Setting Details
Player Races[edit]
Dragonborn (PHB) Dragonborn are traditionally tribal, but for several centuries have provided the muscle behind Tiefling control of humankind. Dragonborn live 300-500 years.
- Start at L1 with 2 hit dice and double max starting hit points
- +2 HP racial bonus to hit points every level after L1
Dwarf (PHB) Dwarves are the builders of cities and their society is structured around the five high houses, each representing a major faction of Dwarven enterprise. House d'Amasku controls ironworks, d'Vey controls fine metalsmithing, d'Veng controls Gemcraft, d'Barak controls Stonecraft, and d'Lensk controls mining. Dwarves live about 350 years. Half Dwarves 250.
- Hill or Mountain (PHB)
- Tough Hide - Base AC 13
- Half Dwarf (use Half Orc stats PHB)
- Dwarven Resilience (PHB)
Elf (PHB) The longest lived of the races, some subspecies live to be nearly 1000 years old, Elves are also the least inclined to rule, but they wield power in every land. Half elves generally live less than 300 years, but tend to be more versatile than true elves.
- High Elf (PHB)
- Detect Magic as a bonus action, no spell slot expenditure. Racial Attribute
- Wood Elf (PHB)
- Misty Step (as Eladrin DMG)
- Dark Elf (PHB)
- Treat magical Darkness as natural Darkness
- Half Elf (PHB)
- Esoteric Tongue - Choose one secret language: Druidic, Thieve's Cant, Speak with Animals, or Speak with Elemental
Human (PHB) Though prolific, the shorter lifespan of humans puts them at a disadvantage among the longer lived races.
- Variant rules allowed
- Gain 1 Feat and Ability Score Improvement at L4, L8, L12, L16, L19 as described under class features.
Tiefling (PHB) Tieflings are allied with the Dragonborn and act as the ruling body of human kind. The Tiefling Parliament has a presence in every human city and is responsible for managing the human slave trade, human indenture, and human freemen. Tieflings typically live to be 250 years old.
- You get Draconic as a bonus language
- Hell's Hand - Once per long rest as an action, you can inflict 3d10 fire damage with your touch. Requires attack roll.
Wildling (Halfling/Gnome PHB) Wildlings are small childlike creatures with long quills instead of hair and taloned fingers and toes. Use the base stats for either Halflings (PHB) or Gnomes (PHB) and attach one of the following subraces to your base race (you may crossover - halfling prime with gnome subrace or gnome prime with halfling subrace - if you wish. Wildlings live to be about 150 years of age.
- Lightfoot (PHB)
- Climbing speed = to Walking speed
- Stout (PHB)
- Burrowing speed = to Walking speed
- Forest (PHB)
- Climbing speed = to Walking speed
- Rock(PHB)
- Burrowing Speed = to Walking Speed
- Claw Attack (all wildlings) 1d4/1d4 slashing as an action
- Quill Strike (all wildlings) Ranged Attack, 20' - 4d4 piercing as a bonus action (cannot use again until after a long rest)
Dybbuks, Golems, Simulacrum[edit]
Dybbuk - Dybbuk are possessing ancestral spirits, that are most often carried by an heir to a house in a gem and summoned forth as needed. Dybbuk can possess any ancestor with enough permission and grant the person considerable power at the price of their health (various abilities can be used but only at the cost of HP expenditure). Alternately, a begemmed Dybbuk can power a golem, a magical construct of clay or stone or iron. Flesh golems exist but are rare treated as higher level undead creatures.
Golem' Magical constructs of clay, stone, or iron, Golems are carved about with glyphs and sigils that allow anyone who knows and speaks the golem's name to control it. If the dybbuk that powers a golem learns its golem's name and can carve it on it's own gem it can control the golem like a living creature's mind controls its body.
Simulacrum Simulacrum are lesser golems powered by raw magic with a limited span of existence (see spell PHB)
Region[edit]
The Hartshorn region is analogous to eastern Europe. To the north (real world Finland, Denmark, Sweeden, and Norway) is Elven territory. To the south and west of that (real world Germany, Hungary, and Romania) lies the bulk of the Dwarven Empire. To the east (real world Russia) roam the nomadic tribes of the Dragonborn. In the wilds of every corner of the map the wildlings dwell, organizing in small family tribes. Humans live everywhere, but are subservient to the more powerful, longer lived races.
Dotted throughout the Dwarven empire are trade cities, each with a Dwarven Quarter, an Elven Quarter, and a Dragonborn quarter. Humans have their own quarter, but they are not named as such. The Human quarter in dwarven cities are usually just called the Labyrinth. There are not shops or stores or places of business beyond the occasional tavern or sprawling bazaar. Every inch is given over to a maze of squalid living quarters. The Tiefling rule the human population of these cities and live in palatial splendor in the Dragonborn district. The Dragonborn walk the walls and the streets, their presence a constant vigil and reminder.
The Elven quarter is the smallest in any Dwarven city and primarily act as ambassadorial property to keep up relations with the other races and to provide themselves with simple freeholds to facilitate travel throughout the land.
The Dwarven quarter is inevitably the largest most fortified quarter in any dwarven city and the dwoarven presence dwarfs the Tiefling, Dragonborn, and Elven presence combined. Dragonborn keep the peace, but Dwarves make and enforce the laws.
Like humans, wildlings have no quarter, but can almost always be found among the docks or among the elves, though a certain few prefer dwarven company.
