From the most sprawling metropolises to brisk market towns, each urban settlement is a living thing. Every city has its own rhythm, a heartbeat that drives the thousands of lives, and with each rhythm comes unique peculiarities that adventurers need to deal with. Far from the remote, sometimes solitary life of the wilds, in the cities there are countless lives that can get in the way, both socially and physically, including the local watch trying to keep the peace—whatever that means for the city in question. Cities are also sources of intrigue, with well-hidden intentions and even more well-hidden knives. It takes a special kind of adventurer to navigate these complications, threats, and opportunities, and the following feats are meant for just such characters.

As always, players should make sure to consult the Narrator before deciding on a feat, as being skilled at crowds and influencing local politics will not be of much use in a campaign that focuses on exploring the wilderness.

Finding oneself is often a strange endeavor, and the places these journeys take a hero can reveal uncanny powers and astonishing truths. As always, check with your Narrator to make sure that these feats are appropriate for the story you’re all telling.

• Synergy Feats for Extraordinary Heroes || Bronze Protector | Steel Protector | Adamantine Protector | Dimensional Step | Teleporting Combatant | Crawling Teleporter | Hulking | Tremendously Hulking | Impossibly Hulking | Iceborn | Frozen Steps | Subzero Soul | Talented Telepath | Mental Mastery | Boundless Mind
• The Western Shore || Grip Current (exploration challenge) | Giant Crab Traps (exploration challenge) | Lance Crab (monster) | Bay Witch (monster) | Kraken Scale (magic item) | Sail of the Black Opal (magic item)
• Canticle of the Wing || Birdfolk (heritage) | Crag-Keeper Simirengo (culture) | Far-Flyer Simirengo (culture) | Sky-Seeker Simirengo (culture)
• The Zephyr's Complement || Contriver (rogue archetype) | Hotshot (bard archetype) | Eldritch Gunslinger (warlock archetype)

The wide sweeping plains and grasslands of Ostinad are home to the horse lords of Elissar, but this place southeast of Endora is a region and not a nation—there is no capital or king or even an army, only the swords pledged to each horse lord. Ostinads lead free and semi-nomadic lives that are as harsh as they are rewarding, any disputes between different groups won out with contests that demand the best of all participants. Within the meadhalls of the few small towns scattered across the gentle hills and flatlands however, the camaraderie, mirth, and trust encouraged by this rigorous equestrian way of life are all too clear to see.

Wherever they roam the people of the horse lords are accompanied by their beloved mounts. In Ostinad a horse is more than a beast of burden or means of travel, it is as much a member of the family as a sibling or parent. Ostinad equestrians cherish their horses and the bonds they forge are extraordinary, likened to that of a mother and child—and bore out in many legends of steeds that proved to be just as courageous and noble as the Ostinad warriors that rode them.

Characters raised in the Ostinad equestrian culture share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Animal Handling. You gain proficiency in Animal Handling and an expertise die on Animal Handling checks.

Mount. You gain a draft horse or riding horse.

Rider’s Bond. Once you have spent a week with a creature trained to be a mount, at the end of a long rest you may forge a special bond with it. This bond lasts until your mount dies or you use this trait on a different creature. While you have this special bond, you know what direction your mount is as long as you are on the same plane, your mount has advantage on saving throws against fear, at the end of each short rest your mount heals an additional 2d8 hit points, and as long as it is not fatigued at the end of a long rest your mount regains all of its hit dice.

Spirited Soul. Riding horseback is in your very soul. Choose one of the following:

Bonding Soul: When you first learn spells, you gain one 1st-level spell from the Beasts spell school in addition to the spells you normally gain. The spell may be from any class' spell list, and becomes a class spell for you. You may cast this spell by expending a hit die; this does not cost you a spell slot. Once you have cast this spell in this way, you cannot do so again until you have finished a long rest.

Striding Soul: If you learn combat maneuvers, you may always choose from the Spirited Steed tradition. In addition, it costs 1 less exertion point for you to activate Spirited Steed combat maneuvers (minimum 1 exertion point).

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign Common and one additional language.

Lycanthropes are defined by their ability to transform. While every lycanthrope receives specific traits depending on the animal their curse is related to, their transformations share some traits.

Involuntary Change

You undergo a draining and painful involuntary change every full moon that leaves you hungry, unable to speak, and often confused and frightened. During the 1 minute transformation your statistics are replaced by those of a lycanthrope ( werebear , wereboar , wererat , weretiger , werewolf ), the Narrator takes control over your actions, and your thoughts are filled with predatory instincts.

When an involuntary change happens, you can either embrace the beast within or try to tame it.

Embrace: You lose all control over your actions until sunrise, but you retain your full memories the following day.

Tame: You make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw . On a success, you regain control over your actions for 1 hour. At the end of every hour, you repeat the saving throw. On a failure, you lose all control over your actions until sunrise and have no memories of what you did during the night.

Hybrid Form

As an action, you can transform into animal form or into a half-humanoid, half-animal hybrid form. This transformation is no less painful than an involuntary change, but you retain full control over your actions. You can revert to your normal form by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. You can transform into hybrid form and back once per long rest with no ill effects, and you suffer a level of fatigue for every subsequent transformation.

Statistics

While transformed into animal or hybrid form, your statistics change in the following ways.

• Your Armor Class is 13 + your Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus.
• You cannot speak or cast spells.
• Any features or traits from your class, destiny, or culture are unaffected if your current form is physically capable of using them. However, you can’t utilize any traits gained from your heritage while transformed.
• Your equipment does not transform with you. Any clothes or armor are destroyed if you transform while wearing them.

Wolfsbane Weakness

While in hybrid or beast form you are poisoned while within 10 feet of a living or dried wolfsbane flower that you can smell. For more information on lycanthropes and lycanthropy, see the Monstrous Menagerie .

In their grim and blood-spattered lairs, necromancers experiment with skeletal remains the way chefs tinker with recipes. Many wizards produce variations on the animated skeleton, and undead legions boast their own skeletal officers, specialists, and fearsome elite soldiers.

Heroes of all kinds are called upon by nature whether they wield blade, claw, spell, or tooth. Some of those who answer the need utilize all of these, however, and few are as remarkably effective at protecting sacred places from trespassers, stopping fell prophecies from coming to pass, and taking revenge for lands despoiled as the brutal, ferocious, and vicious Saurian Three. These creatures have been blessed by nature with unmatched cunning and know how to utilize the tools of their most common foe—adventurers—to defend it.

The Saurian Three can be utilized as enemies, allies, recurring NPCs, or potentially even player characters, depending on the needs of your game. As always, be sure to consult your Narrator before coming to the table with a magically intelligent dinosaur for a PC.

Abtazri the Brutal. Born with an incredibly keen mind, the allosaurus Abtazri realized the responsibility of her impressive intellect after defeating her third fearsome predator and began seeking out sacred places in need of protection.

Kadderia the Ferocious. Kadderia’s fierce intelligence was gained unintentionally when their territory happened to surround a place where an important bit of nature magic gestated. Near its zenith, adventurers attacked, and, when it seemed that the sorcerous pteranodon was doomed, Abtazri burst out of the brush to dispatch them.

Xeraz the Vicious. Less fortunate was Xeraz, whose raptor pack was murdered by ambitious adventurers searching for a mystic artifact. The power unlocked by the relic enchanted the dinosaur instead, and he followed the murderers to their camp, first silently dispatching their scout before killing the remainder in their sleep. Abtazri and Kadderia arrived in the morning too late to prevent the massacre, finding instead their final and sneakiest companion.