Unearth Arcana - Revised Races & Resources
Preamble
Overview of New Race System
During character creation, you must choose your character’s Ancestry, which represents the physical form your character takes in the world, such as Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling and Gnome. Each Ancestry has a list of Ancestry Traits, which you can gain by spending Ancestry Points.
Ancestry Traits
Ancestry Traits give your character physiological properties or abilities based on your Ancestry. You can choose various combinations of Ancestry Traits to customize your character to express the type of fantasy race you want to play.
Ancestry Points
Ancestry Points can be spent to gain Ancestry Traits. Most Traits cost between 1 and 3 Points, however, some Traits have a Point value of 0 or lower: Minor Traits and Negative Traits.
Gaining Ancestry Points
When first creating your character, you have 5 Ancestry Points. You gain 2 additional Ancestry Points when you reach Level 4, and again when you reach Level 7.
Types of Ancestry Traits
Each Ancestry has 4 kinds of Ancestry Traits.
Minor Ancestry Traits
These Traits cost 0 Ancestry Points and provide minor benefits that are respective of each Ancestry’s unique abilities and origins. You can only choose 1 Minor Trait.
Negative Ancestry Traits
These are Traits that have a negative Point value due to a penalty it gives your Character. These give you additional Ancestry Points equal to the negative value of the Trait.
Example: If you choose the Negative Trait Reckless (-1), then you would gain the Trait (which reduces your PD by 1) and also gain 1 Ancestry Point (since the value of the Trait is worth -1). After this, you would technically have 6 total Ancestry Points to spend, but you would still end with a total of 5 (6 -1).
Default Ancestry Traits
These are a set of pre-defined Ancestry Traits that are worth a total 5 Ancestry Points. These include a Minor Trait and may also include a Negative Trait.
DC Tip: This is perfect for new players! They can just say, “I want to be an Elf,” and get the pre-made list of the Elf Default Traits and be done with this step of Character Creation.
Expanded Ancestry Traits
These are optional Ancestry Traits that you can choose from to customize your Character’s Ancestry for either mechanical or flavor reasons.
DC Tip: Some groups or GMs might choose to ignore these Expanded Ancestry Traits to speed up character creation (for new groups or for one shots) or to give a consistent feel to all Ancestries.
Ancestry Origins
Ancestry Flavor vs Mechanics
Player Characters are unique in this aspect, and with so many options you’re able to create a wide variety of Ancestry Origins. You can customize them and make them your own, either for mechanical reasons or flavor/lore reasons.
Ancestry Flavor
This is where you can say what your Character looks like based on their Ancestry. Maybe you choose Dwarf and Elf for your 2 Ancestries. Now you get to decide how they look, which has nothing to do with game mechanics. Maybe you’re a tall slender elf with a huge beard, maybe you’re a thick stocky dwarf with smooth hairless skin and pointy ears, or maybe you look completely like a Dwarf and all of those “Elven Traits” are more recessive and aren’t represented visually. You might have the EYES of an elf, but everything else looks Dwarvish.
DC Tip: Maybe you love the Mechanics of a Gnome, but you really want to play a Halfling. Talk to your GM about if it’s ok to completely separate the mechanics of your character from what you visually look like. Work together and brainstorm how your Halfling Character gained the mechanics of a Gnome (through magic, through practice, or etc.).
If you wanted to play a Dwarf that had a backstory of being from a long line of Dwarves, you totally can! Pick Dwarf and then ask yourself, “How else do I want to express my Character?” If you’re going to be a Cleric, then maybe look into the Angelborn Traits. If you want to play a brave Dwarf, then maybe look into the Halfling (they have a Halfling Bravery Trait). This doesn’t mean that you are that Ancestry, or that one of your parents were, it’s just a way to further express your character and let them have the Traits that best fit them.
DC Tip: If your ideal Dwarf possess Traits only included in the Giantborn Ancestry list, pick some of those Traits for your “Dwarf” so you can create the character you have in mind. You can describe your Mixed Ancestry character as being a specific kind of Dwarf or a Dwarf/Giantborn hybrid. You can express your Ancestry however you wish.
Ancestry Mechanics
This is where you choose your Ancestries based on the game mechanics of what Ancestry Traits they offer. Build out your character accordingly and then step back and see what your character would look like. I had a player make a character that just wanted to make a BIG Barbarian, so he chose Giantborn and Orc. I asked him what that looks like, and we talked about it and decided that he was going to be an “Ogre-born” which ended up being a really cool enhancement to his backstory... even though his choices were based on game mechanics.
Ancestry Appearance
The appearance of this new Ancestry is for the PC and GM to come up with together (also making sure it fits into the lore of the setting). The Ancestry could look similar to an already existing Ancestry but be magically different for other reasons. The Ancestry could be an entirely new species that you want to bring into the world, mixing and matching Traits around to get the exact right feel for your PC.
DC Tip: How I have always handled this is that the visual aspect of a character is completely up to the player, then the Ancestry Points take care of the “balance” and the mechanics of what that Ancestry can do.
Ancestry Lore & Flavor
Each Ancestry has unique biological and cultural pieces that can combine with Backgrounds to create very unique PCs.
This will be available at the release of the full game. The Beta is focused on the mechanics of the game, so the flavor and lore will be revealed in the future.
Ancestry Creation
Every character starts with the Base Ancestry Traits below, and their Ancestry gives them a list of additional Traits they can spend their 5 Ancestry Points on.
Base Ancestry Traits
Choose Your Ancestry
Pick 1 or 2 Ancestries to show where your character comes from, what they look like, or how they perform mechanically. This usually represents what Ancestry your character’s parents were. When you select an Ancestry, you gain access to its Ancestry Traits List (Default and Expanded).
Starting with 1 Ancestry
You gain access to its Ancestry List. You can choose a second Ancestry any time you gain additional Ancestry Points.
DC Tip: This does give you less options during Character Creation, but gives you more flexibility to choose a second Ancestry at a later time as the direction you take your character evolves.
Starting with 2 Ancestries
You gain access to both Ancestry Lists of each chosen Ancestry
DC Tip: This gives you more options during character creation, but somewhat less flexibility at higher levels when you gain additional Ancestry Points.
Spend Your Ancestry Points
You have 5 Ancestry Points to spend on any Ancestry Traits from among our Ancestry Trait Lists. Your Ancestry needs to have a total of 5 Ancestry Points worth of Traits (including negative Traits). You can choose multiple Negative Traits, but you can only choose 1 Minor Trait. You must spend all your Ancestry points during character creation (you can’t save them for later).
Gaining & Losing Negative Traits
You can’t gain more than 2 Ancestry Points total from your Negative Ancestry Traits. You can remove Negative Ancestry Traits at higher Levels by spending 1 Ancestry Point if their cost is (-1) or 2 Ancestry Points if their cost is (-2).
Duplicate Ancestry Traits
You can’t choose a Trait of the same name multiple times, unless it says otherwise.
Example: A PC chooses Dwarf and Giantborn as their 2 Ancestries. The Tough Ancestry Trait is available to both Ancestries. The PC could only choose the Tough Ancestry Trait once, even though it’s available to both Ancestries.
Ancestry Trait Requirements
If an Ancestry Trait has a requirement, such as a Level requirement, then you must meet that requirement to choose that Ancestry Trait.
Attribute & Mastery Increases
Certain Ancestry Traits grant increases to Attributes, Skills, and Trades. These Ancestry Traits can’t exceed the Attribute Limit, Skill Mastery Limit, or Trade Mastery Limit, unless they say otherwise.
Refunding Ancestry Traits
If you gain a Talent or Feature that grants you a benefit that’s identical to (or a better version of) an Ancestry Trait you have, you can choose to immediately replace that Ancestry Trait with 1 or more other Ancestry Traits available to you that are worth the same amount of Ancestry Points.
Example 1: A Dwarf with the Natural Combatant Ancestry Trait (grants Mastery with Heavy Armor and all Shields) uses their 2nd Level Talent to pick the Martial Expansion Talent (grants Mastery with all Weapons, Armors, and Shields), then the Dwarf would be refunded the Ancestry Points they spent to gain Natural Combatant and would need to immediately use those Points to gain a different Ancestry Trait available to them.
Example 2: If you have an Ancestry Trait that grants you Water Breathing and Swim Speed, then later you gain a Class Feature that ONLY grants a Swim Speed (but not Water Breathing), that would NOT count and you wouldn’t get any Ancestry Points refunded to you (you would keep both). If you later get another feature that ONLY grants Water Breathing, you could then get a refund for the Ancestry Trait since you would have other Features or Talents granting you the exact same (or better) abilities.
DC Tip: There might be a scenario where a Minor Trait is replaced by a Feature or Talent. In this case a GM could allow a Player to pick another Minor Trait from another Ancestry (if it would make sense for that PC).
Human
DEFAULT TRAITS
- (2) Attribute Increase: Choose an Attribute. The chosen Attribute increases by 1 (up to the Attribute Limit).
- (2) Resilience: Choose an Attribute. The chosen Attribute gains Save Mastery.
- (1) Human Resolve: Your Death's Door Threshold value is expanded by 1.
- (0) Undying: You have ADV on Saves against the Doomed Condition.
EXPANDED TRAITS
- (2) Skill Expertise: Choose a Skill. Your Mastery Cap and Mastery Level in the chosen Skill both increase by 1. You can only benefit from 1 Feature that increases your Skill Mastery Limit at a time.
- (1) Trade Expertise: Choose a Trade. Your Mastery Cap and Mastery Level in the chosen Trade both increase by
- 1. You can only benefit from 1 Feature that increases your Trade Mastery Limit at a time.
- (1) Human Determination: Once per Combat, you can give yourself ADV on an Attack Check or Spell Check while Bloodied.
- (1) Unbreakable: You have ADV on Death Saves.
- (-1) Attribute Decrease: Choose an Attribute. You decrease the chosen Attribute by 1 (to a minimum of -2).
Elf
DEFAULT TRAITS
- (1) Elven Will: You have ADV on Checks and Saves against being Charmed and put to Sleep.
- (2) Nimble: When you take the Dodge Action, you instead gain the benefits of the Full Dodge Action.
- (2) Agile Explorer: You're not affected by Difficult Terrain.
- (0) Discerning Sight: You have ADV on Checks and Saves made to discern through visual illusions.
EXPANDED TRAITS
- (1) Peerless Sight: You don't have disadvantage as a result of making an Attack with a Weapon at Long Range
- (1) Climb Speed: You gain a Climb Speed equal to your Movement Speed.
- (2) Speed Increase: Your Speed increases by 1 Space.
- (1) Trade Expertise: Choose a Trade. Your Mastery Cap and Mastery Level in the chosen Trade both increase by 1. You can only benefit from 1 Feature that increases your Trade Mastery Limit at a time.
- (1) Plant Knowledge: While within forests, jungles, and swamps, you have ADV on Survival Checks. Additionally, you have ADV on Nature Checks made to recall information about plants.
- (-1) Might Attribute Decrease: You decrease your Might by 1 (to a minimum of -2).
- (-1) Frail: Your HP maximum decreases by 2.
Dwarf
DEFAULT TRAITS
- (1) Tough: Your HP maximum increases by 1.
- (2) Toxic Fortitude: You have Poison Resistance (Half) and ADV on Saves against being Poisoned.
- (2) Physically Sturdy: You have ADV on Saves against being Impaired, Deafened, or Petrified.
- (0) Iron Stomach: You have ADV on Saves against effects that come from consuming food or liquids.
EXPANDED TRAITS
- (1) Thick-Skinned: Your PD increases by 1 while you're not wearing Heavy Armor.
- (1) Natural Combatant: You gain Combat Training with Heavy Armor and All Shields.
- (1) Stone Blood: You have ADV on Saves against Bleeding. Additionally, you can spend 1 AP to end the Bleeding Condition on yourself.
- (1) Minor Tremorsense: You have Tremorsense 3 Spaces.
- (2) Stubborn: You have ADV on Saves against being Taunted and against being forcibly moved.
- (1) Trade Expertise: Choose a Crafting or Services Trade.
Your Mastery Cap and Mastery Level in the chosen Trade both increase by 1. - (1) Earthen Knowledge: While within mountainous and subterranean environments, you have ADV on Survival Checks. Additionally, you have ADV on Nature Checks made to recall information about rocks, soil, crystals, and gems.
- (-1) Charisma Attribute Decrease: You decrease your Charisma by 1 (to a minimum of -2).
- (-2) Short-Legged: Your Speed decreases by 1 Space.
Halfling
DEFAULT TRAITS
EXPANDED TRAITS
1. You can only benefit from 1 Feature that increases your Trade Mastery Limit at a time. (1) Critter Knowledge: You have ADV on Nature, Survival, and Animal Checks involving Small size creatures and smaller. (-1) Intelligence Attribute Decrease: You decrease your Intelligence by 1 (to a minimum of -2). (-2) Short-Legged: Your Speed decreases by 1 Space.
Gnome
DEFAULT TRAITS
EXPANDED TRAITS
Additionally, you have ADV on Knowledge Checks made to recall information about rain, snow, and storms. (-1) Agility Attribute Decrease: You decrease your Agility by 1 (to a minimum of -2). (-2) Short-Legged: Your Speed decreases by 1 Space.
Dragonborn
Choose a Draconic Origin from the list below. All future choices within this Ancestry must use the chosen Draconic Origin. The type of damage associated with your Draconic Origin is your Draconic damage.
DEFAULT TRAITS
2 Draconic damage. Before you make your Spell Check, you can spend 1 SP to increase the damage by 1, or 1 MP to increase it by 2. Mystic Breath Weapon: Make a Spell Check against every target's MD within the area. Hit: The target takes
1 Draconic damage. Before you make your Spell Check, you can spend 1 SP to increase the damage by 1, or 1 MP to increase it by 2. (0) Reptilian Superiority: You have ADV on Intimidation Checks against reptilian creatures of Medium Size and smaller (not including other Dragonborn).
EXPANDED TRAITS
Falling. Altitude Drop: If you end your turn midair, you Controlled Fall 4 Spaces. Glide Speed: You can use your movement to glide horizontally. (-1) Guardian's Bond: Once per Combat when an ally enters Death's Door within 20 Spaces of you, you take an amount of True damage equal to your Prime Modifier.
Goliath
DEFAULT TRAITS
(1) Unstoppable: You have ADV on Saves against being Slowed or Stunned
(1) Giant's Resolve: While on Death's Door, you reduce all damage taken by 1.
(0) Unyielding Movement: You're immune to being Slowed 2 (or higher).
EXPANDED TRAITS
Asimar
FALLEN
If you choose to play an Angelborn and go down a darker path, you can choose to be a Fallen Angelborn. This can happen at character creation from evil acts done from your backstory, or this can happen mid-campaign after a large change in your character.
You gain the following Ancestry Trait:
DC Tip: You aren't considered to be a Fiendborn, you just gain access to its Traits. You can only have one "o Point" Ancestry Trait when creating your character, so if you want to start the game with this feature you can't also take Divine Glow.
DEFAULT TRAITS
The Spells total MP cost (before all reductions) still can't exceed your Mana Spend Limit. (2) Healing Touch: Once per Combat, you can spend 1 AP to touch a creature and Heal it. Make a DC 10 Spell Check. Success: You can restore up to 2 HP to the target. Success (each 5): +1 HP. Failure: You only restore 1 HP. (0) Divine Glow: Your body can emit a Bright Light in a 5
Space radius around you at will.
EXPANDED TRAITS
Falling. Altitude Drop: If you end your turn midair, you Controlled Fall 4 Spaces. Glide Speed: You can use your movement to glide horizontally. (-1) Pacifist: Your divine call is to put others before yourself and resist doing harm. You suffer a -1 penalty to all Checks and Saves made during the first round of Combat. (-1) Umbral Weakness: You have Umbral Vulnerability (1).
Tiefling
Choose a Fiendish Origin from the following list: Cold, Corrosion, Fire, Poison, and Umbral. All future choices within this Ancestry must use the chosen Fiendish Origin.
The type of damage associated with your Fiendish Origin is your Fiendish damage.
FIENDBORN REDEMPTION
If you choose to play a Fiendborn and go down a path of redemption, you can choose to be a Redeemed Fiendborn.
This can happen at character creation from good acts done from your backstory, or this can happen mid-campaign after a large change in your character.
You gain the following Ancestry Trait:
DC Tip: You aren't considered to be an Angelborn, you just gain access to its Traits. You can only have one "o Point" Ancestry Trait when creating your character, so if you want to start the game with this feature you can't take Light's Bane.
DEFAULT TRAITS
EXPANDED TRAITS
Falling. Altitude Drop: If you end your turn midair, you Controlled Fall 4 Spaces. Glide Speed: You can use your movement to glide horizontally. (-1) Radiant Weakness: You have Radiant Vulnerability (1). (-1) Divine Dampening: You recover 1 less HP when healed from divine sources.