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Playtest status: this is a complete but deliberately unfinished v4.0 playtest. It does not silently replace an earlier ancestry book. A campaign uses it only when the GM says it does. The Four Decisions Every v4.0 character makes the same four origin decisio...

Step 1: Choose an Ancestry Your ancestry provides creature type, size, Speed, senses, and a small set of inherited traits. An ancestry does not determine personality, alignment, profession, language, or ability-score increases. Step 2: Choose a Lineage Choose ...

Origin Vocabulary Ancestry is the broad physical body and inherited nature. Lineage is the predefined physical, magical, environmental, or supernatural sub-race package within an Ancestry. A Versatile Lineage replaces the normal Lineage but retains the Ancestr...

V4.0 is written for the Hiraeth 5e rules environment and can support either 2014-style or 2024-style classes. Backgrounds Use the background system selected by the campaign without alteration: A 2014-style background provides exactly the proficiencies, langua...

These are design rules for v4.0 content and adjudication. Level-1 Budget An ancestry chassis, one lineage, one narrow Ancestral Detail, and one level-1 Ancestral Trait together should approximate one modern 5e species package. Heritage is language and story ac...

Hiraeth's humans are the mortal children of Arcana, the god of magic. Every Human carries a small inherited spark of that creation, while nationality and upbringing belong to Heritage and profession belongs to Background. Hiraeth Context Arcana created humanit...

Dwarves are dense-boned, stonewise people whose communities include deep delvers, volcanic holds, river forges, and surface nations. Political identities such as Ossurian Old Guard or New Guard are Heritages, not inherited bodies. Hiraeth Context Many dwarven ...

Hiraeth's elves are long-memory people shaped by environment, magic, and community. Their lives are longer than human lives but not the many centuries common to some other settings. Hiraeth Context Hiraeth elves are peoples of concentrated memory, environmenta...

Gnomes are compact, detail-focused people whose traditions range from living forests to crystal workshops and deep settlements. Technocratic education belongs to Heritage or Background rather than blood. Hiraeth Context Gnomes are small, curious, and frequentl...

Dragonborn bear a strong draconic inheritance expressed through scale families rather than moral alignment. Choose a lineage from the Draconic Variant table when you choose this ancestry. Hiraeth Context Dragonborn origin stories disagree. Some say their ances...

Kobolds are small draconic people organized around found family, practical ingenuity, and scale lineages. Their draconic variants influence color and magic without duplicating a Dragonborn breath weapon. Hiraeth Context Kobolds claim draconic descent and have ...

Goliaths carry giant legacies without being bound to one climate or social tradition. Choose a giant Lineage for the supernatural expression of that legacy. Hiraeth Context Beccan traditions trace the Goliaths to Beccarack, conqueror of the North, and the Gu-L...

Aerimpi are small, wind-associated people sometimes compared to halflings in other realms. Their heritages express aerial, hearth, gliding, and cliff-running adaptations. Hiraeth Context Aerimpi are closely associated with the Ravine's chasms, suspended settle...