Shadows of the Apt Version 1.0
What is Shadows of The Apt?
Shadows of The Apt is a fantasy series by Adrian Tchaikovsky that takes place in a nameless fictional world. Technology has started to take over the Lowlands and if you are technologically adept your "apt".
Those who cannot understand or use the technology are "inapt" and belong to the races, or kinden, that used to rule the world, now brought low. There are two things which make the series particularly special.
Firstly, rather than the traditional fantasy races, each kinden is a human variant which draws its unique abilities from a kind of insect. Secondly, it defies the traditional medieval stasis of fantasy epics, existing in something of a steampunk setting initially and seeing the levels of technology change and increase over the course of the series.
What are Insect-Kinden?
Everyone in the Shadows of The Apt series is a member of one or more kinden. This is analogous to race in our world. Where people here can be White, Black, Hispanic, Indian, Asian etc, in Shadows of The Apt people are identified by kinden. Each kinden is descended from a tribe of humans who made some sort of agreement with the Ancestor Spirit of particular kind of insect.
It is not necesarilly the case that all members of a kinden are from the same source: Imperial Beetles are notably fairer skinned than Lowlander Beetles, while still displaying being obvbiously beetles. Examples of kinden are Mantis, Spider, Beetle, Wasp and Ant. They all have specific racial traits that are explained in detail on their own page. But, it is possible to be of a mixed heritage, for example Ant and Beetle kinden. These are called halfbreeds by the population at large. Halfbreeds are looked down on by most other people but can sometimes have a unique mix of talents.
What's the difference between all the Kinden?
It is generally possible to identify a person's kinden with just a glance at their physical structure. Beetles are stocky; Spiders are slender and tall; Ants are a short and wiry. However, these are purely external, and the thing which makes each kinden unique is their Ancestor Art (or just Art). Beetles endure; Mantids are deadly in combat; Wasps can throw an energetic Sting; Dragonflies have wings.
How does this World differ from standard D&D
Apt vs. Inapt
All of humanity is split into two groups based upon their aptitude: the apt and the inapt. Apt kinden and individuals are those who are able to understand and use technology, while Inapt kinden and individuals cannot. To Inapt kinden, even something as simple as a doorknob is incomprehensible. They may be able to learn how to operate it through performing the necessary motions by rote, but will have no comprehension of how their actions effect the workings of the object. On the other hand, Inapt kinden have a much greater affinity for magic. Aptitude is in most cases an innate quality found in specific kinden that is passed on by genetics. Beetles, Ants, Flies and Wasps are Apt, while Spiders, Mantids, Moths and Dragonflies are not. Halfbreed individuals born of one Apt and one Inapt parent may inherit Aptitude, or they may not. Some kinden, however, blur the distinction between Apt and Inapt. Woodlouse-kinden are rare in that their race possesses both Apt and Inapt individuals, while Skater-kinden were originally Inapt but are seen to be developing Aptitude as a racial trait. Outliers within otherwise Apt kinden are also possible; at least one Wasp has been born Inapt, and in extreme and highly individual circumstances two Apt individuals have been known to lose their Aptitude. For a more information please read the part about the Apt Revolution contained later into this document!
The Kinden
Beetle-kinden
Beetle-kinden are a numerous Apt race found all over the world, though they are particularly influential in the Lowlands. Known for their industry, many Beetle-kinden become artificers or tradesmen, while others flourish as factory owners and merchants. They also have an affinity for politics and rhetoric, and the Beetle-dominated Great Assembly and Great College of Collegium have been responsible for much of the social and technological progress in the Lowlands and beyond.
Physical Characteristics
Beetle-kinden are generally shorter than average and range from stocky to overweight. Their skin tends to be darker, and they are naturally quite strong. Their Art gives them great endurance, allowing them resist poison and fatigue and survive in the face of adversity. Many can climb very well and a few can even fly, though they are infamously bad at it. One of the rarest Beetle Arts is Darksight.
Cities and Settlements
Beetle-kinden do not live in racially homogenous cities or holds like most other kinden. They are more attracted to cosmopolitan cities that have many cultures with whom to trade. That said, Beetles are the dominant kinden in Collegium and Helleron, two of the most important cities in the Lowlands.
Collegium Beetle-kinden are extremely common in Collegium, making up the majority of the democratically elected Assemblers who govern the city and the majority of teachers at the Great College. Collegium often represents the best of Beetle-kinden society; it is a political and technological hub responsible for the spread of advanced technologies such as airships and steam engines as well as socially progressive ideas such as cooperation and trade with other cities, abolishion of slavery and tolerance of halfbreeds. Initially divided politically on relations with the Wasp Empire as some of Collegium's wealthier citizens profit from selling arms to them.
Helleron Beetle-kinden are also extremely common in Helleron, the chief industrial powerhouse of the Lowlands. Helleron's ruling Council is made up entirely of Beetle-kinden magnates, and Beetles dominate its factory-owning upper class. Though an incredibly productive city Helleron stands in stark contrast to Collegium and represents many of the downsides of Beetle society, chiefly greed. Most of Helleron is impoverished and crime-ridden, and much of its population is forced to labour in dangerous factories for pitiful wages.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Constituion, +1 other Stat Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 30ft. Your base flying speed is 15ft (if capable). Aptitude: Apt Beetle Resilience: You have advantage on saving throws against poison and you have resistance against poison damage. Collegium Education: You gain proficiencey with the artisan's tool of your choice. Beetle Endurance: You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add you Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Negotiator: You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks where commerce is concerned
Fly-kinden
Fly-kinden are a physically small, Apt race ubiquitous the world over. Like Beetle-kinden they adapt easily to different circumstances and thus Flies can be found in many different trades, though they are particularly good messengers and dominate the Messenger's Guild. In free cities Flies can be found as artists or merchants, while in the Spiderlands they commonly serve Spider-kinden households. Fly-kinden are somewhat greedy and quarrelsome by nature, and in poorer areas and cities like Helleron it is common for them to live outside the law as gangsters or even pirates.
Cities
Flies mostly live in cosmopolitan cities dominated by other kinden, but there are some cities known as 'warrens' where Fly-kinden rule. Egel and Merro in the Lowlands are sister warrens, small, cramped, busy places where hundreds of sprawling Fly clans make their homes and crime is rife.
Art
All Fly-kinden are able to fly, and are the swiftest and nimblest of all kinden in the air, save perhaps Dragonflies. Most are able to cling to walls, and many have a keen sense for danger which warns them of imminent threat.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma Size: Small Speed: Your base walking speed is 25ft. Your base flying speed is 30ft. Aptitude: Apt Fly Senses: You have advantage on Initiative rolls. Nimble Escape: You can take the disengage or hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns. Lucky: When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. Naturally Stealthy: You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you. Scoundrel: You are proficient in the Sleight of Hand skill.
Spider-kinden
Spider-kinden are a slim, pale, elegant race known for their ability to rise to the top of society no matter the circumtances. Expert influencers and manipulators, Spiders are a force to be reckoned with the world over, but nowhere more so than than in their vast dominion, the Spiderlands.
Spider-kinden society is complex and matriarchal, with women holding all the most important positions of power. Spider-kinden are almost exclusively aristocracy in the Spiderlands, with many noble families vying for power in a constant, shifting 'dance' whilst slaves of other kinden tend to their needs. When war is called for, the Spiders can deploy whole armies of other kinden from their satrapy cities to fight for them, overseeing the battles but never shedding a drop of blood themselves. Their first and foremost concern is always the standing of their house within the 'dance', and in Spider politics deception and betrayal come as easily as breathing.
Spider-kinden society is highly stratified, with many complex rules governing behaviour. Failure is punished ruthlessly with loss of standing and even exile. Spider-kinden are addicted to politics, making them experts in diplomacy and espionage, and have been known to infiltrate the secret services of other powers and manipulate them for their own ends, navigating the 'amateur' plots and counter-plots of other races with ease. Indeed, Spider-kinden sometimes joke that they complicate their own plots simply because they can, and while said in jest this is probably the truth.
Spider-kinden are Inapt, but unlike the other Inapt powers of the Days of Lore they survived the Apt Revolution with their dominance intact. To this day the noble families of the Spiderlands control vast numbers of slaves, and while they cannot use or understand technology themselves they appreciate its effectiveness and employ their slave races to develop and manufacture it for them. Spiders have a long-running feud with Mantis-kinden, its origins so far back in the mists of time that they have been forgotten.
Cities
Spider-kinden rule all of the many cities in the Spiderlands, the capitol of which is Golden Skaetha. Nearest to the Lowlands are Siennis, Everis and Seldis. Spiders also control Porta Mavralis on the western coast of the Exalsee, as well as the city of Solarno, which is considered a backwater haven for those noble families who fall out of the 'dance' and need somewhere else to inhabit and rule.
Art
All Spider-kinden are expert manipulators, able to make anyone they can charm slaves to their will. Many of them can cling to surfaces with their hands and feet, while some can generate silk between their fingers. Others can summon a pair of small bone spines between their knuckles when their fist is clenched, to which poison can be added.
Spider-kinden magicians use magic to enhance their powers of manipulation and secrecy. Some, known as Manipuli, can change their entire appearance at will, even to the point of immitating another kinden's Art. This makes the range of abilities available to a skilled Manipuli almost unlimited.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Charisma, +1 Intelligence or Dexterity Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 30ft. Aptitude: Inapt Spider Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed. You also have advantage on rolls including illusion effects. Skilled Manipulator: You are proficient in either Persuasion, Deception or Insight. Silken Tongue: Spiders are born manipulators. Starting at 1st level you can use the Friends cantrip. At 3rd level you can use the Charm Person spell and starting at 5th level you learn the Suggestion spell. You can use each of these once per short/long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. Weapon Tradition: You are proficient with Rapiers.
Moth-kinden
Moth-kinden are an Inapt race of magicians and seers who ruled the Lowlands during the Days of Lore. They are generally thin, with blank white eyes and grey skin. They are nocturnal, capable fliers and strongly connected to magic.
During their long reign, the Moth-kinden defeated such powerful rivals as the Mosquito and Assassin-bug kinden and even triumphed over the dreaded Worm, sealing them beneath the ground and trapping them in their nightmarish subterranean kingdom. They kept kinden such as the Ants, Beetles and Flies enslaved, using the feared Mantis-kinden as their enforcers. They were eventually overthrown during the Apt Revolution, when the technological ability of their slave-races gave them a strong enough edge to succesfully revolt. The Moths were driven back to their mountaintop holds, where they have reamined to this day.
Moth society is ruled by Skryres, powerful sorcerers and seers who interpret visions and make decisions of behalf of their cities. The Arcanum is the Moth-kinden's secret service, an old and highly capable secret organisation which recruits from various kinden but generally favours the Inapt. Moths hate technology and attempt to sabotage it where they can, but their power has waned significantly since the Days of Lore and the Apt races consider them nothing more than than an anachronistic nuisance.
Moths are a seclusionary kinden, rarely emerging from their mountain hideouts and even more rarely entertaining guests. Their main contact with the outer world is by scrying and through the Arcanum, an order of spies so secret that their existence is dismissed as an urban legend.
Moths will generally deal respectfully with Spiders, Dragonflies and Mantids, viewing them as equals worthy of recognition and fellow practicioners of the arcane.
Ants, Flies and Wasps are generally dismissed as inferior, subservient kinden, unmindful of their rightful place in society, whilst true loathing is reserved for Beetles.
Moths are extremely technophobic and will approach any modern technology as suspicious, baffling and a perversion of nature.
Cities
Moth-kinden live almost exclusively in the mountaintop strongholds of Dorax and Tharn. During the Days of Lore they were spread across the Lowlands and built the cities of Myna and Pathis, the latter of which was renamed Collegium after the Revolution.
Art
All Moths can fly and possess Darksight, giving them perfect night vision. Some also possess powers of hypnosis, but it is unknown if this is Art or part of their magic.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Intelligence, +1 Charisma Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 30ft. Your base flying speed is 30ft. Aptitude: Inapt Vision: Darkvision 60ft Masters of the Grey: Though your Empire may have crumbled, some of your terrible influence remains. You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks on Mantids. Additionally, you may choose a single target which must succeed on a Wisdom save (DC 8 + Proficiency + INT). On a failed save, the target becomes Frightened for 1d4 rounds of combat. This ability can be used once per long rest. Hermits of a Time Long Gone: You have Advantage on any Intelligence (History&Religion) roll regarding Inapt History. You have Disadvantage on any Intelligence (History&Religion) roll regarding technology. Mountain Raiders: You are proficient with the Shortbow. Shaper of Reality: Though their power has waned and their kinden retreated to their mountain eyries, Moths remain the inheritors of an ancient and terrifying tradition of dark magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach level 3, you can cast Dissonant Whispers once per day. When you reach level 5, you can also cast Phantasmal Force once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Ant-kinden
Ant-kinden are a numerous Apt race found throughout the world. Militaristic by nature, they typically live in independent city-states, the hostility between which is a defining trait of their kinden. Unlike most other kinden Ant skin colour varies greatly between the city states, with brownish tones most common but white, black, red and blue existing as well.
Ant-kinden are highly communal thanks to their Mindlink Art which allows all Ants of the same city-state to hear each other's thoughts and thus communicate without the need for words or gestures. The Mindlink gives Ant armies a powerful advantage in battle as they can coordinate with far greater speed and precision than their foes and continually warn each other of danger.
Ant-kinden are of average height, but solid and well-built. In the Days of Lore they were a slave-race to the Moths, but after the Apt Revolution they took control of or founded a number of cities. Ant cities are ruled by a King or Queen and are normally hostile to outsiders; some Ants such as the Tarkesh participate in the slave trade as slavers.
Cities
Lowlands
Sarn: A more cosmopolitan Ant city allied with Collegium.
Vek: A coastal city hostile to Collegium.
Tark: A slaving city near the edge of the Dryclaw.
Kes: A coastal city built on an island.
Tsen: A little-known city on the Lowlands' west coast.
Imperial
Maynes: A city conquered by the Wasps; its people serve as Auxilians.
Maille: Another Ant city in the central Empire.
Art
Ubiquitous
The Mind-link is synonymous with Ants and considered their signature art.
Common
Some Ants are gifted with an acidic grip and others grow bony protrusions from their fists. Some are capable of climbing sheer surfaces.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 35ft. Aptitude: Apt Ant Toughness: Your hit point maximum increases by 1 and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. Born Athlete: You have proficiency with the Athletics skill. Mindlink: You can communicate telepathically with Ants from the same colony as you. The range can cover up to an entire city. Martial Combat Training: You have proficiency with the Shortsword, Light & Medium Armor, and Shields.
Dragonfly-kinden
Dragonfly-kinden are an Inapt race native to the Commonweal, a large area north of Lowlands. They have ruled the Commonweal for centuries as its aristocratic lords, governing its provinces while Grasshoppers and other kinden work the land. Cultured and athletic, Dragonfly-kinden are excellent fliers, second only to Flies for speed and agility and second to none for grace. Being Inapt, they have no use for physical trades and so devote their time to such pursuits as poetry, art, archery and swordfighting.
Dragonfly society is quite stratified, with various levels existing within the nobility. Noble youths are often fostered at the courts of other Princes, and they honour their foster parents as much as their own. For those destined to inherit high station, courtly skills are considered as vital as political and martial ones. Dragonfly architecture is tall and airy, with openings in walls and roofs to allow flying in and out.
The Commonweal
The Commonweal is the land of the Dragonfly-kinden, a large kingdom at least the size of the Lowlands. Cooler and wetter than its southern neighbour, much of the Commonweal is covered with hills and forests. As a land of the Inapt, is has no large cities and settled areas are centred on castles. Law and order is maintained by the Mercers, an order of errant knights who travel the kingdom hunting bandits and dangerous beasts. It is also home to a number of rarer kinden such as Butterflies and Stick-insects, whose lands the Dragonflies protect. The Commonweal is divided into Provinces, large areas each ruled by a Prince Major.
In the recent past, the Commonweal was subjected to invasion by the Wasp Empire. The resulting Twelve Year War was devastating to both sides, though the Wasps' superior numbers and technology eventually won out and forced the Dragonfly monarch to sign the Treaty of Pearl, ceding three provinces to the Empire in return for cessation of hostilities. This amounted to the Commonweal losing almost half of its territory, but the worst effect of the war was the breakdown of the Commonweal's social structure. With so many Dragonflies killed, even the parts of the Commonweal not surrendered to the Wasps backslid into lawlessness, with banditry running rife and the power of the monarchy much reduced. To outsiders the Commonweal remains a land of exotic mystery, but in truth much of it is now an impoverished, semi-lawless wilderness scarred by war.
Outside the Commonweal, there is only one other known Dragonfly settlement: Princep Exilla on the Exalsee. Settled by exiles from the Commonweal long ago, the Dragonflies of Exilla are darker-skinned and much more savage than their cultured northern cousins, sporting patterned tattooes and surviving mostly through piracy. They have, however, retained the ancient art of Dragonfly-riding, and riders often pit themselves against the mechanised aircraft of other cities around the Exalsee.
Art
Dragonflies are masters of flight, and some improve on their own natural abilities by riding the giant dragonflies from which their kinden draw their Art. In combat they are able to grow retractable claws from their thumbs.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Wisdom, +1 Dexterity Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 30ft. Your base flying speed is 40ft. Aptitude: Inapt Wisdom of the Commonweal: You have proficiency with the Insight skill. Grace in the Air: Dragonfly's are the most skilled flyers in existence. Whilst flying you have +1AC and Advantage on Dexterity saving throws. Light of Ages: Yours is the most ancient nation in the world, founded upon ideals of responsibility, servitude and predestination. A complex belief system of intertwined fates and loathing of deception has led to a unique tradition of magic. You know the Guidance cantrip. When you reach level 3, you can cast Faerie Fire once per day. When you reach level 5, you can also cast Zone of Truth once per day. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Mantis-kinden
Mantis-kinden are in Inapt and generally reclusive race who live in hidden forest holds throughout the world. Famed warriors, they served as enforcers for the Moth-kinden during the Days of Lore, and are still valued as mercenaries and bodyguards. Following the Apt Revolution they largely retreated to their holds, and have played little role in the events of the modern era.
Mantis-kinden are generally tall, slim and pale. They are faster and more agile than most other kinden, and are excellent hunters and trackers thanks to their hunter-gatherer society. Their culture is very conservative; Mantids eschew technology, treat outsiders with suspicion, and carry a particular hatred towards Spider-kinden. They value martial skill, and often use combat as a way to resolve disputes. Mantis-kinden Weaponsmasters are the best fighters in the world, and must earn their badges by travelling to the sacred isle of Parosyal and fighting the giant mantis which guards the idol at the heart of the island.
Honour is extremely important to Mantis-kinden, and they have a strict honour code which rules their lives, to the point that many of their actions and motivations seem opaque to other kinden. Mantis-kinden do not form casual bonds: they have lifelong friends for whom they would die without question, or enemies they will hunt to the ends of the earth. Everyone else they treat with cold indifference. Mantids choose partners for life, and if their partner dies they will never take another, no matter how long it has been since their death or how strongly they feel about someone else. They tend to feel emotions very strongly, and their honour code seems to regulate their actions by giving them a pre-determined way to channel their feelings so that they do not pose a threat to those around them. They are very accepting of their own deaths when they feel that honour demands their sacrifice.
Mantis honour often perplexes outsiders, and even those who have known a particular Mantis-kinden for years usually find them overly intense and difficult to deal with. However, those lucky enough to have earned a Mantis's loyalty have a friend for life, to the point that a Mantis's ghost may have trouble passing on while their friend is still alive.
Holds
Mantis holds are not often seen by outsiders, but their existence is usually known. Known Mantis holds are:
Felyal (Lowlands)
Etheryon (Lowlands)
Nethyon (Lowlands)
Darakyon (Lowlands, destroyed)
Eryon (Spiderlands)
Y'yen (Dragonfly Commonweal)
Art
Mantis Art gives them superior reflexes and combat skills, as well as slightly better sight than the average human. Some are able to fly, and most can grow spines from their forearms.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity, +1 Strength Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 40ft. Your base flying speed is 30ft (if capable). Aptitude: Inapt Hunter's Lore: You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. Mantis Agility: Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns. Weapon Heritage: You have proficiency with the Rapier, Mantis Claw, and Longbow. Servants of the Green: The Moth Empire may have long faded from existence, but its lingering, terrible hold on the Mantis kinden is still as strong as ever. A culture defined by its rigid adherence to tradition and honour, Mantids still view themselves as subservient to their Moth masters. You have Disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks against Moths. You have advantage on Intelligence (History) and Intelligence (Religion) checks relating to Mantis culture or history.
Mantis Weaponry
The Mantis Claw
Description: A weapon of the Mantis-kinden, this consists of a metal gauntlet with an attached blade. It was designed during the Days of Lore to mimic the attack of the mantids wild cousins. The point and inside edge are sharpened. The fighting style is unusual and close-ranged, but the Claw is deadly in the hands of a skilled user. Damage: 2d4 Slashing Properties: Finesse
Wasp-kinden
Wasp-kinden are a fair-skinned, warlike and Apt race who, in the space of three generations, have transformed the status quo of most of the known world. Originally little more than savage desert-dwellers living in mud forts and constantly raiding one another, the Wasp-kinden became unified under a powerful Emperor and set out the conquer the entire world one city at a time.
From humble beginnings, the Wasp Empire has grown and expanded to cover a large area, with dozens of cities and as many different kinden under its heavy-handed rule. The expansion of the empire is driven by the Wasp-kinden's belief in themselves as the 'master race', and while the empire's success rests largely on the way it has absorbed and employed the talents of other kinden, most non-Wasps in the empire are slaves forced to serve under duress. All but the most talented slaves are considered to be worthless and expendable, and Wasps are brutal to those they oppress. This oppression extends to most of the Wasp race as well: all males are forced to serve the army in some capacity, while female Wasps are second-class citizens treated as nothing more than baby producers.
Wasps hold an iron-clad belief in their own destiny and superiority of the Wasp kinden and see their annexation of surrounding nations as either pre-emptive defence or the bringing of civilisation to backwards peoples. Combined with their ferocious drive, this means that they are unlikely to ever say ‘enough'. Individual Wasps tend to be aggressive, quick to offence and utterly dismissive of non-Wasps, but are also willing to suffer towards a cause and are highly adaptable and pragmatic, caring more about results than methods.
Cities
At the heart of the Wasp Empire lies Capitas, originally the mud-fort of the first Emperor, now a large and busy city. The Wasps have founded no other cities of their own but have conquered and occupied dozens belonging to other kinden.
Art
Ubiquitous
Flight: All Wasp-kinden are capable of flight, though skill and stamina varies between individuals.
Sting: All Wasps are capable of launching a bolt of fire from their palm, a lethal signature Art which has cemented their warlike culture.
Uncommon
Bone Spurs: Some Wasps can project a pair of curved bone spurs from between their knuckles.
Rare
Mindlink: A very few Wasps can share thoughts with others who have the same Art.
Traits
Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution, +1 Strength Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed is 30ft. Your base flying speed is 30ft. Aptitude: Apt Wasp Sting: The ability so synonymous with Wasp conquerors that an open palm, considered everywhere else to be a gesture of peace andsubmission, instead represents a primal threat when coming from a Wasp. Erupting from their palm in a searing, crackling ball of fire, a Wasp's sting is a lethal and feared weapon. You can use you Action to shoot your Wasp Sting (x-Constitution mod times per day). The sting has a range of 30ft and deals 1d8 (increases to 2d8 at 6th level) Imperial Upbringing: You have proficiency with the Athletics or Intimidation skill. Strong Fliers: You can fly in Medium Armor.
Halfbreeds
Halfbreeds are the result of a liaison between parents of different kinden. The results of a particular cross between kinden is unpredictable, with some being almost identical to one or other of their parents, others being an identifiable mix of their parents' characteristics and still others ending up somehow unusual.
Most halfbreeds are looked down on by the rest of the world around them. It is an unfortunate fact that those who can hide their mixed heritage, or make it appear to be somehow exotic, have a much better life.
Halfbreed Cities
Unthinkable. Although rumours say that Chasme is headed that way.
Halfbreed Arts Are a mix and match of their parents', like everything else about them.
Traits
Disdain for the Halfbreeds: A lot of people regard Halfbreeds as 2nd-class citizens because of their mixed heritage. If your mixed heritage is clearly visible you may have disadvantage on specific social rolls. Mixed Heritage: Since Halfbreeds can be a combination of basically any of the races, there is no general layout for how the Traits would be set up. This will need to be worked out in detail with your DM on a case to case basis! Aptitude: Apt/Inapt depending on heritage.
Bee-Kinden
Bee-kinden are a dark-skinned, short, stocky and physically strong Apt race. They are very industrious, a trait which makes them valuable slaves for the Wasp Empire. Bee cities are ruled by a single Queen, to whom the entire hive shows utter loyalty. When the Wasp Empire subjugated the Bee-kinden's cities, they were able to secure that loyalty by keeping the Queens and their children and hostages.
Cities
Unfortunately for the Bee-kinden, all of their cities were established relatively close to the heartland of the Wasp-kinden and as such were subjugated by their Empire. Vesserett, Tyrshaan and Szar all contributed soldiers and industry to the Wasp Empire's war effort, though Szar managed to regain its independence at part of the Three-City Alliance.
Art
Bee-kinden can grow bone-blades from their fists, produce acid from their hands and fly. They have a particular sense of duty to their Queen and will go Beserk if called upon, willingly sacrificing their lives for her. On rare occasions, some manifest a Mindlink
Scorpion-kinden
Scorpion-kinden are a large, pale-skinned race of warriors, slavers and mercenaries. Bald, snaggle-toothed and sporting vicious claws in place of thumbs and pointer fingers, Scorpion-kinden are as ugly as they are aggressive. Their tribal society is built around strength, and the weak are killed without question. Scorpion-kinden do not have family bonds; when pregnant, women leave the clan to give birth in the desert, then they and their fast-maturing children rejoin the clan as anonymous individuals. This prevents bonds of affection from interfering with the clan's strict hierarchy of strength. Normally a Scorpion will be turned on and either driven out or killed as soon as they begin to age out of their prime, but amongst the tribes of the Nem a few older Scorpions are allowed to remain as elders, contributing their wisdom in place of strength.
Cities
Scorpion-kinden can be divided into two distinct groups: Aktaian and Nemian.
Aktaian Scorpions inhabit the Dryclaw east of the Lowlands. They are Apt, but their grasp of technology is as crude as the rest of their culture and they mostly make do with what they can trade or scavenge. The Scorpions of the Dryclaw are also prolific slavers, and make good coin selling to the Wasp Empire, the Ants of Tark and the Spiderlands. Some few prefer to make their living as desert guides, but even these are as likely to rob and kill their patrons once out in the desert as not.
Nemian Scorpions inhabit the desert of Nem east of the Exalsee. They are divided into numerous tribes and live in the ruined cities which dot the Nem. They are the perennial enemies of the Scarab-Beetles of Khanaphes, which they besiege roughly once in a generation, but unlike their Dryclaw cousins only about a third of Nemian Scorpions are Apt, and without the ability to create siege weapons they have never succeeded in razing the city.
Mole-cricket Kinden
Mole-cricket kinden are a race of towering black-skinned miners who, though intimidating, are pacifists. Unfortunately this has made them ideal slaves for the Wasp Empire, which has conquered their (presumably subterranean) cities of Delve and Least Delve. Their Art enables them to carve through rock with their bare hands as if it was nothing but loose soil, a useful ability which the Wasp Empire has taken advantage of by having Mole-cricket Auxillians attack enemy fortifications. Though physically suited to being shock troops, these Mole-cricket kinden abhor the violence they are forced to inflict. Their state of anguish does not often last long as, despite their usefulness, the Empire treats them as expendably as all its slaves and most of this kinden, already small in numbers, have met their ends surrounded by the corpses of those they have unwillingly slain.
Roach-kinden
Roach-kinden are a brown-skinned, white-haired, smallish Inapt race found across the world, but particularly in the Commonweal. They are a wandering kinden with no permanent cities, and despite their rustic, inoffensive nature they are often maligned as thieves and vagabonds, which some of them certainly are. The rest however are merchants, tinkers, entertainers and musicians, kind-hearted people who show none of the prejudice with which they are treated. They live in travelling clans, and are very loyal to each other. Their Art allows them to cling to walls and dissolve wood.
Woodlouse-kinden
Woodlouse-kinden are an unusual race who are generally tall, hunched, lanky and bald, with dark banded markings running from their foreheads over their scalps down to the smalls of their backs. They inhabit the dank, rotting woodlands to the north of the Wasp Empire, remote enough from most other civilisations that most people have trouble recognising which kinden they are and consider them exotic oddities. Indeed, Woodlouse-kinden are fairly secretive and do not mingle a great deal with other races, but they do occasionally send members of their race out into the world to keep track of events.
Woodlouse-kinden are a deeply philosophical people with a unique perspective on the world. They are the only race known to be both Apt and Inapt simultaneously, with some Woodlice able to use magic and technology. This seems to be possible because they do not view the world through a single lens and instead embrace all possibilities and ways of thinking. Whether this is possible for any kinden or unique to Woodlice somehow is unknown.
Skater-kinden
Skater-kinden are an oddly-proportioned blue-grey race native to the lands around Lake Limnia, most notably Jerez. Their arms and legs are longer than normal in proportion to their bodies, and they have long, pointed noses and ears. Though Lake Limnia and its surrounds are nominally under the control of the Wasp Empire, the Skaters' ability to walk on water combined with their generally deceptive, untrustworthy ways make them perfect smugglers, and Jerez hosts a thriving black market which has eluded all Imperial attempts to clamp down on it.
Most Skater-kinden are still Inapt, but Aptitude is starting to filter through their race and a growing minority of Skaters are able to use technology.
History & Important Organizations
The Apt Revolution
The Apt Revolution was a pivotal period in world history when a number of Apt races overthrew the Inapt races who ruled them, dramatically changing power dynamics which had been in place for millennia. Aptitude played a key role in the revolution, for Apt kinden had long been kept enslaved so that their talents could be exploited by their masters. However, it was the same Aptitude which made them valuable that allowed the Apt races to overthrow their masters.
For millennia during the Days of Lore, the Moth-kinden ruled the Lowlands, using their arcane power and their hold over the martial Mantis-kinden to keep their slaves in check. Even once the Beetle and Ant slave races began to develop Aptitude, the magic of the Moths and the deadly skill of the Mantids was enough to keep them suppressed. However, this changed with the invention of the crossbow.
Unlike a regular bow, the crossbow did not require any great skill to wield, and it was easy to manufacture. More importantly, it was an Apt weapon and therefore gave the Apt slave races a unique advantage. Beetle and Ant-kinden wielding crossbows could win even against the superior combat skills of the Mantids, and this simple but crucial factor was enough to topple the Moths' power and usher in a new age where Apt kinden would rule. So ended the Days of Lore.
Effects
In the Lowlands, the Revolution forced the Moth-kinden to retreat back to their mountaintop cities of Dorax and Tharn, while their coastal resort city of Pathis where the revolution had begun was renamed Collegium and became a centre of Beetle-kinden culture. In the hidden cities beneath Lake Limnia, the Water-spider kinden were overthrown by the Water-beetles and forced into slavery themselves. However, the Revolution did not spread everywhere: in the Spiderlands, the Spider-kinden retained their power and found ways to turn new technologies to their advantage, while in the Dominion of Khanaphes the Khanaphir Beetle-kinden suppressed their own Aptitude out of reverence for their former masters. In the Dragonfly Commonweal, Apt kinden were few and so the status quo went unchanged.
Legacy
The legacy of the Apt Revolution has been long and complex. The rise of Apt powers such as the Wasp Empire has led the devastation and decline of the Commonweal through war, while the spread of Aptitude itself throughout various kinden has weakened the influence of magic on the world. Because of the psycholigical difference between Apt and Inapt minds, Apt kinden dismiss Inapt lore as myth and supersition, effectively consigning millennia of history to oblivion. Though these differences have been reconciled to a degree, the continued spread of Aptitude through previously Inapt kinden warns of a day when Aptitude becomes universal, and humanity itself will change.
The Great College
The Great College is the center of Collegium . It is where all cultural things happen. It also is where most aspiring artificer's or politicians go if they want to have a nice job in the Lowlands . It is also where a lot of friendships start and prosper.
The Rekef
The Wasp-kinden secret service. It takes its name from the founder. This organisation is still young, being founded even later than the Empire itself. It is split into two branches, the Inland and the Outland Rekef. Members of the Rekef have rank, like in the military, but that rank is normally only known to other members.
Inland Rekef
This is a sort of secret police, ensuring that loyalty to the Empire and Emperor is paramount within the Imperial Army and society at large. As a rule it only works within the lands controlled by the Empire
Outland Rekef
Spies, saboteurs and intelligencers all fall under the remit of the Outland. Their duties involve preparing for the eventual expansion of the Empire into the area where they are assigned.
The Arcanum
The Arcanum is the Moth Kinden's secret service. That said, it is not a single, overarching organisation. Individual Skryres or groups of like-minded Skryres sponsor agents and may or may not share their findings with their peers, depending on a number of political issues. This does not mean that they are in any way less competent, however. Arcanum agents are found all over the Lowlands, and even into the Empire.
Extra Rules
Art Flight
Several kinden have the ability to fly using Art wings. To make this compatible with the D&D 5e rules, the following restrictions apply unless specified: Speed: This is represented by a flying speed. Vertical movement is treated the same as horizontal movement, whilst diagonals involve geometry. Fun for all the family! Wingspan: The purpose of including a wingspan is to prevent large humans from hurtling down narrow corridors at head hight. In general, you will need your wingspan + 5 feet space in all directions (left, right, up, down) to fly. Wingspans are generally 10 feet across, with Flies being the only exception due to their small size. Flying in Armour: Generally speaking, kinden can only fly in Light Armour or normal clothing/robes. Wasps are the only exception to this, being able to fly in Medium Armour. Flying Save: This acts similarly to a spellcaster's Concentration check. If your character takes damage whilst flying (from any source), you must attempt a Constitution Saving Throw. The DC of this Save is either 10 or half the damage you received, whichever is higher. Upon success, you maintain your altitude. Upon failure, you cease to have a flying speed and fall to the ground, taking the standard falling damage upon impact.
Ancestor Art
All kinden claim a connection to an Ancestor Spirit, an archetypal representation of the insect species they relate to. It is from this Ancestor Spirit that all Art flows, gifting humans with an affinity for its descendants with unique and useful abilities. Among more secular kinden the quasi-religious concept of the Ancestor Spirit has been replaced with the philosophical concept of the Ideal Form, though they are effectively the same idea.
Art Flight
You gain the ability to fly. How skilled depends on your kinden.
Beetle Endurance
Kinden: Beetle You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add you Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Beetle Resilience
Kinden: Beetle You have advantage on saving throws against poison and you have resistance against poison damage.
Danger Sense
Kinden: Fly You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can't be blinded, deafened or incapacitated.
Fly Senses
Kinden: Fly You have advantage on Initiative rolls.
Nimble Escape
Kinden: Fly You can take the disengage or hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Spider Ancestry
Kinden: Spider You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed. You also have advantage on rolls including illusion effects.
Silken Tongue
Kinden: Spider Spiders are born manipulators. Starting at 1st level you can use the Friends cantrip. At 3rd level you can use the Charm Person spell and starting at 5th level you learn the Suggestion spell. You can use each of these once per short/long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Darkvision
Kinden: Moth, Spider, Mantis, Dragonfly, Beetle (very rare) You gain Darkvision of 60ft. If you already have Darkvision you increase it to 120ft.
Shaper of Reality
Kinden: Moth Though their power has waned and their kinden retreated to their mountain eyries, Moths remain the inheritors of an ancient and terrifying tradition of dark magic. You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. When you reach level 3, you can cast Dissonant Whispers once per day. When you reach level 5, you can also cast Phantasmal Force once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Ant Toughness
Kinden: Ant Your hit point maximum increases by 1 and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
Mindlink
Kinden: Ant, Wasp (very rare) You can communicate telepathically with Ants (or other kinden that can learn this art) from the same colony as you. The range can cover up to an entire city.
Grace in the Air
Kinden: Dragonfly Dragonfly's are the most skilled flyers in existence. Whilst flying you have +1AC and Advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
Light of Ages
Kinden: Dragonfly Yours is the most ancient nation in the world, founded upon ideals of responsibility, servitude and predestination. A complex belief system of intertwined fates and loathing of deception has led to a unique tradition of magic. You know the Guidance cantrip. When you reach level 3, you can cast Faerie Fire once per day. When you reach level 5, you can also cast Zone of Truth once per day. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Mantis Agility
Kinden: Mantis Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.
Wasp Sting
Kinden: Wasp The ability so synonymous with Wasp conquerors that an open palm, considered everywhere else to be a gesture of peace andsubmission, instead represents a primal threat when coming from a Wasp. Erupting from their palm in a searing, crackling ball of fire, a Wasp's sting is a lethal and feared weapon. You can use you Action to shoot your Wasp Sting (x-Constitution mod times per day). The sting has a range of 30ft and deals 1d8 (increases to 2d8 at 6th level)
Strong Flier
Kinden: Wasp You can fly in Medium Armor.
Ant Coordination
Kinden: Ant You gain advantage on attack rolls when attacking with another Ant that has this Art.
Strong Sting
Kinden: Wasp You add your Constitution modifier to the stings damage.
Sting Sniper
Kinden: Wasp Increase the range of your sting to 90ft.
Kinden Friendship
Kinden: any You can cast Animal Friendship on animals related to your own kinden proficiency times per Short/Long Rest. You use Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Kinden Handling
Kinden: any You have advantage on Handle Animal rolls regarding your own kinden's insect.
Natural Carapace
Kinden: Beetle When you aren't wearing armor your base AC is 12.
Wallclimb
Kinden: Ant, Spider, Fly Your Art allows you to climb up walls at half your movement speed.
Mantis Poise
Kinden: Mantis You gain the Duelist Fighting Style.
Ant Shieldwall
Kinden: Ant You gain the Defense Fighting Style.
Blade's Call
Kinden: Mantis, Spider When you are using a traditional melee weapon of your kinden you gain +1AC while fighting one-handed.
Sudden Strike
Kinden: Mantis, Spider, Fly You gain +5 Initiative
Deadly Grace
Kinden: Mantis After a successful melee attack, you may use the Dodge Action as a Bonus Action.
Natural Weapon
Not all kinden possess the capability to develop natural weapons. Natural weapons count as unarmed strikes and you add your Strength modifier to damage. All possible ones are listed below: Mantis: Arm Spines / 1d4 Piercing Dragonfly: Thumb Claw / 1d4 Slashing Ant: Bone Knuckles / 1d4 Bludgeoning Spider: Bone Spine between knuckles of clenched fist / 1d4 Piercing
Spider's Kiss
Kinden: Spider Prerequisites: Natural Weapon You add poison to your knuckle spines. When dealing damage with your natural weapon your target must succeed on a Constitution Saving Throw (DC 13) or become poisoned for a minute. You can use this skill once per Short/Long Rest.
See the Unseen
Kinden: Moth You can cast Faerie Fire once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Shrouded in Mystery
Kinden: Moth You can cast Fog Cloud once per day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Seeming is not Being
Prerequisites: Halfbreed You are a halfbreed that looks like a purebred kinden instead of a mix. This negates the Disdain for Halfbreeds trait.