The Origin of Species
[meta note: The Orbis permits any official D&D race from the primary books or official supplements, including Volos, Metaverse and Ravnica. Triton is translated here into the Pilaani, with some differences in appearance but the same statistics; but you can feel free to make the Pilaani something more unique and leave the Tritons in their undersea realms, etc]
A quick lesson in genetics
Here's the first and perhaps most significant divergence from D&D official settings and likely most other homebrews; The Orbis gives a psuedo-scientific basis for the variety of creatures, sentient and monstrous, found in the world (and on its green moon, Vertalluna). This figures into its history as well; the earliest rulers of the world weren't giants or dragons or Yuan-Ti or Mind Flayers, they were three races that could be considered extinct now, but only because they've mixed together so completely to form the spectrum of all sentient races from high elves to xvarts, and are no longer single-heritage species.
Waaaaay back in the way back - before written history and before the beginning of the world timeline - perhaps a million years, perhaps as recently as 100,000 - only three intelligent species lived on the Orbis.
- The Aeldvolk, who were a very concentrated and pure form of the Feywild itself, sentient and widely distributed; like the Feywild they could look like whatever they wanted, and were intensely infused with magic, that is, they were inherently multiplanar and could manipulate substances in the Ethereal and Astral planes to create effects on the prime material.
- The Gazaf, or Gazafi, were elemental beings, particularly earth mixed with air or fire. They were tall and slender as a race, long-legged and characterized by a desire to wander, explore, and create. They were concentrated in the deserts near the waist of the world at that time, but freely traveled through other climates in their journeying.
- The Hyinch, or Hyinchneumen, were intelligent semi-corporeal beings living a mostly contemplative existence, remaining sedentary in the jungles covering most of the world at that time. They had reptilian aspects but also resembled floppy orangutans or sloths.
At some point in the distant past - but the most recent part of that distance - they discovered they could interbreed, as if they were themselves three severed parts of a long-lost continuum.
Speciation and racial mixes
Just as in D&D, the term 'races' is thrown around perhaps more casually than it should be, to apply to what really are different species entirely, in many (but not all) cases. While a specific analytical breakdown of each race might be a worthy exercise, the broad generalizations are that the more monstrous a creature is, the more Aeldic it is - so an Orc or a Yuan-Ti have more Aeldic heritage than a human, for instance, but a human is a little higher on the Aeldic proportion than an elf is.
Also, Hyinch heritage equates both to a smaller physical stature and a genetic-level preference for hearth and home, most obviously exhibited in Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes, but also in Goblins, Xvarts and Kobolds. A Kobold, for instance, is a mix of hyinch and aeld with dragon or, conversely, of gnomish with dragon, as the gnomes are a mix of hyinch and aeld with almost no gazaf at all. Dragons, for that matter, are a different mix of Aeld and Hyinch, such that in one sense Gnomes could be Dragons, and Dragons could be gnomes (keeping in mind that humans and bananas share more than 80% of the same genetic code here on our own Earth). In actual practice, the ur-kobold and ur-dragon of eons ago were functionally unrelated to each other, and the two species remain distinct now, except that where you find Kobolds, it's likely you're going to find at least one dragon in the same land.
Gnomes are also a special case as they descend primarily from the Gnomon - a Hyinch progenitor-figure in myth who sojourned (unwillingly) in Mechanus and when back on the Prime Material, brought the first mechanical knowledge to his/her/its offspring. Through them, various technologies have reached the other races/species, one of which was mechanical printing, which the Gnomes kept to themselves for many millennia but which has been pervasive throughout the world for about 8,000 years. Even Orcs have printing press technology now, though it's still powered mostly by muscle rather than a storable energy source. Electricity has a caprice here on the Orbis that makes it unsuitable as a reliable power source - or perhaps the Gnomes have been keeping that technology to themselves all this time. The name 'Gnome' recalls this connection to the person and concept of the Gnomon. (in English, we get the word 'Knowledge' from the same root).
The net-net of the common-ish heritage of the past is that 'humanoid' is a
really broad term; everything sentient is related in some way, though sometimes distantly; and interbreeding is possible between any races that share two of their three parental lines, though much easier and more common between any races that share similar proportions of those two. So yes, a Gnome and a Dragon could potentially have dragonborn babies, but dragons (and dragonborn) have a much higher proportion of Aeld than a gnome, and a gnome does have a certain amount of Gazaf where a Dragon has none; this is reflected in a Gnome and a Dragon's shared love of home, but the Dragon is obsessed with it, while a Gnome might just want to keep digging to see where her tunnel ends up, or even join up with a party of adventurers and really see the world. As I mentioned - psuedoscience.
Humans
The Orbis teems with dozens if not hundreds of races (in the more common use of the term) of humans alone, depending on how strictly you want to define it. Genetic humans are identical under the skin but show even more variation than Earth's humans, in their skin color, hair color, eye color, and the shapes of their features. Some are smaller than halflings, others are as tall as smaller Goliaths. Adaptable, fearless/foolish and ambitious by nature, humans come in all alignments and occupations. Over the long course of history in the Orbis, empires have risen and fallen, and nations have come and gone, and humans have been a part of most of them after the cataclysmic end of the second Elven War broke up what Elven control there was on the central continent. Humans have lived on the Tiwwarri plains and in the jungles of the Caetica (SE) and Mlastina (SW) for hundreds of thousands of years, at least as long as Elves have, but with the benefit of quicker fertility cycles they've been able to adapt to all the climates of the Orbis, while elves with their feeble birth rates have been much slower to adapt. Humans exhibit a specific mix of Hyinch, Gazaf and Aeldvolk blood in their genetic makeup, but other bloodlines have also arrived from other crystal spheres and other planes in some numbers over the years. While there are some mostly-human kingdoms of the world, and the nobility and monarchy of the Khazigiri Empire is more human than not (though it also includes Orcs, vampires and a reverse-centaur), nevertheless humans are simply more numerous, rather than thought to be somehow inherently superior to other sentient species; their adaptability is a plus but from an evolutionary standpoint, the ability to raise ten generations in the time it takes for one elf or four dwarven generations is more the reason for their success and widespread success. They die sooner but raise more families in less time than other, sturdier races.
As for personality, of course it runs the gamut. Humans can be great at anything, or terrible at anything, that they choose to be.
Halflings
Arguably a splinter species of human - or perhaps Dwarves, or Gnomes, depending on which drunken argument at the local tavern you happen to find yourself in - Halflings originated as half of
something, but it's still unclear what. The genetic similarities of all the non-elven mortal races are similar enough that it could be any or all of these, and ancient crossbreeding was not uncommon among all groups. The point is that the hardy, clever, small but mighty Halflings are a uniquely favored and favorable race among good people of all kinds, everywhere. They have a strong devotion to the creation and protection of civilization which draws them to the wild but paradoxically feeds their urge to settle and tame it, to turn wild fields into barley and hops, to make beer, to drink and sit back while admiring nature. A little less fae than elves but much more than Dwarves or Gnomes, Halflings excel at magical arts, thievery, and fighting rough-and-tumble in equal measure, though individual halflings tend to be drawn to one more than the others. Most of them are natural cooks, great storytellers, lovers of art and music, and cheerful to a fault. Like all the races, these are only tendencies, and individuals are each their own person; they can be murderous assassins and twisted necromancers, but that's not a course that would appeal to the majority of them. Most Halflings face a struggle to balance their love for stability and the home with their driving wanderlust and need to see and experience whatever is over the next hill. Many fall into alcohol and drugs as a way to self-medicate the tension of their existence, but this is sometimes just a dabbling entertainment rather than a hard addiction. They can quit any time, of course, but they often choose not to. Gluttony and agoraphobia are extremes but not as rare as they are in other species.
Dwarves
Dwarves are an earthbound lineage, which prefers a stone ceiling to the disturbing vast emptiness of sky in a way very similar to the Drow. Their own legends hold that their kind were elves or half-elves who worked under the ground for generations toiling for the Drow in building the vast halls of the underdark, until after so many generations under the ground they lost their love for the surface. This may be true, but it's not the only explanation. They are smaller in height but more massive in overall density than a human, on average; they sometimes have the cheer of a halfling but might also be as gloomy as a goblin. And of all the mortal races who struggle to understand them, they seem to appreciate the utilitarianism of Lizardfolk best - where the use of a thing dictates its value, and is much more important than how you feel about it; but the major exception to this attitude is in the hoarding of gold, gems, and valuable things which is usually second only to the hoarding nature of a Dragon. It's not that they're plain or dull like lizardfolk, it's that their aesthetic is as much useful as it is pretty, with arching pentagonal columns and intricate brocades also providing better support for less weight, as an example. They also seem to have a propensity for large-scale engineering no less than Gnomes show, though gnomes tinker at a smaller scale; while a gnome is making a dart trap, a dwarf is making a trap the size of the entire room. They have a reputation for being gruff and sometimes boorish, but they also have a deep love of tradition, order, and chivalry within their societies that can come off like rudeness to outsiders.
So Many Elves
Arguably D&D already has too many official races of Elves - Wood Elves, High Elves, Sun Elves, Moon Elves, Eldarin, Drow, Sea Elves, etc. On the Orbis these are all related closely, with only a thousandth-of-a-percentage-point difference between each in their mix of Aeld, Gazaf and Hyinch; but on the Orbis there's some scientific reasoning behind it, on the basis of the long life of Elves (which is great for making something of your life but terrible from an evolutionary standpoint). They've had far fewer generations between themselves and the Elves of old, who by and large never did play nicely together. So on the Orbis there are physical races of Elves, but also cultural distinctions, and the fact that the Elves famously nearly blew up the entire planet with a renegade comet in their last war has created a distrust of Elves, and Elven Wizards particularly, such that the average non-Elven sentient has some unrecognized prejudices. Non-Elves in the Empire easily forget that Pilaani are Elves too, because in their desire to be completely outside of that group, Pilaani happily separate themselves completely from Dovalni, Drow or Moon Elves and call themselves 'Aan', as if it was some entirely separate thing rather than just a substitute word in their native tongue for 'Elf'.
Elven History and Lineages
The Drow
The earliest period of written history on the Orbis is mostly the lengthy military record of the First Elven war, which took place on an Elven timescale and resulted in the Drow elves exiling themselves to the underdark, much of which they built. For several thousand generations they maintained a much more positive outlook, as from the moral perspective they were the 'good guys' in that war, and the Gnomes of the Underdark were their staunchest allies. Their isolation resulted in paradoxically dark skin, which the females of their survivor bands favored highly over the light or albino skin of the other elves, resulting in more dark-skinned Elven babies with even more preference for the darker skin, which looked more interesting in the infrared spectrum than light skin. Over several hundred generations, the ebon blackness is pervasive. Bitter at their defeat by their Lin Elven brethren despite having been on the morally good side of the fight, the Drow's passion for their elven deities waned, and Llolth found them easy to manipulate into her devoted cultists, united under the sign of the Spider. In the time since, the Drow have turned to worshiping underdark deities and warring with the other races of the underground. After the Lin comet impact that ended the Second Elven War, they swore off the surface as a place too vulnerable and too disturbing - all that sky where there should be a cave ceiling is deeply troubling to a Drow of the Orbis. But they do crave the freedom and economic wealth of the surface world, and the Drow Harmonium has recently arisen in the surface lands of Elinia, bringing that failed feudal state under direct Drow control. Far from a disaster, the highly civilized demon-worshippers have been a great improvement for the average commoners over the corrupt and decadent human and dwarven warlords they replaced. This is more a testimony to how bad those rulers where, than to how good these Drow are.
While most of them have long since adopted worship of the demoness Lolth and a perpetual struggle for power among themselves and against the Mind Flayers, Duergar and Svirfneblin of the underdark, some few have taken it upon themselves to rescue slaves and hapless adventurers, and to dedicate their lives to bringing the morally superior civilization of the surface world as a cure back down to the underdark. Usually the Drow found on the surface are of this variety, outcasts from the race in general but supported by pockets of light among the other sentients. Occasionally the Drow found outside of their element are spies, or scouts. Matriarchal Drow culture depends not merely on force of arms but on information, and Drow make excellent unseen eyes and ears. They are, it should be said, no more monolithic in their outlook than humans or dwarves; they have tendencies but each individual is his or her own person. Many find their emotional ambivalence lends itself to working in roles of questionable ethics like bounty hunters, mercenaries and Lawyers, and more than a few of the Autarch's Executioners are Drow under the hood.
Lin Elves, Moon Elves and the Second Elven War
The magic of the surface Elves had reached a high point after the end of the first Elven war. This was driven by competition between the Gray Elves, who followed an arcane rather than divine magical tradition, and the Sun or Lin Elves, who remained dedicated to their version of the Elven pantheon as the source of magic power. After much persecution, the Gray Elves decided to leave their unbearably religious brethren behind and colonize (some might say enslave) the lands of Vertalluna, the forested moon of The Orbis, where they could pursue their blasphemous studies in peace; they had no interest in collaborating with or compelling the powers of evil spirits as the Drow had, and rejected the constraints of having any gods at all, save the ones they sought to turn themselves into.
This migration was met with violent, fanatical disagreement by the Lin Elves who worshiped - or at least appeased and conspired with - the traditional Elven pantheons who greatly outnumbered the atheistic Grey or Moon Elves. This escalated into the second and final War of the Elves; like the first, it was a civil war, fought bitterly and on an Elven time scale, but it was a hundred times more violent than the first war in which the Drow were permitted their escape. The climax of the battle was a period of weeks in which the last of the free Moon Elves teleported to the actual moon, from which they immediately launched a catastrophic attack on their former world, pulling a comet out of its orbit with their magic, and slamming it directly into the Lin homelands, vaporizing Lin and nearly destroying the world.
Any Lin Elf in that nation who wasn't deep underground or a deserter far from home at the time was instantly translated from a solid into a gas by this impact, which cracked the mantle of the world and reshaped the appearance of the continent. The crater of black glass that remains where Lin once was is large enough to contain the entire nation of France.
The Moon Elves, it's said, are still on the moon, and only Gods and Angels know what they have been cooking up in the twenty thousand-plus years that have passed since the comet nearly killed the world. These Moon Elves are referred to as 'Cacogens,' and popular boogieman stories describe them as having mutated into unspeakable monsters; the long lifespan and low birth rates of Elves more strongly suggests they probably still look and sound a lot like the few Moon Elves remaining on the Orbis descended from the handful who were left behind and lucky enough not to have been at ground zero.
Over time, the tiny remnant of Lin Elves who escaped the molecular-level cosmic annihilation of their homeland, diverged into a variety of lineages including the Inimsujii and the Dovalni Elves, both High Elf/Sun Elf stock, though the Inimsuji interbred thoroughly with savage humans of the icy northlands where they found themselves trapped. As such the Inimsuji are really more of a splinter race of half-elves; further detracting from their charms is the fact that they are cannibals, as well as ready consumers of any other intelligent species' flesh. Moreover when not eating humans and other delicacies, they are said to steal babies from their cribs at night and replace them with Tieflings, who are explained as Inimsuji changeling replacement babies regardless of how far from the frozen wastes they turn up. Presumably the Inimsuji eat the stolen children.
The Dovalni have also diverged into two groups more culturally than physically into the urban High Elves and the rural Wood Elves. They remain proud of their Lin Heritage, and hatefully prejudiced with at least understandable motivations towards any moon elf. - for them only 20 generations have passed since the impact, not a thousand like the human timescale. The nation of Dovalni is the new homeland of the high and wood elves, a much-reduced population of Elves due to their long breeding cycles. Many wood elves are also found in northern Traediia, and in the forested pockets of the Tiwwari plains, often larking about like fey savages but no less civilized or intelligent really than any other urban Elf.
Moon Elves
The Moon Elves who remain on the Orbis are the direct descendants of the few prisoners incarcerated away from Lin and below ground at the time of the impact, as all the Moon Elves who could do so had already gone to the actual Moon. They are so rare in the general population that few people would know the difference between a Moon Elf and a Dovalni, but their cultural guilt and their lack of a proper homeland drive a disproportionate number of Moon Elves to become adventurers. This hasn't really helped their numbers much, as the average lifespan of an adventurer is a fractional percentage of the average 1500+ year lifespan of a stay-at-home Elf. In appearance they may seem to have more translucent or matte skin than a Dovalni, but at any distance the two are indistinguishable. 'Gray' defined their ancestors ethics, not their skin color, and 'Moon' is where their far-off family went, abandoning their own ancestors to annihilation.
Pilaani Elves
Whether the seafaring Pilaani were the progenitors of the entire species of Elf in some impossibly distant past as their legends suggest, or are simply a lost colony of Lin Elves from relatively more recent time, is widely debated; Either way, they do stand apart from the others as they have very different physiology and culture that suggests a total and lengthy separation from all other Elven stock. They feel justified in using the term 'Aan' to refer to themselves as something distinct from human but also distinct from Elf. The cataclysmic planetary damage from the Lin-killer comet wiped out their homeland islands which were somewhere southwest of Jungaeris, sending what may have been a small initial population - maybe just one drifting barge of survivors - to take to the seas and ride the currents west all the way to the southern continent, which they found inhabited by various tribal species but rapidly made their own, on friendly terms with the humans who were already there but at odds with the lizardmen, tabaxi and other more Aeldic tribes that flourished in the rich jungles and fertile riverlands.
The new land was, and is, so resource-rich that scarcity was mostly unknown, and thus no reason existed to trigger any large-scale fighting until the Cumaean and Khazigiri wars of far more recent history. The Pilaani remain an easygoing, piratical and oh yeah, Elven people, but they try not to make a big deal of that - or anything else. Clearly they are closer to their genetically Hyinch tendencies in that steady outlook, but their ships circumnavigate the Orbis with ease and they are the only surface species that also has a significant underwater kingdom; the Gazaf is strong in that part of their character. They have a lower Aeldic proportion than any other Elven race. You can find out more in their Ethnicity block:
Orcs and Men
Orcs on the Orbis are not much like the Orcs of the Lord of the Rings, inasmuch as they are not born from dirt or descended from bad forest mojo working on elves, and most importantly they're not driven to rape, pillage and enslave their way across the land; far from it. Of all the 'monstrous' player races, Orcs of the Orbis are the most civilized - meaning they actually conform somewhat to the more enlightened view of Orcs in the latest Volos (5e) which has slowly but surely moved away from the concept of races being evil simply by their racial background - the common view back in earlier editions.
Orcs are creatures who trade in honor and favors with each other more than coin - though coin is great to have, it's hard to come by in the hard-scrabble existence of most Orc settlements. A clever move by a warlord of ages past secured the legality of Orc settlements in 8122, rougly 4,000 years before the present year, so plenty of time has elapsed for most - but not all- prejudices against Orcs and their ancient warring and raiding ways to fade. Nevertheless those prejudices can be manipulated; most recently the Duke of Zauzet, in Naarod province, manipulated several whole clans of his region to attack two other Duchies; when he rode in to the rescue, and gave them favorable loans to rebuild, the Orcs were blamed and widespread fear of a resumption of the old ways gripped the north. Nevertheless, it's a testimony to more enlightened views that the Orcs were quickly cleared of the wrongdoing after an investigation by the Varangian Guard, and the blame placed on the Duke, who was angry that only fighters and paladins were invited to the Naarodian Royal tournament and cooked up this scheme as a stepping stone to the overthrow of the king, which never took place as the scheme was discovered and exposed. <
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/cumae3A-the-orbis-jubliana/a/new-evidence-overturns-verdict2C-sentence-in-zauzet-controversy-article>>
Through all this, the general feeling of the Orc populace has been resentment over being used, but a certain satisfaction not only that they were cleared, but that the people just couldn't believe this was really an Orcish uprising, and kept digging at the plan until a few threads were finally uncovered that led to the whole thing being exposed. A more prejudiced population wouldn't bother to investigate.
At the same time, blanket statements only speak to tendencies; certainly there are still aggressive and belligerent Orcs to be found, and a good number of them still gravitate towards banditry or working in the employ of bad people. Nevertheless they are very different from the essentially mindless hordes of the Gnolls, creatures given over to demon-worship who by their very nature crave destruction, and who delight in cruelly imposing their will on those weaker than them. Orcs, by contrast, have too much respect for children and the elderly to even consider cruel mistreatment, and those of their kind who participate in dominating the weak are likely to be shunned and cast out of society. Orcs want to live large, celebrate strength and cunning, and are generally devoted wives and husbands who are keen to raise good and honorable children.
The influence of the traditional Orcish gods is virtually zero in the Orbis, and the absence of such negative beliefs to follow or behavior to emulate certainly goes a long way towards further civilizing them. They excel in the martial arts, smithy work, and any activities calling for brute strength and stout hearts, like laying road in the mountains or doing much of the fighting in the War in the West.
Goblinoid Species
Goblinoids - that is, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears, as well as their halfbreed variations with humans, elves and each other known as Mongrelfolk, tend much more towards the folkloric darkness of the old tales rather than impish hilarity. Not so mighty as Orcs but much more ugly and ill-tempered than halflings and gnomes, the goblinoid bloodline clings fast to its Aeldvolk roots and still produces a wide variety of body shapes, features, skin colors, and sizes. Goblins who mate within their type will breed 'true' to their parents, but on occasion the Mongrelfolk might produce something unexpected, even a troll or an ogre, both of which are obliquely related to Goblins but entirely different creatures and species.
True Goblins are hyper-aware of their small stature and the evident pointlessness of their individual lives, and they tend to always see the worst in any given situation - and are happy to share their opinion. They make for bleak companions, but also set deep roots and are incredibly loyal and self-sacrificing in the pursuit of meaning in their lives, which usually manifests as service to a stronger patron. Unlike their larger genetic cousins, Goblins are capable of true moral choices without a genetic propensity for evil; but in its way this is simply more heartbreaking as they are often in the employ of more powerful figures who force them into all manner of evil activities. Even when they win, they expect to lose, and sometimes their only joy is found in bringing others down to their level of dismay at the way of the world.
Hobgoblins tend to be less gloomy, but develop dangerous rivalries easily and often feel an insatiable need to prove their worth in public, often with disastrous or fatal results. Like true Goblins they can be unflinchingly loyal to a stronger patron, but unlike Goblins they tend to deeply enjoy bullying those weaker than them. Hobgoblins are ferocious reproducers and tend to have and come from extremely large families, where ten to sixteen siblings are the norm. They are militaristic in their outlook and organization as a result, with hobgoblin households run like small military squads to avoid total chaos. As a result, though physically weaker and less numerous than Orcs, hobgoblins also can excel in military units, often as scouts and skirmishers with high mobility compared to heavier Orc infantry, but they must be commanded by a strong and unflinching hand or mutiny is likely.
Bugbears are sly and clever where their brethren tend to be rude and direct. They have a reputation for laziness, founded in the fact that in their wild societies, they are at the top of the food chain - literally, as goblinoids will resort to cannibalism as a means of cowing the weak into obedience - and they make Goblins and Hobgoblins do most of the work of living on their behalf so they can lay around enjoying what they can in life; because they have every expectation for it to be brief. But when motivated by rage, a perceived insult, or a vulnerable target, they can exhibit a deadly cunning, though their bragging behaviors post-offense means they aren't likely to get away with anything major. They are, for whatever reason, fascinated with severed heads, and some clans have perfected a process allowing them to shrink the heads and preserve them as trophies. They reject virtually any weapon incapable of severing a head as not worth learning to use, and as such have more limited military utility - no sling-armed skirmisher is a Bugbear, though a platoon armed with grain scythes would make for a fearsome special unit.
Goblinoids are generally less common and less accepted in city society than Orcs and Tieflings, but are considered better neighbors than Gnolls and much less suspicious than shifters or Yuan-Ti.
Dragonborn
Dragons have never been numerous, and that's fine by them; even a so-called 'good' dragon would prefer a world where he or she could be the only one, and the not-good dragons will happily kill each other for dominance over a region, with gusto, given half a chance.
They are magical beings, infused with more than simply the thick blood of the Hyinch and the wild blood of the Aeld, however; and their magic is so deep and tied to the ancient feywild that it has an effect on other sentient beings in the region. This can sometimes bend the genetics of a Gazaf embryo - a human, or less often, an elf - and form a mystical offspring of that sentient race and the nearby dragon, as a regional effect. These are the pureborn of the Dragonborn. The same effect can occur to subhuman races, producing Kobolds in like fashion.
However the ranks of dragons are so few that they are functionally irrelevant in the creation of either new Kobolds or new Dragonborn; both races are sustained by the breeding of their own respective kinds, rather than spontaneous generation.
Dragonborn have no specific nation of their own, but they seem to be much more numerous in the desert southeast and the rocky southwest of the main continent, as well as having a particularly large presence cut off from the others in central Traediia; Even more isolated, a more distinctly Gold Dragonborn build, long and lean, with a long neck and narrow head, arises on the Eastern continent in the Pantanhi region. They are generally accepted, if cautiously regarded outside the large population centers, and are a familiar-enough sight in the Imperial cities that little attention is paid to them. Families tend to be extended over distance and yet remain cohesive, generally all sharing a similar single-line parentage; red dragonborn, gold dragonborn, blue dragonborn and copper dragonborn are the most common.
Lizardfolk
As if the -folk in the name wasn't enough of a clue, the Lizardfolk are built on a strong foundation of Aeldvolk blood. They also have a thick streak of Gazaf, however, making them much more earthy and animal/elemental rather than Fey and magical. They speak draconic, like the Kobolds and Dragonborn, but the resemblance ends there and the reasons for using Draconic are obscure as the two have nothing in common other than a spoken language; Lizardfolk are utterly utilitarian, and at some distant point no doubt decided just to adopt an existing language rather than wasting effort and energy creating a new one, and Draconic already fits the mouth so well, so why not.
Lizardfolk are not simply unemotional; they are almost entirely motivated by their limbic system and lack what would be called higher social functions. This doesn't mean they're stupid - far from it, as even the lowliest lizardfolk child knows the intricacies of building a trap for game or setting up a blind that even a stout ranger would overlook; it means that they value usefulness over everything else, rather than more abstract concepts like pleasure, family, or success. They can be difficult to communicate with, not simply because of the language barrier but because the flowery, ostentatious language of Dragons is a poor match for their entirely straightforward thoughts. No Dragon was ever so practical, or less concerned with wealth, than one of the Lizardfolk. Often the language fails to communicate accurately for them.
Found in isolated pockets and permitted to remain under the broad umbrella of the Carpocratian Accords that legitimized Orc settlements and by extension, other humanoids as well, Lizardfolk clans still do sometimes get in trouble with the law over their bland disregard for things like not considering dead relatives as a food source. They might agree to stop if the consequences are dire, but will never really understand why they
should stop. They eat their own dead with no more emotional connection than they would have for eating a ham sandwich.
The motivations that would move one of the Lizardfolk to join up with an adventuring party are hard to imagine, but from time to time it does happen. Rarely - due to head injury or some magical effect or other - lizardfolk live mixed in with the populations in the largest cities. If one becomes isolated from the group, it knows that life in the city is easier than life in the wild alone, but the justification of adventuring at personal risk for the reward of useless gold or meaningless magic items is foreign to one of the lizardfolk. Possibly being raised from hatching or soon after by non-lizardfolk could steer their personalities in different ways than they would normally take under natural conditions, and now and again rich tombs to ancient Lizardfolk kings or temples to dark Lizrdfolk gods turn up, so perhaps they weren't always exactly this way.
Goliaths and Firbolgs
Both goliaths and firbolgs are part giant, meaning strongly Aeldic relative to their human or elven mix, respectively. A Firbolg is the Elven version of a Goliath, in the simplest terms. However that extra amount of Gazaf blood and the Fey influence from the Aeld mean that the Firbolg tend to be large and subtle in all the ways a Goliath is large and burly. Firbolg are not dainty, by any means, but they are generally smarter and much more even-tempered and even conversational than the crass Goliath, who is in the broadest sense a form of oversized half-Orc; Orcs are a humanoid race crossed with giants in antiquity. Firbolgs are commonly wild magic users and sorcerers with innate magical understanding, while Goliath magic users are presumably unheard of; one having the patience to use magic rather than a fist or axe would be rare. Importantly, Goliaths tend to cling to their Giant parentage more closely, and despite their wildness and wooliness, are hyper-concerned with personal status and position among one's peers, like Giants and their status in the Moot. Firbolgs, on the other hand, are more chaotic in their outlook, untroubled by the presence or the absence of status and heirarchy, or of civilization in general. When the rest of the world dies, the last sapient being could easily be a Firbolg living in a cabin, untroubled by the collapse of civilization as long as the water is still drinkable and the ground can still grow crops.
Aasimar
Considering the neo-godhood of the 72 celestials worshiped in the Celestii Magni faith, it's a little surprising that Aasimar aren't more sensational or shocking in the eyes of the common people, since their heritage must trace at some point directly back to at least one of these angelic beings; but the relations are so diluted in most cases, and the type is so common, that it's not such a surprising thing in the big cities and even out in the sticks, people understand that birds and people can both have wings. Humans in particular seem to favor interbreeding with Aasimar men and women, the result of which is almost always a true Aasimar rather than human child; and Aasimar seek out their own kind as a normal rule, though there are many exceptions. As such, the Aasimar population is seen as self-sustaining, rather than a sign of a crossbreeding with one of the true angels, and while wings are certainly better than no wings in some job scenarios, only the most naive ignoramus would make the mistake of praying to or worshiping an Aasimar, even if the Aasimar was trying to masquerade as a Celestial; The most obvious thing about a true Celestial is said to be its terrifying psychic as well as physical presence, about which there can be no doubt, and which even the best Thaumaturgy spell could not equal. For that matter, most Aasimar eschew showing off and are more worried about being mistaken for an elf than a celestial.
Nevertheless Aasimar are often drawn to religious pursuits, especially in the Khazigiri Empire, and in the villages they are mroe readily accepted as representatives of the gods, though not direct members of that rank by any means. Other than appearance, their personalities run the gamut; just as there are lots of good and helpful tieflings, there are plenty of bad and dangerous aasimar in the world.
Genasi
These sentients have the distinction of having a higher proportion of Gazaf then even elves or humans do, but in this case it's not simply a 'civilizing' presence but a fully elemental one, transcending the Gazaf aspects associated with domestic principles and tapping into those aspects of Gazaf which are not human at all. Their affinity for particular elements is directly traceable to their Gazaf heritage, but tends to focus on a single element, while the Gazaf evidently each were attuned to two of the elements at once. Genasi otherwise conform to civilized humanoid societies and come with no particular advantages or prejudices, though out in the sticks there are always prejudices of some kind without much basis in fact. Genasi tend to fill roles where elemental knowledge is useful, whether the builders and miners of Earth, the seafarers of water, or other occupations best suited to their powers. In terms of population size, their numbers are few, and may trace back to planar crossovers from the elemental planes. They interbreed with other humanoids and often are assumed to be elves or human by others interacting with them on a casual basis. In their outlook they tend to adopt attitudes in line with the elements that dominate their physiology, but this has been proven through various experiments to be psychological in nature - if convinced they are a fire genasi, they behave differently than when aware they are actually a water genasi, for instance. Their ability to use effects tied to their elements has an obvious impact on their behaviors and tendencies.
Tieflings
In a society where Angels are worshiped, devils and those who consort with them must be destroyed - which is why most adult Tieflings were born in the big city, because the ones unfortunate enough to be raised in the sticks are often sent to fill the ranks of cannon fodder in the War in the West, and dark tales tell of clerics who forceably change Teiflings into something else through unethical uses of the
Reincarnate spell. Despite their best efforts to curb the practice, the modern rulers of the Empire up to and including Autarch Ulyrius IV have been unable to stop this behavior entirely.
Tieflings are scary-looking, devil-horned and cloven-hooved, and everything that a country bumpkin has been raised to shun and hate as part of his faith - other than that huge, fat, kangaroo tail that often is the saving grace for a tiefling, as no real demon sports anything that ridiculous. However even out in the country there's a very high chance that a spontaneous Tiefling babe will be blamed not on a blasphemous father or a demon-whore mother but on the evil work of the Inimsuji Elves, who are said to delight the most in swapping a healthy Human, Halfling or Non-Inimsuji-Elven baby with one of their own ugly monster devil babies, procured from a mysterious but evidently large supplier of ugly monster devil babies to which they have soul access. Obviously this explanation holds a lot more water the closer you get to Inimsuji Lands on the saddle of the north.
Tieflings themselves tend to understand that their origins are partly fiendish, and almost certainly unrelated to the hijinks of Elven cannibals thousands of miles away from where they were born. Many of them struggle with this knowledge, as their own faith suggests they carry a corruption and the power of the Celestii Magni church is pervasive. Anyone known to sexually consort with fiendish creatures has committed not merely a blasphemous but a criminal act in all but the most enlightened cities in the Empire and the West. In Toz and the East, Tieflings are not regarded with any particular fondness, but they are at least not openly persecuted. In the Empire, Tieflings are able to earn a certain degree of respectability by fighting in, and preferably dying in, the War in the West.
And to be fair? Sometimes your mom really was a demon whore, and this is what happens.
Shifters
Far more hated in most of the world than the Tieflings, however, are the shifter races, who are seen as spreading the disease of Lycanthropy in the world, and worse yet, the political view that accompanies it. The War in the West has waged for two centuries and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, not only of Imperials but of innocent families in the once-free lands in the west where the war rages; the humans and halflings of ancient Utheria have been slaughtered or driven out as refugees by the waves of lycanthropic and shape-shifter warriors invading the whole country.
While the rebellion of Kylman workers against their necro-masters earned a degree of sympathy at the time, the overzealous prosecution of total war by the once-enslaved, not only against their former masters but against all non-shapeshifters, has turned the world against them, and those of their kind simply by association. The Kylmen/Kylwomen assert that they have a physical superiority and are the purest representation of the Aeldic, and in their mind greatest, of the progenitor races.
In truth, shifters everywhere else in the world likely have nothing whatsoever to do with the slave rebellion gone horribly wrong; and the larger truth is of course that not every single lycanthrope or shape-shifter in the world is a part of that political faction, or in any way interested in spreading lycanthropy or dismantling society throughout the world in favor of their totalitarian rule. But people in the Orbis are still suspicious about Elves 20,000 years after they earned a certain degree of mistrust, so regarding current events, they tend to be highly prejudiced, and often violently so.
As such, most shifters either hole up in small communities, ironically enough among the elves of Dovaln or in Traediia who prefer their isolation, or out with the Gnolls on the Tiwwari plains; or they live double lives in more urban centers, hiding the more shape-shiftery aspects of their dual natures from small minded bigots and the authorities. The ability tends to run in bloodlines, and does have physical connectivity to the work gang slaves of Kylma, used by the dark wizards to build their cities and manage all the manual labor for centuries, until they were overthrown in a sort of dark mirror image of the Gith and their Mind Flayer masters. The difference here is that many otherwise harmless people found to have lycanthropy in the empire and elsewhere were exiled to Kylma, from all over the world.
The irony is that violent Lycanthropes would usually be killed for resisting, or as punishment for murders they could be found guilty of, so they fled to Kylma where they were welcomed, and still are; the ones sent by wagon caravan from the other nations of the west were the people simply found to have Lycanthropy, but guilty of no other crime, and docile enough to accept relocation without a fight. Perhaps this was by design as well, but eventually lycanthropes with enough fire, intelligence, and guile were able to overthrow and slaughter the wizards of Kylma and turn the northwest corner of the continent into an open slaughterhouse against any non-shapeshifter. The Shifters who have no part in this are the unfortunate victims of guilt by association with this outrage, and lack the numbers or moral authority to do anything against the tide of prejudice and superstition.
Yuan-Ti Purebloods
The Yuan Ti Empire was the earliest to emerge after the catastrophic comet impact ended the second Elven war, and nearly ended the planet. Indeed their sorcery may have been instrumental in holding the world itself together after the comet plunged through the planet's crust without even slowing down, cracking into the mantle and reshaping all the landmasses of the world with explosive lava and planet-wide volcanic activity. As races go, the Yuan-Ti were in a position to survive and flourish in much more hostile environments than others, with their immunity to the poisons in the air and their affinity for the hot surface.
Though the empire was crushed by the Cumaeans after only a few thousand years of glory, it was not eradicated, and the species has remained a background presence in urban areas and a not-uncommon sight even out in the wilds, where Yuan Ti temples still can sometimes be found under layers of mud and jungle growth. Much of the race has adopted a form of Celestii Magni, even, though twisted around into strange shapes, as each Yuan-Ti from birth believes that it could become a god, if it only can amass enough power to enact its desires. The Cult of Yzobek posits that Typhoneth in the form of a Dragon mated with another angel, Ophidiel, to produce their race, some kind of hyper-dragonborn-aasimar origin; others keep it simple and simply hold that Ophidius is the ultimate source of power from which their own destined godhood draws. Both are entirely blasphemous in mainstream Celestii Magni worship, and the two branches are also at odds with each other over their respective dogmatic conflicts. Not all Yuan-ti are Ophitic, and many in more remote areas like the Caetica and Mlastina still hold to the worship of their ancient Yuan-Ti pantheon rather than tainted angels.
All Yuan-ti are prolific breeders, some forms by egg and others by live birth, though the rate of infant mortality is also high. As such, Pureblood Yuan-Ti are uncommon but not really rare in the world, especially those with no obvious outward indication of their inner serpentine nature. Sometimes the only external sign is a lizardfolk-like absence of normal human emotion without the scales and snout. The Yuan-Ti all inherently know what they are, and side with their species in a conflict in all but the most extreme cases. They can recognize each other easily unless extreme measures are taken to hide it, whether tis happens by pheromones or a psychic link of some kind.
Spies for the Yuan Ti and their unholy churches are the most common sort of purebloods one might encounter. Much more rare are those who have escaped the cults and simply live out their lives as part of normal society, though these still tend to be people of destiny who demand a lot from those around them. Mysphodel Artanos, head of the Steel Reciters, is said to be one of these - but then again that's just what a true spy for the cults would want you to think...in any event she has the yellow slitted eyes and patches of soft green scales on her upper arms - and possibly elsewhere - that mark her as a Yuan Ti pureblood, and not even a particularly well-hidden one. In her position she has little retribution to fear.
Planar Races
Kenku
Kenku are an interesting variation on the Orbis. At some point in the distant past, a large group of them arrived via a Sigilian portal that has long since closed or been lost; they are not a native species, and as such do not share the Hyinch/Gazaf/Aeld genetic background. They do, however, have a great resemblance to the actual, 'mundane' corvids - ravens and crows - of the Orbis, as these too are all heavily plane-touched and fae creaures in practical terms, just as they are here on Earth to those who know them well. The Kenku of the Orbis tend to behave like Kenku in other crystal spheres - not inherently bad people, but tending much more towards neutrality than good, and obsessed with taking care of themselves before risking any care for others; their experiences may drive them to criminal behaviors. A unique feature here is that they get along fine in the biggest cities, as the Orbis is more urban and metropolitan than many other wilder places, and indeed one of the largest shady criminal organizations in the world, The Crows (
The Crows ) was founded by and is still well-populated by Kenku.
It's not that they're all criminals - far from it; its just that they, like the actual crows of the Earth, are always up to something. Sometimes this leads them to the arts, and Kenku favor careers in theatre and music when the means are available to them. A pervasive lack of self-confidence is a challenge most of them must overcome, due no doubt to their cultural story in which they committed some crime and were cursed for it; On the Orbis at least, few people know or care about that story, and Kenku born here might be raised without it. Kenku who can actually use their own voice are not unknown to the Archivists guild.
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