Æsir (4e Race)

Æsir

By m0zch0ps [1]

Immense, Hulking Gods of war, they valiantly Serve Odin and Thor in combat, to fight the evils of the world.

Racial Traits

Average Height: 6'2" - 7'6"

Average Weight: 250-450 lb

Ability Scores: +2 Str; +2 to Wis or Con

Size: Medium

Speed: 7 squares

Vision: Low-light Vision

Languages: Common, Dwarven

Skill Bonuses: +2 Religion, + 2 History, +2 to Choice of one other

Unencumbered Speed: You move at your normal speed even when it would normally be reduced by armor or a heavy load. Other effects that limit speed (such as difficult terrain or magical effects) affect you normally. When determining your normal load, heavy load, or maximum drag load (PH 222), treat your Strength score as 5 points higher.

Immortal Origin: Your spirit is native to the Astral Sea, so you are considered an immortal creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.

Immortal Being: As an immortal creature, you don't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. You never have to make Endurance checks to resist the effects of starvation, thirst, or suffocation.

Favor of the Gods: For the purpose of meeting prerequisites (such as for feats or paragon paths), you qualify as both an Æsir and a Dwarf.

Telepathy: You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 5 squares of you that has a language.

Divine Wrath: When you are bloodied, you gain a +2/3/4 bonus racial to all damage rolls.

Race Description

Æsir are massive, hulking Gods of war, serving Odin and Thor, and ready to face their enemies in combat, be it Vallhalla, Earth or Ragnarok. They await the day of their final restitution, where they will die valiantly in battle or go on to serve in the New Kingdom. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Týr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage the Æsir-Vanir War, which results in a unified pantheon. Æsir are immortal creatures, who usually reside in Vallhalla, but occasionally grace earthly beings with their presence. Not all Æsir are as powerful or incredible as the key Pantheon, such as Odin or Thor, and many are servants or warriors that fight for or along side these Gods. While there were 12 known Æsir, there were suspected to be many more, and many Norse heroes were said to have ascended in to Godhood after completing their great tasks.

Æsir are immense and honor driven creatures. They are relentless in their pursuits of justice, and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. While their sense of Honor and Duty tends to clash with more modern viewpoints, and their belief systems are quite strange, they nonetheless strive for the same basic moral principles as most living creatures, making them good companions. Nonetheless their Nordic sense of honor can get in the way of intelligent combat. They prefer to fight the enemy outright rather than sneak around or use stealth to combat them, and believe a strict code of ethics on how to wage war, even if it's not always done for morally right reasons. Honor is seen to be almost as important as morals themselves. On top of this, they are known for partaking in strange rituals, some more taboo one's that extend all the way to blood sacrifices, where a person might be killed to honor the Gods and ask for their help. While seen as barbaric and cruel, their ways of war influence their decisions to be violent, and it is simply a part of their customs to sacrifice people this way. The victims of the violence are usually adamant in their desire to be sacrificed, as such a sacrifice is seen as an instant way to get in to gates of Vallhalla.

Æsir are naturally suited towards Guardian roles. They make excellent defenders, including the Paladin, Fighter, Warden, and Battlemind. They can make good leaders, especially given their faith, being exceptional Clerics, and doing well at being Runepriests, Warlords and Shamans. They tend to shy away from purely arcane roles, such as Wizards or Warlocks, but these paths are not unheard of. They make great Barbarians, and effective Rangers, being good melee strikers. Despite their immense strength and size, they tend to favor more protective roles over damaging roles, but they are known for bursts of Divine fury. They resemble Dwarves in outwards appearance, their size, their strength, their general builds and mannerisms, and tend to sound and behave much like most dwarves. They are however, much larger, and proportionally around the size of humans.

Æsir are believed to be by many the modern precursors to Humans, Dwarves, and Elves. With the size and proportion, as well as courage and ambition of humans, the resolve and honor of Dwarves, and the mystical nature and Sophistican of elves, they are thought to blend all three qualities in to one, immortal being. The various elves spawned from a central group of elves, where as Halflings and the like came from humans. Orcs are thought to be corrupted versions of Elves, as are Goblins and Gnomes, as well as many other creatures including fairies. Dwarves are among the closest to the Gods, short and weaker, but still with the same general appearance, high strength and muscular nature for their size, and honor and duty bound nature.

Physical Qualities

Æsir are absolutely gigantic, towering over other men and with relentless, unencumbered strength. They are immortal, Divinely inspired and incredibly tough, with common problems such as thirst, disease, suffocation and even sleep providing them no harm. They are unusually powerful and resilient, and despite their enormous size possess a greater density than most creatures. Often, their muscle density is much higher, so smaller looking Gods may in fact have greater muscle and strength than they appear. They are graceful and powerful, and practically float or hover where they want to go, with the normal plights of mortal endurance having close to no effect on them. They are relentless in their persuits, and will stop at almost nothing to achieve their goals.

Æsir often range between 6'2 and 7'2, and 250 to 450 pounds. Smaller Æsir mask their large size by appearing lankier and smaller, but they nonetheless have the same amount of muscle; due to their increased muscle density, they can hide their size by simply having muscle that's much more compact, making them smaller than their strength would otherwise suggests. Æsir are undeniably powerful creatures, with strength far above that of ordinary mortal men. Combined with their nearly indomitable endurance and will, they are awe-inspiring for their feats of strength, capable of carrying immense loads and enormous weapons for long periods of time with little to no issues. As immortal, divine beings they never have to worry about ordinary mundane issues most people do. They never sweat and their skin never gets dirty, cleaning itself quickly. They never have to worry about grooming their bears or hair, as they stay their full length for the rest of their lives. They generally tend to be covered in tribal tattoos and symbols, ancient runic symbols that denote power and meaning for their religion and belief systems. It was custom at the time for Vikings to bleach their hair to appear white or blonde, and the Gods hair tend to be bright blonde or white. Æsir are immortal, so they don't age, but many appear much older, in their late 40's or even 50's, as Æsir appear the age they feel, rather than they are. Æsir do change in appearance over time, but rather it reflects their beliefs and ideologies, instead of their physical abilities.

Æsir Feats

Æsir qualify as both Æsir and Dwarf for feats. With the Dwarves being close to the Æsir Gods and Moradin, it is the Dwarves that share similarities with the Nordic Gods, rather than the Æsir who share similarities with the Dwarves.

Heroic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Divine Fury	You gain a scaling, +1/2/3 bonus to damage rolls with your Divine Wrath racial power.
Radiant Aura	You can shine a Divine Aura with a range of 2, giving regeneration 2 for each ally in the aura, make enemies vulnerable to 2 radiant damage, and shining a bright light in every direction.
The Chosen	You gain the "Supernal" language, three other languages to your choice, a +2 bonus to all History, Diplomacy, Bluff and Intimidate rolls, and the ability to communicate telepathically to all creatures out to 20 squares. In addition, you qualify as a Divine class for the purpose of meeting prerequisites.
Thrill of Victory	You gain a +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against bloodied enemies.

Heroic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Dark Iron Dwarf	You gain Dark vision and a +2 bonus to visual perception rolls made in the dark.
Dark Iron Hide	You gain a resistance to all damage equal to 2/3/5 at each paragon tier, and temporary hitpoints equal to 3 + 1/2 your level at the start of each encounter.
Dark Iron Warrior	You gain access to certain features and special Dark Iron At-will, Utility, Encounter and Daily powers
Duergar Weapon Proficiency	You gain proficiency with all picks and axes, and a scaling +1/2/3 bonus to attack rolls with them.
Duergar Weapon Training	When you use a pickaxe for a weapon attack, you may target the fortitude defense instead of the original defense.
Dwarven Resilience	You gain an additional use of your second wind and gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls when you use it.

Æsir Utility Powers

When your Æsir character gains a class utility power after 1st level, you can forgo taking a power granted to you by your class. Instead you gain an Æsir utility power of the same level or lower.

Warrior's Penchant	Æsir Racial Power
The thrill of combat fills you with tremendous vigor, giving you a second surge of power.
Encounter
Free Action	Personal
Trigger: You become bloodied.
Effect: You may use your second wind as a free action.

Æsir Options

Æsir have special options when it comes to paragon paths and Epic destinies.

Level 11:Even though you are not a Goliath, you have access to the "Stoneblessed" Paragon Path power.

Level 21: At level 21, you can forgo the traditional level 26 utility power associated with your Epic Destiny. Instead, you can wield weapons as if they are one size larger, and increase your reach by 1.

Notes

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