DnD 2024 Species, Backgrounds & Cultures
In this guide to DnD 2024 Species and DnD 2024 Backgrounds, we explore the cultures, traits, and origins that shape characters in the frozen north of Aventyr. From the industrious Klavekians to the nature-bound Vikmordere, you’ll discover how each group’s history influences the new lineages and backgrounds available in your next campaign. Whether you’re building a survivalist, explorer, or artisan, this article offers essential insights into the people, powers, and places that define northern character creation.
Klavekian & Vikmordere Origins
In the world of DnD 2024, species and cultures shape more than just origin — they define identity and worldview.
Among the most iconic Aventyrian DnD 2024 species, the Klavekian and Vikmordere stand out as two human lineages shaped by legacy and survival.
The Vikmordere, for instance, are a communal and spiritual people.
They live in the coldest regions of the world.
Despite the harsh climate, they don’t merely survive — they thrive.
With deep reverence for nature and wildlife, they live in harmony.
Additionally, they follow the wisdom of the Ancestor Spirit and strive for balance in every aspect of life.
In contrast, the Klavekians are known for ambition and innovation.
They build great cities, craft tools, and grow their influence through strict discipline.
Unlike the Vikmordere, they seek dominance through conquest.
As a result, their society favors progress over preservation.
Consequently, those who resist their expansion are swiftly overpowered.
Centuries ago, the two cultures clashed.
During the conflict, Klavekian forces entered the Vikmordere Valley in pursuit of raiders.
While advancing, they discovered the Quor — an Indigenous people living in what later became Rybalka.
As expected, a brutal war followed.
In the end, the Klavekians won, and the Quor split into three distinct groups.
- Rybalkan Vikmordere, who remained in the village alongside the Klavekians
- Umzear, spiritual survivalists who retreated into the frozen forests
- Wo’Cla, a fiercely independent group that rejected Klavekian rule and now pursues lost magical artifacts in the wilds
New to D&D 2024? Check out the Free Rules.
Learn more about The Red Tree of Grudges, a 1st level DnD 2024 Arctic Adventure!
DnD 2024 Lineages: Human
Klavekian – Industrious Survivors of the North
As a major DnD 2024 species, Klavekians are defined by ambition, resilience, and survival in harsh, frozen landscapes. They are known for working tirelessly, building thriving cities in frigid regions, and mastering both craft and commerce.
Klavekians typically live in sprawling, industrious urban centers where nearly every citizen learns a trade. Many hold multiple jobs throughout their lifetime, reflecting their cultural drive for productivity and resilience.
Despite their city roots, Klavekians are no strangers to the cold. The Klavek Empire is a harsh, snowbound land where arctic survival skills are just as vital as business acumen. Klavekians blend practicality with pride, enduring the cold with layered furs and signature red-and-black garb. They proudly wear the Empire’s eagle on tall ushankas, paired with cold-weather gear made for function over fashion.
While typically shorter than other human lineages, Klavekians stand tall through discipline and determination. Their lifestyle prepares them well for both city intrigue and wilderness expeditions.
Origin Feats. Klavekians often choose Crafter or Skilled, reflecting their culture’s focus on trade skills and formal education.
Common Klavekian Names
Female. Didi, Ekaterina, Faina, Leda, Marija, Mokosh, Nyia, Saule, Tanina.
Male. Amet-khan, Boris, Helij, Karel, Modest, Romann, Tairov, Velesai, Yarilo.
Vikmordere – Guardians of Balance and Tradition
Among the most spiritual DnD 2024 species, the Vikmordere descend from ancient humans who shaped the natural world with magic. Although they created wonders, their unchecked power led to imbalance, greed, and eventually catastrophe. Nature rebelled through devastating storms, widespread famine, and societal collapse.
In the aftermath, survivors abandoned the old ways and embraced a new life rooted in natural harmony. These people became the Vikmordere, passing down the belief that wisdom flows from nature and one’s ancestors.
Today, the Vikmordere are a resilient and communal culture, living in the coldest parts of the world. Unlike others who merely survive the cold, they thrive, forming spiritual bonds with beasts, plants, and land. Their reverence for the Ancestor Spirit guides every choice — from hunts to healing rites and storytelling.
Taller than most other humans, the Vikmordere are known for their graceful strength and unwavering connection to nature. They live not in defiance of the wilderness, but as an extension of it.
Origin Feats. Vikmordere adventurers often choose Arctic Acclimation, Lucky, or Tough, reflecting their harsh upbringing and ancestral ties.
Common Vikmordere Names
Female.Bestlanna, Elenna, Hnoss, Kaya, Laufey, Rann, Skaoille, Sygnn, Zuni.
Male. Akando, Beli-an, Bragili, Gymirr, Koko, Narfe, Njorror, Uhguku, Varli.
DnD 2024 Species
Half-Orc
Blood-Bound
Among the most tenacious DnD 2024 species, the Half-Orcs of Aventyr’s frozen north — known as Bloodbound to the Vikmordere and Ironborn to the Klavekians — walk a harsh, complex path. Born of orcish warbands and human settlers, they are shaped by conflict, bitter cold, and clashing cultures.
For the Bloodbound, survival is more than instinct — it’s legacy. Raised between war and wilderness, they brave blizzards, repel threats, and honor spiritual traditions from both sides of their lineage.
Often met with suspicion by orcs and humans alike, Bloodbound must carve their own place. Many become wilderness guides, scouts, or lone warriors who ask only to prove their worth. Whether crossing snowdrifts or patrolling icy rivers, they stand apart through quiet strength, endurance, and fierce independence.
Game Stats
Creature Type. Humanoid
Size. Medium
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
Adversity Forged. You have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion and on Constitution saving throws made to resist the effects of extreme cold and cold damage. You also require only half the usual amount of food and water in cold climates.
Rugged Raider. You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill and a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
Battle Instinct. You gain proficiency in the Insight skill and have advantage on initiative rolls.
Orc
Northern-Blooded
Among the hardy DnD 2024 species, the Northern-Blooded Orcs of Aventyr are forged in frost, shadow, and tradition. These orcs dwell far beyond the reach of civilization, in the glacial mountains and pine-choked wilderness bordering Vikmordere lands.
Clad in stitched hides and marked by ancient rites, Northern-Blooded Orcs have survived for generations through fierce tenacity and deep respect for their ancestors. They weather brutal blizzards, hunt the glacier-wolves, and protect their kin with a strength honed by nature itself. Though outsiders often speak of them with fear, assuming savagery, the truth is more layered: their warbands are held together by unwavering loyalty, unspoken codes, and spiritual practices passed down for centuries.
Traditionally, these orcs maintained a tense and shifting relationship with the Vikmordere — sometimes allies, sometimes adversaries. However, recent invasions from Klavekian settlers and imperial patrols have changed the dynamic. Pressed from all sides, many Northern-Blooded Orcs now stand beside Vikmordere warriors, defending sacred lands and ancestral hunting grounds from foreign incursion. In this shared struggle, a new alliance is forming — one built not on fear, but on respect, survival, and the will to protect what endures.
Game Stats
Creature Type. Humanoid
Size. Medium
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
Iceblood Resilience. You have resistance to cold damage. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion and on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to navigate, track, or forage in cold or frozen environments.
Last Breath of the North. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Survival Instinct. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.
Coldfang Thrower. You gain proficiency with handaxes. When you make a ranged attack by throwing a handaxe, you can draw another handaxe from your belt as part of the same action.
Vikmordere Valley Backgrounds
Klavekian Explorer
Bold Trailblazer of the Empire
Game Stats
Ability Scores: Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence
Feat: Choose one Origin feat: Lucky or Skilled
Skill Proficiencies: History and Persuasion
Tool Proficiencies: Navigator’s Tools
Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Navigator’s Tools, Explorer’s Pack, Snow Shoes*, Hide Boots*, Small Rowboat^ Signal Whistle, 6 Torches, Cold Weather Clothing^; or (B) 50 GP.
As a member of the industrious DnD 2024 backgrounds known as the Klavekians, you were born into the most powerful and expansive nation in the known world — the Klavek Empire. From a young age, you learned the value of hard work, discipline, and resilience. Yet, despite the structure and order of imperial life, something within you stirred.
Driven by a hunger to chart the unknown, you turned away from the comforts of city walls and set your sights on the untamed wilds. You are no reckless dreamer — Klavekians are nothing if not prepared. With a keen mind and a rugged determination, you’ve braved snow-swept passes, ancient ruins, and forgotten trails in search of knowledge, glory, or purpose.
Your survival skills are sharpened by both imperial training and real-world experience. While others might falter in the wilds of the Vikmordere Valley, you face them head-on — driven not by conquest, but by curiosity and the thrill of discovery.
*Wilderness 1, ^Forthcoming!
Rybalkan Vikmordere Artisan
Bridging Two Worlds
Game Stats
Ability Scores: Strength, Constitution, Charisma
Feat: Crafter
Skill Proficiencies: History and Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Choose one kind of Artisan’s Tools.
Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Explorer’s Pack, Artisan’s Tools (same as above), Skis*, Hide Boots*, Fishing Kit*, Cold Weather Clothing*, Block & Tackle, Flask, Hooded Lantern, Oil, 22 GP; or (B) 50 GP.
You grew up in Rybalka, a village shaped by resistance, compromise, and uneasy peace. When the Klavek Empire seized your ancestral land, your family chose to stay — not out of surrender, but out of resolve. While others fled or fought, you remained, forging a life between two worlds.
As a child of both legacy and change, you trained as an artisan. The Vikmordere taught you to carve, shape, and craft with reverence for the natural world — wood, bone, and stone guided by spirit and skill. But you also picked up the precision and tools of the Klavekians, adapting new methods without discarding old ways.
You now create with purpose, blending traditions that once clashed. Every item you shape — from ceremonial tools to practical gear — carries stories in its grain. You are more than a maker. You are a bridge between cultures, proving that understanding can take root even in frozen soil.
*Red Tree of Grudges Adventuring Gear
Umzear Survivalist
Child of Snow & Spirit
Game Stats
Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom
Feat: Choose one Origin feat: Alert or Magic Initiate: Druid
Skill Proficiencies: Nature and Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Choose one from: Leatherworker’s Tools, Painter’s Supplies, Potter’s Tools, Woodcarver’s Tools
Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Choose one kind of Artisan’s Tools (same as above), Explorer’s Pack, Snow Shoes*, Hide Boots*, Hand Plant*, Signal Whistle, 6 Torches, Cold Weather Clothing*, 32 GP; or (B) 50 GP.
In the wildest corners of the Vikmordere Valley dwell the Umzear — a spiritual offshoot of the Vikmordere and one of the most nature-bound of the DnD 2024 backgrounds. You were born into this people, raised with reverence for the Ancestor Spirit and taught that every creature, plant, and stone holds meaning.
You grew up surrounded by the whispers of the forest and the howl of the wind, learning to read animal tracks, identify medicinal herbs, and survive in the frozen silence where others would perish. Yet, your role as a survivalist was never one of domination. Every hunt was sacred, every felled tree honored. You were taught to offer thanks — with prayer, with ceremony, with respect.
The Umzear express this bond with nature through intricate art. Their homes, totems, and even their bodies are adorned with symbols representing beasts, seasons, and spirits. They work with what the world offers: leather, wood, clay, and water — seldom metal, never wasteful.
Your strength lies in your quiet harmony with the world. Whether navigating icy terrain or whispering to a frightened animal, you serve as the living link between the wilderness and those who still strive to understand it.
*Red Tree of Grudges Adventuring Gear
Wo’Cla Artifact Hunter
Seeker in the Ice
Game Stats
Ability Scores: Strength, Constitution, Intelligence
Feat: Magic Initiate: Wizard
Skill Proficiencies: Arcana and Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Choose one from: Cartographer’s Tools, Mason’s Tools, Cobbler’s Tools
Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Choose one kind of Artisan’s Tools (same as above), Explorer’s Pack, Masterful Climber’s Kit^^, Crampons*, Hide Boots*, Grappling Hook, Rope, Longbow, Quiver 4 Javelins, 4 Torches, Tinderbox, Firewood, 20 GP; or (B) 50 GP.
Born into the isolated and enigmatic Wo’Cla, you were raised among towering glaciers, sheer cliffs of ancient ice, and whispered legends of powerful magic left buried beneath the snow. Like many of your people — one of the most secretive groups among the DnD 2024 backgrounds — you learned not just to survive in the cold, but to climb, hunt, and search for the forgotten relics of a world long lost.
From a young age, you studied stories of enchanted blades, lost tomes, and the Tri-Stone — a mythical artifact said to harness the power of the great serpent slumbering beneath Serpent Lake. Your people believe these treasures are not merely tools but keys to restoring balance, power, or purpose.
At the center of this pursuit stands your chief: a being known as the Nukpana’Ko-Ta, a vampiric leader who rules with eerie charisma and open truth. He makes no effort to hide his nature, and many in the clan willingly serve him, believing he holds the wisdom and might to lead the Wo’Cla into a new era. Whether out of loyalty, fear, or raw fascination, you joined the artifact hunters — climbing frozen peaks and descending into ancient ruins.
You may be a loyal servant of the chief, a reluctant explorer, or a curious soul chasing legends. But whatever your reason, the hunt is in your blood now — and the secrets beneath the ice call to you.
*Wilderness 1
^^Survivalist’s Guide to Spelunking; More Rewarding Climbing p.39
Northern Raider
Warrior Forged in Ice and Fire
Game Stats
Ability Scores: Strength, Constitution
Feat: Tavern Brawler
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Intimidation
Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land), One type of gaming set
Equipment: A battered handaxe or shortsword, a fur-lined cloak taken from a distant settlement, a bag of crude tokens carved from bone (representing past victories), and a belt pouch containing 10 gp in assorted stolen coinage.
Among the brutal frontier warbands of the far north, strength was not a trait — it was a necessity. You were born into this world, where survival meant outlasting the storm, striking before rivals could, and seizing what your people needed. For your kind — one of the hardened DnD 2024 backgrounds native to the frozen wastes — mercy was often a luxury no one could afford.
Whether raised by tradition, vengeance, or simple pragmatism, you participated in raids that marked territory, claimed resources, and tested your resolve. You fought beside battle-hardened warriors and saw firsthand the cost of weakness — in blood and in memory.
But times are changing. The north grows more crowded, with settlers encroaching, alliances shifting, and old enemies becoming unlikely allies. Now, the path before you is no longer clear. Will you continue the cycle of conquest and survival? Or will you carve out a new legacy — one built on more than just fear and fury?
Whatever you choose, the skills honed in fire and frost still burn within you. And your reputation, earned through battle, precedes you wherever you go.
New Feature
Northern Raider Feature
Ruthless Reaver
You know how to strike fast and hard in small skirmishes. You can identify weak points in defenses, track recent raids, and recognize signs of wealth or valuable resources. When interacting with common folk in isolated regions, your reputation may earn you wary respect — or fear.
Additionally, you can always find shelter or supplies among northern clans, who recognize your skills and experience. Even rival clans may offer begrudging assistance if you prove your strength or loyalty.
NEW FEATS
Arctic Acclimation
Origin Feat
You gain the following benefits.
Hot-Blooded. You have Resistance to Cold Damage. You don’t need Cold Weather Clothes or spend fuel to keep warm in weather warmer than -40 degrees. This protects you from hypothermia and exhaustion due to exposure.
You gain the following drawback.
Easily Overheated. You have Disadvantage on saving throws against heat and Fire damage, including hyperthermia and to avoid burning.