Fantasy Species

In some fantasy games, one might encounter elves, orcs, and similar species. Maybe a player character could even be a member of such a species. The GM may decide to handle them with narrative description (and maybe advice on how to adapt the type and focus you already have) rather than introduce additional mechanics. For example, if you're a dwarf, that might not change your stats or skills—though it may have interesting roleplaying challenges and benefits.

However, the GM might decide to offer species choices that do grant mechanical benefits. In this case, choosing Dwarf as your species would change your stats.

If the GM decides that species with mechanical benefits are appropriate for their game, they may give you the choice to gain one described in this chapter and/or a species they've created to suit their setting.

Species offer a one-time package of characteristics for your character, much like a descriptor.

[!quote] If the GM uses species, they become the fourth element in the sentence "I am an adjective species noun who verbs." For instance, your sentence might be "I am a Jovial Dwarf Barbarian who Never Says Die" or "I am a Charming Human Cleric who Blazes With Fire."

Fantasy Species

• Dragonfolk
• Dwarf
• Elf
• Gnome
• Halfling
• Hellborn
• Human
• Orc

Dragonfolk

Scaled and descended from dragons, you share a kinship with some of the mightiest creatures that ever winged their way across the world. You might have been born of dragonfolk parents, willingly transformed in a magical ceremony, or chosen by a dragon to be their agent or champion—or you might have no idea why you are the way you are. Some claim you have a great destiny, but whether you believe that is up to you.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You don’t get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1 on a block task.
• You are trained in intimidation (except against other dragonfolk and dragons).
• Choose an energy (acid, cold, fire, and so on); you inflict +1 damage when you attack with this energy.

[!example]

Seeing in the Dark

Generally speaking, player characters—regardless of their species—can’t see in complete darkness. The GM will let you know if they’re handling things differently for their game.

Dwarf

You're a stocky, broad-shouldered, bearded native of the mountains and hills. You're also as stubborn as the stone in which the dwarves carve their homes under the mountains. Tradition, honor, pride in smithcraft and warcraft, and a keen appreciation of the wealth buried under the roots of the world are all part of your heritage. Those who wish you ill should be wary of your temper. When dwarves are wronged, they never forget.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You add +1 on recoveries.
• You are trained in navigation (if underground or in mountainous areas).
• You inflict +1 damage with axes.

Elf

You haunt the woodlands and deep, natural realms, as your people have for millennia. You are the arrow in the night, the shadow in the glade, and the laughter on the wind. As an elf, you are slender, quick, graceful, and long lived. You manage the sorrows of living much longer than most others with song, wine, and an appreciation for the deep beauties of growing things, especially trees, which can live even longer than you do.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1 on an Intellect defense roll.
• You are trained in stealth (if in forested areas).
• You inflict +1 damage with bows.

Gnome

You are curious and love discovering ways to turn found things into art, tools, or weapons. You might be a sculptor, smith, artist, chef, storyteller, or inventor. Alchemy, magic, and engineering fascinate you. Other beings may see you as a strange mix of a nature-loving elf and a craft-obsessed dwarf, but you and your kind are unique people with a passion for life, exploration, and creation.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You don’t get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1 on a dodge roll.
• You are trained in crafting.
• You inflict +1 damage with light melee weapons.

Halfling

Three feet (1 m) tall and proud of every inch, you are fond of the comforts of home but itching for a little adventure now and then. Small and quick, you have a way of getting along with everyone. You might have been raised in a halfling village, a mixed community where humans and the small folk work and eat side by side as friends, or a less welcoming environment where your people get things done using deception and criminal activity. You and humans have a lot in common—you're just more compact and efficient about it.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1 on a stealth task.
• You are trained in escaping.
• You inflict +1 damage with light thrown weapons.

Hellborn

Part human and part something from another dimension, you might be the orphan of a supernatural dalliance, the result of a magical ritual gone wrong, a scion of a long-established bloodline, or just someone who spiritually "ingested" the demon that tried to possess you. Some of your kind have horns, tails, and pointed teeth. Others are more subtle or more obvious in their differences—a shadow of a knife edge in their face and a touch that withers normal plants, a little too much fire in their eyes and a scent of ash in the air, a forked tongue, goatlike legs, or the inability to cast a shadow. Work with the GM on your particular hellborn appearance.

You gain the following characteristics:

• Reduce the severity of wounds you receive from fire and heat by one step.
• You are trained in magic lore.
• You inflict +1 damage with unarmed attacks.

Human

Humans are among the youngest species, and perhaps that's why—when considered as a whole—they're more given to explore, conquer, and expand their communities, even if that means taking from other species or other humans. Individually, Humans couldn't be more diverse. Which means you could be under 5 feet (150 cm) tall and barely 100 pounds (45 kg), or well over 6 feet (180 cm) tall and weigh in at 250 pounds (113 kg); have blue eyes or brown, black, green, or some other variation; have no hair, flowing golden locks, amazing dreads, a mohawk, or some other rakish cut; be all about your faith, exploring ancient places, keeping evil at bay, enriching yourself, or some other disposition; and so on. What's definitely true is that you are not afraid to strive for what you want and believe in.

You gain the following characteristics:

• Choose a second descriptor and add its benefits to your regular descriptor.

Orc

Other species are sometimes prejudiced against orcs, viewing them as misbegotten creatures destined to serve as fodder for more powerful evil overlords. Perhaps that's true of some; however, you know orcs are a proud (if aggressive) people with a sense of honor. Though they can be deadly enemies, especially to humans and elves, they have been known to ally with others against a larger threat. Whatever your particular upbringing, you've ventured out into the wider world looking for new opportunities. How much your heritage affects your outlook is up to you—it might color everything, or it might only come up when someone flinches from your visage.

You gain the following characteristics:

• You can take one more minor wound than normal.
• You are trained in intimidation (except against other orcs).
• You inflict +1 damage with heavy melee weapons.