Available Races

Races in Mitia are a bit different than how they appear in 5e. Many of the humanoid races are capable of interbreeding and have been doing so for many, many generations. Many communities of interbred individuals exist. Because of the depth of interbreeding, half-breeds don't really exist as a racial demographic like they do in stock 5e. Even now, WoTC is doing its best to phase out the archaic and limited "half" races. While a great many sexual and relational taboos exist in the Empire, there are far fewer relationship restrictions in Aurelia as the enforced pragmatism and obsession with blood-purity simply isn't as present.

This depth of intermingling can prove difficult from a gameplay perspective. 5e is not built to allow for a pick-and-choose system of genetic traits and abilities, nor do the few existing systems that help account for racial interbreeding sufficiently address the issue with any sense of balance (not of the ones I found). With that in mind, if you envision a character that is deeply mingled in blood, or possess a mish-mash of racial features and abilities, use the following Custom Lineage (TCE pg. 8), which also doubles as the human selections from the PHB:


Finally, to give a sense of the cultural archetypes, I will be giving a Cultural Flaw and Cultural Virtue to each race. These are by no means a racial absolute, but a common stereotype within cultures dominated by a specific race.

Creature Type. You are a humanoid. You determine your appearance, but may not include biological features with which your species is not compatible unless class choices would alter you.
Size. You are Medium or Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 if you are a Medium creature or 25 if you are Small.
Ability Score Increase. Increase one chosen ability by 2 or two abilities by 1.
Feat. You gain one feat of your choice for which you qualify. Note that you do not qualify for any racially restricted feats as your blood is too mixed to inherit the feats of those more deeply blooded. This is in addition to your selected Background Feat (see Playable Backgrounds).
Variable Trait. You gain darkvision with a range of 60 ft. or proficiency in a skill of your choice.
Languages. You speak, read, and write Henosi, and one other common languages of your choice.

Cultural Notes

Each racial grouping has notes on their impact on society at large. Hopefully most rational people should recognize that these are notes regarding the current societal state of their relationship with other peoples. There is a lot of hate and discord, and for good reasons. Slavery is rampant, the Republic is still in an anarchic, fledgling state, and the fear that civilization could collapse at any moment for any reason is very real. The views expressed in each "In Society" section should not dictate a player character's treatment of others, nor does it guarantee how they will be treated. They are simply a reference to the general sentiments of each people group, and the causes of those sentiments.

Yes, racism is bad. We all know that. This is not a glorification of racism, but racism is inescapable in a world where an ethno-fascist empire has maintained global rule for thousands of years. It is part of the darkness of Mitia, and something to be overcome.

I can't believe I have to write up this kind of justification.

Rolling Your Attributes

TBD after session 0.

The Henosi Races

The following rules apply to all selectable races:
Ability Score Increase. Increase one chosen ability by 2 and another by 1 or increase three different abilities by 1.
Size-to-Speed Ration. If your size is Medium, your speed is 30 unless stated otherwise. If your size is Small, your speed is 25 unless stated otherwise.
Darkvision. If noted, you have darkvision and may see up to 60 feet in dim light as if it was bright light, and up to 60 feet in darkness as if it was dim light. You cannot see color, only shades of grey.
Languages. You speak, read, and write Imperial Henosi, and one other common languages of your choice unless stated otherwise.
Racial Feats. Ask your DM if you qualify for a feat with a racial restriction (usually found in XGTE).

Elves

The Elves of Mitia are almost as widespread as humans in other corners of the multiverse. They are comparatively long-lived, even after the loss of their immortality in the Reignition, and two of the dominant societies in the world are deeply Elven. They share many of the physiological traits that their multiversal brethren do, but are much more diverse culturally.


Common Features. Angular features; pointed ears.
Age. For elves, age is dependent on their subrace.
Size. Elves, on average, range from 5-6 feet in size. Your size is Medium.
Darkvision.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception Skill.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Trance. Thanks to their time underground during the Long Night, Elves evolved to not require true sleep. Instead, you meditate in state of semi-consciousness for 4 hours a day. After resting in this way, you gain the benefits of a long rest.
Subrace/Culture. Select one of the following subraces.

Vanyal/Royal Elf

Vanyal Elves are both a race and a culture. They are the dominant culture in Henos though they are a minority, thanks to the vast power of their namesake Empire. They are often obsessed with maintaining blood-purity to ensure their long-livedness. Indeed, much of Vanyal culture is focused on the preservation of self, since a 700 year-old Vanyal inherently has more value and life experience than nearly any other being in Mitia. If you select a Vanyal Elf as your subrace, do not expect to be accepted by many of the peoples of Aurelia who left Henos to escape the empire.

Common Features. Dark grey, purple, or blue skin tones; Blue, violet, or red eyes.
Age. Your people are by far the longest lived of Mitians. Vanyal Elves live to be 700 years old or older if their blood-purity is maintained. You are considered mature at 120.
Superior Darkvision. As standard darkvision, but your site range is 120 feet.
Vanyal Arts. You have proficiency with two martial weapons or tools of your choice, and one cantrip from the wizard or artificer spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for the cantrip.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write an additional common or exotic language, as well as High Vanyali.

Henosi Elf

Elves that live within the Empire but are not part of the line of Vanyal are simply considered to be Henosi Elves. Much of their subcultures have diminished during their time in the Empire.

Common Features. Standard skin-tones; standard eye colors, but may be exceptionally bright in color.
Age. Your people typically live to be 250 years old and are considered mature at 30.
Subculture. You may choose to be either a city elf, or a rural elf. If you are a city elf, you may speak, read, and write an additional common or exotic language, two martial weapon or tool proficiencies, and one additional skill proficiency of your choice.
If you are a rural elf, your movement is 35 feet, and you have proficiency in a martial weapon or tool. Additionally, you may attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

Sea Elf

The Sea Elves have scattered tribes across the world, and the Henosi variant shares many of the same core traditions as the others, despite their separation.

Common Features. Fins, webbing between digits, gills, blue skin-tone and shades.
Age. Sea elves typically live to be 250 years old and are considered mature at 30.
Sea Elf Training. You have proficiency with spears, tridents, light crossbows, and nets.
Child of the Sea. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe air and water.
Friend of the Sea. Using gestures and sounds, you can communicate simple ideas with any beast that has an innate swimming speed.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Aquala.

Elves in Society

The Vanyal Empire favors its own, even if they're not of Vanyal blood. Because of their extended lives, the Vanyal have drummed a sense superiority into their people. They simply believe that more life equals more potential value. Elders, masters of craft, and scholars are highly regarded amongst elves. Additionally, because of their history of shared isolation with the Hevulk, Elven society has made a tremendous amount of room for dwarves and gnomes. Halflings serve the elven noble houses as slaves just as much as they do their dwarven masters.

Elves, especially the ash-skinned royal elves, are widely disdained by every other people group. After all, they are almost solely responsible for the near-complete subjugation of Henos. Other elves are able to integrate much more readily, but are still often regarded with suspicion. The Vanyal have been nothing if not experts in subterfuge, and a common distrust that any other elf might be an agent for the new, old, or remnant empire. Unfortunately for many well meaning elves, that distrust is not always misplaced. Many elves leaving the old world possessed some form of rank in the empire they lost and look to rebuild its former glory in any manner that they can in Aurelia. The Vanyal founded the Radiant Church on claims of direct interaction with the Arch-Saint, but a major reformation is actively pushing out the elven church leadership in Aurelia.

Of the elves, the sea elves fare best socially among other peoples. They have resisted the Vanyal and helped prevent their expanse across the sea. Though their kingdom was much smaller compared to the deep vaults of the Vanyal and their Hevulk allies, they emerged from the Long Night as a proud people who valiantly defended their undersea cave-cities from monstrosities and stygian terrors for an untold eon. The sea elves were some of the first to cross the Scintillscar upon its repair and colonize the coasts of Aurelia. They are often seen as a people apart, and are treated better accordingly. Elven groups indigenous to Aurelia are also not as loathed as Henosi elves, though for many non-Elves it can be difficult to tell the the two groups apart. The Vanyal subgroup is exclusively Henosi.

Cultural Flaw - Burden of Mortality: Many elves are obsessed with the extension of their lives. This is the root drive of the Vanyal line and their entire empire. Many elves can be expected to act in the interest of their own health and mortality. Many modern elves, especially Aurelian and Araashi elves, no longer have as deep an anxiety, but still possess a sense of ennui for their mortality lost.
Cultural Virtue - Elven Drive: Several Henosi idioms revolve around capturing the interest of an elf. If it can be done, their interests will reliably drive them to accomplishing their ends, especially if the goal is intellectual in nature. When an elf wants to get something done, it will eventually be so.

Humans

Besides elves, humans make up the other predominant demographic in the world thanks to their physiological versatility. They can be found just about anywhere, and have a number of sub-cultures in Henos. The standard human is represented by the Custom Lineage option, but Mitian humans, thanks to their giant ancestry, can sometimes inherit the magic of their forefathers.

The following options override the Custom Lineage variant of Human if selected. Replace all Languages sections with the ability to speak, read, and write two common languages.

Cloud and Storm Giant Heritage. As Air Genasi.
Fire Giant Heritage. As Fire Genasi.
Frost Giant Heritage. As Water Genasi. Replace their Acid Resistance with Cold Resistance. Replace their Amphibious trait with swimming speed trait with proficiency in two martial weapons or tool proficiencies and an adjusted walking speed of 35 feet. Replace their Call to the Wave trait with Command of Frost, and replace the spells therein with the Ray of Frost cantrip, Ice Knife, and Sleet Storm, respectively.
Stone Giant Heritage. As Earth Genasi or Goliath.

Humans in Society

Humans, like their giant ancestors, remain highly adaptive and can be found in every corner of Mitia's surface. They founded the Titan's Path religion and many of its adherents are humans. Humans are not particularly favored or disliked by any other folk. Though giants were once enemies of the ancient eladrin, the ancestors of the Vanyal and all elves, humans found their way into imperial culture as low nobles, middling civic officials, and military officers regardless. Their comparably short lives encourages urgency, and so a group of humans are capable of many feats. The pragmatic Vanyal Empire recognized this and exploited it just like anything else.

Humans' ability to form adaptive clades has proven extremely useful in managing the fledgling Aurelian Republic. Though they don't excel at any one thing, they can get just about anything done given enough time and determination. To roughly translate a Dwarf saying, "for a sword, a dwarf; for a spell, a gnome; for secrets, an elf; for everything else, a human."

Cultural Flaw - Downfalls of Diversity: The sheer ethnic and ideological diversity of humans precludes their ability to fully unify. Their independence echoes their ancestors, and the religion they founded, the Titan's Path, has numerous practices that altogether prohibit any singularity of thought. Humans' inability to agree is a flaw that the Vanyal Empire has been exploiting for thousands of years.
Cultural Virtue - Explorative Spirit: Like their ancestors, humans do not fear the mystery of the unexplored. It is a human's name plastered across the maps of the new world, and a human archmage who created a channel across the Scintillstrait. Where many of the other peoples of Mitia are content to remain in their ancestral lands, humans are determined to spread themselves across the world.

Orcs

Orcs were bred as a living weapon during the Elder War. They are genetically similar to elves, but are not nearly as long lived or graceful of build. They are considered second-class citizens in the Vanyal Empire, and often serve as janissaries or shock troops. There are a few cultural groups of orcs with similar physical traits.

Henosi Orcs

Henosi orcs are "civilized" orcs who likely have a few generations of interbreeding in the urban areas of the empire. All traits as Half Orc.

Wild Orcs

Tribes of wild orcs populate the few untamed regions of the Henosi continent, but still answer to the Empire. They tend to be less sociable than Henosi Orcs, but are often even more hardy. All traits as Orc.

Orcs in Society

A lot of folks are perfectly aware that orcs are a genetic offshoot of elves, bred from their own magically-infused blood as living weapons to fight in the Elder War. Publicly associating an orc with elves, however, is a good way to wind up beaten or dead. Many orcs despise their elf creators. They were born to be slaughtered, and then largely abandoned to the surface of Mitia during the Long Night. Though they scraped through, many tribes turned to demon worship or were consumed by magical mutations. Their trials in the timeless dark made them even hardier, and they were again enslaved by the Vanyal and their dwarven allies post Reignition.

Many orcs today are treated as laborers and shock troops for the Empire. They are the primary source of blood for the vampires of the post-Collapse empire, and are often made into thralls. Life for orcs has been hard from the very beginning. They have every reason to resent their progenitors. Rebellions have been common, and always met with truly brutal cullings. Orcish tribes in the wilds of Henos often turned to demon worship to combat their Vanyal masters and were summarily "cleansed" by paladins of the Radiant Church. Eventually, the church became overzealous and instigated mass purges at the slightest hint of heresy, whether justified or not. For these reasons many orcs turn to druidic practices and hold contempt for the church. Their refuge has always been in nature, and so it is the natural cycles of the world in which they place their faith.

Orcs hold no such resentment for any other races. They often bond with halflings because of their mutual suffering under the Vanyal and with goblinoids for their shared reverence of the Natural Order. Aurelian orcs have no issue with Vanyal elves since they were only recently introduced. They are thus able to coexist with Aurelian elves much more readily. The Aegium has a significant orc demographic. This subgroup is typically perfectly welcoming of Henosi orcs. Regardless, there is a large population of native Aurelian orcs that still follow demons and other monsters of the Long Night.

Cultural Flaw: Cultural Virtue:

Celestials

During the Elder War, the Celestial Order sent their combined forces to stop the terrible fighting between the eladrin, dragons, and giants. When the Sun-Slaying occurred, the remaining forces were closed off from the Celestial Realm and left to diminish for an untold age. You may be a Tiefling or Aasimar.

Celestials in Society

Dragonbred

The Dragonbred were an answer to the eladrin's creation of the orcs; a series of living weapons to be sent to fight in the stead of dragons. They are extraordinarily varied. You may be a drachenaki (as Dragonborn [Chromatic], [Metallic], or [Gem]), zhokwyrm (as Lizardfolk), or kobold.

Dragonbred in Society

The dragonbred are a race apart, both socially and biologically. Like the orcs, they were a people made for battle, but by the dragons of the Elder War.

Hevulk

The Hevulk traveled from a neighboring dimension that collapsed in upon itself during a reality-shattering industrial apocalypse. Lost in the Twisting Deep, the Hevulk collectively met the Vanyal in their vaults below the surface of the continent that would become Henos. There are three races that comprise the Hevulk, and three strict cultural stratas for each race. Override the standard rules for the Ability Improvement.

Dwarves

High-Dwarves. As Mountain Dwarf.
Midden-Dwarves. As Hill Dwarf.
Deep-Dwarves. As Duergar.

Gnomes

High-Gnomes. As Rock Gnome.
Midden-Gnomes. As Forest Gnome.
Deep-Gnomes. As Deep Gnome.

Halflings

Highlings. As Stout Halfling.
Middenlings. As Lightfoot Halfling.
Deeplings. As Ghostwise Halfling.

Hevulk in Society

The Hevulk are a rigid people, constantly obsessed with adherence to law, contracts, and promises. Their emergence into the Mitian reality was met almost immediately by the subterranean eladrin that would one day become the Vanyal as a great boon, and they have been given significant station within the empire. The empires survival is owed in large part to the artifice of the dwarves and gnomes...and the enslavement of the halflings.

Even before their arrival, halflings were treated as the lowest of hevulk society. Blamed (probably erroneously) for the disaster that ended their reality, the halflings have been living under a stricture established by the dwarves called the Great Debt. The dwarves have treated this as carte blanche to reduce the halflings to a servile race of laborers and house servants.

Because of the monolithic amount of merchant and industrial power the dwarves exert, they are often almost as distrusted as their Vanyal patrons. Gnomes in Aurelia fare somewhat better because of their fascination with magic, but they are often viewed as complicit in the cruel legalism of the dwarves. Since the colonization of Aurelia and the Imperial Collapse, halflings have been welcomed in droves. They made the Hearthlands west of Highmantle their home and transformed it into the breadbasket of the Republic, but have nonetheless have come to chafe once more under dwarven merchants that fight to control their destinies.

The hevulk cannot even escape tension within their own ranks. Their social stratas create a unique caste system based solely upon where the subjects reside. High-vulk reside in great mountain holds and represent the warrior caste. The deep-vulk represent the ancient noble caste and the keepers of lore and artifice. The midden-vulk are usually cast-outs and discarded surface dwellers. There are few gnomes and dwarves in the middle caste, but a dominant number of halflings. Most midden-vulk are considered by Aurelian society to be moderates seeking reformation for their unkind culture.

Despite how problematic their social structure may be, dwarves are nonetheless highly valued for their tenacity and efficiency in whatever craft they choose. Gnomes are revered for their prowess in artifice, their invaluable expertise in the industrial science of rune-cutting, and as natural philosophers and scholars. Halflings are appreciated far and wide for their skill in animal husbandry, farming, and ability to thrive just about anywhere. Halflings and humans have gotten along famously in Aurelia, perhaps for their shared adaptability. Halflings and orcs also share a unique kinship as the two primary Vanyal slave-races.

Even so, revolution is brewing in the Hearthlands amidst a small nation of liberated halflings refusing the machinations of dwarves seeking to once more be their overlords. If agreements cannot be reached, the future of the Republic may be filled with famine and war.



Cultural Flaw: Cultural Virtue:

Goblinoids/Vaynvulk

The goblinoids, seeking retribution for their reality's destruction, followed the Hevulk through the Twisting Deep to the Mitian Reality, though with much less precision. Goblinoid tribes and societies exist all over Mitia where the Hevulk primarily developed alongside the Vanyal in Mitia. There are four goblinoid subraces. You may elect to be a hobgoblin, bugbear, goblin, or firbolg.

Goblinoids in Society

In their ancient history, the goblinoids shared a planet with the hevulk as an oppressed minority living on the fringes of a dwindling wilderness. Eventually, complete environmental collapse became imminent under the weight of a dreadful industrial engine built up over millennium by the hevulk. The hevulk abandoned their own world by burrowing through the Twisting Deep. With no other recourse but to perish, the goblinoids followed them into the Deep, but became lost without the precise guidance and stone-cunning of the dwarves.

While their bodies became warped in the darkness and evil of the Deep, they eventually emerged on the surface of Mitia during the Long Dark. Many tribes joined with the orcs and created refuges together in a tenuous, desperate coexistence. Modern goblinoids, like their adoptive orc kin, keep sanctuaries in the wilder-places of the world where they can observe the Natural Order in peace. Many other tribes, especially in Aurelia, follow the more predatory paths of the Natural Order and hunt other sapient races. In Henos, the goblinoids have been brought to heel and are once again a minority demographic.

Goblinoids overall fear authority exerted by any but their own kind. Their racial history has ingrained a deep-seeded mistrust of others, but once their trust is earned, it is not easily lost. Goblinoids have a long history of adoption beyond ethnicity. They make for excellent allies once the obstacle of winning their confidence has been won has been surmounted; an exceedingly rare event for the Vanyal, and almost unheard of for gnomes and dwarves.

Other Sapient Races

The following Henosi races have no preexisting history as an inheritor race of the Elders, nor of the Hevulk reality. Due to myriad reasons, they largely have not taken deep root in Mitia yet, but exist as recognized minorities. They cannot interbreed except with their own subraces. Some are recognized as secondaries to the goblinoids as immigrants from the failed Hevulk reality, some are thought to be evolved monstrosities given sentience by the grace of the Arch-Saint, and some are thought to be extraplanar travelers who got lost within the Mitian Reality as it became unsealed during the Long Night.

The Beastfolk

The beastfolk, though not related to one another in category, are thought to have evolved from various species of beast during the Long Night. Two species are present in Henos, but any beast-like race from 5e's various supplement may be allowed or encountered. These simply represent the most common peoples coming from Henos.

Kaddiskan. Two subraces: the Plains Kaddi (as Leonin) or Jungle Kaddi (as Tabaxi).
Avidian. Three subraces: the Raptors (as aarakocra), Corvans (as Kenku), or Strigians (as Owlin)

The Gith

With the sudden demise of the Mitian star, extraplanar travelers known as the gith came to investigate across the Aether Sea and were waylaid by eldritch abominations and other mysterious forces. Their means of returning to the Aether Sea was destroyed and they were stranded on Mitia's surface. They built a city-state out of their ruined ships in the barren east of Henos and remained one of the few nations not completely absorbed by the Vanyal Empire. As Githyanki or Githzerai.

The Spireborn

Upon emerging from the Twisting Deep, numerous societies across Mitia discovered massive towers of metal and stone protected with innumerable arcane wards. It took thousands of years to discover how to open these magical spires, but eventually three were opened successfully in Henos. It was discovered that each tower held vaults full of gems bound to the souls of living, sapient creatures. Who built the spires and filled them with slumbering souls is unknown, but it was found that these arkspires could be fueled with magical reagents to bind one of the dreaming souls to an automaton. So much time passed that souls bound to their Spireborn bodies have no sense of self from before their rebirth. The Vanyal have been using Spireborn as specialized servants, warriors, and assassins for hundreds of years, all the while studying methods of soul transference. Little success in that regard has been made, but an arkspire was quickly discovered near Highmantle. When it became known that a Spireborn could be born free, there was rebellion and dissent in Henos. Many Henosi Spireborn have been hunted down and destroyed in the wake of the Imperial Collapse as they are not susceptible to vampires.

Spireborn use the Warforged racial profile.