dranomyr

Dranomyr (/dranoːˈmər/^listen) are one of the major species of the Sora. Originating on Dranotir, the dranomyr have traversed the Sora before recorded history, their oldest empire known as the Dranomyr Archive. Known for their long lives, mysterious magical prowess, and thirst for knowledge, the dranomyr have had an immense impact on the development of the Sora.

Physical Description

by Denis Khusainov

To outsiders, dranomyr often appear indistinguishable from one another. The typical dranomyr is tall and thin, weighing less than an average human while being about the same height. Dranonyd (male dranomyr) are slightly taller and heavier than dranowyd (female dranomyr), though not significantly so. Despite their wiry frames, dranomyr are about as strong as other species. Rather than lack muscle, they instead have barely any body fat. Most dranomyr do not retain fat at all, despite how much they eat. They are less healthy than others because of this, prone to sickness and physical injury. Their limbs and digits are longer than normal, with arms reaching to their knees, while their torsos are comparatively compact.
Dranomyr are often described as colorless, as their skin ranges from nearly pure white to dusky gray. All dranomyr have large, ovular eyes which appear pure black at first glance. However, their irises are actually filled with glistening color that only comes out in bright light. The exact pattern of color is unique to individual dranomyr. The sclera on the eye is often hidden unless a dranomyr opens its eyes fully; the sclera is a solid color runs from dark yellow through red and into dark purples. Most dranomyr have rather gaunt appearing features, with sallow cheeks and pointed chins. The skull bones are often prominent, particularly around the brows. They lack noses, instead having two nostril slits on the front of their face. Their lips are very thin and turned in toward their mouths, making them almost invisible. They have no ear lobes, instead possessing two cupped indentations on the sides of the head with ear canals in the center. They completely lack hair.

Senses

Dranomyr possess senses mostly comparable to the average species, with the main outlier being their sight. Dranomyr are well-adapted to bright days, being able to see in ordinary daylight twice as far as the average human. In bright light, they are able to see nearly three times as far. They have such an affinity for bright light that they are virtually impossible to flash blind and can even stare at most bright photopartum without damaging their eyes. Conversely, dranomyr are virtually blind in dim light.

Life Cycle

Dranowyd are capable of being impregnated at virtually any time, while dranonyd are only fertile once a year. Babies are carried for just under two years, but miscarriages are common. Children are often born sickly and weak; only a small number survive past the first year, which mean dranowyd who desire children often attempt to become pregnant as often as possible. Those who do survive are still mostly helpless and must be cared after closely until their teens, at which point they learn to walk and speak.
Dranomyr develop slowly, not reaching puberty until their late twenties and finally adulthood in their early forties. They are the longest lived of all the civilized species in the Sora. As dranomyr reach old age, they tend to grow more robust, unlike most other species. Their muscles grow larger and more well-defined, while their limbs shorten and their torsos lengthen. However, this physicality comes at the cost of mental sturdiness. Older dranomyr begin to lose control of their mental faculties as a rule, becoming more forgetful, prone to emotional swings, and weak-willed. A dranomyr who was a brilliant scholar in his youth may become more suited to physical labor or combat as he ages. In addition, their eye coloration grows duller over time, before eventually fading to near complete blackness at the ends of their lives. Most dranomyr live to their mid to late-200s, with some living into their 300s.

Diet

Dranomyr are herbivores and mainly eat leafy greens and root vegetables. They enjoy fruit, though tend not to make it a major part of their diets. They are unable to consume meat at all, becoming sick as if suffering from food poison if they try. Some dranomyr do eat dairy products without suffering any ill effects.

Distribution

Dranomyr prefer hot, dry climates with long, bright days. Thus they tend to seek out realms with bright, powerful photopartum. While they can tolerate a wide variety of environments, they are ill-suited to dark realms or underground locations. They also dislike places with long nights, dim photopartum, or heavy cloud cover. Dranomyr can become listless and depressed if they go too long without spending at least 12 hours a day in sunlight.

Dranomyr

Ability Score Increase +1 Int

Size Medium

Speed 30ft

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Daylight Vision. You have exceptional vision during the day, but subsequently have relatively poor vision in dimmer light. You can see three times as far as a human in bright light and twice as far in normal light. However, you treat dim light as complete darkness.
Learned. Dranomyr place a heavy emphasis on knowledge and learning. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Light-touched. You are extremely tolerant of bright light. You are immune to light-based blindness effects and are treated as one level higher when determining the effects of any light-based spell or effect you cast (including spell-like and supernatural abilities).
Heritage. Dranomyr come from a number of traditions and backgrounds, each named after something to do with light or fire. These heritages set dranomyr slightly apart from one another, giving them slightly different abilities from one another. Choose a heritage for your dranomyr.

Archivist (NPC only)

Archivists are widely considered to be the "true" dranomyr and are the type first thought of by most people. Mysterious and distant, Archivist knowledge of magic surpasses all others. It is said that every Archivist is immersed in magic from a young age, it having an omnipresent presence in their lives. Even young Archivists are said to wield magical powers comparable to the oldest elven mages. This ubiquitous magic seeps into the very blood of Archivists, allowing them to shrug off the magic of others much more easily while making their own spells more powerful.
Ability Score Increase. Archivists are steeped in learning and knowledge. Your Intelligence and Wisdom each increases by 1.
Arcane Mastery. Archivists have advantage on all saving throws against spells and targets of their spells have disadvantage on their saving throws.

Ash

Ash dranomyr frequently come from cultures which fear and revile the lost civilizations of ages past, taking the warnings of their Archive cousins to an extreme. Rather than seeing them as objects to study or exploit, ash dranomyr see relics as testimonies to their own danger, proof that the power they contain only leads to ruin. Ash dranomyr are thus those who train specifically to retrieve and destroy relics, including autonomous ones. While it is impossible to create truly precise replicas of these relics to train against, many use more feasible constructs to practice against, giving them an understanding of how such things work.
Ability Score Increase. Delving into ruins to retrieve and destroy lost relics requires a steady hand and keen knowledge. Your Dexterity and Intelligence increase by 1.
Ancient Defenses. Your training against golems and other mechanical devices has proven that they follow somewhat predictable patterns of attack. You may add your Intelligence bonus to your AC and any saving throws made against attacks or abilities of creatures with the construct or relic type.
Relic Hatred. Much like creatures of flesh and bone, artificial beings have weak points and flaws. Your study of such creatures has given you an insight into common places of weakness. You may add your Intelligence bonus to attack rolls against creatures with the construct subtype.

Auroral

The most common misconception among other races are that dranomyr are innately magical. This is not true for the majority of dranomyr, but it does bear some degree of truth. Some dranomyr are born with an inherent connection to the weave of magic. While giving them no magical power of itself, these auroral dranomyr are able to sense the flow of arcane energy throughout reality, seeing it as flickers of color and light akin to an aurora. At times, they can use this sight to pick up on unusual fluctuations or flaws in the weave itself, allowing them to exploit it if they have the magical knowledge to do so.
Ability Score Increase. Perceiving the magical weave of reality brings a greater understanding of reality. Your Intelligence and Wisdom each increases by 1.
Pinpoint Weakness. When casting spells, you are able to see the way the arcane energies swirl around both yourself and your targets. With enough effort, you can direct your spells in such a way that they are more able to penetrate the defenses of foes. When you cast a spell which targets one or more creatures, you may use your reaction to give them disadvantage on their saving throw. You may do this three times and regain all uses of this ability every time you finish a long rest.
Spellsense. Magical energy moves differently when it is being harnessed for a spell and you can see the subtle shifts even if someone tries to hide it. You have advantage on Perception checks to notice someone attempting to cast a spell without your notice, as well as on Arcana checks to identify a spell that is being cast.

Blazing

Those dranomyr cultures which regularly come into contact with other races often find themselves frequently under assault. Whether it be from those who seek to destroy their arcane knowledge out of fear or those who crave that knowledge for themselves, some dranomyr find themselves forged in the fires of war. Even in times of peace, blazing dranomyr often find themselves targeted by magehunters and others who hate those who practice magic. While their enemies know how to counter magic with steel, blazing dranomyr know how to counter steel with training.
Ability Score Increase. To protect yourself from hateful arcanaphobes, you need a sturdy body and a keen mind. Your Constitution and Intelligence each increases by 1.
Martial Focus. You can infuse one weapon with a trace of your magical essence. You can transform one weapon into your spell focus by spending 1 hour in meditation with it. This meditation may take place during a short or long rest. You may only have one weapon imbued with your essence at one time; if you already have one weapon as your spell focus, meditating on another one will cause the original to revert to an ordinary weapon.
Mystic Warriors. Your training in maintaining spells even when under the greatest duress gives you advantage on Constitution checks to maintain concentration on a spell.

Burning

In many dranomyr pantheons, gods of fire hold positions of great importance. Oftentimes the rites of these deities involve ritualistic flames of some sort, often bringing individuals into close contact with fire itself. Such dranomyr may be acolytes or initiates into one of the religion of one of these deities, or they may merely have been raised to worship them. The term "baptism by fire" often takes a literal meaning among these burning dranomyr. While they always acknowledge and respect the destructive power of fire, they emphasize fire as a powerful aspect of life and rebirth. These dranomyr often revere phoenixes, believing their fiery rebirths are the purest expression of flame.
Ability Score Increase. The fires of the mind and personality flow through you. Your Intelligence and Charisma each increases by 1.
Pyromaniac.: The religious rituals you have participated in over the years may have once singed you, but now you can bear all but the hottest of flame. You are resistant to fire damage.
Fiery Soul. The undying flame has taken root in the very core of your being, burning especially bright when faced with darkness. You have advantage on all saving throws made to resist death effects and saving throws against spells or effects which cause necrotic damage. Additionally, when brought to 0 hit points, you automatically succeed on your first death saving throw.

Illuminating

Many dranomyr place education and knowledge as the highest virtue in life. Many dranomyr cultures provide free education to all their people, including in expansive universities that teach a variety of subjects. Those dranomyr who wish it can study to their hearts' content, often in any variety of subject. Illuminating dranomyr are those who have decided that breadth or knowledge is more important than depth, learning a fair amount in a number of academic subjects. They are always seeking new information and knowledge about any topic they can.
Ability Score Increase. You spent much of your youth in education. Your Intelligence and Wisdom each increases by 1.
Educated. You grew up surrounded by information, contained in cavernous libraries full of voluminous tomes and prestigious universities staffed by wizened professors. You gain proficiency with History, Arcana, Religion, and Nature.

Penumbral

Not all dranomyr are welcoming of outsiders. Some cultures or settlements wish to cut themselves off from the outside world, viewing foreigners as dangerous, disruptive, or deviant. For light loving creatures like dranomyr, hiding away takes a different form than for most others. These dranomyr often retreat to scorching deserts or areas high in volcanic activity. Here, among heat that would be unbearable to most others, these dranomyr build their homes, cloaking them in magic to further protect themselves from the unknown. This has given them the somewhat oxymoronic name of penumbral dranomyr; those who live hidden in the light. Those who leave this shroud are those rare individuals who reject their traditions or are forced to travel due to hardship.
Ability Score Increase. A harsh life in a hostile environment required a sturdy constitution and great smarts. Your Constitution and Intelligence each increases by 1.
Desert Runner. You have lived your life in an area of scorching heat that would wilt even the heartiest creatures. You have advantage on Constitution checks and saves to avoid fatigue and exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot environments.
Camouflage. While many others are mystified by mirages caused by heat-warped air, you know how to use such effects to your advantage. You may add twice your proficiency bonus on Stealth checks while within any exceptionally hot terrain.
Hidden in the Sands. Some part of the magic which once cloaked your home has worn off on you, preventing those who would otherwise scry on you from being able to do so. You are constantly under the effects of the nondetection spell.

Radiant

While most dranomyr have a positive association with light, radiant dranomyr consider it a core aspect of their being. Many dranomyr live in locations which rarely, if ever, experience night. For these dranomyr, an overcast day may be the deepest darkness they have ever experienced. This constant exposure to light awakens something deep within them, enabling them to tap into the elemental nivose energy which pervades the cosmos. These dranomyr enjoy sunbathing, laying next to a fire, and even sleeping in the middle of the day. When deprived of light for extended periods, they suffer worse than most other dranomyr, and many have nychtophobia (a debilitating fear of the dark).
Ability Score Increase. You've spent your days walking through the outdoors, enjoying the sun. Your Strength and Intelligence each increases by 1.
Brilliant Assault. As a bonus action you can call on the luminous power lurking in your veins to shroud your arms in radiant energy once. For one minute, melee weapon attacks you make deal an additional 1d6 radiant damage. You may end the effects of your brilliant assault early as a free action. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Halo. You can create light centered on your head at will casting dim light in a 30' radius around you. When using the halo, you gain advantage on Intimidate checks against undead or creatures which can deal necrotic damage on attacks.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Dranomyr and two other languages of your choice.