Anwyn
Fantasy Express
Novus 2nd Edition
Novus 1st Edition
The only thing that gives them away is their slightly pointed ears. Unlike their Elven parents, many Half-Elven males are capable of growing beards. Half-Elves usually live to be around 300 years old.
Demeanor: Half-Elves will have an attitude and outlook on life based on where they are raised, who they are raised by, and how that culture views those with mixed parentage.
Appearance: Half-Elves resemble humans more than they do Elves, ranging from 5’2” to 5’8” tall, with slim builds, and weighing from 150 to 180 lbs on average. Hair and skin color can vary widely, just as with humans. The only real tell-tale of Elven parentage is that they have slightly pointed ears.
Stat Modifiers: +1 Charisma, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, -1 Strength, -2 Willpower
Size: Medium (Base Movement: 10’ per Action Point)
Special Abilities:
Nightvision, Lesser: This ability allows the character to see, when outdoors on a bright night, up to 500’ as if it were just a very dark day. When he is indoors, this allows the character to see twice as far as the light source normally allows.
Enhanced Senses: Excellent senses grant a +1 bonus to all Perception rolls.
Skill Flexibility: The player may select 2 Standard Skills to be classified as Favored Skills for his character. This applies to individual skills only, not all instances of a skill that needs to be specialized.
Probably the overall physically toughest of the races, they are very resistant to poisons and diseases and have exceptional life spans of up to 350 years.
They are superior craftsmen and love to mine the earth for precious gems and metals, forging them into weapons of strength and artifacts of beauty and power. Not as fertile as humans, they have few children; and less than a third of their people are women, who are guarded jealously within their societies.
Demeanor: Dwarves are very straightforward and dislike ‘beating around the bush’. They admire strength and directness in others and dislike what they consider to be fripperies. To the Dwarves, something that is artistic should be functional as well. This attitude shows in their demeanor and dealings with others.
Appearance: Dwarven males stand around 4’ 5” tall, while the females are slightly shorter at 4’ 3” tall. A very stocky race, the Dwarves look as though they have been compressed, their bodies expanding in width. Often weighing twice what would be expected for someone their size, they generally average 200 pounds.
Dwarves are very fond of their beards, which may grow to lengths that hang past their waists. For many Dwarves, hair and beards (for men) are almost always woven into braids, weaving in colored stones and beads and rings that are more than just decorations. These items will each have a special significance to the Dwarves.
Stat Modifiers: -1 Charisma, +3 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Speed, +2 Strength
Size: Medium (Base Movement: 10’ per Action Point)
Special Abilities:
Darkvision (30’): Character may see up to the distance listed when in total darkness. If surrounded by darkness and within an area of light (i.e. like that from a torch), he may see the distance given plus that of the light source. The character may see clearly up to twice the given distance on a starlit night, and 10 times the given distance on a brightly lit night.
Stone Sense: Dwarves are able to notice hidden things in stone such as slight slopes, dangerous stone work, secret doors, etc. much easier than others. All Perception rolls involving gathering information about stone objects gain a bonus of +5.
Though basically similar to Humans in many ways, Elves have several important, if subtle, differences. Elves are more refined in appearance than Humans, having finer features and unmarred skin. Their long lifespan, of approximately 450 to 500 years, tends to give them a more unique perspective of the world, to be able to take a long view on plans. They often have no problem waiting decades for a plan to come to fruition.
Demeanor: Elves deeply respect nature and this shows in their outlook on the world around them.
Appearance: Elves are shorter than Humans, and more slender overall, though still muscular. Elves average 5’ tall, with females of the race ranging only a few inches shorter. All have very lithe forms with Elven males weighing around 140 pounds. They have upswept ears that top off in delicate points. Elves are unable to grow beards. Their skin color is usually a light brown, similar to that of an acorn, while their eyes are often some shade of grey, green, purple or amber.
Elves retain a youthful appearance until just before the end of their lives, aging dramatically over their last 5 years.
Stat Modifiers: +2 Charisma, +1 Dexterity, +2 Speed, -2 Strength, -3 Willpower
Size: Medium (Base Movement: 10’ per Action Point)
Special Abilities:
Nightvision, Greater: This ability allows a character to see outdoors as well on a bright night as he would on a cloudy, overcast day. When he is indoors, this allows the character to see 3 times as far as normally allowed by a light source.
Enhanced Senses: Excellent senses grant a +2 bonus to all Perception rolls.
Humans are versatile and able to adapt to many locations and climes that other races might not be able to. They also tend to be driven, to reach further, to try new things, to expand their horizons in a way that no other race seems capable of. Most Humans live to be between 60 and 80 years of age if they can survive that long. However, it is not unheard of for a Human to live up to 100 years, especially if they have access to magical healing.
Demeanor: Despite being one of the most diverse and adaptable races, humans all tend to have one thing in common, ambition. The amount of ambition differs from person to person, but it seems that all humans continually strive to build and expand, to reach above and beyond their current means.
Appearance: Humans run the gamut of skin coloring and body shape. They are one of the most diverse races when it comes to appearance. They range in height, 5’4”-6’4” for men; 5’-5’10” for women and have a range of builds from thin to stocky to fat. Their hair and eyes run the entire spectrum of normal shades. Males sometimes grow beards or mustaches. Quite often humans from a specific geographic area will all share similar racial traits. For example, humans from near the equator tend to have darker skin and less body hair, while those from northern climes often have more body hair and paler skin tones.
Stat Modifiers: None
Size: Medium (Base Movement: 10’ per Action Point)
Special Abilities:
Adaptability: Players may spread 4 points among the character’s stats (not stat bonuses), No stat may receive more than 2 points from this ability. This special Adaptability bonus to stats does not affect the potential maximum of a Human character’s stats. Nor can they be used to increase a character’s stats beyond their normal maximums.
Skill Flexibility: The player may select 3 skills to be Favored Skills for his character. This applies to individual skills only, not all instances of a skill that needs to be specialized.
The next step in creating your character is to choose your character’s Race. Each race has several aspects that help define your character.
Stat Modifiers
Humans are the standard race against which all other races are compared. Average Humans will have stats ranging from 6 to 20 (see [[Stat Generation]] for more information).
Other races receive Stat Modifiers. These modifiers apply to both the character’s actual stat as well as the potential maximum that the character can have. For the current stat, the Stat modifier is simply applied to the generated number for that stat. For the character’s potential maximum for a stat, you simply apply the modifier to 20, the maximum for a Human.
Example: Halflings have a +2 modifier to Dexterity and a -4 modifier to Strength. The player would generate their stats as normal, and then apply the modifiers to both the actual stat and the stat’s maximum.
If the player generates a 16 for his Dexterity and 17 for his Strength; then after applying his racial modifiers, he would have an 18 (16 + 2 = 18) for his Dexterity and a 13 (17 – 4 = 13) for his Strength. And his potential maximums would be 22 (20 + 2 = 22) for Dexterity and 16 (20 – 4 = 16) for Strength.
Special Abilities
Many races have a number of abilities and capabilities that are unique to all members of that race. This section of the racial description details them for you.