A few days ago, I announced that I would be slowly working my way through a science fiction series now called Blueshift. The basic idea of Blueshift is that it’s a Star Trek style roleplaying game where the players are all members of a space exploration crew.
In the last edition, I created a “checklist” of sorts of all the stuff that I would have to create for Blueshift by going through each and every Fifth Edition book and making notes on what can stay, what needs changing, and what gets cut.
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Races
The races of Blueshift are the same as those found in the Fifth Edition PHB, except with the following changes as noted:
Dwarves (Banos)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to dwarves as dwarves or bano (singular) or banos (plural).
- Remove Dwarven Combat Training and Stonecunning.
- Instead of smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools for the Tool Proficiency trait, you gain proficiency with navigator’s tools, engineering tools, or vehicle (starship).
- You gain the Shipcunning trait. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of a ship, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
- You gain the Banos Bosun trait. Whenever you take the Full Speed Ahead action, you add +1 to the die roll.
Dwarven Subclasses
- Hill Dwarves are known as Nomad Bano.
- Mountain Dwarves are known as Planetary Bano.
Elf (Noman)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to elves as elves or noman (singular) or nomani (plural).
Elf Subclasses
- High Elves are known as Tel’nomani.
- For High Elves, replace Elf Weapon Training with Archaic Weapon Training. You have proficiency with archaic weapons.
- There are no wood elves or wood elf equivalents in Blueshift.
- Drow are known as Drok’nomani or simply Drok.
- For Dark Elves, replace Drow Weapon Training with Archaic Weapon Training. You have proficiency with archaic weapons.
Halflings (Vegod)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to halflings as halflings or as vegod (singular) or vegods (plural).
Human (Terran)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to humans as humans or as terran (singular) or terrans (plural).
Dragonborn (Thusal)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to dragonborn as dragonborn or as thusal (singular) or thusals (plural).
Gnome (Mernie)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to gnomes as gnomes or as mernie (singular) or mernies (plural).
- All gnomes are rock gnomes. There are no forest gnome or forest gnome equivalents.
- Change Artificer’s Lore to Engineer’s Lore. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to engineering, ancient artifacts, chemistry, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply.
Half-Elf (Akkul)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to half-elves as half-elves or as akkul (singular) or akkuls (plural).
Half-Orc (Half-Drut)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to half-orcs as half-orcs or as half-drut (singular) or half-druts (plural).
Tiefling (Asmodean)
- In Blueshift, you can refer to tieflings as tieflings or as asmodean (singular) or asmodeans (plural).
New Races
In addition to the races outlined in the PHB, there are two new races that you can play in Blueshift: Evos and Synthetics.
Evos are an ancient race of aliens known for their wisdom and insight. They are much taller than humans, standing seven feet tall, and have two additional arms.
Synthetics are artificial lifeforms created to perform difficult tasks that carbon lifeforms would otherwise have trouble performing. Although they are designed to look human, they have an eerie manner to them that reveals their android nature.
Evos Traits
Your evos character has certain characteristics in common with all other evos.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Evos mature around 16 years of age. However, they live much longer than most races, often living for a thousand years or more. As they age, their skin hardens and they begin to lose mobility until finally turning to stone. Evos graveyards look like statuaries and can often be found on lifeless moons, asteroids, or even among the rings of a Jovian planet.
Alignment. While ethically ambiguous, evos tend toward moral extremes. There are good evos which are kind and gentle souls that only want to help life, and there are evil evos who see no gain in friendship or kindness.
Size. Evos are much taller than humans, standing 7 to 8 feet tall. They tend to be light, however, weighing no more than 150 to 170 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Extra Arms. Evos have two smaller arms in the center of their chests. You can grasp things with your extra arms and they have a reach of 5 feet. You can use your extra arms to lift a number of pounds equal to five times your Strength score. Whenever you make a grapple check and you are not holding anything in your extra arms, you are considered proficient in the Athletics skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. Your extra arms can’t wield weapons or shields or do anything that requires manual precision, such as using tools or magic items or performing the somatic components of a spell.
Evos Psionics. You know the friends cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast calm emotions once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the clairvoyance spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Evos Physiology. You are immune to the petrified condition.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Evos. Evos is a musical language that reminds terran listeners of a mix of wind chime and trumpet sounds.
Synthetic Traits
Your synthetic character has certain characteristics in common with all other synthetics.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Age. A typical synthetic is between two and thirty years old. The maximum lifespan of a synthetic remains a mystery as they do not seem to be affected by old age.
Size. Synthetics are the same size as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Thanks to your manufactured eyes, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Synthetic Resilience. You were created to have remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits:
- You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
- You are immune to disease.
- You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
- You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Recharge State. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours of it in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.
Specialization. You gain proficiency in one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
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