The races of Athas are bound together in a fight for survival on a dying world, but each has learned to survive on its own in their own way, with their own skills, and their own supporting cultures. Following is a short description of each character race, along with any requirements or special advantages and disadvantages unique to that race.
Human
While Villagers barely eke out an existence on what crops they can raise and goods they can import, fearing that their meager wells may dry up overnight (which they well may do), city-dwellers are no better off; crowded together in squalor and ignorance, always on the brink of possible starvation, most are slaves to other men, selling themselves and their skills just to survive, even the most powerful lorded over by the unjust and tyrannical Sorcerer Kings.
Merchant caravans ply the routes between cities, providing their workers a better life than either of these, though a more dangerous one, as traveling through the deserts provides its share of danger: sandstorms, bandits and marauding beasts, among other deadly worries. Herdsmen, too, live upon the barren wastes, supporting herds of kanks, erdlu and other useful beasts, eventually bringing them to market in the cities for healthy sums then used to raise more herds.Humans are by far the most common of all the races on Athas. This is not to say they are dominant, merely numerous. Most humans live clustered into one of the great city-states or tiny villages that dot the desert, or exist as caravan merchants, herdsmen or raiders. Some few also choose a solitary, hermit-lifestyle in the wilds.
Humans on average stand nearly six feet tall and weigh around one-hundred-and-seventy pounds. They come in all types, with all colorations of skin, hair and eyes, many of one region sharing particular traits in common. Almost all have well tanned or dark skin from working outside (especially those who live in the desert or work in the fields), excepting the pale nobility, templars and others who spend their time indoors, protected from the harsh crimson sun.
Elf
Humans do not have any set requirements for ability scores or codes, but cannot have a score under '1' or over '10'. However, humans may choose either to increase one physical score by one point and decrease one mental score by one point, or increase a mental score by one point and decrease a physical score by one point.
The former reflects the harsh living conditions of the majority of the peoples of Athas, who must be strong to survive and spend little time to (and are not allowed to) pursue knowledge. The latter reflects the lives of the upper classes and templars who are attended by slaves, so gaining the time and having the reasons to spend in study; and mystic hermits, who have found the time to peruse knowledge free from the Sorcerer Kings' yokes.
Elves live everywhere, from the barren deserts to the stinking city slums, yet they also live nowhere. Elves are wanderers and nomads by nature, and are only happiest when free to travel as they will. Both their lifestyle and their inherent nature make them excellent runners with great stamina; few other beings on Athas can keep up with an elven tribe on the move. Elves are also notoriously untrustworthy, even to each other. They steal, raid, lie and cheat others to survive, unless you happen to be part of their tribe (which is a more than difficult thing to become).
Playing an elf entails keeping one's mind constantly focused on self-reliance and complete distrust of outsiders (meaning anyone, elf or not, not of the elf's tribe). The elf tests those he meets who show themselves to have redeeming qualities (for an elf) or those who attempt to befriend them, to see how loyal and trustful they are.Elves are lean, and long-limbed, standing on average around seven feet tall and weighing only about one-hundred-and-seventy pounds. Their features are deeply etched and weathered by the wind and sand of the wilds, though they do not tan as deeply as humans. Hair and eye colors are as broad as those of humans, though tending towards lighter browns and blondes for hair, and grays and browns for eyes.
Half-Elf
Due to their quick fingers and amazing speed, elves must have minimums of 6 in their Coordination scores.
However, their fine bone structure and high metabolisms restrict them to maximum Strength scores of 8; and their attitudes towards outsiders and their untrustworthiness restrict their Presence score to 8 or lower.
Elves have excellent senses, and must have the Perception-skill Enhanced Sense at a code of "A" or "B" to reflect this.
As they are constantly on the move, they find armor slows them down; thus elves may not have the Endurance-skill Armor Use at any code greater than "C".
Elves gain an automatic trump bonus when fighting with any weapon produced by their tribe, but only those weapons of their tribe's cultural make and design.
When in the wilds, elves also make surprise action checks at one rank of difficulty less than usual, moving it from an Average difficulty to an Easy one. This only applies in parties of all elves, or if the elf is moving ahead or behind as the scout of a party of non-elves.
Half-elves are the unwanted product of a successful union between an elf and a human. They are accepted by neither parent race (though elves tend to be harsher than humans towards the half-breeds), and as such half-elves quickly learn to be completely self-reliant and used to the lack of basic friendship others naturally form. They live mostly as humans do, in cities, and as bandits or hermits, though many try uselessly to prove themselves worthy of joining elven tribes.
The half-elf seeks acceptance among humans and elves; thus to play them correctly, this must be kept in mind. The half-elf will go out of their way to either participate in local customs (in an attempt to fit in) or competitions (to show that they have valuable skills). Though they will accept doing well in a competition, actually winning is a goal the half-elf will strive for.A half-elf can pass for either a stocky elf or slender human, possessing enough of a mixed heritage to appear as either. They are usually well tanned, and have the hair and eye color range of humans. Most are dusty, dirty and unkempt from their lives living on the edges of civilization.
Dwarf
Players must choose one elven minimum and one elven maximum, to reflect their half-elven character's mixed heritage. This is usually a minimum of 6 in Agility, and a maximum of 8 in Presence.
Half-elves have better than average senses, and must have a Perception-skill Enhanced Sense code of "C" or higher to reflect this.
Due to their self-reliance and individuality, they do not easily learn social customs and interactions, thus they may not have the Presence-skill Leadership at any code greater than "D", nor are any actions of a Presence nature (other than Templar Mysticism or Psionics) ever trump.
Their self-reliance and harsh lives do provide one benefit, any action check relating to survival (finding water while thirsty, capturing wild game if starving, etc.) is automatically trump.
Half-elves are often accompanied by an animal companion that they have bonded to at some time during their lives. This animal serves as both a friend and pet which can perform simple tasks. The player should detail the initial circumstances of their character's meeting this animal, or elect to encounter it later during the campaign.
Dwarves most often live in small villages dotting the wastelands of Athas, among their own kind. All dwarves are deeply committed to their work, to the point of stubbornness. However, they have good reason, for should they die before completing their set task (known as their focus), they will wander the deserts as undead banshees.
As should be apparent, the dwarven life revolves around completing their individual focus; be it broad (construct a temple, quest for an ancient dwarven artifact), or narrow (explore a buried ruin, journey between from one city-state to another). Whichever it is, the dwarf will not abandon their focus, even in the face of difficult or dangerous circumstances. Compounding this problem is the fact that the focus is never something easy or quick (such as preparing supper or sharpening a weapon).Powerful, stocky and beardless is the best description of the dwarven race; standing a little under five feet tall, but weighing nearly two-hundred pounds, most (if not all) of which is muscle. They are deeply tanned from working beneath the blazing sun, with roughly callused hands and feet, while both hair and eyes tend towards darker colors.
Mul
The powerful dwarven physique requires that any dwarven character have a minimum of 6 in their Physique scores. However, their stocky bodies and stubby, work-roughened fingers limit their maximum Coordination scores to 8.
Due to their single-mindedness, wherein others are either friends or foes depending upon their standing in regards to the dwarf's focus, no action check involving persuasion or reason is ever trump against them (including mystical persuasion); further, they gain a trump bonus for any action relating to the completion of their focus.
On the other hand, as dwarves literally live to work and complete their focus, any action against their focus, or not relating to it, can not be trumped, whether it be combat, cooking or some other task.
Muls are the sterile off-spring of a human and dwarf. They are incredibly tough, as well as cunning, sharing the best traits of their parent races. Able to work without ceasing for days at a time, and possessing a degree of the stubbornness of their dwarven parent, Muls make excellent slave material for the wealthy nobles of the city-states. As such, the vast majority of muls are born through the breeding programs of slave owners.Muls are bred to work, and seem to live to work. Extensive physical (or perhaps mental) exertion is the mul's gift in life, whether it is their joy or not, especially when it involves doing so for lengthy periods of time without break. To play a mul, the player should always be aware of opportunities arising in which they can exert themselves (fighting a long battle, marching across the desert carrying a companion, etc.).
Muls stand a little over six-feet tall on average, weighing around two-hundred-and-sixty pounds, mostly muscle. Though having a coppery skin hue, muls are surprisingly fair skinned considering the time they spend in the sun. Fairly human in appearance, only their complete lack of hair and swept-back, slightly pointed ears marks them as anything other than a well-muscled human.
Halfling
Players must choose one dwarven minimum for their mul, usually a 6 in Endurance. Gruff and harsh from knowing only lives of constant slave-labor, their maximum Presence score is 8.
The majority of slave-bred muls are almost never well educated, bred as they are for gladiatorial or labor purposes, thus they may not have codes higher than "C" in three of the four pairs of related abilities.
Muls gain a trump bonus for all Endurance related action checks; they can also labor for an entire day by making successful Endurance checks of increasing difficulty (starting at Average, possibly modified by the severity of the labor). Afterwards, they require only a night's rest before being fully rested.
Halflings are a tribal race living in the Forest Ridge whose culture is focused around strict observance of ritual and custom. They do not war with one another, though outsiders are fair game, and tend to be of a very spiritualistic and artistic outlook. They do not lie or cheat their own race, and always help one another, as their basic outlook on life is different than other races. Where others see the acquisition of wealth and materials as important, halflings look at advancing halfling culture, their knowledge and inner well-being as the most important things.
Halflings live to gain knowledge, understanding and balance. As such, when traveling in the outer world, they will take any opportunity available to experiment with the customs of other races, no matter how trivial the custom may seem (to learn more about themselves and others). Further, they will never forego the opportunity to help another halfling, as despite any tribal differences, they are one people.Halflings stand no more than three-and-a-half feet in height and weigh on average around sixty pounds, appearing as small humans with beautiful, wise faces.
Half-Giant
Due to their spiritual mindfulness race, and peaceful unification with one another and their land, a Halfling must have a minimum Spirit score of 4; and due their quickness and adeptness at moving through difficult and thickly grown terrain, they must have a minimum score of 6 in Agility.
Their size is a disadvantage (though they do not see it as such, perhaps rightly so), restricting their maximum Strength score to 7.
Also, the nature halfling society causes them to view strength and size as drawbacks, limiting Halflings to a maximum code of 'B' in Strength and it's related skills.
As the Halfling has difficulty understanding non-halfling ways, no actions involving communication with or leadership among other races are ever trump; however, due to their mystical outlook, all actions involving mysticism, sorcery or psionics are automatically trump.
Half-giants were formed by a magical union of man and giant sometime in the forgotten past. Immense in size, and generally dull-witted, they are nonetheless friendly and cooperative, with a tendency to kindness (much different in attitude from the bloodthirsty race of giants that helped spawn them) and an eagerness to please others.
Half-giants are very open to other's ways of doing things and looking at the world, to the point of imitating those they are near. They will take on the customs, habits, and lifestyle of any group they live near, or any individual who befriends them, often quickly learning their skills and applying them; be they bandits or elven nomads. However, this does not mean they will attempt to join the groups they imitate.
Further, they have little regard for what has gone or what will be, and do not measure their happiness by what sort of work they do or how they live. Easily abandoning one way of doing things, or one project for another, without regretting the choice.
Playing a half-giant means the character will adopt the habits, customs and lifestyle of those around them; particularly those of the one with the most force of personality. Imitation is on the mind of the half-giant, though they may not realize it; developing their own lives from those of others around them. Such a change may even take place in the middle of a quest, causing the half-giant to switch sides!Half-giants stand around ten-feet tall on average and weigh near sixteen-hundred pounds; appearing as humans with exaggerated features.
Thri-Kreen
To reflect the wavering value structure and imitative attitude of the half-giant, at the beginning of each day, the player of a half-giant must draw a card from the top of the Fate Deck, if the draw beats the highest Presence score of any of the other characters in the party, the traits listed will function as the half-giant's demeanor for that day. Otherwise, the half-giant will model their demeanor after that of the character in the party with the highest Presence, or another more suitable candidate.
A Half-giant must have a minimum score of 10 in their Strength, and may have up to a 15. For a player to achieve this level of strength usually requires that the sacrifice a number of ability codes and scores (Dexterity and Agility). Due to their incredible size, half-giants must also have a minimum Endurance of 7.
However, as they are not particularly bright, the maximum Reason score of a Half-Giant is 5; and due to their nature as imitators, they tend not to be great leaders, limiting their Presence score to a maximum of 7.
Half-giants are able to gain any one craftsmanship or similarly-observable skill (not including psionics, sorcery or mysticism) by observing a being practicing that skill for a short time, such as a week. After that time, the Half-giant should make a Perception action check, if it succeeds, they have learned the skill at one code below that of the practicing being.
However, the skill must be learned from the being or beings they are currently imitating, and should they move on, the skill will be forgotten if not used or when they attempt to imitate another skill.
Due to their incredible size and mass, half-giants take only one card of damage per two cards of damage dealt to them.
Thri-kreen are human-sized, mantis-like insects whose hives thrive in the wide wastes of the Athasian desert. They are tireless warriors who hunt the wastes.Standing up to seven feet in height at their shoulders, and weighing around four-hundred-and-fifty pounds, the insectoid Thri-Kreen resemble nothing less than giant mantises. They have six limbs, four of which are used as hands; a tough, sandy-colored exoskeleton; two black, multifaceted eyes; vestigial antennae; and a small mouth with mandibles.
Living to hunt, Thri-Kreen are quick and coordinated, both physically and mentally, thus all Thri-Kreen characters must have minimum Agility scores of 7, and minimum Perception scores of 8. However, due to their incredibly alien in mindset, in that they are more intuitive as the hunter and less interested in knowledge for it's own sake, they suffer a maximum Reason score of 8. This alieness, their reputation as occasional hunters of intelligent beings, and their hive-mentality limits their Presence score to 5.
Thri-Kreen have an innate ability to dodge missile fire, thus they must take the Agility-skill Armor Optimization at a code of 'C' or higher. They must also have the Perception-skill Hunting at a code of 'D' or higher, as they center their lives around this aspect of existence.
As natural hunters, born fully as creatures of the wastelands,Thri-Kreen gain some unique advantages in combat and thus survival. First, as their hands are natural weapons, they must take the Strength-skill Weaponless Combat at at least a code of 'D'; further gaining one extra attack against an enemy every exchange because of their four arms. This extra attack can only be made with one of their arms, and cannot be used in conjunction with a weapon.
They also produce a poisonous saliva that can paralyze creatures if they are bitten. This paralyzation lasts from a few minutes to an hour, depending upon the size of the creature bitten; it is a Challenging Endurance action to resist the effects of the saliva.
Thri-Kreen have a naturally tough hide protecting them (reducing damage done to them from a single source by 3 points), they never make or wear armor, and can only have the Endurance-skill Armor Use at a code of 'X'.
They are also masters of the chatkcha, the crystalline throwing wedge they make and hunt with, attacking with it at an action difficulty of Easy.
Their antenna, though mostly vestigial, do still provide some minor benefit to their senses; even if blinded or otherwise unable to use their eyes, Thri-Kreen reduce any action difficulty from such a state by one point.
On a successful Strength action check, Thri-Kreen can perform amazing leaps either upwards or forwards (however, they are incapable of leaping backwards); the actual height or length jumped dependent upon the difficulty of the action check. With a successful check of Easy difficulty, they can leap upwards their own height, increasing this by their own height again for each rank of difficulty attempted; or they can leap forwards a distance of twice their own height, increasing by twice their own height for each rank of difficulty attempted.
Finally, Thri-Kreen do not sleep, a distinct advantage considering the deadliness of their chosen environment.
