Villagers tend to live an isolated existence, but
they have a community to rely upon rather
than just themselves. However, because the
community is small, hard work is an important
facet of daily life, with community members
each having their own critical role to play in the
survival and flourishing of the whole.

Cattle Horn. This sturdy horn is used to call cattle in from the pasture. Its sound is pleasing to domesticated animals and strongly associated with food and comfort for them. Blowing the horn attracts domestic cattle up to a mile away. At the Narrator’s discretion, wild animals may recognize the sound and investigate in search of easy food—either the cattle’s feed or the cattle themselves.

Food Dehydrator. This set of open-weave, stackable trays is designed to turn meat into jerky and to dry fruits and vegetables. Drying food in this way not only preserves it (turning fresh, but perishable food into Supply that can be carried) but also concentrates the flavor, making it into a satisfying and satiating experience. A food dehydrator can be used in concert with a fire to turn fresh meat, fruit, or vegetables into Supply over the course of a long rest .

Protective Apron. These heavy leather aprons are favored by smiths, veterinarians, and others doing word where getting cut, scratched, or burnt is an occupational hazard. While worn, if you would take fire damage or non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, slashing damage from a single source, that damage is reduced by 1d6 (minimum 0). Once an apron has reduced 12 points of damage, it is considered broken. The apron is heavy and cumbersome, imposing disadvantage on Acrobatics checks and Dexterity saving throws while worn.

Seahberries. These small, bitter red berries taste awful but help the body flush out toxins. Eating a handful of them as an action gives the you an immediate saving throw against the effects of any ongoing poison , which is made with an expertise die .

Tasked (perhaps by themselves) with taming a frontier of some kind, settlers are gritty, pragmatic…and often a bit paranoid. These folk must rely upon themselves and perhaps their neighbors even in dire circumstances, and the frontiers where they make their homes have a variety of dangers—potentially including other settlers. They are therefore often concerned with security and emergency measures..

Barbed Wire. The quintessential frontier fortification, barbed wire is thick metal wire with sharp metal barbs along its length. A square with a barbed wire fence or coil across it is difficult terrain, and requires a DC 13 Dexterity check to avoid being grappled as the barbs snag on clothing and flesh alike, dealing 1d4 points of piercing damage and requiring DC 12 maneuver check to escape. Each attempt (successful or not) inflicts a further 1d4 points of piercing damage on the trapped creature, as does any physical movement beyond speaking (or, more likely, shouting or screaming). Settlers will often hang bells on the wire, giving them an audible alert if a creature becomes stuck. The wire can be cut; it has an AC of 11 and 5 hit points per 5-foot section. It comes in spools, each one suitable for building a coiled fortification of up to 50’ in length, which takes an hour. If used to make fencing, it stretches 5 times as far, but requires a full day of work.

Settler’s Glass. The settler’s glass is an extremely durable (and heavy) spyglass. Designed to stand up to the worst punishment that the frontier can dish out, a settler’s glass can be used as a normal spyglass, but is ruggedized to the point it can be used as an improvised weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage. However, inflicting a critical hit with it destroys the settler’s glass.

Trip Lantern. Another security device, a trip lantern is a heavy, hooded, bulls-eye lantern that can be rigged to a tripwire and is typically mounted atop a fencepost. Triggering the tripwire aims the lantern toward the tripwire, ignites and uncovers the light source, and shines dazzlingly-bright light through a focusing lens at the triggering creature, which must make a DC 12 Constitution save or be blinded until the beginning of its next turn.

Wide-Eye. A powerful stimulant brewed as a bitter tea, wide-eye can allow a person to stay awake for 36 hours (starting when it is imbibed) with no penalties for missing sleep (though spells and similar resources recovered on a long rest are not restored), but the crash afterward is awful. Immediately after the 36 hours ends, the user suffers 2 levels of fatigue , which must be removed normally, and is rattled until they finish a long rest . Still, it’s a rare settler that doesn’t have some on hand in case a disaster or attack requires an all-nighter.

Many collegiate societies revolve around a university campus and even the exceptions have developed specialized equipment for speeding the acquisition, distribution and protection of knowledge as well as the comfort of the scholars who produce it.

Book Carrier. Typically made of waxed canvas or leather, this sturdy multi-layered case can hold up to 3 books, preventing water damage from anything short of actually being submerged in liquid.

Campus Umbrella. A cousin of the parasol, this is a small, lightweight umbrella with a sturdy waterproof canopy. It is designed to keep the user dry on short jaunts between buildings during rainy weather and is treated with an alchemical compound to aid in shedding water more efficiently, allowing it to be quickly shaken out and closed up without worrying about mildew. When using the umbrella, as long as precipitation is not accompanied by high winds, you can remain dry while traveling. Due to its lightweight construction, high winds negate the effectiveness of the umbrella.

Tracing Paper. This very thin, translucent paper is useful for making copies of diagrams or other images when it is not permissible or practical to bring the original along. They are especially favored by beginning artists who will make tracing of the works of various masters as a training technique.

If you have good light and charcoal, or some other similar means of tracing, you can quickly reproduce a low-detail approximation of a 2D artistic work in 1 minute using tracing paper. If you have 10 minutes, you can produce a more detailed copy. If you have an hour, you can make an extremely detailed reproduction.

In none of these cases can the tracing pass for the original, but the one-minute version will be enough to provide a general idea of the piece across to others, the 10-minute version will be good enough to capture some artistic nuance, and the 1-hour version can be used for detailed study.

Extremely complex or otherwise difficult works (ones rendered entirely in light colors or in watercolor, for example) may require more time, require a skill check, or be impossible to copy at the Narrator’s discretion.

Writer’s Case. A favorite of many different scholars across a wide array of disciplines, this small, but handsome leather case keeps the tools for writing and even a bit of field sketching close at hand in one convenient package. The case includes a compartment for paper, sleeves for two quill pens, a small compartment for extra nibs, a small bottle of ink, a sand shaker, and a pair each of sticks of chalk and charcoal. More well-to-do scholars will often have theirs personalized with monograms, their noble or academic house’s coat of arms or crest, or similar personal or organizational insignia.

The great advantage of an Imperial society is the ability to do things like infrastructure at scale, freeing up citizens of the empire to specialize. But that scale also typically comes with bureaucratic hierarchy, need for communication, and the drafting of residents to help during times of trouble.

Boon Coin. The very definition of a status symbol, a boon coin has no monetary value. Rather,they are minted and issued by a powerful individual or organization as a way of indicating a level of favor or association with the holder. They typically incorporate symbolism or phrases relevant to the issuer as part of their design. These coins are sometimes bought and sold, but doing so often carries social consequences, if not legal ones. They also typically do not convey any formal authority or privileges, but holding the right boon coin can raise the holder’s effective prestige rating by 1 or more points with the right audience, at the Narrator’s discretion.

Fire-Suppressant Bomb. This deliberately fragile clay pot is filled with a dry powder that smothers fires. To use it, you can make a ranged weapon attack with a range of 30 feet. The pot shatters on impact, instantly extinguishing a 5-foot square of non-magical fire. Imperial cities, especially ones relying on flammable building materials like wood, like to keep large stockpiles of these bombs on hand in case of a fire outbreak, allowing citizen volunteers to quickly deal with even large blazes in groups. They are never expensive, but in some cases, they are even provided to building owners and residents for free.

Manual of Imperial Protocol. This “basic” (but still incredibly thick and heavy) guide to imperial etiquette and bureaucracy allows you to spend 1d10 minutes finding and referencing relevant sections to gain an expertise die on Culture checks for the culture it is tied to for the next 10 minutes. At the Narrator’s discretion, this manual may provide its benefits to other skill checks as well. In a pinch it can be used as an improvised weapon, dealing 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage.

Signal Flags. These brightly-colored flags are designed to be seen from a long way off, such as across the water during a naval battle or across the span of a long bridge. They allow the wielders to communicate basic concepts (“danger”, “clear to dock”, “enter battle formation”, and the like) as an action at a range of up to a mile away without the need for hearing or a shared language beyond that of the signals.

The specific signal language being used varies wildly from society to society and may involve different colored flags, angles of presentation and so on. To be effective, the person sending the message with the signal flags must be in bright light and the receiver must be familiar with the specific signal language. If the sender is lightly obscured (such as by bad lighting or battlefield smoke), the receiver must make a Perception check (with the difficulty set by the Narrator) to correctly interpret the message.

Learning a signal flag language requires a week of training and practice. Characters from the Imperial culture with the Sailor or Soldier background know one signal flag language used by their culture. Adventurers of other cultures or backgrounds may also know a signal language at the Narrator’s discretion.

The tangle of bridges is a loose and evershifting thing, a burgeoning society built from emergent intellect and ancient ancestral claims, all developing just underfoot. Trolls have always staked out their territories, vying for the best hunting grounds or hollows under the most traveled pathways. Over time these territories have become a network of lairs, communities, and markets, and the routes between them, collectively known as the Underbridge. These underground borders have little correlation to the countries and roadways above them beyond the prevalence of travelers, attentiveness of guards, and sturdiness of architecture.

Like any environment, some sections of the Underbridge are well-traveled and well-maintained, while others are difficult or impossible to traverse, due to structural damage or the presence of monsters or hostile locals. Additionally, there is rarely an efficient route from one above-ground settlement to another (and no guarantee that tunnels even exist under a given settlement), due to a given Underbridge community’s unique priorities and engineering abilities, as well as the area’s geographic and livingdangers. Overall, however, the tangle is a unique resource for anyone attempting to move covertly or to acquire anything illicit. It is trollkind’s relentless hunger that drives this trade, and great quantities of wealth, baubles, and especially food of all kinds flow below the streets—subject to tolls paid to the trolls in question, of course.

In addition to trolls and their kin, many runaways, vagabonds, and other outcasts find themselves living underbridge, often rubbing shoulders with smugglers in the dangerous but lucrative employ of ravenous troll patrons. Children are often raised communally and put to work early in life, running messages and packages below ground and serving as lookouts for collection parties above.

For those that grow up in this underground network, the world above is a dangerous place to be ventured into cautiously and only out of necessity. Like the sea to a sailor, or a forest to a hunter, the cities are where the sustenance and prosperity are drawn from before returning to the safety of home below.
 

Characters raised in the Underbridge culture share a variety of traits in common with one another.

A Nose for Vice. Growing up underbridge has made you familiar with illicit activity. You gain an expertise die on Investigation checks to locate or gather information about black markets and similar locations.

An Ear for Gossip. Your childhood spent in the Underbridge’s markets has given you a knack for gathering and spreading rumors. You gain an expertise die to all checks to perform the Gossip journey activity.

Underbridge Skills. You are proficient in two of the following skills: Engineering, Insight, Nature, Stealth, Survival.

Underoute Native. You gain an expertise die on checks to navigate while underground, which increases to 1d6 while you are in the Underbridge. Additionally, while you are in an urban environment (including, but not limited to, sewers, cemeteries, settlements, or ruins) or a bridge, you can ask the Narrator if the Underbridge reaches to this area. If it does, you are always able to locate a safe, hidden location to use as a haven —though it may already have occupants.

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign Common, Giant, and one other language.

Trollkin Traits

Characters with the trollkin heritage share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Age. As trollkin are constantly regenerating, they show few outward signs of aging besides the length of their horns. These start as mere nubs in childhood and progress into great curling crowns with age. Due to the nature of their regeneration and the resulting malignant mutations, a battle-hardened trollkin may live only 40 to 50 years, while a pacifistic one may live for multiple centuries.

Size. The endlessly mutable trollkin vary wildly, ranging from 3 to 7 feet tall and running the gamut between muscular and stocky to thin and lanky, and they weigh between 75 and 300 pounds. Your size is your choice of Small or Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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 can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray

Claws. You grow retractable claws from the tips of your fingers. Extending or retracting the claws requires no action. The claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes that deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.

Mutable Resilience. When you are injured, your trollish flesh can become more resilient to the threat. Whenever you take energy damage (except for fire or acid) you can use your reaction to gain resistance to that energy type. This resistance persists until you use this feature again to change it. Once you have used this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency modifer, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Ravenous Metabolism. You have some of a troll’s ever-present hunger. You require 2 Supply to sustain yourself for a day and suffer 2 levels of fatigue instead of one when you fail to do so. If you have a feature that lessens your need for Supply, such as Eat Like a Bird, its effects are halved.

Divergent Trolls

Your setting may have even more mutable and divergent trollkin capable of extreme adaptation in response to injury and threat. The following heritage feature is an alternative option that can be included at the Narrator’s discretion and directly replaces the Mutable Resilience feature.

Reactive Mutation. When you take damage or are forced to make a saving throw by a hostile creature, you can use your reaction to manifest a reactive mutation. Consult the following table for damage sources and their effects. These effects persist until you have finished a long rest . Once you have used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Table: Reactive Mutation

Trollkin Gifts

Trollkin inherit traits from their widely varied trollish ancestors, who themselves absorbed them through generations of feasting upon specific creatures.

Ancient Strain

Some trollkin are not of a specialized lineage, making their mutations more diverse. You have the following traits:

Continual Mutation. Your form shifts as you rest, granting a bonus to certain skills. This is represented by a physical change in your form. For example, an extra arm may grant a bonus to Athletics, your skin may shift colors to grant a bonus to Stealth, or another eye could give you a bonus on Perception. Whenever you finish a long rest, roll 1d4. 1—Acrobatics, 2—Athletics, 3—Perception, 4—Stealth. Until you finish your next long rest, you gain an expertise die on checks with the rolled skill. These mutations do not grant you any additional attacks or actions.

Fixed Mutation. Choose one of the effects from the Reactive Mutations table (see Divergent Trolls). You gain the chosen mutation permanently. If you have the Reactive Mutation feature, you can’t activate it to gain your chosen mutation a second time

Cavekin

Trollkin whose ancestors hunted in caves move easily in lightless places. You have the following traits:

Advanced Darkvision. The range of your darkvision increases to 120 feet. If you didn’t have darkvision already, you gain darkvision to a range of 60 feet.

Altered Resilience. Your Mutable Resilience feature can grant you resistance to fire and acid, but not to radiant damage.

Cave Hunter. You have an expertise die on Perception checks that rely on hearing or smell, as well an an expertise die to all Stealth checks made amidst natural rock.

Craggy Hide. While you aren’t wearing armor, you AC equals 12 + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Faerie-Formed

Descended from trolls that feasted primarily on fey, these trollkin have the wild coloration and unpredictable magical nature one would expect from the Dreaming. You have the following traits:

Fey Traits. You gain an expertise die on saving throws against being charmed , and magic can’t put you to sleep. In addition, instead of being humanoid, you have the fey creature type.

Eldritch Belch. Your stomach is an arcane cauldron of digestion, allowing you a guttural belch of nauseating strength. As a bonus action, you can emit this belch in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the affected area makes a Constitution saving throw . The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, a creature is poisoned until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1), and regain all expended uses after a long rest.

Scragkin

Surviving in the oceans, rivers, bogs or marshes, the scragkin have inherited fishlike fins and scales. You have the following traits:

Aquatic Adaptation. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet and can breathe air and water.

Murk Lurker. You are perfectly adapted to stalking aquatic prey. You gain an expertise die to Stealth checks made in or under the water. In addition, your claws instead deal damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

Slippery Skin. Your skin is coated in a fine layer of mucous, making you difficult to hold onto. You gain an expertise die on saving throws to avoid being grappled and on checks to escape a grapple.

Trollkin Paragon

When you reach 10th level, you become an exemplar of your people, and you gain the following paragon gift.

Faerie Eater's Resistance

Fey-consuming troll ancestors somewhere in your line have given you an edge against magic. Choose one of the following saving throws: Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. You gain an expertise die when using the chosen saving throw to resist magic.

Instantaneous Mutation

Your ability to change your form becomes truly astounding. You are able to cast alter self a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between each long rest. You can cast this spell without components, and your spellcasting ability for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (whichever is highest).

Render

You have developed some of the terrifying, snatching claws of your troll forebears. During your turn, your reach with melee weapons, increases by 5 feet. Your claws now deal slashing damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier and they count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Additionally, when you hit a creature your size or smaller with your claws, you can choose to grapple that creature as part of the attack.

Trollkin Culture

Given the many potential forms of trollkin, they are found in an equal variety of circumstances. While some are given to be loners that leave their small family group to fiercely guard their chosen territory—such as a bridge, swamp, or mountain pass—part of the development from troll to trollkin has been an increasing tendency towards communal living. So, too, has been an inclination to live in secret, as many are keenly aware that many other peoples see them as too trollish to trust, while their giant kin see them as inferiors at best and an interesting meal at worst. This has lead to close-knit family groups with communal child-rearing, whether they travel in merchant caravans or form permanent settlements in sewers or cave systems. However, more urban trollkin can also be found above ground in all sorts of walks of life, especially in particularly cosmopolitan cities or notably accepting settlements.

As a heritage standing between two worlds, trollkin find themselves most at ease with folk in similar circumstances— motleys , planetouched , and heritages resembling beasts, such as the madrai , birdfolk , oxfolk , spiderfolk , and the like are all likely to find a warm welcome from trollkin. They also welcome those that so-called conventional society has rejected, and more than one street urchin or beggar, regardless of heritage, has been saved from starvation or cold by the trollkin beneath the city.

Suggested Cultures

While you can choose any culture for your trollkin, the caravanner , forgotten folx , itinerant , and lone wanderer cultures, as well as the new Underbridge culture, are all closely linked with this heritage.