Tales of the Valiant is a hungry game, and I need more lineages and heritages. It comes with a great "basic set" of standards, but I always need more. In the base book, we get:
- Beastkin (Animal-kin)
- Dwarf
- Elf
- Human
- Kobold
- Orc
- Syderean (Tiefling & Aasimaar)
- Smallfolk (Halfling & Gnome)
What a great list we have, but you know what? I'm hungry for more! Let's expand the world of Tales of the Valiant with even more lineages and heritages!
We got one "official" supplement with many more, which is good to see. We got the following in this book:
- Dhampir
- Dryad
- Eonic
- Gnoll
- Goblin
- Lizardfolk
I am surprised the Gearforged are nowhere in ToV or the first lineage supplement. These are Midgard-specific, so many of them are coming in a Midgard-focused ToV book soon.
Also note, no dragonkin or eladrin.
But we need more! We need to start raiding Kobold Press' older race guides for other lineages and heritages. When we convert these in, remember to drop all ability score modifiers! Tales of the Valiant does not use racial stat mods, just the special abilities since stat mods are factored into ability score creation.
The next stop is the Midgard Heroes Handbook, and we must be careful to avoid repeating some of the topics already covered or ones covered by options in the ToV lineages. This book includes bearfolk, ratfolk, ravenfolk (all are covered by beastkin). We see repeats here like gnomes, dwarves, and elves - so we can ignore those. The ones worth using here are:
- Centaurs
- Gearforged
- Minotaurs
- Trollkin
The Unlikely Heroes book has a few more and a few more repeats. Some of these are more suited for the Southlands part of Midgard. Worth keeping from this book are the following:
- Derro
- Jinnborn
- Kijani
- Lamia
- Sahuagin
The Kobold Press Southlands Players Guide has more, again, focused on the Southlands area.
- Catfolk
- Tosculi
- Subek
The Tales of the Margreve Players guide has three suited for this area:
- Alseid (deerfolk centaurs)
- Erina (hedgehog folk)
- Piney (trenatfolk)
We can go underground and find the Underworld Players Guide for some classics (plus another dhampir, which is in almost every book):
- Darakul (ghoulfolk)
- Dark Trollkin
- Drow
- Mushroomfolk
- Satarre
- Shade
That is a lot of lineages! And we have not even left Kobold Press books. Converting anything else is as easy as dropping the racial stat modifiers and only using the special powers.
Tome of Heroes is up next, and this is an excellent book since you also get class options. There are a lot of practical backgrounds, many of which are repeated in other books, but this is a one-stop shop of the best, plus it comes in a hardcover. This book is the best source of "extra subclasses" you can buy for ToV now, and you get a lot. Highly recommended if you feel ToV needs more character options.
The Tales of Arcana 5E Race Guide is also an excellent inspirational source of lineages. Be forewarned; there are many goofy ones here, but there are also some real gems. Some of the races include a +4 ability score modifier here, and I would knock that down to a +2 if you use it at all. If it is a +2 or lower, ignore it. Also, some of the races here are very OP, so adjust them if you feel they will blow out your game. Some of these are professions or classes. All that said, this is an excellent book for inspiration and unique NPCs. Some good ones (among many) found here are:
- Android, Cyborg
- Angel, Demon, Devil, Devilkin, Icari, Imp, Painbringer
- Behemoth
- Cthuul
- Djinn, Efreet
- Draconic, Demidragon
- Elementals
- Fairy, Leprechaun, Satyr, Seelie
- Flora
- Gargoyle
- Ghost, Skeleton, Vampire, Zombie
- Giant, Ogre. Porg, Troll
- Golems
- Griffin, Manticore
- Hoyhnhnm
- Pandnaros
- Tortan
- Vashnai
- Walrusk
And it is easy enough to pull in any other 5E lineage from any book you own.
Also, don't forget the Roll for Combat books! Many of these have progression paths in your lineage, and give you far more in terms of improvement and development, and customization than any of the other books here.
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