The Earthkine, a Kindred, for Dungeons & Dragons (5E)

“Once the Earthkine strode the world, nearly immortal, heirs to thousands of years of civilization.  When the Gods War began they slowly, all too slowly hemmed in by complex hierarchies and ancient traditions,  moved to aid their divinities.  By the time the majority of the Earthkine were ready to act, it was over, the Gods had been cast down, the dragons had won.  Before they could decide upon a new course of action, the world around them was rent apart in a catastrophe that still haunts them, the Sundering.”

“As the world settled into a host of floating islands, the Earthkine found themselves shattered as well.  No one knows the exact loss the Earthkind suffered from the Sundering and its aftermath but a low estimate is that one in four of the Earthkine who had been alive before had perished and higher estimates say that it was one-half of all of their people.  Nor was it evenly spread, with some communities simply vanishing, while a few weathered it with only a few losses.  But the survivors were weakened, some say they became shadows of their former selves.  Then in the months and years that followed, the true horror of what the Sundering had done to them was revealed . . .”

From A Brief History of the Earthkine by Mirth.

Earthkine

The legends of the Earthkine say that when the world was newly birthed, so were they, that they walked among the first trees and the first plants, they alone saw the world as it became a place for all to live.  The dragons do not dispute this though they also claim to have been there at the beginning.  In any case, the Earthkine are one of the most ancient of races and, with their long lifespan, much of the stories they pass on are only a few generations from an eyewitness to those events.  Indeed, some of the Earthkine are old enough that they have stories passed on from those who saw the Gods War and experienced the Sundering firsthand.

Since the Sundering, the Earthkine are much diminished, while they still live multiple centuries they are no longer neigh immortal, their health, once like that of the mighty trees, is now on par with the other kine.  Many, including many of the Earthkine themself, consider the Earthkine in decline, their numbers at best stable. their lands and culture under threat.  But that has been true for centuries, perhaps things will change, for better or worse, in the coming years.

The Earthkine remain tall, slender, and graceful, they are beautiful people by most objective standards.  Though to their own, which compared them to a lost, and possibly mythical, level of perfection, they never can quite measure up to what they imagine they once were.  Their skin ranges from the white of the lily to the dark shades of tree bark, ultimately any color found in the plants of nature can be found among the Earthkine.  Their hair and eye colors tend to be complimentary to their skin tone as they are beings of natural beauty.

But most importantly, arguably what now is the defining aspect of the Earthkine, is the Lack, as the world is not whole, nor can any of the Earthkine be.  Since the Sundering, each Earthkine is born with a Lack, something of them that is just . . . not there.  It can be something physical, a finger, an eye, the ability to taste, but nothing immediately life-threatening.   Or something metaphysical, such as the inability to comprehend poetry, or feel a particular emotion (or any emotions), or to understand a common concept, all limiting to living a complete life but non-crippling.

Earthkine Traits

Your Earthkine character has a number of traits in common with all other members of the Earthkine.

Ability Score Increase. The Earthkine remain graceful, quick, and precise, this has not been lost.  (Taking +2 to Dexterity is common.)

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Age. Earthkin childhood is much like any other kindred but once they approach puberty, it slows down considerably and they reach full (physical) adulthood usually in their thirties, and may not be treated as adults in society until considerably later, and generally live for hundreds of years though it is hard to judge how long.

Alignment. The Earthkine, as a general rule, remain bound to tradition and tied to the social conventions of their culture as they are the one thing that they can rely upon.  They form tight family and kin-groups and usually know even their most distant of cousins.  Some view the nation they live in as a family write large, while others are more parochial but all share a reverence for the natural world and its beings and spirits.  With the loss of the gods, many have turned to ancestor or nature worship, seeing to rebuild the frayed bonds to their past.

Size.  Tend to be tall but slender, there is little difference in height between Earthkine women and men. Your size is Medium.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write the language of the Earthkine, the local dialect thereof, most also speak the Imperial Tongue and the local language (if different).  The Earthkine, in general, have a solid facility with languages.

Ancestry of the Earth. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and magic cannot put you to sleep.

Darkvision. Accustomed to travel through dark woods and under the night sky alone, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You cannot discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Meditation. The Earthkine do not need to sleep once they have passed through puberty, though they can choose to.  Usually, when they are in need of rest, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for four hours a day.  While meditating, your thoughts are ordered by mental exercises that have become ingrained and instinctual through years of practice.  After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from eight hours of sleep.

Cultured

You come from one of the great civilized cities of the Earthkine, now fewer and farther between than they once were.  You have met many people and learned many things.

Ability Score Increase.  You have had access to excellent schools and libraries, should you wish to have taken advantage of them.  (Taking +1 to Intelligence is common.)

Civic Militia Training. You have proficiency with a set of weapons taught by your local militia (the short sword is almost universal and choose two others subject to the approval of your Dungeon Master).

Cosmopolitan Linguist. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.

Minor Magic. You know one cantrip of your choice from the bard or wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

Primeval

Your ancestors returned to the wilderness in an attempt to reforge their bond with the land, so far, it has been less successful than they hoped.  But you have learned the way of the land and its inhabitants.

Ability Score Increase.  A life lived with nature, you are attuned with the natural world.   (Taking +1 to Wisdom is common.)

Hunter’s Weapons. You have proficiency with the weapons used by your culture’s hunters (often long spear and longbow).

Swift as the Wind. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.

Vanishing in Nature’s Shadow.  You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

Undersoil

When the gods fell and the world sundered, some of the Earthkine fled where they would not be found, into the caves and caverns beneath the surface.  Seeking safety away from the dragons.  But life away from the Sun was hard and they turned to even deeper powers, the beings on the netherworld to aid them.  Now they exist in their own twilight realm, growing mushrooms and fungi, raising strange beasts, and crafting pacts with beings of the nether realms.

Ability Score Increase. For all of their pale skin and odd ways, the Earthkine of the Undersoil are often oddly alluring. (Taking +1 Charisma is common.)

Deep Magic. The blood of these Earthkine have been stained by their relation with otherworldly entities but this has given them access to strange magics. You know one Warlock cantrip (which cannot be eldritch blast ). When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faerie Fire spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Mirror Image spell once and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Hidden from the Sun. Having spent their lives underneath, the Undersoil Earthkine are sensitive to bright light and have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when the target of their attack or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight and to saving throws against bright flashes or lights that would blind or dazzle them.

Life in the Darkness. The Undersoil Earthkine have adapted to the dark ways of the underneath. their darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.

Weapon Training.  There are lurking dangers in the underneath and you have been taught to defend yourself (short and easy-to-maneuver weapons are common such as the short sword).

Naturally, there are more Earthkine subcultures.

Notes: The Earthkine are the elves of the Sea of Stars but I wanted to play around with the basic D&Dish conceptions of elves and make something at least a little unique for my campaign, you can read more about the process of developing them here.  But the Lack is the most distinct part of the Earthkine and a concept I am very pleased with.

I wanted to provide equivalents for the High, Wood, and Dark elves but if someone wants to see other types of Earthkine, just ask.  The Undersoil Earthkine were created by my friend Bonnie for her character that shows up here.

Upper image Elf Ranger by Darkenaz found on Deviant Art,  Lower image Autumn Fairy by Fotomonta also found on DeviantArt.  Both used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives Works 3.0 License.