Traversing Tyria

An Adventurer's Guide to the World of 'Guild Wars 2'

By Faith D'Ambrosio, 'Pitfalls and Pixies' at WordPress.com
All races, items, etc. belong to ArenaNet. Characters who resemble those already existing is purely by coincidence.
WARNING: possible spoilers ahead for the 'Heart of Thorns' storyline. Continue ahead at your own risk.
Part 1: Exploring Tyria

T
here are any number of sentient beings which Resembling upright-standing predatory cats, Charr have a
call Tyria their home. From the frozen north to set of four horns that rise from their heads. Bodies are
the mysterious dephs of the Auric Basin, life covered in thick fur which ranges in coloration. Male have
flourishes even where one believes it to falter. large underbite fangs while females have much smaller ones.
Not even the Elder Dragons can snuff out the As a Charr, you share similar features to those of your race:
resileance of those who are tyranically ruled Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by
underneath them. two, and your Charisma score increases by one. The
Below is a compendium of playable races, for those who Charr are warriors at heart, and know that many times
wish to explore Tyria closer for themselves. intimidation is one way of getting others to listen to them.
Asura Move Speed: Your movement speed is 30 feet. Charr will
stand upright on their hind legs but prefer to run on all
"Compared to me, most Asura have the intelligence of a fours.
carrot." - An Asura remarking on their brainpower in the
Maguuma Jungle. Languages: You know how to read, write and speak
Asura are diminutive, long-earred creatures hailing from a Common and Charr. This race though prefers to speak in
portion of the Maguuma Jungle. Priding themselves in their native tongue rather then write in it.
technological advancements, they do not worship any Citadel Will: You have advantage on fear saving throws.
pantheon of deities though hold an idea known as the Eternal Having a life filled with battles both physical and mental
Alchemy: an ideology that describes that everything is has toughened you and made it more difficult to frighten
connected in some way or form. you.
Asura stand roughly three to four feet high, with elongated
ears being one of their most notable features. Many lack hair Lionheart Roar (recharge 6): You let out a deafining roar
as well, but all have the desire to be greater then those who which is heard by all. Allies within 15 feet of you gain
came before them. They are often sarcastic and sharp of advantage on the next saving throw they make in the next
tongue, which makes them seem rather egotistical. 1d4 turns. Multiple instances of Lionheart Roar do not
As an Asura, you share traits with others of your race: stack.
Ability Score Increase: Your Intelligence increases by two,
and your Charisma increases by one. The Asura pride
themselves in being bright intellectuals, but their wit
comes off as egotistical and rather snarky.
Move Speed: Your move speed is 25 feet. The Asura have
compensated for their smaller size by finding scientific
ways to augmwent and utilize it.
Languages: You know how to read, write and speak
Common and Asuran. Asuran, when written, is very
blocky in shape and oftentimes looks rather alien.
Darkvision: You can see in the dark and in dim light in
shades of grey for 30 feet.
Technobabble: You let out a wave of static energy, which
causes foes to be momentarily confused. They have
disadvantage on the next Wisdom saving throw throw. You
have one use of this, and regain it on a short or long rest.

Charr
"If they lock you up, we'll get you out, onee way or the other."
Rox, during the Festival of the Four Winds
Warriors by nature, Charr live a life of constant battle. With
ghosts who haunt their sphere of influence and constant
assaults by the Flame Legion, Charr have scrapped out their
lives in the throws of a battlefield life. They renounce the
gods of other races and will do anything to survive.
 Languages: You know how to read, write and speak
Exalted Common and Sylvari. The language you prefer to speak is
"Egg bearer, you have much to prove here" - Baastion a wispy elegant thing.
Dion, Exalted Darkvision: You can see in the dark and in dim light in
Hailing from the farthest reaches of the Maguuma Jungle, shades of grey for 30 feet.
the Exalted are shrouded in mysterious which only the Healing Seed (recharge 6): As an action, you call out to the
bravest can uncover. Once humans, they have had their Pale Tree, beseeching her for renewal. A small seed
spirits placed in timeless immutable forms to protect Tarir, emerges from the earth, alive with regenrating magic.
the Forgotten City. They watch and wait, seearching for the Allies within a 10 foot radius of the Healing Seed regain
corruption of the Elder Dragons and to safeguard the dragon 2d4+Constitution modifier at the end of their turn. The
Glint's egg: a vital part of their culture and life. Healing Seed can be targeted: it has an AC 10 and 15 hit
They have an odd physique to them: all are wide- points.
shouldered and made of metal, with green energy flowing
through them. They all look relatively the same, with the most
defining features coming with the titles of Bastion, Burnisher
and Sage
Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom increases by two,
and your Constitution increases by one. The Exalted, with
their civilization being nigh ancient, have developed a
unique world view and have need of being heardy in body
as well.
Move Speed: Your movement speed is 30 feet, and you
hover 10 inches off of the ground. The Exalted's
physiology lacks legs, though they are still mobile.
Languages: You know how to read, write and speak
Common and Draconic. The Exalted cultivated a unique
relationship with Glint, and fluently understand the
language which she used to communicate with them.
Darkvision: You can see in the dark and in dim light in
shades of grey for 30 feet.
Freeze in Place: As an action, you target one creature
which you can see. That target must make a Dexterity
saving throw 10. On a failure, they may only move half of
their total move speed. You regain this feature on a short
or long rest.

Sylvari
"Another day older, another day wiser." - Pact Commander
Saarial, seeing the world.
Born of Tyria's natural order, the Sylvari are the youngest of
the sentient races and approach life with a child-like wonder
and questioning nature. They emerge from the Pale Tree fully
grown in form, sharing a collective mindset with all others
who havecome before them.
Once emerging from the Dream, which is where they learn
of their ancestors, Sylvari appear to be a hybrid of plant and
humanoid. Their skin tones come in jewel and earthy tones,
and their hair resembles flowers, leaves and sometimes even
mushroom caps. They also have a natural bioluminescence
which activates at night.
Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by
two, and your Dexterity increases by one. The Sylvari are
young still, and they are beings who love to talk with
others.
Move Speed: Your move speed is 30 feet.
Variant: Mordrem
The Pact's war on the Elder Dragons has bought the fight to
the Maguuma Jungles, and with it new foes. The Mordrem
are those who have succumb to Mordremoth's whisperings,
now fighting on their dreadful master's behalf.
Largely, Mordrem retain the appearance they had prior to
serving Mordremoth. However, there are distinct plant-like
features which set them apart: bark-like skin and fleshy
growths give them an uncanny and almost reanimated look to
them. Sylvari who have been corrupted are usually larger in
size and significantly more powerful then they once were.
As a Mordrem, you retain certain parts of your original
race's abilities while gaining new ones:
Ability Score Shift: You lose the plus one increase to your
secondary stat, and instead have it transferred to your
Constitution score. The Mordrem are hardy things which
seem to spawn up from the forest almost instantly.
Elder Dragon's Gift: You are resistant to poison damage.
If your original race was Sylvari, Mordremoth has a special
affinity for this race. As creatures born from the Pale Tree, his
whisperings and promises are more potent and it is often
more difficult to remain unswayed by him. Sylvari who are
tainted become Mordrem Guards. Elite warriors, they serve
as Mordremoth's commanders to his many legions of
minions. Three Guards roam Dragons Stand currently:
Stavemaster Adryn, Axemaster Hareth, and Blademaster
Diarmid, though there could possibly be more.
As a Mordrem Guard, you gain the folloeing benefits in
addition to those listen above:
Mordremoth's Dread: Once a day, you may perform a ritual
which reanimates slain corpses into Mordrem. This ritual
takes 10 minutes, and you can target up to four bodies. If
your concentration is broken during the ritual, it does not
take place.
Thorn-Tongued: You have advantage on Charisma
(Persuasion) checks to convince other Sylvari to join
Mordremoth and all that he represents.
Part 2: Valuables

A
ny adventuring sort knows that items play a
large and important part of their life.
Oftentimes, it is a matter of survival or passing
away to death. Tyria is a land riff with peril as
well as beauty and things to hold one's attention
captive for too many hours. That is even just on
the surface: the farthest dephs of the world hold
even greater secrets.
Listed are items which one may, one day, possess for
themselves. Some are ledendary weapons which take careful
honing of skills. while others are things to augment and
increase one's own abilities.
Caladbolg (greatsword, requires
attunement, very rare)
A sword once carried by Marshal Trahearne, a much-beloved
member of the Pact. It was crafted from a thorn from the
Pale Tree itself, giving it great power as a living weapon.
Careful efforts to reconstruct it has lead to it being forged
once again.
Caladbolg is considered a +2 weapon when you attune to it.
When you score a critical hit with Caladbolg, you regain hit
points equal to 4d8 plus your Constitution modifer.
In addition, you may cast the following spells once a day
each: wall of thorns, mass cure wounds, spike growth, speak
with dead.
Heart of Mellaggan (Rare) In addition, you may use Nevermore in a manner similar to
This ring, somehow associated with the Quaggain deity of the a broom of flying.
same name, resembles a raw diamon and said to have come
from deep under the ocean's waves. Solaria, Circle of the Sun (Rare)
When wearing this ring, you have advantage on Wisdom This ring radiates warmth and confidence. It has a gold and
(Perception) checks made with sight. Healing abilities do an white coloration to it and a sunburst pattern in the very
additional 1d10 on targets that are not yourself when you center of it.
cast them upon others, and you can hold your breath When you regain health from a spell or an effect, you
underwater for up to 1 hour. double your Constitution modifier for that. You also gain a +1
increase to your Armor Class, and you can chose if your
Knowledge is Power (focus, requires weapon attacks do their normal damage or radiant damage
attunement, rare) instead. The normal damage is not considered magical.
This scroll, which radiates a pale turquois light, flows with ley
line energy through it's surface. Weapons of the Sunless (forms vary,
Once you are attuned to Knowledge is Power, twice per day requires attunement, rare)
you may regain an expended spell slot. You must wait until Part of a great horde of Tequatl the Sunless, one of the Elder
the next day to regain usage of this feature. Dragon Zhaitan's many generals. When adventurers are lucky
enough to rob him of one of these items, the weapons are
Nevermore (staff, requires attunement, black in coloration with buning green runes enscribed onto
Legendary) their surfaces.
Prized for it's natural beauty and mysterious aura, the Upon being attuned to a Sunless weapon, you can see in
Nevermore is a staff which bears raven and crow magical darkness for up to 20 feet. If you already can, this
iconography. A corvid sits atop it, looking out with a increases by 20 feet. Damage dealt with a Sunless weapon
guardian's gaze, and it glows with blue energy when the does an additional 2d10 necrotic damage.
attuned wielder draws it. You also regain resistance to necrotic damage, and can cast
Nevermore is considered a +3 staff, and can be used like a the following spells once a day requiring no spell
quarterstaff. components: feign death, circle of death, speak with dead.
When you are attuned to Nevermore, your move speed
increase by 15 feet and you have advantage on Wisdom
(Perception) and Intelligence (Arcana) skill checks. You can
speak to birds as if they shared a common language with you,
and they treat you as a trusted friend.