Human
Average in everything with a bonus to diplomacy. No subraces but can be almost anything you want them to be.
Receives a boon fitting their lore instead of choosing subrace.
Orc
Strong and numerous, the orcs are proper warriors but severely lack in technological capabilities and are generally bad at diplomacy. Many different kinds of orcs roam the world. Some are savage warbands, other are honourable warriors and heroes. Which one are you?
Known for their taming of beasts and powerful shamanistic magic. Taming beasts, big or small, are useful in everyday life as well as battle and occurs across all orcish cultures, but none do it better than the brownskin tribes. Worships different Gods but all pay respects to Akrosh, the patron God of beasts and wild spirits.
Can survive in very hot climates due to not having to intake as much water as other races. Legends say the ancestor orcs drank the blood of their enemies, and some redskins still do. They worship the orcish God of war and blood, Ghom. Can barely use any magic, but are the most ferocious, brutal and savage of all orckind.
A faster breeding kind of orc that manage to uphold some more stable form of society with an architecture that puts any other orcbreed’s settlement to shame. Generally average in everything else. They worship no one God above another.
The best smiths and siege-engineers of all orckind. Brute force and superior weaponry, with an actual resemblance of tactics, is what sets the blackskins apart from other orc breeds. Their worship of orcish Gods are perhaps neglected due to their focus on martial warfare.
All orcs are brutes, but the brute-tribes are a strange breed sharing all characteristics of other breeds. They can do what the other clans do, but not as well.
Elves
Elves live long but reproduce slowly. Their magic is the strongest in the world, and see themselves as the ultimate in civilized society, but are average in other regards. Most elves are not native to this continent, but in ages past it is said that a great elven kingdom once sprung from this region of the world. If it is more than a legend however, not even the elves know.
The greatest of non-chaotic arcane magic, highelves can dabble in almost any school of wizardry. Their statescraft and politics are center to their society, and thus have strong diplomatic capabilities.
More ferocious, cunning types of elves. They are the best rangers and marksmen, and can seemingly move through forests as if they were highways. Their deep connection to nature give them druidic magics unlike any other.
The Dark Elves shun their other elven kin. They are the strongest warriors and smiths of all elvenkind and wield dark magic schools to reach their goals, whatever they may be. Considered evil by their High-Elven kin, but objectively are like any other elf breed.
A shorter, paler kind of elf that prefers to live underground and keep to themselves. They are strong masons and woodworkers, and their mages are famed for dabbling in any magic, dark or otherwise.
Elves of different breeds can intermix, thus resulting in so called Folk-elves. They may dabble in anything that their kin do, but cannot reach the same level of expertise.
Dwarves
Strong, hardy and intelligent folk. Live almost as long as elves and reproduces slightly faster, the dwarves are most known for their incredible morale. Their short stature make them quite slow on the open fields, however.
All dwarves trace their heritage back to one of the seven founding fathers, the first of their clans, and thus pay homage to whichever patron saint their clan stems from.
See themselves as the oldest and thus wisest (wether it’s true or not). They are famed for their great dual-wielding warriors, Slayers, that specialize in killing foes such as Trolls and Ogres. They have a fierce rivalry with the Blackbeard Clan. Their founding father is Yorn Whitebeard, the Old Slayer.
The undisputed greatest smiths of all dwarvenkind, capable of crafting anything. They are robust and can withstand quite a punch, and as such their warriors are often clad from top-to-toe in heavy armor and a large shield going with their one-handed weapon. Their founding father is Sturm Ironbeard, the Greatest Smith.
The Goldbeard Clans are famed for their explorers, adventurers, excavators and mining capabilities. They are the most common type of dwarf to be seen outside of the dwarven hold as they like to venture out and explore the land. They know a great deal of the outside world thanks to this. Their founding father is Munin Goldbeard, the Diamond Miner.
Fearsome warriors wielding great two-handed weapons into battle, the Blackbeard warriors are much like the Whitebeards but the two clans have a fierce rivalry. The Blackbeards have become the best siege engineers of all dwarvenkind and like to combine their great-weapon warriors with huge siege weapons in battle. Their founding father is Durm Blackbeard, the Young Slayer.
Where other dwarf-clans seek to develop weaponry, warfare or journey out into the world, the Redbeards have spent their years honing their magic and runecraft. As such, they are the strongest magic-users of all dwarvenkind and are capable of crafting any Rune of magic. Due to their extensive research, they have knowledge that other races do not. Their founding father is Khaz Redbeard, the first Runesmith.
While all dwarfholds are glorious to behold in their construction and stoneworking, no holds are stronger or better built than the Brownbeards’. Their strongholds are said to be impenetrable, and it is said that there’s nothing that the brownbeards cannot construct. On all other counts however, they are average. They have stayed within the safety of their holds for so long, their numbers are starting to dwindle. Their founding father is Gereg Brownbeard, the stoneshaper.
The longbeards house all clan of dwarf. Sometimes, it is forgotten that they are even a clan of their own, for the dwarves have long been divided since the time of the founding fathers. The Longbeards can do anything the other clans can do, but not as well.
Their founding father is Brogar Longbeard, the first High King, for it was he who united all dwarven clans under one crown.
Ogres
A race of large warriors much like the orcs. Savage and gluttonous, they struggle to keep a lasting society together for more than a few years at a time due to infighting, lack of knowledge in statescraft and their constant aggression towards their neighbours. Despite this, some ogre societies show promise…
The softskins are seen as more intelligent than their kin. They actually have some resemblance of unity and statescraft and can even learn to use magic, but are still brutes in the eyes of other civilizations.
Much like the orcish redskins, these ogres are savage, ferocious and the most brutish of warriors among their kin, and pay homage to some sort of bloodgod. Due to their violent nature, infighting is even more prominent among bloodskins, but their growth is higher and they are said to be resistant to magic even though they are utterly incompetent to use it themselves.
Can be found in almost any climate. Their rugged greyish skin can withstand the coldest of blizzards and the hot strokes of the desert. Due to their survivalist nature, they have adapted to eat anything, and therefore cannibalism of other non-ogre races is considered acceptable in stonehide society. As if Ogres weren’t already large, the Stonehides are even larger than the average ogre breed.
Noticable from their wild and hairy appearance, the Furhides are actually able to tame beasts and practise some level of shamanistic magic much like the brownskinned orcs. They are also adept craftsmen, capable of fletching, wood- and leatherworking.
It is said Dwarves once enslaved or befriended (depending on who you ask) ogres to use as manual laborers and military vanguards, and as such tattooed their skin with runes. As some sort of aftereffect, the Runeskins are capable of wielding stronger magic than their ogre kin despite their tattoos not inherently being magical in nature. Other than this they are like most softskinned Ogres in appearance. Due to their past, typically holds a grudge against dwarves, especially the redbeards.
Any ogre who does not belong to a clan is considered an exile. Seeing as infighting is so common, over time many exile ogres band together and form new communities. These are ogres from all breeds and therefore can dabble in all that their kin can, but never as well.
Trolls
Somewhere around the size of an orc, the trolls can often be wrongfully mistaken for dumb creatures of the wilds. Despite their average strength and speed, their high cunning and regenerative abilities enable the trolls to adapt to many different climates. They are horrendously bad at diplomacy with other races however, even if they do manage to get along well among themselves. They also reproduce remarkably fast for such an intelligently disadvantaged race.
Trolls that dwell in the forests of the world, be it northern pinewoods or southern jungles, the forest trolls are typically greenskinned and practise shamanism or druidism. Due to this certain forms of magic are available to them, and due to their habitats they can move stealthily and fast through forested terrain.
With a hide-like skin that is gray and hard as rock, it is no wonder how this breed got its name. They have increased strength and intellect compared to their kin, at the cost of slower movement and growth. They are larger than the average troll and are sometimes mistaken for Ogres. Their clinging to rocky terrains and mountainous climates have given them an affinity for geomancy.
Some say Dark Trolls are made-up by elves, men and dwarves to scare their children into behaving. Indeed, such a horrendous race seems unreal with it’s blending of troll ferocity and dark magics. The Dark Trolls are very real, however. They practise their shadow magic in secluded groves both under and over ground, and because of their ritualistic sacrifice to dark gods have been blessed with the best magical capabilities of all troll-kind.
On the opposite side of magically gifted dark trolls are the magically inert Blood Trolls. Redskinned and savage beyond compare, the Blood Trolls are the strongest of their kin and pride themselves in their strength and find glory in war. Their insatiable bloodlust often lead them to cannibalism, and it is said they are resistant to magic because of this.
If such a thing as a civilized Troll breed exists, it would be the Sand trolls. They are competent builders and inhabit the dry deserts and arid steppes of the world. They have great endurance, and not bothered by heat or sun and can go days without food or drink. While other trolls are comparable to Ogres and Orcs in size however, the Sand Trolls are more the height of humans.
Testament to their great adversity, Ice Trolls live in cold or even frozen climates, seemingly able to survive where others would see nothing but wasteland. They are tall and strong, and their environmental durability is second to none. They hate fire as it hurts them greatly, but they have learned to shape Ice in some strange way that it can actually be used as substitute for iron. Other races call it Ice-Smithing.
A strange self-given name from long ago, these “unchosen” trolls are said to have been disowned by all troll gods and pantheons and banded together in their exile. They house all breeds of troll, thereby gaining all their strengths but also their weaknesses and they cannot reach the same height as the other breeds.
Goblins
Smaller than dwarves and weaker as well, the goblins are weak-willed creatures that band together in masses to survive. They may have average intelligence as far as a “savage” race is concerned, but their rate of reproduction is higher than most other races. Their society consists of a meritocratic, brutal hierarchy where the stronger and more cunning work themselves into positions of power and the lower goblins work as manual labour. They worship the same gods as orcs, and due to their similarities are sometimes mistaken by the ignorant to be orcish children or even some sort of dwarf-subrace of the orcs. None who utter such words near a goblin is alive today.
Greenskinned goblins set themselves apart from other breeds as being the most organized, perhaps due to being what civilized scholars believe to be the oldest goblin breed. They truly have mastered the system of strong-ruling-the-weak and manage to achieve great things because of it. They are the most common goblinkin.
Said to have been bred as slaves by blackskinned orcs, the Blackskins possess greater physical strength and coordination when it comes to labour, but have in turn traded this for lacklustre intelligence, seemingly. They cannot manage to achieve much on their own, but with a great leader or taskmaster to point them in the right way and direct their eagerness to work, the blackskins can become strong warriors or builders.
An offshoot of greenskinned goblins that dabbled in strange magics became the blueskins. They are blessed with even greater reproductive growth than their kin and have great magical capabilities. Their meritocratic hierarchy has changed to reflect this, as often the most powerful magic-wielder becomes the most feared/respected taskmaster.
A group of goblins is called a commune. Commune goblins that band together are typically of different subraces, and can therefore dabble in all specialities of their kin to some extent.
Halflings
Ironically, halflings come in many shapes and sizes. Recently, human scholars have begun speculating that the term halfling is actually an umbrella-term of many different types of subraces due to their differences from oneanother.
Halflings are life-loving, small and hardy folk somewhere in between humans and dwarves. They are less robust than dwarves and typically slender like humans, but averagely stand at the same height as a dwarf. Halflings belong to one of many different families, and when one type of family becomes abundant enough they typically become their own subrace due to their fast way of adapting to new environments and livelihoods. Halflings are excellent traders, travellers and diplomats. They rely on other races to survive, especially when it comes to warfare. They have little in the way of fighting a large-scale war but instead oblige their friends and allies to fight for them when necessary.
The Hillfoot family of halflings are strong builders and farmers and tend to get rounder bellies after a while. They are content and much like dwarves in their hardiness. They are honest and friendly folk and have a bonus to morale.
Excellent craftsmen, traders and diplomats. Rockheads are known to be stubborn but prefer to travel the world rather than settle down and get round bellies like their hillfoot cousins. Their diplomatic capabilities are the best of halfling kin.
With such a comedic name the Bumblerunners often become the brunt of many jokes from humans, dwarves and other travelling companions, but they take it with a stride unlike any other. They love travelling even more than the Rockheads, and are sometimes considered nomadic communities due to never staying around for too long. They are excellent explorers, rogues, spies and thieves. That doesn’t mean all bad things though, they’re halflings after all!
Anyone who’s ever met a kender usually has nothing good to say about them. They’re so different from their other kin that they’re considered a cousin- or sister-race to the halflings. They’re less round, more nimble and slightly shorter. They combine a bit of Rockhead and Bumblerunner tendencies in that they love adventuring, meeting new people, craft new things and see the world. They are excellent sneaks and have a distinct trait that they don’t feel fear like other races do. It is a foreign concept to them, and as such many a kender has met their end from having been all too curious, and not fearful enough. Historians and scholars have scratched their heads for centuries over the kender… Just what are they?!
Proudly boasting family of all kind of halfling breed. They may to what all the other families do, but never as good as them.