Welcome to Ixalba
Ixalba is a continent located in a world of tremulous balance and untold beauty. In this world, the four cardinal points shape every aspect of reality, dragons take the form of giant feathered serpents, and gods—ancient and new alike—walk the earth freely and frequently, shaping history with their schemes and tilting the great balance with their influence.
The land of Ixalba is one of strong dualities, where proud people thrive in bastions of civilized splendor, surrounded by vast expanses of wild territory that few dare to explore. It’s a land of challenges and treasures, where nature manifests in extraordinary ways: the darkest jungles sprawl across the east of the continent, the tallest mountains seize the sun in the west, the strongest winds carve the northern deserts and the deepest lakes lie waiting in the south. It’s a continent of myths, and the source of innumerable tales—both epic and cautionary—told all across the world.
Presented here is a sneak peek of all the wonders that you will be able to find in this land.
Player options
Chaneque
The chaneques’ song can be heard deep in the wilderness of Ixalba, where the noise of civilization dies and nature grows untamed. The chaneques are small, secretive and curious guardians of the wild, known for their harmonious life and the fierce instinct that they turn against those who threaten that harmony.
Children of the Forest
Chaneques are often confused with lost children in the forests and jungles of the continent. They rarely grow taller than 3 feet and their lithe bodies are adapted to the wild, usually weighing between 30 and 40 pounds. Most of their body is covered in a coat that varies according to their origin and environment; some have fur that ranges from almost imperceptible to wooly, and others have iridescent scales spanning the entire color spectrum.
Chaneques found outside the safety of their communities tend to cover themselves with dark and discreet clothes in an attempt to go unnoticed and stay out of danger.
Expressive Masks
Regardless of their origin, age or background, all chaneques are born with an identical face, which resembles that of a genderless old person. Oral tradition dictates that this was a punishment from a Faceless god, infuriated after Chane, the first chaneque, stole his face from him. This curious face remains unchanged throughout a chaneque’s life and, with the exception of infants, it is considered taboo to openly show it.
To cover it, chaneques use self-made masks that they wear with pride and regard as their true faces. Each mask is unique and represents the essence and personality of the chaneque; it changes design, form and pattern throughout their life. A chaneque is expected to make their own mask before learning how to walk.
Although it is common for a chaneque to modify their mask based on their history and experiences, chaneque masks can also be replaced completely, but this is rarely voluntary and tends to reflect moments of great change and uncertainty. Wearing someone else’s mask is seen as the greatest insult for both parties.
Hidden Tribes
Chaneques congregate in shamanistic tribes, forming remote villages that extend in weaves of mud and branches through the wild territories they inhabit. They believe in the importance of living in harmony with the land, and when a tribe occupies a territory they make it their mission to maintain and protect it. In return, the tribe takes what it needs to live, and wasting or taking in excess is heavily frowned upon.
Most chaneque tribes are not immediately hostile to other races and, as long as they do not jeopardize the delicate balance they strive for, they can form strong and enduring alliances with neighboring towns and villages.
Chaneque Names
Traditional chaneque full names do not distinguish between gender, they are words in the different languages they speak describing things that the parents believe are auspicious to their child’s birth. The name is then shortened to simplify its daily use.
Chaneque Names. Mountain of Locust (Molo), Yellow Cactus on the Mantle (Yecama), Alpaca Hopping on the Rocks (Ahoro), Soft Pillow of Lichen (Sopili), Petals Chanting in the Balm (Pechaba).
Chaneque Traits
Chaneques share some qualities in common with other chaneques.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. A chaneque reaches maturity at age 30 and can live up to 200 years.
Alignment. Chaneques are territorial by nature, but if they can avoid conflict they will. They are rarely malicious, and most tend towards Neutrality.
Size. Chaneques measure about 3 feet high and weigh about 35 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Chaneque Face. You have a mask that represents your true face. It is magically bound to you, and it can’t be destroyed while you are wearing it. Your mask has a skill of your choice associated with it, expressed in its shape and craftsmanship. While wearing it, you can never have disadvantage on any ability check you make that uses the chosen skill. Changing or replacing your mask requires 5 pieces of gold in materials and 8 hours of work and rituals that bind it to you. When you replace your mask in this way, you must choose a skill different from the previous one.
Natural Healer. You have a knack for finding herbs and ingredients that facilitate healing. When you are in an environment that allows you to forage, you can do so for 10 minutes to create a healing salve. These salves require special treatment and care that only chaneques can provide, and will spoil if handled by anyone else. You can store and maintain a number of them with you equal to your level. As an action, you can spend a number of your stored salves equal to half your level or less to apply them on a creature you touch, causing the creature to regain 2 hit points per healing salve spent.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and Sylvan.
Subrace. There are two chaneque subraces in Ixalba. Choose one from the following.
Mountain Chaneque (Alux)
The chaneques from the mountains, more commonly known as aluxes, rarely have contact with other races. Their tribes roam the mountainous forests of Ixalba, in perilous places far from civilization, where they rely on instinct to survive. They tend to be harsh and territorial, but they only turn to violence as a last resort, preferring to deceive and confuse those who they perceive as intruders.
Aluxes have tails and their body is covered with fur ranging from fine and smooth to thick and woolly. The fur color varies a lot, from white to orange, red, brown or black; sometimes with patterns such as spots, streaks or specks.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Alux Nimbleness. You have a climbing speed of 25 feet. In addition, you have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to keep your balance.
River Chaneque
The chaneques most people are familiar with are those found in the jungles and marshes of the Tixel and Calaxtún regions. They tend to be friendlier than their mountain relatives, and they usually don’t have an issue sharing territories with farms and villages if they don’t perceive them as a threat. Their affinity with nature magic makes them gravitate towards druidic circles.
Usually, the body of a river chaneque is covered in small, colorful scales that have a certain sheen to them. Blue, red, yellow and green chaneques are seen more commonly, but practically any color is possible. These scales are thin, almost translucent in their youth and turn to an iridescent metallic-like texture as they advance in age.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1
Chaneque Magic. You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level you can cast fog cloud once as a 2nd level spell and recover the ability to do so after a long rest. When you reach 5th level you can cast gust of wind once and recover the ability to do so after a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
This is just a small preview of what we are cooking. We’ll keep adding full previews and sneak peeks to this page in the near future. If you want to be up to date with Ixalba’s progress as well as with other projects, please use the form below to subscribe to our newsletter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mario Ortegón is a streamer and creative producer from Monterrey, Mexico. He grew up in the Mexico/US border being equally fascinated by epic fantasy and by the folk tales his abuelo shared with him, and has been merging both in his storytelling ever since. As a streamer, he is a pioneer in the TTRPG / actual play show scene in Latin-America, and Ixalba is his debut project as lead writer and designer.
Follow his stream at twitch.tv/elwarius
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