Undines are an ancestry who trace their lineage to creatures from the Plane of Water. Even at first glance, one notices the potency of their ancestry, for an undine’s very flesh mimics the color of lakes, seas, and oceans. Whether they have the blood of marids or water mephits as their kin, all undines define themselves through their ancestry. They perceive their individual differences as gifts and explore the supernatural aspects of their unique heritage to the fullest.
The undines are a proud ancestry and show little outward fear. While good-natured and somewhat playful among their own kind, they behave with slightly more reserve and seriousness in the company of non-undines. They have excellent emotional control, and can edge their tempers from calm to raging and back again within a few minutes. While some might dub their behavior erratic, many individual undines are simply a bit more outwardly melodramatic than most ancestries. Certainly, they are not moody and do not become angered, excited, or otherwise emotional without provocation. As close friends, some find them overly possessive, though they are also extremely protective of those they care about.
Undines tend to settle near water, usually in warmer climates. Though land-dwellers, they spend a fair amount of time in the water. For this reason, most dress sparsely, wearing only enough clothing to protect themselves from the elements, and few wear shoes. They avoid wearing jewelry around their necks and keep their hair slicked back and tied into tight knots. This prevents hair or other objects from becoming a distraction or hindrance while swimming. Similarly, undines pursuing martial classes choose weapons that they can wield efficiently on land as well as in water.
Physical Description: Undines display a wide variation of skin tones, ranging from pale turquoise to deep blue to sea green. An undine’s straight, thick hair tends to be of a similar, yet slightly darker color than her skin. All have limpid blue eyes. Physically, undines most resemble other ancestral blood they posses, and their physiques show diversity in regard to overall height and body type. Aside from their coloration, their most ancestrally defining traits remain their fin-like ears and webbed hands and feet.
Since undines are descendants of outsiders, many live long lifespans. They reach adulthood around 60, with middle age at 150 and old age around their two hundreds. The most venerable of this ancestry live into their mid-two hundreds.
Undines are sexual dimorphic, with the average height of males just under six feet and females nearly half a foot shorter. Their body mass is similar, making most females weigh slightly less than males.
Society: Undines define themselves as a unique ancestry and are capable of producing undine offspring. While they remain able to interbreed with other ancestries, they tend to keep to themselves, and form small, reclusive communities near bodies of water, or in some cases, floating settlements. A typical undine community lives under the guidance of a small council comprising officials appointed by consensus. Council positions can be held indefinitely, though a community unhappy with the performance of a council member can call for their resignation.
Intermarriage in undine communities is common, with children raised communally. A fair amount of regional diversity exists in undine culture, as influenced by the specific ancestry of independent settlements. It should also be noted that not all undines in a single settlement claim the same ancestry, as undines may marry others from outside their own communities.
Relations: Undines hold no biases or prejudices toward any particular ancestries. Their communities rely primarily on trade, giving them ample opportunity to interact with a diverse range of outsiders and foreigners. They have no qualms about establishing neighborhoods within the settlements of other ancestries, provided adequate respect is given to both the undines and any nearby bodies of water. Still, in such instances, a given undine community does what it can to retain its autonomy.
Undines get along quite well with elves and gnomes. Often these ancestries share protective duties over forested lakes and streams. Similarly, they interact favorably with community aligned aquatic humanoids, sharing many common interests. They barter most freely with humans and dwarves for resources such as metal and cloth.
Alignment and Religion: Most undines are neutral or community oriented. Their principle interests lie in the welfare of their people, and thus their moral concerns focus upon the community. This view also allows them to interact with a broad scope of non-undine ancestries with whom they trade. While not deeply religious, undines possess a strong spiritual connection to both their outsider ancestors and to water itself. Those who pursue nonsecular paths almost always worship the gods of their ancestors or gods whose portfolios feature some aspect of water.
Adventurers: On occasion, an undine leaves their people to seek out a life of adventure. Like water itself, some undines simply feel compelled to move, and adventuring gives them an ample excuse for living on the road. Others adventure for less wholesome reasons, and exile is a common punishment for crimes within undine society. With few other options, most exiles turn to adventuring hoping to find a new place in the world. Undines’ affinity toward water makes them particularly good keepers of the natural world, while undine mystics usually have aquatic powers.
Names: Afzara, Aven, Baarah, Calah, Dharak, Ghiv, Iryani, Jamash, Maakor, Maarin, Nylgune, Ondir, Pari, Radabeh, Radid, Shiradahz, Urdahna