If you’re walking in on the middle of this series, there’s an index here.

To build our heritage, I need four lists: Heritable traits, heritable foibles, ethos and rituals. I’ll refer to the ethos section for a list of ethos.

For your heritage, pick:

Two minor heritable traits or one major heritable trait

One heritable foible

One ethos

Create a small action or daily ritual your heritage performs

Name your heritage

For the lists, I want nice even randomisable numbers if I can. Minor heritable traits are typically limited or low-level:

1. Magic resistance (sleep)
2. Magic resistance (charm)
3. Magic resistance (fear)
4. Proficiency (weapon)
5. Proficiency (language)
6. Proficiency (favoured enemy)
7. Proficiency (speak to animals)
8. Proficiency (hide in foliage)
9. Proficiency (hold breath)
10. Proficiency (mimic sound)
11. Proficiency (track by scent)
12. Proficiency (sense slope, direction or depth)
13. Proficiency (sense tunnel safety)
14. Proficiency (sense secret doors)
15. Daily Affect Normal Fires or other spell cast at 1st level at hp cost of 1d6
16. Natural armour against fire (2d6)
17. Natural armour against cold (2d6)
18. Powerful leap (unencumbered only)
19. Prehensile appendage (tail, tentacle, etc.)
20. Natural attack (1d4 melee)

Major heritable traits are more specific but powerful and all spell-like abilities last until sunrise and can only be used on self.

1. Daily Invisibility or other spell cast at 2nd level at hp cost of 2d6
2. Daily Monster Summoning I or other spell cast at 3rd level, at hp cost of 3d6
3. Daily Polymorph Self or other spell cast at 4th level, at hp cost of 4d6
4. Natural armour against non-silvered weapons (2d6)
5. Natural armour against slashing damage (2d6)
6. Natural armour against piercing damage (2d6)
7. Natural armour against bludgeoning damage (2d6)
8. Immunity (charm)
9. Immunity (sleep)
10. Immunity (fear)
11. Advantage on saving throws (poison)
12. Advantage on saving throws (wands)
13. Advantage on saving throws (ill-fortune)
14. Magic resistance (priestly)
15. Magic resistance (wizardly)
16. Magic resistance (devilry)
17. Natural attack (2d4 melee)
18. Natural attack (1d4 reach)
19. Natural attack (1d4 charge)
20. Flight (unencumbered only)

Heritable foibles are typically special consequences or abilities with significant drawbacks

1. Infravision, but no normal vision
2. Ultravision, but no normal vision
3. Too large for common armour and clothing
4. Too small for common armour and clothing
5. Always recognisable as heritage (horns, tentacles, skin colour, eyes, etc.)
6. Vulnerable to magic (charm)
7. Vulnerable to magic (fear)
8. Cause magical items to malfunction when using them as a consequence
9. Disadvantage when exposed to hot weather
10. Disadvantage when exposed to dry weather
11. Disadvantage when exposed to cold weather
12. Threaten damage when exposed to loud noises
13. Vulnerable to fire damage
14. Vulnerable to lightning damage
15. Vulnerable to cold damage
16. Vulnerable to poison damage
17. Vulnerable to silvered weapons
18. Magic (divine) ineffective at random
19. Magic (wizardly) ineffective at random
20. Magic (devilry) ineffective at random

Rituals are often related to a trait or foible, but it’s hard to do a picklist. I wonder if the better approach is a ritual grid:

A ritual or social action is something that happens regularly, and is reflective of your heritage. Usually it consists of a call or external prompt, and a response that you and your folk do Use these prompts to help create your ritual or social action, or roll 1d10 on each table:

Call: 1. Celestial sign; 2. Animal activity; 3. A specific accident; 4. A weather event; 5. A magical sign; 6. A meeting of minds; 7. An injury; 8. A request for assistance; 9. A death or loss; 10. An unexpected change

Response: 1. Celebration; 2. Meditation; 3. Prayer; 4. Utterance; 5. Gesture; 6. Physical Touch; 7. Ward; 8. Garment; 9. Grooming; 10. Mourning

Now, the basic rule is create your own, but I will do in the end is provide common sets of traits to relate to say, high elves, mountain dwarves, or forest gnomes.

Wood elves. Magic resistance (charm), proficiency (hide in foliage), ultravision. Protect the borders of the Forest of Murk from outsiders. We must celebrate drinking honey wine with our family each month when both the Maiden and the Full Moon are in the sky together, taking no rest.

I’ll do a few of those, just to cover the basic races. I think that’s a neat framework.

This has been a part of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeon Series! Let me know your thoughts on the heritage lists, whether I’ve overlooked anything glaring, or anything of the sort!

Idle Cartulary

6th June 2022