Ancestries

Ancestries are used in SotDL to express the stats of the player’s character species. These stats set the starting attributes and characteristics of the PC. In addition to the core book and its companions, the Lands in Shadow expansions add new backgrounds.

Ancestries are also used at the 4th level for advancements.

Ancestries are detailed in:

The core rule book -


 * Human - run of the mill Jack and Jill, but they are expanded in Only Human.
 * Changeling - humans tainted by few magic, they are expanded in Stolen Lives.
 * Clockwork - A soul tethered to a machine, they are expanded in Ghosts in the Machines.
 * Dwarf - Miners and subterranean dwellers, they are expanded in For Gold and Glory.
 * Goblin - Exiles from the Faerie Court, they happily occupy the lowest rung of a society’s ladder. They are expanded in Snot and Stitches.
 * Orc - Having thrown off the Empire’s shackles, they are a force to be reckoned with. They are expanded in Born to Kill.

Supplements with ancestries include:

A Glorious Death


 * Jotun - They claim to have giant’s blood in their ancestries and these people of the southern frozen wastes have beleaguered the Empire for centuries.

Children of the Restless


 * Gnomes

Demon Lord’s Companion


 * Faun - Touched by the fey, these were once human but now can never be the same again. They are expanded in Between Two Worlds.
 * Halflings - Looking like small humans, these creatures live happy, simple lives. They receive an expansion in Uncommon Courage.

Demon Lord’s Companion vol 2


 * Ferren - Cat people who shapeshift to look like humans. Excellent rogues and magicians.
 * Hamadryad - Sentient trees that make effective priests and warriors.
 * Molekin - Dwellers of deep places, they make good rogues and warriors.
 * Naga - Serpentine humanoids that dedicate themselves to protect the Cosmic Egg. Dangerous priests and magicians.
 * Sylph - These reclusive elemental folk make potent magicians and rogues.
 * Yerath - Hive-dwelling, sentient, bipedal humanoids that are effective in any path.

Exquisite Death


 * Cambion - The products of devils and humans, they are slaves to the darkness within.

Freeport Companion v2


 * Serpent People - The Children of Yig live in secret in Freeport, shape shifting into human form to move freely.
 * Undines - An underwater species, they are an elemental race who work toward their own goals.

Poisoned Pages - Children of the Void v2


 * Child of the Void - the product of mating a demon with a human, they are dark creations that spread corruption wherever they go.

Terrible Beauty - the fey


 * Elf - Lords and ladies of the Faerie Realm.
 * Hobgoblins - Foot soldiers of the Faerie, they exist to fight for the Court.
 * Pixie - The quintessential wee folk, they answer to no master.

Tombs of Desolation


 * Revenant - neither fully alive nor dead, they are tied to the Desolation as they strive to complete the tasks they left unfinished.
 * Salamander - Shaped by the genies, they are born of fire.
 * Vampire - Creatures of crypts and graves, they are humans that now feed on blood.