Variant Races

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These are creatures who are technically something else, such as a human being, but with a twist - something that sets them apart from others of their kind enough that we felt they merited special mention. These are more specific cases than the racial categories, and do usually refer to a specific kind of creature.

Keep in mind that some of these classifications are more powerful than the common races. Where such a thing does not have an explicit in game weakness, please keep their social status in mind. If you the player choose something like a vampire for example, we the admins will enforce that most NPCs in relation to your character treat your character like a blood-sucking abomination.

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Werecreatures - (Only Human)
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, Enhanced Recovery; Transformed, 2 Physical - Vulnerability to Fire, Lose Enhanced Recovery

It started with the full moon and the wolf... But the curse - if it is a curse - has evolved since those days. For the last few centuries, werecreatures have existed in many forms, passing the curse from one victim to the next. The form of the bitten may not even reflect the form of the biter, though how or why this happens has yet to be answered. Much about the re-named "zoanthropy" is simply not understood, or misunderstood. There can be no accurate count of their numbers due to their very nature, though it is safe to assume that wherever humans are, there could be Weres.

Special Game Mechanics: Each Were has two forms. In their human form, they can largely pass as normal, albeit hairier and more muscular than the average human. In some cases, minor aspects of their animal could bleed over into their human form. In this form, a Were has one bonus special ability from any category and Enhanced Recovery. All Weres are able to heal at an accelerated rate, except when injured by fire. A Were that is injured by fire, whether magical or natural in origin, loses access to their Enhanced Recovery ability for the duration of the combat, until they can rest. Healing magic out of combat accelerates this process. A burned Were who has taken Enhanced Recovery two times retains the use of Enhanced Recovery as if they had taken it once.

Their second form is their transformed state. While retaining their special abilities and the weakness to fire from their human form, the body of a werecreature is fundamentally a beast. A werecreature is usually 1 to 3 feet taller than their human form in this state, with a feral visage and an even larger, more densely muscled build, with proportional natural abilities to match. Scientifically speaking, this means that they are four times as strong and eight times as heavy. A Were gains two bonus Physical special abilities, which are only accessible in their transformed state. A Tier 0 (Nonmagical) Were may only, and must, take this form on the night of a full moon, and loses all sentience and control while so transformed. They are little more than hungry monsters in this state, hunting for whatever prey is available.

As a Were's magical strength grows, however, they gain greater control over their transformations. A Tier 1 Were becomes able to transform when in a state of rage or other strong negative emotion, instead of just under the full moon. A Tier 2 Were becomes able to transform at will, and gains some control of themselves. They are still highly volatile, and highly violent, in this state, but they can struggle to resist transformation under the moon. It is not until a Were's magical strength puts them at Tier 3 that they are able to fully preserve their sentience and control. A Were must be Tier 3 or higher to perform any magic in their transformed state.

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Vampire - (Only Human, or Beastfolk)
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, 1 Physical, 1 Magical - Vulnerability to Fire, Burns in Sunlight

Powerful, intelligent - if not explicitly malevolent - undead creatures of the night, vampires are nigh-immortal hunters that prey upon the blood of living creatures to sustain themselves. A vampire is not born. A vampire is made. While the curse of the Weres is transmitted by bite, the curse of the vampires is transmitted by blood - by  sharing their own blood with the recent dead, and then it only takes a night for the dead to be … not so dead. This condition can spread to both Humans as well as Beastfolk with ease, though Weres and Fey have been proven to be immune. In some cases, the transformation alters certain features such as coloration or build, but this is not always the case. All vampires do grow larger - usually retractable - canine teeth for their primary method of feeding: biting their victim. Beyond these minor aspects, they can largely pass as normal and there can be no accurate count of their numbers because of this. It is safe to assume that wherever Humans and Beastfolk are, there could be vampires.

Special Game Mechanics: All vampires must take "Blood" as a specialization of Material magic. Vampires draw not only magical strength, but the strength to unlive from drinking blood. They need it. Some outright crave it. There is no such thing as a Tier 0 vampire. If the person was Tier 0 before being turned, they immediately rise to Tier 1 as a vampire. If the person had a Material specialization before, it changes to "Blood," but if they did not, then they gain that specialization on loan until they reach a higher Tier. Material (Blood) counts as their selection for that tier. (A player may not choose this option at character creation. It is solely for turning in game.)

That said, vampires are fierce, mystical creatures, and even on its first night, a vampire sports many special abilities. A vampire's three selections should overlap - they do not stack and are not in addition to - a Human or Beastfolk's bonus special abilities. Legends abound of vampires discorporating into mist, or turning into wolves, performing feats of speed or strength, but the fact is each vampire is different. Beyond their fangs, however, there is only one other major aspect on which all vampires are the same: their bodies burn in sunlight, and their flesh is far more flammable than normal. Even a minor exposure to flame could quickly turn lethal if they aren't put out fast.

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Rising Demon - (Only Demon)
Bonus Special Abilities: 2 Free, Enhanced Toughness - Acts of Penitence

For an Angel to fall is easy. For a Demon to rise is much harder. These beings are extremely rare, and many will go their whole lives without ever encountering one - or at least, being aware that they have encountered one. Most regard them simply as legends: creatures born of evil, struggling to rise against their very nature, to do good, and become good. Yet such a figure does not simply choose to do good. In the history of every rising demon, there is a person or event that opens the door. Walking through it, and continuing on the path beyond - that's their choice.

Special Game Mechanics: Rising Demons are practically the same as their kindred. They are just as tough, just as powerful, and just as magical. However, Rising Demons are continually at war with themselves - a personal war as they struggle to overcome their infernal nature. Each such demon must avoid doing bad in general, but they must especially avoid those evil acts which they were most attuned to before they started down the path. A demon that tortured people, for example, must avoid causing others to suffer while a demon that deceived people must always tell the truth. These are highly personal restrictions, though a rising demon would not call them such; rather, these are their Acts of Penitence, which help them on their journey. (If the player does not have permission to play a full Demon yet, then as the player, he or she must abide by their personal Acts until that time.) Rising Demons usually try to retrain expressly dark or violent forms of magic that would make keeping their Acts more difficult. (A character who starts play as a full Demon may choose to retrain one such form or style without rising a Tier.)

After a certain amount of time or after undergoing certain experiences - factors which are as personal as the Acts themselves - such a demon is able to fully break away from their infernal roots and ascend as a real angel. They retain their special abilities, but gain an angel's ability to grow and retract wings. If they already had wings as a demon, these wings change to better fit their now-celestial nature. They are a new creation, and in addition to the Acts of Penitence no longer applying, many other details - including physical and magical ones - may change.

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Heritage - (Any Common Race)
Bonus Special Abilities: +1 Free to Common Race's Bonus Special Abilities

Many magical races have the ability to interbreed with the common races. Fey, Angels, Demons, Dragons, and even a few other creatures have passed on a piece of their nature to their children. In some cases, such a magical Heritage could even show up generations later, even when their ancestor's blood has been diluted over the decades. The cultural perception of these beings entirely depends on where they live, and what their Heritage is. A Demon-Heritage Beastfolk might have a relatively comfortable existence in Alexandria. A Fey-Heritage Human would be extremely discriminated against in Ruthenia, if not killed outright as an abomination.

Special Game Mechanics: Heritage can be applied to any of the Common Races. The one exception is the Fey, who cannot have a Fey Heritage in terms of game mechanics because they already are Fey. Heritage has two effects: first, the character gains a single bonus special ability, and second, the character could gain unique traits or abilities from their ancestor. While the character is still functionally a member of the common race, such traits may lead them to looking more like a member of the ancestor's race then their own. A little Fey blood can go a long way to making a human look like an elf after all.

A player could instead choose for their character to manifest their Heritage only at selective times. If they choose this option, then their character should look almost completely like the base race for most of the time, but can transform (either freely or with difficulty, at player discretion) back and forth between that state and another state that reflects their Heritage. Transforming in this fashion may have an effect on the character's personality (again, at player discretion) or use of magic. It does not actually change specializations or special abilities though.

There are also some methods and rituals that would allow a creature to become infused with the magical energy of a greater race, even if they weren't born of one. Not all these techniques are permanent, or safe, but it is not completely unheard of for an Angel to bless good people with Celestial strength and health…

Player Restrictions: A player must first have 75 posts with a single character, demonstrated a good skill level of roleplaying and good sportsmanship to add or have a Heritage with a character who is Tier 1 to 2. A player must make 100 posts to have a Heritage with a character who is Tier 3 or higher. A player can freely have a character with a Heritage as a Tier 0.

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Werelords - (Only Werecreatures)
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, 1 Physical, Enhanced Recovery; Transformed, 1 Physical - Vulnerability to Fire, Lose Enhanced Recovery

The Werelords, once thought to just be a mythological phenomena, have not only been proven true in the last few decades, but have also increased in number the more Weres have survived to have full, almost-human lives. Werelords are not inflicted with the curse in their lives. Werelords have the curse all of their lives. A werelord is the child of one or two Weres, and inherits the curse from them. There's a big difference between inheriting and being afflicted by zoanthropy, however: Werelords are masters of the beast inside - their own, and for those that are strong enough, others' as well. 

Special Game Mechanics: Each Werelord has two forms. In their human form, they can largely pass as normal, albeit hairier and more muscular than the average human. In some cases, minor aspects of their animal could bleed over into their human form. In this form, a Were has one bonus special ability from any category, one bonus Physical special ability, and Enhanced Recovery. All Weres are able to heal at an accelerated rate, except when injured by fire. A Were that is injured by fire, whether magical or natural in origin, loses access to their Enhanced Recovery ability for the duration of the combat, until they can rest. Healing magic out of combat accelerates this process. A burned Were who has taken Enhanced Recovery two times retains the use of Enhanced Recovery as if they had taken it once. 

Their second form is their transformed state. While retaining their special abilities and the weakness to fire from their human form, the body of a werecreature is fundamentally a beast. A werecreature is usually 1 to 3 feet taller than their human form in this state, with a feral visage and an even larger, more densely muscled build, with proportional natural abilities to match. Scientifically speaking, this means that they are about four times as strong and eight times as heavy. A Werelord gains one bonus Physical special ability, which is only accessible in their transformed state. 

In contrast to a normal werecreature, more of a Werelord's beast-given power is available in both their human and transformed state. However, a Werelord does not face their first transformation until around puberty. They may seem small at this age, but a young transformed Werelord is still every bit a monster as an adult werecreature. 

A Tier 0 Werelord is able to transform when in a state of rage or other strong negative emotion, instead of just under the full moon like other werecreatures. As a Werelord's magical strength grows, however, they gain greater control over their transformations. A Tier 1 Werelord becomes able to transform at will, and gains some control of themselves. They are still highly volatile, and highly violent, in this state, but they can struggle to resist transformation under the moon. It is not until a Werelord's magical strength puts them at Tier 2 that they are able to fully preserve their sentience and control. A Werelord must be Tier 2 or higher to perform any magic in their transformed state.

However, the strongest Werelords can do more than just control themselves. A Tier 3 Werelord can exert an unspoken dominance against a weaker Were that succumbs to their beast. This is like hypnosis, but it applies solely to a feral-minded werecreature. A Werelord could forcefully pacify another werecreature like this, or incite them to attack or kill something directly. A Tier 4 Werelord or higher is able to do the same, but their presence is such that they can affect multiple werecreatures within range of their howl or cry. A Werelord could only be affected by another Werelord's dominance if the latter was three Tiers higher. 

Player Restrictions: A player must first have 75 posts with a single character, demonstrated a good skill level of roleplaying and good sportsmanship to have a Werelord with a character who is Tier 1 to 2. A player must make 100 posts to have a Werelord with a character who is Tier 3 or higher. A player can freely have a Werelord with a character who is Tier 0.

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Lich - (Any non-Angel, non-Demon)
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, 1 Physical, 2 Magical

Few mortals want to die. Few have the chance to encounter death on their own terms either. Some, however, will go to painful lengths to ensure that death is a matter of their choosing only. Becoming a Lich is such a path. The magic involved is ancient, advanced, and from some perspectives, extremely dark or even evil, involving the splitting of the soul and implanting part of it within an object - usually called a Phylactery, or a Reliquary - but the result is powerfully effective. The person takes on a kind of immortal half-life, unable to truly die (nor truly live) no matter how great the damage or spell that afflicts them, and like vampires, they're highly resistant or immune to things that would affect normal, living breathing creatures. A lich is hardly invulnerable though, and their physical form can still be utterly destroyed. Some become ghosts, while others regenerate on the spot or from their phylactery.

Special Game Mechanics: All Liches must have taken either "Written" or "Spoken" as a form of magic, and have an adequate specialization for the ritual itself. There is no such thing as a Tier 0 Lich. Indeed, mages are not strong enough to even attempt this kind of thing until they are Tier 3, and there's no guarantee it will even work. Tier 4 mages or higher of the appropriate magic are able to do it, though it's still an intense experience. You can leave the exact specifics of the ritual vague, though in essence, it involves putting a part of one's soul into an object. Their phylactery, while potentially kept private to avoid interplayer metagaming, will still need to be disclosed to the admins for future reference, should other players make an adventure of finding it. Depending on the nature of the ritual involved, destroying this object could either make the Lich killable again (but still undead), or kill it outright. (PC Liches can make this distinction about their own characters). How well preserved the body of a Lich is depends on the nature of the ritual used to create them, which is why some end up as rotting corpses and others look almost human.

A Lich's four selections should overlap - they do not stack and are not in addition to - a mage's racial bonus special abilities. Lich Noble Fey may either keep their bonus Travel ability (and the associated weakness) as a fifth slot, or use the Free slot for their Travel ability instead (and thus lose the weakness).

Player Restrictions: A player must first have made 100 posts with a single character, demonstrated a strong skill level of roleplaying and good sportsmanship to play a Lich. Due to the extended life expectancy of lichdom, we the admins will of course be watching that their inability to die is not abused against other players.