Elemental races with a twist

[Xuc Xac]

I would like to propose a contest to flex our creative design brain meats. Any homebrewers looking for a project to work on (or a break from their massive epic world project)? I don't have any prizes to offer other than the comments of your peers who post how awesome your creation is. This is just for fun and a break from our other projects.

Here are the rules:
1. Each entry must describe 4 races that cohabit the same generic pseudo medieval European fantasy world.
2. Each race must represent one of the 4 classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
3. The twist: No supernatural features of any kind. Your fire race can't have flames for hair or anything like that. No supernatural or spell-like abilities and no extraordinary abilities that couldn't exist in a real world biological species. No Elemental or outsider (native) subtypes. The races must be completely mundane biologically.
4. When you submit your 4 races, you can't say "this is my fire race and this is my earth race..." Just describe four races.
5. Descriptions can be as elaborate or as basic as you want, but each race must receive the same level of detail. At a minimum, describe their dominant culture in the generic setting and their predispositions (i.e. If you don't include stat modifiers,
bonus skills, and favoured classes, then at least tell us that they value cleverness over brute force or whatever).

Assuming this post doesn't vanish into the depths of the forum without comment, the contest will run until December 15th when we'll start voting for our favourites. I don't want to influence the first entries, so I'll save my entries for later (unless nobody cares to join in, in which case, I'll just let the thread die).

Are you game, brewers?

[LordErebus12]

Perhaps we can keep these questions in mind as well:

Where does your race tend to live and why?
What does your race look like? How does the members' appearance help them adapt to their typical environment?
What is your race's history? Does it have a creation myth? Were there pivotal events in the race's history?
What kinds of relationships does your race have with other races? Does it have allies? Competitors? Enemies? Hated foes?
What classes does your race tend to favor?

[LordErebus12]

Spoiler: WIP

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I've decided to use the gnome as the basis for all four elemental-inspired races and to come up with a little bit of world-building for the unfinished setting. Pathfinder.

World Map

Spoiler: Base Race Traits

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Base Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: XXX are physically weak but surprisingly hardy, and their attitude makes them naturally agreeable. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, and –2 Strength.
Type: XXX are Humanoid creatures with the XXX subtype.
Size: XXX are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: XXX have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: XXX begin play speaking Common and XXX. XXX with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Any, except druidic and any racial specific language, such as orc or elven (due to the setting restricting those options). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Eternal Hope: xxx rarely lose hope and are always confident that even hopeless situations will work out. xxx receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects. Once per day, after rolling a 1 on a d20, the xxx may reroll and use the second result.
Keen Senses: XXX receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Low-Light Vision: XXX can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Weapon Familiarity: XXX treat the following exotic weapons as a martial weapons: Esmerians (Shotel and Shuriken), Eldians (Two-bladed Sword and Bola), Elrosians (Khopesh and Boomerang), and Emurians (Harpoon and Net).

Esmerian, The People Of The Wind
Esmerians tend to live near the rolling hills and plains that cover much of the central portion of the continent, enjoying the rural lifestyle and wide open spaces that are in abundance. They tend to be very laid back and relaxed in their dealings, preferring to enjoy their lives to the fullest. They have a deep love of wind instruments, with many of their culture’s songs featuring such instruments. Esmerians have silvery-white hair, usually worn long with braids and they always have piercing blue eyes. They tend to be fair skinned, with most attempts at tanning producing freckled skin tones. They tend to be quite tall (almost four feet), often having either ectomorph or mesomorph body types.

History
Religion:
The Codex of the Four Elements states that Esmerians

Racial Relations
favored class options:
Specific Racial Traits:

Eldians, The People Of The Earth
Eldians tend to live in the mountains and valleys that run north and south through the continent, dividing the hot desert in the southeast into two. They are a hardy and pragmatic people, with little time for leisure. Their culture’s music favors percussion instruments, having developed many songs using them. Eldians have dark brown or black hair, usually worn in dreadlocks or braids, and their eyes are usually green or brown. They have dark skin, tending towards darker browns than lighter browns. They tend to be short (just above three feet), often having either endomorph or mesomorph body types. They tend to wear heavy practical clothing, meant for the colder and higher altitudes over lavish styles of the other races.

History, Racial Relations and favored class options:
Specific Racial Traits:

Elrosians, The People Of The Flame
Elrosians tend to live in the desert regions towards the south/southeast of the continent, preferring the hot desert climates over the forests or mountains. They tend to also travel a lot, spending little time in one area. They are a passionate people, with many ceremonies and traditions. Their culture favors dancing over most musical pursuits. Elrosians have light brown or red hair, usually kept short or in elaborate styles. Their eyes are hazel or green, and their skin is usually golden tanned from the sun. They tend to be average height (around three feet, six inches), having ectomorph or mesomorph body types. They tend to wear loose fitted and light clothing, with brighter and reflective colors.

History, Racial Relations and favored class options:
Specific Racial Traits:

Emurians, The People Of The Waves
Emurians tend to live near the sea, or else favoring places near rivers and lakes, and they tend to spend a great deal of time on or in the water. They are a friendly and peaceful race of people, deep with tradition and faith. Their culture prefers string instruments, with several well-known tunes known around the world. Elrosians have blonde or light brown hair, usually kept very short and practical styles. Their eyes are blue or violet, and their skin typically is pale. They tend to be tall (almost four feet), having ectomorph or endomorph body types. They generally wear light, tough clothing made from waterproof materials.

History, Racial Relations and favored class options:
Specific Racial Traits:

[Inevitability]

I'm sorry, but what edition is this for? I'd say 3.5, but I may be wrong.

[Xuc Xac]

Any game or edition you'd like. It doesn't have to be D&D. You can even make it systemless if you want, but in that case, try to give enough information for people to stat them in their favourite system