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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:14:33
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Dragon Compendium Volume One Races in Faerun
The Dragon Compendium Volume One is a book put out by Paizo with official content culled from years of Dragon Magazine articles. One section of the book presented and updated several of the potential PC races that had first been presented within the magazine for 3.5 edition.
This article will present some suggestions on how and where these races fit into a Forgotten Realms campaign.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:15:04
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Diabolus: The diaboli are native to a demiplane that is known as the Demiplane of Nightmares, a plane that borders the Region of Dreams and the Etherial Plane. Despite their appearance and their plane of origin, the diaboli are in general a benevolent, or at the least a benign, race of beings.
The diabolus had a fairly peaceful existence dodging the dreams and nightmares of the various dreamers of the universe, but eventually they ran afoul of a dangerous force. The beings known as the Night Parade also have strongholds within the Demiplane of Nightmares, and the diaboli were faced with a difficult choice. They could not travel to the Region of Dreams, and the Nightmare Portal to that plane had fallen to the control the Night Parade.
The diaboli were faced with the Night Parade on one side, the portal to Dendar's caves on the Fugue Plain, and the encroaching devastation of the Far Realms. The dioboli began to steal magic items, spellbooks, and anything else of the Art that the Night Parade had. Eventually they managed to open a portal to Toril to escape the Demiplane of Nightmares, but unfortunately, they also cause some damage to Toril's dimensional integrity and some Far Realm creatures escaped into this reality.
Diabolus have appeared in various places in Toril. The portals that the Night Parade operated opened into Cormyr, Calimport, and in various realms where mages were practicing Oneiromancy, including Thay and Halruaa. Strangely, at least one portal opened in the vicinity of Marcus Wands, where they were mistaken for fiends.
Diabolus are usually not welcomed in polite society, as they are indeed often mistaken for fiends. Some Thayans hold those that appeared there as slaves, and a few have escaped into the wilds. While the Rashemi are naturally cautious of them, some of the Witches have managed to discern the true nature of these beings and allowed them to live in the wilds around Rashemen.
Most diabolus live in small family groups away from society. Some tend to find a measure of acceptance with smaller communities that have come to trust them, and while diaboli look fiendish in appearance, some have managed to dwell near humans and elves, especially in areas where fey are more prominent, as they often can pass for fey nearly as easily as demons or devils.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:15:59
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Diopsid: Diopsid are Underdark insectoids that form small colonies. They are fairly primitive, and lack the technical ability to create metal weapons and tools, and often trade and hire themselves out to other races in order to gain access to these items. Since they often burrow into new caverns and live in difficult to reach areas, they don't consider themselves to be at odds with any particular race in the Underdark, and they are often overlooked in various cities and cultures under Faerun.
The drow often capture diopsid and use them as gladiators, and more rarely as soldiers (they are hard for the drow to capture in large numbers, thus making them less reliable as slave soldiers). Duergar are more likely to hire them as bodyguards and shock troops, and the diopsid are happy to trade goods with the grey dwarves.
Illithids consider diopsid worthless vermin and exterminate them whenever they encounter them. Their strange brains do not allow illithid larva to gestate, and they are extremely difficult to modify for illithid use. Further, while these creatures are not foolish, they do tend to ponder items very slowly and carefully, meaning that the illithids are driven nearly insane by probing the ponderous creatures' minds. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:16:42
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Dvati: The dvati are a rare and strange race, a race of beings that are always linked twins. The origin of this races is little known, and in fact, the race itself is little known as well. Some sages have speculated that dvati were once fey creatures, ones inhabited the realm of Faerie. The dvati's ancestors loved Faerie, but loved Toril as well, and as such, they worked a powerful magic to split themselves in half in order to live life in both worlds.
Unfortunately, these beings lost their connections to the realm of Faerie by dividing their souls across two bodies, and further, those that remained separated for too long began to deteriorate and die. No longer fey, they various dvati in Faerie left their home and came to the prime material plane.
The dvati are very rare, and do not form actual communities. The only ties they have to other dvati are immediate family, and they often try to pass themselves off as half moon elves or humans, due to their pale build, solid blue eyes, and dark hair.
Since the dvati have no actual culture, they seek out other dvati families and as such often travel across Faerun. They love knowledge, art, philosophy, and music, and they often travel from city to city learning and encountering as much of this as they can.
Dvati reproduce only by mating with another dvati, or by female dvati being impregnated by two males at the same time. Dvati males can produce off spring with half elves and humans, but these are never dvati. Female dvati impregnated by two males at the same time will produce dvati children. Dvati relationships are somewhat complicated, as neither “twin” sees itself as a separate entity, and have a difficult time relating to mates that are not similarly bonded. The most successful dvati relationships are those that take twins as lovers, and even then there is a disparity between the understanding of the dvati and the twins.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:17:21
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Lupins: Lupins have many different theories about their origins. Some claim that they are the magical creation of a long lost powerful wizard that experimented with creatures long ago to produce them. Others believe that their ancestors were werewolves that overcame their evil natures. These debates can get quite heated between various tribes, as some take offense at even having been linked to lycanthropes.
Lupins hate werewolves, gnolls, and any intelligent evil dog-like creature. They actively hunt these creatures down to destroy them. Lupins live in villages that can be easily broken down and moved, and they tend to migrate with the game and in accordance with the seasons.
Most lupins are orderly, benevolent beings, though they rarely form large communities. They have a wanderlust and a love of nature that keeps them away from large cities, even when their appearance wouldn't cause them problems. Most lupins hold Mielikki as their patron, and many become rangers and druids. Lupin tribes almost always have a local demi-god as their special patron, a lupin that was raised by the gods (most often Mielikki) to godhood as examples to other of the tribe.
Lupins hate Malar and his followers, and have been active in hunting local packs of the People of the Black Blood. While lupins are more cautious, orderly, and reserved than lythari, the wolf people and the elven shapeshifters are often good friends, because despite their differences in philosophy and methods, thee is an understanding between these two races that few others share.
Most lupins live in and around the High Forest, but because of their friendship with the lythari they often use the lythari portals and Faerie Crossroads and Backroads, so they might be found in many places across Faerun. Due to the friendship between the two races, among the few that know of lythari, there has arisen the mistaken notion that lythari have a hybrid form due to lupins that might be traveling with tribes of the Silver Shadows.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2007 : 04:17:54
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Tibbit: Tibbits are cats that can change into small humanoids at will. The stories that they tell of their own race posits that they are descended from wizard's familiars that were given sentience, shape changing abilities, and independence from their masters. Given the chaotic, nomadic nature of tibbits, its difficult to place exactly where tibbits first arose and what culture first gave rise to them.
Tibbits tend to like urban areas, where they can acquire all of the creature cultures that they desire. They are very curious and are constantly gathering information on others, sneaking and spying on others, out of sheer curiosity. Some tibbits work as freelance spies and information brokers, but they are rarely assassins.
In their humanoid form, tibbits are easily mistaken for dark complected halflings, and most people that encounter them assume they are exactly that. Tibbits are rare, but its not uncommon to find them in nearly any large city, and often traveling (out of curiosity) with various adventuring companies. The only sizable population of tibbits in one place is in the city of Nathlekh.
Tibbits tend to worship Sharess most often, but a small number of them that are more dependable and less flighty worship Nobanion. Evil tibbits are rare, by the few evil tibbits, and some neutral ones, worship Mask for the most part. |
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Dragon Compendium Volume One Races In Faerun
