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Pathfinder 2 easy Tree

FETCHLING

ANCESTRY

UNCOMMON

FETCHLING

HUMANOID

Hit Points 8

Size Medium; Speed 25 feet

Ability Boosts Dexterity, Free

Languages Common, Shadowtongue

Additional Languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from Aklo, Draconic, D’ziriak, Necril, Undercommon, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

Senses Darkvision

Once human and now something apart, fetchlings display the Shadow Plane’s ancient influence through monochrome complexions, glowing eyes, and the casting of supernatural shadows.

Fetchlings are a striking people whose skin appears entirely drained of color. These lithe and shadowy beings seem to sink and vanish into the gloom. They see in darkness, exercise control over shadows, and have strange occult powers. Some fetchlings develop their powers enough to pass between the Shadow and Material Planes, leaving other ancestries to whisper about figures that emerge from shaded corners and then vanish without a trace. Through magic and other means, they’ve spread across Golarion and the planes beyond, as adaptable as the humans they once were.

The first fetchlings were refugees. Ages ago, when Earthfall destroyed ancient Azlant and cast the world into darkness, one small group of Azlanti pleaded for rescue. A mysterious hooded figure known as the Widow answered their call, slicing open a passage into the Shadow Plane. The Azlanti stepped through, trading the darkness of Earthfall for a deep shadow. As they navigated the plane’s strange environs and dangerous inhabitants, its nature slowly worked monumental changes on the survivors.

If you want a character more at home in a mirror world of shadow, infused with umbral gloom, and who embodies the dualities of light and darkness, you should play a fetchling.

You Might...

  • Live and work in gloomy areas of dim light with plenty of shadows, only providing bright light when expecting visitors.
  • Look to people’s shadows as a way of identifying them, alongside features like stature or facial structure.
  • Maintain composure when faced with strange creatures and circumstances.

Others Probably...

  • Believe you have shadowy powers, such as the ability to consume light as food, melt into darkness, or travel between planes.
  • Expect you to be cautious, reserved, and a loner.
  • Express interest in your ancestral physiological connection to the Shadow Plane.

Physical Description

Most of the Shadow Plane appears as an altered version of the Material Plane but leeched of color. These same forces in the Shadow Plane have touched fetchlings, whose skin tones fall on a monochromatic scale from stark white to deep black, and all the shades of gray between. Their bodies are just as diverse in shape and size as humans, though most display a certain fluidity of motion reminiscent of shifting shadows. Fetchlings’ reflective, pupilless eyes can pierce darkness. A fetchling’s most notable feature is their shadow, which almost never faithfully reflects their body. Instead, fetchling shadows might have incongruous shapes or sizes, while others flicker, move of their own accord, or imitate the shadow of another nearby creature.

Society

Most fetchlings remain close to Golarion on either the Material or Shadow Planes, either forming majority-fetchling communities or forging solitary paths. Both planar groups tend to be insular; many fetchling cultures preserve memories of their early, perilous days confronting the Shadow Plane’s hostile or beguiling denizens. Their predilection for forming tight communal bonds and adapting to local customs has spread to become part of broader fetchling culture, reinforced by two major fetchling groups—the Estlaris and Sharedars—who live in the shadow of more powerful entities.

Alignment and Religion

A culture of survival passed down through generations means many fetchlings prefer to maintain a cautious worldview and adapt to prevailing circumstances. As a result, many trend toward a neutral outlook on life. Some choose to join with local powers for personal or communal advancement, or to tear systems down from the inside. Others attempt to shatter what they see as fetters that bind them and their communities.

No small number of fetchlings are nonreligious, recognizing all gods’ powers but revering none. Faithful fetchlings prefer gods that offer protection and stability, be it the pastoral embrace of Erastil or the binding chains of Zon-Kuthon. Those who travel alone or pass between planes seek the comfort of Alseta, Desna, and Gozreh. Calistria appeals to ambitious fetchlings, while Grandmother Spider and Sivanah help those who wish to move through the world unnoticed or unfettered. Some worship these three as a pantheon called the Laughing Veil; a few even include Norgorber as a fourth member.

Names

Fetchlings adapted to a new world, and their names do the same. These names commonly include phonetic qualities from multiple languages or are simply local cultural names that fetchling families find compelling. Other dominant naming conventions include flowing sounds, harsh or hissing consonants, and surnames that refer to important relatives or community traits.

Sample Names

Amelisce, Ashka, Drosil, Eitsanara, Eomva, Ikyamek, Inva, Jegan, Lirtae, Meotrai, Sorsul, Zokaratz

Fetchling Adventurers

Fetchlings have a well-earned reputation as travelers. Their merchants and emissaries ply many roads, while nomads and sailors seek what lies over the next horizon. Charlatans, criminals, and street urchins carve livelihoods from inhospitable environs. Many fetchlings leverage their natural litheness as swashbucklers or rogues. The Shadow Plane’s caress awakens hidden power in many fetchling bards or sorcerers (especially those of the shadow bloodline) or drives them to study deeper mysteries as witches or wizards.

Fetchling Settlements

Many fetchlings congregate in these two cities.

Beacon (Shadow Absalom): Estlaris ignore their city’s official name on Golarion and instead call their home Beacon. Velstracs and intelligent undead prowl the city’s sparsely traveled streets, but business thrives behind closed doors and in towering d’ziriak hives. Ships cross the parched Bay of Dusk to bring diverse wares that fuel warring factions, while the Glare at Beacon’s heart can send visitors back to the exact spot from which they entered the Shadow Plane.

Candlease: This island of terrace farms, natural spires, and colorful woven bridges floats in the sky beneath Shadow Golarion’s moon. In the Tallow amphitheater, the timely gleaming of obsidian standing stones helps predict the Lacrimosas that both take and replace Somal’s Tears. Candlease also hosts storytelling contests and Brightsorrow moots.

Kayal

Many fetchlings refer to themselves as kayals, an Aklo-derived word with a meaning akin to “shadow people.” Most kayals reject the term fetchling, which they see as imposed on them by individuals bound too closely to the Material Plane. The word has uncertain origins, but its use is widespread in Nidal. To kayals in Nidal, their name grounds and uplifts them as a worthy people forging their own paths, not as servitors of darkness. Skeptics consider kayal to be a superficial affectation.

The Widow

The Widow was one of the Forsaken— sinister demigods who once watched over the Shadow Plane. It heard an Azlanti call for rescue, lifted its shivering sickle, and tore a passage into darkness; those it ushered into the Shadow Plane became the first fetchlings. Few remember anything beyond the Widow’s name, and fewer still offer it prayers. It grants power to no fetchling priests.

TABLE 1: FETCHLING HERITAGES
Exclusive Heritages Description
bright fetchlingLOAG Your body proves that shadow can’t exist without light.
deep fetchlingLOAG Your predecessors dwelled in the Shadow Plane’s deepest, most treacherous regions.
liminal fetchlingLOAG You come from a line of fetchlings with a closer connection to the Ethereal and Shadow Planes, and you share those realms’ affinity with the in-between and unseen.
resolute fetchlingLOAG Your ancestors have long dealt with the horrific—in the Shadow Plane or elsewhere—and you bear their mental fortitude.
wisp fetchlingLOAG Your ancestors’ exposure to the Shadow Plane wrought great physical changes.
Versatile Heritages Description
AasimarAPG You descend from celestials or were touched by the celestial realms, gaining an air of awe and grace, as well as features distinctive to your celestial forebears.
AphoriteLOAG You were born with a connection to Axis, the Plane of Law.
ArdandeRE Your elemental heritage is reflected in the oils and fragrances of plants, in tree resin that fossilizes into amber, or in the gentle smell of a flower.
BeastkinLOAG The blood of a beast flows through your veins, granting you the ferocity and might of animals.
ChangelingAPG Your mother was a hag.
DhampirAPG You are the scion of a vampire, half living and half undead, gifted with uncanny charm and grace, a bloodless pallor, and elongated incisors.
DuskwalkerAPG Thanks to an ancient bargain, your soul has been reborn as a duskwalker, a planar scion with a connection to psychopomps and the Boneyard.
GanziLOAG Your blood is touched by primal chaos.
IfritLOAG You descend from fire elementals or bear the mark of the Inner Spheres, and your features illustrate the influence that elemental fire has over you.
OreadLOAG An earth elemental ancestor has influenced your bloodline, and your features highlight this elemental planar connection.
ReflectionDA You were created as a duplicate of another creature, intentionally or accidentally, though you might not know of your origins.
SuliLOAG You are descended from a janni or otherwise embody a dichotomy of opposing elemental planar forces.
SylphLOAG You are descended from air elementals or were born under the element’s influence.
TalosRE Your physical features reflect the influence a zuhra or other metal elemental has had over your bloodline.
TieflingAPG You descend from fiends or bear the mark of the fiendish realms, manifesting as some unusual feature that belies your heritage, such as horns or a tail.
UndineLOAG A water elemental ancestor influences your bloodline.
draconic scionBAD You possess the power of dragons, whether you descended from dragons, learned from dragons, were transformed by exposure to draconic energy, or reincarnated from a past life as a dragon.
TABLE 2: FETCHLING ANCESTRY FEATS
Level 1 Fetchling Feats Prerequisites Benefits
Fetchling LoreLOAG — You’ve learned obscure lessons about your fellow fetchlings.
Hard to FoolLOAG — You’re accustomed to seeing through shifting darkness and bewildering magic.
rLet’s Try That AgainSG-04 — You feel a sense of deja vu when you’ve made a mistake, almost as if you weren’t so careless in a past life and could certainly do better if given another chance.
rLike a RoachSG-04 — Living with the bare necessities isn’t terribly hard for someone who has defied death, and like a cockroach, you always know how to survive.
Shadow BlendingLOAG — You draw shadows close to create a shroud.
Shrouded MagicLOAG — Choose one cantrip from the occult spell list.
Shrouded MienLOAG — You’re used to dealing with dangerous situations and sinister creatures.
SlinkLOAG — You can move through gloom with the speed of darkness.
rWeight of ExperienceSG-04 — The experience you’ve accumulated over multiple lifetimes envelops you like a weighted blanket, providing comfort and bestowing confidence under pressure.
rWisdom From Another LifeSG-04 — You absorbed a wide variety of facts before you died, and your soul still remembers slivers of this precious knowledge.
Level 5 Fetchling Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rAnimal Soul SiblingsSG-04 — Your eyes have been opened to the spiritual essence suffusing the world.
Clever ShadowLOAG — You can perform simple Interact actions with your shadow, such as opening an unlocked door.
rEmpathy IncarnateSG-04 — Reincarnation has given you a compassionate perspective and enabled you to relate to almost everyone you speak with, putting them at ease and quickly generating trust.
Extinguish LightLOAG — You wrap shadow around a single unattended light source within 120 feet that’s no larger than a torch.
rFey InfluenceLOIL — You have been exposed to powerful fey magic.
rI’Ve Had Many JobsSG-04 — Finding and excelling at odd jobs is child’s play to one who has worked many occupations during many lives.
Lightless LithenessLOAG — Your body is almost as flexible as your shadow.
rReincarnated RidiculerSG-04 — You’ve practiced the art of taunting an enemy, ensuring they know death will only make you stronger.
Shadowy DisguiseLOAG — You wrap yourself in shadow to change your appearance.
rSleep of the RebornSG-04 — Philosophers compare the cycle of life, death, and rebirth to sleeping, dreaming, and waking.
Level 9 Fetchling Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rDrain EmotionLOIL Fey Influence You touch an adjacent creature and attempt to draw out its excess emotion.
rFey AscensionLOIL Fey Influence The fey influence on your form and features grows even more powerful and notable.
Hefting ShadowLOAG Clever Shadow Your shadow can contain objects.
rLingering EchoesSG-04 — Not everyone is reincarnated, and you feel a strong connection with the spiritual echoes of those who didn’t receive the same opportunity as you.
rPlant Soul SiblingsSG-04 Animal Soul Siblings You’re now able to connect with the spirits present in the greenery of the natural world.
rRapid RetrainingSG-04 — Some feel trapped by their choices and have a tough time reinventing themselves.
Sculpt ShadowsLOAG — You coax nearby shadows into the shape of a simple weapon or a simple tool or item, using a tiny piece of your shadow to make it solid; in doing so, you lose 1 Hit Point.
Shadow SightLOAG — You draw on your connection with the Shadow Plane to see through all but the deepest darkness.
rYou Seem Somewhat FamiliarSG-04 — You fought hundreds of foes in your various past lives, and now and then, something about a new opponent tugs at your memory, almost as if you defeated their grandparent long ago.
Level 13 Fetchling Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rCannibalize MagicLOIL Fey Influence The fey magic inside of you is a vital part of your body, and you can steal other sources of magic to replenish yours.
rClinging to LifeSG-04 — This life still holds much for you, and you aren’t ready to fall back into the River of Souls just yet.
rEldritch CalmLOIL Fey Influence Your fey heritage has altered your mindset to more resemble the uncanny perspective of the fey.
rGlamourLOIL Fey Influence You unlock a new level of fey power and can manipulate the perceptions of others using a font of First World magic.
rI Sense MalevolenceSG-04 — Your time in theRiver of Souls has given you deep insight into the machinations of those who refuse to move on.
rLinguistic RevivalSG-04 — You achieved fluency in different languages with each reincarnation, and your brain remembers much of the grammar, idioms, and obscenities that you spouted in old lives.
rPain Is TemporarySG-04 — Sangpotshi practitioners know that suffering is a fleeting sensation that ultimately strengthens the soul and prepares it for a new reincarnation.
Shadow’s AssaultLOAG — Your shadow assaults your foes.
uSkirt the LightLOAG — You can travel the border between the Material and Shadow Planes and even bring others along.
rStone Soul SiblingsSG-04 Plant Soul Siblings Your connection with nature’s spirits has progressed to the point where you can even have casual conversation with pebbles and boulders.
rUnbreakable ResolveSG-04 — The experience of coming back after death has granted you a strong sense of resolve; devilish words, slick spells, and conniving trickery can’t easily catch you off guard.
Level 17 Fetchling Feats Prerequisites Benefits
rBoneyard AcquaintanceSG-04 — Before your soul returned to the Material Plane, you interacted with a host of other souls on their way to the Boneyard.
rFey TranscendenceLOIL Fey Influence You become a powerful fey creature, gaining strengths tied to the First World but also some of the weakness against which all fey must contend.
rIndomitable SpiritSG-04 — Your soul has accumulated countless particles of quintessence over myriad deaths and rebirths, and for one moment, this raw material from the Great Beyond envelops you and your comrades.
uPierce the LightLOAG — You tear the veil between the Material Plane and its shadow.
rRelease the LightSG-04 — Many people report seeing a bright light before their death.
rSee You in HellSG-04 — You aren’t sure if you’ll be reincarnated again, so you might as well take this foe with you.
rThis Time, Bring the BodySG-04 — Death sends a soul into the River of Souls.