Versatile Heritages

To play a character with a versatile heritage, first select your ancestry, just like you would for any character. You gain Hit Points, size, Speed, ability boosts and ability flaws, traits, and other abilities from that ancestry. Then, instead of choosing a heritage from those normally available to that ancestry, apply your chosen versatile heritage. You gain all the features from your versatile heritage, some of which might modify or replace statistics, abilities, or traits from your ancestry.

Since a versatile heritage is a heritage, you can have only one, and you can't have any other heritage in addition to your versatile heritage.

Sometimes a versatile heritage might give you an ability that conflicts with an ability from your ancestry. In these cases, you choose which of the conflicting abilities your character has.

When selecting ancestry feats, you can choose from those available to your ancestry as well as those specific to your versatile heritage.

More details can be found in the Advanced Player’s Guide.

The following versatile heritages are available for player characters: Half-Human, Aasimar, Changeling, Tiefling, and Genasi.

 

Half-Human

This versatile heritage is only available to a demihuman. All demihumans can interbreed without issue, with the child generally having the Ancestry of their mother and a Heritage based on their father’s Ancestry. Technically, like the genasi these are multiple heritages that you can choose.

 

Veela (Half-Elf)

Either your father was an elf, or your mother or both were half-elves. You have pointed ears and other telltale signs of elf heritage, and you are almost always fair and beautiful. You live perhaps twice as long as your mother’s ancestry does. You gain the elf trait and low-light vision. In addition, you can select elf feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Smed (Half-Dwarf)

Either your father was a dwarf, or your mother or both were half-dwarves. You are wider and stockier than most of your ilk and your height trends closer to the dwarf average. Your nose is particularly bulbous and you likely will grow a beard, even if your ancestry otherwise wouldn’t. You are also longer lived. You gain the dwarf trait and darkvision. In addition, you can select dwarf feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Puck (Half-Gnome)

Either your father was a gnome, or your mother or both were half-gnomes. You are spindly of build, and both your hair and eyes are of wild and saturated colors. Luckily, you do not carry the bleaching curse. You gain the gnome trait and low-light vision. In addition, you can select gnome feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Tallfellow (Half-Harfoot)

Either your father was a harfoot, or your mother or both were tallfellows. You are almost certainly shorter than most of the rest of your ancestry, with bigger feet and rounder, larger ears with keen hearing. Interestingly, harfoots tend to see tallfellows as being inherently more halffoot than their other ancestry, and they often become cultural heroes to them. You gain the harfoot trait and the keen ears ability. In addition, you can select halffoot feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Firbolg (Half-Quickling)

Either your father was a quickling, or your mother or both were firbolgs. Firbolgs are slightly taller than most of their ancestry (even ogre firbolgs) though not necessarily bulkier, and often are especially hirsute specimens of their ancestry for reasons unknown. Unfortunately, firbolgs share the quickling’s short lifespan, living about as long as they do. You gain the quickling trait and start trained in an extra skill. In addition, you can select quickling feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Goliath (Half-Ogre)

Either your father was an ogre, or your mother or both were goliaths. Goliaths are at least a foot taller than average, if not more, and have even more disproportionately longer arms than ogres, sometimes long enough that they touch the ground when they hunch forward. They lack the horns and tusks of their father, however. You gain the ogre trait and the impressive physique ability. In addition, you can select ogre feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat in addition to your base ancestry.

 

Otherworldly Scions

Aasimar

Due to the strong presence of celestials in Talingarde, aasimar are relatively common among the Talireans (though still rare, rarer even than ogres). Angels, azatas and even agathions are known to fall in love with mortals, but there is also a tradition of “immaculate” births among the faithful. Notably, aasimar can turn to villainy just as much as any other mortal, and Evil would delight in the chance at such corruption. They are especially concentrated in Myrcia and Keshkevar. As Advanced Player’s Guide (pg. 24).  

Changeling

Near the Banish-Lands and the Cazcus Wilds, the influence of the fey are strong, and that includes those sworn to Evil. Hags in particular are a numerous and hated foe of the Talireans, and because of this, changelings are about as common as aasimar or tieflings, especially in Skarria and Lucidor. As Advanced Player’s Guide (pg. 30).  

Genasi

Genies are particularly present in the world of Uskara as agents of the elements, beings who have the free will to choose between Good and Evil. In this age, they are primarily aligned with Good, but that has not always been so. Genasi are descendants of unions between genies and mortals, and are especially common in Gebroan and Helveylyn. The exact heritage you take depends on your ancestor, and the following are available for player characters: ifrit, oread, sylph, suli and undine. As Advanced Player’s Guide.  

Tiefling

During the time of the Grand Old Dominion, tieflings (especially hellspawn descended from devils) dominated the tyrannical aristocracy of Talingarde, and spread their influence far and wide. Even today, their bloodlines still course through some of the noble houses, something either kept secret from the Inquisition, or worn openly as a sign of Mitra’s redeeming light. A few heroes of Talingarde have been tieflings, proving that blood is not destiny. They are concentrated in Lucidor and Keshkevar. As Advanced Player’s Guide (pg. 39).