Editing Plane Shift (section)

===Plane Shift: Ixalan===
Compared to Kaladesh or Amonkhet, the Ixalan Plane Shift article is far less crunch-heavy, returning to the format of emphasizing adjusting canon crunch to better mesh with this plane's fluff.

The first segment of the article discusses race, background and class choices appropriate to portraying a member of one of the plane's four major factions, as well as a sidebar talking about how to settle things peacefully when the party inevitably contains members of multiple factions.

The '''Sun Empire''' is made up exclusively of humans. Appropriate backgrounds are Acolyte, Entertainer, Folk Hero, Guild Artisan, Hermit, Noble, Sage, Soldier and Urchin.
* [[Barbarian]]s of the Sun Empire are either Berserkers who worship the Threefold Sun's aspect of Tilonalli, the Burning Sun, or else they are Totem Warriors, honoring the Ceratops (Bear), Aerosaur (Eagle) and/or Raptor (Wolf).
* [[Bard]]s of the Sun Empire invariably belong to the College of Valor, as they represent the warrior-poets so respected in the Empire. What the article doesn't mention is that one could argue for members of the College of Swords on that same logic.
* [[Cleric]]s in the Sun Empire worship the Threefold Sun, which as its name suggests is a solar god divided into three aspects. Kinjalli, the Wakening Sun, represents its creative aspects (Light & Life domains), Ixalli, the Verdant Sun, represents its sustaining & nourishing aspects (Life & Nature domains), and finally, Tilonalli, the Burning Sun, represents its destructive Aspects (Tempest & War domains).
* [[Druid]]s of the Sun Empire are usually followers of the Circle of the Moon, and all druids prefer dinosaur-based forms, reflecting the Sun Empire's worship of the creatures.
* [[Fighter]]s from the Sun Empire are usually either Battle Masters or Champions.
* [[Paladin]]s of the Sun Empire are traditionally followers of the Oath of the Ancients, but the increased raids from the Brazen Coalition and the Legion of Dusk has made the Oath of Vengeance more popular. Sun Empire Paladins casting Find Steed prefer dinosaur mounts.
* [[Rangers]] of the Sun Empire include both Beast Masters and Hunters, with the former preferring pteranadons, dimetrodons and velociraptors.

The '''River Heralds''', in comparison, are a faction comprised exclusively of [[merfolk]]. Available backgrounds include Acolyte, Folk Hero, Hermit, Outlander and Sage.
* [[Druid]]s of the River Heralds are almost always followrs of the Circle of the Land (Coast/Forest/Swamp).
* [[Fighter]]s from the River Heralds are typically Battle Masters, Champions or Eldritch Knights.
* [[Ranger]]s are not unknown amongst the River Heralds.
* [[Wizard]]s of the River Heralds wield spells calling upon wind, mist, illusion and misdirection, thus favoring the [[Illusionist]] path.

The '''Legion of Dusk''' is a mixed alliance of [[vampire]]s and humans. Appropriate Backgrounds for a Legionnaire are Acolyte, Noble, Sage or Soldier, although a human Legionnaire could be an Urchin.
* [[Cleric]]s of Dusk have acces to the Death, Life and War domains.
* [[Fighter]]s include Battle Masters, Champions and Knights.
* [[Monk]]s are mostly restricted to certain esoteric or fanatical vampire worshippers, whose practices effectively mimic the Ways of the Open Hand and Shadow.
* [[Paladin]]s of the Legion of Dusk are technically following the Oath of Devotion, although they have their own unique creed refered to as the Tenets of Blood. Paladins of the Oath of Conquest are also more than appropriate.

Tenets of Blood:
The vampires of the Legion of Dusk can hardly be considered good, but they do favor law and a sense of honor. The tenets of the vampire paladins’ oath reflect that view.
* '''Honesty:''' Don’t demean yourself with lying and cheating. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
* '''Courage:''' Never let a foe see your fear.
* '''Honor:''' Treat your peers with fairness and your lessers with exactly what they deserve. Those who recognize your position deserve at least a modicum of respect.
* '''Duty:''' Your actions should serve the aims of the queen and the church, and not bring dishonor to either. Take responsibility for your actions and their consequences, and obey your superiors.

The '''Brazen Coalition''' is the most multi-racial of the factions, comprised of a mixture of humans, orcs, sirens and goblins. Appropriate backgrounds are Charlatan, Criminal, Entertainer, Folk Hero, Sage and Sailor.
* [[Bard]] is a common choice for sirens, but even the other races follow its teachings; the College of Lore represents those warrior-sages and knowledge hunters sponsored by the Coalition.
* [[Fighter]]s include Champions, Battlemasters and Eldritch Knights.
* [[Rogue]]s are extremely common in the Coalition, especially [[swashbuckler]]s.
* [[Warlock]]s are all but exclusive to the Brazen Coalition, with the Dire Fleet in particular being infamous for its trafficking with fiends.
* [[Wizard]]s are quite common, with each race having its own specialities; orcs favor the [[Evoker]] and the [[Necromancer]], sirens the [[Enchanter]], and humans will do [[Half-orcs|just]] [[Half-Dragon|about]] [[Half-Elf|anything.]]

From this section, we move on to the races unique to Ixalan. Humans and Orcs are also present, but humans are just PHB standard humans and orcs just use the PHB's [[Half-Orc]] stats, which in fairness are better than the 5e orc's stats.

* [[Merfolk]]
Unlike the tail-legged merfolk of myth, Ixalan's merfolk are finned amphibious humanoids, sort of like the Zora from [[The Legend of Zelda]], but more brightly colored. They're divided into two subraces; Green Merfolk are denizens of the wet, humid rainforest, whilst Blue Merfolk prefer a subaquatic lifestyle. +1 Charisma, Medium size, base speed 30 feet, swim speed 30 feet, and the Amphibious trait serve as the "racial core" traits - yes, these are identical to the merfolk stats from the Plane Shift: Zendikar article earlier. Green Merfolk get +2 Wisdom, the Wood Elf's Mask of the Wild trait, and a [[Druid]] cantrip spell-like ability that keys off of Wisdom. Blue Merfolk get +2 Intelligence, the Lore of the Waters trait (free proficiency in the History and Nature skills), and a [[Wizard]] cantrip spell-like ability that keys off of Intelligence.

* [[Vampire]]
On Ixalan, vampirism is considered a holy sacrifice undergone by valuable members of the Legion of Dusk. +2 Charisma, +1 Wisdom, Medium, base speed 30 feet, Darkvision 60 feet, Vampiric Resistance (halves Necrotic damage), a Bloodthirst special attack that lets you suck the life from others, and the Feast of Blood ability. Bloodthirst is a special melee attack you can only use on a willing or grappled/restrained/incapacitated target, inflicting 1 piercing and 1d6 necrotic damage; this necrotic damage is deducted from the victim's maximum hit points (causing them to die if these are reduced to 0 HP), which is undone if they complete a long rest. You also regain hit points equal to the necrotic damage inflicted with Bloodthirst. Feast of Blood means that, after successfully using Bloodthirst, for the next 1 minute, you gain +10 feet speed and Advantage on all Strength and Dexterity checks & saving throws. Ixalan Vampires can also take the racial feat Vampiric Exultation, which lets them give themselves a Fly speed of 30 feet for 10 minutes once per short rest.

* Ixalan [[Goblin]]
Agile tree-climbers, the goblins of Ixalan have readily taken to life aboard the pirate ships of the Brazen Coalition. +2 Dexterity, Small, base speed 25 feet, climb speed of 25 feet if not wearing medium/heavy armor or encumbered, and Darkvision 60 feet.

* [[Siren]]
Ixalani Sirens are [[harpy]]-like bird-folk infamous for their mercurial moods and hypnotic voices. +2 Charisma, Medium, speed 25 feet, Fly speed of 30 feet if not wearing medium/heavy armor or encumbered, and the ability to cast the Friends cantrip at will.

A page after this section examines how to use Ixalan's merfolk, vampires and goblins as subraces of the same plane-spanning racial archetype, given they all appeared earlier in Plane Shift: Zendikar.
* Green & Blue Merfolk are literally just subraces that attach to the Merfolk core race from PS:Z.
* The +1 Intelligence and Null Transformation racial traits are unique to the Zendikaran Vampire subrace, whilst the +1 Wisdom and Feast of Blood racial traits are unique to the Ixalani Vampire.
* Zendikaran Goblins all have +2 Constitution and the Grit ability as their unique subrace traits, whilst the Ixalani Goblin's +2 Dexterity and Agile Climber traits are unique to their subrace.

From here, we move on to multiple tables of Ixalan-themed Art Objects, and a new table for randomly generating the "character" of Ixalan-produced magical items.

The Bestiary section of the article is all about the dinosaurs, with unique statblocks for the Frilled Deathspitter, for the legendary Sun's Avatar Gishath, and for the dread Elder Dinosaurs (complete with unique traits to represent the six legendary dinosaurs from the cards; Primal Dawn Zetalpa, Primal Tide Nezahal, Primal Storm Etali, Primal Death Tetzimoc, Primal Hunger Ghalta, and Primal Calamity Zacama). It concludes with stats for two non-dinosaur monstrosities; the Sunbird and the Chupacabra.

Finally, it closes with an Appendix examining the Colors of Mana and how to perhaps integrate these into your D&D games, in particular examining the alignments, power suites, classes & backgrounds most associated with that particular color.