A newly risen race of powerful fey, the killoren blend nature’s patience and power with the ambition and aggression of the humanoid races.
The ancient places of the world stir with a power of their own. From this power, the killoren have sprung in answer to the growing might of the humanoid races. Whether the work of some great nature deity or the spontaneous creation of the wild power of nature itself, killoren are at once young and eternal, newly brought to the world but with unknowably ancient ties to the heart of nature. As fey, killoren have a tie to nature unmatched by the humanoid races, but unlike other fey, killoren are not content to wait in the dark recesses of the dwindling forests.
Killoren are aggressive, ambitious manifestations of nature’s presence and power, and they walk through the cities of man as easily as they meditate in the glades of a verdant forest. There are as yet few killoren in the world compared to the population of humans and other humanoid races, but their numbers are quickly growing. So far, these adaptable fey have only come into isolated conflict with evil powers bent on despoiling nature, but it is obvious that they are destined for more. The killoren have begun to make known their presence in the world, and a few far-seeing and learned sages wonder at the implications of their growing power and numbers.
Personality: Killoren have an innate connection to nature’s power; as such, the natural world and its best interests are never far from their thoughts. Killoren also differ from other races in that they have three different aspects of their personality that correspond with their ability to manifest different aspects of nature’s might. Killoren who manifest the destroyer aspect are arrogant and aggressive, those who manifest the aspect of the hunter are stealthy and subtle, and those who manifest the aspect of the ancient think carefully and look deep into the heart of a matter before voicing their thoughts.
Just as their personality changes slightly when they manifest a different aspect, the behaviours of individual killoren change slightly depending on the aspect that they are manifesting.
Physical Description: Killoren resemble half-elves, and males and females alike average about 5½ feet in height. They mature quickly, being full-grown by the age of 10, and live very long lives, hardly changing at all in appearance for their first century. Killoren have green or tan skin the texture of a soft, young leaf, and their limbs are unusually long and slender when compared with those of the humanoid races. An individual killoren’s hair and eye colour depends on which aspect of nature the killoren is currently manifesting.
Relations: Although tension grows between the killoren and the humanoid kingdoms, for the most part killoren remain a curiosity in the eyes of the humans and their allies. Killoren walk freely within the cities of almost every civilized race. Of all the humanoid races, the elves are closest in outlook to the killoren, but even the elves remain curious about the killoren’s recent origin and their ultimate role in nature’s plan.
Killoren Lands: As yet, killoren claim no lands as their own. Killoren concepts of property and land ownership differ greatly from those of the humanoid races: They see the world as belonging to nature itself. As stewards and manifestations of nature, they might at some point deny others the right to settle or despoil part of the wild, but their numbers are few enough that this has not yet come to pass. In the small conflicts that have cropped up between killoren and particular groups of evil humanoids, the killoren have not claimed ownership of the land, instead claiming only that they guard the land from evil.
Their small communities blend with the natural world, but many killoren are drawn away from their home community to mingle with the populations of the humanoid races. A killoren community might be as simple as a few families dwelling among the boughs and shade of a peaceful forest or as remote as a small group of killoren following game across the frozen steppes of the far north.
Killoren communities are usually governed by a group of elder druids and wizards, but any individual killoren might rise to leadership depending on his or her personal exploits. These leaders act more as councillors and protectors than as an organized form of government, the small size of killoren communities keeping their roles relatively simple compared to the politics of the humanoid races.
As the number of killoren grows, so too does their difference in outlook. A small group of elder killoren, some having walked among the humanoid races for a hundred years or more, believe they have seen enough of humans and the allied civilized races. Calling themselves simply The Wild, these powerful killoren have chosen to defend their refuges with magical and physical force. Many of these killoren are druids and wizards, and their radical outlook is quickly drawing the attention of both other killoren and the armies of the human kingdoms.
Religion: Most killoren revere the silent might of nature itself, although some, particularly clerics, pay homage to the god Obad-Hai. Killoren do not simply admire nature — they are part of it. A killoren cannot look at a distant mountain range without feeling its power and beauty stir her, nor can a killoren walk through a forest glade without being moved by the peace and strength of nature. Nature is more than a distant ideal to the killoren; it is life itself.
Language: Killoren make a great effort to speak as those around them speak. Learning the speaking styles as well as the language of the humanoids they are with gives them greater insight into the culture and attitudes of their friends.
Names: Killoren have only one name, and they choose this name themselves upon declaring their own maturity, usually near the beginning of their tenth year of life. Killoren names always have three syllables, the last of which denotes their family in the same way that a human’s family name shows his or her relation. Example killoren names include Durmindin, Ennimbel, Kettenbar and Shallahai.
Adventurers: Killoren adventure to learn about the world. Unlike other fey, killoren are driven by the nameless powers of nature to learn about the humanoid races and customs. Killoren match the aggression and ambition of humanoids, but they also maintain the eternal connection to nature that all fey embody. As killoren grow in power and number, they form ever-changing opinions of humans and their allies, helping the causes that they deem to be one with nature’s design and opposing those who would despoil or destroy nature’s beauty. Experienced killoren might adventure with a more definite purpose — working to thwart the schemes of a particular religious cult, protecting nature from wild orcs and goblinoids, or hunting powerful outsiders that are beyond the reach of nature’s other servants.
Fey: Killoren are of the fey type and are therefore not affected by spells such as charm person and hold person. Unlike other fey, killoren gain Hit Dice only by acquiring levels in a character class.
A killoren’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Killoren can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these conditions.
Immunity to magic sleep effects and a +2 racial bonus on saves against enchantment spells or effects.
Racial Skills: Killoren have a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and Survival checks.
Cold Iron Anathema (Su): Killoren have a difficult time wielding weapons made of cold iron. Killoren take a -2 penalty on any attack roll they make with a cold iron weapon or a weapon made only partially out of cold iron, such as a cold iron spear or a bow firing cold iron arrows.
Manifest Nature’s Might (Su): Killoren are forever bound to the raw forces of nature itself, manifesting this bond even in their physical form. A killoren can only manifest one aspect of nature’s might at a time. Each morning as the sun rises, a killoren spends 10 minutes in quiet meditation, filling her spirit with the aspect of nature that is most needed for her current tasks. Once a killoren chooses an aspect, she manifests that aspect until the next morning, when she chooses again which aspect to manifest. Many killoren favour one aspect over the others and rarely choose to manifest one of the other two aspects.
Aspect of the Ancient: While manifesting the aspect of the ancient, a killoren embodies the deep and ancient secrets of nature itself. With this bond to nature’s secret lore, a killoren gains a racial bonus on Knowledge (Nature) checks equal to her Hit Dice and gains an additional +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. This bonus stacks with the killoren’s normal racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the ancient, her hair turns white and her eyes turn to the colour of a blue summer sky.
Aspect of the Destroyer: Many races revere nature for its power to destroy, but none more so than a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer. Once per hour (up to a maximum number of times per day equal to the character’s Charisma bonus, minimum 1), a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer can make a special smite attack that deals extra damage to the foes of nature. When making this smite attack, a killoren adds her Charisma bonus to her attack roll and deals an extra 1 point of damage per Hit Die. This smite attack works only against aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders and undead. If a killoren accidentally smites a creature that is not one of the creature types listed above, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that hour and counts against the total uses per day. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the destroyer, her hair and eyes turn a deep, lusterless black; many find the gaze of a killoren destroyer’s coal-black eyes to be unnerving.
Aspect of the Hunter: The hunt affects nearly every aspect of nature and claims a place of great prominence and importance in the cycle of life. A killoren manifesting the aspect of the hunt is bound to nature’s ancient tradition of the hunt, and her senses sharpen to an amazing degree. While manifesting the aspect of the hunt, a killoren gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the hunter, her hair and eyes turn a deep forest green, and her skin tone becomes a deeper brown than when manifesting one of the other aspects.
Automatic Languages: Common, Sylvan.
Bonus Languages: Aquan, Auran, Elven, Gnome, Ignan, Terran.
Favoured Class: Druid. A multiclass killoren’s druid class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty.
Source: Races of the Wild (Page 102)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 years | +1d4 (11—14) years | +1d6 (11—16) years | +2d6 (12—22) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 years | 100 years | n/a4 | n/a4 |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
4 4 Killoren age normally through the old age category, but they never reach the venerable age category and can live indefinitely should they choose to do so.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Note: The Races of the Wild appears to have a misprint for the bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma for Old Age and Venerable. The Player’s Handbook has these at +1, rather than +2 and +3.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 5’ 0" | +2d6 (5’ 2"—6’ 0") | 100 lbs. | ×2d4 (104—196 lbs.) |
| Female | 5’ 0" | +2d6 (5’ 2"—6’ 0") | 90 lbs. | ×2d4 (94—186 lbs.) |
Source: Races of the Wild (Page 106)