TOMAGOMB races

Notes on Racial Modifiers: Stat modifications only modify the potential cap of the statistics, not the current number. In doing so, racial statistic caps bend some of the rules about normal statistic caps. For instance, at level 1 a dwarf could raise his Fortitude to 15, but his Dexterity could only be raised to 11. Under level 10, he could raise Fortitude as high as 18 but Dexterity only to 14. Also, the stat cap can lower the minimum possibility for a stat: the same dwarf could start with 4 Dexterity if he wished, but no less than 8 Fortitude.

Bedkips
Bedkips lived in a highly secluded society for ages before finally receiving notice from outside races. Now constantly at war with the human nations across the seas, Acrinolia and Baldorn, they have hardened, and little by little these interesting small folk have begun making themselves known in different lands.

Physical Description: Bedkips generally stand from just under 4 feet to nearly 4 and a half feet tall and weigh, surprisingly, about 100 to 200 pounds. Being about the same height as dwarves and yet much thinner, they weigh nearly the same due to their extreme density. Bedkip men and women stand and weigh about the same. Most bedkips will have hair ranging from a dark brown to a sandy blonde (usually wavy or straight), with eyes that tend towards brown or a surprisingly brilliant green. A bedkip's shade of skin is generally a light tan. Bedkips are quite plain and unadorned in their groom and dress, occasionally taking up unique hairstyles for festive occasions. They live off of what nature provides them, and they dress in easily blending natural colors.

Personality: Bedkips you meet will most likely be the more bright and intelligent members of their race. While by and large, bedkips are a bit on the dull side, only the brighter ones normally leave their peaceful forest. They are a quiet and slow people, who love the forest more dearly, it is sometimes said, than even the wood elves. To truly be trusted by a bedkip, one has probably known them for some time. Bedkips seldom make quick decisions regarding anything.

Relations: Bedkips are a bit leery of other folk; while they get along famously with humans from the nation of Worquia, a long isolation quickly followed by invasion from Acrinolia and Baldorn left the bedkips very introverted. It is only in recent ages that the bedkips have begun to come out of their ancestral homeland and be seen abroad. While not highly sociable, bedkips are polite and generally well spoken.

Bedkip Lands: The Sinesteene Region, as it is called by humans, or simply Sinesteene in the bedkip language. Bedkips have lived there since it was known that bedkips existed. For ages, they were left alone, until a short supply of stone and timber turned greedy eyes to their forest. The Sinesteene Forest is made up of coastal redwood trees of a very massive girth, and strewn across the forest floor are granite boulders and occasional cliff outcroppings. It is also said that some different ores can be found in abundance there.

For 240 bitter years, Acrinolia and Baldorn clung doggedly to their war with each other and the Sinesteene region. The bedkips might surely have lost if a chance accidental meeting between the king of Worquia and the mayor-king of the greatest bedkip stronghold had not occurred. The Worquians were a noble and idealistic people, made up mostly of turnip and potato farmers, and with a peculiar tendency towards valorous combat. The Worquian king was outraged by the attacks and atrocities, and joined forces with the bedkips. Eventually, an age of peace was ushered in, which was shattered 900 years later by the Dragon Hordes. But that is another story.

Bedkips live in trees, on the insides of them. They have learned the best ways not to harm them in doing so, and by getting used to living in high branches, have trained their already tough bodies to survive the dangers of falling down, as well as preventative caution. They still persist in having individual governments for each set of tree-cities, but recognize the mayor-king of the greatest tree-city as having the final say on matters of the bedkip nation. They are some of the most skilled carpenters and woodcrafters in the world, and their knowledge of wood rivals the stonecunning of dwarves.

Bedkip cities have almost no non-bedkips living among their numbers. Perhaps one percent or less of their population would be all the outsiders that exist within.

Religion: Bedkips by and large worship Gramalthen, the goddess of Nature. They praise she that maintains the forests and sings the springtime awake. Those bedkips who aren't rangers are often druids.

Language: Bedkips speak Bedkip and Common. Common was picked up later as the need became more necessary. Also, the first bonus language most would pick would be Arithmeian, the human tongue from across the seas, which is spoken by their enemies; a language from ages forgotten. The Bedkip language itself is very near to Sylvan, and uses the Sylvan alphabet, as it is said that the bedkips are the closest relatives to the fey, though its also said they're the closest relatives of halflings. (In my world, Sylvan and Elven each have unique alphabets.)

Adventurers: One will find the most interesting bedkips abroad, though they are very few and far between. Some bedkips adventure to bring back information of the outside world to the Sinesteene Forest, while others might be out trying to earn fast money to help their economy, which up until quite recently had been based almost entirely around wooden coins. For a few, a strange sort of wanderlust curiosity began to crop up, although typically not among the larger amounts of duller bedkips. It isn't quite so shunned now as it once was, however, to leave the Sinesteene region for long periods of time.

Bedkip Racial Description: Bedkips get -2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Fort, -2 M.A. They have all falling damage reduced by 20 feet, +2 Dex or Str for purposes of climbing, -4 Str or Dex for purposes of swimming, +2 bonus to Fort. vs. poison and disease, get +10% stealth and +10% woodworking, and are proficient with mace/hammers, leather armor, wooden armor, boomerangs and blowguns. Either skill bonus may be substituted for Knowledge: Nature if preferred.

Cave Dwarves
Lonesome savages, these clans of dwarves formed from outcasts of other dwarven societies. While few in number and scattered, they sometimes interact with surface dwellers when they grow tired of living in squalor. Cave dwarves are uncouth and isolated, leaving their etiquette something to be desired.

Physical Description: A bit more solidly built than their hill and mountain dwarf cousins, cave dwarves sometimes stand as tall as 4'8" and are generally known to weigh between 120 to 230 lbs. Their skin tone is generally more tanned than other dwarves as they are often forced to spend time foraging or travelling in sunlight.  Their hair color varies about as much as a human's does, though cave dwarves are rarely blonde.  Most cave dwarves are also a bit grubby and dressed in furs or rags.

Personality: Cave dwarves, as mentioned, are outcast individuals (or in rare cases, entire clans) that live in isolated groups underground. Their society is fairly primitive and tribal, though they still maintain literacy and a working knowledge of the Common language. Cave dwarves are largely unaware of the etiquette and social rules that most other races live by due to their upbringing, and can often be crass, rude, unthinking, obnoxious, or downright creepy. On the other hand, sometimes they just genuinely make an honest faux-pax without even realizing it ("Oh, there's places you shouldn't spit?").

Relations: As little as possible. Cave dwarves are isolated for a reason: they started out as social pariahs. When they do go out, they are ill-equipped to deal with social interaction and are often the butt of jokes, which makes them even worse. Other races tend to forget their existence, and cave dwarves often ignore the other races in turn.

Cave Dwarf Lands: Sadly, cave dwarves technically don't have lands. They have no nation, unifying government, system of beliefs or place to truly call their own. When a cave dwarf lives somewhere, he is almost always a squatter, only laying claim to his region until some greater force drives him out.

Religion: Just as they have no lands, so too they have no organized religion. Since many outcasts are often individuals who struck out against the social norms, the religious worship passed down among cave dwarves varies just as wildly as the gods and goddesses themselves.

Language: Cave dwarves still retain Common and Dwarven and the ability to read and write. This doesn't make them fluent experts however; cave dwarves often know enough common to barter for a good or to run you out of their caves, and enough writing to realize when someone is trying to get them to sign a contract or to etch up "No Trespassing." The GM can suggest your level of fluency by your M.A. score.

Adventurers: So, here's a secret: cave dwarves don't actually enjoy living in filthy caves and abject poverty. They are envious of the other races when they think about them, and the smarter ones often grow curious enough to venture out into the world. It's assumed that a cave dwarf has managed to scrape together the same starting funds as any other race, though it was likely difficult and involved salvaging gear from the bodies of their enemies. A cave dwarf could be motivated for many reasons, but the big one is probably to climb out of the rut their race is in.

Cave Dwarf Racial Description: Cave Dwarves get +2 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Fort, -2 M.A. Cave dwarves gain mace/hammer, spear, and leather armor proficiency, infravision, +1 Fort. bonus vs. disease and poison, and +15% spell resistance. Cave dwarves have a -10% penalty to Subterfuge.

Hill/Mountain Dwarves
These two distinct cultures are, in fact, the same race, though neither will likely admit to it. Location, economy, religion, etc. has driven the dwarves apart, though they at least grudgingly engage in some trade with each other. These dwarven nations have an even greater rivalry than dwarves and elves.

Personality: While hill dwarves are somewhat outgoing, mountain dwarves are shut-in. Hill dwarves interact to a wide degree with the other races, engaging in large-scale trade, often selling their craftsmanship and handmade wares. Hill dwarves are fairly good-natured and have at least some sense of humor. Mountain dwarves, by contrast, are self-sufficient and engage in very little trade. Mountain dwarves tend to distrust any outsider and feel no need to associate with the outside world, preferring their own company to any other. They are withdrawn and distant, sometimes even cold.

Physical Description: In this the dwarves vary little, with the tallest among them reaching about 4'5" or 4'6" and weighing between 110 to 210 lbs. Hill dwarves are fair-skinned, while the mountain dwarves are often very pale, mostly because they receive very, very little sunlight. Their eyes are generally brown or blue, and their hair colors match the same range as most humans, though many have exceptionally bright red hair. Dwarven women sometimes have a little facial hair, but it is generally kept minimal and with feminine decorations such as dyes, beads and bright pins, and contrary to popular belief not all dwarven women can even grow a beard.

Relations: Hill dwarves are an accepted part of the culture of the world, with a reputation for unrivalled craftsmanship in metal and stone. Every race short of elves and orcs are generally fond of them. Mountain dwarves, ironically, are viewed with the same suspicion they treat everyone else with, and in place of a good reputation are dark rumors of what lies in the blackness beneath the twisting caverns of the Ash Mountains.

Hill and Mountain Dwarf Lands: The hill dwarves live in the Iron Hills, in the heart of the western lands of Safeev. The hills truly are rich in iron, as well as coal, so the dwarves are at no shortage of supplies to craft exported goods. Some other mineral veins can be found deeper, but the hill dwarves haven't mined down as extensively as the mountain dwarves. In the Ash Mountains, the mountain dwarves have carved out a cyclopean labyrinth of tunnels and undergound cities. Every secret of the soil they plan on unearthing, leaving no stone unturned, as it were. The mountain dwarves have riches beyond most other races' dreams, masters of gemcutting and jewelcraft, silversmithing and goldsmithing, yet they still only dig for more.

Religion: Hill dwarves worship a variety of deities, among them are Varthaal, the dwarven god of war, and Daglad, the dwarven god of secrets, as well as non-dwarven deities such as Gramalthen, goddess of nature, and Alanthi, god of valor. Mountain dwarves largely tend to worship just the dwarven deities, especially Daglad. This lends even further to their aura of xenophobia and dark secrets.

Language: Both hill and mountain dwarves speak Common and Dwarven fluently, though hill dwarves will revert to common often to include others in the conversation, while mountain dwarves prefer the secrecy of those who learn *their* language and speak it whenever they can get away with it. Terran is another language they are likely to pick up, as is Undercommon, though they don't start with them.

Adventurers: Many dwarves are motivated by greed and possessions, though there are plenty of free-thinking and altruistic dwarves who want to make the world a better place. Hill dwarves are obviously more common to meet on the road than mountain dwarves are, though meeting a mountain dwarf outside the dwarven realms is almost always either a good or a bad sign: good that they've opened their eyes to exploring the world, or bad because they can't be trusted and might mean some sort of harm.

Hill and Mountain Dwarf Racial Descriptions: Essentially the same race, hill and mountain dwarves are only separated by location and prejudice. Hill / Mountain dwarves get -2 Dex, +2 Fort., infravision, +10% Spell Resistance, mace/hammer/club proficiency, metal armor proficiencies (chain, scale/banded, plate), +1 Fort. bonus on saves vs. disease and poison, and +20% divided among tradeskills.

Ellessir
A tall, stately, and exotic race, ellessir come from a secret utopia located somewhere on Ithikalos. Their height and coloration is guaranteed to bring them notice wherever they go. They have a penchant for wandering and love the attention that comes with being a bard. While not physically imposing, they are more than a match in a contest of wills or words.

Personality: Outgoing and friendly, ellessir excel in social interactions. They are exotic to most every race, but this usually lends them charm instead of xenophobic animosity. Ellessir are diplomatic, empathic, and nurturing at their best, though they can be misleading, deceiving, and conniving at their worst. In general, the other races find ellessir absolutely captivating and enigmatic, and seek to gain them as friends or companions.

Physical Description: At their shortest, ellessir stand at least 6 ft. tall, and range up to about 7 ft., generally falling in around 6'5" or so for both men and women. They are also thin, and weigh between 150 to 220 lbs.  More amazing than their build is their coloration, which ranges over the whole spectrum of color for their skin, eyes, and hair.  As a guideline, their skin tone is usually one of the "cool" colors (blue, green, purple, etc.), while their eyes and hair can touch into any exotic shade, but really they can be any combination so long as it doesn't clash.  Even further, their skin and eyes change color with their mood, and not necessarily to the colors one would expect (a green ellessir who turns purple might be angry, sad or horny, depending on the individual).  They often build on this exotic appearance with custom-styled clothing and hair, sometimes made to suit different moods.

Relations: See Personality, above, for friendly races. However, there are a few races that can't or won't be reasoned with, which is why the ellessir have a hidden utopia. The incredibly evil or incredibly savage races are avoided by ellessir, as they aren't known for their prowess in combat.

Ellessir Lands: Everyone's asking, and nobody's telling. Ellessir lands are a mystery, made no less so by being a secret they will keep under pain of torture and death. Some have theorized that the ellessir make a magical pact with any of their people who leave the hidden city, ensuring that it is completely protected even by the weak-minded. No one but the ellessir really know though.

Religion: Most ellessir worship Allaria, the goddess of beauty and art, and by legend it is she that created the ellessir themselves. Some worship other deities, usually the more good-aligned ones such as Alimbo, Alanthi and Gramalthen (which brings up the question of Gramalthen's alignment again; the question is best left to the scholars).

Language: Ellessir automatically speak Elven, Sylvan, and either Common (New Dardonian) or S'zeltoran (the common on Ithikalos). They maintain close ties to elves and fey, and accordingly learn each language in turn. Other languages they might pick up include High S'zeltoran (used for formal occasions on Ithikalos), Celestial (because the language is so beautiful), and Undercommon (because the language is useful for saving your life sometimes).

Adventurers: Ellessir take well to adventuring because they fit the spirit of it. They often fill the role of bard in a group, using Subterfuge to find an alternate means to victory. Ellessir love to see the world and interact with the other races, and have some of the same wanderlust that manifests in elves. For ellessir, it is not the destination, but the journey which is rewarding.

Ellessir Racial Description: Ellessir have -2 Str, +2 M.A. Ellessir have low-light vision, mood-color skin (others can make a M.A. check to recognize the ellessir‘s mood unless the ellessir rolls subterfuge with a -10% penalty), +30% subterfuge + 1% / level, speak Common, S’zeltoran, Sylvan, and Elven, and are proficient with short blades and pole arms.

Dark Elves
Comfortable in the darkness of the underground, dark elves as a people were supported by Barognis to break away from the other elves during the Wakegrave Sundering. They have lived in the shadow of Neryk and the Eastern Lands for many years without being forced to pledge their allegiance under such dark forces. While dark elves are far from being saints, they are also independent and well-fortified, and do not think they need any such alliance with Neryk.

Personality: Dark elves are quiet about their true thoughts and emotions, instead preferring silence, a subject change, or outright lies and manipulation. They only seek out other races when it would be beneficial to do so, and otherwise live in a world all their own. Dark elves as a whole are not truly sinister, but their society is a bit prone to corruption the further up the chain of command one goes (which is not unlike human society). A dark elf is likely to treat you politely, but at arm's length. It takes longer to befriend one than even a mountain dwarf.

Physical Description: Dark elves have skin which is typically a midnight blue or nearly black purple. Their hair is generally either stark white or pitch black, and their eyes are usually red, purple, or occasionally green (which would indicate a closer racial heritage to other elven bloodlines). They stand between 4'9" and 5'4" and weigh between 80 and 140 lbs. (even the strongest ones are made of lighter material than a human). Both men and women wear their hair long, and their clothing often blends well into darkness, the exception being the fancy attire of the aristocracy.

Relations: While their outside relations are few, dark elves are known to trade heavily on the black markets, dealing in forbidden goods such as poison, slaves, taboo magic, and other unsavory goods. A cautious and prepared individual can often find just about anything for sale if they go and visit the home of the dark elves. Dark elves tolerate grey elves but despise high elves and wood elves. Most other races they are generally polite to, if the individual shows equal courtesy to them. Unfortunately, most people severely distrust dark elves due to urban legend, and they often have a rough time in other lands.

Dark Elf Lands: North of the Eastern Lands, east of Spiral Tower Mountain, there is a region approximately 100 miles across riddled with vast and ancient caverns. Some say a brood of dragons used to live there, but were slain or simply left in long ages past. There is a single main entrance cave which is fairly common knowledge, and you'd best be waving a white flag long before you come within view of it. Riddled throughout the area are smaller, secret side passages that one might stumble across, though one is likely to get lost in these labyrinthine side passages.

Religion: Dark elves often worship Barognis, as he sponsored their separation from the other elven sects. Dark elves have a keen affinity for shadow magic because of him. Otherwise, dark elves might worship any assortment of other deities, with perhaps a nod to Awfhule for the less scrupulous among them.

Languages: Dark elves speak Elven, Undercommon and their choice of either Kalmanchu (the common of eastern Safeev) or Common (or New Dardonian, the common of western Safeev). Extra languages they might pick up include Terran, Orcish, and Abyssal, considering their region.

Adventurers: Dark elves, among other things, are still elves. Somewhere at heart, they still get the touch of wanderlust just like any wood elven ranger or high elven bard might. They also sometimes go out to carve a niche for themselves in a place where society hasn't had carved niches for millennia (sometimes the same individual will hold a monopoly in a given field for hundreds, or more than a thousand, years). The opportunity to have fun and better oneself, while breaking away from entrenched social structure, is often enough to inspire a dark elf to leave their lands for a while.

Dark Elf Racial Description: Dark Elves get +2 Dex, -2 Fort. Dark Elves have low-light vision, infravision, short blade and long blade proficiency, leather and chain armor proficiency, 10% Spell Resistance and reduce the cost of all shadow spells by ½ CPD, to no less than ½ CPD.

Grey Elves
The erudite and often elitist grey elves are primarily arcane researchers, though they possess a knack for all forms of information. They tend to involve themselves on a higher scale than day-to-day life, masters of arcana, philosophy, science (though second to gnomes), and the various mental disciplines. Grey elves are sometimes so cerebral they begin to drift away from emotion and visceral reactions.

Personality: Grey elves have a reputation for being arrogant know-it-alls, which is somewhat deserved. They tend to talk down to individuals whom they view as being slow, ignorant, or stupid, though many might also take it upon themselves to try to teach the unlearned. Sometimes this doesn't go over well either. However, not all grey elves are assholes, often because they grew to despise the grey elves that are, but they still have that unflattering reputation to overcome. The most scientific and cerebral among them are sometimes almost devoid of emotion, while the more personable ones will often be quiet observers, who rarely vocalize their feelings but definitely have them. These outgoing grey elves are the sort to have an explosion of intense emotion at critical points in their life, shocking those who don't know them well.

Physical Description: Grey elves are the tallest elves, standing from 5'5" to 6'4" and weighing between 120 to 200 lbs. Their skin is a light ashen grey, sometimes slightly darker with a tan. Their hair can theoretically come in all the human shades, but is almost always black and usually worn long, tied back into a ponytail. Their eyes are usually silver, hazel or purple, though occasionally green as well. They usually have the slight build of one who spends all their time studying instead of exercising and eating regularly, and robes are the most common garment.

Relations: Grey elves have business dealings with dark elves, though it goes no further than business, and share a certain rivalry and camaraderie with high elves. Wood elves dislike them, and the feeling is mutual, as wood elves claim grey elves have lost their natural roots and grey elves claim wood elves are a force that impedes arcane progress. Grey elves generally find the company of other races either intriguing or amusing, depending on the level of intellect presented. While they are usually slow to make friends, they are quick to gain business associates, so the only races that dislike them are the ones that have no business with them. Orcs fall into this latter category, as do bedkips and cave dwarves (small wonder, as grey elves can be patronizing to those with less intellect). Finally, it's worth noting that while Mount Aluminum gnomes find grey elves to be a fascinating (and in their view, hilariously incorrect) study, grey elves almost universally DO NOT find Mount Aluminum gnomes to be good company.

Grey Elf Lands: The grey elves are the smallest sect of elves, and don't have a proper nation or system of government. Rather, they prefer to live amongst high elves in northern Pithamos for the most part, and also a hefty percentage of them can be found living at the Nine Towers of Wizardry in the Ash Mountains. The rest are likely on the road, trying to track down an ancient tome of spells or searching for a lost ruin or magic item. It's theorized that there's also someplace they tend to gather that no one else knows about, since projected estimates of their population don't seem to correspond with their known gathering points.

Religion: Grey elves are not a terribly pious bunch, generally being focused on arcane power instead of divine. However, the faithful among them take just as well to divine magic as to arcane. Most tend to vaguely worship Eranax, the God of Magic, though nearly all religions can be found among them scattered fairly evenly, giving a slight nod to Falencia, the goddess of elves.

Languages: Grey elves speak Elven, Common and Runic, and are likely to dabble into Draconic, Undercommon, Kalmanchu, Sylvan, and the languages of outsiders and elementals. Their esoteric studies often require speaking and reading bizarre and rare languages, and Runic is required to have much knowledge of magic beyond the bare ritual acts of it.

Adventurers: Grey elves adventure to better themselves, i.e., to gain more knowledge and therefore power. They have some of the wanderlust spirit that all elves share, and while they hate to admit it, they enjoy exploring an ancient ruin almost as much for the fun and excitement as for the knowledge they might gain. Grey elves are often a boon when it comes time to answer a tough question or solve a mental puzzle, and their magical prowess truly is unmatched.

Grey Elf Racial Description: Grey Elves get -2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Fort, +2 M.A. Low-light vision, +30% divided among any knowledge skills, and +1 CPD + 1 / 10 levels.

High Elves
High elves are an ostentatious, political bunch. They try to keep up with the grey elves in knowledge and arcana, and the wood elves in combat and perception. As it turns out, they fall a bit short on both fronts, leaving them at a solid middle ground in class flexibility. High elves at their best are personable, handy, outgoing and thoughtful. At their worst, high elves can be elitist, narrow-minded, bigots, and hypocrites. Love them or hate them, they are definitely out in the world among most every race.

Personality: At a glance, it would seem like high elves are similar to ellessir, as they constantly seek to make social connections and love to influence new people they meet. However, this facade wears a bit thin after a minute or two, as many view these political- and business-oriented high elves as phoney or fake. Indeed, as a race they tend to lack exactly the sort of charisma they need to do what they do. Individuals can practice to become good at subterfuge, of course, while other individuals are nothing like the worst of their people. Many high elves who aren't in the upper reaches of their society are indeed kind and caring, even down-to-earth, and sympathize more with wood elves.

Physical Description: High elves are tall and graceful, standing from 5'4" to 6'0" and weighing between 110 to 170 lbs. Their skin is extremely fair and notably lacking in freckles, while their hair tends nearly always to some vibrant shade of blonde or silver, though occasionally one will find a red-head. High elves usually have blue or amethyst-purple eyes, though sometimes green as well. High elves are almost always thin, though sometimes with a touch more muscle tone than a grey elf from weapon training. They are often considered beautiful by humans, though this is obviously a matter of personal preference. High elven clothing is either durable and practical (lower class), colorful and comfortable (middle class), or ostentatious and gaudy (upper class), and their hair styles tend to fall much the same way.

Relations: High elves get along well with grey elves, who are both their friends and rivals. The two races share a great deal of arcane knowledge between them, and because of this closeness many grey elves live among high elves. High elves also tend to get along swimmingly with humans from the western nations of Safeev, which has bolstered their economy considerably. Humans consider high elves enigmatic and beautiful, which high elven merchants and politicians love to exploit. Indeed, they get along so well that half-elves are often the offspring of humans and high elves, specifically. This is due to an interesting phenomenon of middle- or lower-class high elves marrying into upper class human families, and often overseeing such "old money" for the rest of their lengthy lives. The trend of high elves getting a stronger hold over human society due to this increasing tendency is a touch alarming, but only versed scholars ever tend to spot the trend. Really, high elves get along with almost every civilized race because they take pains to do so. The main ones they resent are dark elves and ellessir. Dark elves historically had a direct falling-out with high elves, and the two races maintain a vicious hatred for one another long after the reasoning for doing so was practically lost to history. Ellessir won't come to open conflict among high elves, but high elves are jealous and resentful of them. Whereas high elves maintain an aura of enigma and beauty to humans, ellessir are even moreso both of these things, and deservedly, even to high elves. This is something that the more vain and manipulative high elves can't stand.

High Elf Lands: High elves live in Ilsharess, the Great Crystal Paradise, in northern Pithamos. Their inner city is formed of largely artificial crystal shards that were shaped through powerful arcane magic, often as towers or entire palaces. It is truly beautiful, opulent, ostentatious, and presumptuous, with each neighbor trying to outdo the other. The upper-class and aristocratic high elves live in this central district, and are prone to being extremely eccentric and elitist. In the middle ring of Ilsharess live the merchant and middle class, who live well enough and either struggle to rise higher among high elven social circles, or simply enjoy the fact that they live comfortably and are content. The lower class high elves live in the outer ring, as well as the surrounding forest. These high elves are practically segregated and ignored by upper-class high elves, and tend to live more like their wood elf cousins do in tree-friendly wooden structures.

Religion: High elves are the most widespread worshippers of Falencia, the Elfmother. They also tend to worship Alimbo, Allaria and Eranax to lesser extents. High elves are much more inclined to divine magic than grey elves are, though they still have more arcane casters than divine. Some races accuse many high elves of going through the motions without having real faith in their deities, though their clerics surely prove otherwise.

Languages: High elves speak Elven, Common, and any one other language of their choice. Additional languages they might be interested in are Kalmanchu, S'zeltoran, High S'zeltoran, Celestial, Arithmeian, and the languages of most friendly, sentient races. High elves love to extend their personal network and build a powerbase, especially the middle- and upper-class ones.

Adventurers: High elf adventurers are likely from the lower-class families, struggling to make a name for themselves and have a place in the world. They tend to give in to wanderlust and explore the world for a while, disillusioned with their rigidly hierarchical society. The more wanderlust a high elf gives into, the further he tends to get from the stereotypes associated with his race as he explores new races and new cultures. High elf adventurers are often a sharp contrast to high elf aristocrats, down-to-earth and amiable, lighthearted and full of common sense. High elves often become magi, bards, clerics, paladins or occasionally rangers.

High Elves get -2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Fort., +2 M.A. Low-light vision, bow proficiency OR short- or long blade proficiency, +1 M.A. for perception rolls, +10% to any one specific knowledge skill, and High Elves get a bonus +½ CPD at 1st level and +½ CPD every 10 levels thereafter.

Wood Elves
When someone speaks of elves, wood elves are often the first to come to mind: masters of the bow and arrow, stealthy, graceful, and deeply respectful of nature and especially the forest. These quiet elves tend to steer away from metropolis cities and industry, preferring solitude in a natural setting.

Personality: Wood elves are a bit self-kept, wary of corrupting influences and unnatural things. They get wanderlust more strongly than any other elven race, yet they keep to uncivilized wilderness often in their travels. Despite all of this, wood elves are not nearly as standoffish as dark elves or grey elves, warming up to individuals who share a love of nature or that are simply like-minded in some way. Wood elves generally tell it to you like it is, often bluntly when they aren't quietly minding their own business. While this occasionally gets them a false stereotype of being stuck-up and distant, really they're just trying to avoid conflict and stay away from exactly that type of person. Those who befriend wood elves find them to be fiercely loyal companions, disciplined and yet profoundly emotional at the same time. They tend to oppose strict social law and instead prefer a more hunter-gatherer mentality.

Physical Description: Wood elves are somewhat short, standing between 4'7" and 5'4" and weighing around 70 to 140 lbs. Their skin tones are dark and reminiscent of tree bark, while their hair is usually a golden brown, occasionally green. Their eyes are almost always green, though occasionally hazel, brown, or purple. Wood elves are the most lithe and athletic of the elves, although dark elves would challenge that, and as such wood elves are full of lean muscle. Wood elves tend to wear practical and minimal clothing, with some in the deeper forest even going wild and forsaking most material possessions, including clothing. Their hairstyles are generally "as they fall," though the warriors and rangers tend to either cut it short or hold it back for combat purposes. Wood elves definitely have the allure of natural, unspoiled beauty for those whose preferences fall that direction.

Relations: Wood elves begrudgingly get along with high elves and grey elves, but they aren't terribly fond of them. Wood elves, in fact, tend to spend more time among the lower class high elves when they visit them at all. Wood elves hate dark elves nearly as much as high elves, and would shoot one on sight. Wood elves are a bit more forgiving of humans, though they would just as rather not get involved, as they find humans contradictory and changing so rapidly that they're hard to keep up with. Humans also tend to get into industries that are less natural, which wood elves disdain. For this same reason, wood elves aren't terribly fond of dwarves, with cave dwarves being a notable exception. Wood elves love bedkips, and have even been known to send their woodcrafters to study under bedkip artisans. Only the great distance separating their people holds them back from a closer alliance, and some have begun to ponder if some of the shorter wood elves in the world might not be half-bedkips! As a final note, wood elves completely despise Mount Aluminum gnomes, though mostly from rumor, as they hardly ever interact with one another.

Wood Elf Lands: Wood elves live in southern Pithamos, with their capital city being Eldaris. Eldaris is an amazingly beautiful tree-city full of stretching rope bridges and wooden platforms, though they have not gone so far as to carve out the insides of trees like the bedkips. Amazing as it is, however, the wood elves only view it as a necessary evil for hosting outsiders among their people, with most preferring to live either underground or in simple cabins built of wood, stone or even dirt. Truly, it is the forest which is their home, and as there are other forests in the world (particularly Alanthi's Forest), wood elven tribes are known to live elsewhere, even far away from Pithamos. This network ensures that wood elves maintain close ties with the fey all over Sert.

Religion: Most wood elves worship Gramalthen, the Goddess of Nature, though Falencia is a close second. Wood elves often are very spiritual as a people and take their worship seriously and diligently. Wood elves are often druids, drawing their power from either Gramalthen directly or nature as a concept, and their rangers often share a nearly equally strong spiritual bond with natural forces.

Languages: Wood elves speak Elven, Common and Sylvan. They might branch out into Orcish, Giant, Undercommon, or Kalmanchu to understand the languages of their nearby threats.

Adventurers: As mentioned, wood elves have the strongest sense of wanderlust. They also feel a direct responsibility for protecting nature, and in some cases this extends into a need to make the world a better place overall. Wood elves are amazing archers, capable of performing nearly legendary feats with a well-made longbow and arrow, and also make good scouts, trained in stealth and perception as well. They lean towards the classes of ranger, rogue, assassin and druid, and certainly have their share of competent warriors. So long as your goals don't conflict, a wood elf makes a loyal and invaluable companion in a profession that requires teamwork and trustworthiness.

Wood Elves get +2 Dex, -2 Fort., low-light vision, bow proficiency, choice of short- or long blade proficiency, +1 damage on all bow shots +1 / 10 levels, +20% stealth, and M.A. counts as being +1 higher for purposes of perception rolls. Wood elves may substitute this stealth bonus for Knowledge: Nature if preferred.

Mount Aluminum Gnomes
The most technologically advanced of the races of Sert, the gnomes of Mount Aluminum are a radical and bewildering people who thrive on innovation and danger. While most other races give them a wide berth for good reason, they also garner a certain respect from scholars and adventurers alike. If it needs to be built, and without magic, a gnome of Mount Aluminum is probably capable.

Physical Description: Gnomes are the smallest of the civilized races, standing from 2'6" to 3'3" and weighing between 25 to 35 lbs. Their hair color follows most human shades, though gnomes often have lighter hair colors in general. A gnome's eyes are often astonishing though, transmitting their inner creativity and spark for danger. Their eyes are often described as twinkling (good) or glinting (bad), and the color of a gnome's eyes can be essentially any shade, with a tendency towards hazel, green, deep blue, purple, turquoise, yellow and orange. Mount Aluminum gnomes are often just a bit off in appearance, either because they're wearing their latest invention, sleep-deprived, haven't taken the time to eat enough, ate too much by snacking while working, forego such trivial activities as laundry and bathing, etc. At any rate, one never appears as normal.

Personality: Mount Aluminum gnomes are, interestingly enough, a fairly gregarious lot and love company. They tend to get along well enough with just about any race that isn't aggressive or insulting, and enjoy nothing more than hosting company inside of their mysterious "mountain." They will talk at length about their projects and will debate nearly anything, from natural law to the winner of a jousting match. While Mount Aluminum gnomes are a bit off their rockers, having been conditioned by their society to live in a high-stress, high-performance, dangerous and constantly evolving realm, they are friendly and try to accomodate guests so much as they can. Often they have trouble empathizing with others, though, due to their societal conditioning. A Mount Aluminum gnome won't get their feathers ruffled by an experimental hydraulic lift coming within inches of taking their head off - it comes with the territory. Their guests aren't as understanding...

Relations: Other races hold Mount Aluminum gnomes at arms' length at best. Their technology is reknowned for being advanced, complicated, enigmatic... and disastrously prone to backfire. The gnomes themselves tend to make light of circumstances which could be dangerous or even fatal, and this disregard for safety tends to unnerve other races. Refugee gnomes will tolerate them, and sometimes even cautiously accept them in, while whisper gnomes tend to keep them at a polite distance. Dwarves appreciate their craftsmanship... when it works correctly, but they also find them distastefully fast-paced and ever-changing, even moreso than humans are. Most elves are very put off by the gnomes, although science-minded gray elves will put up with them for collaborative efforts and high elves will fake enjoying their company. Halflings, humans and orcs don't really know what to make of them, so they just leave them be and hope for the same.

Lands: I can state it no better than I did in the Mount Aluminum article.

Religion: The gnomes of Mount Aluminum have an open society regarding religion, and accordingly you'll find all manner of beliefs, even aetheism and agnosticism. Some gnomes worship technology as an ideological concept, while others pick a more standard deity to worship. It is unknown whether gnomes have a patron deity sponsoring them (some suggest Verkin), or whether they came into being through some other means.

Language: Gnomes speak Gnomish and Common. They are apt to choose Dwarven, Elven and Draconic, as the most interesting science treatises exist in those languages after their own, and Arithmeian as they are sometimes near the continent of Drammir. Beyond that, gnomes are prone to learn nearly any language.

Adventurers: While most Mount Aluminum gnomes are content to stay in the hectic realm of Mount Aluminum, some will venture out into the world for various reasons. Some might search for components, or interesting species of creatures, to investigate natural phenomena, or just to culture themselves. Depending on what they make, Mount Aluminum gnomes can either be useful on adventures or just a hassle (sometimes even a detriment). As a last note, it's entirely possible that an adventure could take place entirely inside of the gnomes' stronghold, Mount Aluminum itself.

Mount Aluminum Gnomes have -4 Str, +2 Dex, +2 M.A. (unless from a specific, strange level of the mountain). They have a +30% bonus (+1% / level) to craft or knowledge skills, one free weapon or armor proficiency, and have 30% spell resistance because of their disbelief in magic. Unlike other spell resistance, these gnomes cannot choose to drop it to gain beneficial spells: healing, buffs, etc., face the same resistance.

Optional Rule: The GM may have a Mount Aluminum gnome start losing their magic resistance every time they fail a check and are subjected to magic. If they do, they should subtract -1% from magic resistance and add +2% Knowledge: Arcana (or Religion, on occasion) each time they fail MR until their resistance is totally worn down. In the resistance's place, they will have a working knowledge of what they formerly disbelieved, leaving them experienced instead of hardheaded.

"Refugee" Gnomes
“Refugee” Gnomes have -2 Str, +2 M.A. They get a +20% bonus (+1% / level) to craft or knowledge skills, one free weapon or armor proficiency, and reduce the cost of crafting items by 10%.

Whisper Gnomes
Whisper Gnomes have -2 Str, +2 Dex. They have a +30% bonus to stealth checks, low-light vision, +1 M.A. for perception rolls and are proficient with daggers, short blades and leather armor. Their stealthy nature imposes a -2 penalty to M.A. for perception checks to detect them.Racial Languages: Gnomish, Thieves' Cant.

Halflings
Halflings get -2 Str, +2 Dex. Halflings are proficient with slings, short blades, and leather armor. Halflings gain +10% Subterfuge and +10% stealth. Finally, choose one - the Halfling can heal himself for 1 HP / level each day as a free action (similar to lay on hands but self-only); or, the Halfling gains a bonus to Dodge equal to his Dexterity score for 1 round + 1 round / 8 character levels each day. These rounds need not be consecutive.

Cannibal Plateau Humans
Cannibal Plateau humans have +2 Fort, -2 M.A. They have proficiency with leather armor and shields, spears, maces/hammers, slings and bows. Cannibal Plateau humans subtract ½ CPD from the cost of all Ritual spells. Finally, all humans from the Cannibal Plateau can enter a hunter frenzy once per day, gaining +1 Strength and +1 Dexterity for a number of rounds equal to half their Fortitude score, rounded down. This stacks with barbarian or berserker rage.

Humans
Humans choose a stat between Str, Dex, Fort, or M.A. and gain either a +2 cap bonus to one or two +1 cap bonuses to two. Humans also gain a bonus +20% skill bonus +1% / level to put wherever they wish, and humans choose two free weapon and/or armor proficiencies.

Artisan Orcs
Artisan Orcs (a variant package) get +2 Str, -2 M.A., and also gain a 10% bonus at first level to distribute to crafting based skills, and gain an additional +1% for crafting skill distribution every level thereafter. These members of orcish society are more crafting skill intensive than their combat oriented peers, and thus do not receive the usual bonus to attack and damage vs. humans, but do gain a +10% haggle bonus to subterfuge against humans, and a +2 bonus to M.A. checks in dealing with human merchants or consumers. Being completely prejudiced is just bad for business. If a player takes this starting package, he or she instead can choose to gain proficiency with mace/hammer weapons, chain armor and shields. The player still suffers from the –20% penalty to subterfuge, except vs. human merchants and consumers. These orcs also learn Common along with Orcish as their starting languages.

Hunter Orcs
Hunter Orcs have +4 Str, -2 M.A. Orcs have infravision, and because of their savage demeanor (most Orcs live in tribes and are thus fairly disorganized) suffer a –20% penalty to subterfuge, but have a +2 bonus to M.A. checks in order to resist subterfuge attempts and spells made by a human, have to spend twice as many skill points to equal the normal one percent amount for skills dealing with civilization-based knowledge skills (This means that a level 5 Orcish mage with 12 M.A. would have to spend 2% for a skill like Knowledge: Physics, but not for a skill like Knowledge: Arcana, as the aether is everywhere, though this rule is entitled to amendment and interpretation based on other classes, like Rune Mage), and gain longblade, two-handed axe, and leather armor proficiencies. Archnemesis: +1 bonus to Dex and damage vs. a human opponent. Humans and Orcs have a long running history of strife, and thus have a general hatred for one another. Orcs speak Orcish.

Shamanic Orcs
Shamanic Orcs (a variant package) get +2 Str, -2 M.A., receive a +20% bonus to Knowledge: Nature checks, and choose one: reduce the cost of ritual and animal spells by 1 CPD, or remove the penalty from M.A. for purposes of knowledge skills based on the practice of runic magic. They receive a +2 bonus to saves vs. spells performed by a human caster, still suffer the subterfuge penalty, and gain a choice between Spear and Polearms proficiency, and gain leather armor proficiency. Shamanic orcs speak Orcish, and a choice between Sylvan or Runic as a bonus language.

Monster races are generally unavailable, although the DM can feel free to expand this race list.

Half-breeds
Not everyone has a bloodline pure as driven snow. In fact, there is enough intermingling of the races to form rules governing half-breeds in general.

Half-Race Templating
Take your base two races, and change any stat mods of +2 to +1, and -2 to -1 (essentially halve them). Then, go to each base race’s half-racial description, add the two together, and you have your racial abilities. Human is commonly the other half, but this way you can choose any two races. While half-races are also listed with special abilities not found in their parent race, the parent race may swap some of their abilities out to gain an ability listed under their half-racial form, by DM discretion.

Half-bedkips
Half-bedkips, a rarity, reduce falling damage by 10 feet, get a +1 bonus to Dex or Str for climbing, take a -2 penalty to Str or Dex for swimming, get +1 Fort. vs. poison and disease, choose either +10% stealth or +10% woodworking or +10% Knowledge: Nature, choose one of mace/hammer, boomerang, blowgun, leather or wooden proficiency, and 1 / day have the ability Stalwart Regrowth: you gain 1 HP / round, for a number of rounds equal to your Fortitude score.

Half Cave Dwarf
Cave dwarves of mixed racial stock gain infravision, +7% Spell Resistance, choose one: mace/hammer, spear, or leather armor proficiency, a -5% penalty to Subterfuge, and have the innate ability to remember where they’ve been and find north, even in labyrinths and disorienting terrain.

Half Hill / Mountain Dwarf
Hill or Mountain Dwarves of mixed stock gain Infravision, +5% Spell Resistance, one of the following: mace/hammer/club, chain, scale/banded, or plate proficiency, +10% divided among trade skills, and 1 / day can use Fury of Undermountain to gain +2 Strength and -5% dodge for 1 round / half your Fortitude score, rounded down.

Half-Ellessir
Half-ellessir gain low-light vision, partial mood-color skin (as ellessir, except others take -2 on M.A. check and you have no penalty to subterfuge), +15% subterfuge, Speak Common, S’zeltoran and your choice of Sylvan or Elven, are proficient with either short blades or pole arms, and gain one of the following: Seduce - you gain a +20% Subterfuge bonus when attempting to seduce a humanoid. If you succeed, they are distracted, taking a -5 penalty to M.A. for purposes of perception until you stop seducing them. Or, Gaze of Power: the first time an enemy attempts to attack you, if you make eye contact the target must make an opposed M.A. check against you. If you win, they choose not to attack you for a number of rounds equal to the amount they lost by. This immediately breaks if you attack the subject or its allies, or cast harmful spells.

Half Dark Elf
Half dark elves get their choice of either low-light vision or infravision, choose one: short blade, long blade, leather, or chain proficiency, 5% Spell Resistance, and choose one of the following once per day abilities: Meld into Shadow, gain a +20% stealth bonus for one stealth roll; or Touch of Darkness, your melee attacks deal +1 shadow damage for 1 round / M.A. score.

Half High Elf
For half high elves, you gain low-light vision, +5% to any knowledge skill, gain +½ CPD, and knows 3 more languages than normal.

Half Grey Elf
Half grey elves get low-light vision, +15% to knowledge skills, get +1 CPD, and spell research costs 10% less.

Half Wood Elf
For a half wood elf, you gain low-light vision, bow proficiency, +10% stealth, and Animal and Plant spells cost ½ CPD less than normal, no less than ½ CPD. Again, this stealth bonus can be exchanged for Knowledge: Nature if preferred.

Half Mount Aluminum gnomes
Half Mount Aluminum gnomes (meaning you were raised there) get a +15% bonus to distribute in craft and knowledge skills, +15% Spell Resistance (can’t be willingly dropped), and have Adaptive Survival: whenever subjected to magical, mechanical, alchemical, biological, etc. testing, they gain a +1 to any relevant statistic for the roll, have +5% dodge to avoid the effects, and reduce the damage by 1. They gain this same bonus the first time they are subjected to anything radically new for 1 round.

Half "refugee" gnomes
Half refugee gnomes get a +10% bonus to craft or knowledge skills, one free proficiency, and have Researcher’s Knack: the first time a half-refugee gnome encounters an unknown magic item, phenomenon, technology or other relevant thing associated with knowledge or crafting, they may add their M.A. score as a bonus to the appropriate skill for the first roll they make in analyzing it, even if they normally don‘t have that skill.

Half Halflings
Half Halflings (how many halves can there be?) get one of sling, short blade, or leather proficiency, choose between +10% Subterfuge or +10% Stealth, get +3% dodge, and have the once per day ability Head Start, going half again their speed and getting +4 to Initiative checks for one round (although they remain ahead in initiative). This ability can be used in response to a call for initiative.

Half-Humans
Half-humans get a +1 stat cap bonus to put on one of Str, Dex, Fort or M.A., gain a +10% skill bonus to put anywhere, one free proficiency, and once per day can use Luck of the Underdog to gain a +2 bonus to Luck for one Luck roll (this ability cannot cause Luck to go above 20).

You’d need a very good reason to be half-Cannibal Plateau human. That said, they’d get one of leather, spear, mace/hammer, sling or bow proficiency, subtract ½ CPD from the cost of Ritual spells, and have knowledge of a special ritual that requires no mana: Sinews of the Half-Breed. You may perform a 1 minute ritual, losing 1 HP / level. In return, you gain +1 Dexterity for 1 hour.

Half-Orcs
Disclaimer: Half-orcs still require more editing to be brought under a manageable word count, but I'll leave that for another day.

Half-Orcs describe a very separate sect of Orcish society, as Orcs tend to be very primitive in his or her practice of culture, especially the tolerance of other cultures. Orcs are about as tolerant of each other, let alone other species, as a humanoid is of a tapeworm living in his or her intestines, that being a mild hint of fascination quickly followed by total genocide. Thus, Half-Orcs retain a limited number of combat capabilities possessed by their Orcish cousins, but they have a great deal of flexibility depending on the race of the other parent. Half-orc/Half- Mind Flayers are quite rare, and generally considered abominations, but just for shits and giggles, lets make one. We shall call him Reggie, The Half-Illithid. Orcs normally receive a penalty to subterfuge checks because of their feral nature, being more savage and battle hungry than other humanoid races, except for Mount Aluminum Gnomes of course. However, Half-Orcs do not suffer the –20% to subterfuge attributed to his or her orcish heritage. Reggie would get this handy little bonus of being raised by his orcish parent, being proficiency with longblades, two-handed axes, and a choice between leather armor or chain armor proficiency. Half-orcs are of course more adept at pursuing a class based on M.A., thus Reggie doesn’t suffer the penalty to purchase knowledge skills based on civilized society. The Half-orc retains a bonus to crafting skills, combat skills, or casting potential.

Power Lunge: Once per encounter, as a full turn action, a Half-Orc wielding his or her racial favored weapon can choose to substitute the use of dexterity for strength for purposes of striking the target. The attack critical multiplier is up by x1 for every 30 levels, to a maximum cap of x5 at level 60. However, the enemy receives a +10% bonus to their dodge in order to avoid the attack. Bonuses from martial discipline do not count for purposes of this attack because of the serious lack of coordination, and as such, this attack also critically fails on a roll of 19 and 20. If the character has a one-handed weapon and shield, he or she does not gain the shield AC bonus during that turn, or the consecutive turn thereafter. For awesomeness sakes though, the strength damage is doubled during this attack for a one-handed weapon, and tripled for a two-handed weapon. After this attack is performed, the character must make a successful dexterity check in order to halt from the attack, but even so this prevents the character from making an action the next turn, and on a success, he or she still stops 1d6-1 x 5ft from his or her original striking point. If the character fails the roll, well GMs use your imagination. What happens to a half-orc charging with all his or her might wielding a giant weapon? After the charging maniac has come to a stop, whether that be of his or her own volition, or the forces of gravity and momentum, he or she either cuts their number of turns toward combat fatigue in half, or advance a fatigue step if at least 3/4th of their total number of turns for combat fatigue have taken place. This special ability can only be chosen by those half-orcs who specialize with melee combat.

Half-orcs also have the option of devoting 1 point of his or her racial bonus to strength at character creation to either the cap for dexterity or martial discipline. This will slightly alter the physique of the character, like if he or she chose dexterity, him or her would have a more agile build, and so on. Half-orcs can choose to also be gifted with crafting skills, although he or she is more versatile in what crafts him or her can work with, though not as human merchant savvy as his or her Orcish parent. Half-orcs who choose this option can forego 1 point to his or her starting strength score at character creation to gain the standard Orcish bonus to crafting skills, but may also choose to take the Talented AA in a specific crafting skill. Half-orcs are decent craftsman, though not particularly as well rounded as his or her fore bearer. Half-orcs have the third option of specializing more with spellcasting, and thus have the option of foregoing +1 to strength during character creation in order to remove the racial penalty to M.A., and in some cases this can give the character a +1 bonus to M.A. depending on the pairing of the half-templates. The half-orc character also gains a bonus cast reduction to the type of casting of his or her choice, depending on the type of specializing he or she wishes to study. The half-orc also gains Runic as a bonus language.

Half-orcs retain infravision and gain the proficiencies listed under his or her orcish specialization. Half-orcs languages depend on his or her parentage, but all gain Orcish.

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