Beastmen are a sapient species that is characterized by the display of traits usually associated with non-sapient animals, paired with strong cognitive skills and tool use. Due to their nature, many Beastmen identify with their own specific race rather than the species as a whole, leading to a general lack of cohesion or many defining features that they all share, but one benefit most of them retain is a sharpened animal instinct that benefits their survival.
Beastmen are usually categorized in 3 ways; the first is their class, which most commonly includes Fish, Amphibians, Mammals, Reptiles, Birds, Insects, Crustaceans, and Arachnids. The second category is the terrain that they generally inhabit; Land, Air, or Water. While there is usually some overlap here, most beastmen will find that they have an advantage in one terrain that is greater than the others. The third is their feeding style: Grazer, Predator, Scavenger, or Parasite.
History
Beastmen are native to Solace, and were the first children of the Old Gods when they created the island. Many Beastmen theorize that their original purpose was to be a form of sentient life that was able to see themselves in nature more easily than something like a
Draego or a Human, by individually giving them traits that mirrored the animals living around them. That idea carries into several Beastman cultures, never seeing yourself as separate or above nature, and giving respect to all living things. Some of the more prominent cultures are the Gnolls of
The Calm Plains, the Samebito of
The Bounty Sea, and the Arachadians of
Jacktree Thicket, that lived in harmony for thousands of years under the Primal Peace.
Beastmen have had a hard time in the modern era, first with the Dragon war that saw the Draego push them to the fringes of the world and kill millions of them, then as Humans, Elves, and Dwarves joined forces to subjugate them as animals in the wake of
The Tragedy of Mamlakat Hadaan. While some have "Domesticated" and live in the societies of other species, there are still many that keep to the wilderness and shun outsiders to protect themselves, or act as raiding parties stealing resources from travelers or caravans.
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