Playtest: Ancestry & Culture v0.2

Hello everyone!

We have been working hard on a new set of character options to help players create characters that feel like they are a part of Hemelin, the world that all of the adventures we publish here take place in. 

What is Ancestry & Culture?

We are testing a system of Ancestry & Culture (originally developed by Arcanist Press) for our character creation options. With this system, instead of choosing a Race, you choose an Ancestry that determines the traits your character was born with, and a Culture that determines the traits your character gained from the way they were raised. In addition to this, you still choose a Background and a Class.

There are a lot of diverse places in the world of Hemelin, and this method of character creation allows players to create characters that feel like they are rooted in that world. You can now play an Orc that was born and raised in Dryfoot Hill, or an Orc that was born and raised in Lionsgate, and they will both feel like distinctly different characters.

Create diverse characters.

This system is designed from the ground up to support characters of mixed Ancestry and multiple cultures. No more stock half-elves and half-orcs! With the rules presented in this playtest, you can make your character’s origins as diverse as you like. 

The Playtest.

The playtest attached to this post is the second iteration of the Ancestry & Culture player options we’re developing, and will likely not be the last. This playtest offers 13 ancestries and 7 cultures to choose from. They have all been designed from the ground up to reflect the world of Hemelin, with some Ancestries changing significantly from the 5e Race they were based on. 

Featured Ancestries:

• Boggard - Lanky swamp stalkers
• Cawmac - Colorful bird-folk
• Dragonborn - Children of dragons
• Dwarf - Hairy stonekin
• Elf - Adaptive nomads
• Gnome - Feywild stonekin
• Halfling - Soft-footed smallfolk
• Human - Resilient survivors
• Kobold - Cave lizards
• Rattin - Gnawing scrabblers
• Gatorfolk - Crocodilian giants
• Orc - Primordial people
• Tiefling - Devilkin

Featured Cultures:

• Dryfoot - Wily traders of Dryfoot Hill
• Middener - Builders & Fixers from the Middens
• Pridelander - Heroes from Lionsgate
• Seasong - Musical wind-benders from the Seasong Islands
• Spirian - Inhabitants of Silver Spires
• Soddener - Swamp-dwellers of the Soddenweald
• Tovanaren - Tyrants of Dragonspring

We want to hear from you!

Let us know what you think of this new system for character creation, and the features we’re presenting here. 

Tell us about the characters you’re inspired to make, the new features you’d like to try out, and which deviations from 5th edition you enjoy! But also tell us if you have any balance concerns, if there is anything from the 5th edition options you’re missing, and if you’re disappointed by anything.

We look forward to seeing what kind of characters you make with these new character creation options!

Cheers,
- Niels & Rose

PS: These new character creation options will be used for the Stars of the Sea playtest games we’re running on our discord server!

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The Ancestry & Culture method of character creation is based on the book "Ancestry & Culture: An alternative to Race in 5e" by Arcanist Press. We are adopting this method with permission of the author.