Stoneborn
Arat molded the Stoneborn, strong and brave and wise. Yet they too were caught by Melikor, and made to love their mountains too much. Rarely, if ever, did the Stoneborn come down from their lofty peaks to grace the world below.
-- Tales of Creation, from the Scrolls of the Divine
High above the clouds, on the tallest peak of a mountain range, a Stoneborn sits quietly, watching the sunrise. On the steep slopes below, a small village comes to life with the sounds of bells, morning prayer, and martial practice. Scattered throughout the inhospitable high places of the world, Stoneborn live reclusively, rarely gracing the lowlands with their presence.
Mountain folk
Imposing creatures of muscles and concentrated energy, Stoneborn are large, usually standing between 7 and 8 feet tall, and weighing between 400 and 500 pounds of dense, solid muscle. Their skin is usually shades of gray, often covered in swirling patterns, reflecting the mountains in which they make their home.
Stoneborn are bald and usually hairless, with bright eyes, typically the striking colors of gems and minerals. As they age, their skin softens and takes on a more weathered appearance. Made of the stuff of mountains, Stoneborn do not feel cold as other races do, and often are seen walking high mountain paths in simple clothes or even little more than a few pieces of hide and fur.
Stoneborn tend towards simple lifestyles, having no use for the gold and treasure of the world below. They do, however, prize fine craftwork in metal or stone, and many Stoneborn wear intricate jewelry.
Proud and Independent
Like many long-lived Elder races, Stoneborn perceive the flow of time differently than humans. While they tend to prefer the slow pace of mountain life, where change comes rarely as the slow movement of a glacier, they are also the people of avalanches and volcanoes. Stoneborn see the decadal crawl of a glacier and the thunderous destruction of an avalanche as equal parts of the ebb and flow of the world.
Stoneborn are deeply connected to their homelands, and tend to see themselves as masters of their domain. This attitude tends to encourage a fierce independence in Stoneborn society. Stoneborn tolerate few outsiders on their lands, and those they do allow rarely become trusted members of the community.
Individual Stoneborn tend to be proud and confident in their mastery of their discipline. Like many Elder races, they tend to be slow to trust outsiders to their society, but they also greatly respect skill and honor demonstrated masters even if they are not Stoneborn. They tend to be accepting of the ebb and flow of circumstance, resilient in failure and stoic in success. This can lead to a certain appearance of passivity, and among some Stoneborn this attitude leads to detachment from the trials and challenges of life outside their mountain refuges. Few Stoneborn care much for wealth, seeing little point in accumulating material goods; those that do find attachment to possessions generally prize skill in craft over raw value.
Disciplined Masters
As one of the Elder races, Stoneborn are the embodiment of and draw magical power from the mystical founder of their race, Entamba, whom they call variously the First One, the Elder Mountain, or the Stoneborn. Entamba is the first Stoneborn, born in the slow uplift of ground into mountains or the fiery blast of a volcano, and the last Stoneborn, the dust of mountain slowly worn away over eons and scattered into the sea and air. Through their connection to Entamba, Stoneborn are capable of feats of concentration, single-minded focus, and supernatural mastery over their bodies and the stone of their mountain homes.
In Stoneborn society, the concentration and discipline arising from their connection to Entamba leads to a high value being placed on expertise and training. Young Stoneborn apprentice themselves to masters in a skill or trade, and by years of training and practice become masters themselves. Stoneborn society is built around these relationships and specializations, and Stoneborn honor the training and dedication necessary to become true masters of any skill, whether in combat, crafting, teaching, tending the young, or healing.
While Stoneborn themselves rarely leave the mountains, they do sometimes accept members of other races who meet the rigorous standards they set for themselves for training and apprenticeship. Warriors who have trained with the Stoneborn usually find renown in battle, craftsfolk find fame in their craft, and teachers find themselves with large and loyal followings.
Consensus-Builders
Stoneborn live in small communities, usually centered around one or a few gymnasiums or academies, where a renowned master may ply their trade. While they honor skill and training above all, these communities tend to make decisions based on consensus and share resources based on need. Stoneborn find hierarchical societies and the greed that drives many other races hard to conceptualize.
Stoneborn society has little organization beyond the village or local community. No kings or queens rule over the Stoneborn, and no leaders hold sway. When decisions must be made that affect more than the local community, especially decisions about war and peace, the elders will gather, meet, and discuss in one of the many sites sacred to Entamba. A consensus is reached, and all are bound by it. Stoneborn act as one, or not at all.
Those individuals that cannot abide by the consensus of their community or the elders find themselves cast out from Stoneborn society. While free to return and accept the strictures of community, these indviduals often seek their way alone in the world, reliant on their individual skills and talents. As a consequence of this, Stoneborn society tends towards sameness, as dissident voices drift away.
While other races may sometimes live in Stoneborn communities, generally while apprenticed to a master, they are rarely given a voice in deliberations, and are expected to follow the will of the community. Those who don't quickly find themselves no longer welcome.
Reclusive
Rarely do Stoneborn venture down from the summits of the high places of the world, preferring to live in isolated communities of their own kin. In their mountain strongholds, they are rumored to be able to mold stone with prayers to Entamba, the first Stoneborn, to cut villages from the cliff, and warm the high mountain meadows to create lush fields with days of meditation.
Those that do leave the mountains are generally either outcasts, departing their homes due to a disagreement, tragedy, or some other unusual circumstance, or individuals seeking training, knowledge, and skill not available except in the outside world.
Strange and Foreign
Stoneborn tend to find the ambitions and greed that drive other races hard to understand, and rarely live among such folk. While they appreciate a desire for mastery, and the ambition to be the best at something is one that many Stoneborn feel, for them the skill is reward enough, and a desire for fame and fortune is foreign to them.
The exception is the dwarves, who despite their rigid, hierarchical society and lust for mineral wealth, share a long history of being allies in wars against the orcs and hobgoblins. Stoneborn still find dwarven society incomprehensible, but the proven loyalty and prowess in war of the dwarven armies has ensured a trusting, if not exactly warm and friendly, alliance.
Stoneborn also tend to get along well with lizardfolk, who share some of their attitude towards the natural world and their love of their homeland, although Stoneborn find the lizardfolk love of swamps, forests, and and green living things to be strange.
Stoneborn Names
Stoneborn names are a living, changing part of their identity. All Stoneborn have a birth name given by their parents, and clan name reflecting the community they belong to. While in many cases this is the community they were born into, Stoneborn who join a new community will often change their name when they feel they are fully a part of their new settlement. A Stoneborn's training and discipline is as much a part of their identity as their family and community, and most Stoneborn take a use name reflecting their skill or the lineage of the master they trained under. Names are not gendered in Stoneborn society. In normal usage, Stoneborn either go by their use name or their birth name.
Use names typically either reflect a skill, or the name of a master. For example, a skilled stonemason may take the use name Stonebreaker or Stonecarver; a skilled warrior may take the use name Quickblade or Strongaxe; or a skilled teacher may take the use name Loremaster or Mindshaper. Alternatively, a use name may reflect the lineage of the master a Stoneborn trained under. For example, a student of the master Maumak Ironforger may take the use name Maumakandi or Maumakundi (student of Maumak). It is also common to adopt the use name of your master, so if your master is Maumak Ironforger, you may also take the Ironforger use name.
Birth Names: Arvid, Aglath, Anathi, Bomika, Cebo, Dumoth,
Elethu, Ivak, Kamva, Lumiko, Luvoth, Malimi, Maumak,
Masandith, Nandi, Onako, Saliza, Songath, Sumeyad,
Thandeka, Themba, Unathid, Yandisa, Zola
Community Names: Anakalambo, Elanithino, Kalawa,
Ogolakanu, Starkast, Thunakalathi, Yanmeigala.
Use Names: Ironforger, Stonebreaker, Stonecarver,
Quickblade, Strongaxe, Mindshaper, Loremaster, Farseer,
Longstrider, Bloodbasher, Fistmaster, Steelbender,
Quartzminer, Heartsinger.
The Name Stoneborn
Outsiders typically refer to Stoneborn as either Stoneborn or Goliaths, referring to their large size. Stoneborn themselves sometimes adopt these terms when out in the world, but in their own society typically refer to themselves as Namatye, the people of the mountain.
Stoneborn Traits
Your Stoneborn character has an assortment of inborn abilities in common with all other Stoneborn.
Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score of your choice by 2, and a different ability score by 1. Or, increase three different ability scores by 1.
Age. Stoneborn are considered an adult by their late 20s, but usually don’t settle into fully adult roles until 40 or 50. Stoneborn typically live at least 300 years.
Alignment. Stoneborn's fierce independence and lack of interest in hierarchy tends to push them towards neutral alignments, while their respect for consensus and community pushes them towards good alignments.
Size. Stoneborn are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 450 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Disciplined Training. You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill or the Survival skill. Alternatively, you may choose one artisan's tool. You gain proficiency in this tool, and your may add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of your normal proficiency bonus, to checks using this tool.
Mountain Home. You’re at home in the high mountains. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Survival) check while traveling in the mountains, you are considered proficient in the Survival skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. You also suffer no ill effects from cold environments, and are acclimatized to high elevation, as described in chapter 5 (p. 110) of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Skin of Stone. You are able to channel the power of the mountains to harden your skin. If you are unarmored or wearing light armor you may substitute your Strength modifier for your Dexterity modifier to calculate your AC.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Stoneborn and your choice of one trade tongue (usually Common).
Entamba's Blessing. As a Stoneborn, you can use your connection to Entamba to perform feats of strength, endurance, and mental stamina. You may select one of the following disciplines:
- Entamba's Endurance: You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
- Entamba's Force: As a bonus action, you can focus yourself to strike with supernatural power. The next time you hit with a weapon attack, the attack deals 2d6 additional force damage to the target, and if the target is a creature, it must make Strength saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus, or be pushed 10 feet away from you and knocked prone. The extra damage dealt by this ability increases to 3d6 at level 5, 4d6 at level 11, and 5d6 at level 17. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
- Entamba's Calm: Your connection to Entamba strengthens your will. You have advantage on all Wisdom and Charisma saving throws against magic. In addition, you do not need to sleep: meditating for four hours is sufficient to restore your mind and body, giving you the same benefit as a human resting for 8 hours.
- Entamba's Body: Your connection to Entamba gives you a degree of control over your metabolism. You gain resistance to poison damage, have advantage on saving throws against poison, and need half as much food and water as normal. In addition, as an action you can put yourself in a state that appears as if you are dead to casual inspection, which lasts until you use a bonus action to wake yourself up. While in this state, you can hold your breath twice as long as normal, and do not need to eat or drink. You are also incapacitated and have disadvantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks. Once you use this ability to feign death, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Variant: Sandborn
Some Stoneborn, known as Sandborn, come from settlements in distant deserts, instead of the mountains. If your character comes from these tribes, replace your Mountain Home trait with the following:
Desert Home: You’re at home in the desert. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Survival) check while traveling in the desert, you are considered proficient in the Survival skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. You also suffer no ill effects from hot environments, and need half as much water as is typical to survive.
In addition, the Entamba's Endurance discipline is not available to you. Instead, you may select the following option:
Entamba's Dance: You learn to mimic the shifting sands and blowing winds of your desert home. Your base movement speed increases to 35 feet. In addition, when a creature targets you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force that creature's attacks against you to be rolled with disadvantage until the start of your next turn. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until after you finish a short or a long rest.
Credits
Mountain: Gael Varoquaux, Flickr (CC-BY); brush sets derived freely through the courtesy of Denny Tang and Daniel Kamarudin. Stoneborn image from WoTC, used per the Fan Content Policy. Races of Taelgar: Stoneborn is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.