Alstren
Noble warriors as graceful and
deadly as the fire they are born of.
RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5’4” – 6’8”
Average Weight: 180-320lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 7
squares
Vision:
Normal
Languages:
Common, Common Draconic, Alstren Dialect
Skill Bonuses:
+2 Acrobatics, +2 Endurance
Soul of Flame:
You have resistance to fire of 5 + ½ level. This increases to 10 + ½ level at
level 11 and 15 + ½ level at level 21.
Scale of the Dragon: You gain a +1 to your AC.
Burning Knowledge: You gain training in either History or Religion. Instead of gaining
training, you may gain a +2 racial bonus to both.
Fire of the Dragon: You gain dragon breath as an
encounter power.
Reborn in Flames: You gain cauterize as an
encounter power.
Dragon Breath Alstren Racial Power
With a bellowing roar you spew forth fire from your maw.
Encounter ♦ Fire
Minor Action Close
blast 3
Attack: Ability
modifier +2 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6 +
Ability modifier fire damage and 5 ongoing fire damage (save ends).
Increase to +4 bonus and 2d6 + Ability modifier damage at 11th
level, and to +6 bonus and 3d6 + Ability modifier damage at 21st
level.
Special: When you
create your character, choose one of the ability scores as the score to use
when making attack rolls with this power. That is also the ability modifier you
will use for the damage. This choice remains throughout your character’s life
and do not change the power’s other effects.
Cauterize Alstren
Racial Power
A bit of flame stops the bleeding, closes the
wound and allows you to battle on.
Encounter ♦ Fire, Healing
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You
gain a free healing surge.
Alstren are a battle
driven race. Their entire society is based on honor, battle prowess, and glory.
They live by a strict code known as “The 12 Honorable Truths”. It dictates a
strong moral code that allows for a good life but has no tolerance for lying, betrayal
or very specific kinds of weakness.
Play an alstren if
you want…
♦ to be a strong, swift, skilled
warrior.
♦ to control and be a living part of
fire.
♦ to be a member of a race that
favors the barbarian, budo, ranger, and warrior classes.
Physical
Qualities
Alstren resemble
humanoid dragons. They’re roughly the same height and weight as humans, with a
few outliers being somewhat larger and heavier than normal. They’re covered in
thick, tough, scaly hides that are strong, but not nearly so strong and durable
as their kasoev cousins. Every alstren has very red scales. The hues may
differ, but it’s always a shade of red, from deep crimson, to blood red, to
brick red, and everything in between. Their scales also form intricate patterns
on their body that make them looks like living flame when they move, as though
each alstren was a captured piece of fire given flesh. They have no hair and
instead, as the rest of their kind, have frills and horns on their faces and
heads, some even having large scales that continue down their spine to their
long, powerful tales.
Alstren dress in various types of
armor, seeing them as vestments rather than clothes. They are durable, light,
and above all functional. Alstren adornments are trophies from battle and vary.
Some may wear a necklace of bone, leather bracers, or wristbands made of the
flesh of the enemy, or wear the skull of a fallen opponent. Others take the
blood of their enemy and turn it into various inks and paints to create
intricate designs and patterns on their armor, or even create tattoos. In all
the alstren do not search for color, but meaning in what they wear, creating
their own personal symbols, or house, clan, or family symbols and that which
they find holy.
Alstren mature at the same rate as
human, and are considered adult at age 18 after they complete a ritual that
pits them against nature for one week. After that, they age very slowly,
reaching middle age around 100. Some live to be 250 or better.
Playing an
Alstren
Alstren are proud,
honor bound warriors. They live by the 12 Honorable Truths, and conduct their
lives in a very specific, almost ritualistic manner. They believe that honor
comes from many sources, and that to lead a good life, you must be a warrior,
protector, and more. Alstren society consists of a caste system that has no
limits and is bound by honorable acts, both on and off the battlefield. Elders
are chosen by the people to lead, and they are very nearly always those with
the most honor, knowledge and battle prowess. There is no royalty in alstren
life, and they do not easily trust anyone who claims such titles. All men are
equal and earn honor in the same way in their eyes.
Though they strive to be warriors,
the alstren understand that there is honor in many things and respect scholars
as well as warriors. They believe truth is something to be cherished, and
anyone who searches for truth, and keeps truth alive is honorable in their
eyes. The most important thing is continuing to hone one’s skills and
overcoming weakness. To be weak is the most terrible failing in the eyes of the
alstren. Even still, they also know that fighting weakness, even if one cannot
overcome it, is a strength and nearly anyone can become honorable and attain
status if they try.
Family ties, ancestry and blood are
also very important to alstren. It is considered honorable to know as much
about your ancestry as possible, and meticulous records are kept by society as
a whole and by families themselves, so that several accounts are found and the
most accurate stories can be told. No details are left out; it is more
dishonorable to omit a black sheep in the family than to have their stories
told as it is truth, even if it is a dark, unpleasant truth.
Religion is another important aspect
in alstren life. They see the Gods as living beings watching from afar and
offering protection, guidance, and truth even in the darkest of times. Given
their love of truth, Alstren are one of the few races that know that Teyr is
dead and his daughter Elysia has taken his place. They honor Teyr and Elysia
together for their sacrifice and blessings, but their true God is the warrior
God Jorren. They strive to be like Jorren, knowing that he was once flawed, and
mortal, and that through sacrifice and honor, he rose above his weakness, his
failings, and became a True God.
Alstren do not forget or forgive
enemies. Grudges can last generations as the stories are, generally very
accurately, passed down from elder to child. Alstren hate those races who have
chosen to be evil and fought against not only dragon-kind, but all other forms
of life. In particular, they have a grudge against the deamiss, dark and evil
Yurisai, and the hiyan, evil dragons. Alstren loathe the kaedia as well,
knowing their true history and seeing them as weak for their hate and loss.
Given their way of life the alstren
come off as quiet, sullen, or brooding. They choose their words carefully and
rarely speak unless they have something important to say, lending to their
aloof and brooding stereotyping. While they are not generous with laughter or
smiles, they are not so hard as to forget that life is to be lived and enjoyed,
and among friends you will even hear an alstren sing and tell wonderful stories.
None are in finer standing than those people who help the alstren or fight
against evil. It is a great feat to earn the respect of an alstren, but once
earned, it is a precious gift. To be called honorable among the alstren is to
have powerful allies ready to aid you and fight by your side to the death.
Alstren Characteristics: Driven, honest, honor-bound, knowledgeable, noble, proud, reliable
Male Names:
Atrax, Bylir, Corm, Drune, Evarious, Folgran, H’var, Honor, Kovis, Kynne,
Lo’thar, Ma’terrix, N’darru, Orrim, Stevrax, Valourus, Xentrix
Female Names:
Alatarra, Brinn, Ca’alla, Dy’terra, Esdelenn, H’rallya, Indira, Inarra,
Leysonnis, Nefalla, Orris, Rennis, Syph, T’pal, T’san, Urrix
Alstren
Adventurers
Three sample alstren
adventurers are described below.
Evarious is an alstren cleric who
wishes to bring back the true glory of the Gods to those who have lost their
way. He knows the truth of the Gods, and that they are still alive, still
trying to help, though their power has been reduced and that no one is truly
lost. He travels the world, preaching to those who will listen, helping those
in need, and healing those who are sick. He takes nothing but thanks, and
occasionally room and board for his troubles, and never has a bad thing to say
about anyone or anything. He dreams of nothing but helping people and spreading
the true word of the living Gods so that the world might once again find
balance and come back from the brink of darkness.
Falsely accused of murder by a
treacherous vermin seeking power and honor, Brinn is a warrior out to prove
herself. She has vowed to never utter until her honor is restored in her clan
and travels the world gaining the knowledge and power she’ll need to challenge
those who wronged her and once again rejoin her clan. She has joined with a
small group of adventurers who seek glory and honor in similar ways, and uses
her deadly axes to protect her new family, hone her skills, and find a way back
home.
H’var is a barbarian on a mission.
He has seen many wars in his time, survived many battles and his body carries
the memories of all of them in one way or another. He seeks to destroy evil,
wherever it may lurk, and in particular, he wants to punish the hiyan. He sees
those dark dragons as soulless abominations who gave their life over to the ash
and shadow of Lor, and he will fight to stop them from hurting anyone ever
again, even if it means giving his own life toward their end.
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