Planetouched Races

Faerûn is home to many native peoples and has many magic portals that lead to distant parts of the world as well as to other worlds. Through these portals come visitors from other planes, including outsiders of various sorts, some of whom dally or settle in Faerûn and have children with local humans. Eventually their extraplanar heritage gets diluted over several generations, resulting in a person with a slight bloodline of celestial, infernal, or elemental origin.

These beings, known as the planetouched, have unusual abilities based on the nature of their distant ancestors, but in most ways appear completely human: Because of the widespread portals, these planetouched might look like a human from any part of this world, and so may be of Dalelands, Mulhorandi, Turmish, or any other stock. The most common sorts of planetouched are aasimar (descended from celestials), tieflings (descended from demons or devils), and genasi (descended from elemental-related outsiders, such as genies).

The planetouched prefer to blend in with human society and rarely form communities of their own. In this way, they are a more extreme example than the half-elves (who also rarely have their own communities) because of their rarity and varied backgrounds. Some places have a slightly higher frequency of the planetouched because of local circumstances, described in each type's entry.

Native Outsider: Due to the strength of their divine or infernal bloodlines, each of the planetouched races possesses the unusual characteristic of being an outsider native to Faerûn, not a humanoid. This has three principal effects:

First, spells or effects that affect only humanoids, such as a charm person or a dominate person spell, do not affect planetouched characters.

Second, spells and effects that target extraplanar creatures may affect planetouched characters. For example, the mace of smiting and the sword of the planes are more effective against outsiders, and are correspondingly more dangerous to a planetouched character. A spell that drives outsiders back to their home planes does not affect planetouched characters, but banishment - a spell that removes an outsider from the caster's plane without specifying a return to the outsider's native plane - would work just fine.

Finally, Faerûn's planetouched have lived on Toril long enough for Toril to become, in effect, their native plane. This means that planetouched characters can be raised or resurrected normally, whereas most outsiders cannot be brought back from the dead without the use of a miracle or wish spell.

Aasimar

Carrying the blood of a celestial, an aasimar is usually good-aligned and fights against evil in the world. Some have a minor physical trait suggesting their heritage, such as silver hair, golden eyes, or an unnaturally intense stare. Those descended from a celestial minion of a Faerûnian deity often carry a birthmark in the shape of the deity's holy symbol or some other mark significant to that faith.

Regions: Aasimar are relatively common in Mulhorand because the Mulhorandi deities have a legacy of begetting offspring with mortals.

Racial Abilities: Aasimar have the following traits:

Genasi

Genasi are descended from elemental-related creatures, such as efreet, dao, djinn, jann, and marids, among others. Most of them have had no direct contact with their elemental forebears, but the signs of their heritage are apparent. Genasi take great pride in their distinctive features and abilities.

Air Genasi

Air genasi see themselves as the inheritors of the sky, the wind, and the very air of the world. They are most often neutral. They appear mostly human, with one or two unusual traits reflecting their quasi-elemental nature, such as a light blue color to their skin or hair, a slight breeze in their presence at all times, or flesh that is cool to the touch. They care little for their appearance and tend have wind-tossed hair and much-mended clothes. Their emotions vary quickly between calm reserve and great intensity.

Regions: Air genasi are common in Calimshan, for much of that land was long ago ruled by djinn.

Racial Abilities: Air genasi have the following traits:

Earth Genasi

Earth genasi are slow to act, ponderous in thought, and set in their ways. They are most often neutral. They appear mostly human, with one or two unusual traits reflecting their quasi-elemental nature, such as earthlike skin, rough facial features, or eyes like black pits. They favor neutral colors and simple clothing, and while some appear to inadvertently collect dirt on their clothes, others keep a neat and polished appearance.

Regions: Earth genasi are more common in the North, near the spine of the World, where deep caves in the heart of the mountains sometimes manifest portals to the plane of Earth.

Racial Abilities: Earth genasi have the following racial traits:

Fire Genasi

Fire genasi are hot-blooded and quick to anger, proud and unafraid to take action. They are most often neutral. They appear mostly human, with one or two unusual traits reflecting their quasi-elemental nature, such as skin the color of burnt coal, red hair that waves like flames, or eyes that glow when the genasi is angry. They prefer to dress simply and elegantly, although their fashions can be more flamboyant than the most outrageous trend.

Regions: Fire genasi are most common in Calimshan, for much of that land was long ago ruled by efreet. They are also found in Chult, the Lake of Steam, and Unther, which are all lands near volcanoes.

Racial Abilities: Fire genasi have the following racial traits:

Water Genasi

Water genasi are patient and slow to change, preferring to wear away opposition slowly, but are capable of great violence in extreme situations. They are most often neutral. All have one or more traits that reflect their quasi-elemental nature, such as lightly scaled skin, clammy flesh, blue-green skin or hair, or hair that waves as if underwater. They dress sparsely, preferring clothing that won't bind when in the water and ripples like waves when dry.

Regions: Water genasi are most often found in the lands near the Sea of Fallen Stars - the Vilhon Reach, the Dragon Coast, Sembia, Aglarond, and Chessenta - where the extraplanar entities of the sea mingle with mortals.

Racial Abilities: Water genasi have, the following traits:

Tiefling

Because they are descended from evil outsiders, those who know of their ancestry immediately consider most tieflings evil and untrustworthy. Not all tieflings are evil or untrustworthy, but enough are that the prejudice tends to cling. Some tieflings have a minor physical trait suggesting their heritage, such as pointed teeth, red eyes, small horns, the odor of brimstone, cloven feet, or just an unnatural aura of wrongness. Those descended from an infernal minion of a Faerûnian deity often carry a birthmark of the deity's holy symbol or another trait related to that evil faith.

Regions: Tieflings are most common in Mulhorand because the Mulhorandi deities sometimes beget offspring with mortals. They are also found in Unther and Thay, lands with long, dark traditions of infernal dealings.

Racial Abilities: Tieflings have the following racial traits:

Races of Faerûn
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