Greyfeather Races

Races In Greyfeather

There are multiple ways to approach this subject when it comes to Greyfeather and most of those are determined by the type of fantasy setting you choose to use when you run it. Being the DM, you have the final say on what races you’ll allow in your game world, including those not listed in this guide book. There are a multitude of races that have been homebrewed or even races added in Volo’s Guide to Monsters and even Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, so there are a lot of options there. The ones listed below are those from my version of Greyfeather, and those listed in the Player’s Handbook.

Dwarf

There is only one type of dwarf in Greyfeather. The 5E PHB has two types, the Mountain Dwarf and the Hill Dwarf, but in Greyfeather there is just a dwarf. For character creation purposes, use the Mountain Dwarf in the PHB, but do not call them a Mountain Dwarf, as there are no Mountain Dwarves in Greyfeather.

Gnomes

There is only one type of gnome in Greyfeather. The 5E PHB has two types, the Forest Gnome and the Rock Gnome, but in Greyfeather there is just a gnome. For character creation purposes, use the Rock Gnome in the PHB, but do not call them a Rock Gnome, as there are no Rock Gnomes in Greyfeather.

Halflings

The 5E PHB has two Halfling variations and those two variations are allowed in Greyfeather.

Half-Elf

When creating a Half-Elf in Greyfeather, you use the 5E PHB guide for character creation, but when choosing which subrace of Half-Elf you are playing, you can choose half- Aspenleaf elf, half- Elvenwood elf or half-Ty'larenthar elf.

Half-Orc

Creating a Half-Orc is done per the 5E PHB. There are no tribal distinction in Greyfeather, but there are in Whitefeather. Please check with the DM if you choose to run a Half Orc from Whitefeather.

Tiefling

Creating a Tiefling is done per the 5E PHB. There are some differences in Greyfeather versus the PHB. First, the stats will be the same, but the demonic origin of the Tiefling can be open to interpretation, meaning, they can look different based on the demonic half they choose. And the final rule about them is, they all come from Whitefeather, as this is where the portal that allowed them into the land is located. They are not native to Greyfeather, only Whitefeather.

Dragonborn

Creating the Dragonborn is done per the 5E PHB. The thing to remember is that Dragonborn come from Whitefeather only as this is where the portal that allowed them into the land is located. They are not native to Greyfeather, only Whitefeather.

Elves

There are three playable subraces of elves in Greyfeather, the Aspenleaf elf, the Elvenwood elf and the Ty'larenthar elf. For character creation purposes, use the Wood elf in the PHB for the Aspenleaf elf, the High elf in the PHB for the Elvenwood elf, and the Drow elf for the Ty'larenthar elf.

Aspenleaf Elves

They are more in touch with nature than the other subraces. To show this affinity for nature, males get a tattoo of an animal totem that runs from their left cheek and up across their foreheads. The females get an animal tattoo on their upper left chest.

Elvenwood Elves

The canopy of the Elvenwood Forest is more dense than any other forest, so Elvenwood elves tend to be pale of skin. They are more attuned to magic than nature, though some can be rangers or druids, as well.

Ty'larenthar Elves

The physical differences in the Ty'larenthar elves are quite striking. First, they are even more pale than the Elvenwood elves, which comes from living underground for some many centuries. They have dark hair, always, because their hair had yet to see sunlight to lighten it. They have larger eyes than any of the other subraces due to living underground and their teeth are pointed and sharp, from eating roots that grew from solid stone.

New Race-Highlander

When I created Greyfeather back in 1982, I wanted to add a unique race to the land that embodied the frozen tundra on which they lived. I created the Highlanders. To be clear, this is not a class of barbarian, this is a race that can be of several different classes. Those classes will be explained here. The history of the Highlanders dates back to the time of Kensak The First. During his travels in Greyfeather, he encountered a race of people who lived high in the Dragonspire Mountains, in a caldera, where the weather was cold and unforgiving, but they lived their lives there and adapted to their surroundings.

Temperatures in the high altitude can dip down to –20 degrees, even on a sunshiny day, and even colder at night. The Highlander tribes that live there have grown accustomed to such cold temperatures and thrive there with little to no interaction with outside races. They hunt for their food and live in a tribal society where there is a chieftain of each tribe and a shaman that sees to the spiritual needs of the tribe. Tribal life is nothing like it is with other races. There are no stores, shops, government leaders, guilds or taverns. They live in yurts (huts made of animal skins and wooden poles for support) and the chieftain is the law there. The shaman is the spiritual leader of the tribe, often advising the chieftain on what the spirits of the land expect of him when it comes to the tribe and the land. These are the two most important individuals in the entire tribe.

The most striking thing about the Highlanders are their size. The height range for a male is 6’6” to 7’8” in height, and they weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. The females are also quite large, being anywhere from 6’2” to 7’2” in height and weighing anywhere from 170 to 250 pounds.

They resemble humans in their stature and appearance, but that’s where the similarities end. They can withstand the cold climate well but struggle in warmer climates until such time as they get acclimated to them. This can take up to a full year for them.

They age just as humans do. They become mature adults at 16 and live to be 80 years of age. Use the Human Age Chart for this statistic.

The tundra on which they live stretches for miles and multiple tribes live there, sharing the food sources that are available and even trading some among each other. They do not have any rivalries between the tribes as they have learned to share what they have to further the race and the tribes. The Highlanders are a superstitious race and believe that the spirits guide them, not the gods. They have no belief in the gods and will not abandon the spirits to worship a god they don’t understand or believe in. They are also suspicious of magic, be it clerical, druidic, bardic or standard magic. They will not own or wear anything magical for this very reason. The land, to them, is more of nature, not magic, and they will not willingly use anything magical.

That being said, it must be explained how this race uses what little magic it possesses. The shaman of the tribe believe that the spirits of the land grant them their healing and divination abilities, but this is not actually true. As a rule, the Father of the Gods is responsible for watching over the Highlanders and it is he who grants those abilities to the shaman of the tribe.

With the Spirit Sorcerer, they believe that the spirits grant them their spells and that they are not taping into the magical core. This is also not true, but their belief is strong in the spirits and this is how they believe. There are five classes associated with the Highlander race. The Warrior, the Primalist, the Shaman, the Trapper and the Spirit Sorcerer.

The Warrior class is the protectors and the guardians of the tribes. They stand watch and enforce the chieftain’s laws in every village. If the village comes under attack from an outside source, the Warriors are the first line of defense. The Primalist class are the armies of the tribes. They are the most war-like of the tribe members and serve to shore up the defenses of their tribes. Each Primalist has an animal companion that fights by their side in times of war, and the bond between the Primalist and the animal companion is unbreakable.

The Shaman class is the spiritual guide of the tribe, but also the healer and the diviner. They cure the ill, heal the wounded and search for guidance through the spirit world for answers to the problems that might befall the tribe at any given time.

The Trapper class is the hunter/gatherer of the tribe. They track down food for the rest of the tribe using their superior tracking and hunting skills. In times of war or attack, the Trapper becomes the invisible defender who uses the natural surroundings to camouflage themselves and spring upon their enemies without warning.

The Spirit Sorcerer class is attuned to the caldera in such a way that they can call upon the frozen elements to do their bidding. Most of their spells have to do with cold, frost or ice, with devastating results.

As a playable race in Greyfeather, it should be noted that Highlanders rarely, if ever, leave their tribes. Should one leave their tribe, be it through wanderlust or being exiled from the tribe, or some other reason, a player needs to be able to explain that reason through their backstory in great detail. The player will also need to explain when this departure occurred so that they can show they are acclimatized to the lower elevations.

Due to living in such inhospitable conditions, the Highlander is tougher and more resilient than other races. Due to living in such harsh conditions, they have a natural armor class of 12, instead of 10. They also have a natural resistance to magical spell effects, allowing them to roll at advantage on magical saving throws.