Races of the Golden Lands

The people of the Iridian Empire and indeed, the Golden Lands in general, have never seen those non-human creatures that are said to exist in other parts of the world. There are only humans here. There are four distinct breeds of humans in these Golden Lands, however.

The average human of the Burning Empire is actually an intermixture of the others. They tend towards dark hair and olive skin, with eyes ranging from hazel to deep black, though the occasional person is born with blue or green eyes.

• Human: The standard human of the Burning Empire uses the stats for Humans from the core rules.

The Iridani

The native peoples of the Iridian Empire, the Iridani make up the noble houses of the Burning Empire and the sight of someone with the traits of one of the Iridani causes most folk to pay more attention to the person, even if they aren't specifically nobility.

Those with Iridani blood have light-colored skin, which tends towards a slight ruddy hue when the person in question has been out in the sun or exposed to significant amounts of pyromantic magic. Their hair tends to be blonde or brown, with deep blue eyes, sometimes with silver flecking.

Iridani Racial Traits

The Iridani have the following racial traits:

• +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom. The Iridani have magnetic and commanding personalities, but tend to show a flagrant disregard for common sense.
• Iridani base land speed is 30 feet.
• Fire in the Blood: Iridani who take the Pyromancer feat gain +1 spell point/level. These points may only be applied to Pyromancy spells.
• Skilled: Iridani gain 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
• Natural Leaders: Iridani gain a +1 racial bonus to Charisma-based skill checks. Additionally, they gain a +2 bonus to their Leadership score when they take the Leadership feat.
• Flame of Life: Iridani receive a –2 penalty to saving throws to resist spells with the cold or negative energy descriptors. Such spells also inflict +1 damage/die of damage to them.
• True Blood: The child of a Iridani is likely to be Iridani. Unions between Iridani and normal humans always result in Iridani children. Unions between Iridani and River-folk or the Tribes have a 50% chance of resulting in Iridani children, and a 50% chance of resulting in normal humans. Unions between Iridani and Ghost-folk always result in normal humans. Unions between two Iridani always result in Iridani children.

The Ghost-folk

The Ghost-folk are the descendants of the thrown-down priest-kings of the Old Lands, and are the current theocrat rulers of the River Lands. They are said to have touched the lands of the dead too frequently in their time beside the Black River, for legend does not speak of the theocrats and their families looking the way they do today.

The Ghost-folk have very pale, nearly albino skin which always remains white. Ghost-folk burn terribly beneath the hot sun of the River Lands, though they do not redden – their flesh simply blisters and peels away, remaining white as bone the entire time. Their eyes are a haunting crimson color, flecked with gold, an almost-mockery of the most prominent Iridani eye colors.

Ghost-folk Racial Traits

The Ghost-folk have the following racial traits:

• +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. The Iridani are canny and perceptive, but their distant demeanor is off-putting to most folk.
• Ghost-folk base land speed is 30 feet.
• Cold Blood: Ghost-folk who take the Necromancer feat gain +1 spell point/level. These points may only be applied to Necromancy spells.
• Skilled: Iridani gain 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
• Beloved of Death: Ghost-folk gain a +4 racial bonus to saving throws against necromantic effects and the powers of the undead.
• Delicate Skin: Ghost-folk who remain in the sun for an hour without significant protection take 1d6 damage. On a successful Fortitude save (DC 12 + 1 per hour in the sun), this damage is nonlethal. Ghost-folk take this damage once per hour.
• True Blood: The child of a Ghost-folk is likely to be Ghost-folk. Unions between Ghost-folk and normal humans always result in Ghost-folk children. Unions between Ghost-folk and River-folk or the Tribes have a 50% chance of resulting in Ghost-folk children, and a 50% chance of resulting in normal humans. Unions between Ghost-folk and Iridani always result in normal humans. Unions between two Ghost-folk always result in Ghost-folk children.

The River-folk

The River-folk are those people who dwell along the Black River in the River-States. Many of the River-folk are part of the warrior-nobility of the River-states and are treated with great respect and accord. They also go to great lengths to keep their bloodlines unpolluted, for their race does not have the strength of purity that the Iridani or Ghost-folk bloodlines do.

Riverfolk have dark skin and jet black hair, which they take great pride in wearing long, though some shave nearly the entirety of their heads save for artistically arranged patches and single braids.

River-folk Racial Traits

The River-folk have the following racial traits:

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence. The River-folk are a quick and coordinated people with little interest in study and scholarship.
• River-folk base land speed is 40 feet.
• Adept: River-folk gain an extra feat at 1st level. They gain additional bonus feats at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level, as well.
• Magically Dead: The River-folk say that the Black River has carried away the magic in their blood, for none of them may ever take Channeling feats. However, they do gain a +2 racial bonus to all saves against magic. They may, however, take the Channeling skill, which some say that the River-folk have learned to use in new ways unique to their kind.

The Tribes

Though, as their name suggest, the tribesmen are best known for being part of the Tribes Beyond the Mountains, these people are not found only among those barbarian tribes. Many of these people have taken up civilized life, living in rural areas where their special talents earn them great benefit, such as a horse-trainer or similar professions. Some of the tribesmen, driven by a wanderlust that seems to be part of their heritage, simply roam from town to town, acting as entertainers, handimen and sometimes thieves.

The Tribes have rich red to dark blonde hair and tend to have deeply tanned skin, though they can be fairly light hued and are often freckled. Their eyes tend toward blue, green, hazel and gray. They are usually quite tall and the men are fond of wearing beards.

Tribes Racial Traits

The Tribes have the following racial traits:

• +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom. The Tribes are a tough and hardy people, who are perhaps a touch too carefree and impulsive.
• Tribes base land speed is 30 feet.
• Skilled: Tribes gain 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level. Additionally, each tribe grants an bonus skill that is considered an in-class skill.
• Wild Empathy (Ex): A tribesman can use body language, vocalizations and demeanor to improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person (see the Diplomacy skill). The tribesman rolls 1d20 and adds his character level and his Charisma bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. To use wild empathy, the tribesman and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. The tribesman may use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence of 1 or 2, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check.
• Spirit-touched: Each tribe has a small pantheon of gods and spirits who bless them, granting them special abilities. At 1st level, the tribesman gains one of these special abilities, as appropriate for his tribe. He gains additional abilities at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th levels.
• Taboo: Each tribesman has a taboo, based on his tribe. Those who are part of no tribe are instead bound by the taboo to do no harm to those who are of the True Tribes.

Araban Tribe

• Spirits of the Tribe: X
• Tribal Skill: X
• Blessings of the Spirits: X
  • [ability](1st): X
  • [ability] (5th): X
  • [ability](10th): X
  • [ability] (15th): X
  • [ability](20th): X
• Taboo: X