Community

Your Community describes the culture or environment your character grew up in. Though it’s likely they were a member of numerous communities during their upbringing, this choice represents the one they feel influenced their personality and current skillset most. Like ancestry, describing the characteristics of a collective is nuanced, as people always view others through the lens of their own experience. For example, while a Seaborne sailor might feel their own community is particularly strict, a character from an Orderborne metropolis might find that group very changeable. An individual’s relationship with their community also creates a wide variety of experiences. If your character has fallen out with the place or people that defined their upbringing, they may continue to carry that influence but might be on a quest to live differently than they were taught.

As you explore the following communities, imagine the variety of ways they might manifest in your game. Some community cards reference locations, others an ethos, and still others a common goal. But no two places that fall under the same category are the same. If one Wanderborne caravan travels the world willingly and another was expelled from their home by force, both the material trappings and someone’s feelings about their lifestyle would be very different.

When you build your character, you may be inspired by the details from communities different from the one you’ve chosen to play. As always, this aspect of the game is meant to be utilized in the way that best serves your group’s game.

Each Community has a Community Feature, a unique move or set of moves that are granted to them by their community and can be utilized in play. Some are spells or abilities that can be activated during a session, while others are passive bonuses or unique downtime moves.

Each community entry suggests several adjectives, which you can use as inspiration when crafting a character. If you’d like to, choose one or more of these words (or roll a d6) to help develop your character’s personality, relationship with their upbringing or peers, or even the flavor with which they interact with the rest of their party.

Highborne

Being part of a Highborne community means you were born into a life of elegance, opulence, and prestige within the upper echelons of society. Traditionally, members of a Highborne community possess incredible material wealth. While this takes a variety of forms depending on the community: gold and other minerals, land, controlling the means of production, etc. it always comes with incredible power and influence. Highborne highly value titles and possessions, and there is very little social mobility within their ranks. It’s not uncommon for members of a Highborne community to control the political and economic status of the areas in which they live based on their ability to influence people and the economy with their substantial wealth. The health and safety of the less affluent people who live in these locations often hinges on the ability of this Highborne ruling class to prioritize the well-being of their subjects over profit.

Highborne individuals are often: amiable, candid, conniving, enterprising, ostentatious, unflappable.

Community Feature

Privilege: You have advantage on rolls you make to consort with nobles, negotiate prices, or leverage your reputation to get what you want.

Loreborne

Being part of a Loreborne community means you are from a society that favors strong academic or political prowess. Loreborne communities highly value knowledge, frequently in the form of the preservation of history, advancement of politics, study of science, honing of skill, or collecting of mythology. Because of this, many Loreborne communities are not closely tied to the landscape. Very often, this collective will construct and maintain structures designed to protect physical books and records, and they will only engage with nature and the physical world in a particularly intellectual way. While some Loreborne collectives are isolationist, others use their knowledge to make deft political maneuvers in a larger governmental landscape. Some Loreborne communities, such as those surrounding a college or attached to a guild, are smaller enclaves within wider societies and they may operate with a separate and unique ethos.

Loreborne individuals are often: direct, eloquent, inquisitive, patient, rhapsodic, witty.

Community Feature

Well-Read: You have advantage on any rolls regarding the history, culture, or politics of a prominent person or place.

Orderborne

Being part of an Orderborne community means you are from a collective that focuses on discipline or faith, and you uphold a set of principles that reflect your experience there. Orderborne are frequently some of the most powerful among the surrounding communities. By aligning the members of their society around a common value or goal, such as a god, doctrine, ethos, or even shared business or trade; the ruling bodies of these enclaves are able to mobilize larger populations with less effort. While Orderborne communities may take a variety of forms, some even profoundly pacifistic, perhaps the most feared are those that structure themselves around military prowess. In this case, it is not uncommon for Orderborne to provide soldiers for hire for other cities or countries.

Orderborne are often: ambitious, benevolent, pensive, sardonic, stoic.

Community Feature

Dedicated: Record three sayings or values your upbringing instilled in you. Once per short rest, when you describe how you’re embodying one of these principles through your current action, you can roll a d20 as your Hope Die instead of a d12.

Ridgeborne

Being part of a Ridgeborne community means you’ve called the rocky peaks and sharp cliffs of the mountainside home. Those who’ve lived in the mountains often consider themselves hardier than most because they’ve thrived among the most dangerous terrain many continents have to offer. These groups are adept at adaptation, developing unique technologies and equipment to move both people and products across the difficult terrain. As such, Ridgeborne grow up scrambling and climbing, making them particularly sure-footed and sure of will. Ridgeborne localities appear in a variety of forms, some cities carve out cliff faces, others construct castles of stone, and still more live in small homes on wind-blown peaks. Outside forces are likely to have a particularly hard time attacking Ridgeborne groups, as the small militias and large military forces of the mountain are adept at utilizing their high ground advantage.

Ridgeborne individuals are often: bold, curt, hardy, indomitable, loyal, reserved, stubborn.

Community Feature

Steady: You have advantage on rolls to traverse dangerous cliffs and ledges, navigate harsh environments, and use your survival knowledge. Additionally, gain an Armor Slot at character creation.

Seaborne

Being part of a Seaborne community means you lived on or near a large body of water. Seaborne communities are built, both physically and culturally, around the specific waters they call home—some of these groups live along the shore, constructing ports for locals and travelers alike. These harbors may function as both centers of commerce, tourist attractions, or even just a safe place to lay down one’s head after weeks of travel. Other Seaborne live on the water in small boats or large ships, with the idea of “home” comprising a ship and its crew, rather than any one landmass. No matter their exact location, Seaborne communities are closely tied to the ocean tides and the creatures that inhabit them. Seaborne learn to fish at a young age, and will train from birth to be able to hold their breath and swim in even the most tumultuous waters. Individuals from these groups are highly sought after for sailing abilities, and many will become captains of vessels, either within their own community, working for another, or even at the helm of a powerful naval operation.

Seaborne are often: candid, cooperative, exuberant, fierce, resolute, weathered.

Community Feature

Know the Tide: You can sense the ebb and flow of life. When you roll with Fear, put a token on this card. You can hold a number of tokens up to your level. Before you make an action roll, you can spend one or more of these tokens to add them as +1 modifiers to your roll. At the end of a session, clear all unused tokens

Slyborne

Being part of a Slyborne community means growing up in the underbelly of society, surrounded by criminals and con artists. Members of Slyborne communities are brought together by their position in society; they operate outside the law. Commonly, these communities are comprised of those with a array of skills: forging, thievery, smuggling, and violence. Among the Slyborne there are a variety of social classes, including those who have garnered vast wealth and influence to those without a coin to their name. To the outside eye, the Slyborne may seem like ruffians with no loyalty, but these communities possess some of the strictest codes of honor which, when broken, may result in a terrifying end for the perpetrator.

Slyborne individuals are often: clever, formidable, menacing, unflinching, shrewd, tenacious.

Community Feature

Scoundrel: You have advantage on any rolls to negotiate with criminals, detect lies, or find a safe place to hide.

Underborne

Being part of an Underborne community means that you’re from a subterranean society. Many Underborne live right beneath the cities and villages of other collectives, while some live much deeper. These communities range from small family groups in burrows, to massive metropolises in caverns of stone. In many locales, Underborne are recognized for their incredible boldness and skill that enable great feats of architecture and engineering. Underborne are regularly hired for their bravery, as even the least daring among them is likely to have encountered a number of belowground beasts in their daily lives, and learning to dispatch such creatures is common practice amongst these societies. Because of the danger of their environment, many Underborne communities develop unique non-verbal languages that may prove equally useful on the surface.

Underborne individuals are often: composed, elusive, indomitable, innocative, unpretentious, resourceful.

Community Feature

Low-Light Living: When you are in an area with low light or heavy shadow, you have advantage on rolls to hide, investigate, or perceive details within that area.

Wanderborne

Being part of a Wanderborne community means that you’ve lived as a nomad, not having a permanent home but experiencing a wide variety of cultures. Unlike many communities that are defined by their locale, Wanderborne are defined by their traveling lifestyle. Because of their frequent migration, Wanderborne are likely to put less value on the accumulation of material possessions in favor of acquiring information, skills and connections. While some Wanderborne are allied by a common ethos, such as a religion or set of political or economic values, others come together after shared tragedy, such as the loss of their home or lands. No matter the reason, the dangers posed by life on the road, and the choice to continue down the road together, mean that Wanderborne are known for their unwavering loyalty.

Wanderborne are often: magnanimous, mirthful, inscrutable, reliable, savvy, unorthodox.

Community Feature

Nomadic Pack: Add a Nomadic Pack to your inventory. Once per session, you can spend a Hope to reach into this pack and pull out a common item that is useful to the situation. Work with the GM to figure out what this item is.

Wildborne

Being part of a Wildborne community means you lived deep within the forest. Wildborne communities are defined by their dedication to the conservation of their homelands, and many have strong religious and cultural ties to the plants that they live among. This results in a unique architectural and technological advancements that favor sustainability rather than short-term, high-yield results. It is a hallmark of Wildborne societies integrate their villages and cities with the natural environment and avoid disturbing the lives of the plants and animals. While some construct their lodging high in the branches of trees themselves, still others establish their homes on the ground beneath the canopies. It’s not uncommon for Wildborne to remain fairly reclusive and hidden within their woodland homes.

Wildborne individuals are often: hardy, loyal, nurturing, reclusive, sagacious, vibrant.

Community Feature

Lightfoot: Your movement is naturally silent. You have advantage on rolls to move without being heard.