The peoples of Riadus are many, and they have a long history of intermingling or dabbling with forces capable of altering the very fabric of a mortal body or soul. The children born to such parents might have traits from each of their parents or physiological manifestations of the forces their ancestors were influenced by, manifesting as a specific heritage.
The most common of these by far are the half-ancestry versatile heritages, usually born to a human parent on one side and either an elf, goblin or orc parent on the other. Other individuals are born under far stranger circumstances, such as having a parent who was affected by monstrous, undead, or extraplanar energies. As these circumstances aren’t unique to a single ancestry, these heritages—called versatile heritages—are likewise shared by many ancestries.
Common Versatile Heritages
Half-Elves
Elves have long drawn the covetous gazes of other races. Their generous life spans, magical affinity, and inherent grace each contribute to the admiration or bitter envy of their neighbors. Of all their traits, however, none so entrance their human associates as their beauty. Since the two races first came into contact with each other, the humans have held up elves as models of physical perfection, seeing in the fair folk idealized versions of themselves. For their part, many elves find humans attractive despite their comparatively barbaric ways, drawn to the passion and impetuosity with which members of the younger race play out their brief lives. Sometimes this mutual infatuation leads to romantic relationships. Though usually short-lived, even by human standards, these trysts commonly lead to the birth of half-elves, a race descended of two cultures yet inheritor of neither. Halfelves can breed with one another, but even these “pureblood” half-elves tend to be viewed as bastards by humans and elves alike.
Half-elves are extremely common in Thassia, which the elven nation of Nysaido occupied during the Riss Empire’s expansion. During this occupation, the Thassian people adopted many of the traditions and practices of the elves, and as the cultures merged so did the people.
Half-Goblins
Half-goblin characters are the unlikely offspring of goblins and humans (and sometimes elves). The wide social and cultural gap between a goblin and a member of the larger folk of Riadus is sometimes overcome through genuine affection, though such romances rarely last long. Most half-goblins are actually several generations removed from a half-goblin who had a full blood goblin and full blood human for parents. Though such “half” goblins are actually only 1/3 or 1/4 or even 1/8 goblin (or human), they tend to carry the same physical traits and are treated as half-goblins by both goblins and humans.
You can find half-goblins everywhere you find goblins and humans living near one another. Most half-goblins live among the goblin population, fearing persecution. Those with a more human than goblin appearance may find more acceptance among humans.
Half-Orcs
Half-orcs are monstrosities, their tragic births the result of perversion and violence — or at least, that’s how other races see them. It’s true that half-orcs are rarely the result of loving unions, and as such are usually forced to grow up hard and fast, constantly fighting for protection or to make names for themselves. Feared, distrusted, and spat upon, half-orcs still consistently manage to surprise their detractors with great deeds and unexpected wisdom — though sometimes it’s easier just to crack a few skulls.
The orcs of central Lethler frequently raid their human neighbors, often taking slaves and leaving behind unwanted pregnancies. Half-orc children born among the Norling people along the coasts are frequently shunned or even driven from their lands due to extreme prejudice. The Naluk tribesmen of the far north, however, are much more accepting, believing an individual’s nature is a result of the culture that raises them.
Half-orcs can be found throughout Reylan. Though many orcs remain brutal and savage, a great number have successfully integrated into human society in places like Rothnn and Ardmyre. Though orc-human unions and their children remain rare in such places, the sight of a half-orc is familiar enough it rarely causes alarm or invokes animosity.
Uncommon Versatile Heritages
Changeling
| Uncommon | Changeling |
Tales of children stolen away by malicious fey and replaced by monsters exist across countless cultures—but the true monsters are the hags who bring these strange children into the world. Such a child faces no end of challenges, often beginning life as an abandoned or orphaned outsider.
Though a changeling generally resembles an ordinary member of their ancestry, their distinctive eyes—each a different color—set them apart. One of their eyes matches that of their father’s lineage, while the other matches the color of their hag mother’s, often in an unnatural shade such as violet or vivid green. Not everyone with differently colored eyes is a changeling, but this manifestation of changeling heritage makes it difficult for them to hide their nature and can lead to banishment. As they come of age, they manifest other characteristics from their mother, including supernatural abilities. Darkvision, clawlike fingernails, and innate magic are the most common.
Changelings can be any gender, but women in particular are vulnerable to the Call, a psychic influence that urges them to abandon their mortal life, join the hag’s coven, and eventually become a hag themselves. Changelings who understand their heritage often fear the Call and work to resist its pull. Those who remain ignorant of their origin may find themselves subject to a terrible compulsion without knowing why.
NOTE: The hags of Riadus have the Fey trait and lose the Humanoid trait. Changelings do not automatically gain the Fey trait from their heritage, but may do so by other means.
Dhampir
| Uncommon | Dhampir |
The circumstances surrounding a dhampir’s birth are rare, complex, and often shrouded in horrific rumors stoked by societal revulsion at the idea of an undead monstrosity producing mortal offspring. Some dhampirs are the child of one mortal and one vampiric parent, while others are born to those who were turned into vampires while pregnant. Still others rise from dark rituals or other supernatural influences that impose a vampiric curse onto a mortal infant. The life of a dhampir is often difficult: few vampiric parents have the time or inclination to raise a mortal child, while mortal communities find a dhampir’s sallow flesh, piercing eyes, and unnerving presence off-putting at best.
Despite being living creatures, dhampirs respond to positive and negative energy as if they were undead, making them unwelcome in many holy communities and often driving them toward necromantic arts. Dhampirs aren’t immortal, but age far more slowly than most mortals, with a lifespan similar to that of an elf. Dhampirs have difficulty producing children of their own, and those few born to a dhampir are never dhampirs themselves.
A dhampir generally resembles a member of their non-vampire parent’s ancestry, but with a ghostly pallor and eyes so light it seems they have only pinpoint pupils and no iris. All dhampirs have elongated incisors, some nearly as long as those of a true vampire. Many command grace, beauty, and charm, despite their unsettling appearance.
Nephilim
| Uncommon | Nephilim |
Life is present everywhere across the planes of the Divine Cosmos, and the intermingling of mortals from the Elemental Manifest with extraplanar energy is no rare thing. Whether their origins are from a direct physical relationship between a mortal and an extraplanar being or from some other infusion of extraplanar energy, mortals who carry the power of another plane are known as planar scions. There are numerous types of planar scions, just as there are countless types of beings across the planes whose power might be shared with a mortal.
Nephilim are planar scions — mortals influenced by planes of the Divine Cosmos — whose bodies or spirits have been influenced by energies from an outer plane, often one strongly associated with mortal religions or philosophies, like Smidloft or the Infernus. Some nephilim are even born with seemingly contradictory influences, displaying traits of both celestials and fiends.
The angelkin, lawbringers, and musetouched lineages each represent different aspects of the celestial planes, while the grimspawn, hellspawn, and pitborn lineages represent beings with fiendish bloodlines or influences.
