1. Choose a Race
Altûm is home to a myriad of people from all walks of life. They all have their own thoughts, origins, languages, cultures, and histories. In many cases, these varying qualities will manifest into unique traits that define and identify each species.
Racial Traits
When creating a character for a campaign set in the Expanse, follow these rules during character creation.
Ability Score Increases. One ability score of your choice increases by 1. The ability score you choose for this trait can be one that was already increased by your standard Ability Score Increase, or a different ability score, up to a maximum score of 18.
Languages. You know how to speak, read, and write the language of your birthplace. For a guide on each location's primary languages, see the "Languages" section of Chapter 8.
Creature Type. Each creature in the Expanse has a creature type that determines whether a spell or magical effect will affect them. Most playable races in the Expanse are Humanoid, but there are exceptions to this, and some creatures have more than one creature type.
Defining Humanoids
“Humanoid” is a metacontextual phrase used to inform the players and GM that a creature is sapient and shares certain qualities with the Humans of our reality. However, in a reality where Humans are not the only – or first – sapient creatures to exist, nobody would think to refer to a sapient being as “Human-like.”
This isn’t to say that Humanoids are the only sapient creatures in the Expanse, either. Any creature that can speak a language and form societal bonds would generally be considered sapient. Creatures such as Celestials, Dragons, Fey, Fiends, and Giants commonly fall under this description.
Life Span. The age trait of a race informs the rate at which your character will reach adulthood and, eventually, the end of their life. This serves to offer context for how much your character may have experienced before the beginning of the campaign. A majority of the Favored discover their abilities during adolescence, so a 1st or 2nd level character will usually be a young adult.
Refer to the Life Span by Race table for a list of each race and the different points in their lives, ranging from when they first reach adulthood to when they most commonly pass away due to old age.
Life Span of the Enhanced
An Enhanced's age is hard to identify, as two could appear to have identical physical conditions yet be one hundred years apart. Thus far, there are no known cases of an Enhanced dying of old age. Most theorize that - due to their organic internal systems - they may have an extended lifespan compared to standard organisms but will ultimately expire at some point.
Height & Weight. Below is a table that displays the average heights and weights found among the populace in the Expanse. We recommend you use this as a guide for determining your character’s physical details, but keep in mind that these are only averages, and outliers certainly exist.
Speed. The speed of a character lists the maximum distance a character can move on land in a single turn. Some races will list additional movement speeds, such as climbing, flying, and swimming.
2. Choose a Class
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3. Determine Ability Scores
Standard Array.
4. Choose a Background
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5. Choose Equipment
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6. Final Touches
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