Arann’s humans are an immensely diverse group, and the largest single race. They live and rule on every continent of the world, with their civilizations taking all shapes and forms.

The Adean Empire is the cradle of humanity, and the Emperor of Adea rules over the kingdoms of Adea, Medea, and Valador, and maintains the fealty of the thanes of Terland and a nigh-unbreakable alliance with the Kingdom of Arleon. Adean, Medean, and Valadorian humans are all the same, more or less, falling under the category of Adean.

This is not the full catalogue of Arann’s humanity, however. To the north, the barbaric, tribal Viers of Northmarch make their home. Across the sea on the continent of Yvenlond an explorer will find the twin kingdoms of Ciathay, the Celestial Empire of Jivan, and the Six Cities. At the center of the World Sea, the archipelagic continents of Manzannobar and Ghirducania are ruled by the monolithic Ghirducanian Empire, whose legions are locked in a century’s long conflict with the Six Cities. To the south, beyond the Kingdom of Trepanto and the city-states of Etryca and Corsciva, there are the Three Gems of Shayar, and beyond that the kingdoms of Onangal and Nuberia.

The Dwarves of Arann have two variants: the Iron Dwarves and the Hill Dwarves.

Iron Dwarves are those dwarves that dwell beneath the mountains of the Forgewall. Their Underkingdom, which stretches across the mountain range from Dun Boldir in the north to the mines under Adea to the south, is the oldest standing civilization in the world, having been founded thousands upon thousands of years ago, when the world was young. Iron Dwarves are strong senses of honor, duty, and faithfulness, which can perplex men and elves. Mechanically, the Iron Dwarves of the Forgewall are Mountain Dwarves.

The Iron Dwarves’ cousins, the Hill Dwarves, are those dwarves that left the Underkingdom to live under the sky above ground. Dark skinned than their pale cousins, the hill dwarves are considered queer by their subterranean relations, and as far more relatable by humanity and elvenkind. Mechanically, Hill Dwarves are Hill Dwarves.

The Elves of Arannn are divided into four primary categories: the Sun Elves of Bastion, the Moon Elves of Luthin, the Dark Elves of Nocturne, and the Wood Elves of the havens.

Bastion’s Sun Elves are golden haired, green eyed arcanists, ruled over by a council of powerful mages, and are loathe to consider the younger races to be equal to themselves. They are largely irreligious, heeding the trinity of Elven gods, but there rarely a cleric or priest among them. They place their faith largely in magic and sorcery instead. Mechanically, Sun Elves are High Elves, without any edits or changes.

The Moon Elves of Luthin, called the Citadel in the common tongue of Adea, are quite different. Far humbler than their longer-lived cousins to the south, the silver haired, pale eyed Moon Elves work their own fields, tend to cattle, and worship the Lord-Maker Gyaal after the elven Saint Nimriel brought His word to Luthin. The Moon Elves, along with the dwarves, are humanity’s closest ally. Mechanically, Moon Elves are High Elves, but rather than receiving a cantrip from the wizard spell list, a Moon Elf receives a cantrip from the cleric spell list, and the Moon Elf’s Wisdom is her spellcasting ability for it.

The ebon skinned Dark Elves of Nocturne are not the classically repugnant drow of the Forgotten Realms, but they do have their similarities. Nocturne and its dark elven masters are champions of liberty. No spell is forbidden, no ritual profane, no intrigue illegal unless the will of the High Houses opposes it. At least, this liberty extends to dark elves themselves. Those dwarves, elves, orcs, and men unfortunate enough to find themselves clapped in the irons of the dark elves know no salvation but death in their chattel slavery. While the moon elves of Citadel and sun elves of Bastion may be ideologically opposed to one another, the dark elves of Nocturne are their mortal enemies, with a lurid history of violence against their brethren that predates recorded history. Mechanically, dark elves are Drow, but rather than Daylight Sensitive and Superior Darkvision, dark elves possess ordinary darkvision, and have no daylight sensitivity.

The Wood Elves of Arann are divided among a few political entities but are largely the same. Secluded from the world, they rule their domains and maintain strict treaties with their neighbors to prevent meddling in their affairs and with the forests in which they dwell. The wood elves of Sanctum and Haven maintain the most positive relationships with the outside world, but tread lightly in the woods of the moving city of Hallow, for those wild elves suffer no trespassers. The wood elves are not fervent practitioners of magic as their cousins, but their realms are protected by powerful enchantments that make them all but unfindable, save for by those who already know where they are. Mechanically, wood elves are wood elves.

Elves exist elsewhere in the world as well, ranging from Ciathay to Shayar to Ghirducania. For these, either the high elf or wood elf templates will suffice. The Dusk Elves of Jivan, for example, would use the wood elf template.

Dragonborn, as described in the Player’s Handbook, are humanoid descendants of dragons, or at least are thought to be. The Dragonborn are a disparate people with no home civilization of their own, but long ago, in ages past, a great Dragon Empire covered the entirety of Yvenlond. Long fallen in a titanic war, the dragonborn have since dispersed to the far corners of the world and can be found wherever civilization might be found. Few know of their ancient history, but some keep it still. The most stalwart of these traditionalists are the Yauviir, the Dragonborn paladins whose Oaths as Champions of the Light date back to the prehistory of the world.

Rather than being the offspring of man and orc, as popular belief and myth may have it, half-orcs are not half anything. Rather, half-orcs are a leaner, smarter, and more civilized subrace of orc. They are well integrated into society, though they frequently suffer prejudice and discrimination for their appearance and untrue but still popular tall tales of brutishness and violence. Half-orc tribes are peacefully nomadic societies, traveling traders and the like, though many half-orcs have abandoned this lifestyle and settled permanently across the Adean Empire.

Tieflings are popularly believed to be descendants of demons, but many scholars believe that such rumors are nothing more than legend based solely on an admittedly demonic appearance. Tieflings face great prejudice and discrimination in the world, and many cities have tiefling dominated slums. The rare exceptions are Shayar, where Tieflings are equal, and even often more socially valued than their fellow races, and Nocturne, where they are accepted by the dark elves as fellow citizens (if second-class, in the sense that there are no noble tiefling houses in Nocturne).

Faith is a matter of faith, so to speak. The gods do not speak to mortals, and clerics receive their powers through the power of their faith and conviction rather than through the favors of their gods, though they may believe otherwise.

Among humans, there are two primary religions—that of the Old Pantheon, and the nascent monotheistic religion that worships the Lord-Maker Gyaal.

The Pantheon is a loose assortment of gods, any of which from the various Dungeons & Dragons setting may exist. If you want to worship Kord, Pelor, etc., by all means. No list I could make would be all inclusive.

The Church of Gyaal, which has grown to be the dominant religion among humanity and among the Moon Elves of Citadel, is a monotheistic religion that holds that all of creation was made by one true god, Gyaal, who became mortal and spread word of His love and grace among his creations.

There are a number of other religions in the world. The Elven Trinity, for example, or the World Serpent of Jivanni lore, or Ashjatrayya of the Shayari. It’s a big world, but those two above are the most important.

Finally, here are a list of additional languages that exist in Arann:
• Adean, the Common Tongue [If your character would receive the language Common, he or she speaks Adean]
• Leosian, the Tongue of Arleon
• Terlish, the Language of Terland
• Low Vieric, the Tongue of the Viers
• High Vieric, the Dead Language of the fallen Vieric Empire
• Corscivan, the Tongue of the City-States of Corsciva
• Etrycan, the Tongue of the City-States of Etryca
• Pantoshi, the Tongue of the Petty-Kingdoms of Trepanto
• Ghirducanian, the Tongue of the Ghirducanian Empire
• Shayari, the Tongue of Shayar
• Nuberian, the Lingua Franca of Onagal
• Jivanese, the Tongue of Jivan
• Ciathene, the Tongue of the Twin Kingdoms of Ciathay
• Kindashi, the Tongue of the Six Cities
• Telendi, the Tongue of the Sun and Moon Elves
• Kelendi, the Tongue of the Dark Elves
• Dwarvish, the Tongue of the Dwarves
• Or’cat, the Tongue of Goblins, Orcs, Hobgoblins, etc. [Replacing Goblin, Orcish]

The most important of these is Adean, but you may find Terlish, Leosian, Or’cat, and High Vieric useful during your adventures.