAITS
Immune infection
Iron Weakness You are weakened while you carry or wear an
iron or iron-alloy object.

21
Triton
serrated teeth. Gills cut across their chests,
allowing them to draw air from water.
Old salts still warn sailors embarking from the At sea, tritons forgo clothing, but they recognize
mainland to steer clear of the towers of land-dweller customs enough to don loose,
Shangrana, structures of corkscrewing coral comfortable robes. Tritons avoid restrictive
believed to rise from the sunken city on the clothing as it makes swimming more difficult,
seafloor. Too many galleons and cogs found their though they do cover their bodies in sharkskin
way to the bottom of the sea after drifting into the armor (as leather) when at war.
waters the sea-dwelling tritons control to risk Sample triton names include Festooth,
their ire. Accords with the kingdoms of the Old Malabrath, Ooshala, Shesh, Thurith, Weesha, and
Country put a stop to the tritons’ coastal raids, but Yaah.
any trespass into their territory arouses their Languages Common, Triton
anger and the sea positively boils with activity as TRITON TRAITS
they launch strikes against the intruders. Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
The Book of Trials tells the story of the tritons’ Amphibious You can breathe when submerged in water.
origins, explaining that the gods had made them in Swimmer You move one additional zone when you swim,
ignore the effects of swimming on your attribute rolls and on
their likeness, but condemned them to harsh lives
rolls made against your Defense, and you make rolls to swim
of want and toil. They rose up against their gods with 1 boon.
and fought for their freedom. Their uprising Fluid Moves When you use a reaction to dodge and the roll to
resulted in the collapse of the heavenly realm into attack you results in a failure, you impose 1 bane on rolls
against your Defense and Agility until the end of your next
the deep waters and freed the tritons to live as
turn.
they chose.
Being amphibious, the tritons could have spread
out and settled the coastlines, but they feared
reprisals from the old gods and thus stayed under
the waves where they would remain out of view.
The tritons might also have escaped contact
with other peoples, but the sailors’ navigation
techniques improved enough that they could sail
beyond sight of land. Old Country ships started
crossing the Sea of Fear and the tritons defended
their territory by sinking the ships and drowning
the crews. When the ships kept crossing, the
tritons starting raiding coastal settlements. The
fighting continued until the surface nations’
envoys agreed to use prescribed sea lanes to make
the crossings and avoid triton waters and, in
return, the tritons would halt their raiding.
Before war broke out in the Old Country,
attitudes among the tritons toward the land-
dwellers had softened to the point that the tritons
had begun trading with the settlements they had
raided just a generation before. While many
tritons have their doubts about the air-breathers,
a few have taken to making forays inland to see
the lands and gain a better understanding of their
people. Thus, tritons are in no way common sights
in the known world, but they are not the strangers
they once were either.
Tritons have tall, lean, willowy bodies covered in
a fine mesh of silvery blue scales. They have
smooth piscine faces, with globular eyes over
which snap special membranes to protect them
from silt and grit. They lack noses, but have
nostrils and small mouths equipped with sharp,

22
Warg
color. Comfortable in either form, wargs shift
between them as their needs demand.
The warg tribes living in the borderlands fled Common warg names include Balan, Calden,
persecution of the Old Country when a they were Ema, Frath, Gesh, Medderek, Needrak, and Sead.
deemed a plague on humanity. The first wargs Languages Common
were those afflicted with a strange disease called WARG TRAITS
lycanthropy and who spread their affliction to Night Vision You treat dim light as bright light.
others through their bites. This disease, which Keen Scent You know the location of each creature and dead
behaved much like a curse, caused them to shed creature within one zone of you.
Wolf Form As an action, you and everything you wear and
their human forms and become wolves whenever
carry transform into a wolf. The effects of your
the light of the full moons shown upon the land transformation last until you become incapacitated or until
and under the influence of this bewitching light you return to your human form as a minor action. While in
the werewolves ran amok, killing and spreading this form, you gain the following benefits and drawbacks:
• You cannot speak.
their affliction to all they could.
• You cannot use any equipment that transforms with you.
The Church of the High One called for a great • You increase your Health by an amount equal to 1 + your
purging of the afflicted and anyone deemed to be level.
afflicted, whether they were or not, found • Your teeth count as natural weapons that have the finesse
property and deal 1d6 damage.
themselves tortured and executed on great pyres.
Aggressive As a reaction when you see an enemy, you can
Faced with such a horrible end, the afflicted fled move to where you can reach one enemy in your zone or an
east for the untamed wilds and there they have adjacent one.
remained these long years, hidden from their Once you use this trait, you loses access to it until the
combat ends.
enemies and in this time, they overcame the
disease of the body and mind, but retained its
transformative power. Thus were a new people,
the wargs, born into this world.
For years, the warg tribes lived in peace by
avoiding the faeries and finding in the fauns
kindred spirits. But the Weird Wizard’s arrival and
subsequent founding of the Forbidden City saw
the wargs drawn into conflict once more. The
tribal leaders saw the interloper as a dire threat
and offered proof in the strange things that crept
and crawled across the land, horrors created by
his reckless experimenting. The wargs pitched
themselves against the Weird Wizard; they hunted
his creations, destroyed his mechanical soldiers,
and caused endless trouble for and interference
with his designs.
Their enemies’ sudden absence brought an end
to the hostilities, but then the refugees began
entering the borderlands, bringing with them
what the wargs saw as a false god and its
murderous peddlers. The tribes, of which there
are now many, stand divided about what to do
with these newcomers. The wargs of the Silver
Fang tribe have leant aid and deal peacefully with
the refugees, while the wargs of the Three Moons,
Blood Howl, and Shadow Runners have been
working to drive them off.
Once human, wargs, in their humanoid form, can
pass as such, but the disease or curse that led to
their creation saddled them with fierce features,
hairy bodies, and gleaming, golden eyes. When
they choose, they can transform into the form of
enormous wolves with fur matching their hair

23
Professions Profession
Your character begins the game with a degree of
expertise in a profession, which represents the
Descriptions
experiences you have had, how you made ends Each profession category is detailed below. Refer
meet before taking up the life of an adventurer, to the category and the specialty that you chose or
and how your character fits into the world. The determined for your character and incorporate the
available professions are divided Into eight appropriate capabilities and accomplishments
categories, as shown on the following table. into your character’s persona.
Choose one from the list, or roll 4d6 to determine
the category of your profession randomly. Academic
When you fled the Old Country, you left behind all
PROFESSION CATEGORIES the higher institutions of learning that had arisen
4d6 Category
4–5 Academic in the centuries when the Great Kingdom stood,
6–8 Criminal including the contents of their libraries and
9–11 Entertainment museums. Even though you couldn’t save those
12–14 Common artifacts of bygone times, you can call upon your
15–16 Wilderness considerable expertise in your specialty. With
17–19 Military enough time, luck, and support, you might build a
20–22 Religious new academy to serve as a repository for the
23–24 Aristocratic knowledge on which civilization depends.

Profession Benefits Educated When you fail an Intellect roll, you can use this talent
to turn the failure into a success. You can use this talent
Your profession’s category provides you with once. You regain the use of it after a full night’s rest.
several benefits. Languages One additional nonsecret language.
Talents: You have a special ability, called a ACADEMIC SPECIALTIES
talent, that reflects your training and experience in d20 Profession
your field of endeavor. 1–2 Apothecary. You learned the medicinal
Languages: Some professions impart properties of herbs, roots, and other useful
knowledge of one or more languages beyond those plants. You have either a dose of antitoxin or a
you know because of your ancestry. For details dose of poison.
about languages, see chapter 1. If you would gain 3–4 Apprentice Magician. You studied under a
knowledge of a language that you already know, mage to learn all you could of magic. You
you can choose a different nonsecret language in understand the principles that form the
place of the one you would gain. foundation of magic and hope to learn your
Specialty: Each profession category first spell soon. You know Arcane in addition to
encompasses several specialties, as borne out on your other languages.
5–6 Astrologer. You made a study of the stars. You
the tables in the following sections. You can
can identify the constellations, divine their
choose a specialty that appeals to you or roll a d20
meaning, and interpret the movements of
to determine one randomly. heavenly bodies. You have a bundle of star
Each specialty’s description includes a sentence charts and a writing kit.
or two that explains what you did or what you 7–8 Folklorist. You learn the local legends,
learned while practicing your profession in earlier superstitions, and customs of your community
times. Most specialties provide a piece of and those found in neighboring lands. As part
equipment, which might be a flavorful item (such of your research, you also know a bit about the
as a special book) or an item that’s described in faeries. You know Sylvan in addition to your
chapter #: Equipment. other languages.
9–10 Inventor. You built interesting machines in
your workshop, but you lost your creations in
the chaos. You have a tool kit and one set of
spare parts.
11–12 Naturalist. The life sciences dominated your
educational pursuits, and thus you now know

24
 much about animals, the natural world, and the 13–16 Landholder. You owned an extensive plot of
weather. You have two poultices. land and likely had a noble title to go with your
13–14 Occultist. You looked into the dark places to holdings. You have a sword.
gain an understanding of things and concepts 17–20 Merchant. You belonged to the class of the
that others deem forbidden. You know about newly rich, having made your money in
demons, the Void, fiends, the Underworld, and commerce rather than through inheritance.
the Netherworld. You have an occultist’s kit. Your wealth opened doors for you, but you
15–16 Philosopher. You studied the nature of reality, never found acceptance among the elite. You
space, time, and ethics, and the question of have a cart and a pack animal to draw it.
what it means to be. You know Archaic in

17–18
addition to your other languages.
Physician. Your studies of anatomy, medicine,
Common
and treatment methods combine to make you The fall of the Great Kingdom affected every
a dependable healer. You have a healer’s kit. aspect of life in the Old Kingdom. Nations fell to
19–20 Politician. You know how to navigate the ins civil war, while land-hungry warlords launched
and outs of bureaucracies. You might have held wars of conquest into neighboring territory. While
political office or aided those who did. You the elite fended off attacks from within their own
have a set of superior clothing. households and governments struggled to
maintain their authority, the ordinary folks
Aristocrat suffered the most, as is so often the case.
You come from the ranks of the normal people,
Their money and their status should have enabled
the folks who lived by toil and whose bore the
the aristocrats of the Old Country to secure
brunt of the hardships that arise in the settled
passage beyond its borders, but after the paladins
lands. War, plague, monsters, and worse sent you
turned against their king, others took up arms
and your people fleeing for safety and you were
against the moneyed classes. The ensuing violence
among the few to reach the borderlands. You have
to the lords and ladies, barons, duchesses, and all
lived through hard times before and you believe
the rest put an end to the old order. You came from
you will again.
one of the influential families of the Great
Kingdom or somewhere else and fled with all the
Durability When you take damage, you can use this talent to
other survivors to the east, where the future is take half the damage instead.
unknown as is your place in it. You can use this talent once. You regain the use of it after
a full night’s rest.
Etiquette In a social setting, you can cause each non-hostile
creature in the same setting to become friendly to you. The COMMON PROFESSIONS
change in disposition lasts until you do something that d20 Profession
would alter the creature’s disposition. 1 Baker. You worked in a bakery and learned
You can use this talent once. You regain the use of it after how to bake breads, cakes, pies, and pastries.
a full night’s rest. You have a set of kitchen utensils.
Languages One additional nonsecret language.
2 Bartender. You sold drinks to earn your pay.
ARISTOCRAT PROFESSIONS You know all about beverages, alcoholic and
d20 Profession otherwise. You have a small cask of beer and
1–4 Carouser. A lesser scion of a noble house, you two bottles of spirits.
spent your days frittering away your 3 Carpenter. You know how to cut wood and join
inheritance in gambling halls and taverns. You pieces of it to produce just about anything
have a deck of cards or a set of dice. from small chests to furniture to entire
5–8 Dilettante. You were a patron to artists, poets, dwellings. You have a tool kit.
and musicians; you gave funds to anyone who 4 Cook. You might have been a cook in a camp,
impressed you. You have a work of art created charged with rationing provisions, or you could
by one of those under your patronage that have been a chef at a restaurant where you
could be worth as much as 1 gp. created culinary masterpieces. You have a pair
9–12 Influencer. Your opinions determined which of knives.
trends and fads swept through the upper 5 Exterminator. You made your living by hunting
classes. You were renowned for your rats and other vermin. You have a net.
impeccable taste and often envied for your life 6 Farmer. You worked the land to produce crops
of luxury. You have a set of superior clothing. for your family and for sale at the market. You
might also have raised livestock. You have a
pitchfork (treated as a spear).

25
7 Fisher. You know how to pilot a small boat and regardless of the opportunities given to them.
how to catch fish either in fresh water or on Whether they think the world owes them, they see
the open seas. You have a fishing pole, line, their illegal acts as some way to get back at the
lures, and a net. people who wronged them, or they just want to
8 Gravedigger. You handled corpses for a living. see the world burn, the life of the criminal gives
You could have been a digger of graves or a
them the outlet to do what they wish and when
collector of corpses for some purpose. You
they wish.
have a shovel (treated as a club).
9 Groom. You cared for horses and perhaps
Criminal professions also include those who
other animals and helped train them to hunt down criminals and bring them to justice.
perform certain activities. You have a tool kit.
Criminal Instincts When you an Agility roll for an activity
10 Herder. You watched over a flock of sheep, a
other than making an attack, you can turn the failure into a
herd of goats or cows, or another form of success.
livestock. You have either a sling or a You can use this talent once. You regain the use of it after
quarterstaff. a full night’s rest.
11 Jeweler. You made jewelry from precious
metals and stones. You can ascertain the value CRIMINAL PROFESSIONS
of such things by examining them. You have a d20 Profession
tool kit. 1–2 Bandit. You waylaid and robbed travelers to
12 Laborer. You performed manual labor for earn enough coin to survive. You have a bow
whomever paid you. You could have worked as and arrows.
a porter, a stevedore, or at some other job that 3–4 Burglar. You made ends meet by breaking into
involved moving heavy objects. You have a buildings and pilfered their contents. You have
club. a set of lock picks.
13 Mason. You worked with stone, shaping it into 5–6 Charlatan. You know how to trick people out
blocks and mortaring those blocks into larger of their coins. You have a knife, deck of cards,
shapes. You have a tool kit. and ten phials filled with colored alcohol.
14 Miner. You dug ore out of the ground. You 7–8 Constable. You patrolled your community to
have a pick (treated as an axe). uphold the law and protect the citizens from
15 Sailor. You worked on a ship and helped keep lawbreakers. You have a club and a badge of
the vessel in good working order. You have a office.
knife and a coil of rope. 9–10 Detective. You investigated crimes committed
16 Servant. Maybe you waited tables in a tavern. in your community. You could have been a
You could have been a scullery worker, member of law enforcement or a private
washing pots and pans for a noble household. investigator. You have a magnifying glass.
You might also have served as a butler, a valet, 11–12 Forger. You earned a living by making fake
a maid, or in some other similar capacity. You copies of official documents. You have a
have a uniform. writing kit.
17 Shopkeeper. You ran a small shop selling minor 13–14 Grave Robber. You stole valuables from the
baubles and other curios. You have three dead and sold them to buy food and shelter.
pieces of cheap jewelry. You might also have stolen corpses for
18 Smith. You worked at a forge, pounding metal interested buyers. You have a shovel (treated
ingots into different forms. You have a as a club).
hammer. 15–16 Jailer. You watched over prisoners sentenced
19 Tanner. You turned raw animal hides into to spend time in your dungeon. You have a club
leather suitable for making clothing, gear, and and a lantern.
armor. You have a quarterstaff. 17–18 Mugger. You threatened or roughed up people
20 Teamster. You drove a cart, wagon, carriage, and then took their money. You have a
or some other vehicle for commercial blackjack (treated as a club).
purposes. You have a whip. 19–20 Rake. You fleeced people of their valuables,
then squandered your earnings on gambling
and carousing. You have either a deck of cards
Criminal or a set of dice.
People do what they must to survive. Lacking
other, legitimate means to provide for themselves
leads many to turn toward illicit acts to keep
Entertainment
People with a talent for entertainment find
themselves in food, shelter, and what comfort they
welcome in the Borderlands, for in this wild
can find. However, some folks never fit in,
country, laughter and merriment have become

26
rare. You could have been a famous entertainer in Martial Training When you fail a roll to attack, you can use
this talent to turn the failure into a success. You can use this
the Old Country or found your talent since
talent once. You regain the use of it after a full night’s rest.
escaping that land. Your method of entertainment
could be in the written word, your dance, the MILITARY PROFESSIONS
tenor of your voice, or your wit. d20 Profession
1–2 Bodyguard. You offered protection to people
Crowd-Pleaser When you sing, play an instrument, or perform who paid you for your efforts. You have a suit
in some other capacity, you can use this talent to captivate of brigandine armor.
your audience for as long as you perform, up to 1 hour. 3–4 Caravan Guard. You traveled with caravans to
While captivated, the audience members ignore any event
protect them from bandits and monsters. You
within their line of sight that does not directly threaten
harm to them, their loved ones, or their property. You can have a bow and arrows.
use this talent once. You regain the use of it after a full 5–6 Herald. You delivered messages and made
night’s rest. announcements for a person of power. You
have a uniform, a trumpet, and a sword.
ENTERTAINMENT PROFESSIONS 7–8 House Guard. You served as a guard for a noble
d20 Profession family. You have a uniform and a spear.
1–2 Acrobat. You jumped, tumbled, and performed 9–10 Marine. You helped protect ships sailing the
other feats of dexterity for the crowds. You deep waters. You have a mace.
have a quarterstaff. 11–12 Mercenary. You sold your services to the
3–4 Animal Handler. You trained animals to highest bidder. You have an axe.
perform tricks. You have a Tiny harmless pet of 13–14 Militia Member. You belonged to your
your choice. community’s militia. When your ruler called for
5–6 Artist. You produced works of art such as it, you took up arms to protect your people.
sculptures, paintings, tapestries and more. You You have a spear.
have a tool kit. 15–16 Patroller. You belonged to your community’s
7–8 Busker. You performed songs, music, told watch. You helped keep the peace. You have a
jokes, and performed other acts on street spear and a lantern.
corners. You have a musical instrument. 17–18 Soldier. Whether conscripted or enlisted, you
9–10 Clown/Mime. You painted up your face and joined an army and fought on battlefields. You
acted the fool. You have a disguise kit. have a spear and a shield.
11–12 Dancer. You performed exotic and complex 19–20 Squire. You served a knight. You have a dagger
dances. You have a cosmetics kit. and a buckler.
13–14 Fortune Teller. You used cards, crystal balls,
and other implements of divination to foretell
the future for those who paid. You have a deck Religious
of cards. Even now, after the Old Country’s collapse, the
15–16 Juggler. Knives, torches, bottle, balls, or fish, great faiths hold great sway over the lives of
you can juggle just about anything. You have a ordinary people. The Church of the High One
set of five knives. strives to protect the faithful as the travel east,
17–18 Singer. You have a beautiful voice and can while the devotees of the Old Faith find new
move people with your songs. You have a book converts among the refugees. Coming from a
containing several common songs.
religious background signals you have been
19–20 Thespian. The stage is your home; you never
steeped in a particular faith. You could be part of
feel more alive than when you perform in front
of an audience. You are an actor. You have a
one of the great religious institutions or you might
book that contains several common plays. belong to a sect or fringe cult. You could have been
in training to become a priest or someone
especially devout.
Military
People who know how to fight need not ever go Fervent Believer When you fail a Will roll, you can use this
hungry again. In these uncertain times, strong talent to turn the failure into a success. You can use this
talent once. You regain the use of it after a full night’s rest.
folks with some skill at arms can find employment
Languages Archaic or a different nonsecret language.
just about wherever they go. They might be
caravan guards, soldiers, members of a militia, or RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONS
even constables in a large town. You come from a d20 Profession
military background and you know the basics of 1–2 Acolyte. You studied to become a priest of the
fighting. High One and spent your time studying the
holy texts. You have acolyte’s uniform.

27
3–4 Aspirant. You studied to become a priest of the some malady, such as leprosy, have fallen on
Old Faith or a particular god of the pantheon. hard times, or just want to live the hobo life.
You have the uniform of your faith. You have quarterstaff.
5–6 Cultist. You belonged to a small religion that 5–6 Forester. You worked as a game warden for a
operated on the fringes of your community. noble’s preserve. You have a bow and arrows.
Your cult might have had good intentions or 7–8 Gatherer. You lived by gathering what you
could honored some monstrous power. You could forage from the land. You have two
have a symbol or badge of your faith. poultices.
7–8 Evangelist. You traveled the land, attempting 9–10 Hunter. You stalked game through the wild
to make converts to your faith. You have a places, hunting them for meat and materials.
book containing uncommon knowledge about You have a bow and arrows.
your faith. 11–12 Nomad. You belonged to a traveling people.
9–10 Fundamentalist. You subscribe to an extremely You might have followed your herds, been
orthodox interpretation of your religion. You performers who traveled from town to town,
have a book containing uncommon knowledge or a people displaced from your homeland. You
of your religion. have a quarterstaff.
11–12 Heretic. You held unorthodox beliefs about an 13–14 Pilgrim. You traveled to sites deemed holy by
extant religion and were an outsider among your faith. You might have visited the places
the faithful who shared your devotion. You where saints performed miracles, sites where
have a quarterstaff. the gods have walked among mortals, and
13–14 Missionary. You traveled into unexplored shrines and temples believed to hold relics of
lands, hoping to bring the message of your your faith. You have a quarterstaff.
faith to the people you met. You have a symbol 15–16 Prospector. You traveled into the wilderness
of your faith. searching for signs of precious metals. You
15–16 Minister. You led a congregation of the faithful have a tool kit.
and taught them to lead spiritual lives. You 17–18 Spelunker. You explore caves and caverns. You
have a book containing uncommon knowledge have rope, a lantern, oil, and a tinderbox.
about your religion. 19–20 Woodcutter. You cut timber from forests. You
17–18 Prophet. You believe the gods spoke to you or have an axe.
through you to pronounce future happenings.

19–20
You have a quarterstaff.
Scribe. You made copies of sacred texts and
illuminated the manuscripts. You have a writing
Starting
kit.
Equipment
Wilderness The equipment you have at the start of the game
Plenty of wilderness remains even in the highly- can reveal certain facts about your character, such
traveled Old Country and plenty more awaits as your level of preparedness and your current
exploration and discovery in the borderlands and financial circumstances. You determine your
beyond. Wilderness backgrounds reveal the starting equipment by rolling dice to determine
various roles people adopt when they live outside what you've got. For details on equipment, see
the cities and dwell among nature. Many peoples chapter 6: Equipment.
indigenous to the borderlands have wilderness Some items indicated by a roll might not be
backgrounds. useful for members of certain ancestries.
Clockworks have no need of provisions or
Survivalist When you fail a Strength roll, you can use this containers to hold food or water, for example. You
talent to discard the result and roll again. can skip over those tables if you like or give the
You can use this talent once. You regain the use of it after
a full night’s rest. results of your rolls to your companions.
Also, your profession might provide you with a
WILDERNESS PROFESSIONS piece of equipment. If a roll on one of the tables
d20 Profession below produces a duplicate result, you can either
1–2 Anchorite. You retreated from the world to accept the duplicate or roll again to get something
contemplate the nature of divinity in isolation.
different.
You know how to forage for provisions and
In addition to starting equipment, you can have
clean water. You have a quarterstaff.
3–4 Beggar. You travel from place to place, living
additional minor possessions that lack meaningful
off the charity of others. You might suffer value. You could carry around a pair of gloves, a

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comb, or an extra pair of underclothes, for PERSONAL EFFECTS
instance. Such Items rarely have an effect during d20 Item
play, but might be an aspect of how you want to 1 A lock of hair, a love letter, or some other
roleplay your character. remembrance
2 A piece of costume jewelry
CLOTHING 3 A pet mouse, cat, rabbit, bird, or dog
d6 Clothing 4 A small bell
1 Inferior clothing 5 Half of an old map
2–5 Normal clothing 6 An old key
6 Superior clothing 7 An iron horseshoe or a rabbit’s foot
8 A letter of introduction
ARMOR 9 A bottle of spirits
d6 Armor
10 A single playing card
1–3 None
11 A collection of spoons, forks, or cooking
4–5 Leather
implements
6 Mail
12 A masquerade mask, a scarf, or a fancy hat
WEAPONS 13 A toy or a stuffed animal
d6 Weapon 14 A pair of sensible shoes
1 A knife 15 A box of chalks, paints, or dyes in all the colors
2 A knife and a sling with stones of the spectrum
3 A knife and a quarterstaff 16 A fragment from a painting, a sheet of music,
4 A knife and a club or a sculpture
5 A knife and a spear 17 Pots and pans
6 A knife and a bow with arrows 18 A pair of manacles
19 A ten-pound bag of flour, a bag of marbles, a
CONTAINERS AND PROVISIONS collapsible pole, 50 feet of rope, or a small
d6 Containers and Provisions metal mirror
1 Nothing 20 A box of dead insects, a glass jar filled with
2 Provisions, sack or canteen sinister liquid, a lump of coal, a glass eye, a
3–4 Provisions, sack, and canteen moldy cake, a small book filled with
5–6 Provisions, backpack, and canteen indecipherable writing, a stoppered vial
holding an unknown substance, a monstrous
PROVISIONS statuette, or something else others might
d6 Provisions
consider strange
1 One day

Identity
2 Two days
3 Three days
4 Four days
5 Five days The character you play represents a person in the
6 Six days world of the game, an individual who has hopes
and dreams, fears, ambitions, a past, and a future.
ILLUMINATION
d6 Items
Your character's identity encompasses all these
1–2 Nothing aspects and helps to inform you when you decide
3 One candle and a tinderbox what your character does in the game and how
4 One candle, one torch, and a tinderbox you respond to situations that come up in your
5 Three candles, three torches, and a tinderbox quests. You can use the tables in the following
6 Three candles, a lantern, a flask of oil, and a sections to help you determine aspects of your
tinderbox character’s basic nature.
Not every detail about your character needs to
POCKET MONEY be determined by these tables, and any choices
d6 Wealth
you make at this time are not set in stone; some
1 —
2 1d6 cp facts about your character's personality and
3 2d6 cp priorities might emerge, or evolve, as you play
4 3d6 cp through quests.
5 1d6 sp
6 1d6 gp

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Distinctive Features
3 You have boils, piles, a goiter, or a nasty skin
condition that never heals.
4 Your joints pop when you stand up.
Your character starts as an adult with a height and
5 You have a brand somewhere on your body.
weight falling in the typical range explained in the
6 One of your eyes looks in a different direction.
entry for your ancestry. You choose your 7 You eat with your mouth open.
character’s height, weight, along with other basic 8 You have a facial tic.
details such as your age, hair, eye and skin color, 9 You have broken veins in your nose.
apparent gender or lack thereof, and any other 10 You smell of soup.
cosmetic trait you want to include. (Your ancestry 11 You have no pigment in your hair or skin.
might have information on some of these 12 You are hirsute.
particulars.) 13 You have a pleasant smile.
The Distinctive Features tables below provide a 14 You are somewhat short for your ancestry.
host of possibilities for physical and behavioral 15 You look a lot like a member of a different
features that set your character apart from all ancestry.
others. You can use dice to randomly determine 16 You are gaunt to the point of appearing
your character's distinctive features, or choose any skeletal.
of them that appeal to you. Note, though, that not 17 You have a musty smell.
18 You have an extra finger or toe.
all the entries on the tables are appropriate for all
19 You are a person of exceptional beauty.
ancestries. For instance, clockworks have no body
20 You have wide and expressive mouth.
hair, and all archons have the same height and
weight and general appearance. If the dice DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 3
produce a contradictory or repetitious result, d20 Feature
simply roll again or choose a different feature you 1 Your ears have an unusual shape or size.
like. 2 You have an uncommon number of body
For random generation, roll a d6 to determine piercings.
how many distinctive features you have. For each 3 You have a wart on your nose or chin.
one, roll a d6 to determine the table number and a 4 You wear an unusual hair style.
5 You have a peg leg.
d20 to produce the result.
6 Nothing about you stands out. Lose all
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 1 distinguishing features.
d20 Feature 7 You breathe through your mouth.
1 Your nose has an unusual shape or size. 8 You slouch all the time.
2 You have unusual eye color. 9 Your pupils have a strange shape.
3 You have halitosis. 10 You have long fingernails.
4 You walk with a limp. 11 You snort when you laugh.
5 You keep your head shaved. 12 You pick at your scabs.
6 You fidget all the time. 13 You have an infectious laugh.
7 One of your legs or arms is shorter than the 14 You have a slender body.
other. 15 You have an attractive body.
8 You are far smaller than average. 16 You have long legs.
9 You have a high-pitched voice. 17 You are gap-toothed.
10 You have abundant ear and nose hair. 18 You have polychromatic eyes.
11 You suffer from uncontrollable sweating. 19 You have a thick, blocky body.
12 You sometimes spit to punctuate what you say. 20 You have a pot belly.
13 You have thick, lustrous hair.
14 You appear younger than your actual age. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 4
15 You scratch at yourself all the time. d20 Feature
16 You are quite rotund. 1 You have a beauty mark on your face.
17 You have hairy feet. 2 You have all the freckles.
18 You have a long, pointed nose. 3 You have a beetling brow or your eyebrows
meet.
19 You are rather plain or homely.
4 You are double jointed.
20 You have a melodious voice.
5 You have tattoos over most or all of your body.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 2 6 You stomp when you walk.
d20 Feature 7 You have a rattling cough.
1 You are quite attractive. 8 You have sleepy eyes.
2 A few of your teeth have gone missing. 9 You are prematurely gray.

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10 You can’t seem to stay clean. 15 You move with grace and poise.
11 You have a shrill laugh. 16 You have short arms.
12 You have an extensive scarring on your body. 17 You have scaly patches on your skin.
13 You smell of jasmine, flowers, or something 18 You frown all the time.
else. 19 You have a heavy jaw.
14 You are rather portly. 20 You have a strange birthmark.
15 You have dark circles under your eyes.

Personality
16 You have a stooped, hunched posture.
17 You have different colored eyes.
18 You are extremely large for a member of your An individual’s personality is a combination of
ancestry. several attitudes that are developed through life
19 You have an odd bulge somewhere on your
experiences, connections to others or lack thereof,
body.
20 You have a shapely physique.
the satisfaction of certain needs and the absence
of others. Your character can have any personality
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 5 you like, ranging from someone who acts and
d20 Feature thinks much like you do or someone vastly
1 You have one or more patches of different different from you. If you like, you can use the
colored skin. tables in this section to randomly generate the
2 You lost an eye, ear, or part of your nose. facets of your character's personality that, when
3 You have incredible facial hair. taken together, defines an identity you can portray
4 You crack your knuckles when idle.
during the game.
5 You walk on the balls of your feet.
6 When standing, you shift your weight from one
foot to the other.
Dependability
7 You have a raspy voice. Your degree of dependability speaks to how
8 You have small hands or feet. reliable you are, whether you follow through on
9 You have a lined and careworn face. your promises, and if you can make decisions that
10 One eye squints all the time. recognize the needs of others.
11 You smile all the time.
12 You wear dentures.
DEPENDABILITY
3d6 Dependability
13 You have a kind face.
3 You can’t depend on me for much of anything.
14 You are tall for members of your ancestry.
I almost never see things through, and I’m
15 You have pock marks all over your face.
given to impulsive behavior.
16 You are shapely, voluptuous, chiseled, or
4–5 I have a hard time staying organized and
muscular.
putting what’s important ahead of what’s not.
17 You have bad acne.
6–8 Sometimes I get so distracted I forget what I
18 You have webbed toes.
am supposed to be doing.
19 You have prominent teeth.
9–12 I try to be conscientious, but I sometimes fall
20 You appear awkward and gangly.
short.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES TABLE 6 13–15 For the most part, I do what I say I will do. I try
d20 Feature to stay organized and to keep my priorities
1 You have a nasty scar on your face. straight.
2 You have multiple piercings in your ears or 16–17 I lead an orderly, disciplined life. I almost
wear gauges in your lobes. always do what I say I will do, and people can
3 You lost one or more fingertips or fingers on rely on me.
one or both hands. 18 I become so focused on a task that I ignore
4 You have no hair anywhere on your body. almost everything else until I finish it. You can
5 You rock back and forth when sitting. depend on me to do one thing at a time.
6 You are pigeon toed or duck-footed.
7 You often rub your hands together with glee. Sociability
8 You have a deep, sonorous voice. Your sociability describes how well you get along
9 You have exotic skin color. with others, as well as how you regard strangers
10 You have a few extra pounds. and acquaintances.
11 You have smooth, babyish features.
12 You have a haggard appearance.
13 You have smooth and supple skin.
14 You are an older adult.

31
 SOCIABILITY 6–8 New ideas and activities make me
3d6 Sociability uncomfortable.
3 People are the worst. I have few friends and 9–12 I’m up for trying new things, just not all the
almost no close friends. time.
4–5 I avoid interacting with strangers, and it takes a 13–15 I often think about new ways to do things and
lot to get me to open up. new activities to pursue. I might not succeed at
6–8 Some people think me aloof and reserved, but I all of them, but I’m willing to try.
simply prefer to keep to myself. 16–17 I’m willing to do something different. I am
9–12 People can be good or bad. I don’t make a eager for new experiences.
judgment about someone until I get to know 18 I crave new experiences. I’m eager to see the
them. world, to try new foods and drinks, and gain a
13–15 Sure, some people are bad, but most aren’t, better understanding of all there is to learn,
and I try to give other folks the benefit of the feel, and sense.
doubt.
16–17 I like people and almost never think poorly of Affability
others who make my acquaintance. How you behave in interpersonal situations is
18 I try to help everyone I meet, sometimes even expressed by your affability. You might be a
to my detriment. solitary soul, or someone who thrives on
interaction with others.
Outlook
Your outlook reflects your most prevalent state of AFFABILITY
mind—at one extreme, calm and confident; at the 3d6 Affability
3 I am quiet around other people, preferring my
other, nervous and pessimistic.
own company to that of others.
OUTLOOK 4–5 I find it hard to pay attention to what other
3d6 Outlook people say and often lose track of
3 Doom, doom, everywhere is doom. Nothing conversations.
good will ever happen to me, and the whole 6–8 I prefer to let others do the talking. I think
world is against me. about what people say and consider every
4–5 I have terribly sensitive nerves and tend to be viewpoint before offering my opinion.
anxious most of the time. 9–12 I can fend for myself in social situations, but I’m
6–8 I am something of a pessimist. I expect the also fine when I am alone.
worst in almost any situation, so that I’ll never 13–15 I enjoy social situations and the good
risk being disappointed. conversation they provide.
9–12 Life is what it is. Anyone can be calm and 16–17 I am outgoing and friendly, and I enjoy having
collected, or nervous to the point of fearful. It fun with others whenever I can.
all depends on your situation. 18 I am loud and boisterous in the company of
13–15 I strive to be a positive, upbeat person. I look others. I love being the center of attention.
for the good in all things and hope for the best

16–17
of outcomes.
I am calm, serene, and easygoing. Little Religious Beliefs
bothers me. A great many gods and powers have followers in
18 Give me enough time, and I can figure out the borderlands and some of the major religions
anything. No task is so difficult, so complicated, trace their origins back to the time of the Old
or so dangerous that I’m not at least willing to
Country and even to the Devastation. Few people
try it.
today discount the existence of the gods, but the
extent to which any person fears and honors them
Receptiveness is an individual decision. The following table
Your receptiveness describes your willingness to
describes your degree of piety in regard to the
try new things and your ability to adapt to
religion to which you subscribe, if you happen to
changing circumstances.
do so.
RECEPTIVENESS PIETY
3d6 Receptiveness
3d6 Piety
3 I’m not at all interested in breaking my routine.
3 I either don’t believe the gods exist or think
I need order in my life.
they have no influence over me or the world.
4–5 If it’s not broken, why fix it? Be practical.
4–5 I have strong doubts about religion and
worship no gods.

32
6–8 I suspect the gods do exist, but I am not a Harold, Harven, Haven, Hayden, Heather, Henley,
religious person. Henry, Hubert
9–12 I believe in the gods and I might follow a
particular religion. Imogen, Isabell, Isen, Isolde, Isyck, Iva, Ivy, Iris
13–15 I am follower of a particular religion. James, Jay, Jeffrey, Jenna, Jennifer, Jenson, Jewel,
16–17 I am a devout follower of my religion and my
Johnston, Joline, John, Jon, Jordan, Josephine
religious views affect my outlook and behavior.
18 I am a fanatical follower of my religion. My Kaiden, Kaisley, Kaizer, Kara, Kavi, Keaton, Kim, Kip,
faith dominates my life and I have few interests Knox, Koraline, Kristin, Kristoff, Ky, Kyler
outside my faith.
Lake, Lakelyn, Landon, Lariella, Lauriann, Leeah,
RELIGIONS Leo, Leslie, Liam, Lori
3d6 Religion
3 Small cult, likely strange, possibly sinister Maddox, Mahala, Marc, Marcus, Margaux, Marina,
4–5 Minor, regional deity Marla, Massimo, Max, Meadow, Meldon, Melvin,
6–8 One of the Old Gods Merry, Michael, Millicent, Milly, Milo, Mindy, Monte
9–12 The Old Gods
Nadine, Nala, Nali, Nathaniel, Neville, Nan, Nicole
13–15 The Church of the High One
16–17 Belief in all gods, but follow none. Oakley, Odessa, Olaf, Olivia, Olga
18 No religion at all
Paisley, Palmer, Pamela, Paula, Petal, Prentiss

Name Your Quinn, Qon, Queren

Ragnar, Reed, Remington, River, Robert, Rodney,
Character Rosemary, Rowan, Rufus, Ruprecht, Ryker
You can give your character any name you choose. Sailor, Samyra, Sander, Shadow, Shaina, Shanna,
It might be a name drawn from the real world, one Skylar, Slator, Sloane, Stacee, Stanton, Stephen,
of your own invention, or a nickname that reflects Storm, Sydney, Sylvester
an aspect of your character’s identity.
Tara, Taren, Tatum, Tawney, Tayden, Taylor, Tegan,
Thor, Titus, Thomas, Trenton, Troy
Common Borderlands Names Umber, Urf, Ulysses
A great many people now living in the Borderlands
come from the Great Kingdom of the Old Country Vera, Vex, Victor, Vivianna
and have names common to that land. The
Wayne, Willam, Willow, Winifred, Winston
following list of names reflect ones had by peoples
living here and work well for humans, dhampir, X, Xander, Xil, Xyllan
cambions, and other folks.
Yolanda, Yael, Yasmeen, Yuri, Yvette

Abigail, Adym, Adilene, Aiden, Alexander, Amelia, Zaina, Zala, Zamora, Zeke, Zoella Zypher
Ami, Angelica, Angelo, Annora, Archibald, Arthur,
Asher, Ashlyn, Athena, Autumn, Axton
Baine, Bartholomew, Baylor, Bernard, Bethany, Bill,
Play the Game
Binx, Blake, Blair, Bonnie, Bradford, Braxton, By now, you should have a finished character and
Bronson, Bruce you’re now ready to play the game. You and your
friends go on quests in which you explore this new
Cannon, Carl, Camilla, Carina, Chandler, Charles, and strange continent, unearth fabulous treasures,
Christopher, Cleo, Cole, Colt, Corrine and fight terrible monsters, all to secure a place
Daisy, Dani, Danita, Daphney, Daria, Darryn, Derrie, for civilization to flourish once more. Each time
Devan, Devin, Dexter, Dorris, Dory you complete a quest, you character grows a bit
more powerful, which results from gaining levels.
Easton, Edgar, Edna, Eleanor, Elisabetta, Elliot,
Emerson, Ensley, Eugene, Evelyn, Evie
Fallon, Finley, Fiona, Florence, Franklin
Gemma, Gianetta, Geoffrey, Gracelyn, Gregory,
Guinevere

33