Making a character for Eriu

Here is all you need to know to be able to create a character for the Eriu setting. Regardless of what race and background you choose, you gain the following benefits:

• you gain 3 points you can use to increase your ability scores. You cannot put more than 2 points into one ability, and you can exchange two points for a feat of your choice.
• you gain one proficiency of your choice (skill, tool, language or weapon).
• You gain a racial die. At first level, this is a d4. This changes at 4th level (1d6), 8th level (1d8), 12th level (1d10) and 16th level (1d12). This die can be rolled and added to a check specified by your race. Once expended, you regain your racial die after a short rest.

Fluffing your background

when you create your character, consider the following questions:

• who did you look up to as a child?
• who do you hate most of all?
• who hates you most of all?
• what is your greatest ambition?
• what is your greatest fear?
• what kind of foe would you particularly dislike?
• what are you doing running around in a forest?

Human

Humans have a long history.Human civilisatiom on Eriu has risen and fallen several times over the centuries, but men have always proven resourceful in recovering from hardship. At this time, humans are the most populous race in the world, inhabiting the many kingdoms on the continent.

Subraces

Four subraces of humans are known by scholars, two of which survive to this day. If you play a human, decide whether you are of Fir Bolg or Milesian descent. There is no mechanical difference between the two.

Parthalonians

The original human settlers of Eriu, the followers of Parthalón are schrouded in mystery. Little evidence of their existence remains except for few scattered ruins. According to legend, the entire Parthalonian population was decimated by plague within a single week, with survivors scattered across the world.

Since Parthalonians are extinct, they are not a playable subrace.

Nemedians

The Nemedians were the second group of humans to colonise Eriu. According to legend, Nemed was the descendant of Parthalón himself, returned to reclaim his ancestor's land. Most of the ancient human ruins across the continent were built by the followers of Nemed. Despite winning several battles against the evil Fomorians, eventually another plague strikes, killing Nemed himself, and the war is lost. The surviving human population was enslaved and oppressed by the Formorians. After many years, they rise up in rebellion. During the war that followed, both peoples are decimated and the remaining Nemedians scatter in a storm.

Since Nemedians are extinct, they are not a playable subrace.

Fir Bolg

The original Fir Bolg, or 'men of bags', were the descendents of the Nemedians who sailed to a distant land and were, according to stories, enslaved there. After many long decades, they free themselves and sail back to their ancestral homeland. Assisted by the Tuatha de Denann, from the Otherworld, they fought and finally defeated the Fomorian Empire. They were subjected to Tuatha rule for centuries until the coming of the Milesians. The eastern kingdoms of Eriu, including Argyll, are of Fir Bolg descent.

Milesians

The Milesians are those survivors of the Nemedians who sailed across the world for centuries before eventually returning to Eriu. Bearing armaments of cold iron, they overthrew the Fey overlords of the Fir Bolg and established the Milesian Empire, which survives to this day in the western reaches of Eriu.

Human traits

As a Human, you gain the following traits:

age. Humans mature around their 16th birthday and live to about 75 years.

alignment. Humans are a varied bunch, but tend towards lawful alignments.

size. Humans are often 5 foot tall or taller. Your size is Medium.

appearance Fir Bolg are a strong people used to hard work. Their skin, although paler than that of Milesians, is often tanned by the sun. All hair and eye colours can be found among their number. Milesians are more slender of build than the Fir Bolg, and their skin carries a deeper tan. Their hair is often dark in colour, and red hair is not found among truebred Milesians; however, since the empire was established in former Fir Bolg lands, entirely pureblooded Milesian families probably do not exist.

speed. Your base walking speed is 30ft.

languages. Most human nations have their own language. You know the language of your birthplace as well as one other language.

names. The celtic name table from Xanathar's guide fit perfectly for this setting. Besides that, I can heartily recommend one of the many baby name websites out there.

Empire citizens most often have the same names, but old Milesian families carry greek names.

cultural trait: Relentless Determination

You can choose to turn a roll you make at disadvantage into a normal roll. When you have used this feature, you cannot do so until after you finish a short rest.

physical trait: Collaborative Effort

When you take the help action, you can add your racial die to the roll. When you do this, you can use the help action as a bonus action.

Cultural trait: From father to son

You gain proficiency in one type of artisan's tools and you can add half your proficiency bonus to intelligence (history) checks to recall lore about legendary figures, gods and creatures of myth. If you are already proficient in history, this bonus still applies.

Fomorian

The Fomorians are an ancient people long past their prime. In the far-flung past, this race of goat-headed humanoids ruled over a grand civilisation. However, multiple wars have finally brought this once-mighty people low. These days, remnant tribes of Fomorians inhabit the wild places of the world, the forests and the mountains. Some have their shamans proudly tell of their grand heritage, others have devolved to no more than savage nomadic tribes. Those that remember are sworn enemies of the Fey lords whose empire finally brought theirs low.

Fomorian rulership (read if you consider playing Fomorian)

The largest population of Fomorians currently reside in the 'Great Forest'(despite how the humans call it, it's not all forest) in the central northern part of the World. Most Fomorians live in small, isolated villges, But recently this has started to change. Fomorians are being rallied to unity by two figures, siblings, who are, according to some, destined to bring the Fomorian race to a new golden age. One, the gentle-natured white-furred Fomorian queen named Cethlenn. Fomorians as well as mossmen and other woodland beings recognise her authority over the forest. Her brother, Bres, is a large black-furred goat and a great sorcerer. Bres is the leader of a military effort to destroy human civilisation and reinstate the Fomorian empire, and he will stop at no means to achieve this.

If you play a Fomorian, consider if your character has sworn allegiance to either of the Fomorian rulers, or whether they are sympathetic to either of their causes.

Fomorian traits

As a Fomorian, you gain the following traits:

age. Fomorians celebrate their coming of age on their seventeenth birthday. They live to about the same age as humans.

alignment. Fomorians of any alignment can be found,although there is a preference towards chaotic alignments.

size. Fomorians are about the same size or somewhat larger than humans. your size is medium.

appearance Fomorians are goat-headed and hooved humanoids. Their horns can be anything from curly to straight. Common fur colours include brown, grey and sandy. like goats, they have rectangular pupils. Their irises are large enough to hide the white of their eyes and often take muted colours, although some Fomorians possess brightly coloured eyes.

speed. Your base walking speed is 30ft.

languages. You know the Fomorian tongue and one additional language. Fomorian has some similarities with Fir Bolg, spoken in Dal Darick and surrounding lands.

names. A Fomorian carries only his own name, though they may add titles describing their achievements to their name in time. It is very common for Fomorians to name their children after folk heroes and historical figures, and as a result, many Fomorians carry the same name.

• (M) Balor, Bres, Cichol, Conand, Elatha, Tethra, Goll, Techel, Elcmar, Manann, Caerney, Gearod, Indech, tethra
• (F) Cethlenn, Ethniu, Boand, Nolwenn

cultural trait: Tribal Survivor OR Cultural Resurgence

Typical Fomorians inhabit the deep forests of the world. You are proficient with the survival skill as well as one type of musical instrument.

Some Fomorians instead display an unusual throwback to the glorious past of their ancestors, who ruled over a mighty empire. Those Fomorians have proficiency in the history and religion skills. In addition, you have advantage on intelligence (history) checks to translate High Fomorian.

physical trait: Gore

As a bonus action, you can move 15 feet in a straight line and perform a headbutt attack that deals bludgeoning damage equal to your racial die roll+your strength modifier. For this attack, strength is your attack attribute and you are considered proficient. When you hit with this attack, your target falls prone unless it succeeds a DC15 dexterity or strength saving throw.

Physical trait: goat hooves

You have advantage on checks to climb rocky surfaces.

In addition,you can choose to ignore movement penalties from difficult terrain due to natural debris on your turn. Once you do so, you cannot use this feature again until you don't move for an entire round.

Pech

Resembling humanoid mole men, the Pech are a peculiar folk that live alongside humans in the northwestern nations of Eriu. Little is known about them in the east, where the campaign will take place, but there are tales of this people, who are known for their extraordinary feats of strength despite their diminutive size. While most folk you encounter will have never seen a Pech, they will almost certainly have heard of them.

Pech traits

As a Pech, you gain the following traits:

age. Pech mature quickly, reaching maturity at age fifteen. They remain fit right until the age of about 60, at which point they age very quickly and die within years.

alignment. Traditionally, Pech live in confederations of loosely connected families called clans. Clan honour is important, and loyalty to the lord of a clan (called the laird) is expected. Because of this, Pech who are part of a clan tend towards lawful alignments. Other than that,they have no innate preference to any alignment.

size. Pech are quite short, ranging from just under 4ft to almost 5ft in length. Your size is medium.

appearance Pech are smallish mole-faced humanoids. They are coloured brown to dull grey. Their hands are large and shovel-like, while their eyes are tiny orbs of various very dark colours. Pech have notoriously bad eyesight, but their whiskers and feet are sensitive to subtle vibrations in the floor.

speed. Your base walking speed is 30ft.

languages. You speak Norn and one additional language.

names. Scottish names fit best for the Pech.

cultural trait: Robust and Industrious

Pech are renowned builders and brewers. You have proficiency in one of the following tools: brewer’s supplies, mason’s tools, carpenter’s tools or woodcarver’s tools. In addition, you gain proficiency in the athletics skill.

physical trait: Feat of Strength

You can add your racial die to any roll to which you add your strength modifier, including damage rolls with strength-based weapons.

physical trait: A Life Beneath The Earth

You have disadvantage on perception checks that rely on sight. However, you gain tremorsense in a range of 60ft.

Hob

Hobs, alo known as brownies, are a fey folk well known to humans. It is not uncommon for some households to shelter a brownie that helps around the house industriously in return for food and shelter. Hobs have a knack with animals, especially horses. Hobs who are not bound to a household live a nomadic lifestyle in tight-knit commnuities, travelling the countryside on horse-drawn carts and trading with human villages.

Hob traits

As a Hob, you gain the following traits:

age. Hobs mature at almost twice the rate as humans, but continue to age for a very long time before death finds them. Some Hobs are rumoured to be over 200 years in age.

alignment. Hobs tend towards extremes of good or evil, and can change from one to the other more swiftly compared to the other races.

size. Hobs are between two and a half and three and a half feet in length. Your size is small.

appearance Hobs resemble little men with large, batlike ears and very large eyes. Because they live to a very old age, many Hobs have wrinkled skin.

speed. Your base walking speed is 25ft.

languages. Hobs have no language of their own, but tend to speak the languages of the places they live in. You speak Common Tathua, the language spoken by most Fey on Eriu. In addition, you speak one more language of your choice.

names. Hobs normally have names consisting of one or two syllables. they might also have a second name which describes their appearance or their job; this name is often given to them by humans.

cultural trait: Nomadic Trader OR Household Spirit

Hobs are either sedentary or nomadic. Sedentary Hobs are proficient in two of the following tools: tinker’s tools, woodcarver’s tools, cook’s utensils or potter’s tools.

Nomadic brownies are proficient in land vehicles as well as one of the following tools: tinker’s tools, navigator’s tools or a gaming set of your choice.

Both types of brownies have proficiency in the animal handling skill.

physical Trait: Blood Of The Fairy

Your type is Fey rather than humanoid. Your skin is resilient to physical harm, but vulnerable to iron. You take -1 damage from any source of bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage that is not made of iron.

Additionally, you are resistant to the magical effects of hostile casters. You can add your racial die roll to an intelligence, wisdom or charisma saving throw against magic.

class commentary

This section is about the role of the various classes within my world, and how the people you will meet might percieve them. Keep in mind that your class might not be obvious to guess based on your appearance, and that some peasant is not going to know the difference between a wizard and a warlock.

Barbarian

Celtic mythology has stories about legendary warriors that can fly into an unstoppable rage during battle (such as Cú Chulainn). I advise you to read the myth of Cú Chulainn, because it is a cool story.

Bard

The bard class is a perfect fit with the setting and no reflavours are needed. Enjoy playing a bard!

Mystic (Cleric)

Much more than just priests, the cleric class represents the largest number of casters within this setting. Shamans, priests of ancient religions and any other caster that embraces the traditional magical disciplines are considered mystics. Your character might be a hedge mage who can bring folk into contact with their ancestors or ward off evil spirits at the winter solistice, or you might be a priest of one of the human saints, bringing forth magic by the power of your faith. Your domain comes forth from the specific tradition of magic you were taught.

One important distinction between clerics in this setting and those in the forgotten realms is that the gods do not speak to their priests, nor can their presence be percieved directly. Becoming a mystic, just like becoming a wizard, requires magical talent and training in a specific tradition.

Druid

Contrary to what you might expect, 'classic' druids (your character might deviate from the stereotype, of course) are not respected figures among the commonfolk. To become a druid is to choose beast over man and forest over town, and nature is a very real and everpresent threat to those who live on the fringes of civilisation. Druids carry a sinister reputation among the commonfolk.

Fighter

As a man of the blade, it is even more important for you to think of your place in the politics of the setting than for the other players. Consider what nation or cause you support and what your character thinks about that cause and those who oppose that cause.

Monk

The monk is a bit of an odd combination with this asetting flavour wise,but if you think you can make it work, go ahead. We will need to do some worldbuilding together to create the places where your character recieved their training. f you are looking to become a shadow monk, I have one of those thought up already if you are interested.

Paladin

like in the forgotten realms, the power of a paladin comes from their force of will and their faith in their oath. There are many orders of paladins in this setting, most often devoted to some human saint, by whose example they live.

Ranger

You might consider becoming a revised unearthed arcana ranger. The pdf is on the drive.

Rogue

The rogue has some very cool subclasses in the expansion books. If you are considering going rogue (pun intended), don't forget to check out Xanathar's guide as well!

Sorcerer

A sorcerer is what happens if a magic user survives their initial contact with magic, is not killed by peasants or witch hunters, but does not find a tutor to teach them magical discipline. As a result, sorcerers have a more intimate and instinctive relatationship with their magic than wizards, mystics and warlocks. Although commonfolk care little about the distinctions between magic users, sorcerers are considered loose cannons by the other casters

Warlock

Your patron has its own place in this world, which may or may not be similar to patrons in the Forgotten realms setting. Warlock is the class requiring the most DM-player cooperation already, and even more so in this setting. Especially Fiend patrons in my setting are not what you might envision yourself.

Also there is one place in the lore already where GOO warlocks might come from, so if you want to play one I could tell you more about that.

Wizard

Wizardry is the magic of the new age. Taking an almost scientific approach to magic study, wizardry is closely tied to the science of alchemy. There are two insitutions that have many wizards among their number. One is the order of thaumaturges based in Glaen Ór. These purple-clad alchemists and wizards are the de facto rulers of Glaen Ór and are very influential in the courts of neighbouring nations. The other is the college of astronomers of the Milesian Empire, which houss some wizards, in particular of the abjuration and divination schools. Of course, many wizards make a living as hedge wizard in the countryside, providing supernatural services to awed commoners, or as advisors to authority figures.

Some House Rulez

These are the house rules that I am thinking of enforcing at my table. In addition, any additional mechanics, subclasses etc. from my general homebrew page is fair game for your character. Disclaimer: I retain the power to change these at any time I feel like it. Now roll for initiative, Tiamat attacks.

Dying Is Not Fun

Falling to 0HP and getting back up from healimg will accumulate one level of exhaustion.

Ready Action

You cannot take the ready action before initiative has been rolled. In most cases, initiative can be used to simulate which characters manage to react first. Other circumstances (like a hostage situation) can be handled by roleplaying rather than actions and reactions.

Everybody can read bird guts

The Augury spell is also on the wizard and druid spell lists.

bending wood is for the strong

you can use your strength modifier for your attack and damage boni when using ranged weapons, instead of dexterity.

additional spells

The spells 'dread sphere of Zahak' and 'Spear of the hunt' from my general homebrew page are available to be learnt.

Alternative uses for inspiration

Inspiration can be used to grant disadvantage on an attack roll, skill check or saving throw made by any creature that you can see. Alternatively, inspiration can be spent to take another reaction after the first one has been spent. This use of inspiration only has to be declared once the extra reaction is taken.

homebrew feats

these are some feats I brewed up. Enjoy!

Magehound

You have a born sensitivity to magic. Perhaps there is some sensory effect, such as a smell like ozone, bumps or a faint ringing noise, that triggers when magic is being used nearby. You can cast the detect magic at will without expending a spell slot or using components. You also have advantage on intelligence (investigation) and wisdom (perception) checks to perceive illusions or to recognise magic at work. You always know whether an item is magical once you touch it.

Brownie magic

Prerequisite: Hob

The innate magic of Hobs is unique to their race and little understood by spellcasters of other races. You learn the Thaumaturgy cantrip. You also learn Unseen servant and misty step, each of which you can cast once without expending a spell slot. You regain the ability to cast these two spells in this way when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for all three spells. even though these spells are below 3rd level,they count as 4th level spells for the purpose of Dispell Magic and Counterspell.

Fomorian High Magic

Prerequisite: Fomorian

The ancient Fomorians were adept mages and legends speak of the plagues they created to bring their foes low. You have learnt some of their secrets of old. You learn one druid cantrip of your choice. You also learn Ray Of Sickness and some 2nd level spell tbd

Dark Enchanter

Prerequisite: The Bestow Curse Spell

Besides its normal use,the Bestow Curse spell can now also be applied to nonmagical objects that can be worn. Regardless of what level spell slot is used in the casting, it will be cast as a 5th level spell at minimum. The curse, which is specified at the time of casting, is not applied until a creature dons the item, at which point it can make a saving throw as normal. If it willingly dons the item (trickery is allowed), it makes the save at disadvantage. For the duration of the curse,the item cannot be removed.

You also gain the ability to produce a fetish bound to a certain creature. For this you will need a part of the creature, such as nail clippings or a lock of hair. Crafting the fetish requires eight hours, 10gp in material costs and a successful DC15 nature check to gather the right herbs for the fetish to work (you can attempt this check once per day while in a location with lots of natural foliage). For the process to complete,the target must then fail a wisdom saving throw at disadvantage against your spell save DC. Once the fetish is finished, any spell that affects it will also affect the creature bound to it. Any time this happens, roll a d6. On a 1, the fetish is destroyed. Whenever the fetish takes damage, that damage is also transferred; however, every time this happens the fetish must make a saving throw against a DC of 5+the damage taken (+0 modifier) or be destroyed as well.

The total amountof cursed items and fetishes you can posess equals half your level, rounded down. If you make any more, a random item you have already cursed is destroyed.

Languages

Learnable Languages

much like the languages in the PHB, these languages are available to all players at character creation.

Fomorian

Fomorian shares some similarities to those languages spoken by humans, but is still significantly different. Different tribes have different dialects, especially when far removed from each other, but with some difficulty, speakers of Fomorian can all understand each other.

Norn

Norn was the original language spoken by the Pech whose origins confound scholars to this day. The modern language also called Norn is spoken by the pech-human kingdoms in the north. Derived from the original language, it is influenced heavily by several human languages like Milesian.

Common Tuatha

Several languages are spoken by the Fey of the Otherworld. Common Tuatha is a derived language of the tongue spoken by the Fey lords in ancient times and is spoken by most Fey on Eriu.

Gaelige

This is the name for a collection of dialects spoken in all central Fir Bolg lands (from Westreach to Tír Thiarnaí)

Manx

This variation on the Gaelige language is unique enough that to be able to communicate effectively, it needs to be learned separately. It is spoken in Argyll, Botharia and Meath.

Modern Milesian

When the Milesians came, they brought with them their language, which is derived from the language spoken by the followers of Nemed in times past. After their arrival, this tongue was influenced by local languages to produce the one spoken today in the states within the Milesian Empire.

special languages

For learning these languages, you need to fulfil the prerequisites stated below.

Sidhe

The langauge of modern fey in the Otherworld. The prerequisite for learning this language is that your backstory allows for you to have learnt it.

High Fomorian

The tongue spoken by Fomorians in the time of their great empire. Though somehwat similar to Fomorian, there are no surviving manuscripts that allow one to learn the language normally. However, Fomorian characters with the Cultural Resurgence trait get advantage on checks to translate this language, as well as any character that spends a language proficiency in High Fomorian ánd knows Fomorian.

Ancient Milesian

This language can be read by any character who speaks Modern Milesian, but is no longer spoken.

Moss Folk Sign

Moss Folk communicate among each other using a silent sign language, which cannot be learnt by creatures without their long, rootlike fingers.

revised armor table

heavy clothing

With enough layers, even simple clothing provides some protection against knives and maces.

padded

Padded armor includes gambesons, consisting of heavy multi-layered tunics of linen as well as armor fashioned from boiled leather and rawhide.

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Breastplate

Solid breastplates are an old-fashioned type of armor. Often fashioned from bronze, this type of armor used to be the mainstay of the Fomorian armies in antiquity. _

Chain hauberk

A long chain shirt provides excellent protection from cuts. A padded jacket underneath dampens blunt impact blows and protects the body from thrusts. _

Scale mail/Brigandine

Recent advances in iron quality allowed the development of larger, structually sound plates of iron. The brigandine or coat of plates consists of overlapping iron plates riveted between two layers of fabric. Scale mail is a rarely used and rare form of armor which provides excellent protection against most weapons. previously fashioned from bronze plates, heavy soldiery from the north wear iron scale armor fashioned in Pech foundries.

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Chain mail

Knights wear chain mail from head to foot, along with a padded aketon underneath

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Splint

The best equipped knights wear brigandines along with plinted protection over the limbs.

plate

Plate armor has not been invented yet on Eriu; high-quality steel is needed to fashion large steel plates into cuirasses and helmets, and the price of such a suit of armor would be legendary. but then again, aren't heroes known to perform mythical deeds? _