Character Options

What makes a hero?" I ask. Is it arms and a will to use them? Is it a certain heritage, a certain disposition? Is it a divine right to victory? I know this to be not true. I have killed many heroes on the battlefield, and I’ve respected every one. They have many different faces, and deserve remembrance. What makes a hero is their willingness to sacrifice for something they believe in. Anyone can be a hero, once they find something worth dying for.

—Sunbreaker Olomon

The sprawling lands and endless challenges of Exandria forge heroes and villains of many different stripes. The myriad dangers of this wild continent constantly encroach upon innocents in need of protection, even as the legends and the magic of the past challenge those brave enough to reshape the world—for good or ill. The material in this chapter offers a number of new options for player characters to define who they are and what they wish to become.

The character options in this book are useful for players and Dungeon Masters alike, allowing adventurers and NPCs to take starring and supporting roles in your Wildemount D&D campaign. In this chapter, you’ll find stories and statistics that tie the races of the Player’s Handbook and the broader world of D&D to the lands of Wildemount, as well as new subclasses, new backgrounds, and new spells focused on an esoteric study of magic known as dunamancy.

The races, classes, and magic presented in this chapter might have different origins or defy the expectations established in other D&D books. The information in this chapter is specific to Wildemount, and in some cases, to the wider world of Exandria. If something in this book differs from what’s presented in the Player’s Handbook, this material takes precedence in a Wildemount campaign.

Races

The nations of Wildemount are populated by people of many different races. All the races present in the Player’s Handbook, as well as many of the other races of the D&D game, have a home in Wildemount. However, some of those races have cultures that differ from those of their kin elsewhere in the multiverse. This chapter provides cultural information about the common races of Wildemount, plus several subraces not found in the Player’s Handbook.

This section also includes information on what a typical character from each of the major regions of Wildemount—the Dwendalian Empire, the Menagerie Coast, and Xhorhas—might think of the members of each race. Although some of these accounts are accurate, others represent skewed perceptions or stereotypes. Many such perceptions have some basis in truth, but that truth has often been distorted by hearsay, prejudice, propaganda, or cultural misunderstandings.

In addition to the races of the Player’s Handbook, Wildemount is home to many other races, including the following:

Aarakocra, bird-like humanoids who roost on isolated mountaintops

Aasimar, beings who gain supernatural power from the angelic spark in their souls

Firbolgs, forest guardians who engage in peaceful methods to protect their homes

Genasi, humanoids imbued with elemental power as a result of their birth

Goblins, outcast scavengers descended from the experiments of a dark god

Goliaths, hulking wanderers who dwell atop the highest mountains

Kenku, accursed corvine humanoids who can speak only using mimicry

Tortles, tortoise-like humanoids with an innate connection to the sea

The dominant races of Wildemount—dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans—are presented first in this section, followed by the less common races in alphabetical order.

Dwarves

Dwarves' long memories give them uncommon insight into the world of the past. However, this connection to the past can make their societies resistant to change, even when change is desperately needed.

Dwarves in the Dwendalian Empire

Most folk in the Dwendalian Empire think of dwarves as greedy, cave-dwelling hermits with a passion only for jewelry, drinking, and fighting. Most dwarves in the empire come from the city-state of Grimgolir and its settlements under the Dunrock Mountains, whose miners, jewelers, and warriors are some of the finest in the empire.

Imperial beer, particularly smooth, sweet Trost ale from Trostenwald, is a delicacy among Grimgol dwarves. The people who lived beneath the mountains never grew wheat or hops, and so never brewed beer. Until the dwarves began trading with humans from the long-fallen Julous Dominion, dwarven liquor was a potent, ugly-smelling spirit called rütga, distilled from heavy root vegetables.

Dwarves on the Menagerie Coast

Along the Menagerie Coast, most folk see dwarves as foreigners possessed of fiery passions and an eagerness for action. Dwarves are uncommon visitors on the coast, with most coming from the distant realms of Tal’Dorei and Marquet as sailors or travelers, as pirates from the notorious Revelry, or as soldiers from the Dwendalian Empire.

Ancient legends tell of dwarves living in mountaintop citadels in the ominous Cyrios Mountains, performing strange rituals that call upon the power of the Storm Lord. Along the coast, stories of the strong passion and swift judgment of the dwarves are often a product of the legends of these religious zealots. But these beliefs have been strengthened in modern times by the clear-eyed marquis of Port Zoon, Alamads Haddou, who lays down laws in plain language and enacts swift justice by the letter of those laws.

Dwarves in Xhorhas

Dwarves are few and far between in Xhorhas, and those few who remain are known as duergar, or “deep dwarves.” Though some duergar have joined with the Kryn Dynasty and dwell on the surface, most live in the ancient tunnels of the Underdark and harbor a deep-seated enmity for the drow.

Duergar insurgents, striking Kryn settlements or seeking hidden paths toward the surface from perhaps a dozen small outposts in the Underdark, are trying to carve out their own underground dominion. Kryn forces have been successful in holding onto their underground territories so far, but many generals fear that the war in the west is drawing more and more soldiers from their fortifications in the Underdark. If duergar aggression is left unchecked, territory might inevitably have to be ceded to the insurgents.

Elves

When Exandria trembled at the gods' footfalls, the ancient elves of the north pleaded with the Arch Heart to save them from the world’s ending. Corellon did not respond, for it is said that their divine ears still rang with pain after their duel to the death with Gruumsh, the Ruiner. Desperate and panicked, the greatest mages of the elves performed a ritual powerful enough to encase their entire civilization in ice, in hopes of protecting it from the wrath of the warring gods while the elves escaped into the Feywild.

It is said that the ashes of the Calamity still blew upon the breeze when, centuries later, the barriers of ice melted and the elves of Wildemount emerged from the Feywild once more. On their return to the world, they found that their ritual had not held fast. The Calamity had wiped almost all traces of elven civilization from Exandria. With only the ruined husks of their mighty cities still standing, the elves began to rebuild.

Even though the human-majority civilizations of the Dwendalian Empire and the Clovis Concord view elves as reclusive relics of the ancient past, most elves view themselves as newcomers to the world, for their return to Wildemount is only a generation or two removed from the present day. The notable exception are the dark elves of Xhorhas, who have lived in Eastern Wynandir since time immemorial. Still, it is only in the past few centuries that they have abandoned the labyrinthine caverns of the Underdark and emerged to live on the surface.

Elves in the Dwendalian Empire

Though the dark elves of Xhorhas are the subject of imperial propaganda and widespread prejudice, elves of other kinds living within the empire are generally treated as friends and allies. Imperial humans love to revere elves as ethereal, flawless beings, and to express shock when elves reveal the ways that they are all-to similar to humans. Elves who maintain their “exotic mystique” are most likely to become respected members of society, and many hold great social power within cities such as Zadash and Rexxentrum.

Elves on the Menagerie Coast

Elves are commonplace in the Clovis Concord and among the pirates of the Revelry, and people living on this part of the continent most often laugh at tales of elven grace and beauty. “An elf bleeds just like everyone else” is a common saying on the Menagerie Coast, used to dismiss the fanciful sense of wonder common in the Empire—and the saying has evolved into a dismissal of all overwrought tales, even if the idiom doesn’t quite fit. Savvy buyers of curios and souvenirs might say, “Your wares bleed, just like everyone else’s” to a merchant who has exaggerated the quality of their goods.

Most elves on the Menagerie Coast are descended from travelers from the desert continent of Marquet, but this area is also home to two rare subraces of elf. The seas off the coast are inhabited by secluded civilizations of water-breathing sea elves, who trade with underwater enclaves of merfolk. All but the most idealistic or mercenary of these ocean dwellers see the petty squabbles of the “boat-riders” of the surface world as beneath their notice. At another geographic extreme, the moon-worshiping pallid elves of the Cyrios Mountains are new to the world, and are generally viewed with cordial curiosity by the denizens of the Concord’s cities.

Elves in Xhorhas

The largest elf-majority civilization in Wildemount is the Kryn Dynasty of Xhorhas, which is made up primarily of dark elves. The drow of Xhorhas are respectful toward people of all races—including other elves—as they believe that their holy cycle of rebirth allows them to be reborn into non-drow bodies. The empathy to be gained by experiencing life in another body is crucial to their religion and their culture.

Elves who live outside the Luxon’s cycle of rebirth are viewed with pity, for they have not yet seen the true path. Elves who dwell within the Dwendalian Empire are a notable exception, their imperial allegiance earning them only the cold bite of a blade.

Elf Subraces

At the DM’s discretion, players have access to the pallid elf and sea elf subraces described below, in addition to the elf subraces in the Player’s Handbook.

• Elf (Pallid)
• Elf (Sea)

Halflings

Nearly every race in Exandria has an origin myth or two. The stories vary from realm to realm, but it’s clear that Corellon the Arch Heart wove the elves from grass, Moradin the All-Hammer carved the dwarves from earth, and so on. Halflings across Wildemount have no such stories, and no faiths tell of their god creating the small folk. Some speculate that Avandra the Change Bringer placed halflings in the world, but despite some of Ioun’s most devout priests petitioning their god to reveal the truth of the halflings' creation, the Knowing Mentor has remained infuriatingly coy on the topic.

For their part, halflings in the Dwendalian Empire and the Menagerie Coast don’t much care where they came from. All they know is that they walked out of a hole in the ground one day to find a beautiful world spread out before them. Some longed to explore to that world’s farthest horizons, while others were content to gaze upon the beauty of the same sunrise each morning. Plenty of halflings have joined the Cobalt Soul over the years in desperate search of answers to the world’s big questions—where did we come from, and where are we going? But most halflings are content to leave the questions of past and future well enough alone, simply living in the present.

Halflings in the Dwendalian Empire

Generations ago, the halflings of the Felder clan established a settlement now known as Felderwin Tillage, and discovered in time that they had inadvertently created an agricultural powerhouse. The word “halfling” has been synonymous with a simple, rural lifestyle ever since.

The dutiful, orderly people of the Dwendalian Empire most often think of halflings as carefree country bumpkins. In a nation obsessed with its heritage and its legacy, the stereotypical halfling philosophy of living life in the moment is viewed as pathetically unambitious.

Halflings on the Menagerie Coast

People in this part of the world have no real assumptions about halflings. Most perceive them on a level with humans, having similar ambitions, virtues, and vices. The only difference is that halflings are a wee bit smaller from prow to stern and a fair bit bigger from port to starboard.

Halflings are common enough in the Clovis Concord that just about every vessel, shop, tavern, coffee house, and brothel has been designed with halflings and gnomes in mind. Stairs often have shallow steps for small legs, stools feature hand-cranks to adjust their height up or down, and most restaurants have utensils sized for small hands.

Halflings in Xhorhas

Few Xhorhasians have ever seen a halfling except for the occasional halfling soldier in Dwendalian armor. Because of this, most Kryn citizens view halflings as icons of the empire and are quick to distrust them. Only the Lotusden halflings, a reclusive and insular clan native to the Lotusden Greenwood, call Xhorhas home.

Halfling Subraces

At the DM’s discretion, players have access to the halfling (lotusden) subrace, in addition to the halfling subraces in the Player’s Handbook.

Humans

The most populous race in Wildemount, humans define common culture across the continent. Their unrelenting ambition creates societies that aggressively pursue productivity while valuing leisure, and their short life spans often lead humans to romanticize the ugly past and fear the unknown future.

Humans in the Dwendalian Empire

In the Dwendalian Empire, humans are everywhere and occupy every walk of imperial life.

Humans recoil from the unknown in ways that longer-lived folk do not, and nations dominated by a nonhuman majority are a tremendous source of fear and suspicion to human-majority nations. Human survival instinct stokes the flames of fear, especially when those flames are amply fueled by nationalistic propaganda. Such is the relationship between the Dwendalian Empire and the drow-majority Kryn Dynasty of Xhorhas.

Other societies—including Uthodurn’s pluralistic society of elves and dwarves—are less maligned. However, this is because the average citizen of the empire knows nothing about those societies, reducing them to objects of curiosity for imperial scholars.

Humans on the Menagerie Coast

Within the Clovis Concord, humans are seen as adept diplomats, nation builders, and loyal soldiers. They are the most populous people of the Menagerie Coast, but ever since the founding of the Clovis Concord, that nation has been one defined by its diversity. Although other nations of Wildemount and the world might consider humans to be the definitive, adaptable jacks-of-all-trades, the people of the Concord know that all folk have this capacity.

Humans in Xhorhas

Humans are rare in Xhorhas, and those found within that land typically belong to wandering clans or are soldiers of the Dwendalian Empire. Aside from such soldiers, humans are not viewed with inherent suspicion by most Xhorhasians, but the war between the Kryn Dynasty and the Dwendalian Empire has made Xhorhas an even more dangerous land for all human travelers. Dark elves and monsters that might treat a wandering human with caution elsewhere are likely to attack on sight in Xhorhas, because they know that an imperial human will do the same to them.

Aarakocra

Many people across Wildemount consider the winged aarakocra to be a myth, so infrequently do they descend from their lofty aeries to deal with wingless folk. Where they are known, the aarakocra rarely engage with the land-bound societies of Wildemount, though some take great pleasure in traveling on the open ocean with Concord sailors and Revelry pirates. Some legends say that Melora the Wild Mother created the aarakocra as storm herders who drive the clouds across the sky, and some aarakocra tribes play a sport called h’aara-shie, or “cloud chasing,” that reflects this ancient tale.

Aarakocra in the Dwendalian Empire

Within the empire, most aarakocra keep to the hidden settlement of Vol’antim in the Cyrios Mountains. The appearance of an aarakocra is seen as a blessing in the settlements of the Truscan Vale and the Marrow Valley—often much to the aarakocra’s embarrassment. Most rural folk consider the aarakocra to be angels of Erathis the Law Bearer, no matter how diligently the aarakocra explain otherwise.

Aarakocra on the Menagerie Coast

The few aarakocra who descend from the Cyrios Mountains or emerge from the canopy of the Quoraska Jungle for longer than a day or two are often swept up in the beauty of the sea. Thus enamored, many join a ship’s crew and set out to explore the Lucidian Ocean with their new allies. The common people of the Menagerie Coast look upon the aarakocra’s bright wings with awe and dream about taking to the sky, but are often baffled by their seemingly nonsensical idioms and figures of speech.

Aarakocra in Xhorhas

Aarakocra are native to the mountains and jungles of western Wildemount, and have precious few settlements in the mountains surrounding Xhorhas. The average Kryn dark elf would react to the sight of an aarakocra with shock, for they have neither stories nor experience with such creatures.

Aasimar

The light of the gods still shines upon Exandria, even from behind the Divine Gate. Aasimar are the purest expression of that divine light as it burns within every mortal soul, for the souls of those blessed with an angelic ancestor blaze brighter than any other. Even rarer than the tieflings with whom they share a commonality of ancestry, aasimar are mortal, and yet are understood to be destined for a grander cosmic purpose than others around them. In every culture across the continent of Wildemount, the birth of an aasimar is seen as a blessing and a portent.

Aasimar who can bear the burden of their destiny become champions of noble causes, and encourage others to walk always in the light. More often than not, however, an aasimar saddled with a vague destiny and the grand aspirations of their clan ultimately falls from grace, their inner light succumbing to shadow.

Aasimar in the Dwendalian Empire

To a law-abiding family worshiping state-approved gods, the birth of an aasimar child is nothing short of a miracle. Such a child is not only promised a charmed life, but elevates the social status of their family. However, to a family that secretly worships gods outlawed by the empire, the birth of a child touched by an angel of such deities is a mixed blessing. If the event draws the scrutiny of a settlement’s idolmaster and their cronies, it might force family members to flee their homes for the Greying Wildlands or the Menagerie Coast.

Aasimar on the Menagerie Coast

In the Clovis Concord, the cosmopolitan melting pot of Wildemount, most folk are inured to the sight of unusual and remarkable people. Even so, aasimar are a sight to behold, and there are many who don’t mind being rude if it means spending a few extra seconds staring at a radiant aasimar as they pass by.

Aasimar in Xhorhas

Those in the Kryn Dynasty who study dunamancy see aasimar as brimming with near-limitless potential. As such, aasimar are often sought out from birth to be trained as dunamancers and echo knights. The tribesfolk who wander Xhorhas see the birth of an aasimar as a message from the gods, and their shamans ascribe meaning to that birth by the conditions of the world. An aasimar born during a raging storm might be a word of warning from Kord the Storm Lord, whereas an aasimar whose mother gave birth in a field of flowers could be a vow of protection from Melora the Wild Mother.

Aasimar Traits

• Aasimar (Protector)
• Aasimar (Scourge)
• Aasimar (Fallen)

Dragonborn

Wildemount was the cradle from which all dragonborn civilization grew. The city-state of Draconia rose in the Dreemoth Ravine along the southern edge of the continent, when foreign dragonkin fleeing the gods' wrath during the Calamity forged an alliance with native dragonborn already dwelling there. The colonizing dragonborn, who called themselves draconbloods, worked with the native dragonborn, called ravenites, to build a society that could withstand the wandering monsters of Xhorhas. However, Draconia swiftly descended into corruption and bigotry, and the draconblood ruling class betrayed and enslaved their ravenite kin.

Twenty years ago, Draconia was destroyed by the ire of the mighty Chroma Conclave, and the city-state’s ruins were occupied by an ancient white dragon named Vorugal. The chaos of the attack upended draconblood civilization, and the ravenite slaves rose up and drove their former masters from the Dreemoth Ravine. Now masters of their own fate, the ravenite dragonborn have rebuilt their home within the ravine and have begun to spread out across the world.

Dragonborn Variants

You can allow a player to choose one of the following dragonborn variants.

• Dragonborn (Draconblood)
• Dragonborn (Ravenite)

Dragonborn in the Dwendalian Empire

The Dwendalian Empire has seen a massive influx of dragonborn since the fall of Draconia. Most of the draconblood nobles who fled into the empire tried to use their grandiloquent names and titles to earn favors and prestige. But without the power of a nation-state behind them, many of those former slave owners were forced into lives of farming or hard labor. Some in the empire speak in awed whispers of the “former dragonborn princes” who now live as paupers, while others scoff at these haughty dragonborn’s delusions of grandeur.

Many ravenites have journeyed to the Dwendalian Empire in the years since the death of Vorugal, but the first of those found a colder reception than was given their former masters. The empire had no desire to grant asylum to revolutionaries, and would have turned the ravenites away had the Cerberus Assembly not intervened. For reasons unknown, the Assembly created the shantytown of Talonstadt for displaced ravenites, allowing them to trade labor for lodging there.

Dragonborn on the Menagerie Coast

Many of the draconbloods fleeing their ruined city-state settled among the people of the Clovis Concord. Some had beach homes and private villas to flee to, and were able to establish businesses with the money they had stashed away there. Others were not so fortunate, and were forced to take menial jobs to make ends meet. Many residents of the Clovis Concord feel a twinge of sympathy for the draconblood exiles, but most commoners who have any knowledge of the ravenite uprising see this life of servitude as just punishment.

Many of the ravenites who travel to the warm sands of the coast are merchants or wealthy generals or politicians on vacation. As such, all ravenites on the Menagerie Coast are assumed to have wealth—even exiles or penniless adventurers. Any tailless dragonborn who wanders through the cities of the Clovis Concord must constantly fend off hucksters, peddlers, and thieves.

Dragonborn in Xhorhas

Countless draconbloods fled into the wastes of Xhorhas in search of asylum, and some even dared approach the intimidating walls of Rosohna. The dark elves of the Kryn Dynasty were eager to welcome these formerly isolated people into their ranks—though their reasons for doing so were less than altruistic. More dragonborn living within range of the Luxon’s beacons deepens the well of experiences that drow engaged in anamnesis can draw from, bringing their people closer to true enlightenment. The dark elves have no interest in the rift between the draconbloods and the ravenites, and treat both peoples as equals.

Firbolgs

Firbolg are a forest-dwelling race native to the Greying Wildlands, particularly the mysterious Savalirwood. Their bodies are covered with thick fur ranging from tones of earthen brown and ruddy red to cool grays and blues, and even to wild hues of pink and green. Their bodies are bovine or camelid in appearance, with floppy, pointed ears and broad, pink noses, but they are bipedal and have hands that can manipulate weapons and objects.

Most firbolgs live in extended family units, and it is unusual to find one living alone. However, they are introverted to the point where they seldom engage with other firbolgs outside the family unit, and firbolgs rarely form their own cities, villages, or even large tribes. Despite this, many firbolgs enjoy visiting other nations' settlements for a short time for trade, sightseeing, and to visit friends.

Firbolgs in the Dwendalian Empire

Most imperial citizens have never even heard of firbolgs. Stories involving these folk are rare, and typically liken them to the giants, depicting firbolgs as hulking humanoid warriors rather than fur-covered nature lovers. People living in the great crossroads city of Zadash might be familiar with one firbolg in particular: the jolly, eccentric enchanter known as Pumat Sol. This familiarity means that many warm quickly to new firbolgs, albeit after some initial surprise.

Firbolgs on the Menagerie Coast

Since firbolgs are neither prone to travel nor native to the Menagerie Coast, their numbers along Wildemount’s western shores are vanishingly small. The people of the Clovis Concord share the same folk tales of giant-like humanoid firbolgs as the folk of the Dwendalian Empire, and are likewise surprised by their gentle nature when they meet them.

Firbolgs in Xhorhas

Firbolgs who travel southeast from the Greying Wildlands and cross the Dunrock Mountains might find themselves wandering the wastes of Xhorhas. The territorial monsters that prowl the wastes show no pity to unprepared wanderers, and most firbolg families know better than to undertake such a dangerous journey.

With northern Xhorhas firmly under the control of the Kryn Dynasty, the dark elves have saved a number of firbolg travelers from monsters over the years. Enough of those have remained in the wastes for small firbolg communities to develop in Rosohna and other major Kryn cities.

Firbolg Classes

Most firbolgs are druids, rangers, or fighters. Among their kind, these vocations are passed down from one generation to the next. The firbolgs' magical heritage also expresses itself in other ways; those who become bards preserve the clan’s lore, and firbolg sorcerers defend their communities. Firbolg wizards arise when a clan becomes friendly with elves.

Firbolg rogues are typically scouts tasked with spying on neighboring folk to determine their intentions. They are most common among firbolgs whose homes border human settlements.

Firbolg barbarians are rare except among clans that face constant threats from evil humanoids and other invaders.

Firbolg clerics and paladins are usually dedicated to nature gods, enforcing their will.

Firbolg warlocks are rare, but some clans forge alliances and arcane pacts with powerful fey beings.

Firbolg monks are almost entirely unheard of, though a monastery might take in the young survivors of a devastated firbolg clan.

Genasi

Genasi are exceedingly rare on Exandria, as befits their unique origins. Most live among the elementally attuned Ashari tribes of Tal’Dorei or on the Elemental Planes. However, there are no major rifts to the Elemental Planes in Wildemount, and thus no Ashari to safeguard them. The few genasi who dwell on this continent are often created as the result of a powerful elemental influence at the moment of their birth. A baby born within the eye of a hurricane might become an air genasi, while a fire genasi might be born in the midst of a raging forest fire.

Some genasi are more attuned to their native element than others. A genasi with a powerful connection to elemental fire might have their head covered by crackling flames rather than hair. A genasi with a connection to elemental water might have blue-tinged skin and appear to sweat profusely at all times.

Genasi in the Dwendalian Empire

Genasi are so visually distinctive and uncommon that they are treated with equal amounts of surprise and wonder in all the nations of Wildemount. The authoritarian regime of the Dwendalian Empire reacts the most harshly to the unique power of genasi, and the Cerberus Assembly takes the greatest interest in them. Genasi are often press-ganged into joining the assembly under threat of death or exile, and most accept the offer. Those who refuse—and who survive—often take refuge in the empire’s criminal underworld, with many finding acceptance in the Myriad crime syndicate.

Genasi on the Menagerie Coast

Even the cosmopolitan people of the Clovis Concord react to the sight of a genasi with wonder. Sailors and pirates alike take special interest in genasi, for the power to harness the elements is a gift from the gods on the open sea.

Genasi in Xhorhas

Powerful storms wrack the flat plains of Xhorhas, and many who live beyond the walls of the Kryn Dynasty’s cities pray to Kord the Storm Lord to win blessings and protection from his wrath. Air, fire, and water genasi are often born under Kord’s auspices, and many become shamans serving the folk of Xhorhas. Few earth genasi roam the wastes, though some are said to dwell within the Vermaloc Wildwood.

The Kryn know little about the genasi and are eager to rectify that. Their scouts have orders to bring back any genasi they encounter to Rosohna.

Genasi Traits

A genasi character has the following racial traits.

• Genasi (Air)
• Genasi (Earth)
• Genasi (Fire)
• Genasi (Water)

Gnomes

Gnomes are not native to Wildemount, and are relatively uncommon even in an age of swift boats from Marquet and flying airships from Tal’Dorei. They hail from the distant continent of Issylra and were largely content to remain there after the Calamity. In lands inhabited by people taller and stronger than them, gnomes often resort to living exclusively among other gnomes for their own security. This attitude has kept the gnomes of Wildemount safe for generations, but it has also instilled many gnomish societies with a pernicious strain of xenophobia.

Gnomes in the Dwendalian Empire

Two major gnome ethnic groups exist within the Dwendalian Empire, one centered in the mountain-city of Hupperdook and the other in the wooded Velvin Thicket. The rock gnomes of Hupperdook originally settled the Silberquel Ridge, and formed their enclave as a defense against bandits and brigands who hunted their kind for sport. This settlement predated the rise of the empire, and after a long and unprecedented period of imperial diplomacy—rather than conquest—the Hupperdook gnomes were finally convinced to add their cultural knack for invention to the empire’s might.

The forest gnomes of the Velvin Thicket have resisted imperial takeover for decades. As a result, though most people in the empire see gnomes as their loyal friends and allies, many folk in the empire’s western reaches view gnomes as obstinate, backcountry hicks.

Gnomes on the Menagerie Coast

Large numbers of gnomes live within the Clovis Concord, primarily in the city of Gwardan, where a group of gnomes who seceded from Hupperdook settled before the Concord’s founding. Just as the elves of Gwardan were the metaphorical architects of the original concordance that founded the nation of city-states, the gnomes of Gwardan were the literal architects of the Clovis Concord’s magnificent cities and halls of governance. A rock gnome by the name of Ionia Marbleweaver is revered as the grandmother of Concordian art and architecture for her innovative use of columns, frescoes, and friezes, all of which feature prominently in the great buildings of the Menagerie Coast’s cities.

Gnomes in Xhorhas

Most Xhorhasians' only contact with gnomes is a brief glimpse of a deep gnome scurrying about the Underdark carrying armfuls of gems. The deep gnomes have little interest in surface politics, and even try to stay neutral in the underground war between the Kryn Dynasty and the duergar rebels. For the most part, the deep gnomes and their settlements are small enough to remain unnoticed by larger folk.

Goblinkin

The civilized people of the world consider goblins to be nothing more than monsters—and in many ways, they’re right. Goblins and their cousins, the hobgoblins and bugbears, were first created by Bane, the Strife Emperor, as foot soldiers for his unholy army. Eons ago, when the flames of the Calamity burned across Exandria, the Betrayer Gods gathered in the realm that would eventually become Xhorhas. There, they found a people known as the dranassar. An ancestor race to the goblinoids, the dranassar were tall and beautiful, strong of body and mind, and fleet of foot. Their hair was thick and black, and their skin gleamed like gold. Most of the dranassar willingly served the divine beings that descended upon their land, but a few fought back against the Betrayer Gods' rule.

Bane, a cruel tyrant even among the Betrayer Gods, smote the rebellious dranassar and twisted them into the goblinkin. When the armies of the Betrayer Gods wanted for skirmishers, Bane twisted the dranassar into goblins. When he was in need of loyal soldiers, he made them into hobgoblins. And when brute force was required, he sculpted them into bugbears. As the war of gods and mortals raged on, Bane corrupted even those dranassar who remained loyal to him.

The Betrayer Gods are long since defeated, but the goblinkin survived—leaderless, lost, and fallen into chaos. It is said that the voice of Bane still whispers into the minds of the goblinkin, goading them to commit senseless acts of cruelty against all they see.

Few goblins can steel their will against Bane’s foul whispers, but those who do live peaceful lives free of the god’s influence. Likewise, people who are transfigured into goblins or reborn as goblins do not hear the voice of Bane, and are free from his curse of strife.

Goblinkin in the Dwendalian Empire

Goblins living in Western Wynandir form small tribal groups and do their best to evade the vigilant eye of the imperial army. The fearsome soldiers of the Righteous Brand, known to the goblins as drohurror or “terrorfolk,” are the greatest threat to the tribes. But with goblins treated as little better than vermin throughout the empire, any imperial citizen strong enough to wield a pitchfork can be a threat in their own right.

With most goblins in the empire tormented by Bane’s homicidal whispers, the people of the empire are just as fearful of goblinkin as the goblins are of them. Farmers and folk in rural regions such as the southern Marrow Valley take special precautions against goblin raids, and kill goblins on sight as if they were marauding animals. Even goblins who manage to free themselves of Bane’s influence are hard-pressed to overcome the fears of the empire’s rural folk. By contrast, city dwellers are rarely exposed to goblin raiders, and though they might react with suspicion and fear when seeing a goblin on the street, most are more accepting of the notion that not all goblins are evil.

Goblinkin on the Menagerie Coast

Goblins are a rare sight on the Menagerie Coast, so most folk who live there know of them only through folklore and stories told by travelers. With visitors from the Dwendalian Empire, the realms of Tal’Dorei, and Marquet common on the coast, most of those stories are tales of the vicious goblins of the Ravager horde of Tal’Dorei or the fearsome Duneburrow goblins of the far-off Marquesian deserts, painting a deeply unwholesome picture of goblinkin.

People living along the northern Menagerie Coast, in cities such as Gwardan, have firsthand accounts of the goblins and bugbears who have recently settled in the Lushgut Forest. Those who worship the Wild Mother in Gwardan have long seen the forest as one of her most sacred places, and initially reacted with fear to the forest’s “monstrous invaders.” But with the bugbears and goblins having freed themselves of Bane’s corrupting influence through druidic meditation, they are slowly fostering friendship with the people of Gwardan.

Goblinkin and the Curse of Strife

The term “goblinkin” refers to three types of related peoples: goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. All three are affected by Bane’s curse of strife, allowing his foul voice to prey upon their minds from beyond the Divine Gate. Goblinkin who manage to overcome Bane’s curse are freed from the compulsion that leads them to evil. Unless the goblinkin was freed near birth, however, they have likely internalized their bias toward law, chaos, or neutrality, and might retain that aspect of their alignment even after the curse is broken.

It is nearly impossible for a goblinkin to break Bane’s curse on their own. Only those who undergo particularly traumatic events or are shown exceptional compassion typically find the inner strength to do so. Whenever a goblinkin returns to consciousness after being reduced to 0 hit points, they can make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw, with advantage if they were brought back to life. On a success, the goblinkin breaks free from the curse of strife. A goblinkin targeted by remove curse can also make this saving throw, with advantage on the save if the caster is a trusted companion.

Many bugbears are cleansed of the curse from birth by a druidic order of bugbears who managed to break free from Bane’s influence decades ago. These bugbears never develop a chaotic, isolationist nature, and readily band together with druids and other defenders of the wilderness.

Goblins who suffer from the curse of strife are typically neutral evil, goaded by Bane to commit acts of wanton destruction and malice among the folk of the mortal races that opposed him in the Calamity. Hobgoblins afflicted by the curse of strife are almost exclusively lawful evil, and are urged toward acts of conquest. Their societies are regimented like military dictatorships, and hobgoblin despots are the scourges of whole nations. Bugbears who suffer under Bane’s influence are typically chaotic evil, and are commanded to isolate themselves from all bonds and ties of camaraderie so as to maximize the suffering of those they brutalize.

Goblinkin in Xhorhas

Goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears are a common sight in Xhorhas, especially around Rosohna—for it was here that Bane first created the goblinkin from the noble dranassar. The people of the Kryn Dynasty have made efforts to forge close ties with the goblinkin who have made their home in the region, and have even managed to subvert the curse of strife by the power of the Luxon. Any creature reborn into a goblinkin body is born without the curse, and any natural-born goblin born within one hundred miles of a Luxon beacon is likewise shielded from Bane’s seed of corruption.

Bugbear Racial Traits

Bugbear

Goblin Racial Traits

Goblin

Hobgoblin Racial Traits

Hobgoblin

A hobgoblin character has the following racial traits.

Goliaths

The goliath of Exandria are a mighty people with stone giant blood running in their veins. Most stand well over seven feet tall and are blessed with a naturally powerful physique. Like their stone giant progenitors, goliaths are a rare sight in Wildemount. Most live on isolated peaks in the Cyrios Mountains, the Penumbra Range, and on the isolated land of Eiselcross. Those few goliaths who are exiled from their herds and wander into more densely peopled lands are uniformly greeted with fear and confusion.

Goliaths have a compulsion to compete and keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Goliaths love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their skills. Above all else, they are driven to outdo their past efforts. Few goliaths reach old age, as most die attempting to surpass their past achievements.

Among goliaths, any adult who can’t or won’t contribute to the herd is expelled. A lone goliath has little chance of survival, especially an older or weaker one. Goliaths have little pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play.

Half-Elves

Half-elves occupy all lands where humans and elves gather. In ancient times, the appearance of half-elves was a cause for alarm in elven society, for prejudiced elves saw the union between elves and humans as a symptom of impurity in their blood and culture. Such attitudes have cooled across the continent in recent centuries, and most elven societies now feature a diverse array of people—notably the pluralistic union of dwarves and elves in the city-state of Uthodurn and the diverse peoples of the Kryn Dynasty.

Half-Elves in the Dwendalian Empire

The Dwendalian Empire sees half-elves as a sign that imperial rule is healthy, and that people are traveling across and strengthening the bonds of its disparate provinces. However, this belief is less pervasive in the elven enclave of Bysaes Tyl, which was coerced into joining the empire decades ago. The elves of Bysaes Tyl are dedicated to maintaining a tenuous grasp on their lost realm of Molaesmyr, and any elf who bears a non-elf child is considered a traitor to their ancient culture.

Half-Elves on the Menagerie Coast

In some ways, the Clovis Concord can be considered a half-elf nation, founded as it was by the native human Ki’Nau people and by elf and human settlers from Marquet. Half-elves are also a common sight arriving on passenger ships from Tal’Dorei. The elves of Syngorn, the center of elven culture in Tal’Dorei, still hold a shameful and outdated view of their half-elf children, many of whom seek passage or stow away on ships to the Menagerie Coast to start new lives.

Half-Elves in Xhorhas

Half-elves of all different ancestries dwell within the lands of the Kryn, with most having one dark elf parent. The idea of elves forming relationships and even having children with people of other humanoid races has long since been accepted throughout Kryn lands—so much so that it seems somewhat unnatural when people outside the culture express surprise at half-elves with small, minotaur-like horns, or with the tufted ears and yellow eyes of a bugbear.

Kenku

In ancient times, kenku were black-winged angels—ambassadors who served the Raven Queen as her emissaries of death. Their voices were once heard across entire planes, calling the dead to the Raven Queen’s embrace. The kenku likewise served as her loyal warriors in the Calamity, and even saved her from a near-fatal encounter with the Betrayer God known as Tharizdun.

Though the kenku saved the Raven Queen from oblivion, all of her black-winged emissaries were consumed by Tharizdun’s infinite void. For long years, the kenku were thought to have been annihilated, and it was only when Tharizdun was defeated and chained by the god Ioun near the Calamity’s end that they were freed.

When the gods sealed themselves behind the Divine Gate, the Raven Queen realized what her emissaries had sacrificed to save her. Though the kenku survived oblivion, they returned as mortals, stripped of all the divine gifts their god had bestowed on them: their voices, their wings, and all memories of their past existence. Bearing Tharizdun’s curse of oblivion, the kenku were reduced to squat beings that could speak only by mimicking the words of others.

Kenku exist across Wildemount in small numbers. Considered by most to be monsters, they keep to themselves as a result, always longing for something they can neither ask for nor explain. Something in a kenku’s mind stirs when it looks to the sky and see birds flying freely—an ancient longing, and a memory trapped within oblivion.

Orcs and Half-Orcs

The first half-orcs in Wildemount were born of a union between human warriors and orc traitors in the final days of the Calamity. Orcs are one of Exandria’s youngest races, and are said to have been born from elves seared by the blood of Gruumsh, the Ruiner, when Corellon pierced the orc god’s eye on the field of battle. For long years, orcs were feared as mindless abominations, drawn to slaughter like moths to flame.

Stories tell of how the blood of the Ruiner flows in the veins of all orcs, driving them to commit acts of terrible violence and anger. Orcs call this fury hgar’Gruum, or the curse of ruin, and use it to refer to everything from battle rage to a bad temper. Half-orcs are said to have inherited the blood of the Ruiner, and to carry the same bloodlust and fury that orcs do.

Orcs and half-orcs do feel a certain pull toward violence and anger. But the simple truth is that there is no curse of ruin. No supernatural power drives orcs to kill. Rather, they are simply victims of the same selfish, violent impulses that corrupt all mortal beings.

Half-Orcs in the Dwendalian Empire

The orcish settlement of Bladegarden was incorporated into the Dwendalian Empire after the fall of the Julous Dominion, nearly three hundred years ago. Orcs are now renowned as some of the empire’s most accomplished soldiers, though many folk still fear the ancient legends of the curse of ruin.

Half-orcs are proud of their heritage, though many are wary of the wrathful curse that supposedly drives them to violence. Those who embrace this gift of fury often enlist in the Righteous Brand to focus their rage against the enemies of the empire. Other half-orcs reject the idea that they are destined for violence, and rely on faith, meditation, and friendship to live peaceful lives.

Half-Orcs on the Menagerie Coast

The folk of the Clovis Concord welcome people of all kinds to their shores, yet orcs and half-orcs are uncommon in Concordian cities. Most half-orcs on the Menagerie Coast come from the continent of Tal’Dorei as visitors, merchants, or mercenaries, and rarely settle. Half-orc children in the settlements of the coast are often bullied for their unusual teeth.

Only the Concordian city of Othe has a significant half-orc population. Originally established as a spiritual site for the Ki’Nau people, the city has long attracted orcs and half-orcs who believe that the curse of ruin has caused them to lash out at those they love. In Othe, they find peace through spiritualism—and a place to belong.

Half-Orcs in Xhorhas

The orcs of Xhorhas are a predominantly nomadic people, living in mixed clans of orcs, humans, and bugbears. They wander the wastes, taming the indigenous beasts and trading with Kryn settlements. The relationship between the orcs and the Kryn is relatively peaceful, though many nomadic orcs are angered when Kryn souls are reborn in orc bodies. These orcs nonetheless readily accept Kryn into their roving clans, seeing it as a point of pride that a city dweller has been drawn to a more exciting life in the chaos of the wastes.

Most half-orcs in Xhorhas have human or drow blood. In the culture of the Xhorhasian nomads, the union of orcs and goblinkin is strictly taboo, for the clans' elders fear the uncontrolled madness of a soul afflicted by both Gruumsh’s curse of ruin and Bane’s curse of strife.

Orc Traits

Exandrian orcs are not bound to commit acts of evil by nature. See the races page for the racial traits of an orc character.

Tabaxi

The catlike tabaxi are an agile, witty, and playful folk who have long lived among the indigenous Ki’Nau people of the Menagerie Coast and in the cold northern forests of the Greying Wildlands. Said to have been born from the dreams of Melora within the jungles of Wildemount’s more temperate regions, they are natural hunters with keen senses and predatory instincts. The tabaxi of Exandria are also well known for their social guile. Many are taken with a love of wordplay and debate, often engaging travelers in philosophical conversations meant to challenge the intellect and to subtly gauge the disposition of strangers.

Tabaxi can be found in small numbers throughout Wildemount and are generally well thought of. Some make up small clans in the wilderness beyond the boundaries of Wildemount’s major societies. Others are content to stand out among the other folk of those larger nations. Deft at crafts, hunting, and commercial enterprises, many tabaxi find themselves drawn toward an entrepreneurial existence, while some fall naturally into the more dangerous pursuits of an adventurer’s lifestyle.

Politics hold a conversational curiosity for some, but only a few tabaxi are driven enough to ascend to positions of political power, most commonly along the Menagerie Coast. Even so, most catfolk are happier away from the limelight, slyly convincing others to visibly take the risks for them.

Tieflings

Centuries have passed since the tieflings first faced persecution for their fiendish heritage in the Age of Arcanum. Although a certain mystique still surrounds their kind, most people in Wildemount grew up alongside tieflings, and the tides of war have brought tiefling soldiers, merchants, and entertainers into even the most rural and isolated regions of the continent. For the most part, only overzealously devout paladins and folk raised on the dark tales of an ancient age might actively wish harm on tieflings.

Exandrian tieflings have a wide array of skin tones, all of them vibrant and colorful. The most common hue is a deep crimson, but shades of purple, blue, green, and even yellow and pink have been seen throughout the world. It’s not known what causes these variations, as even tiefling parents with the same skin tone can have children of wildly different colors.

Tieflings in the Dwendalian Empire

Most imperial tieflings live in the cities of the empire or in small communes in the countryside. Many are encouraged by their parents to join the Crownsguard or the Righteous Brand to valiantly serve the empire, and a direct connection can be drawn between the tieflings' ancient persecution and their focus on military service. Centuries ago, countless tieflings joined the armies of the Julous Dominion in hopes of winning glory and proving themselves the equals of their oppressors. Over time, many found acceptance in the eyes of the Julous people and its government, eventually becoming hardline loyalists of the Julous Dominion. Their spirits were thus crushed when the dominion fell to the mighty armies of the invading Dwendalian Empire.

Three generations have passed since the fall of the dominion, and many adult tieflings still remember the war stories their grandparents told them as children. The empire’s propagandists have been quick to capitalize on this, stoking a hunger for glory that sees the lives of eager tieflings fuel the imperial war machine.

Tieflings on the Menagerie Coast

Tieflings' extravagant skin tones and striking horns are considered attractive in the culture of the Clovis Concord, and many tieflings have capitalized on this reaction to become entertainers. Some of the best-known tiefling actors, gladiators, and musicians found their start on the Menagerie Coast—as have innumerable entertainers of the bawdier sort, including the prominent Nicodranas courtesan known as Ruby of the Sea. Many such performers have gone on to perform at the court of King Bertrand Dwendal, or to tour the distant lands of Tal’Dorei and Marquet.

Tieflings in Xhorhas

Some legends talk of how the first tieflings were born in Ghor Dranas. Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells, is said to have tempted a number of that city’s original inhabitants into tying their bloodlines to his own infernal power in exchange for magical knowledge. Though the truth of the tale is impossible to confirm, Rosohna maintains a significant tiefling population, and tieflings are a common sight in Kryn society.

Tortles

For centuries, the people of Xhorhas and the Dwendalian Empire believed tortle to be a hoax concocted by Concordian hucksters. In truth, tortles are an ancient and long-lived people who dwell within the jungles and along the beaches of the Menagerie Coast. Most tortles who journey far from the coast begin to feel pangs of homesickness, which can develop into a depression.

Tortles are almost unheard of beyond the sunny shores of the Menagerie Coast.

Hollow One

The eastern coast of Xhorhas, known to the Kryn as Blightshore, is a land scarred by evil magic. Among the creations of that foul place are the Hollow Ones, beings whose souls have left for the afterlife, yet whose bodies still retain a fragment of their former selves.

The magic that sustains Hollow Ones is a mystery. Most Hollow Ones are reborn after dying in Blightshore, suggesting that the spell-scarred nature of the land brought them back for an unknown purpose. Yet some beings find that, days after they died, they awaken, clutching to life, with only a terrible emptiness inside to remind them of their death.

In Blightshore, Hollow Ones are seen as a people like any other. They seem strange, but the adventurous and hardy folk of Blightshore are used to making allies with strange creatures. Elsewhere, Hollow Ones are indistinguishable from living creatures, save for the faint stench of necromancy that lingers about them.

The transition from life to becoming a Hollow One affects different people to different degrees. Some let their anger and regret consume them. Others use their second chance to become a brighter force in the world. However, all Hollow Ones are marked by their new existence: feelings of unease, dread or sadness cling to them like tattered rags of their past life.

Supernatural Gift: Hollow One

The Dungeon Master has the option to allow a character created in a Wildemount campaign to be a Hollow One. Alternatively, a character who perishes in the course of a campaign might return as a Hollow One, created by the mysterious forces that scar the land.

Subclasses

This section includes three new subclass options: the Echo Knight for the fighter and Chronurgy Magic and Graviturgy Magic for the wizard.

Dunamis and Dunamancy

Dunamis is the primal magical energy of potentiality and actuality, an anticipatory arcane force that helps shape the multiverse and might very well be what holds its elements together, like an infinite web of unseen tethers. Manifesting as a translucent gray energy that shimmers and drifts like an ethereal cloud of mist when gathered, dunamis darkens as it vibrates and condenses to the moment of action or invocation, manipulating fundamental aspects of reality. Those who study to control and tap into this near-invisible power can subtly bend the flow of time and space by controlling the forces of localized gravity, peering into possible timelines to shift fate in their favor, and scattering the potential energy of their enemies to rob them of their potency.

Dunamancy is an ancient, esoteric study of magic almost unknown across Exandria. Facets of dunamancy have quietly bled into the more common applications of spellcraft like an unrealized glimpse behind the curtain of creation. Mages who pursue the study of this strange and complex force call themselves dunamancers, and their interest in learning to alter the fabric of gravity, potential, and time often coincides with a hunger to understand the oldest mysteries of the cosmos.

Beyond the Kryn Dynasty

Although the Kryn Dynasty is responsible for the carefully guarded development and refining of dunamancy, the mysteries of this magical art have long since spread beyond the dynasty’s borders. The hidden secrets of harnessing dunamis eventually found their way into the hands of the Cerberus Assembly and have continued to slowly disseminate across all Wildemount as a result.

If you are considering a character pursuing a path involving the manipulation of dunamis, you can easily tie your story into the Kryn Dynasty and the ready access to dunamancy it provides. But you can also consider where else in the world dunamancy might have spread, and how its secrets have influenced your character’s path. You might have stumbled into a cabal of defecting Kryn expatriates who teach you their ways, or you might have been entrusted with learning such secrets as a means of fighting the Kryn with their own power. Work with your Dungeon Master and figure out a fun and logical way that your character and the mysterious power of dunamancy might have crossed paths.

In campaigns outside Wildemount, there is no factional control of dunamancy, so the implementation of this arcane discipline is entirely open. Talk to your Dungeon Master about how dunamancy might fit into their campaign, and how your character’s story could be woven into that lore.

Dunamis as a Martial Focus

Life is an extended series of choices. Every crossroads offers paths to different possibilities. The reality of each possible choice begins to coalesce as you approach the moment of decision, with multiple timelines humming with opportunity. Once a choice is made, one path sparks to life and continues while others fade, their energy of potentiality diffusing into the multiverse. A rare few characters learn to invoke and harness this released dunamis in the throes of battle to enhance their martial capabilities—and such warriors are uniformly feared.

Fighter

The fighter takes many forms in Wildemount, from the grizzled mercenary who earns their keep by the might of their blade, to the dedicated soldier who fights for the banner of their homeland, to the hearty treasure hunter whose skill with a weapon is their finest asset.

At 3rd level, a fighter gains the Martial Archetype class feature described in the Player’s Handbook. The fighter is a new option for that feature.

Wizard

The brightest minds of Wildemount often find themselves gravitating to the ancient and dangerous study of magic. Some train for decades within the halls and towers of academies, while others learn their craft in the shadows, keeping their discoveries to themselves.

At 2nd level, a wizard gains the Arcane Tradition class feature described in the Player’s Handbook. wizard and wizard are two new traditions available to wizards.

Dunamancy Spells

This section presents a sampling of spells developed through the manipulation of dunamis. These spells are available to the wizard subclasses previously mentioned in this chapter, as well as other spellcasting classes with the Dungeon Master’s consent (see the “Dunamancy for Non-Dunamancers” sidebar).

Dunamancy Spell List

• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]
• [object Object]

• chronurgy spell

** graviturgy spell

Dunamancy for Non-Dunamancers

The esoteric powers developed and harnessed through the use of dunamis are still very much a rare and carefully guarded feature of the Kryn Dynasty in Wildemount. However, such arcana is hard to keep hidden, especially in times of war. Spies and defectors have long smuggled out the secrets of this obscure magical practice, and even now it slowly disseminates beyond Xhorhas.

Dunamancy spells are readily available to the wizard subclasses in this chapter and should not be simply added to the full spell lists of other spellcasting classes. However, the Dungeon Master can consider allowing other spellcasting classes opportunities throughout the campaign to learn a handful of dunamancy-themed spells as rewards. Perhaps the characters uncover a cache of magical contraband, among which is a couple of spell scrolls, or a traveling acolyte takes some downtime with a friendly cleric character and opens their mind to some of the stranger secrets of the universe, unlocking a spell or two. There are many unique ways to bring these spells into your game without requiring any specific dunamis-wielding subclasses to be present in the adventuring party.

Spell Descriptions

The spells are presented in alphabetical order.

• Dark Star
• Fortune’s Favor
• Gift of Alacrity
• Gravity Fissure
• Gravity Sinkhole
• Immovable Object
• Magnify Gravity
• Pulse Wave
• Ravenous Void
• Reality Break
• Sapping Sting
• Temporal Shunt
• Tether Essence
• Time Ravage
• Wristpocket

Heroic Chronicle

The heroic chronicle is a system that allows players and Dungeon Masters to work together to build a compelling character story. It even allows characters to gain additional proficiencies, magic items, spells, or feats before the campaign begins. This section assumes that the player is starting from scratch—without having chosen a race, class, or background for their character. The events that occur as a result of these random rolls inform what kind of character the player has. A player who already has a character concept in mind can choose options from the tables instead of rolling randomly, ignoring anything that doesn’t fit their character concept. If you’re a player using these tables, don’t be surprised if creating a backstory inspires you to change some aspect of your character concept. Let this tool inspire your imagination rather than limit it.

The “Backstory” section of the chronicle roots a character’s history in the land of Wildemount by helping the player determine the character’s nation, home settlement, and relationships with family members, allies, and rivals. It helps establish major events that happened to the character before the campaign began. Options for determining a character’s favorite food and mysterious secrets can help further define a character’s relationship to their homeland and the other party members.

The “Prophecy” section of the chronicle sets out three aspirations or goals that the player has for their character. Prophecy goals can help players and DMs create engaging stories that make the game more interesting. Each time a goal is met, it takes on a prophetic tone as a character achieves something they were driven or destined to do. Completing a prophecy goal grants the character a mechanical benefit as a reward.

Dungeon Masters can also use the heroic chronicle process to generate villains with histories and motivations grounded in the dangerous lands of Wildemount.

Social Status Relationships

Backstory

A character’s story begins with determining the region where they were born, the job they had before becoming an adventurer, their social status, the settlement where they grew up, and their family relationships. As this backstory develops, the character will gain allies and rivals, as well as learn some of the fateful moments that set them on the path of adventure.

Homeland

The known lands of Wildemount are divided into four major geographic regions, each of which is described in chapter 3. From west to east, these regions are the Menagerie Coast, Western Wynandir (which is further divided into the Marrow Valley and the Zemni Fields), the Greying Wildlands, and Eastern Wynandir. The northernmost reaches of the continent—the forgotten lands of Eiselcross—are not included in this section.

Roll a d100 and consult the Homelands table to determine which region you were born in. If you were born in one region but grew up in another, roll twice on the table to determine your place of birth and the region you eventually settled in.

Homelands

Background

In addition to granting you items, gold, and proficiencies, your background gives you a sense of belonging in the world. You can roll on the Backgrounds table to randomly determine your character’s background, or you can choose one that fits your character concept. This table includes new backgrounds and adapted backgrounds from this book (EGW) as well as the backgrounds from the Player’s Handbook (PH). New and adapted backgrounds are described later in this chapter.

Backgrounds

Social Status

Your background determines your place in the world. Within the strict hierarchy of the Dwendalian Empire, a family with a poor social status is worth less than the soil they till, while a family of great renown enjoys all the privileges of high society. Most folk toil in the same profession from the day they’re old enough to work until the day they die, and few families ever rise to glory from obscurity. That’s just the way of things.

You, however, are an adventurer. Though your social status is determined by your background and your country of origin, you have the power to rebel against the hierarchies of your land and change your fate. Your background doesn’t change, nor do the proficiencies and other benefits you gain because of it. But the social status associated with your background might shift over the course of your backstory—and over the course of your adventures.

Each nation in Wildemount views people’s backgrounds according to its cultural values. Based on your character’s background, think about your social status within the context of the details of your homeland presented below. Then use the Social Status Relationships table to determine how many allies and rivals you’ll roll for later on in this section.

Menagerie Coast

Both the Clovis Concord and their hated nemesis, the Revelry pirates, prize personal freedom over all other things. The Revelry simply takes this ideology one bloody step further. People of the Concord celebrate folk heroes and entertainers, and all other people who might become celebrities, iconoclasts, and figures of legend.

At the same time, the common working-class sailor is a symbol of the Concord’s strength. As with the crew of a well-run ship, the small actions of individuals can have a huge impact when all are working toward common goals. Common sailors despise the Revelry, and noteworthy sailors might even have a rival within the Revelry.

Western Wynandir

The Dwendalian Empire prizes king and country over personal freedoms—at least as far as the freedoms of the poor are concerned. For the wealthy noble class, most laws are mere guidelines, since bribery and political favors can make almost any problem go away.

In the Dwendalian Empire, rural folk are seen as honest, hardworking, and pious, while the wealthy ruling class are viewed as beneficent patricians—or as miserly tyrants. Patriotism is a core virtue, and enlisting in the Righteous Brand and adhering to the empire’s strict religious laws are the most patriotic acts of all.

Greying Wildlands

The Greying Wildlands and the settlement of Shadycreek Run are lawless. Crime is a virtue here, mercy a vice. Only strength rules in the land run by the coalition of criminals known as “the Tribes.” Anyone who doesn’t have the personal strength to defend themself is treated with contempt, and those who represent the iron fist of the empire are utterly despised.

Travel farther north, however, and one reaches the Diarchy of Uthodurn, a stable and ancient city ruled by elves and dwarves. Here, order and art are prized over chaos and personal enrichment. If your character is from Uthodurn rather than Shadycreek Run, replace any rival you gain from the Social Status Relationships table with an ally, and vice-versa.

Eastern Wynandir

Accumulating knowledge and achieving spiritual enlightenment are the virtues of the Kryn Dynasty, whose society is built around the tenets of the Luxon. Artists, entertainers, artisans, and all people who create are well-valued in Kryn society. Yet in this age of war, people whose skills allow them to destroy are paradoxically prized just as highly.

To the Kryn, a person’s background is less important than the experiences they’ve accumulated—particularly for those who have begun walking the sacred path known as consecution. Nonetheless, even the most enlightened society can’t help but look down upon its lowest citizens and sneer at its haughty elite. Once all beings are beloved by the Luxon, perhaps these ills of society will be purged once and for all.

Home Settlement

Once you’ve determined your nation and considered your social status within that realm, roll on the appropriate table in this section to determine which settlement you grew up in. If your character is a traveler—a child of soldiers, a nomad, a traveling performer, and so forth—you can roll for up to three settlements that you’ve visited often and have some connections in.

Each home settlement is detailed in chapter 3. If your home settlement doesn’t make sense for your social status, you can either roll for a different settlement or think about ways to make a contradiction work for your backstory. For example, if you have the Noble background but rolled a village as a home settlement, perhaps you were raised there to protect you from your family’s enemies.

Menagerie Coast Settlements

Marrow Valley Settlements

Zemni Fields Settlements

Greying Wildlands Settlements

Eastern Wynandir Settlements

Race

You can determine your character’s race by consulting the section for your home settlement in chapter 3. Each settlement’s description includes a percentile breakdown of its racial demographics. You can roll a d100 to determine your character’s race, or simply choose whichever race you wish to play. If your roll indicates “other races,” you can choose any race that isn’t already represented in the settlement’s demographics.

Family

The size of your home settlement plays a part in the size of your family. Villages in Wildemount are predominantly rural, and families need children to tend their farms and perform household duties. By contrast, land and commodities are expensive in the cities, making it difficult for many people to afford a large family.

Families with at least three children often encourage one child, typically the eldest, to continue the family trade. The other children are encouraged to travel so as to learn a new trade, become a scholar, become apprenticed to a master guild artisan, or similar activities. Imperial families who can afford to do so might even send one or more children to Rexxentrum, where they can learn magic at the Soltryce Academy.

Roll twice on the appropriate Family Size table—once to determine how many living parents you have, and once to determine your living siblings. The state of your family might change over the course of your backstory, just as it might change over the course of the campaign.

Family Size (Village)

Family Size (City)

Parents

You might have been blessed with two loving parents, or you might have helped your single parent take care of the rest of your family. You might have been raised by three or more parents, whether because those parents engage in a polyamorous relationship, one or both parents had multiple spouses, or you were raised communally. Or you might have no parents, whether you were orphaned early in life or have outlived the parents you did have.

Siblings

Your siblings can include your parents' other children, half-siblings from your parents' other marriages or affairs, cousins who are as close as siblings, or beloved friends who became siblings by bond rather than by blood.

Family Member Traits

Once you’ve determined the size of your family, choose the gender and age of each family member.

Powerful Family Relationships

Even before your adventuring career began, you had allies who supported you and rivals who sought to thwart your success. In some cases, your allies might be so devoted that they are indispensable companions, while your rivals are hateful enough to make them nothing short of mortal enemies.

Your first allies and rivals are your family. Sometimes your family members are your closest friends. Sometimes you hate their guts. Roll a d3. This is the number of powerful relationships you have within your family.

Roll once on the Family Relationships table for each powerful relationship you have within your family, to determine the setup of your friendship or rivalry.

Family Relationships

Acquired Allies and Rivals

If you gained allies or rivals based on your background and your homeland, this section allows you to establish your relationship with those allies and rivals, as well as the broad strokes of their identities. Start by rolling once on the Ally Relationships or Rival Relationships table for each of those allies and rivals. Alternatively, you and your DM can work together to create ally or rival relationships that enhance your character’s story.

When you’ve determined the relationships between you and your acquired allies and rivals, roll for each one on the Ally and Rival Identities table to determine their game statistics. This table includes monsters and NPCs in this book (EGW) and in the Monster Manual (MM).

If you roll a particularly powerful ally or rival on this table, their involvement in your life causes a fateful moment to occur in your backstory, as determined in the next section.

Ally Relationships

Rival Relationships

Secret Identities

Some of these allies and rivals might keep their true identity secret from your character. The DM can decide to make one or more of the rolls on the Ally and Rival Identities table to keep the secret intact. Stat blocks appear in either appendix B of the Monster Manual (MM) or chapter 7 of this book (EGW).

Ally and Rival Identities

Fateful Moments

No one decides to go adventuring without a reason. Some might set out from home in the name of vengeance, seeking retribution for themselves or their kin. Some might be looking for wealth or glory. Others might seek only a change from their dreary lives, never realizing that they’ll soon be caught up in events beyond their understanding along the open road.

Fateful moments are the turning points in your character’s life. The weight of these joyous or destructive occasions provided some of the talents, skills, and equipment you bring into your life as an adventurer. Roll once on the Fateful Moments table for each such moment you accrued in the previous section, courtesy of the allies and rivals that are part of your backstory.

If a fateful moment grants you a proficiency that you already had, choose any proficiency of the same type (armor, skill, language, tool, or weapon). If a fateful moment doesn’t make sense for your character (for example, if your siblings perished but you don’t have any siblings), roll a new event or work with your DM to change up the details. You can also forego rolling for fateful moments entirely, instead working with your DM to create moments specifically attuned to your character’s story.

Fateful Moments

Favorite Food

Each region of Wildemount favors different cuisine based on climate and culture. Depending on where you grew up, you probably have a favorite local food. You can roll on the appropriate table for your homeland, or select or create a favorite option of your own.

Menagerie Coast

The sea and the freewheeling culture of the Menagerie Coast makes its people favor seafood with bold spices, as well as drinks and salads with powerful fruity flavors. Indigenous ingredients have been married with Marquesian and Tal’Dorei recipes, creating a unique and vibrant culinary culture.

Concordian brewers are known for a potent and sweet brandy called silvertooth, distilled from the starchy palm lily root, and sweetened with fermented pineapple and sugarcane. Pirates favor rum, which is cheaper to produce. Tropical fruits and pods not used for brewing make luxurious desserts, and are eaten raw, cooked, dried, and baked into breads and cakes.

Western Wynandir

The austere lifestyle of the Dwendalian Empire and the dour climate of its territories makes the people of the empire favor hearty dishes made of root vegetables and red meat. Poorer households often eat feet, tongue, ears, and tripe, while the best cuts are reserved for noble tables. Imperial cuisine uses few spices, but still contains plenty of flavor from butter and herbs, or from fermentation.

Heavily fermented and pickled vegetables feature prominently in the cuisine of both rich and poor households alike. Wealthy imperial families drink imported wine, but the empire is best known for its potent spirits, distilled from root vegetables and enjoyed by rural folk.

Greying Wildlands

Fresh game and foraged roots and berries are the primary food of the hunters of the Greying Wildlands. People who are particularly well connected within the Tribes of Shadycreek Run also enjoy exotic foods smuggled across the continent by the Myriad.

Local drinks are made from fermented berries, but consumption of alcohol in the Wildlands was historically limited to ritual purposes. That changed with the arrival of the Myriad, and the overconsumption of illicit alcohol is now seen as a symbol of status and wealth.

Eastern Wynandir

Much of the territory of Xhorhas is wasteland, and the most edible plants in Eastern Wynandir are hearty tubers, roots, and grasses. The marshes and bogs of this land are also known for producing vast quantities of rice and cranberries. Most folk living here are hunters who band together to take down the mammoths and other massive beasts that roam the wastelands, one of which can provide enough food to feed a tribe for weeks.

The luxurious cuisine of the Kryn court makes heavy use of mushrooms and rare meats found only in the dangerous caverns of the Underdark. The aboveground regions of Xhorhas are known for their fiery plum spirits, whereas working-class drow traditionally drink an earthy, mushroom-based beer.

Favorite Foods (Menagerie Coast)

Favorite Foods (Western Wynandir)

Favorite Foods (Greying Wildlands)

Favorite Foods (Eastern Wynandir)

Mysterious Secret

You saw something you weren’t supposed to. A note came into your possession by mysterious means. A childhood friend spoke to you of a cryptic message. Whatever its source, a secret has haunted you your entire life. What is it? You can roll on the Mysterious Secrets table or work with your DM to create a secret.

Mysterious Secrets

Prophecy

A prophecy influences your character’s future.

Write down three aspirations or goals you have for your character, and which you want to achieve over the course of the campaign. A prophecy goal should have two parts. First is the goal that your character wants to attain. Second is a sense of what complication might ensue once the goal is met—for good or for ill.

One of your prophecy goals should be an immediate goal, one should be long term, and one should be a goal that concludes your character arc at the end of the campaign. You don’t have to decide on all three goals at the start. You can choose your immediate goal now and think about the other two while you get a feel for the tone of the campaign.

These prophecy goals can help your character stay motivated, but they’ll also help your Dungeon Master create interesting stories that relate directly to your character. Your three prophecy goals can help the DM shape the campaign by determining what challenges or rewards to put in your character’s way. (If you rolled for a mysterious secret in the last section, that secret is a great thing to link to a goal.) Alternatively, you and your DM can work together to create goals that help link your character goals to an existing story the DM wants to tell.

Each time you complete a prophecy goal, your character gains a mechanical benefit as a reward.

If you’re looking for prophecy goals for your character, you can roll on the Prophecy Inspirations table for a random goal and a consequence of that goal. If this goal isn’t a perfect fit for your character, you can fine-tune it or roll again to find one that works better.

Prophecy Inspirations

For the Dungeon Master

If you’re the Dungeon Master for your group, think about how long you want your campaign to run. Each of the players will have three goals set down for their character, each of which needs to be achieved by the end of the campaign. If you take the number of game sessions you anticipate your campaign lasting and divide it by the number of prophecy goals laid down by all your players, you’ll have the average number of sessions it should take for one player to complete one goal.

If the characters are completing their goals too quickly, remember that it’s more interesting for the players if events that are important to them happen more frequently than if they have to slog through a story that has nothing to do with them. Use your best judgment and find the pacing that works for you.

Prophecy Rewards

Each time a character completes one of their three prophecy goals, they gain a reward of the DM’s determination. Any of the following rewards are suitable for completing a goal, or the DM might decide on unique rewards of the same general level:

• For the next 1d10 days, the character gains inspiration whenever they finish a long rest.
• For the next 1d10 days, the character has advantage on saving throws to avoid being frightened.
• For the next 1d4 days, the character’s weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage of the weapon’s type.

Backgrounds

This section presents two new backgrounds—the Grinner and the Volstrucker Agent—as well as suggestions for adapting some of the backgrounds from the Player’s Handbook to tie them more closely to the factions of Wildemount.

Wildemount is a land of secrets, so your character’s background might work best if it’s kept secret from the other players—especially if you choose either the Grinner or Volstrucker Agent background. Work with your DM to determine a second false background that can help hide your true background, or a cover background that can be used if your true background involves a secret identity.

Adapting Backgrounds

All the backgrounds from the Player’s Handbook fit perfectly into Wildemount. Additionally, though, a number of existing backgrounds can be adapted to represent specific factions in the campaign.

• Augen Trust (Spy)
• Cobalt Scholar (Sage)
• Luxonborn (Acolyte)
• Myriad Operative (Criminal)
• Revelry Pirate (Sailor)