What Does It Mean to Be Beastkin In Aether Skies?

What Does It Mean to Be Beastkin In Aether Skies?

July 11, 2025

Identity, Corruption, and Creative Freedom in Aether Skies

In the drifting world of Aether Skies, where floating cities glitter above a nightmare-scarred surface, identity is always in flux. The Aether changes everything—land, law, mind… and body. Among the most visible—and misunderstood—examples of this change are the Beastkin.

They are animal-featured, othered, often feared—but they are not a separate species. They are corrupted, transformed, evolved. And they are as diverse and complex as the skies themselves.

Whether you’re designing a campaign or building your next character, here’s what it really means to be Beastkin in Aether Skies—and why it’s one of the most flexible and flavorful options at your table. There is a city where many of beastkin Thrive: Granglehold.

🧬 What Are Beastkin?

In Aether Skies, Beastkin are individuals whose bodies have taken on animal traits—sometimes subtly (cat eyes, horns, sharp teeth), and sometimes drastically (fur-covered, digitigrade legs, tails, or full anthropomorphic features).

They’re not their own race. Instead, they are:

A mutation of another ancestry (elf, human, orc, etc.)
A spiritual or elemental corruption, often linked to the cursed surface or Aether exposure
A transformation, either from birth, adolescence, or traumatic encounter

This flexibility means that any traditionally “beastly” fantasy race—Tabaxi, Dragonborn, Lizardfolk, Harrengon, etc.—can be reflavored as Beastkin.

You don’t need a new ruleset. Just the label.

🧠 Origins: How Does One Become Beastkin?

There are many theories, none universally accepted.

🌑 Birthright

Some are born with their features. These children are often whispered about as everything from cursed, damned or blessed and chosen depending on what city you are in.

🌀 Adolescence Bloom

Others don’t show traits until puberty or magical awakening—like how tieflings manifest horns. This can lead to social exile or sudden inclusion in religious cults.

🪓 Trauma-Triggered

Some gain their traits after exposure to Aetherstorms, near-death experiences, or relic contact. These Beastkin often struggle with identity dissonance, remembering who they were before the change.

🌱 Elemental Influence

The elemental surface races (like the Lithari or Thal’vasa) may have begun these transformations long ago. Some say Beastkin are their long-lost descendants or failed attempts at controlled evolution.

Player Hook: Your character’s Beastkin traits emerged after a dream near Haven. Since then, animals recognize you… and something in your reflection has changed.

🎨 The Freedom of Visual Design

What makes Beastkin special isn’t just their lore—it’s the freedom they offer at the table.

Want:

Just wolf ears and golden eyes?
A full anthropomorphic rabbit chef with mechanical legs?
A snake-tongued diplomat with subtly scaled skin?

All of these are Beastkin. None of them need to match a mechanical “race” block. You simply use the rules of another race (Elf, Tiefling, Dwarf, etc.) and describe your form however you like.

Beastkin give players a chance to define their own humanity—or reject it entirely.

🧩 What Beastkin Means in Society

Beastkin are feared, exoticized, or commodified in many of the floating cities:

Theopholis bans Beastkin from holy positions.
Granglehold uses them in marketing—then refuses them housing.
Kerfluffle celebrates them through art and noise.
Piatracas considers Beastkin an “unfortunate side effect” of Aether irresponsibility.

This creates complex social dynamics:

Are you proud of your features or hiding them?
Were you accepted, abandoned, or weaponized because of your form?
Do you think you’re evolving, or rotting?

GM Tip: NPCs may react differently to Beastkin characters depending on their city’s ideology, making for rich social storytelling.

🎭 Roleplaying Beastkin: Questions to Explore

What animal traits do you express—and how much control do you have over them?
Did your transformation come with new instincts or physical sensations?
How do you relate to “pure” humans? Do you envy them? Pity them? Resent them?
Is your Beastkin form your identity—or just your shell?

🌟 Final Thought: You Are More Than the Shape They Gave You

In Aether Skies, where gods dream in Aether storms and floating cities argue over purity, the Beastkin are a living rejection of control. They are reminders that identity is changeable, that beauty and terror can wear fur or feathers, and that the soul doesn’t always match the skin.

Whether you’re playing a feral poet, a rabbit-eared enforcer, or a serpentine sky pilot with a voice like velvet, being Beastkin means this:

You are what they couldn’t account for.
You are what still grows wild.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!