Greyfeather Races

***Races In Greyfeather***

There are multiple ways to approach this subject when it comes to Greyfeather and most of those are
determined by the type of fantasy setting you choose to use when you run it. Being the DM, you have
the final say on what races you’ll allow in your game world, including those not listed in this guide
book. There are a multitude of races that have been homebrewed or even races added in Volo’s Guide
to Monsters and even Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, so there are a lot of options there. The ones
listed below are those from my version of Greyfeather, and those listed in the Player’s Handbook.

**Dwarf**

There is only one type of dwarf in Greyfeather. The 5E PHB has two types, the Mountain Dwarf and
the Hill Dwarf, but in Greyfeather there is just a dwarf. For character creation purposes, use the
Mountain Dwarf in the PHB, but do not call them a Mountain Dwarf, as there are no Mountain
Dwarves in Greyfeather.

**Gnomes**

There is only one type of gnome in Greyfeather. The 5E PHB has two types, the Forest Gnome and the
Rock Gnome, but in Greyfeather there is just a gnome. For character creation purposes, use the Rock
Gnome in the PHB, but do not call them a Rock Gnome, as there are no Rock Gnomes in Greyfeather.

Halflings

The 5E PHB has two Halfling variations and those two variations are allowed in Greyfeather.

**Half-Elf**

When creating a Half-Elf in Greyfeather, you use the 5E PHB guide for character creation, but when
choosing which subrace of Half-Elf you are playing, you can choose half- Aspenleaf elf, half-
Elvenwood elf or half-Ty'larenthar elf.

**Half-Orc**

Creating a Half-Orc is done per the 5E PHB. There are no tribal distinction in Greyfeather, but there are
in Whitefeather. Please check with the DM if you choose to run a Half Orc from Whitefeather.

**Tiefling**

Creating a Tiefling is done per the 5E PHB. There are some differences in Greyfeather versus the PHB.
First, the stats will be the same, but the demonic origin of the Tiefling can be open to interpretation,
meaning, they can look different based on the demonic half they choose. And the final rule about them
is, they all come from Whitefeather, as this is where the portal that allowed them into the land is
located. They are not native to Greyfeather, only Whitefeather.

**Dragonborn**

Creating the Dragonborn is done per the 5E PHB. The thing to remember is that Dragonborn come
from Whitefeather only as this is where the portal that allowed them into the land is located. They are
not native to Greyfeather, only Whitefeather.

**Elves**

There are three playable subraces of elves in Greyfeather, the Aspenleaf elf, the Elvenwood elf and the
Ty'larenthar elf. For character creation purposes, use the Wood elf in the PHB for the Aspenleaf elf, the
High elf in the PHB for the Elvenwood elf, and the Drow elf for the Ty'larenthar elf.

***Aspenleaf Elves***

They are more in touch with nature than the other subraces. To show this affinity for nature, males get a
tattoo of an animal totem that runs from their left cheek and up across their foreheads. The females get
an animal tattoo on their upper left chest.

***Elvenwood Elves***

The canopy of the Elvenwood Forest is more dense than any other forest, so Elvenwood elves tend to
be pale of skin. They are more attuned to magic than nature, though some can be rangers or druids, as
well.

***Ty'larenthar Elves***

The physical differences in the Ty'larenthar elves are quite striking. First, they are even more pale than
the Elvenwood elves, which comes from living underground for some many centuries. They have dark
hair, always, because their hair had yet to see sunlight to lighten it. They have larger eyes than any of
the other subraces due to living underground and their teeth are pointed and sharp, from eating roots
that grew from solid stone.

**New Race-Highlander**

When I created Greyfeather back in 1982, I wanted to add a unique race to the land that embodied the
frozen tundra on which they lived. I created the Highlanders. To be clear, this is not a class of
barbarian, this is a race that can be of several different classes. Those classes will be explained here.
The history of the Highlanders dates back to the time of Kensak The First. During his travels in
Greyfeather, he encountered a race of people who lived high in the Dragonspire Mountains, in a
caldera, where the weather was cold and unforgiving, but they lived their lives there and adapted to
their surroundings.

Temperatures in the high altitude can dip down to –20 degrees, even on a sunshiny day, and even colder
at night. The Highlander tribes that live there have grown accustomed to such cold temperatures and
thrive there with little to no interaction with outside races. They hunt for their food and live in a tribal
society where there is a chieftain of each tribe and a shaman that sees to the spiritual needs of the tribe.
Tribal life is nothing like it is with other races. There are no stores, shops, government leaders, guilds
or taverns. They live in yurts (huts made of animal skins and wooden poles for support) and the
chieftain is the law there. The shaman is the spiritual leader of the tribe, often advising the chieftain on
what the spirits of the land expect of him when it comes to the tribe and the land. These are the two
most important individuals in the entire tribe.

The most striking thing about the Highlanders are their size. The height range for a male is 6’6” to 7’8”
in height, and they weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. The females are also quite large, being
anywhere from 6’2” to 7’2” in height and weighing anywhere from 170 to 250 pounds.

They resemble humans in their stature and appearance, but that’s where the similarities end. They can
withstand the cold climate well but struggle in warmer climates until such time as they get acclimated
to them. This can take up to a full year for them.

They age just as humans do. They become mature adults at 16 and live to be 80 years of age. Use the
Human Age Chart for this statistic.

The tundra on which they live stretches for miles and multiple tribes live there, sharing the food
sources that are available and even trading some among each other. They do not have any rivalries
between the tribes as they have learned to share what they have to further the race and the tribes. The
Highlanders are a superstitious race and believe that the spirits guide them, not the gods. They have no
belief in the gods and will not abandon the spirits to worship a god they don’t understand or believe in.
They are also suspicious of magic, be it clerical, druidic, bardic or standard magic. They will not own
or wear anything magical for this very reason. The land, to them, is more of nature, not magic, and they
will not willingly use anything magical.

That being said, it must be explained how this race uses what little magic it possesses. The shaman of
the tribe believe that the spirits of the land grant them their healing and divination abilities, but this is
not actually true. As a rule, the Father of the Gods is responsible for watching over the Highlanders and
it is he who grants those abilities to the shaman of the tribe.

With the Spirit Sorcerer, they believe that the spirits grant them their spells and that they are not taping
into the magical core. This is also not true, but their belief is strong in the spirits and this is how they
believe. There are five classes associated with the Highlander race. The Warrior, the Primalist, the
Shaman, the Trapper and the Spirit Sorcerer.

The Warrior class is the protectors and the guardians of the tribes. They stand watch and enforce the
chieftain’s laws in every village. If the village comes under attack from an outside source, the Warriors
are the first line of defense. The Primalist class are the armies of the tribes. They are the most war-like
of the tribe members and serve to shore up the defenses of their tribes. Each Primalist has an animal
companion that fights by their side in times of war, and the bond between the Primalist and the animal
companion is unbreakable.

The Shaman class is the spiritual guide of the tribe, but also the healer and the diviner. They cure the
ill, heal the wounded and search for guidance through the spirit world for answers to the problems that
might befall the tribe at any given time.

The Trapper class is the hunter/gatherer of the tribe. They track down food for the rest of the tribe using
their superior tracking and hunting skills. In times of war or attack, the Trapper becomes the invisible
defender who uses the natural surroundings to camouflage themselves and spring upon their enemies
without warning.

The Spirit Sorcerer class is attuned to the caldera in such a way that they can call upon the frozen
elements to do their bidding. Most of their spells have to do with cold, frost or ice, with devastating
results.

As a playable race in Greyfeather, it should be noted that Highlanders rarely, if ever, leave their tribes.
Should one leave their tribe, be it through wanderlust or being exiled from the tribe, or some other
reason, a player needs to be able to explain that reason through their backstory in great detail. The
player will also need to explain when this departure occurred so that they can show they are
acclimatized to the lower elevations.

Due to living in such inhospitable conditions, the Highlander is tougher and more resilient than other
races. Due to living in such harsh conditions, they have a natural armor class of 12, instead of 10. They
also have a natural resistance to magical spell effects, allowing them to roll at advantage on magical
saving throws.