Character Creation within the Aethermaric Terminus

Character creation in the Aethermaric Terminus is identical to character generation for DnD 5th Edition - with new races, a Two-Type Magic System, and the addition of regional cultures to help expand character origins and aid in identifying where a character is from. Changes to the base rules are discussed within the House Rules page.

Many of the articles linked here are just to provide background information on the world at large or provide lore-based options to aid in character creation, but all the necessities are linked on this page.

If for any reason you wish to use homebrew content not currently within my setting, let me know so I can brutally scrutinize it and find a way to make it work within the world.

Final note, all player characters created for games within the Terminus are canon within world lore; your accomplishments are yours alone, unless someone else defames you or takes credit for your deeds, and will be recorded as such. Your characters will exist in the world after the main story they take part in ends.

Character Creation Steps

Races of the Terminus

More detail about the races of the Terminus can be found on the page that is for them: the Tonallitecameh. There, information about both the playable and non-playable races can be found, as well as links to them. This page does have links to each of the playable races, as well as copies of their statblocks to prevent needing to move between too many different pages to view everything.

Most of the playable races are Natives to Creation's Rest, the world blessed by the gods. Some are from elsewhere in The Mooring, and others from even beyond there, having colonized Creation's Rest long ago. Regardless, each of the Tonallitecameh, the Children with Soul, are mostly seen as equals across Creation's Rest


Note

All Characters get access to 2* language fluencies as part of their race. This is not expressed on their race block, but is discussed within the Stats and Skills section below.


The available races to play as are:

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Cultural Upbringing and How it Forges Someone

A character's cultural upbringing is key to how they grow as it lays the foundation for their future actions. In The Terminus, regional cultures work to show where a character is from and the ideals of the people within that region. Many groups value similar things, so there are cases of overlap in features even when comparing cultures in vastly different parts of Creation's Rest.


The only consideration required when picking a Regional Culture is that it must be from the continent that the campaign is taking place on, unless you get specific permission otherwise.



Character Background

Character Background describes what your character did after reaching adulthood, or what predominantly filled the last few years of their youth. It covers everything from employment, situations impacting their life, or singular events that caused massive change from then on out. If a background listed does not fit the idea for your character, work with the DM to create a custom one.


Pick a Class

Classes themselves are more for us to understand how characters abilities work and create classifications of those abilities. In the world, most would be referred to by the various Traveler Occupations (Chronicler, Explorer, Mercenary, etc) rather than being called a rogue or a fighter.


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Masters of invention, artificers use ingenuity and magic to unlock extraordinary capabilities in objects. They see magic as a complex system waiting to be decoded and then harnessed in their spells and inventions. You can find everything you need to play one of these inventors in the next few sections.

Specialties

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For some, their rage springs from a communion with fierce animal spirits. Others draw from a roiling reservoir of anger at a world full of pain. For every barbarian, rage is a power that fuels not just a battle frenzy but also uncanny reflexes, resilience, and feats of strength.

Primal Paths

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Whether scholar, skald, or scoundrel, a bard weaves magic through words and music to inspire allies, demoralize foes, manipulate minds, create illusions, and even heal wounds. The bard is a master of song, speech, and the magic they contain.

College

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Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the gods they serve, clerics strive to embody the handiwork of their deities. No ordinary priest, a cleric is imbued with divine magic.

Domains


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Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature's resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over nature, but see themselves as extensions of nature's indomitable will.

Circles

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Fighters share an unparalleled mastery with weapons and armor, and a thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. They are well acquainted with death, both meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.

Archetypes

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Monks are united in their ability to magically harness the energy that flows in their bodies. Whether channeled as a striking display of combat prowess or a subtler focus of defensive ability and speed, this energy infuses all that a monk does.

Monastic Paths

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Whether sworn before a god's altar and the witness of a priest, in a sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin's oath is a powerful bond.

Oaths


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Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, rangers keep their unending watch.

Conclave

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Rogues rely on skill, stealth, and their foes' vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, demonstrating a resourcefulness and versatility that is the cornerstone of any successful adventuring party.

Archetypes

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Sorcerers carry a magical birthright conferred upon them by an exotic bloodline, some otherworldly influence, or exposure to unknown cosmic forces. No one chooses sorcery; the power chooses the sorcerer.

Origins

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Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular.

Patrons


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Witches are powerful mages as well as devoted caretakers, combining patience, insight, and subtlety with extraordinary willfulness. While other spellcasters might use magic in grand gestures that bend the world to their whims, a witch’s power works in harmony with the people, plants, animals, and magical forces around them. The practice of witchcraft is often rooted in everyday rituals and chores, emphasizing the value in doing things with care and deliberation rather than taking shortcuts.

Covens

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Wizards are supreme magic-users, defined and united as a class by the spells they cast. Drawing on the flow of Leviance throughout the Mooring, or the Arcanum that permeates the Aether, wizards cast spells of explosive fire, arcing lightning, subtle deception, brute-force mind control, and much more.

Schools

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Stats and Skills

Some rules pertaining to this section are mentioned more in detail within the House Rules page.

Initial stats will be taken from the Standard Array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. You may also select point buy, which the Standard Array is derived from, just ensure you discuss the point allocation with your DM.
You can assign any of these values to any of your stats.


For Skills, beyond what your Class, Background, and Culture may give you, for each point of your Intelligence Modifier above 0 you gain expertise in a Lore Skill you are proficient in, proficiency in a new set of artisans tools, or may learn an additional language to a intermediate understanding (halfway to fluency, you struggle with Jargon and have an accent but are otherwise able to communicate). If you have a language at the level of Intermediate Proficiency, you may instead bring it to Fluency. If you are not proficient in any lore skills, you may alternatively choose one to become proficient in. Lore skills are: Arcana, Nature, History, or Religion. You can lose or gain this proficiency with an increase or decrease to your Intelligence Modifier.

Note:

Setting Specific Languages are discussed on the Societies of the Aether navigation page


For languages, all races give you access to: two languages at Fluent Level, one language at Fluent level and two languages at Intermediate level, or four languages at Intermediate Level. Regional Culture will also impart a language, typically the common language of the area. This language might not be the "common" language of the continent, so be aware of this.


Languages Section from the House Rules Page

Languages

Languages are dived more in depth on their own pages, or within the Societies of the Aether page. The language families and the languages that comprise them are listed below. Some languages are not listed, and those languages are considered are unfamiliar to everyone except some scholars due to them being ancient and being not known as spoken among any populations.


Note

* = Language/Family is Unfamiliar to anyone who doesn't speak a language within the same family
+ = Language/Family is Rare and Incredibly Unfamiliar to anyone who doesn't explicitly speak the language, but the language is still spoken.

Languages with a continental name within them—Fresulian, Ignaldan (Thandian), etc—are unfamiliar to individuals not from that continent.


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Languages also have various stages of knowledge, starting at Non-proficiency and moving upward through fluency. All of the languages a character learns from their Background or Cultural Upbringing are considered Fluent. Languages selected from having a higher intelligence scores are considered Intermediate in proficiency.


Language Familiarity is a classification that describes how easy it is for a character to learn a language, and can be either Familiar, Standard, or Unfamiliar. All Languages are considered Standard in Familiarity to characters unless other situations apply, such as a language being uncommonly spoken or being ancient. Languages within the same family as other languages that a character speaks are considered familiar, with "Rare" languages in said family—those ancient or uncommonly spoken ones—becoming Standard in Familiarity. Familiar Languages take 1/2 the time studying to progress to a new level of familiarity, while unfamiliar languages take 2x as long.

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Language Fluency Meaning Standard Familiarity Time to Learn
Non-Proficient Cannot speak the language, although can know basic phrases and words such as "Hello", "Thanks", or simple yes/no questions 1 Hour
Beginning Can use simple present tense phrases about common subjects with a limited vocabulary. You are unable to read. 40 Hours
Intermediate Can use longer phrases and are comfortable with multiple tenses. May struggle when others speak quickly and still have a prominent accent as well as semi-frequent errors in speech. You are able to piece general ideas from written text, but often miss nuance and subtext. 200 Hours
Advanced Can pass as fluent outside of specialized Jargon, Slang, or turns of phrase. Accent is minimal and errors are subtle if at all present, You are able to read common texts without error, but may struggle with academic texts. 1000 Hours
Fluent Native Speaker or not noticeably different from such. 2000 Hours

Not Knowing a language to fluency does not prevent you from being able to communicate with someone, it just makes it more difficult and increases the likelihood of a misunderstanding occuring.





Backstory

You should character's backstory flexible and connected to the world. Keeping your backstory like a novel can be excessive and prevent other plays or the DM from having a way to interact with it. Additionally, without your backstory being grounded in the world, your character might seem out of place compared the others around them. Below are some optional questions you can use as a started if you don't already have an idea.

  • Where are you from? How has living there shaped your present self?
  • Why did you leave your home? Do you want to return? Why?
  • Who where your parents?
  • What were the defining moments/events from your history? Which of those events have your characters past?
  • Do you have any secrets? Who have you told, if anyone?
  • Do you have a religious affiliation, and if so what is it and how strong?
  • What is your major personal beliefs/ideologies?
  • What good has my character done? What evil has my character committed? Was it justified to Society? To yourself? Was it to survive, or just because?
  • What do they most fear?
  • Why are you an adventurer?

Some of these may be answered by decisions you made elsewhere in character creation, and answers to other questions can and should be used. In reality, this doesn't need to be anything more than a few bullet-points at least — preferably a few sentences — but can be as long as needed. Backstories will be checked and worked to fit within existing lore, or add new lore if there are facets of the backstory not covered by existing lore.

Furthermore, backstories that are well constructed can warrant being granted an additional starting feat by your DM to match actions from your character's past.


A complete list of the gods of the Aethermaric Terminus can be found within the Ilhuicahuatin page, however, most of those beings are not worshipped or are even perceived as false entities. The Pianimeh, or the Maintainers, are the divine who are worshipped primarily across Creation's Rest and within the other spaces of The Mooring. Some do take Yolliteopilli, or Minor Gods, as the primary person of their worship, however this is uncommon. Most people worship multiple gods, turning their prayers and mental energy toward those who they wise to receive the favor of.

A list of them, along with their domains, is as follows:

Infobox
Primary Name Domains Alternative Names Typically Addressed As
Loom of Waters Water, The Sea, Prophecy Seer of Currents, Flowing Mind Female
The Mask Intrigue, Trickery, Secrets, Madness The Veiled, The Truth-Eater Male
The Moonwatcher Night, Darkness, Dreams, Inspiration The Pale Sister, The Dreaming Eye Female
The Reclaimer Rebirth, Renewal Bloom After Ash, The Embers End Non-Binary
The Rooted Throne Earth, Stone, Forests, Wilderness Stonemother, The Deep Queen Female
The Sovereign Leadership, Oath, Governance, Dragons The Dragon, The Crownless King Male
The Sun-Clad Sky, Storms, Harvest She of the Green Veil, The Blooming One Female
The Torch-Breaker Fire, Wrath, Purification Ember-King, Flame Father Male
The Whisperer Knowledge, Wisdom She Who Knows, The Quiet Voice Female
Lady of Crimson Threads Fire, Love, Passion, Desire Passion's Thorn, The Flowering Female
Spellfather Magic, Innovation The Witch-Heart, The Mystic Weaver Male
The Beastlord Beasts, Instinct, Survival The Hunter, One of Fang Non-Binary
The Dawnbringer Light, Birth, Fertility, Purity Mother Seed, The Golden Light Female
The Gambler Luck, Fortune, Risk, Chance The Coin-Eye, The Spinner Non-Binary
The Grave-Keeper Death, Disease, Plague The Silent-Clay, The Bone Warden Non-Binary
The Healer Fire, Healing, Renewal Touch-of-Mercy, Healer-Saint Female
The Judge Justice, Law, Vengence, Retribution The Unblinking, The Law-Singer Male
The Maker Forge, Craft, Invention The Forge-Lord, The Clocksmith Male
The Shield Protection, Guardianship, Home, Hearth Hearthguard, the Bastion Male
The War-Maiden War, Conquest, Strength, Valor The Wounded Blade, The Iron Empress Female
The Wind Walker Wind, Travel, Change, Trade The Borderless, Cloudstrider Male

Wrap Up

After passing all of the information to the DM, your character has been created!