Download the 3 Free Character Races in PDF format (approx. 800k).

Some have lived in the world for millennia. Some have conquered continents. Some have gained great fame in magic, sacrifice or heroism of ages past. Some have lived in obscurity throughout the ages. Some wait in hatred amongst dark caverns for their time to ravage and rule the lands. Some dwell in peace deep in hidden valleys and on forgotten plateaus. Some walk openly among the known people, and some walk hidden. They are races of myth and lore. They are tribes, civilizations, outcasts, and abberants. Their time is now.

FFG is proud to present the second core book in the Legends & Lairs line of d20 System material. Mythic Races provides payers with 30 new detailed cultures for character creation. Each race is beautifully illustrated and details their history, gods, special skills, feats, equipment, and new prestige classes. These races range from the familiar to the alien, and all can be easily introduced into any campaign, making use of level modifiers to maintain game balance.

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The following is a free preview of Mythic Races, the next d20 System sourcebook in the Legends & Lairs line. The names and game statistics of the races are Open Content. The textual descriptions are closed content.

Pevishan

Touched at birth by the mysteries of the arcane, many believe the pevishan-quite literally-have magic in their blood. Stories of generations past suggest that the pevishan were born in the image of the god of magic, a chosen people who could truly master and control the arcane powers. Pevishan roam freely in the world of humans and with their outgoing demeanor, always seem to make friends and allies easily. Pevishan are most well known for their natural talents in the mystic arts, but if a friend or ally stands in harm’s way, pevishan will do whatever is necessary to aid them. Whether it be spellcraft, swordplay, or fisticuffs, the pevishan can be fierce combatants.

Personality: Pevishan are more likely to be friendly than hostile. Charismatic by nature, pevishan have a particular flare for diffusing hostile situations with words and subtle spellcraft as opposed to sharp tongues and destructive magic. Most pevishan are naturally curious when it comes to a new field of magical study, but tend to favor their birth-schools above all others. When faced with fear or prejudice toward their unique appearance and abilities, most pevishan simply smile and make a serious effort to diffuse any hostile or fearful feelings with honesty and charm.

Physical Description: Pevishan are Medium-size humanoids who typically stand between five-and-a-half and six-and-a-half feet tall and weigh between 100 and 250 pounds. On average, pevishan men tend to stand slightly taller and weigh more than females. Pevishan are very similar to humans in terms of physical description and musculature, though there are a few notable differences.

The most obvious difference is that pevishan are beings of magic; they were forged from it, and they live through it. At birth, all pevishan children have a series of birthmarks that resemble magical inscriptions from a particular school of magic (evocation, necromancy, etc.). Along with these markings, pevishan hair color also coincides with their “birth-school,” as these castes are called. And finally, a pevishan’s eyes have no irises (except for the necromancers) and have a faint glow that also coincides with his birth-school. Below are the colors for each birth-school and a brief description of how it might affect a pevishan’s appearance and behavior.

Abjuration (Silver): A pevishan of this birth-school typically has silver-white hair and silver markings on his body. His eyes also glow with a silver sheen that can have a powerful effect on others.

Conjuration (Gold): Pevishan of this birth-school typically have no hair at all. Many of the other pevishan are somewhat envious of the conjurer's beautiful gold birthmarks and deep golden eyes.

Divination (White): Sometimes mistaken for the abjuration birth-school, the children of divination find that their white hair and hauntingly white eyes tend to make them look a little older than they are. Their birthmarks are barely noticeable.

Enchantment (Blue): A child of the enchantment birth-school is often the center of attention, as his blue hair, blue eyes, and radiant blue markings draw attention wherever he goes.

Evocation (Red): With fiery red hair and deep, crimson eyes the children of evocation often favor combat over rational discussion. The evoker wears his red markings like a barbarian might wear the war paint of a proud clan.

Illusion (Purple): With soft, subdued shades of purple, a pevishan illusionist prefers to blend into a crowd rather than show her true self, many times choosing to cover her lilac markings, hair, and eyes with long sleeves or hooded robes.

Necromancy (Gray and Black): The necromancers are sometimes the subjects of a certain amount of scrutiny and distrust because of their birth-school. With black hair streaked with gray, members of this birth school have coal-black eyes with gray irises.

Transmutation (Green): With deep green hair, birthmarks, and eyes, the children of transmutation change their looks often, whether it be hair-styles or clothing. Always changing, a child of transmutation is often characterized by extreme mood swings.

Pevishan reach adulthood at 22 years of age and typically live into their 50s, but some pevishan can live to be even older. Though strong in the arcane arts, pevishan life spans are very short. Only through magical means can a pevishan exceed his natural life span.

Relations: Most pevishan tend to blend into human societies well. With such a strong affinity for the arcane arts, pevishan tend to have close relations with members of the gnomish races. On the whole, pevishan view elves as a bit haughty (as many of the races do), dwarves as too serious, halflings as amusing, and humans as good allies. That said, a pevishan can get along with anyone, until given a reason not to.

Alignment: Pevishan characters can cover the spectrum of alignments, from good to evil, chaotic to lawful. The magic that runs through the veins of the pevishan can have a strong influence on their psychology and actions, however. The alignment that each birth-school favors is listed below. As with any race, there are exceptions to the rules.

Pevishan Lands: Almost all pevishan migrate to areas of high magical activity or centers of arcane study. Most prefer to live in large cities within the comfort of warm, clean homes surrounded by overflowing volumes of arcane text. While pevishan are gracious hosts, many prefer to keep their homes private, as they possibly better than anyone understand the dangers of magic and what can be done when it is in the wrong hands. Pevishan who are not proficient in the ways of illusion tend to enlist the services either of fellow pevishan or trusted gnome associates to help disguise or hide their homes.

As a race, the pevishan are hindered by an inability to function as a collective society over extended periods of time. Though most pevishan have a mutual respect for one another, their differing magical influences cause many disagreements in their communities. While they are of a single race, the birth-schools are too different from one another to truly unify.

In human lands, pevishan are highly prized as royal wizards, teachers, and archmages. Many times, pevishan sorcerers are brought in as instructors for prominent universities of magical study.

Religion: As with their spectrum of alignments, pevishan religion tends to be equally diverse. Most pevishan worship a deity of magic or knowledge, who they believe to be their creator. Others adopt the religious customs of the lands in which they reside.

Language: Common is the chosen language of pevishan, but many also know Draconic and Gnome. Rumors persist that at one time the pevishan spoke an arcane language all their own, but centuries of wandering and interracial marriage have caused the ancient tongue to become lost, possibly forever.

Names: A with many of the facets of pevishan society, pevishan names tend to be widely diverse. Generations of travel and exploration have marked the pevishan in many ways. But the process of choosing names is probably the most heavily influenced, depending on the child’s birth-school. For example, the children of transmutation have historically favored the elven races, and these pevishan tend to choose their own names when reaching maturity (as do most elves). The children of enchantment tend to favor more extravagant names that reflect the child’s personality. Children of necromancy might opt for a simple, one-word name (something that can be easily forgotten, as they prefer not to draw attention to themselves).

Male Names: Monzel, Tret, Tazen-Ro, Jerrel, Viskin, and Flattizel.

Female Names: Kalia, Eliza, Ralla, Halie-Sun, Quizna, and Illia.

Adventurers: Pevishan adventurers can be motivated by several callings: exploration, love of excitement, lust for power, greed, or self-discovery. Many explore the lands looking for some understanding and mastery of their powers or perhaps the origins of their race. Some pevishan feel the call of heroism and choose to wander evil or enslaved lands, working against the opposing forces as a hero of the people. Equally, many evil pevishan use their unique abilities to corrupt or enslave populations for their own sinister purposes.

Pevishan Racial Traits

• +2 Charisma, -2 Strength: Created as a magical race, the pevishan are not gifted physically, but rather mentally and socially.
• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, pevishan have no special bonus or penalties due to their size.
• Pevishan base speed is 30 feet.
• Low-light Vision: With their unusually radiant eyes, pevishan can see twice as far as a human in dim light, moonlight, or torchlight. With low-light vision, pevishan retain the ability to distinguish colors and details in poor illumination.
• Read Magic: With such a strong affinity for magic, pevishan have the ability to read magic at will, as per the read magic spell (PHB 243).
• Birth-School Benefits: The player of a pevishan character must choose his birth-school during character creation. The character is literally infused with the power of this school, and receives the following benefits:
  • The character receives a +4 racial bonus to Spellcraft checks for tasks involving magic from the birth-school. The character also receives this bonus when he attempts to learn a new spell from the birth-school.
  • The character receives a +4 racial bonus on his saving throws to resist spells from the birth-school.
  • When the character casts a spell from his birth-school, the saving throw DC to resist the spell is increased by 1.
• Tapping the Power: Pevishan are a race born into magic. With such a strong connection to the energies of their birth-schools, pevishan can draw upon powers that many other races cannot. Each birth-school has access to a limited number of abilities that a pevishan can call upon in times of need.

Below is a list of each birth-school and the abilities each provides.

Each of these powers are usable a number of times per day equal to the pevishan’s Charisma modifier. Also, a pevishan need not be a sorcerer or wizard to use these abilities-they are powers the pevishan are born with and learn to cultivate naturally during their childhood. When casting these spells, the pevishan’s caster level is equal to his total class levels.

Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Draconic and Gnome.

Favored Class: Sorcerer. A muticlass pevishan’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing.

Class-Level Adjustment: +2. Pevishan, with their inherent powers, are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than many of the common races.