Wyldheart Races Guide: All Playable Ancestries and Options

Wyldheart features four playable races—officially named ancestries—in its current playable builds: Freefolk, Mosslings, Grimhorns, and Stonefolk. Developer Wayfinder Studios has also confirmed a fifth ancestry, the Veilborn, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. In Wyldheart, your choice of ancestry defines your visual profile, scale, and thematic place in the fallen kingdom of Caerwyn, while your combat abilities and starting attributes are determined separately by classless skill trees and roleplay backgrounds.

Choosing an ancestry is the very first step of character creation before you customize your build, select facial aesthetics, and choose your starting vocation.

All Confirmed Wyldheart Races and Ancestries

In early alpha builds, player options were limited to three core ancestries. Subsequent testing phases and the official demo expanded the roster with Stonefolk, while additional ancestries remain in active development.

Freefolk

The Freefolk represent the baseline human populace of Caerwyn. The in-game description summarizes them as "bold and adaptable folk who learn quickly and accomplish much."

Visually, Freefolk offer standard human body frames across multiple builds and sizes. Because Wyldheart takes a grounded "rustic fantasy" approach where players begin as humble peasants rather than legendary chosen heroes, Freefolk reflect ordinary townspeople, laborers, and travelers. They have access to the widest selection of mustaches, beards, and hair designs without physical obstructions like tusks or exaggerated facial features.

Mosslings

Mosslings are described in-game as "small, cheerful forest folk with mischievous streaks." In playtests, creators have compared their appearance and demeanor to a blend of classic halflings and goblins.

Mosslings are significantly shorter and more compact than the other kin. In dungeon environments such as the Slurper's Den or the Trial of the Slime Lord, their reduced stature gives them a distinct visual perspective when navigating tight corridors and creeping past traps. Players can customize Mosslings with leaner or slightly bulkier builds, quirky hairstyles, and decorative markings.

Grimhorns

The Grimhorn ancestry consists of "strong and loyal folk who are steadfast in the face of danger." Towering and heavily muscled, Grimhorns are the largest physical kin available in the character creator, filling the visual archetype of orcs, half-giants, or ogres.

A distinct anatomical feature of the Grimhorn is their prominent lower tusks. While these give Grimhorns an imposing profile, developers noted during early PAX East demonstrations that the facial tusks slightly limit certain mustache styles compared to the Freefolk or Mosslings. Grimhorns support massive body frames, making them visually suited for frontline gear, heavy bronze armor, and two-handed weaponry.

Stonefolk

The Stonefolk represent the stout, oath-bound craftsmen and underground miners of the world, officially categorized as "mighty people in duty and bound by oath." Broadly recognized as Wyldheart's take on traditional fantasy dwarves, the Stonefolk were introduced as an early surprise addition after the development team exceeded initial crowdfunding targets.

Stonefolk feature wide, dense physical frames that bridge the height gap between Mosslings and Freefolk. Like their rustic fantasy counterparts, they can be styled with elaborate beards and rugged aesthetic details suitable for miners, blacksmiths, or frontline brawlers.

Upcoming Ancestry: The Veilborn

The Veilborn are a mystical, horned ancestry unlocked as an official stretch goal during the game's Kickstarter campaign.

During community development polls, backers were asked to vote on the aesthetic direction of the Veilborn: one concept leaned into an animalistic satyr design with swept-back horns and hooved traits, while the other favored an elven appearance with branching antlers. Because the final backer vote resulted in an exact 50/50 tie separated by only 16 votes, Wayfinder Studios confirmed that both visual styles will be developed and included when the Veilborn officially arrive in the game.

Another potential group mentioned in crowdfunding milestones includes the Beastkin, though detailed gameplay implementation for that ancestry has not yet been showcased in playable builds.

Wyldheart Ancestry Comparison

The table below outlines the core attributes, in-game definitions, and development availability for each ancestry confirmed for Wyldheart.

Do Races Affect Stats and Combat Abilities?

In Wyldheart, your ancestry does not lock you into a rigid class or grant hard combat restrictions. Wayfinder Studios built the game around a completely classless progression model, allowing players to build whatever role their group requires.

Your combat capabilities and progression depend entirely on two distinct systems:

1. Roleplaying Backgrounds: After choosing your ancestry, you select one of 19 peasant backgrounds (such as Gong Farmer, Outlaw, Baker, Tinkerer, Grave Robber, Trapper, Drunk, or Exiled Noble). Your background dictates your starting inventory, default equipment, initial stat distribution, and early tool proficiencies.
2. Flexible Skill Trees: As you earn party-shared experience, you allocate points across 11 different skill categories. These include adventuring attributes, dungeoneering skills (stealth, trap disarming, lockpicking), survival mechanics (gathering, cooking, herbal brewing), weapon masteries (swords, axes, maces, bows, spears), and the Oldways of Magic (Blight, Pyre, Rime, Storm, Veil, and Binding).

Because equipment and weapons are not ancestry-locked, a Grimhorn can specialize in stealth and ranged bow mechanics, while a Mossling can wield two-handed heavy mauls or master Pyre spellcasting. However, physical scale does alter how your character appears relative to teammates, enemy strike arcs, and narrow dungeon passages.

Character Customization and Universal Rigging

Wyldheart's character creator is built on a shared anatomical rig designed by the small 10-person indie team. This technical system allows every two-legged creature—including player characters of all sizes, friendly NPCs, and even enemy skeletons and zombies—to utilize the same gear sets, cosmetic items, and animations.

During creation, players can adjust:

• Body Types: Multiple body profiles per gender and race, spanning slender, average, athletic, and heavy frames.
• Hair and Facial Hair: A wide assortment of braided hair, buns, messy cuts, and developer-prized beards and mustaches.
• Facial Details: Complexions, freckles, ritual scars, lip liners, and rune-based face paint.
• Dynamic Equipment: The gear, cloaks, tools, and hats you find in dungeons appear directly on your character model and update visually on your adventuring backpack.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there traditional Elves or Dwarves in Wyldheart?

Wyldheart avoids boilerplate high-fantasy tropes in favor of a rustic, folk-tale aesthetic inspired by Nordic and Celtic legends. The Stonefolk serve the traditional role of dwarves, while the upcoming Veilborn introduce pointed ears and antlered traits reminiscent of fey folk and elves.

Does your ancestry change dialogue or town reactions?

Dialogue in Wyldheart primarily reacts to your roleplay background, discovered rumors, and completed campaign milestones rather than your physical kin. When visiting town hubs like Elderlight or Rivermere, NPCs respond based on time of day, weather conditions, and narrative quest progress.

Can you change your character or ancestry mid-campaign?

Each campaign slot in Wyldheart supports up to 20 individual character profiles. If you lose all your Hearts of Hope and suffer permanent death—or if you simply want to try a different ancestry or playstyle—you can roll a brand-new character. Because experience points are shared across the party save, new characters join at the party's current progression level without requiring solo catch-up grinding.