Character Creation

Ancestries

Savage, exotic, and unforgiving, the world of Athas is unique. This harsh environment has given birth to a number of new peoples and monsters, including five new character ancestries: aarakocra, dray, muls, pterran and thri-kreen.

Many of the more familiar races of the Shadow of the Demon Lord game roam the wastes of Athas. However, these beings have adapted over the centuries to their brutal home and bear little resemblance to their counterparts on other worlds. For example, the elves of Athas aren’t flighty forest dwellers who dance in the starlight and celebrate the living world around them. Athas has few forests to speak of, and its elves are thieving nomads and raiders who wander the deserts and wastes. Similarly, halflings aren’t good-natured riverfolk known for their amiability and pluck. They’re fierce savages and headhunters, primal warriors who are notorious for indulging in cannibalism. Other races have similar variations from their expected roles.

Many different kinds of intelligent creatures populate Athas, and the streets of the city-states are crowded with folk of a dozen kindreds: humans, dwarves, elves, half-giants, muls, tareks, thri-kreen, and more. The typical city dweller rarely gives a second glance to fantastic or monstrous individuals as long as they seem willing to trade or talk instead of fight and they don’t act in a threatening manner.

Aarakocra

The intelligent bird-people called aarakocra live in small tribes in the rocky badlands and mountains of Athas. In most cases, these uncivilized aarakocra have little impact on the world around them. One group of bird-people, however, has an advanced society in the White Mountains north of the Tyr Region. Here, nestled in the snow-covered peaks, is the large village called Winter Nest.

Winter Nest’s aarakocra (who call themselves “the silvaarak,” or “people of the silver wing”) average about 7½ feet tall. Males weigh 100 pounds, females 85. They have gray beaks, black eyes, and plumage

that ranges from purest white to silver to shades of light blue.

Silvaarak tend to stay among the mountain peaks. They believe themselves superior to all other creatures because of their ability to fly above the world. Those who visit the mountains or the forest around them must be careful not to abuse the gifts of nature found there, for the aarakocra see it as their obligation to protect the region. Winter Nest maintains trade relations with the city-states of Draj and Kurn, but are on hostile terms with the bandit states of the Barrier Wastes and the city of Eldaarich. In fact, Eldaarich regularly sends out slavers to capture any aarakocra they can find.

The aarakocra of the White Mountains are rarely found in the Tyr Region, although many of the young bird-people have begun to explore the world beyond their mountain sanctuary. These adventurous silvaarak believe that the time has come for Winter Nest to take part in the affairs of the world. What impact the silvaarak will have on Athas now that a significant portion of their community has abandoned their isolationist ways has yet to be seen.

Creating an Aarakocra

Attribute Scores Strength 9, Agility 11, Intellect 10,

Will 10
Perception equals your Intellect score + 1
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak Auran and

Common.
Shadowsight You see into areas obscured by

shadows as if those areas were lit.
Flier You have wings and can move by flying. You

have the flier trait.
Claustrophobic Aarakocra become Impaired while

in an enclosed space. Being underground or in

enclosed buildings is extremely distressing for them.
Natural Weapons An aarakocra’s talons count as

basic weapons that deal 1d3 damage and have the

finesse property.

Level 4 Aarakocra Expert

Characteristics Health +4
You learn one spell from a tradition you have already discovered or gain Swoop.
Swoop While flying, your movement never triggers

free attacks.

Aarakocra Age

3d6	Starting Age
3	You are a child, aged 5 years or younger.
4-6	You are an adolescent, between the ages of 6 and 10.
7-13	You are a young adult, between the ages of 11 and 14.
14-17	You are an adult, between the ages of 15 and 35.
18	You are a venerable adult, aged 36 or older.

Aarakocra Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and either thin or heavy set.
4-5	You are heavy with a long wingspan.
6-8	You are short with a short wingspan.
9-12	You are of average height and weight.
13-15	You are tall, with a long wingspan.
16-17	You are thin, with slender wings.
18	You are tall and either thin or heavy.

Aarakocra Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You have gray, lusterless plumage that is patchy and sheds, large, milky white eyes, and your limbs are all of differing lengths.
4-5	You have a hunched posture, a wide, jagged beak, and large, unblinking eyes.
6-8	You have mottled plumage, with alternating patches of light blue and silver, overlarge eyes, and subtle facial features.
9-12	You are average in appearance, having light blue, silver, or white plumage, large dark eyes, and understated facial features.
13-15	You have a slender body with silvery plumage. Your large eyes have a bluish color.
16-17	Fine silver and gold feathers cover your body, and you have small silvery crests at your elbows, at your knees, and growing from the top of your head.
13-15	Golden feathers cover your sleek body, and a tall crest runs from the center of your forehead down the back of your skull, extending all the way to the middle of your back. Similar crests adorn your legs and arms. You are both striking and alien to humans.

Aarakocra Background

d20	Background
1	You once traveled to New Kurn, but your memory of the place was erased.
2	You rejected the teachings and values of your people, wanting nothing to do with them. You have left behind your culture to find your own way in the world.
3	You traveled extensively. Add another language to the list of languages you can speak.
4	You pored over a tome filled with dark and unsettling secrets. Gain 1 Corruption.
5	The air priests of Winter Nest sent you out into the world to learn more about humanity.
6	You stood guard over Winter Nest for many years.
7	You were granted a vision of the world in the throes of death. You vowed you would do everything in your power to stop this apocalypse from happening.
8	Slavers found your community, which had been hidden in the lower reaches of the White Mountains. The villains sacked it and captured dozens of aarakocra before they left.
9	You once traveled to a distant land.
10	You earned a living working in one of your professions.
11	An earthquake destroyed your home. You were one of the few survivors forced to make your home elsewhere.
12	During your travels, some people mistook you for a monster and formed into a mob to drive you out. You managed to escape.
13	You received an education. You know how to read a language that you know how to speak.
14	You were raised by a priest of fire. Add Ignan to your list of languages.
15	You found a scroll containing an incantation of a rank 0 spell (chosen by the GM).
16	You worked in the Great Library of New Kurn. You can read one language you know how to speak, and you add scholar of history to your list of professions.
17	You stole an important artifact from your people. You start the game with a randomly determined enchanted object.
18	You found a potion (of the GM’s choice).
19	You left home long ago and found a place for yourself in one of the City-States.
20	You came into money. Start the game with 2d6 cp.

Aarakocra Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You are cruel, vicious, and loathsome. You might hide your nature or show your wickedness to all you encounter.
4-5	You are wild and free, laughing all the time. Others might find your personality uplifting, even infectious, while some might find you deeply irritating, never acting serious no matter how dire the situation.
6-8	You tend to be aggressive and given to violent outbursts. You can control yourself, but you find it hard to do so when faced with frustrating situations.
9-12	Your moods swing from one extreme to the other, your personality as changeable as the wind.
13-15	You feel your moods shift all the time, but you have learned to harness them and prevent them from having power over you. Others might find you intense, but you rarely lose control.
16-17	You rarely show emotion. Calm and collected, you display restraint in almost any situation.
13-15	You strive to do good in the world, to transform creation into something greater than the ancient halflings imagined, into a place where all worlds are free from the Sorcerer-King's shadow. You show compassion for other peoples and work to understand them and their kind, so you can help them realize a better path.

Dwarf

The dwarves of Athas have the stature of their kindred in other worlds—short, sturdy, and thickly muscled. Most dwarves have deep tans from lives spent toiling in the hot sun, with wide, callused hands and feet. They usually have little or no hair; the flowing beards that are the pride of male dwarves on other worlds are never seen on the Athasian variety.

Dwarves are known for their stoicism and single-mindedness. They fix their minds on the task at hand, whether it is a challenging feat of engineering, an intricate work of craft, a struggle for survival, or a quest for revenge. It’s just not in their nature to abandon a task or leave work half done; dwarves set aside the object of their focus only after much grumbling and coercion.

Dwarves have no lands of their own and live among the other folk of Athas. They reside both in cities and in the countryside, and they tend to be builders and farmers instead of nomads or raiders.

Despite the current absence of dwarven cities or strongholds, dwarves have a rich cultural history passed down from generation to generation in great sagas and secret traditions. Long ago, dwarven cities were the marvel of the world, and the dwarves keep the tales of their past glories and bitter defeats alive across the centuries.

Although the dwarves of present-day Athas carve no great citadels and retain few of their ancient holdings, your people remain the most talented stoneworkers and engineers in the world. Dwarf-made wells, cisterns, and canals are marvels of design, and dwarven metalwork—rare though it might be—is the finest to be found.

Creating a Dwarf

Attribute Scores Strength 10, Agility 9, Intellect 10,

Will 10
Perception equals your Intellect score + 1
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score + 4
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1/2, Speed 8, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak the Common

Tongue and Dwarfish.
Darksight You can see in areas obscured by shadows

and darkness within medium range as if those areas

were lit. Beyond this distance, you treat darkness as

shadows and shadows as lit.
Dwarven Focus The task to which a dwarf is presently

committed is referred to as his focus. A dwarf's

focus must be a feat requiring at least one week to

complete. Shorter term goals cannot be considered

a focus. While performing tasks that are directly

related to his focus, all attack rolls and challenge

rolls are made with 1 boon.
Robust Constitution You take half damage from

poison. You make challenge rolls with 1 boon to

avoid or remove the poisoned affliction.
Spell Defense You take half damage from spells and

you make any challenge roll to resist a spell with 1

boon. A creature attacking you with a spell makes

the attack roll with 1 bane.

Level 4 Expert Dwarf

Characteristics Health +6
You either learn one spell from a tradition you have already discovered or gain Sturdy as the Mountain.
Sturdy as the Mountain You ignore the Strength

requirements for wearing armor and using weapons.

In addition, whenever you would be knocked prone,

you can use a triggered action to make a Strength

challenge roll. On a success, you do not fall prone.

Dwarf Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, 19 years old or younger.
4–7	You are an adolescent, 20 to 28 years old.
8–12	You are a young adult, 29 to 99 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, 100 to 132 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, 133 to 199 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 200 years old or older.

Dwarf Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and scrawny.
4–6	You are short and fat.
7–8	You stand a bit shorter than other dwarfs.
9–12	You are average in height and build.
13–15	You have a magnificent belly.
16–17	You are tall.
18	You are tall and heavy.

Dwarf Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3–4	You have a monstrous appearance, likely due to hard living and several near misses. Your face is a mass of scar tissue, probably missing an ear, an eye, or your nose. You also display some unusual habit, such as pounding nails into your skull or greasing your body with animal fat.
5–6	You have several interesting features that work together to make you one ugly brute. Filth from digging in the dirt, skin lashed with healing scars, and a rich aroma of body odor—all these contribute to your distinctive style.
7–8	You are bald, portly, and grubby.
9–11	You are a typical dwarf, bald and portly, but well groomed.
12–15	You take pride in your appearance. You stay clean, oil your skin, and perhaps pierce it with brass rings.
16–18	You are quite fetching for a dwarf. You have regal features, good bearing, and a deep voice. You take pride in your appearance.

Dwarf Focus

d20	Focus
1	Locate a dungeon or other site of interest (the GM will let you know why).
2	Assess the scope of a natural or unnatural disaster.
3	Escort an NPC to a destination.
4	Arrive at a destination without being seen by the villain's forces.
5	Stop monsters from raiding caravans and/or farms.
6	Establish trade with a distant town.
7	Protect a caravan traveling to a distant town.
8	Map a new land.
9	Find a place to establish a colony.
10	Find a natural resource.
11	Hunt a specific monster.
12	Return home from a distant place.
13	Obtain information from a reclusive hermit.
14	Find an object that was lost in the wilds.
15	Discover the fate of a missing group of explorers.
16	Pursue fleeing foes.
17	Assess the size of an approaching army.
18	Escape the reign of a tyrant.
19	Protect a site from attackers.
20	Clear a ruin so it can be rebuilt and reoccupied.

Dwarf Personality

3d6	Personality
3	Your focus is a living thing. It drives you, gives you strength, and helps you triumph over your enemies.
4	You seek a glorious death killing your enemies.
5–6	You love precious metals more than anything. You love the way they feel, the sound they make, and the taste of them.
7–8	You believe other people covet your wealth. It is your duty to protect what is yours—at any cost.
9–12	Your honor is your life. You would never do anything to bring shame to your people.
13–14	You surrender to the will of your ancestors, the customs of your people, and the good of all.
15–16	You believe your people must rise above their greed and suspicion. In these dark times, you must band together to overcome the doom that awaits you all.
17	You don’t trust or like non-dwarfs, but they have their uses.
18	You have little use for the customs of your people. It’s time to move past the dusty caves and seek out fortunes elsewhere.

Dwarf Background

d20	Background
1	You sold your soul to a powerful spirit to gain wealth. The spirit betrayed you and left you penniless. You start the game with 1 Corruption.
2	Your ancestors appeared to you in a vision and sent you to recover a fabled relic.
3	You accidentally caused the death of someone close to you.
4	You stole gold from a rival faction or clan and the theft shames you.
5	You fought against horrific beasts while pursuing your focus and lost.
6	You brought shame to yourself and your clan. You live as an exile, searching for redemption, even if that redemption comes with a glorious death.
7	You were taken prisoner. You lived as a slave for 2d6 years.
8	Creatures overran your home and wiped out your clan.
9	You survived a cave-in and get a bit nervous when underground.
10	You earned a living working in your profession.
11	You are a sworn servant of the Kemalok Kings.
12	You are a gifted artisan. Add artisan (any one) to your list of professions.
13	You traveled extensively. You speak one additional language.
14	You inherited a battleaxe or a warhammer from an ancestor.
15	You discovered a vein of gold under your homeland.
16	You hunted down and helped kill a creature as part of a previous focus.
17	You performed a great deed, and you are a hero to your clan.
18	You have a key to an ancient treasure vault lost to the dwarfs long ago.
19	You are the rightful heir to a stronghold overrun by the enemies of your people.
20	You came into money and start the game with 2d6 cp.

Elf

Elves are tall, long-legged desert rovers whose tribes wander the face of Athas. Traders and herders, elves rarely stay in one place for long. They are also charlatans, entertainers, thieves, and raiders. Each of the great city-states hosts a branch of the Elven Market—a never-ending bazaar where the elves (and others who deal in goods of dubious origin) sell their wares. Many elven goods are cheap baubles of little worth or were stolen from their rightful owners. Still, elves have a knack for being in the right place at the right time to peddle their wares, and even the most officious templar appreciates the selection of goods in the elven market.

Elves run swiftly and with great endurance. Tribes can manage forty miles a day or more, day in and day out. Elves consider it shameful to ride an animal such as a crodlu or a kank, and one does so only if ill or gravely wounded. Normally, such mounts are used as beasts of burden to carry the tribes’ goods and tents. If a sorcerer-king sends his soldiers to punish an elven tribe for a brazen act of theft or lawlessness, he might find that not even kank-mounted cavalry can catch a tribe that has a mind to be somewhere else.

Most Athasians consider elves lazy and deceitful. It’s true that many elves dislike hard work and prefer to live in the moment, avoiding unpleasant tasks and drudgery. They have little regard for anyone who isn’t a member of their tribe. Elves happily take advantage of, steal from, lie to, or misdirect outsiders, not out of malice so much as a desire to separate the gullible from their items of value. When it’s important to maintain a valuable trading relationship, elves honor their word and barter in good faith. But the moment they perceive an opportunity that is too good to pass up, they abandon their previous deals.

Although elves are fickle business partners, they can be true and loyal friends to those who win their trust. But few outsiders gain the friendship of an elven tribe.

Herding, trading, thieving, raiding—your people do what they must to survive, and you have pursued many occupations in your time. Some Athasians regard elves as vagabonds or vermin and hold your people in contempt, but you are free in a way that few others can understand.

Creating an Elf

Attribute Scores Strength 9, Agility 10, Intellect 10, Will 9. Choose two attributes and increase each by 1.
Perception equals your Intellect score + 1
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down

Size 1, Speed 12, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak the Common

Tongue and Elvish.
Shadowsight You see into areas obscured by

shadows as if those areas were lit.
Quick Step When you use an action, you can move 1

yard before or after resolving the action, provided

your Speed is greater than 0.
Elf Run After a minute of warm–up and a Strength

challenge roll, elves can induce an elf run state. This

state allows elves to jog for long distances as easily

as a human can walk, and run for long distances as

easily as a human can jog.
Natural Resistance You are immune to the effects of

exposure caused by being in extreme heat or cold

conditions.

Level 4 Expert Elf

Characteristics Health +4
You learn one spell or gain one of the following

talents.
Spring Away When a creature you can see gets a

failure on an attack roll against your Defense or

Agility, you can use a triggered action to retreat.
Twist the Knife When you get a success on an attack

roll with an edged basic or swift weapon, you can

use a triggered action to deal 1d6 extra damage.

Elf Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, 11 years old or younger.
4–7	You are an adolescent, 12 to 17 years old.
8–12	You are a young adult, 18 to 49 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, 50 to 66 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, 67 to 99 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 100 years or older.

Elf Build

3d6	Build
3	You are quite small for an elf, standing just 6 feet tall and weighing 130 pounds.
4	You are short and heavy.
5–6	You are short for an elf and can pass for a half-elf.
7–8	You are skinny no matter how much you eat.
9–12	You are normal height and weight for an elf.
13–14	Good living has rewarded you with considerable muscle mass.
15–16	You are tall by elf standards.
17	You are tall and slender, with a willowy body. Your family claims you have faerie blood.
18	You are enormous for an elf, standing nearly 8 feet tall and weighing close to 190 pounds.

Elf Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	Luck saved your life, but you did not escape death unscathed. You bear horrific scars, your appearance a mess that evokes revulsion in anyone who lays eyes on you.
4	You are downright ugly. Your features look like they wandered around your head and settled in where they felt comfortable.
5–6	You have an unattractive quality that ruins your otherwise plain appearance.
7–8	You have no distinctive physical qualities. People sometimes forget you are there.
9–12	You are perfectly average and unremarkable.
13–14	Other elves find you attractive, likely due to your winning personality.
15–16	You are attractive.
17	You are striking, catching the eye of elves and humans alike.
18	You are a great beauty, an individual perfect by the standards of your people and others. When you enter a room, people notice.

Elf Personality

3d6	Personality
3	Something is wrong with you. You dream about hurting people, cutting them up and making them scream. You worry that you may one day act out on these fantasies.
4	You have a hard time paying attention. You are easily distracted and tend to abandon whatever you’re doing to do something else.
5–6	You keep your head down and try not to cause trouble.
7–8	You do what you want, when you want. You won’t let anyone get in your way. You can’t soar with the eagles when you’re scratching with the aprigs.

3d6	Personality
9–12	You try to do right by your friends, provided doing so doesn’t slow you down.
13–14	You are a good person who enjoys helping others.
15–16	You look after your people, whether they are other elves or the people you call your friends. You would do anything for them.
17	You always do what you think is right, even if doing so gets you into trouble.
18	You are concerned about what others think of you and alter your behavior to make others like you.

Elf Background

d20	Background
1	Your curiosity led you to a very dark place, where you witnessed something that unhinged your mind. You start the game with 1d3 + 1 Insanity.
2	You discovered a terrible secret. To keep your family safe, you decided to disappear.
3	Hard times forced you to make ends meet by committing crimes. Gain one criminal profession.
4	You stole something of great importance. Someone else took the blame and was executed for the crime.
5	A nasty plague wiped out your community. You were the sole survivor.
6	A giant captured you and kept you as a prisoner for 1d6 years. The giant believed you were a lucky charm.
7	You went spelunking and became lost until a group of hej-kin rescued you.
8	You have terrible wanderlust. You can’t stay put for more than a few weeks at a time. Add one language to the list of the languages you can speak.
9	You worked a series of a terrible jobs in a large city.
10	You earned a living working in your profession.
11	A human fell in love with you, but you rejected the relationship.
12	You have a large immediate family with 2d6 + 3 members.
13	You befriended a powerful wizard who came to visit your community.
14	You received an education. You know how to read the Common Tongue.
15	When your tribe came under attack, you led your people to safety.
16	One time, a mekillot swallowed you whole. Somehow, you survived and came out the other end, filthy but intact.
17	You were abducted by slavers, but you managed to escape.
18	You adopted the persona of someone famous, powerful, and important.
19	You found an odd treasure in a cave. You start the game with one enchanted object of the GM’s choice.
20	You came into money and start the game with 3d6 copper pennies.

Half-Elf

Born from two worlds but welcome in neither, halfelves struggle to find their place in a hostile land. Humans and elves rarely share trust or affection, but they travel many of the same roads on Athas, and sometimes romance follows. However, the children of unions between elves and humans are rarely happy. Half-elves typically face intolerance and prejudices throughout their lives. A tribe of elves might go so far as to cast out a female elf who bears a half-elf child, letting the desert dispense with the object of their shame. Humans care less about elven ancestry, but most assume that half-elves are every bit as clever and dishonest as their elven forebears.

Because they must contend with hostility from both sides, half-elves are a people without a homeland, forced to endure on society’s fringes. Some half-elves live as loners in the desert, surviving as herders, hunters, or employees of more tolerant merchant houses. Other half-elves adjust by developing confident, assertive personalities, transforming themselves into people who win friends and engender trust. Ironically, they are treated better by unrelated races than by their own kin. Dwarves, halflings, thri-kreen, and others have no particular reason to dislike half-elves and judge them on their merits and character, not their ancestry.

As one might assume of a race of loners, half-elves hold self-reliance as their highest virtue, never expecting or asking for help no matter what their situation. Self-taught and naturally adept at learning, half-elves dabble in a variety of areas, mastering the skills they need to survive on their own. Some half-elves are bitter and sullen, but most seek to make the best of their circumstances. More than anything, half-elves take pride in defeating expectations.

Caught between two worlds, you find few friends among your human or elven kin. If you want to survive, you must depend on yourself and no one else.

Creating a Half-Elf

Attribute Scores Strength 10, Agility 10, Intellect 10,

Will 10. Choose one attribute and increase it by 1.
Perception equals your Intellect score + 1
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak the Common

Tongue and Elvish and gain one profession from

the Wilderness Profession table.
Shadowsight You see into areas obscured by

shadows as if those areas were lit.

Level 4 Expert Half-Elf

Characteristics Health +5
You learn one spell or gain the following talent.
Nature Friend In social situations involving animals,

you make attack rolls with 1 boon. In addition, you

befriend a tiny animal such as a lizard, snake, insect,

or bird. You can communicate with one another by

speaking. The animal accompanies you on your

adventures and, though under the GM’s control,

usually does what you tell it to do. If the animal dies,

you can befriend another animal of a kind

appropriate to where you are when you complete

your next rest.

Half-Elf Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, no more than 11 years old.
4–5	You are an adolescent, from 12 to 16 years old.
6–8	You are a young adult, from 17 to 23 years old.
9–12	You are an adult, from 24 to 44 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, from 45 to 59 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, from 60 to 89 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 90 years old or older.

Half-Elf Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and skinny.
4–5	You are shorter than average.
6–8	You are slender, skinny, or wiry.
9–12	Your height and weight fall in the middle of the expected range for half-elves.
13–15	Slabs of muscle or fat cover your body.
16–17	You stand a head taller than other half-elves.
18	You are a hulking monster, thickly built and incredibly tall.

Half-Elf Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You have coarse skin, crooked or sharp teeth, and long pointed ears.
4–5	You have bright, shining eyes and pointed ears. Your skin tone is unusual.
6–8	An exaggerated facial or body feature makes you ugly.
9–12	You appear human, though you have slightly pointed ears.
13–15	You appear fully human, with striking features and a dangerous air.
16–17	You look like an attractive human.
18	You turn heads wherever you go, such is your beauty.

Half-Elf Upbringing

3d6	Sire
3	You were raised in and elf tribe, brought up among the elves, until you slipped free to make your way in the world.
4–5	You were abandoned as a child and raised in a temple or an orphanage. The experience was likely scarring.
6–8	Your parents sensed or saw an evil in you and tried to kill you. You survived and they didn’t.
9–12	You were raised by a human family. They suspected something strange about you but raised you, despite their reservations.
13–15	Your mother was seduced by an elf, and you are the product of that union. She was driven from the tribe and raised you in the wilderness.
16–17	Your father was seduced by an elf, who returned you to him to raise as he saw fit.
18	You were raised in secret, hidden in a secret room, lest the truth of your nature be revealed.

Half-Elf Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You are cold and dispassionate when dealing with other people. Lacking empathy, you think nothing of causing pain and misery.

3d6	Personality
4–5	You strive to embrace your troubled heritage and upbringing, working hard to lead others to corruption and eventual destruction. No act goes too far for you, and no evil is too great.
6–8	You look after yourself first. You rarely act unless it benefits you.
9–12	You have a malicious streak and take pleasure when others around you suffer.
13–15	You are guarded around others, reluctant to form relationships.
16–17	You hate your nature and fight against your dark impulses. You’re not sure if you will ever be free from them.
18	You despise elves. You swore to fight them and use their gifts against them.

Half-Elf Background

d20	Background
1	You joined the templarate of a City-State, hoping to to destroy the organization from within.
2	You discovered a foul incantation that required a human sacrifice. You performed it. Start with 1 Corruption.
3	You murdered someone in cold blood and fled the scene. Ever since, you’ve been looking over your shoulder for the retribution you’re sure will come.
4	Bad things happen when you stay in one place too long. You have trouble settling down.
5	You grew up in comfort and wealth, passing your days in idle pursuits.
6	A templar once captured you and tried to burn you at the stake as a defiler. You survived the conflagration.
7	You spent years in a cell, living off the vermin that nibbled at your fingers and toes. You escaped when someone left the door open.
8	Your infatuation with a human turned to hatred after he or she spurned your advances.
9	You lived in a remote frontier community for several years, keeping your nature a secret from the locals.
10	You grew up believing yourself to be human and only recently learned the truth.
11	During your travels, you befriended a pyreen in the wastes and helped her for a time.
12	For a few months, you enjoyed the company of several cultists who believed you would show them the way to salvation.
13	A perverse defiler stole you and kept you as a prize.
14	A foolish beast stalked you in the wilds and eventually cornered you. It ended poorly for the beast.
15	You received a formal education. You can read and write one language you know how to speak.
16	A lie you once told wound up getting someone close to you killed.
17	You lost a few years to the bottle or a drug, having only recently returned to sobriety.
18	You believe Rajaat came to you in a dream, and you have pledged your life to serving him.
19	You seduced a young elf and had a torrid relationship that eventually ended when you or your partner grew bored.
20	You stole a bag of coins. Start with an extra 2d6 cp.

Half-Giant

Centuries ago, sorcerer-kings magically combined giant and human stock to breed powerful minions, creating the hardy race of towering warriors known as half-giants. Most sorcerer-kings have hundreds of half-giants in their armies and shower the mighty warriors with luxuries in exchange for their loyalty. Other half-giants become urban thugs or mercenaries. They adopt the culture and traditions of the cities in which they dwell.

Over the years, many half-giants have found their way into the untamed reaches of Athas. Wild half-giants are fierce, mountain-dwelling barbarians who raid the people of the lowlands in search of plunder, captives, and prestige. Half-giant tribes are fractious and quarrelsome as a rule; ambitious young warriors challenge established chieftains, and long-remembered slights and insults threaten to erupt into deadly feuding. Shamans, druids, and others who wield the power of the elements or nature lie outside the bounds of such disputes and rivalries, and they serve a vital role as peacemakers and advisors. Regardless, a half-giant sometimes leaves his or her enemies behind for a few years and seeks out new opportunities elsewhere. After all, returning to the tribe as a wealthy, successful warrior with an impressive train of treasures and captives is the best revenge.

Half-giants are often violent and short-tempered, but their moods are mercurial. They can pass from frothing rage to gales of laughter in the blink of an eye.

Because most half-giants fight or toil for a living, others sometimes assume that you’re a simple-minded thug.

You can fight very well, of course, but there’s more to you than your muscles. Whether you live down to others’ expectations is up to you.

Size 2 Creatures

As a half-giant, you are a Size 2 character, which makes you quite a bit larger than most other player characters. Size 2 characters have several benefits and drawbacks, summarized here.
• Your reach is 2 yards (Shadow, page 37)
• Your movement might be restricted by space (Shadow, page 38)
• Size 1/2 and smaller creatures can freely move through your space (Shadow, page 38)
• Armor and weapons cost double the listed price (Shadow, pages 100 and 102) and you require twice the food and water that a human does.
• Your attacks with weapons that normally deal 1d6 damage or more deal 1d6 extra damage. Your attacks with weapons that normally deal less than 1d6 damage instead deal 1d6 damage (Shadow, page 102).

Creating a Half-Giant

Attribute Scores Strength 13, Agility 9, Intellect 8, Will

10
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score + 4
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 2, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak the Common

Tongue and Giant. You begin the game with one

profession, which you determine by rolling on the

Jotun Profession table.
Powerful Ancestry When your group attains level 1,

you do not choose a novice path. Instead, whenever

the Advancement table in Shadow indicates you

would gain benefits from a novice path, you gain the

benefits from your ancestry for that level.

Level 1 Novice Half-Giant

Attributes Increase two by 1
Characteristics Health +6
Catch Your Breath You can use an action, or a

triggered action on your turn, to heal damage equal

to your healing rate. Once you use this talent, you

cannot use it again until you complete a rest.

Level 2 Novice Half-Giant

Characteristics Health +6
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic You increase your Power by 1, discover a

tradition, and learn one spell from that tradition.
Weapon Training You make attack rolls with 1 boon

when you attack with a weapon.

Level 4 Expert Half-Giant

Characteristics Health +6
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic You discover a tradition or learn one spell from

a tradition you have already discovered.
Blood of Giants Whenever you heal damage, you

make Strength attack rolls and challenge rolls with 1

boon for 1 round.

Level 5 Expert Half-Giant

Characteristics Health +6
Titan's Strike When the total of your attack roll is 20

or higher and exceeds the target number by at least

5, the target takes 1d6 extra damage and must get a

success on a Strength challenge roll or fall prone.
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic You increase your Power by 1 and either

discover a tradition or learn one spell from a

tradition you have already discovered.
Combat Prowess Your attacks with weapons deal 1d6

extra damage.

Level 8 Master Half-Giant

Characteristics Health +6
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic You either discover a tradition or learn one

spell from a tradition you have already discovered.
Combat Expertise When you use an action to attack

with a weapon, you can either deal 1d6 extra

damage with that attack or make another attack

against a different target before your turn ends.

Half-Giant Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, no more than 11 years old. Reduce your height and weight by 50 percent.
4–5	You are an adolescent, from 12 to 24 years old. Reduce your height and weight by 25 percent.
6–8	You are a young adult, from 25 to 40 years old.
9–12	You are an adult, from 41 to 59 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, from 60 to 79 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, from 80 to 119 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 120 years old or older.

Half-Giant Build

3d6	Build
3	You are quite scrawny, under 10 feet in height and weighing about 1,300 pounds.
4–5	You are short, about 10 feet tall.
6–8	You are slender, 1,400 pounds or less.
9–12	You are a typical half-giant, 11 feet tall and 1,600 pounds.
13–15	You are heavyset. You weigh 1,750 pounds.
16–17	You stand 12 feet tall and weigh 1,700 pounds.
18	You are enormous, almost 13 feet tall and over 1,800 pounds.

Half-Giant Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You have a monstrous appearance. Crude stitching holds your skin together, ugly scars zigzag across your body, and you have more blemishes than clear skin.
4–5	You have a sickly appearance, almost jaundiced, with red-rimmed eyes and odd blotches marking your skin.
6–8	You resemble most other half-giants, but nasty scars stand out all over your body.
9–12	You have chalky white skin, crimson eyes, and thick, brutish features.
13–15	You are a fine-looking half-giant, with fair skin and uniquely colored eyes.

3d6	Appearance
16–17	You have lightly tanned skin with dark patches under your eyes and in the creases of your skin. Your irises are white with colored flecks.
18	You have dark tanned skin and piercing white eyes. Your people believe you to have been touched by the elemental spirits.

Half-Giant Profession

d20	Profession
1	Scholar of geography, navigation, or war
2	Slave
3	Merchant or slaver
4	Silt sailor
5	Farmer or woodcutter
6	Laborer or shipwright
7	Entertainer (orator, singer, or storyteller)
8	Pirate
9	Thrall
10	Raider
11	Soldier
12	City guard
13	Mercenary
14	Bounty hunter
15	Healer
16	Barbarian
17	Hunter
18	Scholar of folklore or history
19	Templar
20	Scholar of astrology, magic, or the occult

Half-Giant Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You are a lout. Cruel and vicious, you enjoy using your strength to hurt other people.
4–5	You are a bully. You talk a big game, but you are desperately afraid people will find out how scared you really are.
6–8	Loud and boisterous, you pick fights you probably shouldn’t.
9–12	You do and take what you want because you are strong. You are given to boasts and never back down from a challenge.
13–15	You have nothing to prove. You know your worth and won’t be baited into a fight you could avoid.
16–17	You believe that with power comes responsibility. You seek to uplift and inspire, rather than to take down and destroy.
18	You regret your people’s aggressive tendencies and strive to find peaceful solutions to your problem, resorting to violence only when you must.

Half-Giant Background

d20	Background
1	Your community cast you out for cowardice. You might strive either to regain your honor or to embrace your nature.
2	While ranging across the Tablelands, you encountered a band of belgoi and nearly died in the fighting.
3	You were beaten badly after you challenged another half-giant to a duel. You bear the scars still.
4	Tareks took you prisoner. They treated you well, but you had to murder several of them to escape.
5	You grew up hearing tales about the evil Bandit States in the north. You hope to win glory and honor by slaughtering the humans living there.
6	You became lost in the sandy wastes and experienced unsettling visions. Start the game with 1d3 Insanity.
7	You were widely feared and respected by your community. You earned your reputation for being ferocious in a fight and leaving your victims maimed.
8	You have a spouse and 1d3 children. You might be estranged from them or work to provide for their well-being.
9	You once saw the silt horror destroy a ship. The experience left you chilled, and you become nervous in the open silt.
10	You earned a living working in your profession.
11	You fell in love with a human who eventually rejected you. You still have an eye for humans.
12	An elemental spirit came to you and revealed your destiny. You left your homeland to seek it.
13	You left your homeland to see the world.
14	A storm destroyed your silt-skimmer, and you alone made it ashore in human lands.
15	You inherited a sword or a battleaxe. The weapon is fine and covered in runes, though it does not appear to be magical in nature.
16	You befriended a bard and learned many of the old songs and stories.
17	A family member dabbled in dark magic and left a stain on your community’s reputation.
18	You performed a great deed, and your people consider you a hero.
19	You will become leader of your community one day if you can prove your worth.
20	You found a great treasure. Begin the game with one enchanted object created by the GM.

Halfling

Most halflings hail from the Forest Ridge, a mysterious and legendary jungle said to crown the Ringing Mountains. Halflings live apart from other races, divided by their stature and odd customs, but no one can deny their bravery and cunning. The savagery for which they are feared masks a deep and abiding reverence for the natural world and an uncommon connection to the land’s spirits. Halflings live throughout the Tyr Region—some as slaves, others as mercenaries, and still others as raiders. Regardless, all halflings look to the Forest Ridge as their homeland.

The halflings are an ancient people; according to their myths, they are among the oldest in the world. Once stewards of all the land, the halflings retreated when dark magic came to power, and they built a civilization at the roof of the world. Over the ages they have forgotten much of their learning, but they remain a spiritual people, and their connections to the natural world are the strongest of any civilized race in the Tyr Region. These connections make it hard for them to establish productive relationships with other races. For example, halflings place little emphasis on the individual; each halfling is merely part of the overall race, which itself is part of a much larger organism—the world. This view makes it nearly impossible for halflings to deceive or betray one another.

Halflings see all creatures as potential sources of sustenance. After all, living beings compete to survive, and halflings think nothing of eating their enemies, for doing so ensures their own survival.

Your people are feared and misunderstood across the Tyr Region, and you find the ways of the so-called “civilized races” arbitrary and confusing. They call you a savage, but at least your people don’t confine one another in cages or submit to the rule of defilers.

Creating a Halfling

Attribute Scores Strength 9, Agility 11, Intellect 10, Will 11
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round down
Size 1/2, Speed 8, Power 0
0 Damage, 0 Insanity, 0 Corruption
Languages and Professions You speak Halfling.
Robust Constitution You take half damage from

poison. You make challenge rolls with 1 boon to

avoid or remove the poisoned affliction.
Spell Defense You take half damage from spells and

you make any challenge roll to resist a spell with 1

boon. A creature attacking you with a spell makes

the attack roll with 1 bane.

Level 4 Expert Halfling

Characteristics Health +4
You learn one spell from a tradition you have already

discovered or gain one of the following talents.
Cunning Escape If you make an attack roll with at

least 1 boon, you can choose to reduce the number

of boons by 1. After the attack, you can move up to

half your Speed without triggering a free attack.
Expert Thrower When you attack with a thrown

weapon or a sling, you make the attack roll with 1

boon.

Halfling Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, no more than 10 years old.
4–5	You are an adolescent, from 11 to 27 years old.
6–8	You are a young adult, from 28 to 34 years old.
9–12	You are an adult, from 35 to 44 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, from 45 to 59 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, from 60 to 89 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 90 years old or older.

Halfling Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and spindly.
4	You are short and round.
5–6	You are short.
7–8	You are wiry.
9–12	You fall within the normal height and weight ranges for a halfling.
13–14	You are pudgy.
15–16	You are tall.
17	You are tall and lanky.
18	You are very tall and heavy.

Halfling Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You are hideous.
4–5	You are ugly.
6–8	You are plain and homely.
9–12	You are average-looking.
13–15	You are pretty or handsome.
16–17	You are striking.
18	You are beautiful.

Halfling Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You have known nothing but sorrow your whole life. It’s time to repay others for how they have treated you.
4–5	The world is a cruel and unforgiving place. You do whatever you must to survive, even if that means stealing, cheating, or killing.
6–8	You do and say what you please. You try not to hurt other people, but if it happens, there’s not much you can do about it.
9–12	You survive by looking after yourself. You have a hard time trusting others or taking them at their word.
13–15	You trust yourself to do what is right, even if others disagree with your tactics.
16–17	You put your best foot forward. If you can prove your heart is good, maybe others will give you a chance.
18	You were born for a reason, to accomplish some great task, to fulfill a great purpose. You hope to find your destiny and do what you were meant to do.

Halfling Background

d20	Background
1	You were exiled from your tribe after you were discovered trying to plant some seeds you found.

d20	Background
2	At a young age, you brutally murdered two slavers trying to kidnap you. Gain 1 Insanity.
3	You became separated from your tribe, lost in the wilds for 1d20 months before settling among the humans. Add the Common Tongue to the languages you can speak; re-roll if you already speak Common.
4	You ambushed and killed a traveler who you knew had permission to cross your tribe’s land. Gain 1 Corruption.
5	You and your partner have tried unsuccessfully to have a child. The tribe believes your spirits were fading and sent you to live with another tribe as punishment.
6	You are the parent of 1d3 children.
7	Humans murdered your entire family.
8	You started your adventuring life with a band of elves who stole your interesting thing and then tried to sell you into slavery.
9	A farmer caught you destroying his crops during a night raid and branded your chest with a hot iron that read “Geoff’s Cattle,” upon which no hair grows.
10	You traveled briefly with explorers mapping your territory. Add one wilderness profession.
11	Your tribe sent you into the settled world to find news of other halflings.
12	You led an ambush against poachers in your tribe’s land and dealt the killing blow to the offenders.
13	You discover that you were actually born to a different tribe, and raised by the current tribe you’re in after they killed your parents for trespassing.
14	You studied the books found on a corpse in the forest. You know how to read the Common Tongue.
15	You are the swiftest runner in your tribe.
16	Your tribe arranged a marriage for you to a member of another tribe.
17	Your tribe deals extensively with the surrounding villages. You learn one extra language.
18	You traveled to the spirit world and remained there for a time. Add 1d20 years to your starting age.
19	Your uncle gave you something shiny he found. It is worth 2d6 cp.
20	You became the chief of your tribe when the former chief died.

Human

A resourceful and hardy race, humans are the most numerous and diverse people in the Tyr Region. They can be found in every social stratum and situation: city dweller and desert villager, nomadic herder and merchant trader, pampered noble and wretched slave. Humans’ drive, ambition, and ingenuity help the race survive on the dying world and thrive under the rule of the sorcerer-kings.

Athasian humans come in all shapes and sizes, but they reflect certain predominant traits common to particular city-states. Humans in Draj, for example, have broad chins, bronze skin, and black hair that hardly ever grows on their faces. Humans from Gulg have dark brown skin and rounder features with thick, curly hair. Tyr’s humans are varied because that city-state’s population is a conglomeration of humans from throughout the world. Regardless of their origins, all humans are given to unusual traits— such as odd skin or eye color, exaggerated features, or lack of body hair—that might be effects of the magic that brought ruin to the land. Such traits are common and rarely elicit more than a glance.

More humans live in the city-states than they do anywhere else. Although humans are resilient and adaptable, the city-states offer shelter, water, and food—commodities that are rare outside their walls. From Tyr to Draj, humans are the dominant people, dwarfing other populations in the city-states. They are the most likely to be free citizens, merchants, nobles, slaveholders, and landowners; most templars are human as well. Outside the city-states, human numbers fall off, eclipsed by the other peoples of the deserts, but even in the wastes humans are common. They seem able to scratch out a living no matter where they reside.

As a people, humans are bereft of a past. Flooded with propaganda and prohibited by the sorcerer-kings and templars from keeping written histories, most humans know only the stories told in their communities. These tales paint the despots as saviors, gods, or anointed champions who, through selfless actions, saved Athas from certain destruction. Many humans chafe against tyranny’s chains but hold their tongues, seeing no reason to jeopardize the shelter, water, and food they receive in return for their loyalty. However, although the sorcerer-kings have great influence over the city-states and their human populations, the rulers’ control is not as secure as it once was. When Tyr’s champions assassinated King Kalak and liberated the city, they sparked the fires of rebellion across the region, opening people’s eyes to the possibility of a world free of the oppression that has defined life on Athas for so long.

Humans typically have backgrounds based on their home region.

Creating a Human

Attribute Scores Strength 10, Agility 10, Intellect 10,

Will 10. Choose one attribute and increase it by 1.
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1/2 or 1, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak the Common

Tongue, and you can either speak one additional

language or add a random profession.

Level 4 Expert Human

Characteristics Health +5
You either learn one spell or gain Determined.
Determined When you roll a 1 on the die from a boon

you can reroll the die and choose to use the new

number.

Human Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, 11 years old or younger.
4–7	You are an adolescent, 12 to 15 years old.
8–12	You are a young adult, 16 to 39 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, 40 to 52 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, 53 to 79 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 80 years old or older.

Human Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and thin.
4	You are short and heavy.
5–6	You are short.
7–8	You are slender.
9–12	You are average in height and weight.
13–14	You are a bit overweight.
15–16	You are tall.
17	You are tall and thin.
18	You are very tall and heavy.

Human Background

d20	Background
1	You died and returned to life. You start the game with 1d6 Insanity.
2	You were briefly possessed by a demon. You start the game with 1 Corruption.
3	You spent 1d6 years as a prisoner in a dungeon.
4	You murdered someone in cold blood. You start the game with 1 Corruption.
5	You caught and recovered from a terrible disease.
6	You belonged to a strange cult and saw many strange things. You start the game with 1 Insanity.
7	Intelligent undead held you prisoner for 1d20 years.
8	You lost a loved one and their loss haunts you still.
9	You lost a finger, a few teeth, or an ear, or you gained a scar.
10	You earned a living working in your profession.
11	You fell in love and the relationship ended well or is ongoing.
12	You have a spouse and 1d6 - 2 children (minimum 0).
13	You traveled extensively. You speak one additional language.
14	You received an education. You know how to read the Common Tongue.
15	You saved your town from terrible monsters.
16	You foiled a plot to kill someone important or you brought a killer to justice.
17	You performed a great deed and are a hero to the people in your hometown.
18	You found an old treasure map.
19	Someone important and powerful owes you a favor.
20	You came into money and start the game with 2d6 cp.

Human Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You are cruel, wicked, and self-serving. You enjoy making others suffer.
4	You are erratic and unpredictable. You have a hard time keeping your word and tend toward capricious behavior.
5–6	Might makes right. Obedience to authority is the highest ideal.
7–8	You look after yourself first and foremost. You’re not above double-crossing friends.
9–12	You put your interests and those of your friends above all else.
13–14	You help others because it’s the right thing to do.
15–16	You try to do what you think is right, even if it breaks laws and social conventions.
17	Your honor and duty guide everything you do.
18	You are committed to good and noble causes, and you never stray from your beliefs even if your insistence would cost you your life.

Piety

3d6	Piety
3	You only pretend to have your religious beliefs. You instead believe in something else.
4–5	You are a believer in name only and have strong doubts about your faith.
6–8	You are skeptical about your faith.
9–12	Your religious beliefs are neither strong nor weak.
13–15	You are fairly certain about your beliefs.
16–17	You have strong religious convictions.
18	You are a fanatic about your religious beliefs to the point you find it hard to be around people who hold differing religious views. You might even persecute people who do not believe as you do. Gain 1 Insanity.

Human Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You are hideous. You look like a monster. Children cry when they encounter you, the weak of heart faint when they see you, and one person vomited after getting a good look at your face.
4	You are ugly, and people find your visage unpleasant thanks to a scar, wen, beetling brows, boils, piles, a wandering or weeping eye, or something else of a similar magnitude.
5–6	Most consider you homely: not quite ugly, but a bit worse than plain.
7–8	You are plain and uninteresting to look upon. People notice you, but your appearance fails to make an impression.
9–12	You are perfectly average in appearance. You look like everyone else.
13–14	You have a physical quality that makes you attractive to others. You might have pretty eyes, lips, hair, shape, or something else.
15–16	You have several attractive physical qualities that make you quite comely.
17	You are one of the great beauties in the land, an individual of almost unsurpassed form and appearance. People notice you.
18	You put beautiful people to shame. You are so striking, heads turn to follow you wherever you go. People become infatuated with you, stumbling over their words and feeling flustered when you show them attention. There’s a fine line between love and hate. Should you spurn the attentions of people you enamor, their affection might sour to resentment and even hatred.

Mul

Muscular and fit, muls resemble powerfully built humans. Although one might expect muls to average somewhere between dwarf and human stature, they are taller than most humans. Male muls have truly heroic proportions—broad shoulders, narrow waists, powerful thighs, and thick arms. Females, while not as heavily muscled, are tall, strong, and athletic. Many muls of both genders are hairless, although some grow topknots of dark hair. Their faces hint at their dwarven ancestry, with strong, stern features and small, swept-back ears that come to subtle points. Mul skin and eye colors are as varied as they are in humans, but many muls have a copper or deeply bronzed complexion, and a few have eyes of a startling honey-gold or green-gold color.

Muls have little collective racial identity and adopt the dress and fashion of their homes. However, they are fond of tattoos and favor simple geometric patterns rather than depictions of creatures or objects. In this way, they honor their dwarven heritage with designs reminiscent of dwarven motifs.

Muls have life spans comparable to those of humans.

Most muls begin their lives as slaves. Slaveholders throughout the Tyr Region have long known that tremendous hardiness and stamina result from mixing human and dwarven lines. Muls make outstanding gladiators, slave warriors, and heavy laborers, enduring toil and hardships that would kill lesser folk.

Muls who set their hearts on freedom are difficult to keep in chains. Some escape to the wilds and become raiders or join tribes of ex-slaves, whereas others who escape become mercenaries and sell their fighting skills to whomever they can. Muls who don’t flee captivity can win their freedom in the arena or by completing a dangerous task for their masters. A few highly prized gladiators receive so many privileges and comforts that they are effectively free, enjoying great latitude to go where they want and do as they wish. The Dungeon Master might have mul heroes start the campaign as slaves. If not, assume that your mul character has already won his or her freedom by the time the game begins.

Muls are hard, driven, pragmatic folk with little remorse or sympathy in their hearts. Many grow up under the lash, having been taken from their parents while very young and subjected to brutal training for the arena or grinding toil in fields or quarries. Consequently, muls have a hard time offering friendship and trust to anyone. More than a few muls, scarred by the hardships of their upbringing, spend their days as bitter, violent misanthropes. Others are suspicious, grasping mercenaries who have learned never to lift a finger on behalf of another person without establishing what they will gain from providing aid. Despite their tendency to be sullen or self-centered, muls can learn to work alongside others. Growing up in the slave pits and the underclass of society taught them how to forge alliances and understandings; their survival demanded nothing less.

Creating a Mul

Attribute Scores Strength 11, Agility 10, Intellect 9,

Will 9
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score
Health equals your Strength score + 4
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak both the

Common Tongue and Dwarfish.
Tireless You need to sleep 6 hours in a 72-hour period

(instead of a 24-hour period) to gain the benefit of a

rest.

Level 4 Expert Mul

Characteristics Health +6
You learn one spell or gain Shake it Off.
Shake it Off You can use an action to heal damage

equal to your healing rate and remove one of the

following afflictions: fatigued, impaired, or poisoned.

Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again

until after you complete a rest.

Mul Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, 8 years old or younger.
4–5	You are an adolescent, 9 to 15 years old.
6–8	You are a young adult, 16 to 21 years old.
9–12	You are an adult, from 22 to 39 years old.
13–15	You are a middle-aged adult, 40 to 52 years old.
16–17	You are an older adult, 53 to 79 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 80 years old or older.

Mul Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and wiry.
4	You are short and muscular.
5–6	You are short.
7–8	You are thin.
9–12	You are of average height and weight.
13–14	You are slightly overweight.
15–16	You are tall.
17	You are tall and gaunt.
18	You are a giant among muls.

Mul Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3–5	You are grotesque. Your face is a mass of scar tissue. Thick scars crisscross your body, held together with crude, leather stitching. Swaths of open sores weep streams of pus, and you reek of excrement, blood, and rot.
6–8	You are monstrous, with thick, brutish features, weird growths sprouting from your skin, and nasty scars that cut jagged lines across your thick hide.
9–12	You are ugly. You have crooked teeth jutting from your broad jaw, a sloping forehead, and tiny eyes set deep in your skull.
13–15	You are a mul of typical appearance, muscular and fit.
16–17	Your features are somewhat less brutish, though you might have odd skin coloration, unkempt hair, and thick features.
18	You stand out from other muls. Your body is remarkably free from the scars and injuries that maim your fellows, and you are in good health.

Mul Background

d20	Background
1	You butchered helpless people. Gain 2 Corruption.
2	You were briefly possessed by a demon. Gain 1 Corruption.
3	You spent 1d6 years in the arena, testing your skills against other gladiators for the amusement of the crowds.
4	You stayed loyal to your owner and fought against other slaves during an uprising. You were branded as a traitor and cast out.
5	You caught the rot and lost your nose and ears.
6	You were chained to a slave caravan for 1d6 years.
7	You were made a eunuch and stood guard over your master’s concubines.
8	You have scar tissue over half your body from when you were caught in the blast of a spell.
9	You escaped your slavery and have lived in the wilderness ever since.

d20	Background
10	You earned a living working in your profession.
11	You fell in love with a human and were spurned for your affections.
12	You are an unrepentant criminal. Add a random criminal profession to your list of professions.
13	You traveled extensively. You speak one additional language.
14	You received an education. You know how to read and write the Common Tongue.
15	You fought bravely for a Sorcerer-King and were awarded a medal for your courage.
16	You saved an important noble from an assassination attempt.
17	A human broke your chains and freed you to find your fortunes in the world.
18	You took a blade from the corpse of a warrior you killed.
19	The spirits of those you have slain visit you in your dreams. You start the game with 1 Insanity.
20	You came into money and start the game with 2d6 cp.

Mul Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You fight to liberate your people from slavery.
4	Muls are more than the killers their breeders made them to be. They are people, with hearts and souls, dreams and ambitions. You believe you must rise above the savagery and find your place.
5–6	The world is going to Hell. You say, let it.
7–8	You take care of yourself, take what you want, and do what you want.
9–12	Kill!
13–14	You never question orders. You always do as you’re commanded.
15–16	You want revenge and you’ll kill anyone that gets in your way.
17	You believe you were made for a reason. Without your chains, you have no purpose.
18	You believe your people have committed great acts of evil in the Sorcerer-Kings’ name. You strive to right the wrongs.

Pterran

The Hinterlands west of the Ringing Mountains are home to many different species of animals and even a few intelligent races. The most prominent sign of civilization is the pterrans of the large villages of Pterran Vale and Lost Scale. Prior to the Great Earthquake, when few people left the confines of the Tyr Region, the only pterrans ever encountered were those of the small, primitive clans that settled near the rocky barrens on the eastern side of the Ringing Mountains. These pterrans bear only a superficial resemblance to their cousins from the Hinterland villages.

Hinterland pterrans have already made an impact on the societies of the Tablelands. The free city of Tyr has exchanged diplomatic envoys with Pterran Vale, and a few of the more adventurous merchant houses have begun establishing trade.

Pterrans are reptiloids with light brown, scaly skin. Adults grow to be about 6 feet tall, and there are no obvious physical characteristics that distinguish males from females. Pterrans stand upright, with two arms that end in hands that have three taloned fingers and an opposable thumb, and two legs with three-toed feet. They have short tails and two stubs at their shoulder blades-evidence of wings that vanished many generations ago. Some believe pterrans are related to the flying creature called the pterrax, though the link must be in the distant past.

The highly intelligent pterrans from the Hinterland villages have begun exploring the Tyr Region in earnest, hoping to find help from the threats unleashed by the Great Earthquake. They are particularly fearful of the thri-kreen emerging from the Great Rift, though the continuing aftershocks have wreaked destruction on the twin villages.

All pterrans revere the Earth Mother, the name they have given to Athas. They believe that they are the Earth Mother’s first, best children, and that the recent earthquake and aftershocks are a call to action for their race. “The Earth Mother cries out, and we share her pain,” the pterran druids proclaim. “Now we must aid her in her time of desperate need.” Adult pterrans follow one of three “Life Paths”— the Warrior’s Path, the Druid’s Path, and the Psionicist’s Path—as part of their normal society.

While most encounters with the Hinterland pterrans have been instigated by explorers ranging far from the Tyr Region, a few pterran adventuring parties have made their way across the Ringing Mountains. Of the city-states, only Tyr has thus far welcomed them, but Lalali-Puy’s templars have extended an invitation for them to come to Culg at their earliest convenience. The Oba is very interested in meeting strangers who seek to aid the troubled world. The pterrans have yet to accept the gracious invitation. Beyond that, a few merchant houses and elf tribes have greeted the visitors warmly, hoping to profit from them in some way. The pterrans have taken great pains to avoid any of the thri-kreen packs that wander the Tablelands.

Creating a Pterran

Attribute Scores Strength 10, Agility 9, Intellect 10,

Will 11
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score + 1
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 1, Speed 10, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages You speak the Common Tongue and

Saurian.

Life Path You gain the following benefits based on

your chosen life path.
Warrior Add a martial profession to your list of

professions. Increase your Strength by 2, and

increase your starting Defense by 1.
Druid Add a wilderness profession to your list of

professions. Increase your Agility by 1 and your

Perception by 1.
Psion Add an academic profession to your list of

professions. Increase your Intellect by 2 and your

Will by 1.
Natural Weapons You can attack with your claws and

bite. They count as basic weapons that deal 1d3

damage and have the Finesse property.

Level 4 Expert Pterran

Characteristics Health +4
Snapping Fangs The pterran can use a triggered

action on its turn to attack with its fangs.

Pterran Age

3d6	Age
3	You are a child, no more than 5 years old.
4–5	You are an adolescent, from 6 to 12 years old.
6–12	You are a young adult, from 13 to 20 years old.
13–17	You are an adult, from 21 to 39 years old.
18	You are a venerable adult, 40 years old or older.

Pterran Build

3d6	Build
3	You are short and either thin or heavy.
4–5	You are heavy with a thick tail.
6–8	You are short with a shortened tail.
9–12	You are of average height and weight.
13–15	You are tall, with a long, sinuous tail.
16–17	You are thin, with a slender tail.
18	You are tall and either thin or heavy.

Pterran Appearance

3d6	Appearance
3	You are monstrous, freakish, and unpleasant to behold. You have stubby limbs and a ropy body covered with thick scales marred by scars. You might have a cloudy eye, patches of missing scales, or a vile stench you cannot quite hide.
4–5	You have a bent body, appearing broken and malformed.
6–8	You have dull brown scales.
9–12	You look like most other pterrans, having a scaled, reptiloid body with short limbs, and a short tail.
13–15	Your eyes gleam, and your silvery scales shine.
16–17	Your scales form a pleasing pattern on your body, and your eyes are gleaming gold.
18	You have a retractable crest that opens when you are angry. Your scales are gold and green, and you have deep violet eyes.

Pterran Personality

3d6	Personality
3	Malicious and thoroughly evil, you act only to get what you want or to advance your goals.

3d6	Personality
4–5	You are cruel, unkind, and arrogant. You believe yourself better than others, and you make no effort to hide your disdain for them.
6–8	You are cold and aloof, disinterested in others unless they serve your interests.
9–12	You are deeply spiritual and have spent long periods in meditation, reflecting on the Earth Mother to divine your Life Path.
13–15	You are flighty, easily distracted. Your attention wanders all over the place.
16–17	Others find you warm, friendly, and open-minded. You make friends easily.
18	Your intensity can get the better of you. Sometimes, you just do what you think you need to do, regardless of the consequences. You might even feel bad for hurting people who get in your way.

Pterran Background

d20	Background
1	You discovered a sect dedicated to Rajaat. The experience shook you, leaving you with 1d3 Insanity.
2	You uncovered a relic from a previous age, but it was tainted by dark magic. Before you could rid yourself of it, you gained 1 Corruption.
3	You spent 1d6 years living among degenerate pterrans, trying to understand them.
4	You murdered a human who had stumbled upon your people’s villages. Start the game with 1 Corruption.
5	You caught a terrible disease, but you recovered.
6	You studied the teachings of the Earth Mother. Add scholar of religion to your list of professions.
7	A cruel wizard captured you and held you prisoner for 1d3 years before you escaped.
8	You spent years studying the world’s history. Add scholar of history to your list of professions.
9	You were attacked and took a nasty wound. You have a scar somewhere on your body.
10	You lived among other pterrans while doing little of import.
11	You fell in love with a human woman. She does not know you exist, and you keep your forbidden feelings a secret.
12	You traveled to other enclaves of pterrans to learn more about your kind. Add one language to the list of languages you can speak.
13	You scoured the ruins of the Jagged Cliffs and discovered something interesting. You begin with one additional interesting thing.
14	You studied humans extensively and befriended one. Work with the GM to determine the identity of this person and the nature of your relationship.
15	You saved your people from an attack by terrible monsters clawing their way up from the depths of the earth.
16	You brought a killer to justice, either a killer of your people or of another race.
17	You were born to a person of great importance or standing among your people.
18	You studied magic. Add scholar of magic to your list of professions.
19	You came into possession of ancient arcane magic. Start the game with an incantation containing two rank 0 spells.
20	You came into money. Start the game with 2d6 cp.

Thri-Kreen

The insectoid thri-kreen have six limbs and are covered in tough, sandy-colored chitinous plates. Their lowest pair of limbs is used as legs, and their upper pair of limbs serves as arms. The middle set of limbs is small but dexterous, and the thri-kreen use them for fine manipulation, leaving heavy work to the stronger upper arms. Both the middle and the upper pairs of limbs have three clawed fingers and one opposable thumb. In combat, thri-kreen hold weapons or shields in their upper limbs, since the middle pair lacks the strength for this purpose and using both sets of limbs would be awkward and unwieldy.

Swift and athletic, thri-kreen are natural climbers and jumpers. Their wedge-shaped heads have large compound eyes, two (mostly vestigial) antennae, and powerful mandibles. They can speak an accented form of Common but prefer their own language, which is easier to pronounce with their mouth parts.

Thri-kreen have short life spans and rarely reach 30 years of age.

Thri-kreen minds, behavior, and physiology often seem bizarre to members of other races. But despite their fierce appearance, the insectlike humanoids can be loyal and courageous companions. Thri-kreen have most of the same needs and morals as do other races; they simply prioritize those needs and morals differently. Most important, thri-kreen judge others solely on physical and mental ability. The lazy and weak deserve contempt, regardless of race; likewise, strength and cleverness merit respect no matter who demonstrates these qualities.

Thri-kreen view everything through the lens of the hunt and the predator-prey relationship. Their basic social units are the clutch and the pack. A clutch is a small group (no more than six) to which an individual kreen has a close bond. The concept of the clutch

combines “team,” “friends,” and “family.” Every thri-kreen has a birth clutch that consists of all surviving members of the group of eggs from which it hatched. Later in life, each kreen forms one or more other clutches, perhaps centered around adventuring groups or specialized hunting parties. A pack is a larger social unit that consists of any number of clutches. If deprived of a clutch, a thri-kreen is biologically compelled to seek out a new group to join.

Obeying their pack instincts, thri-kreen try to find their place in any group. They use a series of challenges to determine the pecking order, assessing their possible clutchmates in secret or, when necessary, demanding trial by combat. Thri-kreen seize leadership of groups in which they’re the strongest members, but they are willing to accept subordinate roles in the presence of powerful allies. They take orders from the pack or clutch leader without hesitation, eager to fulfill the duties of their position. Despite the apparent autocracy of a kreen group, any member is free to voice its opinion and offer advice. Indeed, each thri-kreen is expected to have expertise in matters the others do not. All must contribute to the good of the clutch and the success of the hunt.

In thri-kreen culture, combat is just another kind of hunt. Thri-kreen rarely fight out of malice and see no need for aggression unless it is the best means of obtaining the resources they need to survive. Self-defense is another matter—a thri-kreen who has been attacked can’t fathom any response other than a violent counterattack. After a victorious battle, a kreen’s first instinct is to collect any useful possessions that belonged to the attacker or (in the case of beasts) to harvest the body for food.

Many thri-kreen develop psionic abilities. Those who fully pursue these gifts often become mystics or seekers, taking advantage of their physical talents. Some attribute this natural ability to racial memory. Each member of the race is born with the clutch mentality and an innate knowledge of the Thri-Kreen language. When a thri-kreen encounters a place or an item that played an important part in kreen history, it might see flashes of the past—an upwelling of racial memories long suppressed but present in all kreen.

Creating a Thri-Kreen

Attribute Scores Strength 11, Agility 12, Intellect 8, Will

11
Perception equals your Intellect score
Defense equals your Agility score + 2
Health equals your Strength score
Healing Rate equals one-quarter your Health, round

down
Size 2, Speed 12, Power 0
Damage 0, Insanity 0, Corruption 0
Languages and Professions You speak Thri-kreen

and rather than start with two professions, choose

two of the following options: speak the Common

Tongue, Gatherer, Guide, Hunter, Nomad, Rustler, or

Tracker.
Insect Body Due to the nature of your form, you

cannot ride other creatures. As well, you cannot use

most items designed to be worn by humanoids,

such as rings, girdles, armor, and cloaks.
Extra Arms You have a second pair of arms that end

in clawed hands. These appendages are useful only

for fine manipulation and carrying small, lightweight

objects or performing minor activities. On your turn,

you can use a triggered action to reload a weapon.
Natural Weapons You can attack with your claws and

bite. They count as basic weapons that deal 1d6

damage.
Torpor Rather than sleep, thri-kreen enter a torpid

state. In this state, you remain aware of your

surroundings, and you require only 4 hours of torpor

(rather than 8 hours of sleep) to gain the benefit of

a rest. This also reduces you need for water to once

a week.
Powerful Ancestry When your group attains level 1,

you do not choose a novice path. Instead, whenever

the Advancement table in Shadow indicates you

would gain benefits from a novice path, you gain the

benefits from your ancestry for that level.
Starting Equipment You do not roll to determine your

wealth. Instead, you gain the items described in the

bulleted text below, making choices as directed.

• You have a gythka or chatkcha

• You have a small shield or a bow with 12 arrows

• You have a satchel (backpack), tinderbox, 1d3

   torches, a week of rations, and a waterskin

Level 1 Novice Thri-Kreen

Attribute Scores Increase two by 1.
Characteristics Health +5, Perception +1, Speed +2
Nimble Recovery You can use an action on your turn

to heal damage equal to your healing rate and move

up to half your Speed without triggering free

attacks. Once you use this talent, you cannot use it

again until after you complete a rest.

Level 2 Novice Thri-Kreen

Characteristics Health +5, Perception +1
Great Leap Your jumping distance is doubled.
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic Increase your Power by 1, discover a tradition,

and learn a spell from that tradition.
Weapon Training When you attack with a weapon,

you make the attack roll with 1 boon.

Level 4 Expert Thri-Kreen

Characteristics Health +5, Speed +2
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic Either discover a tradition or learn a spell from

a tradition you have already discovered.
Strike and Slash You can use an action to make an

attack with a weapon you are wielding and an

attack with your claws. You make each attack roll

with 1 bane.

Level 5 Expert Thri-Kreen

Characteristics Health +5
Venomous Bite When you make an unarmed strike,

you can attack with your mandibles. A success on

your attack roll against a living creature forces the

target to make a Strength challenge roll. A failure on

the challenge roll indicates the target becomes

poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned this way,

the target is immobilized.
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic Increase your Power by 1 and either discover a

tradition or learn a spell from a tradition you have

already discovered.
Combat Prowess Your attacks with weapons deal 1d6

extra damage.

Level 8 Master Thri-Kreen

Characteristics Health +5
Powerful Claws Attacks you make with your claws

deal 1d6 extra damage.
Gain one of the following benefits:
Magic Either discover a tradition or learn a spell from

a tradition you have already discovered.
Combat Expertise When you use an action to attack

with a weapon, you either deal 1d6 extra damage

with that weapon or make another attack against a

different target at any point before the end of your

turn.

Thri-Kreen Age and Build

3d6	Age & Build
3	You are a child, no more than 2 years old. You are 3 to 5 feet long and Size 1/2.
4–5	You are an adolescent, from 2 to 3 years old. You are 5 to 7 feet long and Size 1.
6–7	You are a young adult, from 3 to 4 years old. You are 7 to 9 feet long and Size 1.
8–9	You are an adult, from 4 to 5 years old. You are 9 to 10 feet long and Size 2.
10–11	You are a mature adult, from 5 to 6 years old. You are 10 to 11 feet long and Size 2.

3d6	Age & Build
12–17	You are of wandering age, from 6 to 25 years old. You are 11 feet long and Size 2.
18	You are a venerable adult, 25 years old or older. You are 11 feet long and Size 2.

Thri-Kreen Sub-Species

3d6	Sub-Species
3	J'ez; black chitin, organized and militant
4–5	J'hol; red chitin, fiery and merciless
6-15	Jeral; yellow chitin and less developed antennae, the most cultured of the kreen
16–17	T'keech; green chitin, simple (in the sense of pure) and unsophisticated
18	Tondi; purple chitin, reclusive

Thri-Kreen Personality

3d6	Personality
3	You are nervous, preferring to flee adversity rather than confront it.
4–5	You are erratic and changeable; your moods swing from one extreme to another with almost no warning.
6–8	Aggressiveness rules your personality, and you never back down from a conflict.
9–12	You are wild and fierce, but you curb your aggressive impulses when they would put your friends and family in danger.
13–15	You are courageous, eager to take risks.
16–17	You are bold, charismatic, and others are drawn to you.
18	You are calm, restrained, and patient.

Thri-Kreen Origins

d20	Origins
1	You were cast out of your clutch for a crime you committed against your people.
2	A disease laid your people low. You set out to find a cure, but you did not return in time. You are the sole survivor of your pack.
3	Your pack’s shaman spoke of dark times ahead. You and several others were sent into the Tablelands to join the struggle against this threat.
4	Your people betrayed you, so you left in anger, vowing never to return.
5	You challenged your clutch leader and lost. You left in disgrace.
6	Human raiders crossed the mountains and into your lands, slaying many of your kind. You have set out to bring them to justice.
7	You saw the dragon overhead and followed it to see where it went. You became lost in the mountains.
8	After enemies slaughtered your mate and children, you set out to exact vengeance.
9	You witnessed great magic and set out to learn more.
10	You led an uninteresting life and left to find your purpose in the world beyond the Savannah.
11	The spirits spoke to you and sent you from the Savannah to recover a relic of great power.
12	Horrible monsters annihilated your people and you left to seek vengeance.
13	You stumbled into a magic portal and emerged somewhere in the Tablelands.

d20	Origins
14	You befriended a human and ventured across the mountains to learn more of your people’s ancestral enemies. Add the Common Tongue to the list of languages you know.
15	An envoy from the rhul-thaun came to your pack requesting aid. You volunteered to help them.
16	Wanderlust drew you from the Savannah to see what lies beyond the mountains.
17	You were part of a patrol sent to watch for invaders, but your unit was wiped out and you were taken prisoner.
18	Monsters wiped out your people’s livestock. You left your clutch before you starved.
19	You scout human lands to learn about the lands beyond the mountains so your people can invade.
20	You set out to find your destiny in the wider world.

Character Paths

Novice Paths

Novice paths available in Dark Sun include the adept, magician, priest, rogue and warrior. Your novice path determines where you get your power for casting spells, be it Arcane, Psionic, or Primal.

Novice Paths

Path		Description
Adept		Adepts must follow a psychic tradition. In addition to Telepathy and Telekinesis, the traditions of Alteration, Divination, Soul and Teleportation are considered psychic traditions in Dark Sun.
Armiger		Drop all mention of "knightly" abilities and this path would make an excellent stand-in for a beast-rider path. Replace the warhorse with a heavy crodlu and the boon gained in social situations to only apply when dealing with animals or their owners.
Barbarian		No changes needed.
Brawler		No changes needed.
Enforcer		No changes needed
Gallant		No changes needed.
Hunter		No changes needed.
Magician		Magicians on Athas gain the Arcane Defiling talent for free. If they cast a spell without using arcane defiling, they may only do so during a slow turn. In addition, all magicians must use a minor activity to gather spell energy whenever they cast a spell.
Monk		Large monasteries for training monks don’t exist in DARK SUN, and so the monks of Athas learn their techniques directly from lone, more experienced monks. Popular in the gladiatorial arenas for their skill fighting without weapons or armor, many monks make their living as relatively pampered slaves of powerful nobles and templars.
Priest		Priests on Athas have no gods to draw power from or worship. Instead they turn to the elemental planes, spirits of the land, or the sorcerer-kings. Their choice of patron determines their access to magical traditions. They also receive a new talent Sacrifice for free. The Power Conjunction rules below replace the Holy Ground rules from the Uncertain Faith book.
Rogue		No changes needed.
Soldier		No changes needed.
Spellguard		No changes needed. This path could be appropriate for bodyguards in the veiled alliance.
Veteran		No changes needed.
Warrior		No changes needed.

Arcane Defiling (Magician Talent)

When you cast an arcane spell, you can choose to defile, destroying mundane plant life in a sphere centered on a point you can reach. The plants and soil turn to black ash. The damage to the land extends out a number of yards equal to the rank of the spell you cast while defiling (half this distance if the spell is cast within lush terrain). Rank 0 spells defile a single 1 yard cube. Plant creatures within the defiled area take 1d6 damage per spell rank. You are considered to be preserving unless you choose to defile.

While using arcane defiling you gain the following benefits:

• You may cast spells during a fast turn.
• Your spells are cast with 1 boon to the attack roll.
• You spells impose 1 bane on challenge rolls made to resist them.

Each time you use arcane defiling as a preserver, you are at risk of becoming a defiler. You must make a Will challenge roll the next time you complete a rest. You receive a number of banes on this roll equal to your current Corruption score.

On a failure, you gain 1 Corruption and you become a defiler. As a defiler, if you complete a rest without having defiled at least once during the previous day, you must make a Will challenge roll with 1 bane plus 1 bane for each day you have gone without defiling after the first. On a failure, you become fatigued. If you’re already fatigued from trying to resist defiling, you increase the number of banes imposed by the fatigued affliction by 1. Five consecutive successes and you are no longer a defiler, but you still retain any Corruption as a permanent stain on your soul.

Sacrifice (Priest Talent)

Any time you are within short range of a defiler's magical destruction area, you may substitute your life force for the spell's energy. You lose 1 health for every level of the spell you are trying to energize. When you make this sacrifice, the land will suffer no ill effects. If you cannot absorb all of the damage you lose all remaining health and whatever remains is taken from the land. You gain Fortune when you use this talent.

Priest Traditions

Patron	Associated Traditions
Elemental Plane of Air	Air, Divination, Storm
Elemental Plane of Earth	Earth, Metal, Nature
Elemental Plane of Fire	Destruction, Fire, Madness
Elemental Plane of Water	Life, Storm, Water
Abalach-Re	Chaos, Enchantment
Andropinis	Enchantment, Order
Borys	Destruction, Protection
Daskinor	Chaos, Madness
Dregoth	Death, Destruction
Hamanu	Battle, Order
Kalak	Arcana, Illusion
Lalali-Puy	Nature, Primal
Nibenay	Arcana, Telepathy
Oronis	Divination, Protection
Tectuktitlay	Battle, Blood, Forbidden
Spirit of the Land	Nature, Primal, Spiritualism, one of: Air, Earth, Fire, or Water

Power Conjunctions

A power conjunction occurs when a priest enters a realm where the element of his patron element is particularly plentiful, rich, or both.

An earth cleric is in conjunction whenever he is standing on rich and fertile soil; a well tended and irrigated field, or a meadow in the middle of a lush jungle.

Water clerics are in conjunction when they are in a substantial amount of water. A pool must be at least as big as a small pond; an oasis or a body of water such as Lake Pit or Lake Island qualify as power conjunctions for priests of water.

Air conjunctions occur when a priest stands in strong, near continuous winds. Many of the valleys of the Ringing Mountains, and almost all of the high peaks are subject to constant air currents. The fierce storms and the winds that whip across the Sea of Silt are also power conjunctions for air clerics.

Fire clerics are at home whenever there is a large fire. The fire must consume living beings or valuable materials in order to supply energy to the fire priest, and the flame needs to be fueled by at least 500 pounds of burning material. Dead matter, matter with no emotion or life associated with it provides no energy to the fire elementals, and none to their champion. A mere torch or a blazing campfire would not create a conjunction for a fire cleric - a blazing cottage would.

Silt conjunctions occur anywhere upon the Sea of Silt or the Estuary of the Forked Tongue. Quicksand and other, smaller concentrations do not create power conjunctions.

Magma clerics are in conjunction whenever they are a near a large amount of lava or molten rock. Almost without exception, this will only occur around the base or within the caverns of a volcano.

Sun clerics are in conjunction on days when the sun is high in the sky and the humidity is low enough that the sun's rays of aren't significantly blocked or distorted. On Athas, this can occur fairly often. To determine the humidity, roll a d20. On a 1 or 2, the priest is in conjunction for the entire day, as long as he remains outside!

Rain clerics are only in conjunction during a driving rain. This most often occurs on the Sea of Silt or within the Forest Ridge. A light drizzle doesn't provide the necessary energy for the conjunction - it must be a saturating downpour. To determine if it rains in an area of normal humidity (the Sea of Silt or the Forest Ridge), roll a d20. If a On a 1 or 2, the rain cleric has his storm. In most other areas of Athas, roll a d20.

When a priest is in conjunction, they receive a +1 bonus to Power as long as they remain in the area.

Expert and Master Paths

For spellcasting characters, expert and master paths can either become an extension of your novice path's abilities, or a chance to learn magic for an alternate source. For example, a character who begins as a magician wields arcane magic, but then chooses the psychic expert path. This would represent a new learning path for the character's magical abilities. Perhaps they had an innate psionic wild talent that suddenly manifested during a time of great stress, or perhaps a NPC detected hidden psionic potential in the character and offered to instruct them in its use. Characters that choose to access more than one power source should note which spells were learned from each path separately.

With this in mind, the player should work with the Game Master to ensure their character's path progression makes sense and can be explained within the campaign's story.

Certain paths in the various Shadow of the Demon Lord supplements are not a good thematic fit for Athas (i.e. gunslinger, paladin, theurge). These types of paths should only be selected if you have GM permission.

Legendary Path

If characters advance to the legendary level of play they may combine their spells from psionic and arcane/primal traditions to become "psionic enchantments". Indeed, this is how characters can evolve into Avangions, Dragon Kings, Mindlords of the Order, or Pyreen.

Equipment

In a world where survival always hangs in the balance, gear can be crucial. As you make your way across the Athasian wilds, your items help to keep thirst, starvation, sand, salt, and the blazing sun at bay. You need a good weapon and effective armor to fight off predators. A hardy mount can shorten your trip or, if you’re desperate, serve as extra provisions. In a pinch, the beast might distract a monster, throwing it off your trail—as long as the beast is meatier than you are.

Whatever gear you carry, consider its quality and how it will fare in Athas’s unforgiving environment. No one disputes that a metal breastplate is an enormous treasure and formidable protection. If you are forced to spend days traversing the scorching wastes, however, heavy armor can be a deadly burden.

In the wastes, you could uncover objects lost by travelers who failed the desert’s tests. More rarely, you might come across remnants of Athas’s mysterious past. These marvelous objects, perhaps meant for a gentler time, can be traded for items more suited to the age in which you live. Or, the powers and materials of these relics might be ideal for your needs or quests.

A Lack of Metal

Athas is nearly bereft of copper, iron, silver, and other metals. Perhaps the destruction of the Red Age ruined the world’s store of these ores in the same way that it ravaged the world-girding forests. Maybe these types of metal deposits were mined out centuries ago. Whatever the case, arms and armor crafted from metal appear only as ancient, enchanted heirlooms. They are well beyond the means of all but wealthy nobles or highly successful adventurers.

Most armor and weapons on Athas are made from substitute materials, such as bone, wood, or stone. With regard to cost and characteristics, these items are treated the same as normal equipment described in Shadow. For example, when you purchase a sword on Athas, you pay 5 bits, and it still deals 1d6 + 2 damage. The blade, however, is formed from something other than steel. The longsword might be made of sharpened, lacquered bone shards carefully fitted into shape, or it might be a wooden blade edged with obsidian. Other than the possibility of breakage (see the “Special Materials” sidebar, page 102 in Shadow), the different composite materials are matters of world flavor, not game mechanics.

Among enchanted items, both metal and non-metal items can be found. Enchanted metal armor also exists.

Prices

Ceramic is a functional alternative when it comes to minting coins, one used in the Dark Sun setting. In Athas, the standard coin is the ceramic piece (cr). Its spoked-wheel imprint allows the coin to be broken into 10 pie-shaped wedges called “bits” (bt), each valued at one-tenth of a ceramic piece. An even smaller unit, a tiny ceramic-glazed lead bead (bd) (often with a central hole for threading) is valued at one-hundredth of a ceramic piece.

For normal item costs, convert all standard goods directly from their listed gc/ss/cp prices to equivalent cr/bt/bd.

Availability

Common (C) and Uncommon (U) items that are made from metal, especially weapons and armor, have their availability upgraded to a minimum of Rare (R). Rare (R) items made from metal become Exotic (E).

Armor Descriptions

On Athas, an armorer might spend an entire career without accumulating a sufficient quantity of metal to create a suit of armor. Even if a windfall of metal were to be found, the techniques for forging such armor have largely been lost to the ages. Were these challenges overcome and the armor constructed, Athas’s ceaseless heat would leave the crafter with few interested buyers. For these reasons, Athas crafters turn to light materials, such as bone, chitin, bark, and wood, when assembling protective gear.

Clothing

Clothing includes everything from a slave’s rags to fine clothing suited to a noble. For more information on clothing, see Apparel and Accessories.

Full Plate

Plate armor is made from giant insect or crustacean chitin, or from the shells of creatures such as cha'thrangs or rare desert tortoises. Braxats and gaj provide the durable shells used to make more advanced plate armor. The rarest plate armor is derived from drakes and braxats. Armorers drill tiny ventilation holes in chitin-plate armor to make it bearable in all but the hottest weather. A suit includes a breastplate, greaves, guards, and a helmet.

Hard Leather

The leather armors of Athas are made from a variety of desert creatures. The tougher and more dangerous creatures provide skins for hard leather armor. Domesticated animals such as the inix, the baazrag, and the jhakar produce fine leathers. An armorer set on making more fantastic protective gear, such as that from the skin of a cloud ray, a drake, or a floating mantle, is hard-pressed to assemble the necessary materials. Suit or hard leather consist of a breastplate, shoulder guards, greaves, boots, and a cap. Each component is boiled in oil and then shaped to conform to the wearer’s body. Some suits feature studs or spikes.

Hide (Brigandine)

Hide armors also are formed from the skins of various desert creatures. Less dangerous beasts such as the tembo and the kank provide materials for lower-cost armors. The most advanced armors come from the hides of the Athasian roc and the nightmare beast. It typically consists of a long-sleeved coat with greaves for the legs.

Mail

Crafting chainmail without metal is challenging. Still, Athasian armorers have managed. They adorn stiff leather jacks with small disks or squares of horn, bone, or wood. The kank and the cilops have hard body parts ideal for the creation of mail coats. The greatest suits of mail armor are worn by the elite guards of the sorcerer-kings. The armor includes a hood, sleeved shirt, and leggings. It also comes with a helmet.

Plate and Mail

This full suit of mail is reinforced with plates, bands, or splints. Such armor includes a breastplate, greaves, guards, and other components worn over mail and a padded undergarment. It includes a full helmet.

Scale

Heavier Athasian scale armor is made from horn, scales, and carapaces, such as those found on mekillots or shed by thri-kreen. Advanced scale armor is created from the tough, thick hides of terrifying rampagers and drakes. The greatest armor of this type is formed from scales shed by the Dragon as it rampages through a region. It covers the torso, arms, and lower body. The suit also includes a helmet.

Soft Leather

Basically leather clothing, soft leather offers minimal protection, but can be worn by anyone. The feathers of avian creatures on Athas, such as the carrion-eating kestrekel and the vulture-like aarakocra, are woven into soft leather to give it protective qualities. More advanced armor is spun from crystal spider silk, giant hair, or silk wyrm thread.

Weapons

The weapons of metal-poor Athas feature bone, crystal, obsidian, and wood. These materials change little about the weapon’s usefulness. Some Athasian weapons feature the following new property.

Brutal: A brutal weapon’s minimum damage is higher than that of a normal weapon. When rolling the weapon’s damage, reroll any die that displays a value equal to or lower than the brutal value given for the weapon. Reroll the die until the value shown exceeds the weapon’s brutal value, and then use the new value.

For example, the gouge has the brutal 1 property. If a fighter wielding this weapon hits with an attack, the player rolls 3d6 for the weapon damage, rerolling any die result of 1 until the die shows 2 or higher.

Ammunition

Ammunition	Price
Pelota (5)	5 bd
Pelota, Hinged (1)	5 bd

Weapon Descriptions

The weapons found on the table above are described below, in alphabetical order, along with any special options the wielder has for their use.

Alhulak: This weapon is an unusual flail. A short length of rope separates a four-bladed, hafted grappling hook from the handle.

Cahulaks: This weapon features two four-bladed, hafted heads separated by a length of rope. When one end of this weapon is held by the haft, the rope is long enough to grant the other end reach. The entire weapon can be thrown. When attacking, a creature wielding this weapon may spend its triggered action to make an additional attack with 2 banes that deals half damage.

Carrikal: This axe has two forward-facing blades carved from the front of a large jawbone, commonly that of a mekillot.

Chatkcha: This throwing wedge, often shaped from crystal or obsidian, is a thri-kreen invention. It returns to a wielder’s hand after the ranged attack is resolved.

Dejada: A long, scooped basket fitted to a glove-like bracer, the dejada is used to hurl projectiles. Ammunition can be a fist-sized stone, but the weapon is also used to extend the range of explosive alchemical mixtures.

Dragon Paw: Short blades attach to either end of this staff. In the center of this double weapon is a guard with a protruding blade perpendicular to the staff. The light, middle blade can be used for quick jabs, ideal for a warrior with a roguish bent. When attacking, a creature wielding this weapon may spend its triggered action to make an additional attack with 2 banes that deals half damage.

Gauntlet Axe: This heavy bracer holds two light crescent blades, turning the forearm into an axe while keeping the hand free. The weapon can also serve as a small shield.

Gouge: This spadelike weapon has a long haft with a handle on the end. The head is a wide, double-edged blade with a stabbing point at the top. Some gouges are fitted with a strap or a harness, making the weapon easier to carry.

   Gythka: Each end of this thri-kreen staff has a small, crescent-shaped blade with a centered stabbing tine. A gythka can be thrown like a javelin. When attacking, a creature wielding this weapon may spend its triggered action to make an additional attack with 2 banes that deals half damage.

Lotulis: This short-staffed double weapon sports outward-pointing, barbed crescent blades on each end. When attacking, a creature wielding this weapon may spend its triggered action to make an additional attack with 2 banes that deals half damage.

Puchik: A bone or obsidian punching dagger.

Shields: Like armor, shields rely on wood, chitin, shell, and similar materials for their construction.

Singing Stick: The ends of this 2 1/2-foot-long, narrow rod are carved to be slightly wider than the middle. It whistles as it spins in the hands of a proficient user.

Talid: Made from leather, chitin, and bone, this spiked “gladiator’s gauntlet” augments unarmed attacks. Opponents suffer 1 bane when attempting to disarm a talid.

Tortoise Blade: This bony or chitinous plate is affixed with a short blade that points forward from the wielder’s hand. A tortoise blade and a spiked shield are considered to be the same weapon.

Trikal: This polearm projects three blades symmetrically lengthwise from its haft. A trikal is equivalent to a halberd.

Widow’s Knife: Although this weapon originated as a harvesting tool, it has become a favorite in noble courts. The blade is a flat semicircle. The grip can be modified to hold poison. A widow’s knife and dagger are similar weapons.

Wrist Razor: This weapon consists of three sharp blades that protrude from a sturdy bracer, freeing the wielder’s hand. A shield cannot be worn on the same arm as wrist razors. Wrist razors do not need to be drawn, nor do they need to be sheathed for the wielder to use the hand the razors are on. Opponents suffer 1 bane when attempting to disarm a wrist razor.

Magic & Psionics

Psionic power is prevalent on Athas, and many natives practice the psionic arts. Widely known as “the Way,” psionics serves the same purposes that arcane and divine magic serve on other worlds. It offers a potent weapon against enemies, a sturdy shield against harm, and the ability to perceive hidden things. Most nobles and merchants employ talented psionic masters to advise them, spy for them, and foil the efforts of masters who work for their rivals. Poor or nomadic Athasians who miss the chance to train their powers formally can develop wild talents, psionic abilities that can be surprisingly powerful. More than one gladiator has died in surprise after a foe in the arena used a wild talent to telekinetically grab a discarded weapon or teleport a potion fruit to a wounded ally.

Arcane magic is dangerous and uncommon. Without taking special care by using the technique of "preserving" — an arcane spellcaster can defile the immediate surroundings by casting a spell. Fundamental vitality is leeched away: Plants wither, animals and people suffer crippling pain, and the soil at the site of the casting is drained such that nothing will grow in that spot again. Because of this harm done to the world, those who use arcane magic are hated and persecuted across Athas. They must practice their arts in secret or seek the patronage of a sorcerer-king and gain the ruler’s sanction for their spellcasting.

Primal magic is more widespread than arcane magic, although it is rarely practiced in the cities. Out in the barrens, wielders of primal magic serve as healers and defenders of their villages or tribes. Shamans, druids, wardens, and other primal wielders are regarded with deep suspicion by the templars, who dislike the notion of magic that lies outside the control of their tyrannical overlords.

Divine magic is virtually unknown on Athas. The gods of old have been silent for dozens of centuries. The ruins of ancient shrines and fragments of crumbling texts in the sorcerer-kings’ libraries suggest that the gods were more active in the past. In the absence of true divinities, Athasians turn to other types of gods. Some sorcerer-kings pretend to godhood and build false mythologies, encouraging their subjects to worship them. Other Athasians venerate the primal spirits of the world or turn to cults of demons or primordials. Unfortunately for worshipers, a primordial makes for a grim and uncaring deity, taking little notice of its mortal servants.

Arcane Magic

On Athas, arcane magic draws on the vitality of plants, animals, and minor primal spirits. But if a practitioner draws too deeply, the life form fueling the spell might be damaged or destroyed. This act of destruction is called defiling. The greater the spell, the more widespread the damage is. Defiling is a major cause for the world’s foul condition. Other power sources do not have this corrupting effect on the environment.

An Athasian arcane spellcaster has a choice between defiling and preserving. Defiling is easy and intoxicating, but it destroys or damages the life from which a spell draws power. Preserving is difficult and requires care, and it avoids harming the world around the caster. When you begin as an arcane spellcaster, you might dabble in both arts, or you could let your morals or needs dictate your choices. Eventually, your use or rejection of defiling defines you as a defiler or a preserver.

The Defiler's Path

The easiest and most expedient path to power is defiling. Characters can use arcane defiling to alter the outcome of their most powerful spells by ruthlessly drawing vitality from nearby plant life. Many defilers destroy their surroundings even when performing minor spells. They relish the rush of power and the intimidating effect.

Defiling transforms small plants and vital nutrients in the soil into ash. Larger plants blacken and become brittle, often dying days later. The residue of these destroyed life forms is inert, leaving defiled lands barren and scarred for decades. The most powerful defilers can use the act of defiling as a weapon, harming creatures in addition to plants.

The Preserver's Path

Preservers believe that preserving is its own reward, given the state of the world. Through discipline, a preserver draws arcane power carefully instead of tearing it from the environment. Thus, a preserver can use spells without harming plant life. After finishing a spell, a preserver returns any excess energy to the environment. The most committed preservers eventually give up the ability to defile.

Disguising Arcane Spells & Grimoires

Arcane magic is illegal and can attract hostility, so a spellcaster often needs to conceal its use. When you cast an arcane spell without defiling, you can disguise the magic as another type of power, such as primal or psionic. Most people can’t distinguish between types of magic. If a spellcaster is defiling, he or she cannot disguise the arcane magic because of the visible effect on the environment.

Athasian wizards conceal their grimoires from templars, rival wizards and others with ability to discern them for what they are. Grimoires take many forms, including animal hides, stone and clay tablets, bone staves, knotted giant hair and necklaces of colored beads. Wizards use different, often personalized codes and systems for organizing their spells.

The Game Master might call for a Perception roll against a wizard's Intellect to detect arcane magic when it is performed in the presence of enemies familiar with psionic or arcane power, such as templars, defilers, or nobles. Likewise, someone inspecting a grimoire must make a Perception roll against the owner's Intellect to identify it as such.

Psychic Traditions

Psionic energy suffuses Athas, making it the most common and accessible power source. Most inhabitants of Athas are born with some small aptitude for psionics. The following Traditions are considered Psychic Traditions on Athas (see page 33 of the Demon Lord's Companion).

• Alteration (Psychometabolism)
• Divination (Clairvoyance)
• Soul (Metapsionics)
• Telekinesis (Psychokinesis)
• Telepathy
• Teleportation (Psychoportation)

Bestiary

Creature Descriptions

This chapter presents creatures in alphabetical order, followed by entries for typical characters who might be encountered. For an index of all the creatures in the game, presented in order of Difficulty, see the end of this chapter.

Aarakocra

The vulture-folk wheel high in the still sky above the rocky badlands and scrub plains, watching for movement and other signs of prey below. Most Athasians revile the aarakocras for their willingness to extort, rob, and even eat travelers in the wastes. To survive and prosper, these desert scavengers band together in insular tribes, each staking out—and fiercely defending—its territory.

Aarakocras are hunters and scavengers that eat just about any meat they find. They loot whatever they can from victims claimed by the wastes. Most residents of Athas try to avoid aarakocras, considering them to be sordid opportunists, but the vulture-folk have few sworn enemies.

The aarakocras keep to the skies, and their homes are built high on cliffs or mesa tops. From there, scouts search the nearby desert for food and intruders. Their sharp eyes miss little in the barren wilds, and a tribe brooks no intrusion on its territory without receiving tribute in compensation. Lost travelers who pay the requested amount might receive guidance to a landmark or a safer part of the wilderness. If rebuffed, the aarakocras won’t hesitate to kidnap members of a trespassing party and hold them for ransom. To avoid harassment, merchant houses sometimes make deals with powerful aarakocra tribes; weaker tribes, reluctant to draw the ire of their stronger kin, leave those merchants alone.

Despite their reputation as distasteful scavengers, aarakocras are deeply spiritual. They revere the sky and the sun as primal entities. Those members of a tribe that wield primal power use spirits and elementals to aid their kin in mundane tasks as well as in battle.

Aarakocras are rarely found in the company of other humanoids, although they sometimes work with kenku tribes. They also follow raiders or dangerous monsters from the air, picking off survivors of the predators’ attacks. Aarakocras train flying beasts as pets, and they use rituals to bring air elementals and spirits into the world.

Slavers steal aarakocra young and eggs, selling the creatures to nobles and merchant houses as slaves. These nobles and merchants, in turn, put the vulturefolk to work as soldiers and scouts.

Aarakocra speak Common. Most also know Auran.

Aarakocra Diver

Plummeting silently from the sky, aarakocra divers swoop down upon their foes, demonstrating a bravery that is absent in many of their kin. The cunning divers choose angles of descent that leave their prey blinking up into the crimson sun, trying to make out the plunging shapes that grow larger and larger.

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Aarakocra Diver

10

Size 1 aarakocra

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• Perception 12 (+2); shadowsight
• Defense 13; Health 20;
• Strength 12 (+2); Agility 14 (+4); Intellect 9 (-1); Will 13 (+3)
• Speed 10; flier (swoop)

ATTACK OPTIONS

Longspear (melee; reach +2) +2 with 1 boon (1d6)

Bite (melee) +4 with 1 boon (1d6)

SPECIAL ATTACKS

Diving Charge The diver moves up to twice its Speed. Once at any point during this movement, it attacks with its longspear. On a success, the target takes 1d6 extra damage and falls prone.

SPECIAL ACTIONS

Sly Takeoff The diver uses an action or a triggered action on its turn to fly up to its Speed. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

Aarakocra Warrior

The warriors of an aarakocra tribe descend from the air in numbers, flapping in close enough to thrust their spears into their foes. The unnerving battle shrieks of the warriors echo eerily in the canyons of the badlands and resound far across the desert plains.

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Aarakocra Warrior

1

Size 1 aarakocra

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• Perception 12 (+2); shadowsight
• Defense 13; Health 12;
• Strength 12 (+2); Agility 14 (+4); Intellect 9 (-1); Will 13 (+3)
• Speed 10; flier (swoop)

ATTACK OPTIONS

Spear (melee) +4 (1d6)

SPECIAL ACTIONS

Sly Takeoff The warrior uses an action or a triggered action on its turn to fly up to its Speed. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

Aarakocra Windcaller

The vulture-folk venerate the wind, and their tribal shamans entreat the spirits of the air to topple and smite their foes. Only the windcallers know the secret prayers and rituals to buffet enemies with violent gales and summon great dust clouds to cloak the aarakocras as they swoop in for the kill.

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Aarakocra Windcaller

10

Size 1 aarakocra

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• Perception 13 (+3); shadowsight
• Defense 14; Health 25;
• Strength 12 (+2); Agility 13 (+3); Intellect 9 (-1); Will 14 (+4)
• Speed 10; flier (swoop)
• Leadership Other creatures within medium range of this creature that are friendly to it and that can see it make attack rolls with 1 boon.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Claw (melee) +3 with 1 boon (1d6)

SPECIAL ACTIONS

Prayer When a creature within short range of the windcaller makes a challenge roll or an attack roll, the windcaller can use a triggered action to grant 1 boon to the triggering roll.

Sly Takeoff The windcaller uses an action or a triggered action on its turn to fly up to its Speed. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

MAGIC

Power 2

Air buffeting winds (1), heat wave (2), wind blast (3)

Anakore

Sweltering desert travelers who curse the blazing sun overhead might breathe a sigh of relief when the crimson orb sets, but their solace proves short-lived as the shapes sliding beneath the dunes reveal themselves. When the sun dies away, the primitive, simple-minded anakores burst from the sands, eager to seize the prey they have stealthily tracked during the daylight hours.

Anakores live beneath loose dunes of dust or sand. They can sense vibrations of prey passing on the surface, and some anakores can smell blood spilled on the earth above. Only ravenous anakores attack prey during the day. Instead, they lurk beneath the sands and track promising game until sunset.

These nomadic creatures follow prey from place to place, seldom lairing in one location for long. They travel and hunt in small packs, and the most successful stalker among them is their leader. Anakores usually bring down as many kills as they can before retreating to feast. Each member of the pack has a role in the attack. Dune kings burst from the sand with great force, leading the attack and unsettling the terrain to provide the anakores with an advantage. Renders tear into the quarry savagely, weakening them before the kill. Hunters separate individual victims from the group, dragging them below the sand one by one.

While on the move, anakores subsist on roots, including poisonous specimens that aid in the production of the anakore paralytic. A telltale sign of recent anakore movement is an area filled with fallen, rootless plants. Occasionally, a particularly cunning dune king disposes of the foliage so as not to give away the pack’s presence, but this level of craftiness is rare.

Little is known about the origins of the anakores. According to an ancient tale, terrors from beyond the sky touched the humanoids that were forebears of the creatures. Afterward, these ancestors recoiled from the burning sun and burrowed below the wastes to find cool, embracing darkness. Beneath the sands, the creatures dreamed dark reveries and became nightmares of the desert.

No discernible characteristics distinguish anakores as male or female. It is whispered that the creatures produce no young, instead dragging selected victims to weird hollows under the sands. Inside these wombs, the captives become new anakores rather than meals. How and why the anakores choose particular individuals as their new kin is unknown.

Anakores avoid battle on terrain in which they cannot burrow. They appear with others of their kind or with other burrowing creatures, such as bulettes, hejkins, galeb duhrs, and kruthiks. Wasteland raiders convince groups of anakores to work for them by paying the creatures with food and shiny baubles. Dreams and visions also entice anakores to explore ancient ruins where other aberrant creatures dwell, some of which are stronger and more clever than even the dune kings. In such places, anakores serve these creatures and join in their incomprehensible rites.

Anakores speak a debased form of Deep Speech.

Anakore Hunter

The shuddering dunes might herald more than wind. Anakore hunters burrow beneath the loose earth, alert to prey that they can surprise and drag under the surface. The hunters leave their prey there to suffocate while they focus on dragging down other quarry.

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Anakore Hunter

10

Size 1 monster

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• Perception 12 (+2); sightless
• Defense 12; Health 15;
• Strength 14 (+4); Agility 13 (+3); Intellect 8 (-2); Will 12 (+2)
• Speed 10; Tunnel
• Immune blinded
• Sunlight Weakness An anakore is impaired while in an area lit by sunlight.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Claw (melee) +4 with 1 boon (1d6, plus the target is grabbed)

Bite (melee) +4 with 1 boon (1d6 plus Poison)

Poison The target must make a Strength challenge roll. On a failure, it takes 1d6 damage and becomes slowed for 1 minute. If the target is already slowed, it is instead immobilized.

SPECIAL ATTACKS

Drag Under The anakore makes a Strength attack roll against the Strength of one grabbed or immobilized creature it can reach. On a success, the target takes 1d6+2 damage and the target becomes impaired as the anakore drags the target under the earth. At the end of each round the target is impaired in this way, it must make a Strength challenge roll with 1 boon, removing this affliction on a success. After three failures, the target suffocates and dies.

SPECIAL ACTIONS

Tunnel The anakore moves up to its Speed through earth, sand, or other material of similar consistency. It leaves a 1-yard-diameter tunnel behind it.

Anakore Render

Sliding from the sand with a grace that belies its bulk, an anakore render sets upon wounded and weak prey. The bloodthirsty predator serves as the center of a coordinated ambush by a pack of anakores, making foes more vulnerable to attacks from its allies.

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Anakore Render

10

Size 1 monster

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• Perception 13 (+3); sightless
• Defense 12; Health 30;
• Strength 15 (+5); Agility 13 (+3); Intellect 8 (-2); Will 14 (+4)
• Speed 10; Tunnel
• Immune blinded
• Sunlight Weakness An anakore is impaired while in an area lit by sunlight.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Claw (melee) +5 with 1 boon (1d6, plus the target is shoved 2 yards and falls prone)

Rending Bite (melee) +5 with 1 boon (1d6 plus Poison)

Poison The target must make a Strength challenge roll. On a failure, it takes 1d6 damage and becomes slowed for 1 minute. If the target is already slowed, it is instead immobilized.

SPECIAL ATTACKS

Blood Frenzy The render attacks an injured or prone target twice with its claw.

SPECIAL ACTIONS

Tunnel The render moves up to its Speed through earth, sand, or other material of similar consistency. It leaves a 1-yard-diameter tunnel behind it.

END OF THE ROUND

Blood Hunger The render moves up to half its Speed towards an injured creature. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

Anakore Dune King

Sliding from the sand with a grace that belies its bulk, an anakore render sets upon wounded and weak prey. The bloodthirsty predator serves as the center of a coordinated ambush by a pack of anakores, making foes more vulnerable to attacks from its allies.

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Anakore Dune King

10

Size 1 monster

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• Perception 13 (+3); sightless
• Defense 15; Health 30;
• Strength 14 (+4); Agility 15 (+5); Intellect 9 (-1); Will 13 (+3)
• Speed 10; Tunnel
• Immune blinded
• Sunlight Weakness An anakore is impaired while in an area lit by sunlight.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Claw (melee) +5 with 1 boon (1d6, plus Poison)

Poison The target must make a Strength challenge roll. On a failure, it takes 1d6 damage and becomes slowed for 1 minute. If the target is already slowed, it is instead immobilized.

SPECIAL ATTACKS

Sand Eruption The dune king uses Tunnel and then erupts from under the ground. Throwing rubble into the air that rains down and deals 2d6 damage to everything within 2 yards. Creatures and objects in the area are also moved 1d6 yards away from the origin point. Each creature in the area must make a Strength challenge roll. It falls prone on a failure, or just takes half the damage on a success. Afterward, the ground within 5 yards of the origin point is filled with rubble, becoming difficult terrain until cleared.

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SPECIAL ACTIONS

Tunnel The render moves up to its Speed through earth, sand, or other material of similar consistency. It leaves a 1-yard-diameter tunnel behind it.

END OF THE ROUND

Sand Slide The dune king moves 1 yard. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

Baazrag

A lone baazrag stalks the desert plains, hunting a large, six-legged beast amid the dunes and rocks. When the prey realizes the danger, it attempts to escape, but not before the baazrag’s jaws shut over a back leg. The quarry whirls and hisses, its jagged mandibles clicking furiously. The baazrag pads backward a few paces and looses a piercing squeal. Within seconds, further squeaks answer from nearby, and a dozen more baazrags bound over the dunes. The ferocious pack closes around the beetlelike creature and takes it down, one vicious bite at a time.

Anywhere that rough terrain provides cover for their burrows, baazrags can be found in large numbers. These wild beasts are vermin that eat anything they can find. Each individual sees to its own needs, fattening up on weeds and tiny prey, and storing water in a sac under its bony back shell. When larger prey is found, the pack works together for the promise of a good meal for all.

All baazrags are born female. Some members of a pack become male when an egg-laying breeder is nearby. These males tend to the breeder, defending her and her eggs as well as any hatchlings.

Powerful baazrags have a natural psychic sensitivity. Large psychic disturbances irritate these creatures and can drive them to attack.

Baazrag Whelp

Baazrags are born hunters, but they are vulnerable when young. A whelp sticks close to its siblings until it is large enough to hunt on its own. Eventually, the whelp breaks away from its kin, but it continues to remain near the pack.

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Baazrag Whelp

1

Size 1/2 animal

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• Perception 11 (+1)
• Defense 11; Health 5
• Strength 8 (-2); Agility 13 (+3); Intellect 6 (-4); Will 12 (+2)
• Speed 12
• Scrambler A baazrag whelp ignores difficult terrain when retreating.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Bite (melee) +3 (1d6 + 1)

Pack Fighting When the baazrag attacks a target within the reach of another creature with Pack Fighting that is friendly to the baazrag, it makes the attack roll with 1 boon. Otherwise, it makes the attack roll with 1 bane.

Baazrag Gnawer

The gnawer lives near its packmates in hollows found in stony barrens. It bounds among the rocks, making chirps and clicks to keep the other baazrags informed about what it finds. The gnawer is the most tenacious hunter of the pack—once it clamps onto its prey, it refuses to let go.

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Baazrag Gnawer

5

Size 1/2 animal

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• Perception 11 (+1)
• Defense 11; Health 10
• Strength 9 (-1); Agility 13 (+3); Intellect 6 (-4); Will 12 (+2)
• Speed 12
• Latcher While grabbing a creature, creatures make attack rolls with 1 bane when attacking the gnawer.

ATTACK OPTIONS

Bite (melee) +3 with 1 boon (1d3 + 1 plus poison, and the target is grabbed on attack roll 20+)

Pack Fighting When the baazrag attacks a target within the reach of another creature with Pack Fighting that is friendly to the baazrag, it makes the attack roll with 1 boon. Otherwise, it makes the attack roll with 1 bane.

Poison The target must make a Strength challenge roll. On a failure, it takes 1d6 damage and becomes poisoned for 1 minute. If the target is already poisoned, it instead takes 1d6 extra damage.

END OF THE ROUND

Bounder The gnawer jumps up to half its Speed. This movement does not trigger free attacks.

Creatures By Difficulty

XP value divided by 25

Difficulty 1

Name	Descriptor	Size
Aarakocra Warrior	Aarakocra	1
Baazrag Whelp	Animal	1/2
Elf Sniper	Elf
Feasting Zombie	Undead
Gith Savage	Gith
Human Slave	Human
Kestrekel Carrion Eater	Animal
Silk Wyrm Hatchling	Monster
Ssurran Hunter	Lizardman
Thri-Kreen Bounder	Thri-Kreen

Difficulty 5

Name	Descriptor	Size
Baazrag Gnawer	Animal	1/2
Baazrag Swarm	Animal
Belgoi Craven	Faerie
Erdlu	Animal
Gith Hobbler	Gith
Halfling Forest Runner	Halfling
Halfling Wilder	Halfling
Hejkin Chanter	Hejkin
Hejkin Raver	Hejkin
Hejkin Sparker	Hejkin
Human Dune Trader	Human (Leader)
Human Gladiator Novice	Human
Human Wasteland Raider	Human
Inix Juvenile	Animal
Jhakar Tracker	Animal
Jhakar Trapjaw	Animal
Jossi	Elf
Kank Soldier	Animal
Kank Spitter	Animal
Kestrekel Blood Flock	Animal
Salt Zombie	Undead
Silt Horror Tentacle	Monster
Silt Runner Darter	Silt Runner
Silt Runner Inciter	Silt Runner (Leader)
Silt Runner Rager	Silt Runner
Spider, Crystal	Animal
Ssurran Shaman	Lizardman
Tarek Earth Shaman	Tarek (Leader)
Tarek Raider	Tarek
Wight Thrall	Undead
Zombie Cactus Thrall	Plant

Difficulty 10

Name	Descriptor	Size
Aarakocra Diver	Aarakocra	1
Aarakocra Windcaller	Aarakocra (Leader)	1
Anakore Dune King	Monster (Leader)
Anakore Hunter	Monster
Anakore Render	Monster
Baazrag Breeder	Animal
Belgoi Hunter	Faerie
Belgoi Stalker	Faerie
Black Reaver Zombie	Undead
Braxat Juvenile	Braxat
Chathrang	Animal
Cilops Creeper	Animal
Dray Slaver	Dray
Dwarf Sunpriest	Dwarf
Elf Dune Strider	Elf
Elf Raid Leader	Elf
Floating Mantle Polyp	Monster
Gith Drone	Gith
Gith Spearhead	Gith
Half-Giant Enforcer	Half-Giant
Half-Giant Enforcer Legbreaker	Half-Giant
Halfling Forest Keeper	Halfling
Hejkin Chief	Hejkin (Leader)
Human Overseer	Human (Leader)
Inix Adult	Animal
Mul Chainfighter	Mul
Mul Gladiator	Mul
Mul Savage	Mul (Leader)
Raaig Tomb Spirit	Undead
Ssurran Dune Mystic	Lizardman
Street Mansabdar	Human
Thri-Kreen Mauler	Thri-Kreen
Ulruun	Dwarf
War Crodlu	Animal

Difficulty 25

Name	Descriptor
Belgoi Caller	Faerie (Leader)
Brohg Hurler	Giant
Cilops Stalker	Animal
Cinder Zombie	Undead
Cloud Ray Pup	Genie
Dune Reaper Drone	Monster
Dune Runner Wight	Undead
Floating Mantle	Monster
Half-Giant Gladiator	Half-Giant
Halfling Headhunter	Halfling
Haneth Tsalaxa	Human
Human Slavehunter	Human
Human Templar of Tyr	Human
Hunter Cactus	Plant
Id Fiend	Monster
Kirre	Monster
Legionnaire Vestige	Construct
Mekillot	Animal
Moon Priest	Human
Nganga	Human
Shadow Bride	Human
Silk Wyrm Adult	Monster
Silt Shark	Animal
Thrax	Undead

Difficulty 50

Name	Descriptor
Beast Giant	Giant
Brohg Warrior	Giant
Dagorran Ambusher	Monster
Dagorran Mindhound	Monster
Dray Scorned Champion	Dray
Dune Golem	Construct
Dune Reaper Shriek	Monster
Dune Reaper Warrior	Monster
Floating Mantle Bluesting	Monster
Gaj Mindhunter	Monster
Gaj Pain Tyrant	Monster
Half-Giant King's Guard	Half-Giant
Human Blade Noble	Human
Human Defiler	Human
Human Mind Adept	Human
Mul Champion	Mul
Psurlon Dustworm	Monster
Raaig Crypt Lord	Undead
Salt Golem	Construct
Sand Bride	Faerie
Silk Wyrm Elder	Monster
Spider, White Widow	Animal
Tembo	Monster
Toil Templar	Human
Thri-Kreen Mantis Warrior	Thri-Kreen
Zeburon	Human
Zombie Cactus	Plant

Difficulty 100

Name	Descriptor
Braxat Raider	Braxat
Brohg Renegade	Giant
Dray Atavist	Dray
Dray Defiler	Dray
High Kuotaha	Human
High Praetor	Human
Jasuan Temple Guard	Human
Maetan Lubar	Human
Mearedes	Half-Giant
Megapede	Animal
Nightmare Beast Spawn	Monster
Oath Wight	Undead
Psurlon Mindworm	Monster
Psurlon Warworm	Monster
Raaig Soulflame	Undead
Shadow Giant	Undead
Silt Horror	Monster
Vizier's Skeleton	Undead

Difficulty 250

Name	Descriptor
Absalom	Undead
Beast Titan	Giant
Drake, Fire	Genie
Drake, Air	Genie
Dwarf War Chief	Dwarf
Judaga	Human
Mekillot Dirk	Animal
Obsidian Golem	Construct
Tectuktitlay, Sorcerer-King	Human

Difficulty 500

Name	Descriptor
Andropinis, Sorcerer-King	Human
Braxat Lord	Braxat
Cloud Ray Adult	Genie
Drake, Earth	Genie
Drake, Water	Genie
High Consort	Human
Lord Vizier	Undead
Rampager	Monster

Difficulty 1,000

Name	Descriptor
Abalach-Re, Sorcerer-Queen	Human
Cloud Ray Elder	Genie
Dragon of Tyr	Monster
Dregoth, Sorcerer-King	Undead
Hamanu, Sorcerer-King	Human
Lalali-Puy, Sorcerer-Queen	Human
Nibenay, Sorcerer-King	Human
Nightmare Beast	Monster