Player Character Race Descriptions
Planescape Races

Below you will find short descriptions for non-standard races allowed on the public domains of the Planescape site. Game rules may differ from Second Edition Dungeons and Dragons because of personal tweaking for the site and conversions to Third Edition. This is an ongoing project with new races being added frequently.

Bariaur

A bariaur, in the simplest terms possible, is a nomadic goat-like centaur. Of course, they are far more than that. Physically, bariaur share the features of a goat and a human, with a goat-like lower body, a humanoid upper torso, and a head that sports ram-like horns in males and subtle goat-like facial features. Unlike most prime centaur races, bariaur are extremely fussy about their appearance, often dressing in fine vests and girdles and dying or shaving their pelts in specific styles and designs.

They are also a carefree and nomadic race gifted with an insatiable wanderlust. Pastoral bariaur are often shepherds, though many of their race are wandering merchants. As a race, their wanderlust has carried bariaur settlements throughout the Upper Planes and even into the Outlands. As individuals, there are few places bariaurs haven't been. All bariaur are also herbivorous and even the thought of eating meet is revolting to these beings.

Bariaur Racial Traits

-- Male Bariaur get a +1 bonus to Strength and Constitution, but a -1 penalty to Wisdom and Dexterity. Female Bariaur +1 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom, but they suffer a -1 penalty to Strength and Dexterity.
-- Bariaur are large sized creatures, and suffer a -1 penalty to attacks against medium sized creatures, a -1 AC versus medium sized creatures, and a -4 penalty to Hide checks.
-- Bariaur base speed is 40 ft.
-- Low Light Vision: Bariaur can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
-- A bariaur male possesses horns which may be used in an unarmed attack. These horns do 1d8 points of damage, are treated as an unarmed attack, and may be used in conjunction with a rush or charge.
-- A bariaur female is exceptionally intuitive and receives a +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, or Spot checks.
-- Automatic Languages: Common and Bariaur. Bonus Languages: Celestial, Giant, and Sylvan
-- Favored Class: Fighter

Githzerai

Outcasts derived from a race once known as the Gith, githzerai are scathingly serious humanoids who look very much like humans (though they take such a comparison as in insult). They are slightly taller than your average human and thinner, with longer faces adorned with sharp-cut features. Their skin is often a olive or parchment color and their eyes range from gray to cat-like yellow. They come from a severe, outcast society, and it is reflected in their drab and practical dress. Githzerai often avoid jewelry and never wear flamboyant colors. In fact, it often seems like even viewing those colors brings them pain.

Despite their severity, they are a passionate race in some aspects. Their dedication to the survival and security of their own kind is unwavering and constant, as is their hatred for their cousins, the githyanki. The cause of the civil war that split these two races is unknown to most, but the hatred still stands between them. And if there is any such thing as sport to the githzerai, it would be illithid-hunting. Organized into parties called rrakkma, young githzerai scour the planes in search of mind flayer prey.

Githzerai Racial Traits

-- +1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity. -1 Strength, -1 Wisdom
-- Medium-Sized creatures
-- Base movement is 30 ft.
-- Low Light Vision: Githzerai can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
-- Githzerai are born with a natural spell resistance of 15. Githzerai spellcasters must purge themselves of this ability in a special ritual, and lose this ability in exchange for the ability to cast spells.
-- Githzerai priests may not choose a deity, instead they worship their ancient wizard-king as a god. They still receive spells and choose domains, however.

Plane-Touched

The plane-touched (as they are called to their faces) are half-breeds between humans and something else. The "something else" being an extraplanar being, either a celestial, a fiend, or a genie. The three types of potential parentage seperate the three types of plane-touched into aasimar, tieflings, and genasi. Each one suffer the prejudice of being different, but they each suffer it in their own ways. And one can always tell a plane-touched by their Legacies, physical features or abilities that immediately identify them as being otherworldly in nature.

Aasimar are the offspring of a human and an Upper Planar celestial of some sort, whether it be a aasimon, guardinal, or something else. Physically, each aasimar is unique in many ways, but they share a tendency towards light skin and frail bodies of beautiful features. They tend to dress in light colors and often wear ornamental decorations or jewelry. Aasimar legacies have been known to include golden or silver skin, hair or eyes, large pointed ears, animal-like features, or even feathery wings.

Aasimar are not discriminated against by their celestial parents, but they suffer from always being compared to them. They are expected to be great, pure and perfect, as their celestial parents are. This puts an enormous weight on their shoulders and many a aasimar has fallen trying to reach for a goal far beyond their ability. Aasimar often tend towards good alignments and are typically have contact with their celestial parent.

Tieflings are the offspring of a human and a Lower Planar fiend of some sort, whether it be baatezu, tanar'ri, or yugoloth in nature. Physically, tieflings are all different in most ways, but they share tendencies towards dark eyes and hair and often tanned skin. They have a tendency to dress in deep and dark colors and often wear strange talismans, twisted armor, or even pieces of insectoid carapace. Tiefling legacies have been known to include scaly tails, cloven hooves for feet, sharply pointed ears, or even leathery wings.

Tieflings born in the Lower Planes are often cast out as worthless and weak. They often have no idea who their fiendish parent was, unless that parent continues to torment them through life. Tieflings are often blamed for strokes of bad luck or disasters, and as a result they constantly carry a chip on their shoulders. Tieflings often tend towards evil alignments and are very manipulative by nature, and those who are not evil must work twice as hard to dodge that impression.

Genasi are the offspring of a human and an Inner Planar being of some sort, often a genie. Physically they tend towards colorations appropriate to their plane of origin, such as reddish skin or hair for fire genasi, light skin for air genasi, etc. Their tendencies in dress also differ with their inner planar background, with light and loose clothing for air genasi and a tendency for lots of jewelry among earth genasi. Genasi legacies are known to include solid red or blue eyes, high body temperatures, sandpaper-like skin, and even gills.

Genasi are often raised as illegitimate bastard children within the courts of the Inner Planes. They are often aware who their genie parent is, but the parent often does not acknowledge them publicly. In these courts, the genasi learn to be politically shrewd, but they also learn to be haughty and arrogant. Genasi tend towards neutral alignments, but extremes are known among them.

an aasimar

a tiefling

(clockwise from top left) Air Genasi, Fire Genasi, Water Genasi, Earth Genasi

Plane-Touched Racial Traits

-- Aasimar: +2 Charisma, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution Tieflings: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. Genasi: +2 Constitution, +1 Wisdom, -1 Charisma.
-- Medium-Sized Creatures
-- Base Movement is 30 ft.
-- Aasimar and Genasi have low light vision. Tieflings have darkvision to 60 feet.
-- Aasimar receive a +2 to Listen and Spot checks. Tieflings receive a +2 to Bluff and Hide checks. Genasi receive a +2 to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
-- Extraplanar Blood. Aasimar are considered natives of the Upper Planes and never suffer damage from any natural environment effect there. Tieflings are considered natives of the Lower Planes and never suffer damage from any natural environment effect on them. Genasi are considered natives of their respective inner plane and take no damage from natural environmental effects present there. Note that the plane-touched being is not immune to similar effects outside the native plane (i.e., a fire genasi still suffers damage from fire outside the fire elemental plane) and they are not protected from non-environment damage (the same fire genasi is harmed by the fire attacks of a fire elemental, even in the fire elemental plane). The downside of extraplanar blood is that the plane-touched are considered extraplanar in the case of spells such as protection from good or holy word. They may also be summoned and bound using planar binding spells, though the connection is weaker, so that a spellcaster must have an item of emotional significance to the plane-touched target or a physical sample from them such as hair, blood, or skin.
-- The Legacy. Plane-touched beings may have multiple physical legacies of their lineage, such as tails, claws, pointed ears, etc. However, each plane-touched being may only have one game effect legacy. If their claws do damage or their wings allow for gliding, this counts as their game effect legacy. Otherwise they may choose an effect which allows for a saving throw bonus, a skill check modifier, or mimics a low-level spell. Saving throw bonuses are usually +4 for a specific resistance (such as a +4 to saves versus fire-based attacks) or a +2 against broad resistances (such as a tail that aids in balance and gives a +2 to reflex saves). Check modifiers, if attached to a specific skill can equal up to +4 (such as +4 to Listen checks or +2 to Listen and Spot checks). A legacy that mimics a spell can mimic any 0th-, 1st- or 2nd-level divine or arcane spell and can be used only once per day. Examples include a tiefling who can cast Heat Metal once per day or an aasimar who can cause his body to glow as per a Light spell once per day.

Rogue Modrons

Rogue Modrons are not named as such because they are all rogues, but because they are modrons who have broken away from the rigid civilization of the vast majority of modrons and have displayed some curious desire to live amongst the puzzling non-modron races. Rogue Modrons are believed among Modron society to be defective and useless, but many have been accepted among the races of Sigil.

Rogue Modrons all come from the Quadrone base modron race. It is believed that the lesser modrons are not intelligent enough to go rogue and that the greater ones are too deeply integrated into the modron collective. They have bodies that are perfect cubes with large features gracing one face of the cube. They sport thin legs and arms, and a small set of wings. These wings only help rogue modrons with small jumps and do not allow flight as they do with collective modrons. The Guvners believe that the laws of modron flight no longer apply to the rogue modrons who have left the collective.

Even the rogue modrons have trouble with chaotic subjects and display very rational personalities. While logical problems are often easy for them, dealing with emotions often confuses them deeply. However, rogue modrons do display a very inquisitive nature and seem willing to study even the most chaotic phenomena, a trait which absolutely seperates them from their collective race.

Rogue Modron Racial Traits

-- +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
-- Medium-Sized Creatures
-- Base Movement is 20 ft.
-- Rogue Modrons have low-light vision and can see twice as far as humans in poor lighting conditions.
-- Rogue Modrons have sensory organs on each face of their cube bodies, and get a +2 to Listen and Spot checks as a result.
-- Rogue Modrons are resistant to illusion and mind-effecting spells, gaining a +2 to all saves against them.
-- Rogue Modrons are slow to act in combat because chaotic situations confuse them and because they spend a lot of time analyzing the situation. They suffer a -2 to Initiative rolls, though this may be cancelled out by the Improved Initiative feat.