In Duterrum, a pair of races have a curiously contradictory outlook regarding size. Tortles love all things that are bigger than normal, as they believe that the bigger a thing is, the more significance or importance it holds. They believe that when something big affects the environment around it, the resulting adaptation is divine proof that nature manifests its own balance, a belief reinforced by the massive mountain at the center of their world that is the source of the life-sustaining magic that keeps Duterrum livable, as well as the horizonback tortoise herd that keeps the World Road passable. Elves, by contrast, believe that the smaller something is, the less of a negative effect it will have on their drastically reduced environment. Their longer lives mean that many of them remember the days before Duterrum's near total destruction, and they mourn for its previously massive forests by making their remaining forests seem larger, by being themselves smaller.
Regardless of how it happened, be it a trespass or success of your parents that invoked the wrath of the tortles, or the gratitude of the elves, or a punishment or blessing you brought upon yourself, you are one size category smaller than your race's typical size, and though it may or may not affect your confidence regarding your future endeavors, you are no longer ordinary in the eyes of those ordinary folk around you. This has an advantage though. because you have been like this for some time, you are used to your smaller-than-normal stature, and gain benefits that someone who has recently been blessed/cursed would not gain.
- Skill Proficiencies: Two of your choice
- Tool Proficiencies: One artisan tool or gaming set of your choice
- Languages: One of your choice, Elvish or Primordial
- Equipment: A bottle of black ink, an ink pen, five sheets of paper, a gaming or tool set (matching your chosen proficiency), a [Tooltip Not Found] which when looked into, always shows the image of the individual who changed you standing just behind you, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
How you came to be blessed or cursed is up to you to determine, but the Blessing/Curse Origin table suggests a variety of possibilities.
| d6 | Blessing/Curse Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | My mother left a basket of vegetables from our farm in the woods every week of her pregnancy. When I was born, an elf arrived on our doorstep, and blessed me that there would always be enough food to fill my belly. |
| 2 | My father caught a huge fish during my childhood, and we feasted for days, but it was sacred to the tortles. An angry tortle later came to our door, and cursed our entire family, saying the next time my father hooked a big fish, it would eat him instead |
| 3 | My father once saved an important elf from an angry bear, and that elf blessed our family to always have more space than we needed. |
| 4 | My mother was once an adventurer who spurned a tortle lover for my father. That tortle cursed their union, saying that any fruit of it would always be unimportant. |
| 5 | I had a childhood friend I played with in the woods on the outskirts of our farm. They invited me to see the magical city of Eithlum, and have dinner with their family. It was amazing, but the rest of the world always seemed bigger to me when I returned. |
| 6 | When I was a child I was friends with a tortle. One day we were playing near a lake we weren't supposed to, and were attacked by something huge! I was scared and ran, but my friend couldn't keep up. Their mother called me a coward, and said if I was so scared of big things, then everything would be big to me. |
You gain either the [Elf Blessed/Tortle Cursed - Small] feat, or the [Elf Blessed/Tortle Cursed - Tiny] feat, depending on whether your race's normal size is medium or small. (You may need to ask your DM to add this Feat to your character sheet when you are building your character.)
Your adjustment to your unusually small stature is reflected by a minor boon. You gain the [feat]Squat Nimbleness[/feat] feat.
Suggested Characteristics
Your character’s perspective on life has changed thanks to their new size. The Elf Blessed/Tortle Cursed Personality Traits table suggests traits you might adopt for your character as a result of this change.
| d6 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I love being small. Big people underestimate me, but that is often to my advantage. |
| 2 | My spite makes up for my size. When people look down on me, I stab them in the foot! |
| 3 | People say my elven blessing is a wonderful thing, but being small means I have unique problems in a world built for big people. |
| 4 | The tortle that cursed me actually did me a favor. It only takes half as much to feed, clothe, or provide for myself as it does others of my kind. |
| 5 | It takes a big fish to feed a big mouth, but the little ones feed me just fine. |
| 6 | Crowded spaces make me uncomfortable. I’m always worried about getting hurt around these lumbering idiots. |
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