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====== Ancestry ======

In the Realms, Humans walk side-by-side with ageless and perceptive Elves, stout and resilient Dwarves, tricky and dextrous Gnomes, agile and graceful Aruna, and even the descendants of angels and devils.  Your choice of ancestry opens many doors to you, and can grant your character a lot of flavour by itself.  Certain ancestries prefer certain classes, but this is by no means a limitation:  you are more likely to find a Dwarven Guardian than a Dwarven Warrior, but there are plenty of Dwarven Warriors to be found.

Choose one of the seven following ancestries.

[[Aruna]]:  These nomadic cat-like beings are graceful and charismatic, but have a distrust of "book learning", as they call it.

[[Cambion]]:  The descendants of devils and humans, the Cambion are marked physically by their bloodline, but possess a silver tongue.  

[[Dwarf]]:  Despite their name, Dwarves are only a bit shorter than Humans on average, but tend to be much more powerfully built.  They are expert craftsmen and hard workers.

[[Elf]]:  These slender folk are nature spirits encased in flesh.  Their sharp senses and agility are legendary, but they tend to be aloof towards other peoples.

[[Gnome]]:  These small people are known for their quick hands, sharp senses, passion for learning, and sense of humour.  They are rumoured to be an off-shoot of Elves.

[[Human]]:  The most common peoples in the Realms, Humans are versatile and adaptable, found in every clime.

[[Wyrmkind]]:  With traits similar to both birds and reptiles, the Wyrmkin consider themselves descendants of the mighty dragons.  They are known for their scholarly ways as much as they are their speed and power.

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**Director**:  Let's discuss Ancestry next.

**Alex**:  Is that like race?

**Director**:  Yeah, some other games call it that.

**Alex**:  Okay.  Since it's a dark fantasy world, I imagine there are probably some standard fantasy races like humans, elves, and dwarves, but maybe there are some unique ones too?  What kind of Ancestry options are there in Unbound Tales?

**Director**:  Yeah, we've got those.  There's also the Aruna.  They're cat-like people, and they make decent Warriors.  And there's the Wyrmkind---dragon folk---and the Cambion---the descendants of demons.  Both of them make good Guardians.  There's also Gnomes.  They don't make //great// Warriors or Guardians, but there's no reason why they won't work.  For that matter, //any// Ancestry will work.  Some just favour certain classes over others.

**Alex**:  Given the character concept of a grizzled veteran who's seen a lot of war, a Human or a Dwarf seem like the most natural choices.  They both have a reputation for toughness and resilience.  Here's a question:  Is there a mechanical benefit to choosing an Ancestry that favors the Warrior or Guardian class, or is it mostly for flavor?

**Director**:  You might have to be careful distributing your attribute points if you choose certain Ancestry and Class combinations, but that's the biggest thing.  It's easier to build a Dwarven Guardian than, say, a Gnomish Guardian.  But you can still build a Gnomish Guardian.

**Alex**:  Okay, that makes sense! Leaning into the flavor and mechanical ease, a Dwarf seems like a good choice for this character.  Now, with a Dwarf as the Ancestry, what are the next steps for creating this stoic defender?

**Director**:  Picking Dwarf gives you a -1 to your Agility, but a +1 to your Body and Education attributes.  Dwarves have three different heritages:  Hill Dwarves, Mountain Dwarves and Savannah Dwarves.  They give you different skill training, but I don't see any skills that they give you that would matter a lot to a Guardian or Warrior.

**Alex**:  I think for the heritage, Mountain Dwarves sound the most fitting.  They're known for their resilience in harsh environments, which aligns well with the veteran who's seen a lot of war.

**Director**:  And that heritage gives you a +1 to your Dexterity attribute.  Dexterity in this game is all about aim;  Agility is used for dodging and stealth.  Also, you get to mark a +1 training bonus on Crafting.
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