Adaari

A rare and fearsome offshoot of the Kossith, those born with draconic fire in their blood and the ability to expel it.

Much mythos surrounds the Adaari. Some claim they are pureblooded Kossith, descendants of the dragons themselves, while others believe them blessed, cursed, or the product of ancient magical experiments.

Biological Traits

Kossith are known for their physical power and distinctive features:

Height & Build: They can stand a head taller than most humans, typically with broad shoulders and dense musculature.
Skin & Hair: Skin tones often range from ashen gray to ruddy bronze, and hair—if not shaved—tends to be white, gray, or very pale shades. Many Kossith keep their hair cropped or styled in practical ways, though some adopt decorative braids or shaved patterns.
Horns: Most Kossith are born with prominent, curving horns. A minority lack horns, which can influence their societal role or how others perceive them.
Eye Color: Typically include shades of gold, silver, or violet, though variations occur.
Longevity: Kossith have similar lifespans to humans.
Magical Resistance: Kossith do not share the dwarves’ physical resistance to magic, but their strict oversight of mages grants Kossith greater mental resistance.

Kossith who live outside of settlements, or have been exiled, might display more individualistic style. Longer hair, personal tattoos, or piercings that reflect their break from their people.

Adaari have the following unique qualities:

Fire Breathing: With no specific way to dictate it, Adaari are born with the ability to expel flames of one of the following types; fire, frost, spirit, lightning, or poison (nature). Adaari are not resistant to the type they expel and can even experience great discomfort in their core if they go for long stretches of time without releasing a gust of flame.
Temperature: All Adaari run hotter than their Kossith peers. They sweat less and tolerate general heat better.
Draconic Blood: A faint reddish tint in the sclera, rougher skin, scale-like textures along their collarbone, spine, pelvis, and elbows.
Hot-Headed: As their bodies run hot, so too do their emotions. Adaari do not share in the natural willpower of Kossith, being more suspectible to outbursts for it.

Racial Traits

Lifespan: Usually more than a century

Height: 210 - 240cm

Languages: Common, Kosslat

Physique: Large Humanoid

Movement Rate: 7 Tiles

Features

Base Race - Kossith: All Kossith Features

Hot-Headed: -10 Willpower
Scales: +1 Head & Torso Armor

Draconic Blood: Access to Breathe Flames ability, damage type dependent on initial selection at character creation. +3 Fire Resistance.

Cultures

Kossith, although they have no direct homeland or recognized nation, they have their strict ways—and those who have abandoned them or been exiled. The following Cultures are available to Kossith and can be explored further on the Cultures page.

HISTORY

The origin of the Adaari is unclear. Some claim they are the result of ancient Kossith bloodlines touched by dragons—descendants of a forgotten pact or the remnants of a failed magical breeding experiment. Others suggest that Adaari are a natural mutation, a spark of primal chaos that has appeared throughout Kossith history whenever the world is on the brink of great change.

In the earliest oral records of the Kossith there are figures akin to Adaari appearing in myth: fire-speakers, dragon-children, or gods who walked the coasts and turned their breath into flame. These tales often end in tragedy. Fire destroys as much as it warms. The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth. Other common sayings and lessons are taught by these myths that warn of the danger of fire, how it consumes all.

Within Tevinter, tales of fire-breathing Kossith have drawn the attention of certain Altus. In dragon-worshipping cults, particularly those still loyal to the Old Gods, an Adaari may be seen as a sign, a herald of a new age—or a vessel worth capturing and dissecting. In Orlais, most would believe an Adaari to be a mage or worse—a possessed monster cloaked in Kossith form. Within the tribes of Ferelden, Adaari are treated with even greater caution than Kossith due to their potentially volatile nature.

Among Kossith, however, Adaari are just kin, albeit kin that can spew flames, they are treated more so as individuals than reduced to a singular defining trait. For Kossith know the pains that brings.