Chapter 1: Character Options

Fish out of Water

In much of the Realms, an aasimar often feels like an outsider. When aasimar are children, their celestial nature easily goes unnoticed or is hidden by concerned family members. But eventually that nature becomes impossible to conceal. This is a dangerous time for aasimar, for Shar and other evil deities—and their worshipers—prey on innocent aasimar ignorant of their true nature and full power.

Throughout an aasimar's life, they frequently receive visions, prophetic dreams, or powerful feelings that hint at their destiny. Sometimes these prophetic instincts are sent by the aasimar's angelic ancestor, but they can just as easily be uncontrolled manifestations of celestial power.

Celestial Patrons

Many aasimar are found or adopted by followers of a good deity, such as angels or animal lords—or even by a good deity themself. Their connection to this celestial being informs the aasimar's life separate from the culture into which they were born. Corellon, FRHoF, FRHoF, FRHoF, and FRHoF are frequently patrons of aasimar.

In the x, where gods and demigods rule openly, aasimars are more common. The current generation of aasimar often trace their lineage to a mortal specially chosen to serve a good deity. Many aasimar wander the realms, eventually gravitating to a great city such as x, x, or x, where their unusual nature isn't particularly remarkable.

Abeir and Tymanther

Dragonborn were widespread on the world of Abeir, notably in the realm called x. When Abeir and Toril merged during the Spellplague, Tymanchebar came to Faerûn, displacing the realm of Unther. From this devastation, dragonborn of Tymanchebar and refugees from Unther formed the realm of Tymanther. Tymanther's culture was a fusion of Tymanchebar's customs and the ways of the x, valuing honor, tradition, and family.

But the Second Sundering saw Unther return, and Tymanther is no more. Many dragonborn who once lived there have scattered across Faerûn, bringing Tymanther's ways with them.

Hidden in History

Not all dragonborn come from Tymanther and Abeir. They are, however, rare and have often been mistaken for other species of similar appearance. After all, Faerûn has never had a shortage of dragons, and uneducated folk might easily mistake dragonborn for lizardfolk, troglodytes, or any number of other creatures.

Dragonborn trace their origin to the god Io; in Faerûn, Io is known as Asgorath the World Shaper, Creator of Dragonkind. Asgorath's worship is extremely ancient, going back to the Dawn Age, and dragonborn were far more prevalent in Faerûn during that time.

Dragonborn Today

Dragonborn can now be found throughout Faerûn. Many reside in the x, in villages and towns settled primarily by refugees from Tymanther, and there they preserve Tymantherian customs. Dragonborn have also adapted easily to the intense heat of the x; some live in the cities of noble genies, while others serve in x honor guard.

Dwarven Culture

Dwarven society is structured around clans, each of which has its own distinctive traditions and folklore. While some settlements and regions are dominated entirely by a single clan, it's not unusual to find clans living alongside each other, especially in cities. The Dwarvish language uses a set of runes called Dethek.

Shield and Gold Dwarves

The two most common dwarven ethnicities are shield dwarves and gold dwarves.

Shield dwarves are common in x and x regions. Their greatest surviving city is x, near x. Shield dwarves have a long experience with war, which has made them slow to trust but steadfast in their loyalty. Their creations are sturdy and practical, lacking in decoration but designed for long, reliable use.

Gold dwarves, in contrast, are more populous in south and east Faerûn, including the Great Rift south of x. These lands have grown up in relative peace and prosperity, and so gold dwarves embrace trade and travel while welcoming strangers. The work of gold dwarf artisans often includes elaborate designs and embellishments that don't get in the way of a tool's usefulness.

Duergar

Duergar (as seen in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse) are dwarves shaped by the Underdark and the horrifying threats that dwell there. For millennia they were experimented upon by mind flayers. Now they live in subterranean settlements hidden from the light of the sun, and many duergar wield strange powers taught by or inherited from underground Aberrations.

Sun Elves and Moon Elves

The high elves detailed in the Player's Handbook includes the culturally distinct sun elves and moon elves.

Sun elves, also known as gold elves, value excellence in all things. They have a keen sense of history, especially of the accomplishments of elves in ages past. Magical instruction is easy to acquire in sun elf settlements, and many day-to-day tasks are solved or made easier through the use of routine magic. They are an intellectual people known for their mages, scholars, and seers.

Moon elves, in contrast, value wandering and the discoveries of the open road, meeting strangers with open arms. They are an easygoing, fluid people who value the ability to adapt to change. Many moon elves leave elven settlements for cosmopolitan cities inhabited by folk of all species.

Wood Elves

Wood elves, known also as copper elves, are a grounded, practical people. They value the forest and uncultivated nature over the glittering spires of elven cities, and are humble about elven accomplishments.

Drow

Faerûn's drow have a long history of association with FRHoF, and their greatest city is infamous x, in the Underdark. Drow not affiliated with Lolth can increasingly be found living peacefully among other folk in x, the Dalelands, and other areas with ready access to the Underdark.

Rock Gnomes

Rock gnomes are the gnomes most commonly encountered by citizens of Faerûn's cities and towns. They are curious, inventive, and outgoing folk eager to learn new things. They've famously transformed life in x, x, and x by developing fantastic inventions that blend magic and mechanical skill.

Rock gnome villages dot the x region and the Shining Sea's shore. When rock gnomes live among other folk, they tend to form their own communities on the outskirts of town.

Forest Gnomes

Forest gnomes are reclusive, typically living in all-gnome villages hidden in Faerûn's forests. Indeed, foresters and hunters live their entire lives completely unaware of a forest gnome village just a few miles away. The typical forest gnome dwelling shelters an extended gnome family and its many animal friends; the whole house is dug into a wooded hill and well appointed with the creations of generations of skilled woodworkers. And while forest gnomes can defend themselves if faced with violence, a village is far more likely to just disappear, its inhabitants departing under cover of illusion to rebuild elsewhere.

Forest gnomes who seek adventure or want to see the world join woodland communities, where they work alongside druids, elves, and other forest folk to tend sacred sites and preserve nature.

Deep Gnomes

Deep gnomes (as seen in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse) live in the Underdark and other subterranean places, and they have been altered physically and culturally by warfare and long exposure to Underdark forces. Conflict with many enemies has made them a serious and suspicious folk. Their greatest city is Blingdenstone, which they have only recently liberated from Lolth-worshiping conquerors.

Goliath Enclaves

Goliath enclaves can be found in x, in x, and in x along the Spine of the World mountains. Life in these remote settlements is challenging, and the goliaths who live there learn to be cooperative when possible but self-reliant when necessary. These enclaves are usually home to goliaths of many different giant ancestries, sharing their magical gifts and natural talents with the community.

Giant-Kin

Some goliath families live near or within giant communities. These groups of goliaths are more likely to all be of a single giant ancestry adapted to the environment the giants live in—for example, a community of goliaths descended from fire giants and living alongside them atop the volcanic Mount Neverwinter. Goliaths who live among giants are influenced by the beliefs and traditions of the giants they work alongside and are often in demand as ambassadors and emissaries between giants and smaller folk nearby.

Goliath Explorers

In recent years, individual goliaths have left their homes to explore Faerûn. They've visited great cities like x and x and brought back knowledge and trade goods that have made life easier in their remote settlements. These explorers have, in turn, prompted other folk in Faerûn to seek out goliath communities to pursue alliances or regular trade.

For most of their history, goliaths have been peaceful folk. Few realms are willing to go to war over the lands where goliath settlements are typically built, and goliaths living among giants are protected from invasion by their giant neighbors.

Surrounded by Big Folk

Halfling history is colored by the constant presence of bigger, threatening species that surround halfling communities. While some folk might turn inward in the face of constant threat, halfling tradition is to embrace the cultures of larger neighbors, befriending them and blending in. History teaches that eventually halflings become inconspicuous, and in this way halfling communities survive and thrive.

Lightfoots and Stronghearts

In the Forgotten Realms, halflings broadly divide themselves into the lightfoot or strongheart lifestyles. But these categories are permeable, and halflings might move from one group to the other many times in their life.

Lightfoot halflings (never call them lightfeet) live on the move. They seek out new experiences and new company, exploring and making new friends. Lightfoots travel light, and they need to be resourceful and quick to adapt to changing conditions. Halflings' legendary luck keeps many lightfoots alive. Halflings tend to become lightfoots as young adults when they leave home, when wanderlust strikes, or when other major changes to their lives occur.

When a halfling settles down in a community, they become strongheart. Strongheart traditions emphasize permanence, comfort, family connection, growing things, the comforts of home, and getting along with neighbors. Some communities of stronghearts are so enduring that everyone in them has been strongheart all their lives.

Ancient Origins

Humans are unusual in that they are among the most ancient species on Faerûn, but for much of that time they went largely unnoticed and had no great influence on world affairs. No one is quite certain where they came from; one theory, based on the Common language's origin in Sigil, is that humans came to Toril from the Outlands.

Regardless, more than thirty thousand years ago, humans inhabited the supercontinent of Merrouroboros and lived in the shadow of the creator races. They had no permanent settlements, no written language, and no tools more advanced than the club.

But slowly this changed as humans came into contact with dragons and giants and then with elves, dwarves, and other peoples. By the x, approximately nine thousand years ago, human cultures were building cities and empires. In the time since, humans have spread across Faerûn and played an outsize role in history.

Diverse Ethnicities

War and trade have spread humans across Faerûn. The cataclysmic war between the x and the Raumathar people scattered refugees throughout the east. The Raumathar became the Rashemi, settling in the x, while survivors from Narfell settled around the Sea of Fallen Stars and became the Damarans.

In the west, Chondathan humans established trade routes and settlements, their culture changing rapidly from one region to the next. Humans along the x formed the seafaring Illuskan culture while, to their south, humans escaping the tyranny of genie overlords became the x. Some human ethnicities even originate from other worlds and were brought to Faerûn by magic.

A Wandering People

Orcs first came to Toril from other worlds. Legends tell that when Faerûn was divided among the various species, dwarves claimed the mountains, elves the forests, and so on, until no land was left for orcs when they arrived. Undeterred, Gruumsh simply declared his people would live everywhere, and they've been a wandering people ever since.

They founded settlements in lands too inhospitable for other folk, especially in mountainous regions such as the Spine of the World and the Sword Mountains, near x. But over the centuries, orcs have departed these homelands, individually or in bands, to travel the world and seek out new places to live.

Kingdom of Many-Arrows

The greatest orc realm in Faerûn's recent history was established in 1371 DR by King Obould Many-Arrows, a Chosen servitor of Gruumsh. The x held the Spine of the World mountains, and Obould encouraged trade and diplomacy with his neighbors in x.

A generation ago, a tyrant named Hartusk took control of Many-Arrows and invaded several neighboring realms. Hartusk was deposed, but despite the return of Obould's legitimate heir and a desire for peace among the orcs, vengeful dwarves from the strongholds Hartusk besieged leveled Dark Arrow Keep, the realm's capital.

But orcs are nothing if not resilient. A new King of Many-Arrows has arisen, unrelated to Obould's line. Orrusk Homebringer is calling orcs from the Spine of the World back to rebuild Dark Arrow Keep and restore the realm, making it greater than it was before.

Life among Others

Though far more common than aasimar, their cousins from the Upper Planes, tieflings remain relatively rare in Faerûn. Most towns are home to no more than a handful of tieflings, only some of whom reside there permanently. Even in cities, tiefling communities are small enough for everyone to know each other and share methods of coexisting within the larger non-tiefling population.

A few regions, however, have been home to significant populations of tieflings for centuries. Aglarond, a land associated with sorcerers and training in sorcery, has long been a haven for tieflings eager to control their fiendish powers. The presence of gods and demigods throughout the x region has made tieflings almost common there, and tieflings with an infernal legacy have adapted easily to the harsh environments of x and can often find a place in the court of efreet living in the Calim Desert. Places with devil-worshiping cults, such as x and x, also have longstanding tiefling populations.

Elturel and Baldur's Gate

About a decade ago, the city of Elturel was briefly transported to the Nine Hells. Although it was eventually rescued by adventurers, Elturel's citizens were deeply affected by their time in the Lower Planes. There was already a small population of tieflings in the city, and more have been born ever since. But Elturel's rulers have rejected anything with a connection to the Lower Planes, including the city's tiefling residents, and tiefling families have fled to nearby Baldur's Gate.

This does little to help those tiefling children recently born in Elturel to parents of other species, however. Many of these children are hidden by their parents, lest their infernal legacy be discovered. Others have fled their homes, with their parents or without.