The people of Ardenfell
Five peoples, one road
Three hundred years ago the heartland emptied overnight. These are the peoples of the free lands: the ones left outside that night, their grandchildren and theirs, and a few who came later.
Aedri, Valdren, Karrog, Nym and Rasha all live in the three free cities now, and all of them can start in any of the three. Each people leans a little: a tenth more strength here, a deeper pool of magic there. None of it shuts a door.
“My grandmother walked up to the border wall once and knocked. Nobody answered. She said it was the rudest thing that ever happened to her, and she raised six of us.”
Race I of V · The ones who were outside
Aedri
Humankind. Balanced in all things, fearless in exactly the wrong ways.
Garrison children, farm children, the children of whoever happened to be standing on the wrong side of the border that night. Three centuries of frontier stock have run together into one people, and they are everywhere: on the Caerdun wall, in the Heartwood orchards, behind the counters of Moonmere.
They have no gift in particular, which is its own kind of gift. An Aedri is as good at a greatsword as at a prayer book, and twice as likely to walk through an open gate just to see what is there.
At creation
- Body
- Male or female
- Hair
- Waves (male)Braid (female)Bald, either body
- Marks
- Human height and buildEvery stat at exactly 1.00
Gender and hair change nothing but looks.
Stat modifiers
- Strength: no change (×1.00)
- Vitality: no change (×1.00)
- Agility: no change (×1.00)
- Intelligence: no change (×1.00)
- Mind: no change (×1.00)
- Hit points: no change (×1.00)
- Magic points: no change (×1.00)
Leans toward nothing: every job fits evenly.
“We do live a long time. Mostly it means we remember exactly who owes us, and how much, and since when.”
Race II of V · The tall folk of Heartwood
Valdren
The tall folk of Heartwood. Silver-eyed, long-lived, keen of mind.
They stand near two metres tall, silver-eyed and unhurried, and they live long enough to remember the groves the empire took from them. Heartwood’s grievance is old, and a good deal of it is written in Valdren hands.
Long lives make careful minds. Valdren take to spellwork and prayer more easily than to taking a blow, and they carry more magic than most.
At creation
- Body
- Male or female, about 1.90 m
- Hair
- Blonde half-up cascade (male)Silver braid (female)Bald, either body
- Marks
- Silver eyesLong-lived
Gender and hair change nothing but looks.
Stat modifiers
- Strength: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Vitality: 8% below the 1.00 line (×0.92)
- Agility: 5% above the 1.00 line (×1.05)
- Intelligence: 8% above the 1.00 line (×1.08)
- Mind: 8% above the 1.00 line (×1.08)
- Hit points: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Magic points: 10% above the 1.00 line (×1.10)
Leans toward Black MageWhite Mage
“The sentinel asked if I had an appointment. I said I was the appointment. It wrote that down.”
Race III of V · The stone-patient
Karrog
The stone-patient. Strong, hard to move, and slow to hurry.
The biggest people in Ardenfell, and the slowest to be moved by anything: a threat, a rumour, an argument in a tavern, a sentinel asking for their papers.
They are built to stand in front of things. More strength, more vitality, more hit points than anyone, and the least patience for spellbooks.
At creation
- Body
- Male, about 2.20 m
- Hair
- Braided warrior coif, or baldBeard and moustache, or clean-shaven
- Marks
- Four combinations of coif and beardThe largest of the five
Gender and hair change nothing but looks.
Stat modifiers
- Strength: 10% above the 1.00 line (×1.10)
- Vitality: 12% above the 1.00 line (×1.12)
- Agility: 12% below the 1.00 line (×0.88)
- Intelligence: 10% below the 1.00 line (×0.90)
- Mind: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Hit points: 12% above the 1.00 line (×1.12)
- Magic points: 15% below the 1.00 line (×0.85)
“The antlers are not for fighting. Please stop asking whether the antlers are for fighting.”
Race IV of V · The small deerfolk
Nym
Small deerfolk with delicate antlers and broad, rounded ears.
Small and quick, with large heads, broad rounded ears, delicate antlers and short brown-and-white deer tails. People who meet a Nym for the first time tend to look down, then keep looking.
Nym carry more magic than any other people, by a wide margin, and less muscle. A Nym Black Mage is a terrible thing to stand in front of. A Nym Paladin is a long, committed argument with the odds, and some of them win it.
At creation
- Body
- Male or female, smallfolk
- Hair
- Chestnut tousled layersTopknotBald, either body
- Marks
- Delicate antlersBrown-and-white deer tails
Gender and hair change nothing but looks.
Stat modifiers
- Strength: 15% below the 1.00 line (×0.85)
- Vitality: 10% below the 1.00 line (×0.90)
- Agility: 6% above the 1.00 line (×1.06)
- Intelligence: 12% above the 1.00 line (×1.12)
- Mind: 10% above the 1.00 line (×1.10)
- Hit points: 12% below the 1.00 line (×0.88)
- Magic points: 18% above the 1.00 line (×1.18)
Leans toward Black MageWhite Mage
“Listen. No, properly. You hear that? That’s it. That’s what I’m hearing.”
Race V of V · The foxfolk exiles
Rasha
The foxfolk exiles. Sharp-sensed hunters; they hear the silence coming.
Sharp-eared, sharp-sensed hunters who came to the free cities from somewhere they do not talk about much. Rasha hear what others miss, and lately what they hear most is quiet.
They are the quickest people in Ardenfell. More agility than anyone, a little more strength than most, and a habit of being somewhere else when the blow lands.
At creation
- Body
- Female foxfolk
- Hair
- WavesBald
- Marks
- Fox ears and a full tailThe quickest of the five
Gender and hair change nothing but looks.
Stat modifiers
- Strength: 5% above the 1.00 line (×1.05)
- Vitality: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Agility: 12% above the 1.00 line (×1.12)
- Intelligence: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Mind: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
- Hit points: 2% below the 1.00 line (×0.98)
- Magic points: 5% below the 1.00 line (×0.95)
Leans toward SamuraiDark Knight
The ledger
All five, side by side
Modifiers multiply a job’s own numbers. Brass marks the highest in each column; blue the lowest.
| Race | STR | VIT | AGI | INT | MND | HP | MP | Bodies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aedri | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | ×1.00±0 | Male or female |
| Valdren | ×0.95−5% | ×0.92−8% | ×1.05+5% | ×1.08+8% | ×1.08+8% | ×0.95−5% | ×1.10+10% | Male or female, about 1.90 m |
| Karrog | ×1.10+10% | ×1.12+12% | ×0.88−12% | ×0.90−10% | ×0.95−5% | ×1.12+12% | ×0.85−15% | Male, about 2.20 m |
| Nym | ×0.85−15% | ×0.90−10% | ×1.06+6% | ×1.12+12% | ×1.10+10% | ×0.88−12% | ×1.18+18% | Male or female, smallfolk |
| Rasha | ×1.05+5% | ×0.95−5% | ×1.12+12% | ×0.95−5% | ×0.95−5% | ×0.98−2% | ×0.95−5% | Female foxfolk |
A level 50 Paladin’s HP
Before gear. The same character, five ways.
326 HP between the most and the least. Enough to feel; never enough to forbid.
A level 50 Black Mage’s MP
Before gear. The same character, five ways.
201 MP between the most and the least. Enough to feel; never enough to forbid.
Pick a people, pick a city, and walk out the gate.