Necrokin details
Bloodline Traits
- Vitals Adjusted: Gain +1 to either Cognition or Presence.
- Popular Classes: Mage, Rogue, Cleric.
- Languages: Trade, plus one language retained from their former life.
Awakened Undead
- Necrokin do not need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. They are immune to disease and poison.
- A Necrokin completes a Rest by remaining inactive for 8 uninterrupted hours.
- Medicine, herbs, and other nonmagical treatments cannot aid a Necrokin’s Wound recovery. Another character may use Occult instead of Medicine to aid the Necrokin during a Rest.
- Magical healing: Use the cases below with Magical Healing when magical healing restores a Necrokin’s VIT.
- Critical or Dying: If the Necrokin is Critical or Dying, first resolve the healing point that stabilises them at 0 VIT. Apply the reduction only to any remaining healing.
- During rounds: The first time each round magical healing would restore a Necrokin’s VIT, reduce the VIT restored by 1, to a minimum of 0, and move one fewer Wounded AD to Ready.
- Outside rounds: Apply that reduction to each distinct magical healing effect.
Necrotic Reconstitution
Once per Rest, at the start of their turn, a Necrokin may restore up to 2 VIT and move the same number of Wounded AD to Ready.
They may use Necrotic Reconstitution while Active, Unconscious, or Critical. If they are Critical, the first VIT restored stabilises them at 0 VIT and any remaining VIT is restored normally. If their VIT rises above 0, they wake Prone. Necrotic Reconstitution is not magical healing and is not reduced by Awakened Undead. It cannot be used while Dying or after becoming Deceased.
Physical Characteristics
- Height: Necrokin retain the height of their former living bodies; males commonly stand 155–200 cm and females 145–190 cm.
- Weight: Preservation and decay create substantial variation. Males commonly weigh 45–105 kg; females commonly weigh 35–90 kg.
- Maturity and Lifespan: A Necrokin retains the physical age at which they awakened. They do not mature or age naturally and have no fixed natural lifespan, though decay, destruction, or the loss of sustaining necrotic energy can end them.
- Eye Colour: Most commonly pale grey, clouded white, or muted green; the eyes may glow faintly when interacting with necrotic energy.
- Hair: Hair retains its former colour but commonly fades towards black, white, or grey and may become thin or patchy.
- Unique Traits: Necrokin skin is cold and commonly pallid or discoloured, with varying degrees of necrotic scarring, darkened veins, desiccation, or exposed bone. Binding glyphs may appear and glow faintly when they channel necrotic magic.
History and Current Status
- After the Sundering, many awakened Necrokin were created through the necrotic practices of the Acacians, initially bound to necromancers. Amid the chaos, some broke free and learned to survive independently among the perils of undeath.
- These free Necrokin now roam wastelands and cursed lands, driven by a quest for purpose, knowledge, or revenge on those who still enslave the dead.
- Today, Necrokin thrive as wandering survivors, mercenaries, and undead mystics, using their necrotic knowledge to navigate their cursed existence.
- Though often outcasts, they guide spirits, act as intermediaries between the living and the dead, and harness necrotic power for magic, playing a crucial role in cursed or forsaken lands.
Personality Traits
- Relentless and Driven: Known for their determination, Necrokin are often fueled by their unique relationship with death. Having survived it once, they approach goals with singular focus, enduring every challenge.
- Detached but Loyal: Although many Necrokin struggle with forming strong emotional attachments due to their undead condition, once bonds are formed, they are loyal to the end, often viewing comrades as their new purpose in a world that has otherwise rejected them.
Cultural Traits
- Values: Necrokin highly value survival and autonomy. Many were once bound by necromancers and now seek to prove their independence, striving for mastery over their undead nature rather than submission.
- Social Dynamics: Necrokin who escape servitude form tight communities. Leadership gravitates toward those who master necrotic forces, with authority based on necromantic knowledge.
- Traditions: Necrokin perform rituals to maintain their undead state and honor the spirits that linger in the mortal world. Some believe that by understanding the necrotic energies that sustain them, they can free themselves from their undead curse or find peace in undeath.
- Religion and Beliefs: Some Necrokin believe their undead state is a punishment for defying death, while others see themselves as vessels of ancient gods. They perform rituals to commune with spirits, seeking to either escape their curse or embrace it. Legends speak of a time when the veil between life and death will tear apart, and the Necrokin will lead the dead into a new era of undeath or eternal life.
Relationships With Neighbours
- Acacians: Resentful originators; tension arises from the Necrokin’s quest for independence from their former creators, though mutual necromantic interests occasionally align.
- Igdrasans: Wary but resourceful trade partners; practical alliances form when necessary, with both groups respecting each other’s resilience.
- Ashborn: Pragmatic survivors; a shared survival mentality fosters respect and alliances in hostile terrains.
- Ceibans: Distrustful rivals; contrasting beliefs in life’s cycle create a strained relationship, with both groups wary of each other’s influence.
- K'aan: Hostile opposition; the K'aan see the Necrokin as an affront to natural order, leading to frequent hostilities.
Step 2 of 2
Choose your Necrokin Origin
Your Bloodline establishes what you inherited. Your Origin establishes the life you lived before adventure. Compare these three, then open one for its complete starting package.
01Bound SpiritOnce bound to a necromancer, I learned to read my captor’s intent, escaped servitude, and now seek purpose beyond control.
- Description: “Once bound to a necromancer, I learned to read my captor’s intent, escaped servitude, and now seek purpose beyond control.”
- Narrative Prompt: “What memory of servitude drives my will to remain free?”
- Starting Skills (Level 1 each):
- Finesse: Escaping bindings and manipulating locks with precision.
- Insight: Recognizing coercion and the motives of those who seek control.
- Stealth: Used for escape and concealment.
- Starting Equipment:
- Bone Amulet: A personal necromantic focus and remnant of past servitude; it grants no bonus by itself.
- Tattered Cloak: When fully covered and observed only at a distance, the wearer may attempt Stealth or Influence to conceal their undead nature; the cloak provides no armour.
- Lockpicks: Enable Finesse checks to open ordinary mechanical locks without improvised-tool penalties.
- Starting Resources:
- Crypt Coins: Old but spendable coinage worth 8 Dritch.
- Grave Dust: Necromantic reagent worth 4 Dritch to an appropriate practitioner.
- Role-Playing Traits: Distrustful of authority, deeply values autonomy, respectful of others’ freedom.
02Spirit GuideRaised amongst mediums, I am training as a necromantic mediator between life and death.
- Description: “Raised amongst mediums, I am training as a necromantic mediator between life and death.”
- Narrative Prompt: “What message or spirit from beyond most shapes my purpose?”
- Starting Skills (Level 1 each):
- Influence: For spirit and mortal communication.
- Insight: Reading the needs and motives of spirits and mortals.
- Occult: Understanding necromancy, spirits, and rites between life and death.
- Starting Equipment:
- Spirit Lantern: Once per Rest, light it before an Occult check to detect or contact a nearby spirit to make that check with Advantage. It does not summon or control spirits.
- Ritual Garments: Recognised spirit-calling clothing and a ritual focus; they are not armour.
- Necrotic Tome: Enables research and lesser rites concerning spirits and necromancy; it grants no bonus by itself.
- Starting Resources:
- Wraith Stone: A necrotic gem worth 4 Dritch to an appropriate mystic or collector.
- Old Coins: Spendable coinage worth 8 Dritch.
- Role-Playing Traits: Respectful of the dead, seeks balance between realms, prefers peaceful resolutions.
03Cursed OutcastMarked by my undead nature, I’ve wandered alone, surviving with tenacity and cunning.
- Description: “Marked by my undead nature, I’ve wandered alone, surviving with tenacity and cunning.”
- Narrative Prompt: “What keeps me returning to the land of the living despite my outcast status?”
- Starting Skills (Level 1 each):
- Acrobatics: Escaping pursuit through agile movement over dangerous terrain.
- Stealth: Avoids detection by those who might hunt you.
- Survival: Navigating desolate wastelands.
- Starting Equipment:
- Hooded Cloak: When fully covered and observed only at a distance, the wearer may attempt Stealth or Influence to conceal their undead nature; the cloak provides no armour.
- Grave Dagger: A small weapon using the Dagger profile.
- Tattered Bag: Contains cord, chalk, tinder, and simple utensils, enabling routine camp and escape tasks without improvised tools.
- Starting Resources:
- Corpse Coins: Eerie but spendable coinage worth 6 Dritch.
- Spirit Ashes: Necromantic reagent worth 4 Dritch to an appropriate practitioner.
- Role-Playing Traits: Self-reliant, wary of strangers, driven by survival rather than comfort.