Editing Grim Hollow (section)

===Etharis Races===
Etharis is home to the following races:

[[Human]]s: The most numerous race, who rose up from barbarism during the age of the dwarven and elven dominance over the world into a vast conquering horde that first almost annihilated the elves and dwarves, then nearly wiped themselves out. They technically are still the "dominant" race of Etharis, but their short lives have led to their old hatred fading... whilst the other races have not forgotten what humanity did to them...

[[Elf|Elves]]: Formerly the masters of Etharis' forests, their empires were burned to ashes during humanity's rise, and they spent decades as wandering nomads who were given magic by the forest spirits who survived as a way to avenge their loss.

[[Dwarf|Dwarves]]: During humanity's expansion, the dwarves retreated to their two greatest strongholds. Grevenstein was ultimately breached and its people annihilated, but Stehlenwald dug deeper and armed its people with adamantine; although their population was halved, their superior arms and armor allowed them to push humanity back. Still, they agreed to become a vassal race of humanity in the name of survival.

[[Half-Orc]]s: Pureblooded [[orc]]s are long gone in Etharis, but they remain figures of dark legends. Only half-orcs remain, and they are largely feared and distrusted, dwelling voluntarily amidst the harsh environment of the frozen north.

[[Half-Elf|Half-Elves]]: Nomadic outcasts rejected by both sides of their parentage.

[[Dragonborn]]: The small kingdom of the dragonborn fell when caught between warring humans and elves, but its people survived. They have abandoned their original gods, and instead embraced the new religion of the Divine Seraphs with fanatical zeal, winning a place in the Castinellan theocracy.

[[Gnome]]s: Cousins of the dwarves, they retreated into Stehlenwald with their kin, and were instrumental in turning back the tides of humanity by inventing the first primitive gunpowder weapons.

[[Halfling]]s: When humanity began its bloody Era of Expansion, the halflings surrendered rather than fight, voluntarily subsuming themselves into human culture as a race of servants.

The Player's Guide added several new races to the setting: 

'''Wechselkind''' are essentially a cross between [[fey]] [[changeling]]s and [[warforged]]; they're [[fey]] [[construct]]s in the shape of children which the fey leave behind to disguise when they've stolen human children. Whilst most of these unfortunate creatures are destroyed when their foster family finds the truth, the lucky ones are kept because, despite constructs, they are as aware and intelligent as any human child. Unfortunately, although their minds can age, wechselkind are stuck with a child-like body forever. Ironcially, the Weeping Pox has been a boon to these golem-kin; being immune to disease has allowed them to become very effective nurses and doctor's assistants in the plague-lands.
::+2 Constitution, +1 Charisma
::Small
::Base Speed 25 feet
::'''Artificial Form:''' Though you are considered a Humanoid for effects that key off of type, you are Immune to Disease, Resistant to Poison damage, have Advantage on saves against the Poisoned condition, and don't need to eat, drink, sleep or breathe.
::'''Faerie Glamour:''' 1/day, you can take on the form of the child you were created to replace, which other than this restriction in available forms functions as disguise self.
::'''Childish Agility:''' You can move through the space of any creature of a size larger than yours, and you have Proficiency in Acrobatics.
::'''Unaging:''' You are immune to magical aging effects.

'''Laneshi''' are a strange race with a natural affinity for necromancy who hail from a kingdom deep below the waves. Their society is caste-based; those born as twins become mystics, who have their twin sibling sacrificed and spiritually bound to them to grant them heightened necromantic powers, whilst those born as single children become the warrior caste. Mystics are responsible for all things associated with the dead - funeral rites, crafting, construction, record keeping and food preparation - and and warriors are associated with all things of the living; warfare, ruling, diplomacy, farming, raising and educating children, etc. They appear as pale bluish-white skinned, almost elf-like figures with manes of green kelp-like hair.
::+1 Strength, +1 Wisdom
::Medium
::Base Speed 30 feet, Swim 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Amphibious:''' You can breathe both air and water.
::'''Beast Whisperers:''' You can cast Speak with Animals 1/day.
::'''Subrace:''' Choose either the Warrior or Mystic subrace.
:::''Warrior:'' +1 Strength, '''Skirmish Tactics '''(when you hit a hostile with a weapon attack, you may Disengage as a bonus action until the end of your turn), and '''Laneshi Weapon Training''' (Proficiency in Spears, Tridents, Javelins, Light Armor, Animal Handling).
:::''Mystic:'' +1 Wisdom, '''Duality of Spirit''' (Resistance to Psychic damage, Advantage on Int, Wis and Cha saves vs. magic, first time this trait activates per day, pass a DC 12 Wis save or be Stunned until the end of your next turn), and '''Laneshi Magic''' (you know 1 Necromancy Cantrip, and gain a second Necromancy Cantrip at 5th level, both keying off of Wisdom).

'''Ogresh''' are a strange race of possibly [[giant-kin]]; whilst they appear as tall humans, they are characterized more by their massive girth than their height - they average 6 to 7 feet and average between 200 to 800 pounds, depending on if they are in their youthful "nomadic" state or their older "sedentary" state. Despite their bulk, they are creatures of great social skill and wisdom rather than brute strength, which they use to insinuate themselves into the societies of other races in pursuit of food, typically becoming master merchants, diplomats, advisors, entertainers, and other sagely figures.
::+2 Charisma, +1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom
::Medium + Powerful Build
::Base speed 30 feet
::'''Takes One To Know One:''' Advantage on saves vs. Charmed.
::'''Gift of Gab:''' Free Proficiency in two of these skills: Persuasion, Insight, Deception, Performance.
::'''A Friendly Ear:''' Once per short rest, you can attempt to charm a non-hostile creature you are conversing with, which requires at least a minute's conversation. If the creature fails a Wisdom save (DC 8 + your Cha modifier + your Proficiency bonus), they are Charmed by you for 1 hour and you learn one piece of information related to the topic of your conversation. Regardless of if the charm fails or succeeds, your target never realizes you have charmed them.

'''The Downcast''' are all that remains of angels who found themselves depowered and cast down upon Etharis after the end of the God-War. Their numbers dwindle, as fallen angels and their lingering divine essence are of great interest in a world where divine magic is failing - even without active predation, many of the Downcast have turned bitter, or simply withered from despair and disease.
::+2 Wisdom
::Medium
::Base speed 30 feet
::'''Divine Learning:''' You have Proficiency in Religion and know the Thaumaturgy cantrip.
::'''Divine Sangromancy:''' When an allied creature within 30 feet of you regains hit points, you may spend a hit die and add the result to the amount of hit points gained.
::'''Lingering Divinity:''' You have Resistance to Necrotic damage.
::'''Subrace:''' Choose the ''Aurelian'' (+1 Charisma, cast Cure Wounds (level 1) 1/day), ''Ulmyrite'' (+1 Intelligence, cast Detect Magic 1/day), ''Maliganti'' (+1 Strength, cast Branding Smite (level 1) 1/day) or ''Galtian'' (+1 Constitution, cast Shield of Faith 1/day).

'''Dreamers''' are a bizarre race unearthed by the Stehlnewald dwarves as they dug into the depths of their mountains during their beseigement by humanity during the "Era of Expansion". They are all that remains of a race that predates elves, dwarves and humans alike, who placed themselves into magical stasis in order to escape some great calamity that wiped out the rest of their civilization. The plan worked, but as a side effect, their memories of who they were as a people before their magical slumber have been stripped away.
::+2 Intelligence, +1 Constitution
::Medium
::Base speed 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Dreamwalking:''' After finishing a long rest in which you slept, choose one skill or tool proficiency; gain a bonus equal to your Proficiency bonus to any rolls with that skill or tool until your next long rest. Additionally, whilst sleeping, you can touch the dreams of others within 1 mile.
::'''Even in Sleep:''' Your non-sight Perception rolls suffer no penalties when you are asleep.
::'''Power Nap:''' You can choose to sleep for 1 hour as part of a short rest; doing so removes 1 level of Exhaustion and restores 1 hit die, in addition to the standard short rest bonuses.

'''The Disembodied''' are the tormented remnants of the lost city of Ulmyr's Gate, a wizardly academy-town that attempted to create a permanent portal to the Ethereal Plane, only for it to go disastrously wrong and swallow the entire city instead. As their name suggests, the Disembodied are now trapped permanently halfway between the material and ethereal.
::+2 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity
::Medium or Small (your choice)
::Speed: 30 feet
::'''Fade Away:''' 1/day, you can spend an action on your turn to slip into the Ethereal Plane, which lasts for 1 minute or until you use a bonus action to return. Whilst you remain in the Ethereal, you cannot affect the Material Plane or be affected by it, but you can still see and hear into the Material, and move around. When the effect ends, you reappear in the closest unoccupied space you disappeared from.
::'''Planar Outcast:''' You can cast Feather Fall (self only) 1/day. At 3rd level, you can cast Blur 1/day. At 5h level, you can cast Blink 1/day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
::'''Arcane Origins:''' You have Proficiency in Arcana.

Continuing this theme, the Monster Grimoire, the [[Monster Manual]] of the setting, also added a few new playable nonhuman races, and even devotes a small chapter to discussing why playing a "monstrous" race as opposed to a [[demihuman]] can work in a [[Dark Fantasy]] setting.

'''[[Bugbear]]s''' in Etharis have been singled out by Tormach, Archdaemon of Wrath and basically the [[Khorne]] knock-off, who apparently has decided he also wants to be the [[Bane]] of the setting. When the bugbears collectively told him to piss off, he responded by creating a kind of super-rabies unique to bugbears, which has largely annihilated their civilization by turning them all into screaming mad berserkers. Even creating a cure for this sickness, whilst possible, requires you to gut an infected bugbear and distill the curative from their viscera. So sane bugbears are now a minority who are being forced out of the wilderness and into civilization to try and survive.
::+2 Strength, +1 Wisdom
::Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Battle-Tested:''' You have Advantage on Saves vs. Charmed and Frightened, and also Advantage on Intimidation checks.
::'''Controlled Frenzy:''' You can freely enter a semi-berserk state without expending an action at the start of your turn. Until the end of your next turn, you do +1d6 damage with weapon attacks. This damage increases to +1d10 at 7th level and +1d12 at 14th. You can evoke Controlled Frenzy a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and regain all uses on a Long Rest.
::'''Hardy:''' You have Advantage oen COnstitution saves.

'''Faevlin''' are descendants of a tribe of [[goblin]]s who decided to serve a powerful [[Archfey]], then attempted to back out of the deal. So they were warped by the fey magic, which results in them having the distinctive features of teal skins and upside down heads. Yeah, they look as freaky as you're imagining. Faevlins tend to be determined to the point of stubbornness, mischievous as any other goblin, and determined to ''never'' go back to the fae realms.
::+2 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom
::Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::'''Fey Fade:''' Once per short rest, when an attack misses you, you can use your Reaction to teleport to a safe, unoccupied square in a random direction uip to 30 feet away.
::'''Fey Touched:''' You are immune to magical sleep effects, and are only affected by charm effects created by [[fey]] creatures.
::'''Sneaky:''' You can use a Bonus Action to Hide.

'''[[Gnoll]]s''' in Etharis were originally humans or possibly demihumans, before they were touched by the corruptive power of the Great Beast and turned into what can basically be described as the [[Beastmen]] of Etharis. And sometimes, whether by outside intervention or just a weird fluke, the corruption seeps away from their minds, leaving them struggling to find a place in a world that rejects them for their bestial new bodies. Which are a lot more mutated than the average hyena-man from D&D.
::+2 to one ability of your choice, +1 Constitution
::Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Instinctive:''' Your first Initiative roll made after completing a Long Rest has Advantage, unless it is being made when you were surprised.
::'''Spine Spike:''' As a bonus action, you can launch a jagged spear of bone from your body at a foe. This is a ranged weapon which can use either Strength or Dexterity for its attack and damage rolls, and which benefits from your Proficiency Bonus. It has a range of 20 feet/60 feet and does 1d6 Piercing damage, which ups to 1d12 damage from 11th level. You can deploy a Spine Spike a number of times per Long Rest equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

'''Grudgels''' are a mysterious race who actually don't know where they come from themselves, but they do feel a strange attraction to the heavens. Considering they look like [[orc]]s, that raises a lot of questions. Weirdly, grudgels as a rule tend to be kindly, peaceful and gentle, which has helped them to find a place in society... though they are certainly capable of defending themselves in a pinch!
::+2 Dexterity, +1 Strength
::Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Center:''' Once per short rest, you can use a bonus action to gain Advantage on the next attack roll or ability check you make before the end of your next turn.
::'''Warrior:''' You are automatically proficient in Simple Weapons, Light Armor, Shields, and one Martial Weapon of your choice.

'''Morbus Kobolds''' are a [[kobold]] subrace who have been shaped by generations of living in noxious, disease-riddled environments (sewers and swamps) and worshipping a plague-manipulating deity in the form of the Filth Grazer. As a result, most morbus kobolds believe [[Nurgle|they have a sacred duty to spread pestilence and plague to the world]]. You, however, probably belong to the [[heresy|heretics]] who argue that this is stupid and get banished from the pestilential sewers as a result. Ironically, your race's drive to master the art of creating and spreading disease has also made you very adept at curing it.
::+2 Dexterity, +1 Constitution
::Small
::Speed: 30 feet, Swim 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::'''Disease Resistant:''' You have Advantage on saves to resist Disease, and, once per long rest, can use a Reaction to grant an Adjacent ally Advantage on a save to resist Disease.
::'''Medical Knowledge:''' You have Proficiency with Alchemist's Supplies and Advantage on Nature and Medicine checks. Additionally, when you complete a short rest, you can grant yourself or an ally the option to roll twice and take the higher result when spending hit dice to regain hit points.
::'''Natural Alchemist:''' If you complete a Long Rest and have access to Alchemist's Supplies, you can create either a single Potion of Healing, a single Vial of Acid, or a single Flask of Alchemist's Fire as part of that long rest. Anything you create by using this racial feature only retains its efficacy until the start of your next long rest, so you '''cannot''' stockpile this stuff.