Draemiko (4e Race)

Draemikos

By Koutanagamori

A race that came about by accident, descended from the lineages of supposed enemies.

Racial Traits

Average Height: 5’10”–6’6”

Average Weight: 180–255 lbs.

Ability Scores: +2 Charisma, +1 Constitution and Intelligence

Size: Medium

Speed: 6 squares

Vision: Darkvision

Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic

Skill Bonuses: +2 Arcana, +2 Religion

Trance: Rather than sleep, draemikos enter a meditative state known as trance. You need to spend 4 hours in this state to gain the same benefits other races gain from taking a 6-hour extended rest. While in a trance, you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.

Blood Fury: You gain a +1 racial bonus to attack both when you are bloodied and if your target is bloodied.

Twin Heritage Mobility: Once per encounter, you can use either the reactive fey step or draconic soar power.

Reactive Fey Step	Draemiko Racial Power
You slip through the feywild to avoid an incoming blow.
Encounter  Teleport
Immediate Interrupt	Personal
Trigger: You are hit by an attack
Effect: You teleport 3 squares.

Draconic Soar	Draemiko Racial Power
With an almighty downthrust from your wings, you leap through the battlefield.
Encounter  Teleport
Move Action	Personal
Effect: You fly your speed.

Creatures of magic born with the blood of dragonborn and tieflings, infused with the radiance of the Feywild, and residents of great aeries in the world. Most others distrust them, but they remain cool about it. They are most curious and many delve into the study of both the arcane and divine, seeing mystic energies as progenitors for their very accidental existence.

Play a draemiko if you want...

• to be calm, logical, creative, and inquisitive.
• to teleport and fly around the battlefield, having extreme mobility and thus tactics.
• To be a member of a race that favours the warlord, warlock, paladin, and cleric classes.

Physical Qualities

Draemikos’ appearance testifies to their tiefling and dragonborn bloodlines. They resemble both demons and dragons, but are humanoid in shape. They are covered in scaly hide, have large horns, draconic/demonic wings, and thick, non-prehensile tails that range in length from 4 to 6 feet. Their teeth are sharply pointed and their eyes are solid orbs of black, blue, red, violet, green, white, silver, or gold set in a face featuring a blunt snout, strong brow, and distinctive frills at the cheek and ears. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns matches the color of their scales, which range from human skin tones to blues, reds, purples, gold, rust, ocher, bronze, or brown. They have no other hair, neither facially or bodily. Their hands and feet are strong, talon-like claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand. They can look indomitable, being about 6 foot tall and 200 lbs, covered in their fine scale-skin, feeling leathery to the touch. They favor light colors that contrast from their own coloration or dark colors that match their coloration when at home in their aeries. However, they wear whatever color is beneficial for camouflaging themselves when out adventuring. They can technically live forever, but their curiosity usually prevents that from occurring. They are born from eggs that feel hot to the touch.

Playing a Draemiko

Hundreds of years ago, the leaders of the human empire of Bael Turath made pacts with devils to solidify their hold over its enormous territory, becoming the first tieflings, and they governed their empire in the name of their infernal masters. Around the same time the dragonborn, humanoids blessed with dragon blood by the dragon gods were rising to glory, striving for perfection and honor devout to the gods, in their empire Arkhosia. Both the tieflings and dragonborn were interested in dominating even larger kingdoms, possibly worldwide dominion. For this reason, among others, Bael Turath and Arkhosia came into conflict. The resultant several-decade-long war nearly killed both races and both empires crumbled. In the early years of the war a minority of both tieflings and dragonborn realized that the war would end in such a dramatic way and sought peace instead as it was logical and honorable to do so. They were exiled for this. These two groups banded together in order to survive the wrath of their brethren, soon escaped to the Feywild, and amazingly gained the protection of the noble eladrin. While the renegade dragonborn and tieflings were there, aiding the noble eladrin in return for their safety, they began falling in love with one another and having children. Theory suggests the radiant and astral energies of the Feywild allowed the blending of the two bloods by suppressing the curse of the tieflings, since in the normal world tiefling blood always begets tiefling offspring, regardless of the other parent. This “radiant suppression effect” seems to have embedded some fey power in them as well. Thus the draemiko were born. After the war, their parents returned to the world, brining their strange children. The draemiko were hated by dragonborn and tieflings alike, seen as abominations. But having grown up in the Feywild learning from the noble eladrin they accepted this hatred with unnerving serenity, even feeling empathy for their spiteful relatives. The lessons of magic and religion they had learned told them that pride carried to the extreme was a fault, and their ancestors’ downfall proved it beyond doubt. Feelings of hatred are rarely felt by a draemiko. They are curious about nearly everything. When they mate with other humanoids, the children are always draemiko, as though the tiefling curse adapted to the new blood and fey spark to become a blessing. Their curious nature and desire for knowledge, especially arcane and divine, lead many to leave the aerie for adventure.

Draemiko Characteristics: Aloof, cunning, curious, honorable, logical, patient, perceptive, reliable, resourceful, self-reliant, serene

Male Names: Akmenos, Arannis, Bharash, Damakos, Erevan, Ghesh, Iados, Mindartis, Nadarr, Pelaios, Quarion, Rhogar

Female Names: Akta, Anastrianna, Biri, Bryseis, Caelynna, Harann, Lerissa, Meriele, Nala, Orianna, Quelenna, Raiann, Rieta, Sariel, Sora

Draemiko Adventurers

Three sample draemiko adventurers are described below.

Rhogar is a draemiko warlord who leads a group of adventurers in search of real glory, not the glamorous “glory” of his ancestors. He wants to help those that need it when he wanders across them, even though he at all times seems entirely disinterested. For Rhogar true glory is helping those that can’t help themselves. Destroying evil and becoming a legend are just perks. He enjoys working with his companions, building on each other’s strengths and shoring up weaknesses through teamwork and coordination. He reveres Erathis as the goddess of teamwork and ingenuity.

Caelynna is a draemiko warlock who revels in her fey pact. She sees the fey creatures as her ancestor’s saviors and feels that she is somewhat kindred to them. She does everything she can to become more like the fey. Her companions at first found it alarming, thinking she was mad, but now it is amusing, even a little endearing. She likes to work with the wizard to corral and annihilate enemies, even thinking about picking up a smattering of his skills as well. She likes to teleport at every opportunity, enjoying the few moments in the Feywild she gets. She’s also learned to tap into the devil blood within herself to unleash devastating infernal warlock powers. She may love the light, but sometimes darkness is more effective.

Ghesh is a draemiko paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon. He feels the need to help those around him. He strives to better the life of everyone he meets and he vanquishes evil beings with zeal. He will not tolerate even the slightest thoughts of temptation crossing his mind, haranguing himself endlessly when they do. He feels that the devil blood in his veins will only help him to do his job better. Besides, not all tieflings were or are bad. In fact, most were unwillingly caught in the curse. If he could offer a way to liberate them from these shackles he would, but alas he cannot. He often takes to good tieflings quickly, wanting to make them feel better about their heritage and become close friends, keeping an eye on the tiefling like a parent.

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