The Souled Races and Languages (Karanduun Setting)

The Races of Sanlibutan all have the potential of Worth, thanks to the Karanduun Bala becoming a part of nature itself, only waiting for powerful and courageous heroes to latch on to to awaken their Bala. The beings that tread Sanlibutan are split into three different racial categories: Humans, Mortalfolk, and Engkanto.

The engkanto races are fractured, and humans breed like crazy in comparison to the other races. As such, humans have a marginally larger population and territorial control over the known world. However, humans are not the only playable race.

The Karanduun Bala that now drifts across Divine Winds now inhabits not just humans, but also non-humans and the engkanto. As thus, they are also playable races, even though the majority of the racial demographic in Sanlibutan are humans.

(One will need the Player's Handbook (1-3) and Heroes of the Feywild 4e books)

Tawo

The Children of the Bamboo are the most prevalent among all of the mortalfolk. Other than tawo, they also call themselves human. Since the great Apocalypse, they are the ones that repopulated across the Archipelago of Lakungdula. The races of katawohan are spread across the entirety of Sanlibutan.

Lakungdulans

Lakungdulans are those that inhabit Zuhyaras, Liway, Tabun, and T’Kapi. They are mostly a men and women that have acclimated to surviving with the dangerous land that they live within. They do not conquer their land, they live with it. Tawo rarely live past 100 years of age. All Lakungdulans are Humans (Player's Handbook, pg. 46).

Zuhayrans (Humans)

The colonized Lakungdulans who have adopted numerous other cultures and have become a global and widely trade-focused people. They are well-rounded tawo who are descended from seafaring peoples. Thus, they are infinitely versatile, and good with trade.

Zuhayrans are diverse. They tend to be open, and have a surprising amount for intellect for learning other languages, as well as learning other cultures. If you play as a Zuhayran tawo, be prepared to know that culture is something all tawo share.

By Jap Mikel

They tend to be a mix of Giroan, Lakungdulan, and Al-Kaigian. Those that are half-Giroan are called mystiso de Giro, and those that are half-Al-Kaigan are called mystiso de Kaig. According to their ancestry, they tend to have dark brown to pale skin, dark brown to light brown hair (only blonde if they are mystiso de Kaig), and their eyes range the spectrum from gray to brown to light brown, and only exhibit blue or green if they are mystiso. Their height ranges from 4’9” to 6’0”.

Read more about Zuhayras.

Zuhayran Characteristics: Adaptable, ambitious, bold, unyielding, amiable, creative, resourceful

Male Zuhayran Names: Lakas, Bilis, Galawan, Saniogo, Sandata, Tungku, Linti, Gago, Kadena, Sigato

Female Zuhayran Names: Liwayway, Alunsina, Umaga, Marikit, Mayumi, Anina, Kawit, Kohanka, Agos, Alon

Zuhayran Surnames: Cadenza, Lucan, Alamana, Tidazu, Aratus, Terenti, Ahala, Seuso, Santoro, Audens, Pelagius, Lacsamana, Shacil, Uthman, Sadan, Gaezi, Ismael, Havroun, Cinani, Valens

Zuhayran Backgrounds

Zuhayrans are infinitely versatile, and are the best when dealing with other people.

Zuhayran Sailors can commandeer a ship. You are one of the mighty sailors of Zuhayras. Where di you learn to sail? Did you learn it from the modern Zuhayrans, or did you learn it from one of the sage elders that still preserve the knowledge of pre-colonial sailing?
Benefit: You add +2 to all rolls out in the sea or concerning sailing a ship.

Zuhayran Traders are consummate merchants and traders. You are well-versed in commerce and money and diplomacy among all the nations, and even the people within them. This is one of the most powerful weapons of the current time. Where did you learn your Tradery? Did you learn from a random merchant, or perhaps you took up an Academic Course in Embassy and Trade in the University of Salamangka?
Benefit: Add Thievery and Diplomacy to your Class Skills. In addition, you get a +2 to all rolls that involve merchantry or haggling. You are good with money, after all.

Liwayans (Humans)

The mighty Liwayans are the people of Lakungdula that say they are the original people of the bamboo. They are mostly under the Makkalan Lakanate, which has been split into the three Kedatuans. The Liwayan people are a proud race and one that is not ready to give up any portion of their land, saying that the land belongs to their ancestors and to the diwata. Liwayan are the fiercest and the ones trained in war. When they are born, they are trained to become master orators, poets, and warriors all the same.

By Ferdinand D. Ladera

The Liwayan are more war-focused than the Zuhayrans. At the same time, they revere the land even more than the Zuhayrans do, who already hold the land to highest fear and regard. They fight with a blessed zeal for their motherland. Because of this, they are favored by the Apo of War. The Triumvirate Yna Guinida, Makanduk, and Barangaw.

Most Liwayans have a fierce sense of stewardship to the land, and they believe in protecting it. They abhor the “weak” Zuhayrans that have given in to the Al-Kaigians. They adhere to their religion and people strictly, and measure power in the number of slaves you have.

Most Liwayans tend to be shorter, but broader and stronger. They are a people given to war, and one that maneuvers the dense underbrush and forests and mountains of Liway masterfully. They tend to range from 4’9” to 5’10”. Their skins are usually light brown to dark brown, although never an olive hue. Their hair is either curly or straight, and can be dark brown or light brown. Light brown to black eyes are the norm. Most of the time they tend to be stocky and brawny, rippled with muscle.

Liwayan Characteristics: Brave, unyielding, powerful, war-like, uninhibited, sneaky, curious, willful

Names: Liwayans don’t distinguish male or female names, and don’t have surnames for the sake of record-keeping either. Example names are: Abog, Alao, Bael, Balagtas, Dilag, Gumiran, Halina, Lagdameo, Magkalas, Narag, Okala, Penano, Ragot, Sagisi, Taal, Tala, Umagtang, Yumul, Palangan, Nimo

Liwayan Backgrounds

Liwayans are usually poet-warriors, but some dedicate more time to the other, especially if you're a female or male, which in their society, lets you gravitate toward a certain role better.

Liwayan Poets are renowned for their great skill in poetry. They are well versed in the arts of song and oratory, and are known for singing out "Kandu", the native epics of the Lakungdulan people. Most Liwayan people are trained since birth to become great poets, and they entirely have a different vocabulary for flowery imagery, which they call Katha (Kat-Ha). When did you learn your poetry? Who did you defeat in your first battle of words? What is the longest you've gone reciting poetry?
Benefit: You gain +2 to every check made that involves singing or poetry or oration. Once per day, you can sing to entertain an entire crowd, allowing you to gain knowledge or find an audience.

Liwayan Tinatakan Warriors are renowned painted men. They do not wear clothes -- rather, they wear their tattoos with pride. Their tattoos bear the truth of the world, the serpent eating the sun, the snake that crawls under earth, the teeth of a great crocodile. One only becomes a Tinatakan after great heroism, with most warriors' fist tattoo being after their first conquest in either love or war. When did you get your first tattoo? Was it in love or war? Are you well known amongst your barangay now? Do you use your tattoos to your advantage? Why did you leave your life of prestige and go into a life of adventuring?
Benefit: You gain a +2 check to Intimidate. You are proficient with heavy blades.

Al-Kaigians (Half-Elf)

The powerful descendants of the diwata-blooded scions known as the Septumvirate. They use Half-Elf (Player's Handbook, pg. 42) rules to represent their diwata lineage.

Al-Kaigians are haughty and proud in a word. Descendants of the Septumvirate, seven powerful half-blooded tawo that seeked out refuge from the War of the Four Datu, they lay claim to the birthright of the world. They are tall, pale-skinned and light-haired. They have weathered the horrible, burning cold climate of the Hosk-Edur Continent. They now live in the Kivhran Peninsula, a more temperate land, where they stake their hold.

Taller than their other tawo people, they are still for all intents and purposes tawo, even though they technically are not. Burning within their blood is the promise of power. Burning within their blood is potent diwata blood, from the seven diwata-blooded forebears of the Al-Kaigian Empire. While the blood is too diluted to create demigods, but enough to have warped and manipulated the physiology and, probably, their thinking as well.

The Al-Kaigians consider themselves tawo. The Canticles of Light put that above all else, the tawo are the ones chosen by Yavum, and put other races -- even the Lakungdulans -- below their heel. They shall manifest their destiny, their birthright, of being one of the most powerful races on Sanlibutan.

They follow a powerful religion: the Holy Yavuman Faith. Discovered by Kaig, the First Prophet, in the 258th Year of Yavum's Slumber, they worship the One True God, Yavum, who brings with him consummate power. The Almighty Dreamer and the Light Without Shadow, He is said to be sleeping because the act of creation has tired him. When he awakes, Al-Kaig shall be ready. When he awakes, he will return to himself what is rightfully his.

Most Al-Kaigians enjoy a large amount of power thanks to their Empire. Those that live within the cities enjoy some of the most advanced technologies in Sanlibutan, second only to Effisia. Airships and horse-drawn carriages, steam-engines powered by steam diwata, they all abound in the glorious industrial revolution of Al-Kaig, where they are preparing to finally manifest their destiny.

Even Al-Kaigians that live out in the satrapies, out in the countryside outside of the city, enjoy easy farming and the protection of the feudal lords that grant them protection. All the lords answer to the Holy Kaisar, who is equal in power to the Grand Patriarch of thee Yavuman Church.

Al-Kaigians are proud, but not all of them are. They stand tall and proud for their country, and are known to be one of the most powerful races in Creation. Pride begat the fall, however.

Read more about Al-Kaig.

Al-Kaigian Characteristics: Haughty, powerful, proud, noble, regal, intelligent, implacable

Male Al-Kaigian Names: Caballe, Canyelles, Ferrer, Casas, Gaferot, Jofre, Ignasi, Joaquim, Onofre, Bartomeu

Female Al-Kaigian Names: Alenya, Vinyes, Maria, Marissa, Mariona, Narcissa, Nuria, Josefina, Arana, Catarina.

Surnames: Al-Kaigian naming convention states that every child have a surname to denote their father (or mother if their father is unknown). In between the given name and the surname, the names "de" and "binti" are given. "De" is used to denote "son of", whereas "binti" is used to denote "daughter of". This naming convention comes from the Kivhrans. (Example name would be: Bartomeu de Onofre. Otherwise known as Bartomeu son of Onofre.)

Al-Kaigian Backgrounds

All Al-Kaigians showcase pride in their Empire. These backgrounds are as fitting for an empire in its industrial revolution.

Child Laborers are those that have been caught in the yoke of Industrialization. In the rise of mass-production, the lowest cost to create has yielded to an alarming rise of underpaid, under-aged workers. You are one of them. How did you escape? Who were the people with you? Did you save anyone else? Are you currently ambivalent to the state of using children as underpaid laborers?
Benefit: You have a +2 to every roll concerning Manual Labor. Add Athletics to your Class Skill list.

Church Guards are those that were hired by the Holy Yavuman Church to guard its faithful, a task that has become increasingly important with the rise of expansion. Are you still faithful to the Church? Did you witness any acts among the congregation that were unbecoming? Why did you leave being a Church Guard?
Benefit: You are proficient with longswords. In addition, you have a +2 to your Religion.

Giroans (Hobgoblin)

By Cheong Yeol Lee

The proud people of the Tiger. The Tiger that Bit the Dragon. Humans born from the Near East Region of Kat-jja, they are the tawo who travelled east after the War of the Four Datu. There they discovered the vast geomantic empire of the Naga, a civilization of humanoid dragons covered in scintillating scales and iridescent feathers, whom they worshipped. The Naga (which in Giroan is Qirong. The Naga referred to themselves as the “Ryukahn”) took the fleeing humans and gave them civilization and technology, but made them slaves. When the time of the Final War of Sunder happened, they rebelled and won, escaping from the Far East and moving to the Near East of Kat-jja, where they have created a vast Empire that spans for most of the Near East.

The Giroans have a strong sense of nationalism, partly inherited from the Naga, and partly because of their achievement of liberation from them. To them, the Rebellious Tigers will not bow to any, not even to their former masters. In the half-whispered myths of the streets, it is said that the Giroan Military is preparing to assault the center of the world. They are a very collectivist society. The individual is not as important as the whole. Always follow tradition and law. Do what is best for your people.

Their current Emperor, Yujao Gi’kuo, the Mooncopper Tiger, is said to be the eldest in a long line of half Dragon Lord half-human people that are superior to normal humans, since they have a Divine Right to Rule from the Populis of Heaven.

They worship their ancestors and have various festivals to celebrating the dead, as well as hold various famous ancestors in the same regard as they hold their gods. They believe in reincarnation, and think that the highest attainment of reincarnation is the Naga, which is said that when you reincarnate from being a Dragon Lord, you attain either supreme peace for 3,000 years, or ascend past the confines of the earth.

The Giroans hold a yearly census that spans the entirety of their mandala of influence. The main reason of this census is to look for able bodied, 19 to 28 year old men and women who are conscripted to Military Service. Military service is very common within the nation and is usually made up of men and women.

Giroans tend to have light skin to very pale skin. They also tend to have light brown to raven hair. Their eyes are usually narrow and almond-shaped, which are angular, although it can also round out. Their eyes also tend to have epicanthic folds. They range from 5'0" to 6'0", and tend to have leaner and thinner body types.

Names in Giroan Society usually are made up of a first name that resonates with the baby’s being or the dream of the parent for them and a family name that is the name of the father, followed by the three indicators of place in the family as decided by the family (tsu for daughter, ko for son, and tsi for a neutral sound).

Giroans use Hobgoblin rules to reflect their strict martial discipline.

Giroan Characteristics: Noble, powerful, honorable, warriors, numerous, collectivist, brave
Giroan Names: Koccha (Flower), Bulka (Fire), Soneul (Sky), Tsii (Violet), Kigeum (Gold), Negyi (Cat) To-hlang (Tiger), Kuleum (Cloud), Jikku (Earth), Bami (Sea)

So names can look like this: Soneul’tsu Bami (Bami daughter of Tohlang)

Giroan Backgrounds

Much of the Giroan Society is centered around combat and the manufacture of new military technology to keep back the implacable might of the Qirong Naga, as well as training more and more men and women to defend the eastern and northern borders.

Giroan Tiger Scales. The borders of Giro'jji are dangerous, constantly assaulted by the Qirong Naga and the Al-Kaigian. The Tiger Scales are the military people deemed fit for the dangerous boundaries of the world: the borders of Giroan Jurisdiction. Those that are trained to be Border Watchmen and Watchwomen have exceptional spotting skills as well as being exceptionally hardy against the horrid weathers they might face. Giroan Border Watchmen are trained to work together. Did you like your time being a Tiger Scale? Did you desert or were you told to leave? What kinds of horrors did you see in the Border?
Benefit: You gain +2 to all Perception Checks. Once per day, you can immedaitely identify what a Monster is without a Monster Lore roll, but this only gives you knowledge of the monster's name.

Koccha-Kishi Monk. Deep in the mountains of Eodubh-doen, which means "Darkness Abated", is a temple. A temple carved from the very blesssed stone of that mountain. The temple houses various men and women with groomed hair and only the barest of paint on their faces, wearing vast wide-sleeved robes that are overlaid by a hard lamellar armor. See them as they train upon their serene mountain tops, upon their natural stone labyrinths and arenas. These are the monastic poet-knights known as the Koccha-Kishi, the Flower Knights. They follow the Flower Philosophy of Om, adhering to the Eight Petals of Serenity, and abstain from the evils of the world. Here, these Monks are trained to be powerful weaponmasters and intelligent viziers and poets that travel the world to attain enlightenment. When did you become a Koccha Kishi? Are you in love with someone? Do you write poetry? Where do you think your enlightenment is?
Benefit: You gain +2 to all poetry-related skill checks. Once per day, you may add +2 to any Wisdom Skill Check relating to spirituality, religion, or nature.

Engkanto

The engkanto are grouped together in that they all live within the city of Biringan, all of them subject and worshippers of Maka. The races that are not part-spirit are known as Mortal. All engkanto can speak Diwatan as their first language, replacing Common.

Tamawo (Eladrin)

The race of noble fey-beings that rule and govern over the engkanto city of Biringan. They are great beings favored by the Apo, second only to the Lipod. They have created great magical fey-kingdoms in both the Natural World and the Espiritu that bent space and time... but now only one such city stands: the aforementioned Biringan. They are possessed of otherworldly beauty, one that entices both male and female alike. Their steps flitter with fey-dust, and none of them seem to touch the floor. They possess control over fate and the Diwa as Air known as Tagos. They can bend reality by virtue of their being. They step, and rip through dimensions, before stepping out in the other side, seemingly having teleported between both areas. When shown the shine of the sun, they glimmer with the glitter of ethereal diamonds. When threatened, the tamawo grow sharp fangs and shine golden claws and can consume any living thing. This threatened state, known as their base engkanto state, only shines through if the engkanto would allow it.

They are usually possessed of unnaturally tall height, almost seven to eight feet, and their proportions are usually unnaturally lanky. Their skin is always an alabaster pale, bordering on diamond, and their hair runs the gamut of pure platinum silver to gold. Most of their noses are high-bridged, and they have no philtrum. They also have long, leaf-shaped ears.

These androgynous alien creatures only travel to the realm of humans for the purposes of reproduction, as all tamawo do not have gender, and require human females to reproduce, for their race is a race that has no genders. Many myths have been made to understand why this is, but the one that is said to be true -- one spoken by the Tamawo Parawali Sinanja:

The four engkanto tribes are all of one situation. They do not reproduce normally, for they are not mortals. They are not beholden to the same rules that plague and beheld mortals. To reproduce, the four engkanto tribes perform a powerful ritual to create more of their kine.

However, that ritual is lost to time. Only one tribe still holds the knowledge: the lipod, the xenophobic wind people that live in the clouds of Madya-as.

In recent years, the tamawo have found that making love with a human female -- not exactly in the human sense of it -- produced a child within the female that creates more tamawo brood. The tamawo have resorted to this, although the tamawo of Biringan have input ethereal laws to make sure that the tamawo do not take advantage of this.

Not that they needed it. The tamawo, when they feel True Love, burns. Love is anathema to them. If they feel True Love for a human female, their perfect pale skin sloughs off, replaced by the blackest and most leather of skin, their perfect teeth becomes golden fangs, and their fingers become claws. They turn into base monsters robbed of any beauty. They do not possess shadows.

Abstaining from love eventually heals the tamawo's beauty. Thus, most tamawo that seek to reproduce seek humans they are only affectionate towards and make love with them, and leave immediately afterwards. Other times, the most common method, is seeking out a beautiful woman from the barangay, and then luring them out into the forest, where they make love to her under their perfect guise. At the day of their birth, the child looks like a perfect baby boy, if not a bit more serene than usual. The next night, however, the baby will be gone.

This is the truth of the tamawo. A horrible offshoot of tamawo have embraced their more bestial side, however, and have become deadly, vampiric creatures that stalk the night, taking in any human woman they feel True Love towards--which intoxicates them--and they take them as breeding sows in their caves and tombs.

In more recent years, however, much of the tamawo are being sent out of the Biringan Kingdom due to the Engkanto Revolution against their "iron-fisted republic". The revolution was made of a mix of all the engkanto races. With the prejudice against the tamawo, they have left in a diaspora, seeking out groves of their own, living amongst human communities, and more commonly, seeking refuge within the Metropolis of Indigo.

The Metropolis of Indigo has raised up a larger communit of tamawo, new and urban. They have assimilated into its hodgepodge, melting pot culture. The noble tamawo guwardya have been implanted into their urban communities, and their feudal system has been implanted as well. Tamawo communities in Indigo (the largest being Katalaan in the city of Si Setanta) are a feudal system, with a specific hari ruling over a bunch of kawal, who protect timawa. Tamawo powerful or privileged enough to stay in Biringan refer to the tamawo that live in urban communities as lumon.

Most Metropolitan Tamawo still reflect their original upbringing. They still uphold their noble stature, and are usually privy to large amounts of gold from Biringan. Thus, most tamawo enjoy large estates and properties in the Metropolis. Tamawo travel and hypnotize human women as they see fit whenever they need to reproduce, but they are beholden to laws and "breeding districts" where only human women that wish to be impregnated can be found.

Tamawo adventurers tend to be loyalists to Biringan, or rebellious and insurgents from the Indigo Metropolis.

Tamawo use Eladrin racial traits. All Tamawo gain the following Traits:

Languages: Diwatan, Choice of one other

If you are playing a tamawo from the Indigo Metropolis, known as Metropolitan Tamawo gain the following traits:

Metropolitan Tamawo Skill Bonuses: Metro Tamawo become well-versed in the ways of the street as well as the art of the fast-talk to be able to survive with their new social landscape.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Streetwise and Bluff. This replaces the normal eladrin skill bonuses.

Metropolitan Weapon Proficiency: Metropolitan Tamawo take time to learn the weapons of their new environment.
Benefit: You gain proficiency in Guns and Crossbow. This replaces Eladrin Education.

Tamawo Characteristics: Aesthetic, deliberative, detached, free, graceful, magical, otherworldly, patient, perceptive

Tamawo Names: Llorenço, Sarria, Bartolomé, Cocon, Blay, Gaytan, Arnao, Badelas, Veleria, Licuania, Bolivar, Itzalia, Amaya, Leire, Lourdes, June, Nekane, Neiara

Tamawo Backgrounds

The tamawo are either from Biringan or the Metropolis. Most people from Biringan are more in tune with nature, and tend to be more loreworthy, than those in the Metro who put their ability to move through the society quietly and with finesse.

Biringan Scholars are on the path of the Parawali, or Nature Sages. Scholars tend to be those that compile the history of the world, as well as seek the truth of nature. Students, savants, wizards, archaeologists all. Where did you study? Did you get your knowledge from self-study, perhaps from the Aklatan, or from a Parawali master? What spurred you to leave Biringan?
Benefit: You gain +2 to History checks concerning the engkanto people. Once per scene you can use History when rolling for Arcana, Nature, or Dungoneering Check.

Metropolitan Nobles are those that have either been born into the high class of tamawo community, or fought their way to royalty with a mix of political maneuvering, personal combat prowess, and sheer charisma. The Metropolitan Noble are well-feared in Indigo society, and are usually the target of children stories. Always avoid the pale men with leaf-ears. How did you get your status? Are you using it for good or for your own gain?
Benefit: You gain +2 to Streetwise while within the city. Once per scene, you can use your Streetwise when you would use an Arcana or History check.

Palesekan (Elf)

Leaping from tree to tree, the shadows are their friends. The trees are their brothers. The leaves are their winds.

The second of the engkanto tribes, the Palesekan are both stewards and hunters of the forestry. When birthed, they immediaetly becmae fast friends with nature and the animals and the trees and the diwata that lived within them. More importantly, however, is how they discovered the silent song. The song they could only hear. They put on masks crafted by a diwata of song, and they whistled.

Whenever you are in the forest and hear a melodious, whistling sound as if someone is trying to sing through listening, then you are in the presence of the palesekan. Great singers of the forest that serve and guard the forest. It is said that the singing is even foretell certain events--from natural disasters to great tragedies in a certain person's life.

If a palesekan sings of tragedy to you, do well to follow their capricious truth.

They live within the trees of Lakungdula, and can be found in almost any forest. It is rumored that they have special nature magicks that only they can learn and master that allows them to leap from forest to forest by opening paths deep within the trees. They worship the Lord of the Forests in particular, Apung Okot, and they give him a natural sacrifice every fifth day of the Masked Moon.

They are the earthly cousins of the tamawo. Most of the time, their skins are dark brown or dark green, and they wear armors and clothes made up of leaves, branches, and other foliage. They stand a foot shorter and have better proportions than their tamawo cousins, and are more rippled with muscle. They are incredibly lithe however, and their reflexes are next to none. When palesekan are born, they are given a carved wood mask made from the wood of narra. For the rest of their lives, palesekan wear their masks, only taking it off when they are married, or at the time of their death.

Similarly to the other engkanto tribes, they can only reproduce by din of female tawo. They lure females away with their alluring intonations and choruses, bringing them into the their beautiful groves, before the palesekan ravishes them. Unlike the tamawo, however, the woman leaves the grove and returns to their home without any memory or dream of what happened, and neither do they actually give birth to the fey-being. The palesekan simply receives the baby a few months after the ravishing, and then they use their enchantments to let her, and all her relationships, forget about everything tha that had happened.

The forest is their home, and they are always at home within their groves. Palesekan live in treetop communities with makeup that is very similar to the +barangay set up, with a difference that they have no "oripun", and all of them are more or less maharlika. All of them are well-versed int he arts of guerrilla warfare and personal combat, masters of bow and spear.

Palesekan use Elf (Player's Handbook) rules.

Palesekan Characteristics: Melodious, natural, amiable, intuitive, wise, joyful, perceptive, quick, quiet, wild, swift, fleeting

Palesekan Names: Gatdula, Gatmaitan, Balagtas, Abaya, Adlawan, Agkawili, Bunyag, Bituin, Karandag, Kayabyab, Lankanilaw, Lansangan, Laksamana, Magsino, Viray, Samonte

Palesekan's Backgrounds

The palesekan are well versed in the art of war and song. Their constant singing makes them great bards.

Whistlewood Singers are the palesekan that have perfected the art of singing in their masks. They sing the most beautiful and sonorous of sounds, songs that seem to come from the heart of nature itself. How long did it take you to perfect the Whistle? Did you have a teacher? Are you going to use your Whistle to good use?
Benefit: +2 to all Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate checks that include singing. Once per day, you can Whistle and defuse all forms of rising violence.

Narra Wood Hunters are the great hunters of the wood. Those that become Narra Wood Hunters are even more competent hunters than the usual palesekan already is. They wield great bows and spears and know their way around every wood. Where is your favorite haunt? What is your favorite target, prey, or quarry? Are you at home in the city as you are in the wood?
Benefit: +2 to all Nature checks when hunting someone. Once per day, after a short rest, you ignore all difficult terrain when moving through wood.

Duwende (Gnomes)

"We are the original spirits of the land, child, lest you have forgotten."

Wise, manipulative, and fickle. The duwende are the spirits of the land. They live within their own subterranean kingdom of Libing-Libing, modeled after the great city of Biringan. Much like an ant colony, their kingdom and its numerous fiefdoms are interconnected by a series of tunnels that eventually open up to large chambers and chasms. Their buildings, houses, palaces, and castles are born from natural rock. Their bridges are a mix of stone and vines. THey have no need of the sun, they create natural light through their glamour.

During the Night of the Engkanto that happened after the Final Wars of Sunder, where the engkanto roamed free and tried to seek out their place in the mortal world after the Sundering of the Spheres, the duwende were the first to stake their claim onto the earth. To make their mark, they created mounds as specific gates into the complicated complex that is the Kingdom of Libing-Libing. Unfortunately, in recent times, humans have gone and stepped on these mounds, known as Gatemounds, and have been barring exit and entrance into the Kingdom of Libing-Libing. In their anger, duwende would play horrible tricks on humans, becomingt tricksters. With their glamour enchantments they diseased those that stepped on top of them, or gave them horrible luck, or cursed their physical appearance. Some even hurt them by appearing out of the mound physically.

To put a stop to this, the Seventh Duwende King known as Nunu walked up to talk with some of the tawo sages. He told them that, to protect the mounds from destruction and consequently protect the humans form the ire of the duwende, they simply have to say the magic words: "Tabi Tabi Po". The sages noted this, and they soon spread this knowledge.

Duwende during recent times are now a bit more benevolent to humans, and sometimes even give them healing salves and aid when asked nicely, or if they have ancestors that they owe to.

The kingdom of the duwende all fall under a singular King, who is counseled by seven viziers. Duwende are master glamourists, tricksters and illusionists. Being small, they know that they have had to rely on their wits and quick thinking rather than might to survive in the world. In addition to this, most duwende tend to be ambivalent to katawohan. If a duwende shows a human favor, this is generally a good thing. They make for consummate liars, but also great merchants and traders. The duwende community in the Indigo Metropolis usually live within the sewers. Those that have made pacts with the local government have agreed to keep the sewers clean in exchange for their stay there. However, it is exceedingly common for duwende to be thieves and con men up in the city grounds. They have an innate ability to cause mischief and illusions, after all.

Duwende are given to stealth and unobtrusiveness. Most duwende exist in Indigo society to only not exist. When in their home Kingdom of Libing-Libing, they are given to collectiveness, always looking out for the people, and not only themselves. Even outside of Libing-Libing, they have an innate love for the arts and poetry, although they still have an underlying prejudice to the World Above and the people that walk it. With the engkanto community, however, they are extremely amiable.

While duwende warriors are not unheard of, most duwende heroes are stealthy, craft beings that use their mischief and trickery to deceive beings of darkness.

They are a small race, ranging only within three feet in height. They stick to the ground, are loyal to their families, and as a whole are a lot more interconnected and bound together than the humans. They are a simple people, truly, although their way of peace and life, with the zealous protection of their mounds, can be dejected by some of their own race, and thus they go out and seek adventure, or merely other duwende kingdoms.

There are two factions of duwende — the puti and the itim. The puti faction is the playable race of intelligent duwende, while the itim faction are those that have defected during the Enchanted Strife to the side of the dalaketnon, and thus, are usually regarded as evil.

Duwende use Gnome stats to reflect their trickery and their innate ability to conjure illusions.

Duwende Characteristics: Mischievous, tricky, clever, affable, inconspicuous, funny, prankster, collective, social
Duwende Names: Mirak, Tulungan, Mu, Mayat, Aghapa, Malabi, Agak, Gol-an, Do-oy, Limpiyu, Adawwi, Kol-o, Ap’uy

Duwende Backgrounds

Duwende are given to love and poetry, but also trickery. Those that live within the Metropolis tend to either be unobtrusive little-men, or mischievous, rebellious thieves.

Indigo Street Magician. You are given to your innate ability, and have somehow made it into a lucrative business. A crate, a name, and a flamboyant coat is all you need to entertain all that you need to entertain. Your glamour dazzles, your ingenuity sparkles, and everyone that watches your performance walks away never believing their eyes. When did you decide to take up the noble role of entertaining in the streets? Are you part of a troupe? Do you do this for money or for some other reason?
Benefit:You gain a +2 to every Skill Check that is used to deceive someone with physical tricks, such as sleight of hand. Once per day, you can distract someone of your choosing if it would help you achieve a goal, but only if that person is watching a performance of yours.

Hot-Tempered Chaotic. Magic runs in your blood. You're engkanot, after all. This doesn't help your predisposition for unobtrusiveness, however. Sorcerous affinity surges through you, and you find that when you try to use your trickery, it always ends up in some sort of powerful gout of magical majesty. Does this hamper you in any way? What kind of magic surges through your veins? Do you wish to have it replaced? Can you keep yourself under control?
Benefit: You gain a +2 to every Intimidate check. Once per day, you can replace the benefits of the Ghost Sound cantrip with the a magic missile.

Tikbalang

"We protect the forests and the lands, and in so doing, redeem ourselves."

Tikbalang (Satyr) The tikbalang were once known as horse-headed demons that roamed the dense forests of Lakungdula. They were prevalent in every region, and even had a great empire once. The Empire of Pamalagian.

But it ended, as with all things, brought down low by the powerful Kingdom of Biringan. The tikbalang were deemed to be demonic creatures who only tricked the tawo, and for a short time during the twilight years of the Time of Malice, the tikbalang became demon bandits that roamed the countrysides, raped villages, tricked men going into their dominion, the forests, and destroyed steadfasts. However, the great tikbalang hero named Dimakuta allied with the engkanto of Biringan to create accords. Slowly but surely, the tikbalang were welcomed back into engkanto society, and they were given the task of protection. They became guardians of nature itself, roaming the countryside and ranging the forests. The once Demons of Creation have become the Guardians of the World, using their superior martial ability and demonic strength as well as their demonic glamours to protect the world.

Tikbalangs have become mercenaries and sellswords, good with both brawn and guile because of their innate fey-demon magics. Those that did not want to be in the line of killing became well-versed scholars masters of illusions as stage magicians or viziers of crime lords, as well as couriers, messengers, and bodyguards.

Tikbalang are one of the last of the Sangkatauhan of Biringan, having been halimaw (monsters) that populated the chaotic wilds outside the walls of the metropolis. Many of the other races still hold a light fear for the horse demons, despite them becoming full on peacekeepers and protectors of Biringan.

Tikbalang have great flowing manes, which they groom, braid with intricate talismans, and smoothen with coconut oil. They tend to have dark coats. Their mane is a part of your being, the crown of your head. Indeed, it is magikally intrinsic to their nature. If anyone should get two locks of their hair, they might be compelled to serve them. Their eyes glow light in the dark, usually with a burning or singing orange or red. Tikbalang, being fey creatures, can last far longer than any human, although diseases are still common in their times and even the engkanto are susceptible to it.

Tikbalang Benefits

Feyswift: The tikbalang moves with the absolute quickness of the engkanto, wind whipping about their hooves. Benefit: You gain +2 to your speed when charging. This replaces Light Recovery.

Demon-Fey Blood: The tikbalang's blood burns with bloodlust of the earth and of the fey. Benefit: While you're Bloodied, you gain +2 to damage rolls. This becomes +4 at 21st level.

Kapre (Goliath)

"You want a cigarillo?"

Kapre are engkanto that guard the trees and have a penchant for cigarillos. They are usually slow to anger and fall in love with human women way too fast. In Biringan, they are given special attention.

Kapre have never had kingdoms or empires of their own. They more or less live peacefully with garuda, palesekan, and tamawo, being the laborers and doing all the heavy duty. When needed, they also serve as powerful generals and warriors in times of war. It should be known in the War of Light and Darkness between the Engkanto and the Dalaketnon, the kapre were integral to the protection of the forests of the world.

Not having communities, kapre live alone, usually on trees. They usually sit atop a tree, sitting by the branches while smoking a cigarillo. They do not trouble themselves with earthly troubles, and can last for almost fifty years just sitting on the branches of the tree they live within. These trees become their home, and destroying or cutting down such a tree is a surefire way to earn the ire of these powerful oaken giants.

Kapre are usually solitary creatures, but they hold an intense love for the natural world as well as their engkanto brethren. They do not tend to be very bright or smart, but they are still cunning. They know where to hide within the the forest, and older kapre are known to be able to even become invisible with their glamours.

Kapre are almost always male. You can never have a female kapre. Kapre fall in love with human women as a person wakes up in the morning. Many kapre are known to profess their love to women, only to be turned away because of their appearance or because of their disturbing, smoky smell. That is one way to find a kapre--if you can smell tobacco where you shouldn't be, that is a good indication that you are in the sights of a kapre.

Most kapre are made of veiny wood and bark for skin, and their muscles are like rippling vines. Their eyes (which are usually orbs of yellow) and mouth are always smoky, and there is always a large cigarillo in its wooden mouth. Their bark skin is almost always covered in small fine strands that resemble hair or fur, and they usually have elongated wooden noses. Kapre stand at 7 feet and above, and their hair tends to be leafy foliage arranged in such a way that resembles human hair.

Most kapre are covered in black bark skin and are mistaken for their tribal enemies, the evil Agta. Agta do not have bark skin like they do, and are more like huge apes or monkeys. Most agta have red eyes, in contrast to a kapre's yellow.

Kapre Characteristics: Stricken, gentle, powerful, reliable, lumbering, trusting, enigmatic, savage
Kapre Names: Agbuya, Ba-ad, Digol, Laktaw, Mapiut, Pasaoa, Sanga, Tabil, Watan, Balarao

Kapre Backgrounds

Usually, kapre are gentle and unassuming creatures, but that does not mean they are not used as tools as protection and weapons of the land.

Guardian of a Tree. Some kapre become attached to a single tree, when usually in the lifespan of a kapre they would travel from tree to tree. Becoming one with this tree has given you a fount of power, an inherent connection to the land. Why did you feel connected to this tree? Why did you stay?
Benefit: +2 to Nature rolls. If you are near you tree during a short rest, you gain another healing surge which you have to use to heal yourself during that short rest.

Cigarillo Sage. You travel from forest to forest with your cigarillo to answer questions and queries about all kinds of things. You are not deemed a demonic being (unless you travel to an Al-Kaigian colony), but rather, as a wise parawali whom they can speak with and have themselves learned. Where did you get all your knowledge? What is your favorite topic to talk about?
Benefit: You get +2 to History rolls. Pick an expertise in a specific knowledge, such as History (Lakungdula). Once per encounter, you have a +5 when rolling that specific knowledge.

Mortals

The Mortalfolk are those that descended from engkanto or actual beings or are constructed in such a way. These are not part-spirit like the engkanto, but rather are fully mortal, like humanity.

• Garuda are physical beings that are said to be born from the loving connection of Galura, the Eagle God, and a mortal. These are folk that have powerful wings that can lift them off the air. They used to have a City in the Clouds, and worshipped the Mad Sky Himself, until the Apocalypse. Now they live in small tribes in areas known as aeries, which are usually found within cliff faces or dense forestry. They are adverse to new technological advancements in warfare.

• Automata, are anomalies amongst the mortalfolk, and indeed they cannot truly be called human at all, but rather, constructs that have managed to grow intelligence that is like the human’s. Did they grow a Soul? What does this mean for the Children of the Bamboo? They use Warforged rules.

Naga

"Powerful and hegemonic warriors, naga are highly feared and respected in the world of Sanlibutan."

Racial Traits

Average Height: 6'1" - 7'1"

Average Weight: 210 - 290 lbs

Ability Scores: +2 Strength; +2 Charisma or Wisdom

Size: Medium

Speed: 7 squares squares

Vision: Low-Light

Languages: Qirong-gi, one other language of choice

Skill Bonuses: +2 Intimidate, +2 Perception

Four Arms: Once per turn, you may draw or sheathe a weapon or draw/stow an item as a free action instead of a minor action.

Tenacity of the Dragon Kings: You gain a +5 racial bonus to saving throws against fear.

Superior Dragon Tactics: You gain the 'superior dragon tactics' racial power.

Superior Dragon Tactics	Naga Racial Power
The Dragon always wins. You take advantage of your target's weaknesses with your superior tactical eye.
Encounter
Minor Action	Personal
Effect: If you have combat advantage against a target, you deal +1d6 damage on the next attack. You must apply this bonus before the end of your next turn. This damage is increased to +2d6 at 11th Level and +3d6 at 21st.

Naga are powerful masterminds and courageous warriors. They master their art of war, and their Draconic Mandate as Lords of Creation fuels their drive for conquest.

Play a naga if you want...

• To be the proud heir to one of the most powerful empires in all of the Dark world of Sanlibutan.
• To be a descendant of the Moon-Eating Goddess Bakonawa.
• To be fierce, four-armed warriors since birth, even if your vocation is from another stock.
• To be a member of a race that favors the Warlord, Fighter, and Sorcerer classes.

Physical Qualities

Naga resemble large, yet lithe and slender dragonoids with scales that glitter like jewels of a long lost age. Their scales -- a proud mark of who their ancestors were -- blaze a bright gold all the way to a scintillating black-like obsidian.

Because of Qirong Culture, almost every single naga is mightily built, standing tall, and well fed with only the most prized meat. They are built like lean serpents, and are taller than the rest of the inferior races of Sanlibutan.

One thing that is visibly noticeable from the naga is that they sport two sets of arms. One set is angled forward, like a normal human's arms, while the other set is angled backwards, looking like they are supposed to hold wings. It is said that their ancestors did have wings, but when Bakonawa was cursed into the abyss, they lost their wings to mirror the fall of their great Goddess and Ancestor, and thus now they only have those wingarms. Their hands and feet are tipped with sharp claws that rake their foes, although it is somewhat customary in Qirong culture to cut off the talons of their arms for better manual dexterity. They do not cut the claws off of their wingarms, how ever (or their wingclaws), for it is a sign of their divine ancestry and the symbol of the Draconic Mandate.

Naga live as long as humans do, where they reach adolescence by 10 years of age, and full adulthood by 15.

Naga are sexually dimorphic, but without any notable features. Females simply tend to be smaller and have larger stomachs than their male counterparts, although they have longer wingarms.

Playing a Naga

Playing a naga means you are heir to the glorious dragon empire of Qirong. As such, you are to be addressed as Qirong Naga, the highest form of Naga, and the absolute height of the draconic reincarnation cycle right before enlightenment, or Kueji-Hang. You are expected to be disciplined and have a cult-like devotion to the Dragon Emperor. The current Exceedingly Excellent Emperor, Jia Qa Sheng of the Perfect Dragonflame Flower, is at the pinnacle of thousands of years worth of conquest, and now seeks to conquer the entire world.

You are indoctrinated, rightfully so, to despise the other races as lower beings, as said by the doctrines of Sang Fi Do, writer of the Virtuous Cosmogonies, which kickstarted the religion of Qirong-mideum.

Of course, this isn't the same for many other of the dragonfolk. In the Seventh Year of the Dragonflame Flower Dynasty, the strange falling back from the War against the human empire of Al-Kaig has caused many naga to question the virtue of xenophobia. This is a popular time for many philosopher-warriors, who have only recently been allowed to write books once again, after the death of the previous Empress, the insane Kiku Dai Konna of the Bloodshard Vine, who ordered the burning and destruction of technological advancements, libraries, and literary works as her final act as Embpress before her throne was abdicated.

As a naga, you know how large and intimidating you are. Unfortunately, for the naga that live in the confines of Zuhayras or the Lakungdulan Isles, you are the greatest of outcasts. Natives call you "buwaya", some sort of corpse hauling crocodile god. Others fear you because they know what you are -- a xenophobic naga. Whatever a naga's reasons for ending up in Zuhayras, you are more or less alone, with the relative neutrality of some cities being the only thing keeping you from death as the seething Giroans and the fearful Al-Kaigians and the brave Lakungdulans all size you up.

In this loneliness, you will do good to remember the old adage as written by the Imperial Decree of Jia Qa Sheng: "The Dragon rules all".

Naga Characteristics: Strong, forceful, intimidating, intelligent, meticulous, noble, driven

Rian Names: Zhan Cao Yijun, Xian Su Qin, He Zhuan Zhen, Qian Dai Ping, Zham Ming Tang, He Du Zhi, Pan Yim Yim, Lao Ken Dem, Ri Fi Dast, Koro Pimri Dae, Shen Shing Yiji, Di Wa Ken, Turya Di Kaem, Ae Thei Reme, Qim Qui Ua

Naga Backgrounds

Disgraced Child. You are a disgraced child from a long lineage of ancestral rian. You decided that this strict family was not the end of your existence. Perhaps you ran out into the provinces. Or maybe even snuck aboard a boat in Giro-jji's outer borders to arrive eventually at Zuhayras. Why were you disgraced? What happened to your family? Do you still care about your family?
Benefit: You gain a +2 to Diplomacy. You are good at sneaking around, and gain Stealth as a Class Skill.

War Hero. You were a hero, revered for your military prowess underneath the many field generals of Qirong. You came home and received the Ceremonial Rod of Bravery and you thought peace would follow after. The war shakes and the call of battle never left you, however, and no you venture into the regions Qirong has never deemed to go to before, such as Zuhayras, or Janubbia.
Benefit: Gain a +2 to rolls relating to tactics and warfare. You can also add Athletics or Intimidate to your Class Skills.

Languages

Suyat Script (Incomplete)

Language	Description	Script
Zuhayran	Language of the Zuhayrans, a mix of mostly Liwayan, Al-Kaigian, and Giro'dan, all written with the Kaigian Alphabet. Closest thing to 'Common' in the setting, but mostly because of the population in Zuhayras. Extensive language for trade and lots of borrowed words. Code switching between Zuhayran and other languages (usually the second language that a person speaks, such as their native tongue) is common as well, mostly because the syntax and word structure of Zuhayran allows for it.	Fulmusian Alphabet
Liwayan	The language and writing system of the Makkalan Lakandom that lasts until present day. Liwayan has an extensive vocabulary and is usually quick and concise when dealings of war and trade, but they have a completely different vocabulary when speaking poetry, which is filled with complex metaphors that only natives to the island can truly understand. The writing system is an abugida.	Alibata
Tabunian	Language and writing system in Tabun, both among the engkanto and the mortalfolk there. It is modeled very closely after Diwatan, due to Tabun being the favored island of the Gods. The writing system is an abugida.	Kidlat
Kapuni	Language of the T'Kapians, written with the Sulat because of the Ija Yawa Empire of the dalaketnon subsuming and conquering most of the island of T'Kapi under their rule. The writing system is an abugida.	Sulat
Diwatan	The language and writing system of the engkanto, specifically those that live and trade with Biringan. Sulat comes from Suyat, and is the closest to it in the script sense. The writing system is an abugida.	Sulat
Elder Diwatan	The language and writing system in Maka, among the Heavenly Diwata, and Mangkukulam/Salamangkero. Said to be the first written language, and is the basis for every written language in the world. The writing system is an abugida.	Suyat
Al-Kaigian	Language of Holy Yavuman Empire of Al-Kaig, written in Modern Fulmusian Alphabet, which is known as that because it was developed by the original Fulmus. Much of the words here are actually from Diwatan and the native Kivhran Tongues, although many Liwayan words still make their way into the vernacular. The Fulmusian Alphabet was adopted from a mix of mostly the Kivhran Alphabet and Sulat. Unlike Sulat, Suyat, and Kidlat, the Fulmusian Alphabet is a true alphabet.	Fulmusian Alphabet
Qirong-gi	The language and writing system of the Qirong Naga, adapted directly from the the Suyat writing system, and has been perverted and vexed and turned into the Naga's own. Presumably it is taught to the Naga by the Serpent Goddess Bakonawa. Their script is logographic.	Qi-dan
Giro'dan	Language of the Giroans, with a script adopted from the Qirong Naga. The script is an abugida script, and is made up of Kiton (Abugida writing, used for common words) and Niton (Characters that represent concepts or people or placed etc. Proper nouns.) It uses mostly a syllabary for its script.	Qi'tsi
Kivhran Tongues	The native Tongues of the river and ice tribes of the Kivhran Peninsula and region. Those closer to the Galadarian Mountains speak Vanni, a rough and concise language that is written with Vanni runes, while those near the rivers of the Peninsula speak Avhran, a more poetic language with many different words for the same concept, written in the Kivhran Alphabet. Unlike Suyat, this is also a true alphabet.	Kivhran Alphabet

---

Back to Main Page → 4e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → Karanduun