Player Characters

Here are some guidelines for creating a player character in a campaign based in Iorth.

Folk and Heritage

Many of the typical lineages available in D&D are available in Iorth, though the nature and context of these lineages may be different from a standard D&D campaign setting. The character lineage options are divided into common (which can be selected freely by players) and rare (which requires DM approval before use as characters, and only 1 player character from the group may use this option).

Common Folk

These folk are readily encountered in Iorth, so it is not uncommon or unusual to encounter them in a group of adventurers.

  • Player’s Handbook
    • Aasimar (a.k.a. Angelkin): Available in Iorth.
    • Dwarf: Available in Iorth.
    • Elf: Available in Iorth.
      • Half-Elf (a.k.a. Elfan): Treat either as a Human or an Elf, or using the Khoravar species from Eberron; the Half-Elf option from 2014 rules may also be used.
    • Gnome: Available in Iorth.
    • Goliath (a.k.a. Giantkin): Available in Iorth; a majority of goliaths tend to be of hill or stone giant heritage.
    • Halfling: Available in Iorth.
    • Human: Available in Iorth.
    • Orc: Available in Iorth.
      • Half-Orc (a.k.a. Orcan): Treat either as a Human or an Orc; the Half-Orc option from 2014 rules may also be used
    • Tiefling (a.k.a. Devilkin): Available in Iorth.
  • Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
    • Air Genasi (a.k.a. Air Jinkin): Available in Iorth.
    • Changeling: Available in Iorth.
    • Earth Genasi (a.k.a. Earth Jinkin): Available in Iorth.
    • Fire Genasi (a.k.a. Fire Jinkin): Available in Iorth.
    • Goblin: Available in Iorth.
    • Sea Elf: Available in Iorth.
    • Shifter (a.k.a. Werekin): Available in Iorth.
    • Water Genasi (a.k.a. Water Jinkin): Available in Iorth.
  • Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
    • Custom Lineage: available in Iorth; please consult with the DM on specifics.
  • Astarion’s Book of Hungers
    • Dhampir: Available in Iorth.
  • Van Richten’s Guide to Raveloft
    • Lineages: The Hexblood and Reborn lineages are available.

Rare Folk

Though the following character options can be encountered in Iorth, they appear very rarely among adventuring parties. As a rule of thumb, only one member of a party of player characters may select one of these options.

  • Player’s Handbook
    • Dragonborn (a.k.a. Drakin): Only chromatic dragonborn from the PHB are available, and all dragonborn have tails. However, this includes the yellow dragon heritage (breath weapon does thunder damage in a 15 ft. cone [Con save]). Most have detached, almost alien behaviors like their lizardfolk relatives. Dragonborn on Iorth are descended from lizardfolk, and are the equivalent of tieflings, aasimar, or genasi in comparison to humans. They predominantly come from the southern hemisphere, from the Wyrmleague.
  • Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
    • Astral Elf (a.k.a. Light Elf): Extremely rare, and occasionally encountered on Iorth; though originally from the Shimmer, a majority remain on the Astral Plane.
    • Bugbear: Rare, but available in Iorth; most are outcasts and loners, while some have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth. (Note: the typical bugbear of Iorth has an average height of 5 feet; they are deemed a particular variant of hobgoblin.)
    • Centaur: Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth.
    • Deep Gnomes (a.k.a. Bluecaps): Unbeknownst to many, the deep gnomes are the descendants of enslaved gnomes captured by the Leadfist clan of dwarves as they went deep underground into exile. These gnomes lost much of their resemblance to their rock gnome and forest gnome kin, but the one piece of traditional gnomish garb they steadfastly maintained, a conical cap made of blue fabric, led to their new demonym: Bluecaps. Most communities of deep gnomes consist of escaped slaves or their descendants.
    • Duergar (a.k.a. Leaden Dwarf): The remnants of the ruling clan of the treacherous exiled Leadfist clan of dwarves hid in the greatest depths underground and became much more insular and xenophobic. Due to centuries of inbreeding, lead consumption, and even corrupting influence from the strange beings of the Horror (or Far Realm), the duergar gained their distinctive look and unique abilities. A few duergar flee their homes and seek new lives on the surface.
    • Eladrin (a.k.a. Fey Elf): Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth.
    • Fairy: Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth.
    • Firbolg: Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth.
    • Hobgoblin: Rare, but available in Iorth; most are deserters from a hobgoblin legion, seeking a life of something other than war and slaughter, while some have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth. (Note: the typical hobgoblin of Iorth has an average height of 5 feet.)
    • Kenku (a.k.a. Tengu): Rare, but available in Iorth; most are from the Empire of Xo archipelago.
    • Kobold (a.k.a. Saurids, Squamids): Rare, but available in Iorth. They predominantly come from the southern hemisphere, predominantly from either Saurland or the Wyrmleague.
    • Lizardfolk: Rare, but available in Iorth; they predominantly come from the southern hemisphere. Most are from scattered tribes or from the lizardfolk nation of Saurland.
    • Minotaur: Rare, but available in Iorth; most are from the isolated island theopolis of Mu.
    • Satyr: Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shimmer to Iorth.
    • Shadar-Kai (a.k.a. Dark Elf): Rare, but available in Iorth; most have wandered over from the Shadow to Iorth.
    • Yuan-Ti (a.k.a. Serpentkin): They are rare, but available in Iorth; most flee their oppressive supremist theocracy of Koatlan.

Any other options not listed must be discussed with the DM prior to character creation. For instance, it is extremely unlikely, but possible with DM approval, that a kender, warforged, or plasmoid may be encountered in Iorth. However, those individuals are most likely extraplanar travelers rather than indigenous residents. For many of the species available for the current edition, here are some guidelines for where they may have come from originally to visit Iorth:

  • Various kinds of Beastfolk originate from realms outside of the Prime Material Plane: many come from the fey-dominated Shimmer, while some are indigenous to other realms such as the Elemental Planes or the Astral Plane, or from a sizable demiplane known as the Beastlands. Some species deemed Beastfolk include:
    • Aarakocra
    • Dragonborn
    • Giff
    • Grung
    • Harengon
    • Kenku
    • Kobold
    • Leonin
    • Lizardfolk
    • Locathah
    • Loxodon
    • Minotaur
    • Owlin
    • Plasmoid (as forms of amoeboid life)
    • Tabaxi
    • Thri-Kreen
    • Tortle
    • Various other therianoids from various 3rd party sources.
  • Two varieties of artificial life, collectively known as Solems (a portmaneau of the words soul and golem) have been known to be created by a very few skilled crafters in Iorth. In many cases, the solem houses the soul of a recently deceased mortal whose body was irrevocably destroyed, though in a few cases, the new solem was crafted with a unique spark of life of its own. Some species deemed Solems include:
    • Autognome
    • Warforged
  • Alien species are often interdimensional travelers who have made their way to the reality of Iorth from their home reality through an interdimensional hub of reality akin to the Infinite Staircase, the Radiant Citadel, or the city of Sigil to the demiplane of Aushaus, and reaching Iorth from there. Such alien species include:
    • Githyanki
    • Githzerai
    • Hadozee
    • Kalashtar
    • Kender
    • Simic Hybrid
    • Triton
    • Vedalken
    • Verdan

Classes

The classes available for player characters in Iorth are:

  • Player’s Handbook
    • Barbarian
    • Bard
    • Cleric
    • Druid
    • Fighter
    • Monk
    • Paladin
    • Ranger
    • Rogue
    • Sorcerer
    • Warlock
    • Wizard
  • Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
    • Artificer

Character class options that use or are based around firearms or gunpowder are generally not available in an Iorth campaign. Any desire to use such an element will require prior DM approval.

For players of clerics, druids, monks, paladins, rangers, and warlocks, characters should select a religion to follow, as covered in this post on the religions of Iorth.

Backgrounds

The backgrounds in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are available as player character options in the world of Iorth; other backgrounds may be considered with prior DM approval.

Alignments

Player characters in Iorth may, by default, be of any non-Evil alignment. Only with prior DM permission and discretion may a player have an Evil-aligned player character. However, it is important that players of such characters do not derive enjoyment of the game at the frequent or regular expense of the enjoyment of fellow players.