open/close all folders
Races
Downcast
- Angelic Beauty: Physically, the downcast still possess the beauty of their angelic forms, although they no longer shine as brightly as before.
- Fallen Angel: The downcast are lesser angels who found themselves wholly bereft of their powers, cast down to Etharis to live out their now-mortal lives amidst the lesser races.
- Mage Species: Small shreds of divine power still lie sleeping within the downcast's blood. That power still remembers the downcast's former purpose and can be harnessed in times of great need to bolster divine magic.
Dreamer
- Amnesiac Hero: A variation; it's not that they don't remember their past as much as it is that they spent so long dreaming, they no longer remember what was real and what was a dream. For instance, when one Dreamer
was initially freed by the dwarves, he leaped into the air and tried to fly, because that's what he was dreaming about when they woke him up. Consequently, they have no concrete, discernible memories about their race, culture, history, or even their own individual lives, and only really remember the basics: they went into hibernation to escape something.We know we existed. We shared a dream about empire that spanned every land and rose before the other great peoples ever clawed their way out of the dirt. But a dream is not real, and we shared many others. We have no history. When I awoke, I had to form my name for the first time. I dreamt that I had many names. I dreamt that I had many shapes. So when I woke into this one, I had to recall the name it had been given. Yet that still doesn’t feel right when I hear it spoken. - Fling a Light into the Future: What they were trying to do when they went into stasis; unfortunately, they flung it a bit too far, from their point of view, and woke to find the world seemingly ending all over again, with no method of escape this time.
- Human Popsicle: A group of dreamers foresaw the calamity that would wipe out their civilisation and came up with a plan to survive. Suspended between reality and dreams, sealed deep underground, they could live in a state of perpetual slumber for as long as necessary before the Stehlenwald dwarves found their stasis chamber.
- Precursors: Dreamers originated from an ancient empire, before the time of elves and dwarves, that surpassed any that have come since. At one point, a horrible calamity befell the land, wiping clean any trace of this ancient empire except a few survivors.
Laneshi
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The laneshi warrior caste is structured as a meritocracy, with great deeds leading to greater status.
- One Twin Must Die: When laneshi give birth to twins, the second-born twin is sacrificed through necromantic rites and becomes a spirit-guide to the first-born.
- Two Siblings In One: When laneshi twins are born, the second twin is sacrificed and its soul bound within the body of the first. Each member of the mystic caste is therefore possessed of two souls: one living and one dead.
Ogresh
- Big Eater: Due to their appetite, more than a single adult ogresh could easily deplete the surplus of a small village.
- Big Fun: Ogresh are a massively built race, averaging between 200 and 300 pounds in their nomadic youth and between 700 and 800 pounds in their adult sedentary stage. However, they are also incredibly charismatic and naturally adept in the social arena.
Wechselkind
- The Ageless: While their mind develops normally, a wechselkind is forever bound in the unchanging form of a childlike doll.
- Artificial Human: A wechselkind is a construct crafted of wood, clay and ceramic in the form of a small child, animated by faerie magic and concealed in a glamour that makes it appear identical to a stolen mortal babe. They suffer double angst by being both a self-aware construct and permanently trapped in a physically child-like body. They have managed to start making a niche for themselves as nurses and doctor's assistants since the outbreak of the Weeping Pox, due to their inherent immunity to disease, but are (justifiably) skeptical of humanity remaining grateful afterwards.
- Changeling Tale: Wechselkind are left behind in the place of a child stolen by the faerie. Once the glamour fades and the lie is revealed, the wechselkind is often cast out by its foster family, if not destroyed, though occasionally a family takes pity on the poor creature and attempts to raise it as they would a child.
- Human Disguise: The residual magic of its faerie glamour allows a wechselkind to conceal itself in the guise of a human child.
- The Immune: Wechselkind are immune to disease, and some have offered their services as nurses and doctor's assistants in regions stricken by the Weeping Pox.
- Not Growing Up Sucks: Wechselkinder age at the same rate as humans mentally, but their physical bodies never age. As a result, even the few who aren't immediately cast out or killed by the parents of the child they replaced are still forced to contend with the awkwardness of being a perpetual child.
Pantheons
With the deaths/disappearances of Etharis' actual pantheon of gods, a number of beings of near-divine power have stepped up to fill the gaps left behind, some genuinely trying to protect the world and its mortals from harm, others just looking to take advantage of the power vacuum for their own benefit.Seraphs
The most powerful of the gods' angelic servants, to the point of being themselves lesser divinities. This make-shift pantheon all share the desire to shepherd and protect their mortal flock, but disagree often on how to do it, and all lack the power of their creators. With the deaths of their gods, the Seraphs are now the default source of divine magic in Etharis.- God's Hands Are Tied: None of them are as powerful as the gods who created them; their just the most powerful divine beings left, and even then they presumably lost a lot of their power when the gods died, while still having enough left to not become Downcast. As such, their ability to influence the world and empower followers is severely limited.
Miklas, Arch Seraph of Mercy
Once a servant of Aurelia, the Goddess of Protection and defender of mortals, Miklas lacks the power her creator held. As a divinity of mercy, she offers relief from suffering and comfort to the afflicted, but is virtually powerless to actually stop disasters before they happened, and can only offer balm to the survivors after the fact.
- Arch-Enemy: Tormach, the Arch Daemon of War.
- Hope Springs Eternal: She embodies the idea that no matter how bad things get, there's always hope for tomorrow, as demonstrated by the fact that, despite her lack of power, she routinely beats Tormach, the Lord of War.
Aphaelon, Arch Seraph of Temperance
Myria was the name of the Goddess of Joy, but her servant and successor Aphaelon has found that Etharis is a place of very little joy. Instead, he offers peace and resilience through giving up worldly desires, enduring the many hardships of this new dark age. He is favoured by those seeking freedom from addictions and uncontrolled desires.
- Arch-Enemy: Sitri, Arch Daemon of Hedonism, who delights in tempting repentant sinners back into their old ways.
- Recovered Addict: Many of his followers. Sitri loves to cause them to relapse, though.
- The Stoic: His doctrine; when one finds peace and enlightenment by giving up their desires, the worst torments of the world can't even phase them, or so Aphaelon believes.
Empyreus, Arch Seraph of Valor
Former servant of Maligant, the old God of War, Empyreus is the patron of holy warriors and paladins, and as such is the favored deity of the Castinellan Theocracy and its Arcanist Inquisition. Unfortunately, Empyreus' unbending nature too often inspires zealotry and dogmatism in his followers.
- Arch-Enemy: Beleth, the Arch Daemon of Fear. However, as many of Empyreus' followers begin using fear to enforce their zealous beliefs, Beleth seems to have gained the upper hand.
- Knight Templar: Unlike Maligant before him, Empyreus believes that true warriors are righteously committed to purging the impure... whatever their personal definition of "impure" is, resulting in this trope.
Morael, Arch Seraph of Sacrifice
Morael represents an aspect of the deceased Goddess of Love, Vetara, Morael represents compassion and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for others. He is the patron of heroes, martyrs, and the humble.
- Arch-Enemy: Valikir, the Arch Daemon of Pride, whose vanity and self-obsession would never allow her to consider self-sacrifice.
- Humble Hero: He represents those who selflessly put others before themselves, wether that be small acts of self-sacrifice or grand last stands against evil
Solyma, Arch Seraph of Justice
Silent and seething, Solyma brings brutal and vengeful justice on the wicked and those who abuse the weak. Lady Solyma has remained steadfastly faithful to the tenets of her dead lord, the god of supreme justice, and still seeks to slay the aether kindred responsible for his demise. She is favored by vigilantes and justice seekers, those who seek to punish tyrants and the cruel.
- Arch-Enemy: Gorodryn, the Arch Daemon of Avarice, whose greedy followers oppress the poor and escape justice through their great wealth.
- The Voiceless: Solyma has made a vow of silence, never to speak until the Aether Kindred responsible for her lord's death is brought to justice. Unfortunately, this means that mortals can twist her lord's teachings, and she refuses to speak out and correct the, resulting in a rise of brutal vigilantes acting in her name, and her god's name being forgotten.
Zabriel, Arch Seraph of Truth
Zabriel was the archivist of the former God of Knowledge, but has abandoned her master's way for her own path. Where her predecessor was strictly neutral in the pursuit of knowledge, Zabriel arms those who seek to bring dark secrets to light, topple conspiracies and oppressive regimes, and stand for truth.
- Arch-Enemy: Venin, Arch Daemon of Lies.
- The Seeker: Her favoured champions are those who seek knowledge, not merely for its own sake, but for good.
Arch Daemons
Servants of the fallen pantheon who now seek only to exploit their newfound freedom, sowing suffering and evil among mortal kind purely for their own pleasure, glory, or power.- Ambiguous Situation: There's a few lines that indicate they might be Fallen Angels, beings that were formerly the same order of being as the Arch Seraph. It's not really clear, however, if they were created by the gods or not. At least some of the gods were explicitly stated to be evil, so maybe they were created by them?
- For the Evulz: None of them really have any particular reason for why they torment humanity (including their own worshippers). They just seem to enjoy watching mortals suffer.
Tormach, Arch Daemon of War
The Lord of War, Tormach delights in bloodshed and massacre, and his servants are murderers and butchers. Victory matters not to Tormach, only the blood spilled.
- Arch-Enemy: Miklas, the Arch Seraph of Mercy. He has never defeated her, and that fact fills him with rage.
- General Failure: Rejects things like strategy or planning in favor of bloody massacres; he doesn't care about victory, just causing as much death and suffering as possible.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Even the other Arch Daemons consider him the weakest of their number.
Sitri, Arch Daemon of Hedonism
Lord of debauchery and sin, Sitri tempts mortals to give into their basest, darkest desires, and to live lives of pleasure and joy no matter the cost. It is said Sitri has never forced anyone to do evil, but few are the wills strong enough to refuse what he offers.
- Arch-Enemy: Aphaelon, Arch Seraph of Temperance; the souls of Aphaelon's followers are Sitri's most prized possessions, and he loves tempting those who've escaped their vices to backslide.
- Descent into Addiction: What he loves to cause in mortals; the more upright and pure, the more fun it is to watch them become hopelessly addicted to pleasure and vice.
Beleth, Arch Daemon of Fear
Most mortals fear Arch Daemons, but, conversely, Beleth finds mortals atrociously funny, and loves to torment them with their worst fears. His followers are all those who use fear to control others, be they tyrants or hellfire-and-brimstone preachers.
- Arch-Enemy: Empyreus, Arch Seraph of Valor; not only does Beleth feel no fear towards his nemesis, but any mention of him causes the Daemon to laugh at his own private joke: as more and more of Empyreus' followers resort to using fear as a weapon, the more the Arch Seraph is unknowingly feeding his enemy's power.
Malakir, Arch Daemon of Pride
The most powerful of the Arch Daemons, the Velvet Queen is the patron of tyrants, corrupt officials, and all those who seek to abuse their power over those weaker than them.
- Answers to the Name of God: As the most powerful Arch Daemon, and with the actual pantheon out of the picture, she sees herself as the only being left worth of the title of "God."
- Arch-Enemy: Morael, the Arch Seraph of Sacrifice. As he is the ultimate Humble Hero, she dismisses him as a weakling not worth mentioning.
- Fallen Hero: Not Malakir herself, but she does delight in making them, tempting noble heroes to believe their own legend, falling to vanity and narcissism.
Gorodryn, Arch Daemon of Avarice
Gorodryn has claimed the sphere of Jezra, the former God of Commerce. Under Gorodryn's teachings, mortals believe that greed is a virtue, and that to live in wealth while others go without is the greatest happiness one can achieve. In his boundless treasury, he counts the souls of those who have given themselves to hoarding wealth by whatever means necessary, leaving hunger and poverty for the rest of the world.
- Arch-Enemy: Solyma, Arch Seraph of Justice; Gorodryn fears her as he owns so much there is very little he can do to defend it all. He has taken to bribing mortals and other beings to fight her in his stead.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: His favorite followers.
- Fat Bastard: Gorodryn is said to resemble a horrifically obese man, covered in jewelry and gaping mouths.
Venin, Arch Daemon of Deceit
Venin delights in trapping mortals in false ideologies and illusory goals, and the lies people tell themselves to justify their cruelty.
- Arch-Enemy: Zabriel, Arch Seraph of Truth; the Arch Seraph's modus operandi is uncovering the lies Venin weaves, and thus Venin hates her with a passion. She even rewards those who assassinate Zabriel's followers specifically.
Primordials
Among the most ancient of the dead gods' creations, the primordials represent the fundamental elements that make up Etharis. Gormadraug was the first of them, and he hated his creators for abandoning him in favor of their mortal creations. To aid him in his vengeance, he created his four children, one for each of the four cardinal elements. These primordials betrayed their father, however, and aided mortals in imprisoning him.With the absence of the gods, these four have stepped up to become the undisputed masters of the natural world, and the de facto source of Nature Magic in Etharis.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Unlike the Seraphs and Daemons, who are very definably good and evil (even if the Seraphs tend towards Knight Templar) the Primordials operate on a whole different axiom. It's noted that they're mostly focused on maintaining their power, and will attack anyone or anything they perceive as a threat to that power. Luckily for mortals, that includes a lot of the big threats to them too, such as Gormadraug, the Great Beast, and the Dark Mist, and they'll empower their followers to fight these things.
Lady Morakesh
The Primordial of fire, mistress of the dimension of Flamebourne.
- Hot-Blooded: Passionate, fickel, and tempermental, one wrong word and she'll go from showering you with blessings to burning you to ashes.
- Human Sacrifice: The ritual to summon her involves burning a sentient being alive.
- Wild Card: She swings between helping and hindering her siblings on a whim, with no one really being able to predict her moods.
Alondo
Primordial of water, rule of the deep and the Endless Sea.
-
True Neutral: He doesn't care for mortals one way or the other (with the except of Kentigern, the hero who slew Gormadraug). Really, he just wants to be left alone.
Citrolach
Primordial of Earth, patron of Deep Dwarves and Gnomes, the Living Mountain is king of the underground realm of Stonereach.
- Determinator: In the sense of being unyieldingly stubborn. Citrolach will hold to a view for centuries, with it being near impossible to change his mind.
- Green Thumb: It's noted that his power extends to plants and forests.
Ilhara
Primordial of air.
- The Spymaster: Ilhara has a network of spies, mortal and elemental, spread throughout Etharis. Even the ritual to summon her requires one to whisper a dark secret into the air. Her goal for this to gather enough knowledge and power to take control of all Etharis.
Creatures
Aberrations
Aberrant Horror
Challenge Rating: 4 (whipskein horror), 5 (amorphous horror), 9 (shifting hulk)
- Mutants: Those who survive the uncontrolled transformation into aberrant horrors become living weapons. Some theories say the body sees the transmuting force as a threat and evolves defences against it. Others believe that the accident triggers dormant bestial adaptations from the distant past.
- Was Once a Man: Without proper precautions, experimenters or their subjects might become twisted into something abominable known as an aberrant horror.
Anguisher
Challenge Rating: 4
- Invisible Monsters: The anguisher uses invisibility and stealth to lurk around potential victims, slowly draining them of life by recalling their suffering.
Blood Brood
Challenge Rating: 1/4 (bulb), 4 (brooder)
- Blob Monster: The blood brood is an ooze-like aberration made of blood and viscera.
- Empathic Healing: The blood brood can exchange blood when close, losing health to ensure the survival of others.
Bog Crawler
Challenge Rating: 15
- Combat Tentacles: Six large tentacles jut from the mass of the bog crawler's body, three on each flank, and are long and strong enough to attack nearby creatures and structures.
- Hungry Menace: Bog crawlers' primary motivation is hunger. They eat any flesh, starting with wildlife, moving on to livestock, and then feasting on any community they encounter, destroying everything in their path in search of food.
Cauchemange
Challenge Rating: 1/4 (larva), 2 (corporeal), 5 (incorporeal)
- Bioweapon Beast: The cauchemange is a result of a failed experiment by a long-dead Ostoyan wizard. Her intent was to create a creature that allows command over armies of mind-controlled servants. Instead, the experiment created a creature that feeds on and manipulates people's nightmares.
- Chest Burster: Once a cauchemange larva matures, it bursts out of the host's body.
- Emotion Eater: The cauchemange induces nightmares, hallucinations and terrifying thoughts, which it feeds upon to mature.
- Living Dream: A nightmare made flesh, the corporeal cauchemange takes the form of the host's worst nightmare, depending on the host's fears or lusts.
Coral Grazer
Challenge Rating: 3 (larva), 11 (adult)
- Big Eater: Coral grazer larvae eat tremendous amounts to fuel their growth, and can be as much of a threat as adults.
- Combat Tentacles: A coral grazer's tentacles end in beaks, with which it uses to tear apart and consume coral.
- Eat Dirt, Cheap: The coral grazer eats anything made of a similar substance to coral, from shells to some stone.
- Flying Seafood Special: Some coral grazers have been gifted with the power of magical flight, making them extremely effective and dangerous hunters, even out of water.
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: An adult coral grazer's unnatural presence can cause fear.
Grotesquerie
Challenge Rating: 1/2 (minion swarm), 16 (grotesquerie)
- Devour the Dragon: A grotesquerie can order one swarm of its minions into its maw to heal itself.
- Extreme Omnivore: A grotesquerie can slowly digest any kind of material. Given time, the stones in its gizzard pulverise flesh, bone and metal.
- Monster Lord: A grotesquerie suborns the will of weak-minded woodland creatures, which hunt for food.
- That's No Moon: While the grotesquerie remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a rotting tree stump.
Horror Flit
Challenge Rating: 2 (hunter), 3 (swarm), 6 (breeder)
- Chest Burster: Horror flits reproduce by killing other creatures. When a horror flit hunter chomps down on its prey and starts feeding from the inside out, it discharges reproductive secretions.
- Truly Single Parent: A horror flit breeder has devoured so much that it can spontaneously reproduce, spewing swarms from its mouth.
Kokela
Challenge Rating: 22
- Brown Note: Living creatures in the vicinity of the slumbering kokela are constantly agitated, as the hum of its song slowly eats away at their psyches. Characters may find creatures in this area more hostile than normal.
- Nightmare Weaver: The kokela slumbers, but it affects the world around it with its dreams, creating a nightmare landscape.
Leeching Willow
Challenge Rating: 12
- Achilles' Heel: The ring of a large bell instantly disrupts all connections from the infected who can hear the ringing, destroying all spores within the same radius. For this reason the leeching willow subconsciously imparts memories onto the infested of strong hatred toward anything that can ring or vibrate in such a manner. All bells are gathered up and hidden far away where they cannot be heard.
- Fake Memories: The leeching willow can manipulate the memories of the infected, turning them into unwitting prey. After walking into a settlement and planting itself in the middle of the night, it uses its memory-altering spores to trick people into thinking it's always been there.
- The Symbiote: The leeching willow feeds using psychic spores, which are breathed in by sentient creatures and move into the brain. From there the leeching willow feeds on the electrical energies of the brain. The feeding process is slow and requires the infection of multiple sentient creatures, whose vigour is sapped and mental energies drained.
