Sub-species & Mutation - General Information
Across the globe, humanoids have diverse species and subspecies. All sub-species share a connection through mutations and appearance. For example, the Vashi is a sub-species of the elven species and has a strong connection to water. So much so that the mutation gills (grants the ability to breathe underwater) originate from their sub-species. All elven sub-species share a similar genetic makeup, so they share their mutations. So, the Ashera—a sub-species of the elven species that is strongly connected to energy—can also be born with the gills mutation.
History before around 500BGE was very inconstant or otherwise unknown. Experts believe that an ancient cyclops species created the human species, which was the first humanoid species. Records suggest the first creation of the human sub-species was a miniature version of them, standing at 8-9 feet tall. The records do not state when this happened as there is no specific timeline or year mentioned. After that, no one knows when they created the other species, if they did at all. The geographical origins of most of the humanoid species are unknown, but the island of Sami Sami might play a role. As far as the scholars know, some of their origins could be other worldly.
Why an ancient species of cyclops created life based on their own kind, let alone how they could do it, is a complete mystery. The temples of Gaia have their own belief, which is that Gaia created them for that exact purpose, to create life. Whatever belief is the truth, the ancient cyclops has long disappeared and only the few that remain have gone mad.
Sub-Species Aspects
Appearance
This section describes the physical appearance of your sub-species. While there are specifics as to their skin, fur, scale, hair, height, and weight, they are mostly guidelines. It is up to you how your character ultimately looks. However, it’s encouraged to sticking to the guidelines as much as possible to maintain the world's lore and atmosphere.
Culture
Sub-species gave rise to cultures, with their own customs, laws, style, and religion. From there, the cultures branched out and adapted to new aspects of the world and its people. Sub-species spread to different areas and adapted by learning the local culture. Therefore, you might be a Vashi elf but grew up in the predominantly human Grimslarian culture.
Each sub-species has at least one culture listed in its description. The cultures listed are only recommendations. It is up to you which culture your character is from.
Essence
Some sub-species have a strong connection to their internal energy; this connection grants them a bonus equal to their channeling to essence. The sub-species description identifies if they have a bonus.
Mutations
Each sub-species starts with two mutations (listed at the end of this chapter). When you create a character and select a mutation, you treat it in the same way as starting masteries. You can take any mutation that has a price with the "(CC)" in it for free during character creation. Some mutations have a requirement of being a specific sub-species or species for them to be free. If the requirement is not a species or sub-species, such as statistics or skills, you can ignore it. After creating the character, you can take more mutations but you need to have evolution mastery.
Health
Every sub-species has a genetic modifier for how durable they are. This modifier is multiplied by your character’s vitality, but only during character creation. After character creation, a character’s health increases through leveling and talents.
Life Span (Elder Years)
Everything dies eventually, including your character. Each sub-species has a general lifespan that shows how many years they have before the inevitable comes calling. The number in the parenthesis is the elder years for the sub-species. When a character gets old enough to equal their sub-species in elder years, they become an elder. When this happens, they roll on the following table to see if they get any permanent conditions. Some conditions can cause your character to no longer be playable.
Aging
When first creating your character, roll 1d100 and if the result is 50 or below, roll a 1d8 and subtract the result from your sub-species elder years. If greater than 50, roll a 1d8 and add the result to your elder years. The new number is when your character becomes an elder. The same can be done with death age.
<50: 1d8 - elder years = age you become an elder
>50: 1d8 + elder years = age you become an elder
Movement
Mostly, sub-species only have one type of movement and it is shown under the movement in their description.
Some sub-species can gain a flight or swim movement. The mutation section describes these extra movements that you could add to your character.
Elderly Conditions
| d10 | Condition |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are comatose. |
| 2 | You are helpless. |
| 3 | You are disorientated. |
| 4 | You are blind. |
| 5 | You are deaf. |
| 6 | You have numbness in your upper limbs. |
| 7 | You have numbness in your lower limbs. |
| 8 | You become confused. |
| 9 | You have a minimum exhaustion level of two. |
| 10 | You're healthy. |
Notability
Not every sub-species knows the other exists and often many have never seen or heard of each other. Sub-species have a notability factor that shows their commonality.
There are three types of notability: common, uncommon, and rare. The common sub-species know each other and even most of the uncommon. However, the uncommon sub-species are less known by the common sub-species. Rare sub-species are unknown to both common and uncommon sub-species. These sub-species might know of the common sub-species through lore and rumors, but rarely have had any interaction with them. The same goes for the common sub-species, knowing about the rare sub-species. Uncommon sub-species are kind of in the middle, as they know some about the rare sub-species, but a lot more about the common sub-species.
You use notability in determining how common creatures of the world react to the other sub-species. Some creatures might shun the rarer sub-species and dis-serve them, while others might welcome them with open, curious minds.
Species
Each sub-species stems from a single species that genetically relate to each other. Humanoid species have similarities to ancient Cyclops species, but are still their own species. Your character’s species helps to determine what mutations you can gain.
