Exotics

Throughout the world there exists races that are few and far in-between, a grand majority of those within the world are unaware of the existence of any race beyond the three most well known ones. Some of these races are near extinct due to some disaster long forgotten by history, other are a form of mutation upon an existing race that stabilized and became consistent, alongside different exceptions. A player who desires to play one of these races must receive direct permission from the GM to play one of these races, however, it should be noted, these races are just as balanced as the rest, the reason for the restriction is due to their inherent rarity. For characters to know about these races without ever having met one, they would need a minimum of 15 Mind, however, depending on the campaign the GM may decide more mind is required.

Sehrveus

Said to originate from the Empire which now lays destroyed within the Wastes. The Sehrveus are an inherently religious race which believes in a God they refer to as Dileyam, the origin of which being a fragment . Upon being met, many would liken the Sehrveus to Chaosborn, due to appearing akin to a mutated human, something which those of the race take great offense to. This is as the Sehrveus believe they originally were humans, but due to the belief in Dileyam their were blessed with an appearance close to that of their god.

(Most of the Sehrvi will have the class Remnant , with Fragment of Passion by default, although some may specialize in other forms of magic or callings.)

History

Due to originating in the empire, most of the history surrounding the Sehrveus is lost, as during the rule of Varrick the Spiteful any book about the empire was destroyed. Even before Cataclysm that destroyed the empire, some groups of the Sehrvi had spread out across the Mainlands. While unverified, it has been rumored that the Sehrveus often involves itself in the politics of various nations since, and has been a primary component to the prevalence of slavery from influencing the politics dating as far as several centuries ago. Amongst a bundle of unverified rumors, one of the more believed is that the current day nation that has been affected the heaviest from the Sehrvi is Stisedo back when they were just a collection of city states.

Abilities

As per their body being the product of a Fragment's blessing, each notable feature serves specific purpose. The most well known of all their features, are their 6 wings, although not capable of enabling flight, it allows a powerful gust upwards (10 meters to be exact), although this tires their wings enough to not be able to do so again for the rest of the day. While the flight capabilities are limited, their wings are excellent for gliding, as doing so barely tires them. Furthermore, it is said that should a Sehrveus be exiled from their own people, their wings are brutally removed, as they are forced to live in despair.

While the Sehrveus value their wings above all else, the most important to the functions of their body is their horns. The horns of the Sehrveus contains the central nervous functions for the wings and tails of the Sehrveus, alongside as focus point from where this magic is casted. As such, without their horns the Sehrveus are incapable of casting magic bestowed upon them from Dileyam, and allegedly it can cause difficulty in Sehrveus who utilize other forms of magic. Additionally, without their horns they are incapable of moving or using their wings and tails. It is likely that before they were bestowed their blessing from Dileyam, they were only able to worship the god without able to use any magic, or prove that their Fragment was real.

Lastly, is the Sehrvi's Teeth and tail, unlike most creatures, the Sehrveus do not sustain themselves upon food or water, but instead the blood of living creatures. It is rumored that this is a defect from their blessings, although other rumors say that their Fragment had always intended this as part of their blessing. Regardless, to assist with this the canine's of the Sehrvi's teeth are sharpened and partially hollow, to assist in the procurement of blood. The amount of blood they need to drink is quite significant (1/3rd the blood in the average humanoid), but can sustain them for a week once fully satiated. For unknown reasons, the blood of animals seems to be far less nutritious, requiring several times the blood compared to humanoids. Those they drink blood from will often barely survive, while their are some Sehrvi who will always try to drain their meals to completion, extinguishing their life. Other Sehrvi do their best to see those they feed on as people just as they are, and thus do not wish to kill them. When a Sehrveus is fully satiated, large portions of their skin and their horns become vibrantly flushed, and its said that they become more beautiful, juxtaposed to this, whilst starving, their skin becomes pale and shrunken. While in the starved state the Sehrveus becomes slower and more fragile (-3 to Vit and Reaction speed), after getting their fill of blood, the Starved state only fully dissipates after 3 days. Their teeth is mentioned in the same breath as their tail, as their tail is effectively akin to a sort of taste buds for the Sehrveus, as when they rub their tail on a person or creature, they gain a decent idea of what their blood would taste like.

There exists one further ability of the Sehrveus, which is the ability to transform a bird, similar to the previous "defect" this is also seen as a defect, as they become far more vulnerable in the form of a bird, and once they transform, they cannot return to their normal form until a minimum of 24 hours have passed.

Half-Dragons

Crossbreeds between dragons and humanoid races, this is possible as dragons mate through mixing their magic with their intended mates. Such a match is, in the lightest of terms, an extreme improbability, and are often only seen once every few centuries. Most known half dragons throughout history became powerful figures who appeared confidently in the forefront of history.

Regardless of the race that the dragon mates with, the resulting crossbreed will live for around 3 centuries. Despite their total lifespan, they reach adulthood at the same time that the secondary race normally would.

Abilities

Similar to what most imagine of dragons, half-dragons often have powerful and durable wings, horns and tails, alongside an array of scales covering parts of their body. Even their wings, which for most creatures are inherently fragile, are durable enough to be used akin to shield to block arrows or a multitude of lesser attacks. However, perhaps due a defect from crossbreeding, half-dragons are only able to use their wings to fly much later in their lives.

While their natural features are certainly impressive they all pale in comparison to the might and sheer renown of the Dragon's breath. Dragons are able to instinctively and naturally able to use elemental magic, just like the spirits, to deliver ruin upon their foes, and while not to the degree of dragons themselves, Half-dragons can call upon this mythical ability as well. The exact effect of the Dragon's breath is dependent on the element of the Dragon who is their parent. For example a fire Half-dragon may simply unleash a torrent of searing flames, but on the other hand, a phantom Half-dragon breath could conjure physical clones of themselves.

Lastly, merely using the Dragon's breath incurs a significant injury upon the Half-dragon for using might far beyond what their body can handle. When a Half-dragon character uses Dragon's breath they gain 2 fatigue of internal injuries, however, this will never kill the character.

It should however be noted, that Half-Dragons are only referred as such when they are the direct descendant of a dragon, as once the blood of the dragon becomes diluted, the resulting descendant loses the Dragon's breath. As the generations continue the features likening the descendants to dragons would fade, eventually resulting in a normal child of the race.

Chimerae

Depending on who you ask a Chimera could be a monstrous mutation that only narrows the gap between Chaosborn and regular people, others, they believe it is evolution at work. A Chaosborn is a guaranteed result from an Irae inflicted parent, A Chimera on the other hand, only has an extremely rare chance to occur from two heavily mutated Chaosborn parents. It is the very definition, of a rare mutation, and often leads to "people" with monstrous mutations far exceeding any heavily mutated Chaosborn. One of their few similarities to Chaosborns, is that these mutations can be excessively varied, and because of how rare Chimerae can be, there has yet to be any real regard to what a minor or major series of mutations would like like for a Chimera. As such, their abilities can vary from all sorts of things, from producing lethal poisons within their body, to a monstrous and inhuman form which easily gives them an edge in combat. The Mutations of Chimerae are so intense and all encompassing, that they often effect the minds of their victims as well. Often making Chimerae erratic and dangerous in some fashion, yet another reason that most who encounter one will find it near indistinguishable from an Iraeidin.

Whilst they are extraordinarily rare, compared to all of the other races considered to be "Exotic", Chimerae are relatively the most common. This fact is in part due to the growing number of Chaosborn throughout the world, however, it is largely a fact because of the existence of the Stisedan noble family known as "House Chimera".

History

House Chimera, is so heavily linked to the history and knowledge on Chimerae, that the moniker of Chimera is only used because that is the word the nobles of House Chimera called them. House Chimera would kidnap heavily mutated Chaosborn, and using them would artificially create Chimera. They would then have a selection process, finding ones whose mutations are best fit for combat whilst still retaining their senses and mind, before training them, discarding the rest who do not fit their requirements. Through this, House Chimera created a private military of extraordinary strength, dwarfing every other Stisedan noble family. This is a large factor towards why the family calls themself "House" Chimera, as they see themselves so superior to other nobles that they seek a differentiation to the very nomenclature of their family. Through this private military, over the decades House Chimera ballooned in power, developing bases in every Stisedan city and multiple factions through which would lead the family in a combined manor, which only occasionally leads to infighting. These efforts lead to Chimerae being a relatively more common existence within Stisedo, even if their usage was within the shadows. However, the greatness achieved by House Chimera is not without the cost of countless Chimerae lives, as those who lead House Chimera treat the Chimerae as fodder whose only purpose is to further their own goals.

Even if a Chimerae did survive whatever struggles their life entails, due to their immense mutations across their body, it would be a miracle for them to survive to 30, a feat which is common for even majorly mutated Chaosborn. On average, a Chimera dies at the age of 16, and due to developing similar to a normal human, they can barely claim to be an adult by the time they die.

Tezhir

An ancient race, said to have been the first to exist, and with their inherent immortality, some who still remain may have seen every moment of the world's existence. Most records of Tezhir are from parchments multiple centuries old, many withered and fragmented. One such fragment, explains that the Tezhir are beings which closely mimick humans, despite being entirely different, allegedly, they have no organs, and thus, no need to eat or drink. And yet, their bodies still require sleep for some reason, leaving historians and researchers alike puzzled as to if the race should be likened to a person or to a Sarwix. Tezhir are often described being human, but sometimes with accessories, such as wings or fins, but the only trait described amongst all records, is cracks upon their skin, often emitting a radiant light, occasionally crackling with power, almost if seeking to escape. It is described further in other fragments, whilst the default tends to be gold, the light from a Tezhir changes color depending on their emotion, and can envelop their body at moments of emotional intensity. While the Tezhir are believed to be immortal, they are only immortal in terms of age, but are still very much mortal in the sense of being susceptible to death, to which comes the most unfortunate aspect of the Tezhir, as most are believed to be dead. It is unknown how a Tezhir is born, but due to most records coming from ages long past, it is believed that their births are far less common than their deaths, and some speculate that the race has already long gone extinct. In a recently discovered fragment it has been discovered that every century or so the Tezhir can have a "rebirth" occur, this event makes them inherently stronger, along with allowing them to reshape their body within the limitations of what is known for them (at least it is believed as much). Furthermore, it is assumed due to certain fledglings of information, that in times of dire need, a Tezhir can force a "rebirth" perhaps in part due to the reshaping of their body regenerating any mortal wounds.

In current day, the Tezhir are likened more as a myth, than a concrete existence that one could expect to find within the world. However, there are many who believe, that the Tezhir's body itself holds the secret to heightening their own. These mad men, believe that if you drink the blood of a Tezhir, it will extend their life span, whilst Tezhir tears, would grant them an increase in their magical prowess. These beliefs are so popular amongst those knowledgeable about Tezhir, that some speculate that if any Tezhir remain in the world, they have been enslaved, and their bodies treated like bountiful fields.

(Note : to any players seeking to play a Tezhir, be aware that it is exceptionally more rare to be allowed to play a Tezhir, compared to a grand majority of other races on the Exotics page)