The Races of Kanadire

Playable races in Kanadire differ slightly than the information presented in the Player's'Handbook. The following background information is provided to encourage players to incorporate additional details and consideration into character creation when selecting a player race. There are no changes to the mechanics and statistics of the playable races from what is listed in the PHB. A players may not select dragonborn nor tiefling as the race for his or her character.

Dwarves

The Dwarves of Kanadire are traditional in their love of mining and crafting and for their gruff nature. Dwarves aspire to most available adventuring professions, but are most well-known as resilient men- and women-at-arms. Dwarves tend to worship Roarden, Fasmordias, Shinhalla, or Remantil. Prior to the last century, most dwarves lived in an around the city of Lionsmane in Central Shadowspeak. They were treated as inferior citizens, provided half-wages for their work and prohibited from living within the city walls. Despite this widespread discrimination, the human rulers of Lionsmane continued to rely on dwarven smiths for supplying the town guard and army with weapons and armor during times of conflict and peace alike. After building an underground merchant guild and capitalizing on a moment of military weakness, a low-born rogue named Gordun Flintlock rallied his brethren and led several hundred dwarves north, ultimately founding the modern city of Gordunshome under the Shadowshear Mountains. Since that time, dwarves have risen to a position of equal status and command a significant portion of the economy in the kingdom. As a result, dwarves have reestablished residence across Southern Balusdale.

Elves

The Elves of Kanadire originally hail from the Western continent of Silvara. Over many hundreds of years, elves have migrated, some in groups, some alone, to all corners of the realm. In the Kingdom of Shadowspeak, elves can be found in every settlement except for the dwarven city of Gordunshome. While Elves can find success in many adventuring roles, they represent the most formidable arcane spellcasters in Shadowspeak. Following the great elven wizard Timuron Silvermind, the most powerful spellcaster in modern history and founder of the Mage University in Thornvine, elves continue to comprise all members of the high council of the school.
The elven subrace of Drow is NOT available to players.

Halflings

Halflings can be found anywhere that others settle in Kanadire, but are most prevalent in the port city of Talus. The bustling nature of the port and the opportunity to travel anywhere in Kanadire is of great interest to halflings, and they are regarded as prized crew members to many ship captains. They make excellent rogues based on their innate swiftness and diminutive stature, but are also often rangers or spellcasters. Halflings tend to worship the goddess Mirth or Calista, but there are worshippers of most faiths among the race.

Humans

Humans are the most prolific race of the Kingdom of Shadowspeak. Humans serve in the widest role of class roles and can be found serving all of the gods of Kanadire. Humans can be found in all settlements across Southern Balusdale in both urban and rural settings. Humans aspire to a range of specialties due to their flexible personal strengths. Players wanting flexibility of background and specialty should consider playing a human character. The Human Variant rule for character building is permitted.

Gnomes

Gnomes are not particularly prevalent in the Kingdom of Shadowspeak, but small populations can be found in Lionsmane, Castelbar, and Thornvine. Gnomes have predilections for tinkering and crafting with both mundane and magical materials. Inherently introspective and fidgety compared to other races, gnomes seem to always be working on a personal project of some type and almost all gnomes, regardless of class, have a workshop of some form in which they spend hundreds of hours. Many gnomes worship Roarden, but others follow Turnoc.

Half-Elves

Half-elves can be found in Lionsmane, Thornvine, and Talus. Not always immediately distinguishable for either of their racial heritages, half-elves are equally adept at more military and magical pursuits. They are able to conform to their surroundings in an unique way that other races fail to replicate. They are less numerous in the Kingdom of Shadowspeak than in other areas of Kanadire due to the occassional mysterious and sudden disappearance of half-elves from cities across Southern Balusdale. Known as the Alarca Lende, the inexplicable widespread migrations have been studied for many years, but remain an enigma specific to the Kingdom of Shadowspeak. Half-elves lean towards worship of Shinhalla or Calista, but some worship Chiltorn.

Half-Orcs

Half-Orcs are one of the least populous races across the Kingdom of Shadowpeak, but many live in the city of Kordor on Telden Bay. Half-Orcs tend to be fighters and barbarians, but are permitted to pursue any class they so choose. Some are clerics in service to Unladar, whom most half-orcs worship. While not overtly shunned from other settlements, few half-orcs take up residence in Lionsmane proper. In addition to Kordor, both Capsdale and Talus have significant half-orc populations.