Aetaltis [ EDIT ]

CHARACTER CREATION: OVERVIEW
Here is what the character creation process looks like for Aetaltis.

• Step 1: Roll Your Ability Scores Your character’s primary abilities.
• Step 2: Choose Your Lineage Your genetic makeup.
• Step 3: Choose Your Culture The culture in which you were raised.
• Step 4: Choose Your Background The career you were trained to pursue.
• Step 5: Choose Your Calling The thing that convinced you to abandon your background.
• Step 6: Choose Your Class The skills you learned to pursue your calling.
• Step 7: Select Your Equipment Buy or select your character’s equipment.
• Step 8: Finishing Touches All the little details, tidbits, and cool background elements.

Note that you don’t have to follow these steps in order to create your character. This is just a logical progression to define who your character is and their history.

STEP1: ROLL YOUR ABILITY SCORES
To determine your ability scores, roll 4d6 and add the three highest dice together. Do this six times and then assign one of the six numbers to each of your six abilities.

When assigning scores to abilities, keep in mind that in the World of Aetaltis some lineages have ability score requirements. These are minimum or maximum ability scores your character must meet after adding or subtracting the ability modifiers for that lineage.

About Your Ability Scores
Ability scores are fundamental to almost every game mechanic in Fifth Edition, but they are much more than a source of die modifiers. For one thing, they tell us how you stack up against the rest of the world. Are you stronger than an orc? Weaker than an orc? Or about the same? Do your acrobatic abilities rival those of the most agile simian? Or are you so klutzy compared to other people you meet on the street that they hurry to get out of your way?

And how did you come by those scores? Are you simply lucky, having been born with superior abilities? Or did you spend countless hours studying and training to hone them? If your score is low, is that just the way you were born? Or did you suffer some injury or accident that left you weaker than others?

If you have an especially high score, how did that shape your life? Were people constantly trying to push you into a particular occupation based on your natural strengths? Did you follow their advice, or did you want something different, like the naturally muscular farmhand who dreamed of becoming a bard? Were you proud of your limitations and strengths, or did you try to hide them?

The chart on the next page gives ability score examples that will help you to get a sense of how your character compares to the rest of the world. If the name of a lineage is listed (such as dwarf ), that means the average for individuals of that lineage is higher or lower than 10. Otherwise, the average ability score is 10.

Terrible Rolls
It happens to everyone. Even rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest die, sometimes fate has it in for you. Six rolls later and you’re staring down the barrel of 6, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14.

When you finish rolling, if you have three or more results of 10 or lower, you may select one of the options below.

Option 1: Eject! Eject!
Toss them out and start again. There’s nothing wrong with throwing in the towel. After all, the goal of gaming is to have fun. If the ability scores you rolled are going to get in the way of that, go ahead and take a do-over.

Option 2:
A reward for your valor Sometimes, the most interesting characters in a game are the ones that have to struggle to succeed. Low ability scores will challenge you as a player to come up with novel solutions to the problems you face. For instance, if all your physical scores are low, how do you overcome that challenge? Perhaps you learn spells that handle all of your physical challenges? Or maybe you recruit a team of hirelings to accompany you on your expeditions? Of course, you might just be that scrappy hero from stories and film who never gives up and wins the day through sheer determination, a clever mind, and more than a little luck.

If you choose this path, you may select a free feat for your character during creation. The only limitation is that you may not select a feat that increases one of the ability scores that made you eligible for this option.

DESIGN INSIGHT: LINEAGE VS. RACE
Lineage in Aetaltis products corresponds to the term "race" in standard Fifth Edition products in that it en- compasses the biological and physical aspects of your character. Also, "race" in roleplaying games often includes cultural and behavioral aspects of the character. For Aetaltis, we’ve moved those aspects from lineage over to culture.

For instance, a scythaa reared in a cheebat warren might have a drastically different set of life goals and expectations compared to one raised in the Scythaan Wastes, but physically they are both scythaas. Lineage describes the aspects of the characters that make them both scythaas, but their culture shapes their values and behaviors.

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR LINEAGE
Next, choose a lineage for your character. Aetaltis includes eleven different player character lineages you can choose from. These include Aetaltis versions of classic fantasy lineages (human, dwarf, halfling, and elf ), a few fantasy lineages that are uncommon in most gameworlds (fairy, orog, and sprite), plus some new lineages unique to Aetaltis (cheebat, drothmal, newardin, and scythaa).

THE GOOD PEOPLE OF AETALTIS COME IN SHAPES both familiar and strange. If you’re an experienced fantasy roleplayer, you’ll find all your traditional favorites here along with a number of new lineages unique to Aetaltis. Aetaltis lineages are divided into two categories: enari and Alliance.

The enari are the original inhabitants of Aetaltis. They were created by the gods and given the world of Aetaltis as their home. They’ve survived countless tragedies and catastrophes, and are all the stronger for it.

Drothmals are animalistic warriors from the icy north- lands. Most hail from the Icewalker culture, a people who live and die by a code that glorifies pain and suffering— both their own and that of their enemies.

Dwarves are stout and strong. Once the masters of the Deeplands, they lost their homeland when the gods used it to imprison Endroren and his Dark Hordes. Most dwarves are Maladorans, a hardy and hardened people who want nothing to do with gods. Many seek to reclaim their ances- tral Deepland homes.

Elves are the leaders of the fey. They are lithe, fine featured, and deeply connected to magic. Most elves are Elloriyans, a people determined to restore the ancient glory of the long lost fey courts. Their focus on this goal is absolute, often to the exclusion of the outside world.

Fairies are tiny fey whose minds race as quickly as the beating of their insect-like wings. A few have the sort of mind necessary to follow the Elloriyan culture, although most hail from the freewheeling, experiential culture of the Feylariyans.

Halflings are cousins to the dwarves, if one is to believe the histories. They are small but surprisingly sturdy. Most halflings come from the Dalelands. Dalelanders are connoisseurs of life’s simple pleasures, and they defend their traditions and way of life with surprising ferocity.

Scythaas are a saurian people with long, prehensile tails. They stand out among the enari due to their inhuman appearance. Most scythaas come from their ancestral homeland, the Scythaan Wastes. There, the Wastelanders live a nomadic life where honor and beauty are held in equal regard and vigorously defended.

Sprites are childlike fey whose way of thinking always seems one step left of the rest of the world. They have an uncanny connection to animals and nature, and can disap- pear if frightened. Most are Feylariyans and many choose to live wild like the beasts they love so much.

ALLIANCE
The Alliance appeared on Aetaltis just over four hundred years ago, arriving from other worlds via powerful arcane devices called world gates. Their arrival proved instrumental in helping Aetaltis to recover after the Age of Darkness, and they remained the dominant power in the Amethyst Sea basin for another hundred years after that. When all the world gates were destroyed unexpectedly in a cataclysmic arcane event, the human, newardin, orog, and cheebat colonists found themselves trapped on Aetaltis.

Humans, or the "atlan" as they call themselves, were once the leaders of the Alliance worlds. Today the descendants of those trapped on Aetaltis live scattered across the Amethyst Sea basin. They hail from a rich tapestry of cultures, from the idealistic Agthorians to the individualistic Selentheans to the arguably criminal Valorians.

Newardin are tall and thin, with delicate frames and gray skin. Although roughly humanoid, they are unquestionably inhuman in their appearance and demeanor. Almost all are members of the Newardine culture, choosing to abide by its beliefs and values even when living among others, especially the tradition of suppressing all emotional responses.

Orogs look like massive, monstrous humans. Their physical strength is unparalleled and the tendency for orogs to drift toward darkness leaves most fearful of them. They’ll adopt whatever culture they are taught, but no matter what beliefs they hold, they seem to have an innate habit of solving all problems with force.

Cheebats are small, fuzzy, and quick. They are deeply social creatures, and are happiest when in the company of others. Most are born into the Warrener culture, a boisterous people who value wealth, luxury, and mercantile glory along with anything that helps them to display that glory to the world.

FRICTION BETWEEN LINEAGES
Members of various lineages on Aetaltis get along well, with no major grievances based on species. The good folk of Aetaltis are so varied and intermixed and enemies so plentiful that animus based on biology is seldom a factor.

That said, when the Alliance arrived, some enari were suspicious of their motives and resentful of their assumption of power. Some measure of this distrust remains, but the Alliance’s full commitment against the dark armies allayed the concerns of most enari.

STEP 3: CHOOSE YOUR CULTURE
In this step, you’ll choose your character’s culture. Your culture represents how (and often where) you were raised. It’s the foundation of your values, desires, and personality. It also sets the stage for how you think about other cultures, the things you find attractive or offensive, and even your loyalties.

Note we didn’t say culture determines these things. It’s only how you were raised. Just because you were brought up in a culture doesn’t mean you’ve bought in to everything you were told. Do you take pride in your culture’s traditions and values? Are you proud to emerge from such an honorable and ancient people? Or do you reject some, or even all, of the things expected of you?

Selecting your culture and determining which of its ideals and teachings you embraced or rejected help to shape your character’s story.

STEP 4:CHOOSE YOUR BACKGROUND
The next step is to select your character’s background. In Aetaltis adventures, backgrounds work the same way they do in the standard Fifth Edition rules. In game terms, your background provides you with a set of skills, abilities, and belongings you acquired in your former life.

From a story point of view, your background represents the occupation you were pursuing before you became an adventurer. Even if you always knew you wanted to be an adventurer, up until that day came you had to earn a living somehow, and your background describes how you did it.
We’ve included eleven unique Aetaltis backgrounds in this book, but feel free to use any Fifth Edition compatible background. You’re also welcome to work with your GM to come up with your own.

STEP 5: CHOOSE YOUR CALLING
Choose a calling for your character. Your calling is the reason you abandoned your background. In game terms, your calling adds additional equipment, abilities, and skills appropriate to someone with the goals and values described in your calling.

From a character perspective, your calling represents your primary motivation for adventuring. Whenever a new opportunity for adventure arises, your calling will help you come up with a strong story as to why you decide to take on the challenge. Most callings are complimentary, or at least compatible, allowing each member of the party to have their own unique motivations for pursuing a collective goal.

STEP 6: CHOOSE YOUR CLASS
The last major decision you must make is to choose your class. The game mechanics for classes are exactly the same as described in the Fifth Edition core rules, and any Fifth Edition compatible class will work perfectly well (mechanically) in an Aetaltis adventure. All of your favorites (fight- er, ranger, rogue, barbarian, wizard, cleric, and more) are acceptable and available for play.

SPECIALIZATION
Specialization is a limited form of expertise. Your charac- ter may gain specializations from the culture, back- ground, or calling you select. Specializations represent areas of learning in which your character has received additional training or in which they have extra experience. Like expertise, when making an ability check relat- ed to your area of specialization, if you’re using a skill you are proficient in you gain double your proficiency bonus.

Unlike expertise, specialization isn’t limited to a single skill. As long as the check you are making is directly related to your area of specialization and you’re using a skill you’re proficient in, you get the bonus. It is up to you and the GM to determine if your specialization applies.

Example of Specialization in Play
Keethri is from the Spicer culture, which gives her the jungle specialization. While traveling in the Zhamayen Jungle, Keethri comes across an odd flower. She is proficient in Intelligence (Nature) so she decides to try to identify it. Since she also has the jungle specialization, and this is a jungle plant, the GM allows her to double her proficiency bonus.

Later, Keethri’s party wants to track a group of bandits through the jungle. Keethri’s player asks if they can use Keethri’s jungle specialization on the Wisdom (Perception) check to find the bandits’ tracks. The GM rules that Keethri’s knowledge of the jungle doesn’t really make her any better at spotting tracks, but it would help her when she makes her Wisdom (Survival) check to follow the tracks. Unfortunately, Keethri isn’t proficient in Survival, so she can’t apply her specialization to any stage of the tracking.

In terms of your character’s story, your class represents the set of skills and abilities you’ve developed as a means of pursuing your calling. Maybe you were already heading down that road before you decided to become an adventurer, like an acolyte who becomes a cleric, or perhaps you chose your calling and then decided which skills you needed to succeed. Either way, the critical point is that you chose your class as a means of achieving the goals described in your calling.

NOTES ON MAGIC FOR CONSIDERATION WHEN CHOOSING CLASS
AS AN ARCANE SPELLCASTER IN AN AETALTIS adventure, your spells give you access to incredible power. There are also a variety of natural phenomena in the world you can take advantage of to increase your power, such as essence crystals, essence wells, and ley lines. You’ll have fantastic flexibility in what spells are available to you and gain new options in how you use that magic.

Of course, there’s a catch. Casting arcane spells on Aetaltis requires both skill and talent. Cast a spell improperly and you waste your limited pool of arcane energy, a power called essence. Make a catastrophic mistake, and you could lose control of the spell, causing untold damage to yourself, your surroundings, and the people around you. This is why arcane casters on Aetaltis are both respected and feared.

Overview of Aetaltan Magic
Magic on Aetaltis, especially arcane magic, works in a slightly different fashion than in other Fifth Edition set- tings. The fundamentals are the same, and the spells found in your Fifth Edition sourcebooks are fully compatible, but we’ve made some additions to the magic system to better reflect the nature of Aetaltan magic. It’s a system you can easily layer on top of the basic Fifth Edition magic rules.

Arcane magic in Aetaltis uses a spell point system. Every character has a store of personal essence, and those characters with the talent and skill to manipulate that essence can use it to cast spells. Once a spellcaster’s personal essence is expended, they must wait for the ambient essence around them to restore their supply of personal essence before they can cast more spells.

To cast a spell, an arcane spellcaster spends the appropriate number of essence points and then makes a spellcasting roll. On a success, the spell goes off. On a failure, it doesn’t. On a critical failure, however, a catastrophic spell failure occurs leading to a variety of potentially dangerous out- comes. Divine magic, on the other hand, works as written in the basic Fifth Edition rules. It’s safe, straightforward, and reliable, if a bit restrictive.

We won’t go into a lot of detail about the setting aspects of magic, such as the metaphysics of how spells work or the origins of magic. Rather, in this book we’ll stay focused on the Fifth Edition game rules you need to know to play the game.

STEP 7: GEAR UP!
It’s time to gear up! In this step you select the equipment you’ll need to survive your coming trials. If you’re creating a 1st level character, you can either choose the starting equipment for your culture, background, calling, and class, or you can roll for money and then buy your equipment yourself.

STEP 8: FINISHING TOUCHES
In this final step you’ll add hit points, calculate saving throws, and fill in any remaining blanks on your character sheet. You’ll also get to add a few final flourishes to your character that will help bring them to life. Your GM will help you with this!