This setting features a number of fantasy Ancestries. Many game systems refer to this concept as “races”, but we’re now talking about something remarkably different from the sociological concept of “races” in our reality. These fantasy Ancestries, distinguished not only by cultural and phenotypical differences but also by significant genetic shifts, represent truly distinct forms of Peoples. In fact, Peoples may be a more useful term than either Ancestries or Races, and which you utilize is up to you. Savage Worlds rulebooks use Ancestries and Races interchangeably.
Characters, as part of Ancestries, differ from mere creatures by their sentience and complex Social Organizations.
The game mechanic of Ancestry affects a few stats and roleplay aspects of your character, but aside from these, don’t feel like you have to fit any stereotypes or expectations! The world is your character’s wereoyster.
I can’t believe that a cartoon of a monstrous shellfish already existed for this dumb joke.
Your initial character creation for this campaign is somewhat limited to more traditional, terrestrial fantasy Ancestries, which excludes angelic, demonic, and elemental Ancestries because they are extraplanar in origin. But please feel free to also pitch an interesting Ancestry idea within these bounds to me and we can design it together! This works very well within the designs of Savage Worlds.
The metropolises of our setting are representative of Integrated Society, with a Human slant. Large cities may have quarters that are majority Elven, Dwarvish, or Half-Folklike, but you would never be surprised to see these Peoples anywhere else in the community, or even elected to office. Perhaps the exception is Orcs: while many reside in Integrated Society, you may not want to be caught on their side of town, and vice versa.
You are about to see some references to rules and mechanics you’re not familiar with yet. Don’t sweat it, just focus on the vibe for now, and ask me if you have questions about how to transfer the information to your character sheets once you make a choice! 😊
Character Sheet Hints
Put your Ancestry next to Race on the character sheet:
And summarize your Ancestry-given Edges and Hindrances either in the indicated sections or anywhere else where you have free space, such as at the bottom of the Gear section:
The important thing is that you have all the info you need written down in a way that makes sense to you!
Ancestries to Choose From
Customization
💡 The Ancestral archetypes presented here are iconic of their usual appearance in fantasy settings, but we have a custom setting and should feel encouraged to break the tropes! You can also make different versions of the same Ancestries. The limit lies only in your imagination and desire to create something new and unusual!
Creating A Custom Ancestry:
