Atlantean

Once human, their time spent traveling other dimensions has changed them.

Basic Information

Anatomy

An Atlantean is a human. Atlanteans share the same racial stats as a standard human character.

Biological Cycle

Because Atlanteans are a space-faring and dimension-hopping race, their lives can span hundreds or even thousands of years to those of us who never leave Earth. An atlantean could leave on a journey that takes him six months, but when he returns it could be sixty years later. Relationships become moot unless they travel together. There is no homogenous civic structure or social fabric upon which the label "home" could be applied.

But at the same time, they understand each other and upon returning, feel no need to explain where they've been or why they've been gone so long.

They are utterly aware of the aging process and yet also feel divorced from it.
Every Atlantean has a story of meeting a great great great great grand ancestor as well as meeting a great great great great grandchild (assuming they've had a child).
Please understand that while the nature of their travel enables them to basically jump forward in time in leaps and bounds, they can not go back in time. They are not time travellers so much as they are time skippers. It is a one way journey for them just as it is for any other mortal.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Due to the chaotic way that Atlanteans experience time, many travel collectively in clans so that they can maintain some semblance of relationship and social adhesive. As one would expect, each clan has developed its own characteristics, language dialect and physical traits over the past three thousand years. But three thousand years to us is not three thousand years to them, so any divergence between their clans is not nearly as great as it would be for twelve isolated clans on earth over three thousand years. To the farthest travelling clans, it has only been several decades since they left Earth.

There are twelve known clans of Atlantis.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Atlanteans can be found across the Megaverse.

When the Great Cataclysm occurred and the time of Rifts came to Earth, many felt the pull to return home like a siren song. There are thousands of Atlanteans now across Rifts Earth. Most are in North America and Europe with a good number in South America.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Each of the Twelve clans has evolved its own naming traditions. Furthermore, there are many smaller groups of Atlanteans unaffiliated with any clan and who have assimilated into other societies, adopting those cultures and conventions. Because of this, the GM and Players are welcome to come up with their own lore to fit any imagined backstory.
I will highlight some clans when I get around to it. This will include naming conventions and any other idiosychracies they might have.

Major Organizations

There are twelve major groups of Atlanteans called clans. Each clan chooses to travel together in an attempt to maintain some cohesiveness throughout the vagaries of dimension-hopping.
Many Atlanteans have chosen to travel alone or in smaller groupings, making contact with the clans on occasion.

Known clans:
• Aerihman - Strongest of the martial Atlanteans, known for defending the other clans against the Splugorth during the original diaspora. Have continued the struggle in a running battle for survival and so have not made contact with the other Atlantean clans except by chance
• Archerean - Travelled far and suffered much until they ended up in a fertile world with no other intelligent life. They've built many pyramids and have served as a central hub of Atlantean communication and travel
• Aureolus - Took the brunt of the Splugorth attacks before the Aerihman stepped in. They are now a small wandering clan who sell their services as healers
• Bagh-Dach - Second only to the Aerihman in martial renown. Have been fighting against the Demon forces of Modeus from Hades all this time.
• Draco Amitas - Dimension-hopping clan who came in contact with a group of Great Horned Dragons who had come together against their own nature to protect their young against organized bands of egg-hunting Deevils.
• Equineous - Quickly found and settled in a comparitively peaceful dimension. Their speech and culture have evolved far more and are far removed from the others
• Kamarina - Rifted into a world ruled by powerful vampire intelligences and necromancers. Known for their Undead Slayers
• Marciniszyn - Eventually ended up on a low-tech forest planet. They are known to have the most talented and artistic Tattoo masters
• Navita - Rifted to the ocean planet home of space-faring nomads and have made travelling the stars their life a well, at home at sea as in space
• Skellian - Unlike other clans, Skellian rifted right back to earth, but to South America at the height of the great cataclysm, they have survived by the skin of their teeth since
• Skolos - Like clan Equineous, they stayed in the first location they rifted to, but it was a frozen wasteland instead and they barely survived by making a wondrous dome. Not until the great cataclysm on Earth were they able to access interdimensional travel again
• Tsitas - Making contact with one of the large empires in the three galaxies, they were the first clan to return to Earth. Upon arrival in Atlantis, they were all but wiped out. No one has heard from the Lost Clan since.
  

Average Technological Level

Most of the Atlantean clans have been exposed to highly advanced technology from the cultures they've met across the Megaverse. Accordingly, they are usually in possession of technology the equivalent of any highly technological visitor to Rifts Earth.

Common Dress Code

Atlanteans usually wear clothing to cover their tattoos. While most tatoo magic must be touched by the bearer to activate, there are many adventurous Atlanteans who can use their tatoos without the need to touch them. They usually prefer to keep their tattoos hidden so as not to give them away.
The Undead Slayers of the Kamarina clan and the Tattooed Warriors of Marciniszyn are an exception. Their entire bodies are covered in intricate, intertwining and flowing tattoos of absolutely awe-inspiring craftsmanship. These tattoos are part of their renown and they wear minimal coverage to show them off as part of their pride and esprit. While the Tattoed warriors of Bagh-Dach have just as many or more tattoos, thiers are more brutally utiitarian and are mostly kept covered.

History

Long ago, Earth was not as devoid of magic as our history would reveal. Magic was not as abundant as it became after the cataclysm, of course, but it was more accessible than it was for the the collective recorded histories of humankind.

After the Church of Light and Dark came to earth and taught man the science of Pyramid building to collect ley line energy, the nation of Atlantis took it upon themselves to build a pyramid of their own. Some suggest they were guided by the outside interference of some supernatural intelligence, entity or culture. In any event, the pyramid they built was so much larger than anything built by the egyptians that it collected enough energy to open up a permanent dimensional rift in space and time.

This was enough to attract the attention of dimensionally attuned beings from accross the cosmos. The first dragons came to earth then, but they were not the only ones to set theyr gaze upon this blue marble in space. Vampire intelligences also took an interest in the planet. But all was not danger and forboding evil. The Atlanteans made contact with many different cultures and races and learned about interdimensional travel. Lemurians were also among those contacted, but their tale will be told separately. Though primitive, Atlanteans were not stupid and were quick to adapt to new ideas and technology. It was during this time that they learned Tattoo Magic from a Chiang-Ku dragon and developed their own Stone Magic they used to make the pyramid stronger and even larger. The power they were able to harness for their dimensional rift gate was so great it was beginning to affect the entire planet.

In an attempt to connect to three different worlds simultaneously through this rift, they connected to an infinite number of parrallel worlds instead. The rift, the pyramid, and the planet could not handle the infinite energy that erupted through the rift and in an explosive blink it was gone like a blown circuit breaker. Along with the rift went the pyramid and the entire continent of Atlantis. The destruction on Earth was devastating and the event has been recorded as a great destructive flood in the historical record of nearly every culture across the planet. Magic as we knew it was gone, and would stay inaccessible until the Great Cataclysm three thousand years later. The other pyramid cultures of the world lost their power. The Church of Light and Dark abandoned their Egyptian followers as did the Inca theirs.

Flung into an interdimensional void where unthinkable things reside, the Atlanteans's pyramid was a shattered ruin, as was their entire nation. The Atlanteans were able to flee their aimlessly drifting continent and re-enter dimensional space, ending up scattered across multiple dimensions. They have been wandering since, unable to return home.
They were unable to return home, that is, until the Great Cataclysm and the coming of the Rifts to Earth. With the coming of the Rifts, dimensional portals from Earth opened up across the cosmos, calling them home. Many Atlanteans took this opportunity to return, alone or in groups, to see what had become of their long-lost home planet.

Due to their exposure to dimensional travel, all Atlanteans have at least a d6 in skill Knowledge: Dimensions, Space and Time. This gives them the ability to determine the following about a dimension: environmental conditions, whether magic poor or rich, if there’s a temporal shift, whether it is a parallel dimension, etc. They can perform this check through an open rift or upon entering it. If the character is a Shifter, they get a free increase in this ability by a single die.
In addition, All adventuring Atlanteans are expected to have at least two magic tattoos at Novice Rank. They are not free, however; but must be purchased as part of character creation for the cost of a single hindrance point each. Characters starting at a higher level than Novice would be expected to have an additional Tattoo at each promotion. A tattoo can be chosen at character promotion for a single advance.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Human