Peoples of Aetherstorm - The Homebrewery

Credit: Marina Kleyman

Alfar

Castles as large as small villages. Feasthalls and ready weapons. Carefully carved woodwork. The sound of an arrow or axe hissing through the air. The rolling tongue which sings melodically alongside the gentle plucking of a harp or whistle of pipes. The scent of honey-mead and braised beef mingling with the sweat of labor. These are the sights, sounds, and scents of an Alfar settlement.

Slender and Bold

The typical Alfar stands between four feet and nine inches and five feet and three inches, and weighs around one hundred pounds. Their skin tends to be pale, and rarely tans even under the summer sun. Typically their hair is pale, running from white to ruddy red, and worn long, though often braided. In rare cases, Alfar are born with black or brown hair, which is often bleached or shaved smooth in order to fit in. blue and green eyes are most common, with purples and greys being less so. Dark eye colors and heterochromia are extremely rare, and often viewed with suspicion.

In males, beards are fairly common, though carefully trimmed and kept meticulously cleaned. Like other hair, they are typically braided. Mustaches are all but unheard of among Alfar. Shaving one's face smooth is socially acceptable and bears no stigma.

Soft Fabrics and Hard Armors

The Alfar typically wear furs when available, barring significant heat, and generally wear such things over plush wool or finely woven linens. Jewelry is common in both men and women, particularly things such as combs or hair-clips which are generally worn behind the temple to pull hair back from the face.

In battle, armor tends to be hardened leather plates, sometimes with metal bracings and generally worn with metal arm bands, bracers, shin guards or armored boots, and a wide metal belt. Some Alfar choose to leave their chests bare in battle to intimidate their enemiees with their brazenness.

Long Lives and Living Memories

With lifespans often reaching 500 years, the Alfar live long and full lives among their honored forefathers, hearing tales of battles or great events which happened centuries before. The Alfar rarely write anything in their language unless they must do so, for magic or ritual as example, save upon memorials, statues, and trophies.

It is a common tradition, as an aging Alfar begins the Fading, to whisper advice to their children or children's children in the left ear, and stories into their right in the dim hours of mourning.

Born of Air and Sky

The Œnar are Lords of Air and Sky and they created their children, the Alfar, of the Air itself. It is said that Wodyn crafted the first Alfar by taking falling snow and forming it into the shape of a person, then bound mists and clouds into hair, and stole the lightning of the storm to put it into the Alfar's eyes, before before breathing his divine breath into the creation that it might take form.

Whether the story is true or not, the Alfar are of air and storm and sky, with tempestuous hearts and stormy eyes. But along with these traits, each Alfar must face the Fading. As an Alfar approaches their five hundredth year, they begin to lose cohesion rather than wrinkle like other races. At first this appears as nothing more than wind lightly blowing their hair, but as the decades pass, the Alfar loses weight without appearing to change size. Soon what colors they have begin fading, and their appearance becomes translucent.

In time, all that is left is a voice on the wind, usually within 50 years of the onset of the fading.

Adventure's Call

Few Alfar seek adventure, truth be told. As most are content to remain in their lands living simple lives nad hearing tales of dangers of the past. Yet they keep their skills as sharp as their weapons, in case evil should rise in -their- lifetime, that they might survive to tell the tale to the next generation.

Those who do adventure are typically outcasts, exiles, or traitors. They have an upward battle to fight, as the Alfar are often seen as distant and cold, due to their long lives and tendency to gloss over the lives or hurts of those who will be dead in a century or less.

Playing an Alfar

Playing an Alfar means playing the privileged role in society. You should expect to be treated with deference if not reverence. You were raised among the firstborn and your experiences are not the same as a common-person's. On the other hand, you might be born of a Half-Elf parent. In which case you likely held a tenuous place in society. Treated alternately with respect, by everyone who isn't an elf, and some small measure of pity or patronization by your wealthier family...

Alfar Traits

Attributes: +2 Dexterity, +1 Intelligence
Size: Medium
Speed: 30ft
Age: Alfar are adults at 40 years of age.
Vision: Elfsight (Double sight ranges in all conditions)
Keen Senses: Alfar are proficient in Perception
Airbond: Alfar do not take damage from falling.
War Training: Alfar gain proficiency in one martial weapon of their choice.
Mystical Training: Alfar may cast ritual spells of 1st level or lower if they have the appropriate materials and gain the Ritual Caster feat
Firstborn Heritage: Alfar begin with 50 additional gold pieces.
Languages: Alfar begin play knowing Alfar and two other languages of their choice.

How the world sees Alfar

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view alfar.

Humans call the alfar "Elves", a corruption of language given to them by the Hauflin. Most humans see Elves as rulers or at least superiors. And more than a few chafe under what they see as a social disparity that puts them below you.

Cambion see alfar with envious air for the alfar have what they've lost.

Dwergi look to the alfar as rivals of their Firstborn status. But this rivalry typically comes out in displays of wealth or status rather than violence. It's not unusual for a dwergi noble invited to an alfar holding to arrive with a dozen servants.

Hauflin look up to the alfar both physically and socially. Largely they form a serf-class under the alfar, growing food and textile plants. The most common gift an alfar can expect from a hauflin is something small and carefully carved.

Half-Elves are generally raised in the same places as humans. Whether that means among serfs to the alfar or in their three cities. Largely they can be expected to defer to any alfar in a position of authority.

Goblins are rare in alfar lands, and are generally only seen while an alfar travels. They often stare at alfar in surprise and envy. Rarely, there are those whose envy grows dark and who blame the alfar for the curse of the Black God.

Svartalfar are among the most fawning and devoted of the different races. Bound as they are to alfar houses, they tend to quietly resent the disparity their dark skin tone results in.

Credit: Hanna Bergstrom

How Alfar see the world

Here's how alfar view some of the other
peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans are generally viewed
as serfs and servants. Socially
they're beneath the alfar, economically
they're beneath the alfar, and they are
the lastborn of the races of the world.
Those who seek a "better life" are fools,
seeking "Freedom" from the benevolence
of the alfar and dwergi.

Cambion should be kept at arm's length,
but can be quite useful. The poor misbegotten
souls sold by their own parents.

Dwergi are cousins to the alfar. Their wealth
and skill in design and crafting are things to be eyed
with some envy, but feigned indifference. After all, dwergi try so hard to show how wealthy they are, one shouldn't give them satisfaction over it.

Hauflin are the little people. Warm, kind, soft about the edges. They're a loving and affectionate sort who make excellent laborers despite their small stature. Trust in hauflin, for they'll bend over backwards to appease you and love you for breathing the same air.

Half Elves are a somewhat pitiable people. Trapped as they are, poor things, between a legacy that stretches to the dawn of time and a few stumbling steps out of the dust. They do -try- to be well educated and skilled in their tasks, but they just don't have the time or the focus...

Goblins are filthy little things, burned by the Black God with their ugly scars and tiny noses, their oversized ears and scrawny forms. They're a reminder of the Trow and the danger that horrible race represents. Of the end of all meaning. They're also largely criminal...

Svartalfar should be pitied for their plight. Born into noble families but bearing the clear taint of humanity... At least they're loyal, dignified, and skilled.

Credit: Kamiu

Cambion

When Skaro was on the brink of destruction at the hands of the Trow, the Alfar who called it home accepted a bargain with Daemonic entities. The trow were turned back, but the cost to Skaro became apparent when the next child was born.

Bold colors

Cambion stand slightly taller than elves, typically, but run the same gamut of heights and weights as your average human. But even in this, the chaos in their blood creates strange results, making them more likely to lean toward the extremes.

Cambion tend to have blue-tinted skin, ranging from alabaster white to bruised purple. Mottling isn't terribly uncommon. Their hair and eye colors, however, vary wildly. It's said that it would be easier to find a gnome than two cambion with the same hair and eye colors.

Strange Sights

Cambion are very unusual beings. Each cambion bears horns of some kind upon their head. Many sweep back from the temples, others rise straight and true, and some come in rows of small thorny spikes. In rare cases, a cambion is born with only a single horn. Some cambion have wings. Others have tails. But all cambion have fangs and pointed ears.

Dressed for Secrets

Cambion are nigh globally despised for their heritage and appearance. When traveling beyond the bounds of Skaro, cambion favor cloaks with voluminous hoods, long gloves, and tall boots. Jewelry is favored regardless of gender. Shirts, pants, skirts, and dresses are all worn loosely, with an eye towards billowy or flowing garb.

Battle and Barding

Like Goblins, Cambion are often prepared for a fight. Unlike their elven cousins, Cambion favor slender blades that can be easily concealed. Daggers and rapiers being among the most common. Armor is often also concealed, with padded armor and chain shirts being the most common. Though brigandine is not uncommon.

The Forlorn

Skaro began as an elven settlement. And while called Cambion by outsiders and Skaron among themselves, the alfar know cambion as The Forlorn. The Lost. The Troubled Ones. Never have the Alfar made direct war on the cambions, but their laws and their lands are staunchly against them.

Similarly, most Dwergi see Cambion as a corruption of a first race, a demonic desecration of ancient lines of power. Even humans, for all their progress, still fear the cambion on some level.

Hauflin and Goblin, however, view cambion with warmth. Goblins recognize what it is as a culture to be changed into something viewed with disdain. While Hauflin see only the cambion's beating hearts and weigh them as any other living thing.

Custom and Culture

When the Cambion became who and what they are they ceased to be Alfar. It wasn't long before their culture shifted as well. Their society, in a manner unlike most others, centers around legalism and contracts. From marriage to employment, ownership and secrets, contract law makes up a big part of their culture. It isn't unusual for parents to sign contracts with their children promising rewards for good behavior.

This tendency gives their society a strong sense of order and clarity, but many outsiders find their focus on clauses and contracts to bear unsettling resemblance to the legends of devilry...

Adventure and Excitement

It is rare for a cambion to set out into the world to seek out adventure. Most are content to live in Skaro and the surrounding lands, to debate and farm, to have children and grow old in their two hundred odd years of life.

But those who do set out from home do so out of endless reasons, often listed at a moment's notice to anyone who questions the cambion. Wealth, excitement, adventure, duty, exploration, curiosity, seeking ancient legends, and many many more are on those lists.

But almost always the list will include a hope that they might find a way to be accepted by others.

Playing a Cambion

Playing a Cambion means playing a monster. Wherever you go, there will be people who don't trust you. People who don't even trust the gold in your pockets or the steel at your side. Hiding your identity is the easiest path to tread in the world, with many traveling cambions cutting their own horns and relying on thick make-up to hide their true identities. But this isn't the only path, and a few cambions seek to make an honest name for themselves.

Cambion Traits

Attributes: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 30ft
Age: Cambion are adults at 30 years of age.
Vision: Devilsight (Ignore Darkness, Half-Range in bright light)
Forked Tongues: Cambion are proficient in Deception and Performance
Fiendblood: Cambion begin play with one Cantrip of their choice.
Infernal Trait: Cambion choose between a tail, wings, or claws at level 1.
Claws: 1d4 melee damage (Can be Dual-Wielded)
Tail: Extra "Hand" for holding, not attacking.
Wings: 20ft Fly speed
Firstborn Heritage: Cambion begin with 50 additional gold pieces.
Languages: Cambion begin play knowing Alfar and Infernal.

How the world sees Cambion

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view cambion.

Humans see cambions as devils, demons, hedonists, and monsters. Between their magic, their deals, and their money, the cambion are easy scapegoats for any troubles a community might face.

Alfar see cambions as degenerates cursed by their fallen fathers. There is little love lost over the plight of Skora, but the alfar of other cities yet maintain trade routes. They rely, in fact, on the cambion's endless need to spell things out in contracts to help maintain order on the roads.

Dwergi see the cambion as twisted corruptions of the Firstborn. There is a reserved level of disgust for them above and beyond the violence that goblins might expect to experience...

Hauflin view the cambion as pitiable things. As mistreated and maligned beings which are just as deserving of affection and care as any other, but who are denied it, endlessly.

Half-Elves and Svartalfar generally hold to the ideas they were raised with, when it comes to cambion, because such feelings are highly socialized in many communities. But they are the most likely to examine those feelings.

Goblins see the cambion as kindred spirits. Both fought against the trow and lost most everything centuries before. While they may not particularly enjoy the idea of making endless contracts to trade with the fiendblooded, they know their allies when they see them.

Credit: Chandra Pandhita

How Cambion see the world

Here's how cambion view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans are generally viewed as threats. More than most, the humans are superstitious and fear the threat of Cambion contracts and the magic presumed to be within them.

Alfar, unlike humans, tolerate the presence of cambion, their cursed cousins. This is mostly because the cambion maintain trade relations with their golden-haired cousins. And they know that such tolerance only extends that far...

Dwergi are almost invariably a threat to cambion. They are to be avoided, whenever possible, and kept at arm's length, even as allies. All it takes is one slip and a dwergi is liable to go from untrusting to violent.

Hauflin are kind. Their communities are warm and filled with comforts given freely. If one travels with a hauflin, it's best to keep them close as they're most likely to defend you verbally or, should the need arise, physically.

Half Elves and Svartalfar both view cambion in the same manner as the community they've been raised in, largely. Though they're more likely than most to break with tradition. They're a gamble to be near, but once you've earned their trust, you'll find none more loyal.

Goblins, like hauflin, are warm to the cambion, for they share a similar plight through no fault of their own. It won't be unusual for a cambion traveling with a goblin to find their conversations hovering around mistreatment and legends of the times -before- they became the Accursed Races.

Credit: Rogue Robot Studios

Dwergi

A dwarf marches unceasinly through desert sands, his point-toed boots curled and his armor dusty. He uses a poleaxe as a walking stick and keeps his eyes upon the mountains of the horizon, knowing that the message he holds must be delivered before nightfall. The heat might kill a man. But no Dwergi would fall, here.

Short and Stout

Standing no less than three feet and nine inches and standing no taller than four and six, Dwergi are short but broad beings who often weigh upwards of one hundred and fourty pounds. Their dark hair and eyes are well adapted to the bright environments of their mountainous and often arid homelands. As is their swarthy skin, which only grows darker under the heat of the summer sun.

While dwergi are heavy relative to their size, they are not particularly "Fat" compared to other races, and generally have as much muscle mass as a full grown human. But among dwergi, fat is often seen as a sign of great beauty and sensuality thanks to it being a sign of wealth.

Hair is usually kept closely cut, but those of a religious bent often refuse to cut their hair at all, letting it grow long but never wild. Beards are common on men and not uncommon among women, with each gender caring for their facial hair differently. Men tend to use beard oils and creams to shape it in fantastic ways, while women tend to scent their beards and wear them more plainly.

Silken Shirts

The Dwergi tend to dress in layers year-round, with robes and long coats often worn over trousers and a simple blouse. Nearly all Dwergi wear hats, head-scarves, turbans, or other headwear as both fashion statement and religious devotion. Cotton and wool are the most wide-spread fabrics, while the wealthy tend to wear silk and brocade.

Animals and plants, stars and geographical features make up the majority of patterns painstakingly sewn into dwergi clothing, and even a commoner wouldn't be caught dead without at least one scarf of patterened fabric. Jewelry, on the other hand, is rare outside of formal clothing, particularly gaudy individuals, or royalty.

Clattering Armor

The Dwergi tend to prefer armor made of metal worn as the outermost layer of their clothing, and prefer to wear armor with interlocking plates or rings over solid plates and heavy helmets.

Brigandine and Scale Armor are favorites of dwergi military. Caravaneers, unlike most Dwergi, typically wear a chain shirt underneath a long coat, cinched at the waist. This allows them to join the guards in defense of their precious wares.

Towering Edifices

Dwarves tend to build their homes and castles of stone, but rather than being blocky or square, they favor smooth lines and supple shapes, and thus shape the stone and plaster it into smooth forms such as onion-topped minarets. While their mines and storehouses tend to be underground, dwergi largely live on the surface of Ios, in white-walled homes of care and comfort.

It isn't unusual for four generations, even five, to live under one roof. Sharing the costs of living and the burdens of child-rearing and elder-care. More than most races, the Dwergi love and tend to their families.

Born of Sand and Stone

It is said that the first dwarves were created by the Tengri, together. That each member of the pantheon carved stone bones from the mountains, shaped clay and sand, and placed two gems for eyes and one for a heart. That the first six dwarves were each shaped by a different god, and that each, now, can trace their lineage back to the first Stonebones.

Whether true or not, Stonebones is what Dwergi Elders are rightfully called. Once a dwergi reaches around three hundred years, their bones start getting more dense. Within five years, their bones have solidified into rock. This calcification spreads over the coming years, making the dwarf reliant on friends and family for even simple tasks.

Eventually, the calcification becomes complete, rendering the dwergi into a statue some fifty years later. Many a dwarven home or hall has statues of their eldest members tended lovingly as memorials.

Playing a Dwergi

Wealth and style are the hallmarks of the dwergi. With gold and jewels on display, you're likely to be the target of inexperienced thieves. Those who have experience know not to steal from a dwergi! Proud, noble, and strong, the dwergi are people of mercurial moods flashing from joy to anger in an instant, particularly when dealing with those below them on the social ladder.

Dwergi Traits

Attributes: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 25ft
Age: Dwergi are adults at 30 years of age.
Vision: Darksight (Double range in dim light, 60ft vision in darkness)
Intimidating: Dwergi are proficient in intimidation
Stonebond: Dwergi cannot be pushed, pulled, or tripped while standing on worked stone or natural minerals of any kind.
Armor Training Dwergi are proficient in light armor, scale mail, ring mail, and chain mail.
Weapon Training: Dwergi are proficient with all hammers, scimitars, and falchions. Combat maneuver with such weapons gain advantage on any relevant rolls.
Firstborn Heritage: Dwergi begin with 50 additional gold pieces.
Languages: Dwergi begin play knowing Alfar and Dwergi.

How the world sees Dwergi

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view dwergi.

Humans see dwergi as wealthy and demanding taskmasters. Even in human cities, a dwergi's volatile nature leads to even the smallest inconvenience resulting in verbal abuse and threats. But their crafts, and the excellence they demand of those who serve them, makes them an indespensible trade partner.

Alfar see dwergi as spoiled. They view the dwergi's tendency to wear their wealth as ostentatious and overly bold. Inviting assault. However, they do not brook their insolence. A dwergi who threatens an alfar is liable to need to back it up.

Cambion see the dwergi as a danger. Even the most tolerant of dwergi is liable to dispense of their veiled acceptance the moment the cambion earns their ire. Which, due to the long-held beliefs about cambion, requires nearly no effort on their part.

Hauflin view the dwergi as noble relations. Short and proud, dwergi are always welcome in the small hauflin homes and near to never lose their tempers thanks to the hauflin's tendency to bend over backwards to appease their guest.

Half-Elves and Svartalfar mostly try to appease dwergi, to avoid a fight.

Goblins are terrified of dwergi. Unlike cambion, dwergi are liable to outright attack a goblin, on sight, so they tend to make themselves scarce as much as possible when dwergi are about!

Credit: Artist Unknown

How Dwergi see the world

Here's how dwergi view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans are generally viewed as childish. Often ignorant. They don't live long enough to truly come to understand the world, and must have everything explained to them!

Alfar, the Firstborn, are seen as noble compatriots. Stalwart allies. And friendly competitors! They don't -wear- their wealth, unlike the dwergi, but they have it. And they've had centuries to learn how to get more. A wise dwergi listens to any alfar they might meet...

Cambion are a disgusting and threatening sight! With their horns and claws and fangs and wings, their tails and forked tongues. They should be purged from the world but are tolerated because they trade with the alfar. Any attack on Skora might see the alfar move...

Hauflin are kind. They're a lovely people, so warm and friendly! They also make excellent workers as gnomes once did... so willing to work for their lords, and needing so little compared to others to sustain themselves!

Half Elves and Svartalfar are to be envied... A dwergi who mates with a human gets a child of the mother's race. Only the alfar and humans are able to beget half-breeds which show the finest traits of either race. A dwergi might beget a human child of darker skin or hair, but there are no half-dwergi which is a dark shame to all.

Goblins, are a blight. Their gods were slain centuries ago, yet they still live and now claim to have created gods of their own! Blasphemy, Heresy, and Apostasy. The Dwergi believe they should be destroyed. That Tzernobog yet has plans to use them as weapons against the civilized peoples of the world.

Credit: Stephen Wood

Goblins

Exiles and outcasts from the Dwergi lands they once called home, the Goblins are wanderers, refugees, and friends to man and hauflin. Their love of crystals and gemstones remains intact, even if their faces and families did not.

The Slender Ones

Goblins, like Hauflin, are short beings. But of the two they are the taller, with the shortest goblin standing three feet four inches, and the tallest pushing four feet in height. They tend to weigh in around the same as their slightly shorter cousins at no more than fourty pounds, and often look particularly boney.

Unlike the other peoples of Ios, the eyes of a goblin bear no obvious pupil, and run the gamut of jewel tones. Blues, greens, even red and the rare purple. Hair is typically worn long by all goblins, though there is a growing trend among women to shave their heads smooth. Hair colors tend toward dark colors of black, brown, red, blue, and green. But as hair grows longer, the color lightens as it's color fades over time.

Goblins have only three fingers and a thumb. It's said that Tzernobog stole their little finger over a broken promise. Strangely, goblins are born with symmetrical scars across their forms, most notably on the sides of their faces which appear to lack proper noses.

Leather and Iron

Goblins, more than any other people, wear leather. It is extremely popular thanks to it's resistance to burns and electrical discharge, while iron bracers or gauntlets are generally worn in case a goblin must defend themself against attackers.

Goblin arms and armor are often baroque in appearance, bearing carefully inscribed embellishments or ornate construction, with precious gemstones being used only rarely.Instead they add common crystals, such as quarts, to their clothing, armor, and weaponry.

Inventors and Contrivers

Goblins have always been interested in simple sciences, particularly mechanical ones. And most have at least one tool that they've created for themself for some specific task or another. More than a few have machinery they've contrived for themselves and readily share with other goblins to encourage their neighbors to innovate.

Goblin society, where it exists, is often centered around the most prolific creators of tools and machinery, known as Inventors, who share their works with the community and seek to lift what burdens they can from their fellows. These central figures are surrounded by Contrivers, who aid in the management of day to day affairs and create lesser works of engineering to aid the Inventor.

Mechanical Hearts

The gods of Goblinkind, the Iron Gods, were created through great devotion to the ideas of machinery, of communal effort resulting in easier work for all, of creation and of learning. And nothing so perfectly encapsulates this idea like the mechanical heart. Rather than being a true pumping heart, the mechanical heart is a clockwork device which each goblin is gifted on attaining adulthood. The soft ticking of the gears within the heart-shaped enclosure helps to remind a goblin who they are, at heart.

Short lives filled with Meaning

Goblins, like humans and hauflin, rarely see a century. Most goblins, in fact, barely reach seventy years of age. So they do what they can within that time to improve the world around them, to experience what they can. Whether it's a sedentary lifestyle managing paperwork in a human company, or an adventurous one lived on the edge of a razor, goblins seek change.

That sedentary goblin will have a family, and invent machines or methods to streamline paperwork and free up time to live with that family. And that adventurous goblin will one day retire and print broadsheets of advice to other hopeful wanderers.

Some say that the scars a goblin is born with will define their lives. That one can read the patterns and know who they will become from the day that they're born. But the wisest goblins know the truth:

What scars you are born with don't mean as much as those you earn.

Playing a Goblin

Goblins rest at the bottom of the social ladder in nearly any situation they might find themselves. They're not much better off, economically, and as a people are often wanderers and caravaneers, pulling into some small village with their pony-drawn wagons to display mechanical marvels in the hopes of making enough money to survive.

Goblin Traits

Attributes: +2 Intelligence, +1 Constitution
Size: Small (Half carrying capacity, 1/4 material requirements)
Speed: 25ft
Age: Goblins are adults at 20 years of age.
Vision: Darksight (Double range in dim light, 60ft vision in darkness)
Quick Thinking: Goblins have proficiency in Deception and Persuasaion.
Quick Feet: Opportunity attacks on Goblins have disadvantage.
Clockwork Heart: Goblins begin play with a Clockwork Heart. By winding it as an action a goblin can gain advantage on their next d20 roll once per short rest.
Languages: Goblins begin play knowing Gnomish and either one human language or the Hauflin language..

How the world sees Goblins

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view alfar.

Humans look at goblins as filthy children, for the most part. They know that goblins are inventive and capable individuals, but their small stature inevitably leads humans to underestimate them.

Alfar view goblins with disdain. There are many laws and regulations in alfar lands designed from the ground up to incriminate even the most innocent of goblinkind. Noise ordinances, in particular, are disproportionately used against them.

Cambion see goblins as kindred spirits. They're quick to ally themselves with the slender ones whenever danger rises, and often place themselves in the protector role.

Dwergi see goblins as a pest, a nuisance, in the best of circumstances. In all others, goblins are anathema to be hunted and killed as quickly as possible.

Hauflin look to their cousins with charitable hearts filled with pity. More than any other race, hauflin understand what the goblins have actually lost. Because they know what they still have.

Half-Elves typically see goblins as humans do. Filthy children.

Svartalfar are a bit of an aberration. While their half-elven cousins view goblins in the same way that their human parents do, svartalfar see goblins in a wholly different light. Often the enforcement of elven law is handled by the svartalfar, who come to understand that most goblins aren't bad people or truly criminal, but their loyalty to their elven parentage holds them to their duties of persecuting the slender ones.

Caught between what they should do and must do, svartalfar often help hide goblins in alfar lands.

Credit: Stephen Wood

How Goblins see the world

Here's how goblins view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans are the tallest and the smartest of races. Like goblins, they tinker and work metal. They seek answers and serve the gods of steam and steel. But even the kindest and smartest human still patronizes goblins. A grating annoyance that one has to choose whether to bring up, and risk losing a friend, or tolerate in silence.

Alfar, the Firstborn, are privileged fools. They know the danger of the trow, as they've seen what happened to the goblins, but they make no effort to fight back, to stop the Black God. Instead they line their pockets with the gold others earn...

Cambion understand what it is to be a member of the Accursed Races. But even the most understanding cambion is still a wealthy person living a life of luxury where their endless contracts protect them. Goblins, largely, do not have those protections and monetary security. So while there is understanding, it is loose and incomplete.

Dwergi are monsters through and through. Violent, hateful, and cruel! One should always hide from dwergi when possible, and be prepared for immediate violence when it isn't. Dwergi are never to be trusted and always opposed. Even the wealth they wear, to show their status, shows how ignorant and hateful they are! Those gems could feed communities for weeks, even months, but rest on fat fingers and hang under thick beards.

Hauflin can be trusted. Their homes are warm and their food is good, and they'll put themselves out of house and home to keep goblins safe and fed. But there's only so much one can rely on others, can put their wellbeing into the hands of a stranger, or put a friend through hardship. Their devotion to the alfar can also be maddening.

Half Elves and Svartalfar are privileged folks. They're often unaware of just how deep it runs, how pervasive it is. But all it takes is contrite positivity to keep them from being terrible to you. They are worth getting close to, though, because more than any other people they can understand how staggeringly different the social strata truly are.

Credit: Choi Keun Hoon

Half Elves

Born of a human mother, child of an alfar father, Half Elves are one of the two hybrid peoples of Ios. The only other being the Svartalfar that are born of elven mothers and human fathers. Hanging by a thread connecting two different lives, the Half-Elf must make a choice between two houses.

Pale and Tall

Half Elves stand a bit shorter than most humans, and a bit taller than most elves, anywhere from five feet in height to five foot eight inches, half elves weigh between a hundred and a hundred and fifty pounds on average.

Their hair, their skin, and their eyes are almost invariably pale and light. Eye color tends toward blue or green-grey in particular. And these are traits they can pass to their children if they choose a human lover, and the child will be human. With an elven lover the child is invariably an alfar.

Caught in the Middle

As children of Alfar and humans, Half Elves tend to dress and act in the manner of the society they are born into. Whether that means serfdom to alfar and dwergi or independence in the human held lands. In any case, however, the lightest of clothes are required for summer and the heaviest are used in winter, for half-elves are not given to extremes and find themselves drawn toward the middle path.

Of Two Worlds

For a Half Elf in human lands, they can expect favoritism for their beauty and grace mingled with derision over their pointed ears and relation to those in power. In alfar lands, a half elf can expect pity, more than anything. But pity that elevates them over other serfs and peasants.

Cultural Ambiguity

Half Elves do gain a benefit from their quasi-misplaced position in society: They're given greater leeway in nearly every situation. Half Elves can exist both above and below their station at any given time, and a drunken half elf is obliged far more often than a drunken human.

Few people truly know how to interact with a half elf, and that's assuming they are even recognized as such. Half Elves have a very easy time of convincing others that they are, in fact, alfar.

At least until the wrinkles start.

Longer lives, Lingering loves

Half Elves live on average two hundred and fifty years. Twice again as long as a human, half as long as an alfar. This leaves them in a painful position, for any elven lover will outlive them by centuries, and any human lover they take will perish decades, if not centuries, before the half elf dies.

Many half elves choose to live lives as separate from love as they can, pushing others away to avoid the sorrow they know must come. Others embrace love, willing to pay the price. And for some, they embrace love on the most superficial level, bouncing from relationship to relationship.

Half Elves sometimes find love in each other, which can be particularly fulfilling save one aspect: Half Elves cannot produce children, together.

Arcana and Clockworks

As children of both the First and the Last peoples of Ios, half elves have a unique place in magic and innovation. They're bound to the Œnar and the Iron Gods who each grant them gifts. Half Elves are far more likely to carry innate spellcasting potential than any other peoples of Ios, and have an almost intuitive understanding of machinery and the world around them.

This helps to make them premier Ætheromancers whose ability to combine both machinery and mysticism is truly inspired. Even those who do not pursue that trade have useful, uncanny, insights into it.

Adventurous Souls

More than any other people of Ios, Half Elves turn to adventure. Whether it's the desire to travel away from the graves of friends and family, the simple urge to find a change of pace, a sincere desire to make a positive change in the world, or simple thrillseeking is up to the individual half elf. But nearly every single one sets out at some point with the intent to do battle with evil, to seek treasure and fame, or simply learn more about themselves and their world along the way.

Playing a Half Elf

Playing a half elf means straddling a line of privilege. In firstborn societies you'll be viewed as largely lesser, while in laterborn societies you'll be elevated more than you might deserve. The constant push and pull of your social positioning can give you whiplash...

Half Elf Traits

Attributes: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 30ft
Age: Half Elves are adults at 20 years of age.
Vision: Elfsight (Double sight ranges in all conditions)
Keen Senses: Half elves are proficient in Perception and Insight
Two World: Half elves take no social status penalties to checks.
Technomancy: Half elves gain the Technomancer feat at level 1.
Elven Mein: Half elves do not need to make a check to disguise themselves as alfar unless they're attempting to deceive an alfar.
Firstborn Heritage: Half elves begin with 20 additional gold pieces.
Languages: Half elves begin play knowing Alfar, a human language, and one language of their choice

How the world sees Half Elves

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view half elves.

Humans largely see half elves as a combination of the finest qualities of men and elves. They're highly sought after as romantic partners, and generally given great latitude in human cities.

Alfar hold pity for half elves, which often presents itself in a patronizing air. They see half elves as being cut off from the ancient legacy of the alfar, and accept the term "Elf" in their name because it is as human as the half elves themselves.

Cambion see half elves as a potential danger. If a half elf is as superstitious as his neighbors, a half elf might do the cambion harm, after all.

Dwergi look to half elves with covetous eyes! They see the half-breeds as a marvel rather than a corruption and only wish that they, too, could beget such marvelous children.

Hauflin look up to the half elves both physically and socially. They find half elves to be a strange and interesting surprise, typically mistaken for an alfar.

Goblins encounter half elves only rarely, typically when they're "Slumming It" with the lower classes. When they do, they are very cautious. They never seem quite sure whether they trust or distrust the half-breed races. But if one earns their trust, Goblins are inventive allies.

Svartalfar view half elves as a mirror of themselves. While a svartalfar typically lives in alfar lands and lives in a lowered status, there, the half elf raised in human lands is free to rise above their station, sink below it, and be treated well in any direction they've gone. There is envy in those dark eyes.

Credit: Artist Unknown

How Half elves see the world

Here's how half elves view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans can best be described as a loose family. No matter how far apart they are, or how different their customs, they're willing to fight and die for each other. They're willing to open their communities to welcome strangers.

Alfar are haughty and patronizing and they don't do much to hide it, so it's really up to you whether to accept it or yell at a brick wall. It's easier to move the stars than change the mind of an alfar.

Cambion are scary. All half elves hear the stories as children of demons and devilry... you can't trust them.

Dwergi are rude, abrasive, covetous people. They'll complain about anything and leer at any half elf in sight. Still. A fool and his fortunes...

Hauflin are a serf class to the alfar, but half elves find them to be meaningful and joyous friends whose comforts and warmth are always offered freely.

Goblins are dirty children playing in the streets. But sometimes they'll invent something truly inspired... something that can only be improved by magical enhancement!

Svartalfar are the dark mirror. While half elves are free to flit about society as they will, svartalfar are trapped in a single role. One that their loyalty, far stronger than most half elves can understand, holds them in. All in all, a confusing people!

Credit: Paul Spitzlyn

Hauflin

In the hills and valleys of Alfar Lands are comfortable villages of cyclopean build, smaller than the Elfholds upon the mountainsides. These villages belong to Hauflin, and are filled with the sounds and scents of lives well lived, with strummed lyres and mournful pipes whose sound rolls out through fog-shrouded fields and forest.

The Little Folk

Standing between three feet tall and three foot six inches, Hauflin are among the shortest people of Ios, and rarely weight more than fourty pounds. Slight of figure, on average, their bodies are largely proportioned similar to humans, save that their heads and eyes are slightly larger than would be considered normal. This helps to give them a childlike appearance.

Hauflin hair is often dark, but runs the natural color gamut to blond. Hauflin hair is never straight, often falling in waves, curls, or ringlets. Eye colors in Hauflin tend toward blues, greens, and greys, but hazel and brown are fairly common. Their skin tends to be pale, and rarely tans evenly, generally resulting in freckles.

Kilts and Coats

Hauflin use woll more than any other fabric, both for it's insulating benefits and the ease of keeping it clean. But they do tend to prefer cotton or linen fabric under it to avoid any itching or chafing. Almost all Hauflin wear skirts, typically called kilts when worn by men, for simplicity's sake, but when traveling or spending short times in human communities, hauflin tend to adopt a trouser-positive attitude.

Farmers and Fantasizers

Rare is the Hauflin who strays too far from home, from what they know. Hauflin communities are warm, cozy, rustic affairs that are quite well lived in and well loved. From planting harvests to planting gardens, to windowboxes, to indoor potted plants, halflings hold a deep love for all things green. This love of plants helps to make their homes that much more welcoming and warm to any who comes to visit.

But hauflin still dream of wild adventure. Of dragons and distant shores. And made up tales of fantastic adventure are often shared and scribed and sold by halflings. And those who -do- set foot upon the road hold the greatest stories of all.

Bleeding hearts

Of all the peoples of Ios, Hauflin love most, and love best. Their care of all creatures, great and green and small, has made them into unofficial caretakers of anyone or anything that might be harmed in their general vicinity. Few Hauflin don't have tales of some stray bird with a broken wing, or a bunny near to death, who has come to them for aid.

Festivals and Finery

Hauflin celebrate everything, and nearly everything requires a festival, and nearly every festival requires events that will create further celebration later! From births to deaths, planting to harvests, winter's start to winter's end, every cycle has it's day. But the most important of all is the planting and harvest pairing.

At the plantinjg festival, each village and town selects a Spring Queen, a young woman of age but no older than thirty, to become the center of their festivities and honors. If that woman becomes pregnant before the harvest festival, it is considered good luck! If she doesn't, the adage says the winter will be mild. And if she gives birth before the harvest, the child is considered to be a miracle, and a separate festival is held each night for seven days in the child's honor.

Of Weapons and War

Hauflin have never been called upon by the Alfar in times of war to do more than provide food and resources as vassals. Though those with medical training often choose to travel to the local capital to aid with any wounded that may return from the front lines.

But in the rare event when war as come to the Hauflin, they turn their tools to war, which has resulted in many new and innovative weapons. Most polearms, in fact, are gardening and tree-care tools of the hauflin. Strange blades affixed to long poles are used in many halfling communities to tend to tall plants.

Playing a Hauflin

Playing a hauflin means being the little one often overlooked. It means wearing your heart on your sleeve, ready for the slings and arrows others might launch at it. Playing a hauflin means that you will be underestimated far too often... and need to use it to your advantage.

Hauflin Traits

Attributes: +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, +1 Charisma
Size: Small (Half carry, 1/4 requirements)
Speed: 30ft
Age: Hauflin are adults at 20 years of age.
Vision: Normal
Natural Wonder: Hauflin are proficient in Nature and Survival.
Green Ear: Hauflin never get lost and always have enough food and water for themself in the wilderness, regardless of the terrain.
Green Heart: Natural beasts and animals will not willingly attack a hauflin.
Green Thumb: Hauflin can speak to plants and animals as a ritual taking 5 minutes that allows them to ask 3 questions and get truthful answers.
Childish Features: Hauflin can disguise themselves as alfar, dwergi, or human children without a performance check. Deception is rolled, normally.
Languages: Hauflin begin play knowing the alfar language.

How the world sees Hauflin

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view hauflin.

Humans largely see hauflin as adoring children who fawn over every bird with a crooked wing or fool on the bad luck that needs a bed and a proper meal. They're good with animal and the greenery, but they're defenseless.

Alfar look down at the hauflin as a master and servant, but hold some measure of respect for the hauflin's way of touching the world. They'd never let anyone know that, though.

Cambion see hauflin as neighbors and protectors, allies in a world that is staunchly against them. Cambion seem to happily rely on hauflin, expecting aid as an alfar expects service.

Dwergi see hauflin as they once saw gnomes. A child-race which will toil glaldy on other's behalf with no complaint. They're less haughty than elves, but no less patronizing.

Goblins are among the kindest when it comes to hauflin. They understand that the generosity the hauflin share is a burden they take on out of hospitality, not blind obedience, and are quick to avoid overstaying their welcome.

Half Elves see hauflin much as their parents do. Either as servants who work gladly, or children who simply care too much about the world around them.

Svartalfar typically see hauflin as their charges. Ones who must be protected and aided. They get on well with hauflin because they do not put on airs or need much from them. So hauflin hospitality is met with brief gratitude.

Credit: Dasha Fide

How the Hauflin see the World

Here's how the Hauflin view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Humans are largely seen as a harvest of grain, swift to plant, swift to grow, and oft taken in harvest. Their warlike nature makes them strong allies to have around, if well fed. But their favor of metal over all things green makes them a danger to keep around.

Alfar are viewed as distant lords, regal and strange, who are kept well fed and well prepared for, in the hopes they'll not stay overlong...

Cambion are a poor and piteous people who bear a mark of lineage beyond their choosing. But those who know them, who meet them with open eyes and hearts, can find trustworthy allies with deep hearts.

Dwergi are largely viewed as oppressors that cannot be defeated. Work on their behalf is viewed as obligation that must be fulfilled to avoid their ire.

Goblins are largely seen in the same way as Cambion are... but their human-like focus on metal and gemstones creates a wedge between the two that never seems to be removed. Their society changes too quickly for most Hauflin's liking, who tend to prefer the cycles of nature over a gear's.

Half Elves are largely treated as the Alfar are, with little distinction viewed between the two. Keep them happy and full and they'll create no trouble for you. It's only when a given Hauflin truly comes to know a given Half Elf that true friendship can be born.

Svartalfar are largely treated as their Half-Elven cousins, but are far more likely to find the friendship of the Hauflin due to their temperate natures and tendency to view others as equals rather than lessers.

Credit: Joan Francesc Oliveras

Humans

The youngest people of Ios, Humans are the children of invention and science. Born less than an Alfar lifetime ago, the first members of humanity found themselves living in Alfar and Dwergi society and became serfs under the laws of whatever kingdom they were born into. Ill content with this, humanity began spreading out from the lands of the Elder Races and began founding their own towns, and eventually a nation.

The Tallest and Smallest

The first humans born to Ios were black as coal with hair like twisted wire. But as dwarven and elven blood mingled into the human stock, a wider variety of skin and hair colors began to show. At this point a given human can be anywhere from three feet to eight feet in height, with skin tones ranging from coal black to almost albino white.

But the average human stands between five feet and six inches tall at the low end and six foot and three inches tall at the high end. Dark hair, eyes, and skin are most common.

Fashion and Function

Humans wear a staggering variety of clothing depending on their environment and their daily duties. For those working with machinery, tight clothes are favored to avoid snagging in any working components, while those who work fields may prefer something more loose and easy to move around in. Cotton, Wool, and Linen are all fairly common clothing materials, while the very wealthy might prefer silks. Leather is a common material for outerwear such as jackets, coats, aprons, and cloaks due to it's lack of absorbancy as regards to rain or blood.

Embelishments such as extraneous buckles, brass buttons, stripes, and jewelry are all fairly common, regardless of gender.

Arms and Armor

When going to war, which humans are quite capable of, human armors tend toward thick plates of rigid metal over vital organs, but less constricting armors, such as chain or scale, upon the extremities. But even this aspect is subject to some debate as there are plenty of humans who would prefer nothing more than hardened leather or chain shirts.

Weapons are similarly varied, including firearms. Guns were invented rather recently, but have caught on within human society.

Explorers both Within and Without

More than any other people of Ios, humans are inquisitive, as should be expected by children of the Iron Gods. Many of the world's foremost philosophers and scientists seek to learn the truth of the "Human Condition" or "Laws of Nature" simply to comprehend such massive concepts.

There are also those for whom wanderlust is their shining trait. And it is in their new devices, ships which sail on sea or sky, that our understanding of the world grows quickly. Almost a dozen airships have been commissioned and now fly above the world, following coastlines or sailing over the land, in order to better understand the shape and nature of Ios.

And many an adventurous soul has looked to those passing airships and wondered after what they might find should they rise so high...

Towns and Towers

Unlike the Alfar, the Dwergi, and the Hauflin, humans tend to build their homes and their towns upwards. In this way, most human settlements often feel crowded to other peoples, and labyrinthine or difficult to navigate. For humans, though, it simply makes the most sense.

After all, it means more people can share the same area, more land can be used for farming than farmhouse, and all of the shops are within walking distance!

In rural communities, the first floor of the house is almost always very open with a hardpacked floor, so that in winter the animals of the farm, goats, chickens, perhaps a cow, can be brought indoors for safety, and the upstairs section of the house is used as living space for the people.

In more urban environments, however, basements are very common, the first floor is generally used for living and entertaining space, and the second floor is used for privacy and sleeping quarters.

Rites and Rituals

Humanity is among the most superstitious of all the peoples of Ios. Born to Dwergi and Alfar lands, they brought the half-remembered superstitions of those lands to their new homes, and in welcoming Goblin and Hauflin into their communities, they've only increased the variety of rites to remember!

While not irreligious, humanity follows many gods. Some look to the Œnar. Others the Tengri or the Luatha Danaan. The Iron Gods are mostly venerated by scientists and engineers. But most humans either offer praise to all gods without a preference for any, or say no prayers at all.

Playing a Human

Playing a Human means being a member of a young culture. Without a long and storied tradition of ancient heroes, Humans tend to venerate the most accomplished members of their race, particularly those heroes who fought the Trow two hundred years, before.

Human Traits

Attributes: +1 to any three Atributes, or +2 to any one Attribute
Size: Medium
Speed: 35ft, longer limbed than other races, humans tend to move faster.
Age: Humans reach adulthood at 18-20 years of age.
Vision: Normal
Ubiquitous: Humans can blend into crowds fairly easily, and gain advantage on Stealth checks in Urban environments
Eclectic: Humans gain Proficiency in one skill of their choice, if it is a skill they are already proficient with, they gain Mastery instead, gaining double their proficiency bonus to all checks with that skill.
In Strange Lands: While there is no Human Tongue, humans often know enough bits of other languages to communicate simple ideas to any creature with an intelligence of 8 or higher.
Languages: Humans begin play knowing either Alfar or Dwergi, as well as one other language of their choice.

How the world sees Humans

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view alfar.

Alfar mainly see humans as servants and workers rather than people of means or skill, and can be patronizing. But if a human manages to spark an Alfar's passions, they may find themselves the target of a powerful ardor, or hatred.

Cambion see humans as wild and dangerous beings who are quick to judge and quicker to draw whatever weapon they might employ.

Dwergi look to the humans as children under the best of circumstances. They're short-lived and wild-eyed beings whose legs are longer than their patience or the mark they'll leave on the world.

Goblins see humans as the Childen of the Gods of Goblinkind, the Iron Gods. They are tall, strong, smart... but often patronizing or doting on the smaller people. Most goblins suffer the human tendency to talk down to them, or even kneel to speak with them, in silence. But some can't stand it.

Half-Elves typically see humans as Family, however distant. The half-elf in a human city can expect care and support from the humans, there, and often don't realize that such care and support is grudging.

Hauflin see humans as long limbed teenagers, stumbling through a simple world in search of something bigger than even themselves.

Svartalfar often see humans as extentions of their own families, much as half-elves do. But rather than expecting the humans to cater to them like their fair skinned cousins, the Svartalfar are more likely to treat them as equals.

Credit: Ed Matuskey

How Humans see the world

Here's how Humans view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Alfar are seen to be haughty, rude, but rarely cruel. They should be handled as delicately as possible, as they're very liable to express their passions as loud anger over the slightest inconvenience.

Cambion are generally viewed as monsters. With their magical contracts to steal your name, your soul, your future, they should never be trusted lightly... if ever trusted at all.

Dwergi are much like the elves, though far more likely to be cruel and less likely to change their minds than the mountains to dance a merry jig across the plains. In a word? Stubborn.

Hauflin are small, simple folks, so tied up in their love of all things green that they barely consider grander designs. But their food and music are excellent and should be enjoyed as often as possible!

Half Elves are much like their Alfar parents, yet so much more -human-. They're beautiful, daring, but almost never rude outside of their expectation that humans will serve them... one which often proves right.

Goblins small, cunning, and conniving! Trust Goblins to know themselves, and their trade, but when it comes to war... keep them safe! They're so small and fragile...

Svartalfar look more like humans than Half-Elves. And treat humans as brothers, as equals. But their subservient nature often puts them at odds with mankind, since the alfar are their masters. Be welcome... but be careful.

Credit: Nick Robles

Svartalfar

If half elves are the face of a coin, Svartalfar are the opposite face. The child of an alfar woman and a human man, Svartalfar take on the dark skin, hair, and eyes of their human lineage with the pointed ears and extreme lifespan of their elven side. And in the process, they become trapped between the two.

Tall and Dark

Svartalfar stand between 5'5" and 6'2" in height, taller than most elves by far, their weights are typically two hundred pounds at most. Their skin ranges from a rusty reddish-brown to a coal-dark blackness, with eye colors ranging from hazel to sheer black.

Svartalfar hair is tightly curled and naps easily. Certain chemicals can be used to relax the curls, but it's far more common for a Svartalfar to tightly braid their hair or wear it trimmed close. Shaving the head is very common among all genders.

Cloth and Furs

Svartalfar who live among alfar wear clothing similar to their elven parent. Furs and linent, wide metal belts. But those who wander tend to dress more eclectically, array themselves in a variety of styles suited to their environments. `

Leather and Iron

More than any elf or human, svartalfar gird themselves for war in heavy plating. It was, in fact, a svartalf who created the first full suit of plate armor, complete with articulated fingers and vambraces. Like their mother's kin, Svartalfar typically prefer to use bows, axes, and swords, rather than carry shields.

Straddling the Divide

More than half elves, svartalfar connect with the humans they so closely resemble and are often welcomed into their societies and homes. A cruel irony, indeed, that most live among their alfar families. Their creativity, interest in mechanics, and keen minds give them a strong edge in the design of new weapons, armor, tools, and machines.

Bonds of Loyalty

Most Svartalfar live among elvenkind because they feel a duty to their cold cousins. Those who manage to break those bonds, or avoid bonding in the first place, make some of the greatest compatriots of any friend they might make. Their powerful emotional bonds help to make them invaluable to nearly every person they meet.

But the svartalfar are also aware of this bonding, of this loyalty. Which sometimes results in the svartalf keeping potential friends at arm's length to avoid the deep emotional bonds they might otherwise form.

Magic and Machinery

Like half elves, Svartalfar are gifted magic users and machinists, though their talents tend to be more structural than functional. A half elf might combine magic and machinery in a unique manner, but a svartalf would create the machine and the magic before they were combined.

This natural affinity to creation often leads svartalfar to perform their design work on behalf of others who will use that work to greater end. There are few orders of knights in this world, but each of those orders relies on svartalfar to design their armor, their barding, and their weaponry.

Adventure and Exploration

Those svartalfar who manage to avoid making strong bonds in their youth, or whose bonds break, often turn to adventure and exploration, traveling far into the wilder lands of the world to learn, to experience, to grow.

To those with whom they travel, svartalfar often become caretakers, friends, lovers, and heroes who are willing to go to incredible lengths for those they care for.

Death and Dying

While the alfar fade away, the svartalfar die much as humans do. Growing old and wrinkled, they become an ever growing reminder of mortality to the elves. Elderly svartalfar are often hidden from view, or banished from the lands they've called home.

Playing a Svartalfar

Playing a svartalfar means playing everyone's best friend, or a cold shoulder with a name. Caught between the bonds to their parentage and their friends, Svartalfar who take to a life of adventure are often forced to make difficult choices between who they were, and who they hope to become.

Svartalfar Traits

Attributes: +2 Constitution, +1 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 30ft
Age: Svartalfar are adults at 20 years of age.
Vision: Elfsight (Double sight ranges in all conditions)
Keen Senses: Svartalfar are proficient in Perception and Insight
Trusted: Svartalfar are seen as deeply trustworthy, and gain a +2 bonus to any skill check to lie or obfuscate the truth.
Technomancy: Svartalfar gain the Technomancer feat at level 1.
Human Mein: Half elves do not need to make a check to disguise themselves as Human unless they're attempting to deceive a human.
Firstborn Heritage: Svartalfar begin with 20 additional gold pieces.
Languages: Svartalfar begin play knowing Alfar and one language of their choice

How the world sees Svartalfar

Here's how some of the peoples of the world of Aetherstorm view half elves.

Humans largely see svartalfar as the backside of the half-elven coin. They're more human than elf, and are largely able to simply blend in to human culture and customs.

Alfar largely hold svartalfar in the same regard as a family pet. Doted upon, provided for, but ultimately extraneous. Far too short lived to make reasonable partners, yet more trusted than humans or dwarves due to lifespan and closeness, respectively.

Cambion see svartalfar as a potential danger, someone to invest trust in only slowly. It's very rare for a svartalfar to make a bond with a cambion, but when they do all pretense of distance fades and the svartalfar is as family.

Dwergi look to svartalfar with the same desire as half-elves! They see the half-breeds as a marvel rather than a corruption and only wish that they, too, could beget such marvelous children.

Half-Elves often view Svartalfar as strange and stoic figures of great tragedy. While an Alfar can ride their heritage through Hauflin, Human, and Dwergi society, the Svartalfar seem trapped, by comparison.

Hauflin are largely considered to be subservient to the alfar by haulflin, which makes them kindred spirits!

Goblins almost never encounter svartalfar, since they rarely venture into elf-lands. But when they do, they typically confuse svartalfar for humans and treat them as such. It is only when a goblin comes to know a svartalfar for a longer period, as a bond forms, that they truly appreciate who they're dealing with.

Credit: Clarence Bateman

How Svartalfar see the world

Here's how svartalfar view some of the other peoples of Aetherstorm.

Alfar are haughty and patronizing and they don't do much to hide it, so svartalfar typically suffer the loudness and the domineering to maintain their own positions within society. Almost invariably as guards and soldiers.

Cambion are often seen as a cautionary tale about what happens to a society without careful protection and care. At heart they are alfar... for all their physical differences.

Dwergi are rude, abrasive, covetous people. They'll complain constantly about nothing just to have someone pay attention to them. They're at their best when they can be avoided.

Hauflin are a serf class to the alfar, much as the svartalfar, and in that way if no other they are friends, allies, and equals. They should be approached with weapons stowed, to keep their endless worry over violence in check.

Goblins are fascinating creatures, rare as they seem to be. Their devotion to their New Gods and their creations are wondrous and bold. But they also stand, much as the cambion, as a cautionary tale. Should the vigilance of the svartalfar waver, what horrors would Tzernobog place upon elfkind?