Aderon • Aderon PHB (Public Access: RO Owner:aderon)
Aderon
Attributes: Roll 4d6 remove the lowest add the rest together. You roll 6 times for 6 stats and may choose to roll a Powerball for one of your stats. This Powerball may be rolled only once.
Races:
Twildin: Twildin are strange and mystical beings. They appeared from the forest one day around 700 years ago, near the end of the Surface War. They were first discovered by a Cracal war band and learned much of the ways of war from them. One day a man named Kaladris heard a voice from the heavens and rose up as a leader of his people. He had been told the will of the Creators of the Twildin and led his people to new lands to teach them the way of their lords and give them meaning to their existence. The Twildin were the first to offer up a truce to the Dvergar who eventually accepted; this act starting the peace Aderon has enjoyed for the last 610 years.
Twildins are the largest race of humanoids on Aderon, they look like humans and stand 7-8.5 feet tall and come in a range of shapes, skinny, fat, stocky etc... Their eye and hair color range from red, brown, black, blond and white( eyes and hair always match with the Twildins, except in special cases and when it does vary the Twildin label the aberrations as witches whether or not they possess magical ability and they are always treated like outcast.). Twildins live between 60-80 years of age.
Playable Classes: Warrior, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric
+2 Strength, -2 Dexterity
Cracal: Cracal were one of the three races that existed underground for thousands of years before the Dvergar discovered the surface realm. For reasons forgotten by most, the Cracal and Dvergar have been at war for as long as the Cracal have existed. The Cracal race was the first to discover the existence of the Twildins and took them in as potential allies or tools (depending on your view) and taught them the ways of war. Not long after discovering the Twildin, the fledging race decided to break off on its own and establish its own lands. The Cracal were reluctant to let them go but did so without bearing any grudge. In fact the Cracal continued to have close relations with the Twildin and fought many battles alongside them. However, one day the Twildin decided they had enough of war that had very little to do with them and offered up a peace treaty to the Dvergar, who to the surprise of the Cracal accepted. With a major ally lost and strength already waning the Cracal decided to offer up a peace treaty of their own. And so the age of the Cease Fire, as the Cracal called it, began. Opportunistic Cracal and Dvergar soon began trade between the countries, though each race is highly suspicious of the other and often attempt to impose taxes on one another.
The Cracal are twisted and deformed in the eyes of the other races, they have jagged pointed ears and gnarled leathery skin. Cracals only have small wisps of hair, if any at all, and have sharp, crooked, beast like teeth. They range from 5.5-6.5 feet and have cool colored skin (ranging from black-grey-green-blue.) Cracal live between 40-60 years of age.
Playable Classes: Warrior, Rogue, Wizard
+2 Dex, -2 Con, Low-Light Vision, Light sensitivity (-2 to everything while in daylight)
Hamil: The Hamil are the shortest race in Aderon, even shorter than the Dvergar in most cases. The Hamil's roll in the great wars between the Dvergar and Cracal are almost non-existent. The Dvergar see the Hamil as shorter weaker cousins and find it their duty to protect them. The Cracal pay little attention to the Hamil at all, except when he finds himself very hungry. The Hamil are obsessed with keeping records; whether it is history or their day to day journal. On the same note they are obsessed with any form of knowledge they can get and are very good at learning and adapting. They are not a very war like people and have not even tried to hold a battle axe in anger (save a few foolish ones). When they fight, if they ever decide to, they will do it from the shadows, copying the style of skilled Cracal assassins.
At one point, on the surface world, the Hamil established a grand city called Darol and within it had a great athenaeum which held the lore and records of the Hamil people. Within it contained the history and events of every race on Aderon, even the recently discovered Twildin. Many of the greatest minds had their journals, notes and discoveries stored at the Darol athenaeum. However, near the end of the Surface War (or the Last Record as the Hamil call it) the Dvergar were routed by the Cracal and took refuge in Darol, forcing their way in. The Hamil had no time to react or prepare before the Cracal were attacking the city. Darol had very little defense wise and was soon burned to the ground and with it the great Darol athenaeum. The Hamil recovered what knowledge they could but much was lost and after the age of peace and during the signing of the formal peace treaty the Hamil had it worked in that they will have the right to make an organization known as the Explorers Guild and through this guild they would be allowed to recruit from any race that was willing. The Guild would have the right to travel the lands and search for records of the past or to confirm (or complete) the records that they have. Also in the signing of the peace treaty they had it written that Darol, or New Darol as it is being rebuilt, will be allowed to have full control over its trade rights, taxes and prices. From this the highly organized Hamil city has become a known place for trade if one must resort to trading at a fair price with little tax on their goods.
The Hamil stand between 2.5-3.5 feet and have earth toned hair, skin and eyes. They are child like in appearance, never capable of growing beards and hair never graying. The Hamil live between 200-300 years.
Playable Classes: Rogue, Wizard, Cleric
+2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 STR MV 20ft, All knowledge as a General Skill.
Dvergar: Dvergar are said to be the first race ever to exist on Aderon. They believe they are the pieces of a fallen God which they call Grugnal (Creator). Grugnal was said to have been one of many creator gods and was betrayed by his brothers and sisters. He was thrown upon the earth and crashed through. The Grugnadon Lake is said to be the site at which he hit the earth. They also believe that every time one of them dies their spirit becomes part of Grugnal once more, bringing to him their knowledge and skill; once all the Dvergar die it is believed Grugnal will be reborn and take vengeance on the other Gods. The Dvergar existed underground for thousands of years and at some point came upon the Hamil and Cracal, at the same time it is said. Why or how these three races came to be is no longer known due to the burning of Darol and the great knowledge within (and those who may have known have long since died). Though only the Hamil seem very interested in finding the true reason once more. The Dvergar first discovered the surface realm when being pushed back by the Cracal, who used some sort of demonic power to drive them up and up. The Dvergar used the new resources they found and created better weapons, armor and siege weapons. For a long time the Dvergar dominated the surface realm until the Cracal found a way to it in the northern lands and when they did they began to slowly cut down into the Dvergar lands. Eventually after another 400 years of continuous war the Dvergar were offered a truce by the Twildin and then the Cracal. The land was being drained and resources were becoming harder and harder to obtain; also the Dvergar were being pressed from both the Cracal in the north and the Cracal and Twildin in the south. So the Dvergar decided to accept the peace treaty, keeping ever watchful eyes on the Cracal, and so the age of the Miners came into being (As the Dvergar call it.) The Dvergar saw this as an opportunity to stock up for any war that may come into being and to reinforce their lands; and so the Dvergar began to mine and for the last 610 years they have been depleting the earth of ores and digging ever deeper for resources. After so much time without war, many of the Dvergar turned to crafting and trading. However, many Dvergar still fear the unstoppable beast of war and train continuously. Some have even tried to instigate a war by attacking Cracal and Twildin lands or even attack their own villages in attempt to make it look like the Cracal are responsible. These Dvergar are often banished and sent off as outcast from all lands. These groups of Dvergar are known as the Oruk or Disgraced Ones. They, however, call themselves the Barag'Drakum (War Machine).
The Dvergar stand between 4-4.5 feet and have large broad shoulders. The Dvergar are known for their large floor dusting beards (except the Oruk who are forced to shave them off) and are often ranked by the might of such beards. A beard is often decorated in jewels and gold and slowly becomes silver as they grow older. They live between 300-600 years.
Playable Classes: Warrior, Rogue
+2 Con -2 Wis -2 cha, MV 20ft, no movement penalties for encumbrance, +1 Skill.
Skills:
There are two types of skills that each character have, GENERAL and bought skills. Your General skills are skills you automatically have. Bought skills are ones you used your assigned skill points to buy. Ever skill that is a class skill cost 1 point and every skill that is not cost 2 points. Once your purchase your skill, the skill level is equal to your level + your stat modifier. If you wish to purchase a new skill upon reaching a new level you give a -1 to all your current skills or a -2 if you purchase a cross-classed skill. You can purchase up to a maximum of your INT bonus in new skills.
Skill changes:
Move Silent and Hide are now one skill - Stealth
Search, Listen and Spot are now Perception
Open locks and disable device are now Device
Knowledge Arcana, use magic device and Spellcraft are now Knowledge Arcana
Use rope does not exist
Knowledge of the Planes and Knowledge Religion are now Knowledge Religion
Knowledge Nature and Survival are now Knowledge Nature
Concentration does not exist
Knowledge Geography, Local, History, Nobility are now Knowledge Local
Knowledge (General) - this allows you to roll any knowledge check a -5, if you decide to take a particular knowledge skill it will function with no minus.
Knowledge (All) - Hamil only, this allows a Hamil to take 1 skill to gain all knowledge skills. If he decides to take a particular knowledge skill in addition then that knowledge skill gets a +2.
New Combat Rules:
Modified to hit rolls - In combat you now use your DEX bonus not your STR bonus added to your BAB for all to hit rolls. You to hit roll is opposed by an opponent’s DEFENSE score. If a hit is scored the enemy gets an ARMOR VALUE SAVE.
Defense score - Defense is 10+DEX bonus + Size Modifier + Deflection bonus + Class bonus.
Armor Value Save (AVS) - The AVS is a check to see if your armor protects you against the incoming attack. Your roll a D20 at a DC 20 - armor value (AV). The AV is determined by the type of armor you are wearing.
Damage Reduction - Damage reduction applies if you fail your AVS.
Spellcasting - If you cast in melee combat you automatically provoke an AoO, you can no longer defensively cast. If you are hit you are automatically interrupted and cannot cast the spell. The only exception is a touch attack spell which can be cast in melee combat.
Grappling - Grapple is an opposed strength/escape artist check. No BAB is added to this roll, although size is. Creatures 2 size categories larger than you can grapple you with 1 hand/limb with no penalty. Other creatures get a -5 to grapple with 1 hand/limb. Grapple also always causes an AoO unless the target is flat footed. The size of weapon you can you use without grapple check follows the table below. Any other size weapon must make a grapple check with the following modifiers: tiny +5, small +0, medium -5, and large 10
Grapple size and weapon chart:
If target is... weapon size that can be drawn and used with no check...
smaller than you small
same size as you tiny weapons
1 size categories larger small weapons
2 size categories larger medium weapons
3 size categories larger large weapons
Example for a medium sized creature
Medium being grappled by...
small character - A small weapon can be drawn for the chart also works in the opposite direction. For instance if a Storm giant grabbed you he could draw out a longsword sized weapon to strike you as well.
same size character - only tiny weapons such as a knife (smaller dagger)
Large Character (Ogre) - A normal size dagger
Huge Character (Storm Giant) - A Longsword may be used
Colossal character (Ancient Dragon) - A Great axe may be used.
Sunder and Disarm - Sunder and disarm no longer cause attacks of opportunity and no longer have bonuses or penalties for weapon size, only creature size. Small -5 medium 0 large +5 Huge +10 Colossal +20. In a Disarm check use BAB + DEX to oppose one another, in a sunder check use BAB+STR to disarm one another though a standard to hit roll must be made unlike disarm.