Our ________s are different!

[Yora]

I decided to change the few humans living in my setting to something else.
Sadly, everything I got so far is that they are taller than elves, much more muscular, and their skin is a pale yellow. I want to do something like goliaths or neanderthals but still out of any really different ideas.

[Medival Wombat]

Elves are human children, kidnapped and twisted by the fair folk (feys). They live almost eternal, but their personality is still that of a kid.

Dwarves are symbiotic with some kind of fungus (with their beards being fruiting bodies), and therefor living in moist cave systems. They don´t use metal, but potions and feed only from water and soil.


Not a playable race, but undead skelletons are a natural phenomena. If a corpse decomposes under a free sky and stayes more or less intact it rises at the next full moon and roams the earth desorientated. If a Skelleton stands in sunlight it turns back to its unanimated state. Graveyards were invented to decrease the number of skelletons in urban regions

[ThreadNecro5]

This is a good Thread (only noticed the world building section today).

I've already adapted the orcs turning into ogres idea a previous person posted into the pathfinder setting i'm working on. So far my orcs are half trolls (give or take a few generations either way with troll or human) who can generally be 'normal' people who have a tendency towards conflict (they are native to a violent place and orcs and trolls mainly follow the god of war, beside the god of giants, and their kin), it's a violent setting. outside of the nation of trolls and surrounding areas, the further one gets to their homeland the more likely an orc will be a bandit or raider. Any orc who is less than 75% human has a chance of having an (almost) incurable degenerate genetic condition that causes mental degeneration, increased aggressiveness, psychosis, and growth in size. The afflicted are branded and outcast from their homes, tending to congregate together with newly affected becoming dominated by the resident ogres, who die and are replaced in turn, and as a band grows it attacks larger settlements, with the smarter ogres sometimes putting their sights to direct conquest.

As for oddities with my other races, the following are notable:
Elves:
The elves are at first a rather basic interpretation, being the whole 'close to nature with a dozen regional subraces' type. Elves are actually highly sensitive to magic, and the natural magic of the material plane causes development into chimeric 'beastfolk' (the idea being I wanted the feel of a beasfolk type race, but dislike the idea of 'anthropomorphised animal', and find that without something weird elves are just tall humans who are either smug or hippies), with specific traits being common and stable among a specific subrace, for example the elves of the jungles are some combination of apes and big cats. This sensitivity to types of magic also means that some elves have became distinct races, such as the Minotaurs who developed form the elves of the plans who dedicated themselves to the god of giants.

Dragons/Kobolds/Assorted Dragon Creatures:
The dragons are a massive mixture of different subraces who are each linked through actually being the same race, with all hatching as kobolds. No matter the parentage, the children of any of the dragonkin races are born a kobold, and as they age they may become some other class of draconic being depending on countless factors, with it only being known that lifestyle can encourage a particular path of development and that the parentage of the kobold being what they are most likely to develop into. It has been noted that in all but a handful of cases a true dragon has only risen from the children of a dragon themselves, and even then all who do so prove themselves able to dominate the people around it, claiming an area and loyal servants for themselves so that they may one day found their own city-state. The political jostling among dragon clutches is high as all seek to be on top while also staying in the top kobold's favour. Once one begins to become a true dragon it is marked above its peers and taken on as an apprentice and heir to its parent.

Humans (yes, my humans are weird):
My settings humans are the smallest of the races of giants who are known for their skills of magic, who according to legend had a number of their population divide and each portion continued walking in a direction until they could travel no farther and founded a civilisation. One such civilisation has since has its new ruler ascend to godhood through inventing Necromancy, and from then on humans of that civilisation (mainly the upper classes) have occasionally started to become unable to die, and no matter the injuries would always rise again, essentially making my settings humans slowly become Dark Souls style undead (my first complain would start about a week after this started). Another underdeveloped civilisation has became magitech cyborgs due to the actions of the god of technology and disease.

[AtlasSniperman]

My hobgoblins are different!

Hobgoblins are a concious Eugentics project carried out by Hobgoblin hierarchy. Originally very similar to orcs in build and even general appearance(thick headed, covered in hair with an underbite.), they noticed the effect their breeding systems had on the sizes of their pigs and how it was similar to the way children of two parents inherited the parents traits. With the intention of creating the greatest warrior race possible, a hobgoblin general/chieftan drafted the legendary "eugenic accord" which was delivered to even opposing tribes. This was not intended as a peace treaty, but instead a consolodated effort to improve the perfection of the Hobgoblin race and improve their domination(or percieved thereof) of the 'inferior' humanoid races. While this eugenics system was not perfect, it wasn't intended to be.

This Eugenics program did not disallow the less desirable hobgoblins from breeding, only enforced the development of large broods by the most suitable couplings. Full prevention of breeding for any hobgoblin would be a guarenteed source of disillusion in the cause and the beginning of doubt, the greatest weapon. Since its conception, the eugenic accord is the sole reason for tribal interbreeding among Hobgoblin factions. In the many generations since the accord, the Hobgoblins have; increased in height, becomes slightly more slender, had their fur receed to a strip from the top of the head down the middle of the back, grown a set of sharp bone ridges on the underside of their bottom jaw, a greatly improved immune system, developed the 'courn neck', developed the 'kyiirum jaw', a slight reformation of brain structure increasing problem solving and memory but decreasing empathy and the desire for individuality, an improved eye, an improved ear, and even a stronger pulminary system.

The Courn neck originated as a mutation in a single hobgoblin male known only for this influence on their physiology. When this mutation was detected, he was passed from tribe to tribe for the purposes of mass breeding. This mutation incorporated a set of tendons that have been manipulated through breeding to prevent the constriction of the hobgoblin throat. The result of which is that it is incredibly difficult if not impossible to choke a hobgoblin through the application of exterior force.

The Kyiirum jaw came well after the Courn neck mutation was already widespread through the hobgoblin population. This mutation involved a head slightly larger than the neck column on the back and sides, with a greater bone density in the skull. Through the application of the program this protusion has reached 1/2 inch in width and is angled down away from the skull almost like the brim of a hat. The most commonly seen benefit of this mutation is that at this point, all hobgoblins sleep by fitting a noose into this indented ridge and pulling themselves into suspension. It is not uncommon to see a hobgoblin suspended like this, even holding the rope in front of him(in a pose not dissimilar to some very famous art of knights and swords). Hanging like this allows gravity to stretch the Hobgoblin's muscles and has led to an improvement in the strength of the average Hobgoblin heart. If he is being pulled by his noose when not hanging(should he let go and drop to the ground at the sound of combat and not have a chance to release himself) the sharp ridge of bones at the front of his Kyiirum jaw can easily slice most ropes, freeing him. It isn't uncommon to see upwards of 30 Hobgoblins sleeping by suspension in a single room, which is often called a 'meat locker'.

[ReaderAt2046]

I've come up with a few weird variants on elves.

Spoiler: The Moon Elves

Show

These elves are, like many popular variants on elves, clinically immortal. They age at the regular speed up until they are about 25, then they just... stop. Now you may ask why they haven't overrun the lands. The answer is simple. Unlike all other races, whose souls are created at conception and pass on from the world at death, elvish souls reincarnate (albeit stripped of most memories). No new elvish souls can be created, and there are a very small number of them, a mere few million. As a result, the elvish race has for the past several centuries been in a state of "saturation", in which all elvish souls are incarnated, and a new elf is only born when one currently alive dies.

Spoiler: Sun Elves

Show

This particular brand of elf approaches the problem of immortality in a very different way. They grow in the same way humans grow until their twenty-fifth birthday. On that day, their growth freezes, their clock starts, and they will remain at that apparent age for as long as they have time on their clock. The "clock" is a magical construct woven into the body and soul of every Sun Elf informing them of exactly how much lifetime they have left, down to the second. The clock starts at fifty years, and when it reaches zero, they die.
But the real twist is this: Sun Elves can transfer lifetime between themselves. Little slivers of lifespan, minutes and hours, are used as a kind of high-level currency, and it's not uncommon for the lower class to pay part of their tax in time. Sun Elves who are dying, whether of disease or poison or unsurvivable wounds, will almost always pass their remaining lifetime on to someone else. This also means that for a Sun Elf to die with time still on their clock is considered an overwhelming tragedy, since once they die, their remaining lifespan is lost forever.

[quinron]

One of my goals with my world was to have half-elves and half-orcs make more sense. My elves and orcs are creations of opposing archangels, and they were the first two races created. Things got out of hand as they started warring, though, so the chief archangel assigned the dragons of sun, star, sky, sea, and earth to keep peace. They did so by mixing the two races to create something halfway between them: humans. The humans balanced the two races, being short-lived and impatient like orcs but ambitious and intellectual like elves, and since they came from the genetic stock of each, they could breed with both orcs and elves. The archangels weren't happy with the power the dragons had displayed, though, so the chief archangel literally ripped them in half, separating their good halves from their evil halves and creating the modern chromatics and metallic dragons.

Other than that, my dragonborn probably have the most changes of any race. There are only 2 of each color/metal at a time, one male and one female, and fate literally adjusts around them; no matter what kind of life they try to lead, they always end up leaving a mark on history. They're also not born, they're reincarnated: the dragons choose a humanoid that exemplifies their conduct and, through some ancient magic, turn them into a dragonborn when they die. While they're always reincarnated with the appropriate alignment, they're perfectly capable of straying, so that, for example, a LG silver dragonborn could find himself squaring off against a LE gold dragonborn. They all have some kind of secret mission that they're forbidden from sharing with non-dragonkind, but each one's mission seems to be different and seems to persist across successive iterations of the same color/metal.

[Belac93]

They did so by mixing the two races to create something halfway between them: humans. The humans balanced the two races, being short-lived and impatient like orcs but ambitious and intellectual like elves, and since they came from the genetic stock of each, they could breed with both orcs and elves.

I like that excuse for why they can breed together.

[Jendekit]

They did so by mixing the two races to create something halfway between them: humans. The humans balanced the two races, being short-lived and impatient like orcs but ambitious and intellectual like elves, and since they came from the genetic stock of each, they could breed with both orcs and elves.

That's one way of explaining it, what I normally do is say (out of character) that orcs, humans, and elves all share a common ancestor very recently (from an evolutionary perspective). Elves and orcs are also capable of having offspring, but such a thing is so rare as to be almost nonexistent.

[Zaydos]

Obviously orcs, elves, and humans are part of a ring species.

[Sam113097]

Other than that, my dragonborn probably have the most changes of any race. There are only 2 of each color/metal at a time, one male and one female, and fate literally adjusts around them; no matter what kind of life they try to lead, they always end up leaving a mark on history. They're also not born, they're reincarnated: the dragons choose a humanoid that exemplifies their conduct and, through some ancient magic, turn them into a dragonborn when they die. While they're always reincarnated with the appropriate alignment, they're perfectly capable of straying, so that, for example, a LG silver dragonborn could find himself squaring off against a LE gold dragonborn. They all have some kind of secret mission that they're forbidden from sharing with non-dragonkind, but each one's mission seems to be different and seems to persist across successive iterations of the same color/metal.

I really like your idea. I feel like, with everybody arguing about evolution, species, etc., it's important to remember that "ancient magic" is a perfectly valid reason for a race to exist

[quinron]

I really like your idea. I feel like, with everybody arguing about evolution, species, etc., it's important to remember that "ancient magic" is a perfectly valid reason for a race to exist

Honestly, I mostly just hated the idea that there's the potential for a group of 4-6 draco-humanoids walking around in broad daylight and everybody's thinking, "This is normal. I see this every day." You want to be something that far off human, you're always going to get more attention than you wanted. Plus, I don't love the muddled distinction between half-dragons and dragonborn; is a quarter-dragon a dragonborn, a humanoid with some scalykind features, or what? This way, they're magically connected, but their genes never come into contact.

Another genetic question I wanted to avoid was tieflings. I love the bloodline system in 3.5's Unearthed Arcana (the idea, anyway; the execution is less than ideal), but it raised a question: I get that fiend + humanoid = half-fiend, but past that, when do the genes get diluted enough that we start getting bloodline traits instead of proper tieflings? And other resources said that a fiend-humanoid relationship could lead directly to a tiefling? So instead of having to answer any of these questions (as well as "what does a gnome tiefling look like?)", I made tieflings as nonhuman as I made dragonborn: my setting is influenced (in very, very broad strokes) by Kabbalah and Judaism, with a good, old-fashioned heavenly upstart. The first tieflings were the rebel angels who repented mid-fall-to-hell and were given mercy. They can breed with both tieflings and non-tieflings, but a female tiefling's child is always tiefling, while a male tiefling's child is always the race of the mother; the baby just inherits some of the father's non-race-specific traits (his eyes, nose, pollen allergy, etc.).

[Tody Shelfungus]

The Goblin-folk Tribes:
---Bugbears; The biggest of the goblinfolk, and least common they often times live together in small groups in other golbinfolk camps.
---Goblins; The smallest of goblinfolk, the Gobblers, can eat almost anything.
---Hobgoblins; these are about the size of humans and their environment can affect their develipment, which is where the sub groups below appear.
-----Hob; dry land
-----Water Hob; lake hobgoblin
-----Sea Hob; saltwater hobgoblin
---Orcs; Orcs are the half breeds of the other goblinfolk tribes. Those children born Orc to the other tribes are dumped in orc territory. Most children born of Orcs are Orc but not all occasionally an or couple will give birth to one of the other goblin folk races and this will be dumped into such territory.
---Half-orc; the half-orc is born of any goblinfolk and a human, most half-orcs take after the human side and are the classic half-orc. But some [player choice] can take after the goblin side, even the half[sea hob]orc.

[Jendekit]

I have found that this is an inevitable result of the free game Dawn of Worlds. For example, in the first world that my gaming group and I made, the first race to be created (beating out dragons by 1 turn) were the hobgoblins: a nomadic Mongol-esk race that rode sabertooth cats. In the second game we played it, elves are the result of humans and orcs interbreeding, goblins modeled after a goblin PC I once had (and who has become a recurring NPC ever since irregardless of the setting) named Yik-Yik that can be described as a combination of TFS Abridged Nappa, Mordin Solus, and Zorro: he was Nappa level childish, spoke faster than Mordin, and fought with a rapier he named Mr. Stabby...it was that kind of campaign.

[ThePurple]

The dwarves, halfling, and elves in my homebrew seafaring campaign setting are all kind of different.

Halflings are basically the same as normal except that, because the world is largely comprised of land masses akin to Oceania (a comparatively large number of small land masses with a scant few large landmasses), there isn't a lot of land available for terrestrial population expansion. Halflings, however, are remarkably well evolved for shipboard life: they're small so they can adapt better to the cramped living conditions of shipboard life, where space is at a premium, and they consume fewer resources than larger races do. As such, most halflings live their entire lives aboard ships, only really coming ashore when absolutely necessary. There are no halfling cities, in the traditional sense, though each halfling ship is something of a self-contained village. The one exception is the Great Floating City, which is a giant flotilla of halfling ships lashed together, with ships joining and separating at intervals. Halflings have also developed a unique language called "shipspeak" consisting of loud undulating vowel sounds that can be heard between ships at sea.

Dwarves are an aberration in a seafaring campaign, mainly because dwarves are so dense that they do not float. Dwarves sink. They are deathly afraid of water for this exact reason. Those few dwarves that elect to go adventuring aboard ships are generally viewed as suicidally insane because one trip over the side of the ship and you're dead. It's for this same reason that dwarves regularly delve into the Underdark, which can actually connect islands: it's the only way that dwarves can visit other lands safely, though "safely" is a relative term. Dwarven culture has become an extremist theocracy, demanding extreme devotion and adherence to strict codes of honor and behavior. My players have generally referred to them as "Klingon Muslim dwarves".

I play 4e, so there are 3 varieties of elves that I deal with: elves, eladrin, and drow. In my homebrew, they're all the same race, genetically, though, while in utero, their development is highly sensitive to magic. Depending upon what kind of magic the fetal elf is exposed to the most, they can develop into a normal elf (primal magic), eladrin (arcane magic), or drow (shadow magic) regardless of the subrace of their parents (so an elf and an eladrin can end up with drow child if the child is exposed primarily to shadow magic). Those exposed to an insufficient amount of magic to produce the necessary changes, which tends to be rare because the islands that elves live on are strong in those types of magic, become half-elves (they are called this because they are not considered full elves; they are half of what an elf is, with the other half basically considered "nothing"; humans and elves can still interbreed, but the resultant child is always a half-elf and viewed in much the same way). Elven culture is obsessed with heredity and, because you can guarantee who the mother of a child is whereas the identity of the father is largely a matter of trusting the mother, their culture is matrilineal. In elven lands, males are not legally allowed to own anything. Until they are married, everything of theirs is legally their mother's (or sister's, if/when their mother dies), and, upon marrying, it becomes their wife's (or daughter's, if/when their wife dies). Those scant few males that have been the last surviving individual of a family (such as the only child of a female elf with no living female relations) legally become female, adopting a new female name and dressing and acting as if they were female.

[Sam113097]

I have found that this is an inevitable result of the free game Dawn of Worlds. For example, in the first world that my gaming group and I made, the first race to be created (beating out dragons by 1 turn) were the hobgoblins: a nomadic Mongol-esk race that rode sabertooth cats.

Thanks for the link to Dawn of Worlds, I checked out the game and I've never seen anything like it (a collaborative worldbuilding game).

[Belac93]

I have found that this is an inevitable result of the free game Dawn of Worlds.

Love that game. I think we ended up with bug people, sentient spider monkeys, aquatic sentient spider monkeys, shadow people, and anthropomorphic phoenixs.

[Lycanthrope13]

I'm in the midst of world building now and I've taken a different approach to pretty much every race. I have it so that the origin stories for the different races are just millenia old myths. Humans are the progenitor race (hence the ability to interbreed) which has been altered through magic.

Ancient wizards sought eternal youth. The first flawed attempts were Halflings. They have a long lifespan, but never grow to adult size.

Elves are the "perfect form" that wizards sought.

Dwarves were a slave race, bred to serve the elves. Their minds were altered to produce unfailing dedication to their craft, and their gruff personalities were engineered to prevent a charismatic dwarf from leading an uprising (didn't work). They were also designed with a highly efficient digestive system to subsist on minimal rations. Fed any more than the bare minimum, they tend to gain weight, hence their stocky appearance.

The "beast races" are the result of experiments gone wrong.
Orcs are pig-men with a nomadic, Mongolian type culture. All other beast races pay homage to the orcs.

Minotaurs, due to the herd mentality of cattle, have a well developed society with a well defined hierarchy. Think ancient India, with the caste system defined by horn type.
Horns point forward -> warrior
Horns point up -> priest
Horns point down -> laborer/craftsman
Horns point backward (very rare) -> lorekeeper
Horns point to sides -> merchant/bureaucrat
No horns -> outcast

Goblins are bat people, long spindly arms with spidery fingers, huge ears, echolocation, somewhat territorial but not truly aggressive.

Gnolls are more dog like than hyena like. The pack mentality, and predatory nature have led to a clan system similar to medieval Scotland.

Ogres are massive ape-men with a society not unlike gorillas.

Trolls are barely sentient amphibians. Their regenerative properties are similar to salamanders, and thin, slimy skin would be highly susceptible to fire and acid. In my setting they have an odd shuffling gait, but can leap great distances, and they can also pull the same trick as some frogs, pulling back the skin on their fingers to expose razor sharp bones. They eat anything that will fit into their giant mouths, and they start as "tadpoles" called trollspawn that are basically ravenous 4' long eels.

[johnbragg]

They eat anything that will fit into their giant mouths, and they start as "tadpoles" called trollspawn that are basically ravenous 4' long eels.

Oh I LIKE that.

[LudicSavant]

Trolls are related to fungi, and grow back larger each time they are injured (you can tell if a troll is a time-tested badass because it will be huge and misshapen with fungal scar tissue from a thousand wounds). They are known for their incredible toughness, very rapid healing, savage predatory aggression, and long hibernatory cycles. Trolls spend most of their time asleep, buried under the ground. During this time, they send out roots into the nearby soil and vegetation, presumably to leach the nutrients they need. Once awake, they spend nearly all their time hunting and eating meat. They have voracious appetites, and villages will set up troll signs to warn people of buried trolls so as to keep them from being unearthed. A well fed troll is light in coloration, while a hungry troll is much darker. Given their redundant organ systems and incredible healing, the only easy times to kill a troll are when it is hungry or early in its sleep cycle, when its body lacks the resources to power its incredible regeneration.

In areas where arcane fallout and alchemical pollution are present, trolls risk leeching up the contaminants through their roots. However, their resilience and healing factor means that they tend to survive, and this leads to all kinds of mutant trolls. Fire trolls, ice trolls, whatever.

Stories tell of a barbaric land where druids worship trolls as Weapons of the Earth, guardians who arise from the very ground to take vengeance upon those who would harm the natural order. It is said that they use them as weapons of war, even firing them from catapults over castle walls where their regeneration will allow them to survive the impact and ravage the enemy behind their walls.

[ReaderAt2046]

Elves, half-elves, and humans are all the same race, sort of. Humans are native to the Solid Lands (the "regular world", essentially), while elves are native to the much more magical Glimmervoid. When planar travel between the two worlds began, someone discovered that the child of two elves would become a half-elf if born in the Solid Lands, while the child of two humans would become a half-elf if born in the Glimmervoid. Furthermore, the child of two half-elves, or the offspring of an elf-human pairing, would belong to whichever race was native to the plane where it was born.

[Sergeantbrother]

A new take on orcs and goblins.

Far to the north of the land of humanity, beyond high mountains and dense forests, is a land of eternal darkness. In Daduchus, the sun never rises nor do the moon or the stars, for the sky is shrouded by thick black clouds that swirl and flow but never leave. Not only is Daduchus forever shrouded in night, but it is eternally cold as the most brutal winter in the lands of men. Snow covers the ground perpetually, despite constantly being swept away by the strong wind that always blows in Daduchus, it is to be replaced by periodic snow fall. The northern reaches of Daduchus are particularly cold, so much so that no human could possibly survive there, most of Daduchus however, fluctuates between -20 degrees and 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

In Daduchus the trees grow gnarled and blackened, completely devoid of leaves, flowers, or fruit. Along the ground grow thorns and brambles, with the occasional weed or in a few areas sparse brownish grass. The soil is dark gray and rocky. The only source of vegetable nourishment available to the denizens of Daduchus are the fibrous roots of some of the weeds that grow there and can be cultivated, and the red leafy vines that grow under certain conditions called blood leaf. For the most part the creatures that dwell in Daduchus prey upon each other.

The are a variety of dangerous fauna that inhabit Daduchus. The most prominent of these are the dire wolves, huge ferocious wolves the size of small horses. There are also rats the size of small dogs who at both plant and animal, occasionally hunting in packs to take down larger prey. Despite the low temperatures, there are insects of various kinds as well, often far larger than their southern counterparts. The spiders are particularly large, sometimes larger than a man. The only birds that live in Daduchus are scavengers. Large boars live of the weeds and their roots, or eat what ever else they can find, and are sometimes domesticated and used as a food source. Another creature common to Daduchus are large worms that borrow deep beneath the ground. Many of these worms can grow quite large (in excess of 6 feet) and are disgusting to look at, even for worms.

There are few if any humans in Daduchus, the few who enter usually don't stay or last very long. The primary residents of Daduchus call themselves the Gornabag, but in the south they are simply known as goblins. Goblins are smaller than humans, usually around an average height of 4'8" tall and about 100 pounds. They have dull reddish colored skin, usually blended with gray or brown. The texture of their skin is tough and almost scaly, they have no hair either on their bodies or on their heads. The facial features of goblins are somewhat similar to those of humans, but are more feral. Their jaws are large and their faces distended, their teeth are long and sharp with particularly prominent cuspids. Their ears are small and semicircular, almost hard to spot, and their noses and short and upturned. Their lips are virtually non-existent. Goblins have bright yellow irises with no whites to their eyes, their brows are heavy and their eye sockets are deep.

All goblins have female characteristics, including wide hips, enlarged breasts, and somewhat fleshy builds - the reason for this is because all goblins are in fact female. All Goblins are born and grow up female, and any children they bear are also female. Goblins grow quickly, they have a 6 month gestational period and reach sexual maturity in about 10 years. After that point, its hard to tell how old a goblin is, because she doesn't really show any external signs of aging aside from a tendency to put on weight. Most goblins die fairly young due to violence, those that do not succumb to violence or sickness will typically die of old age from anywhere between 70 and 90 years of age. Those few who make it into their 90 will undergo a metamorphosis into a hobgoblin. At some point in a goblins 90's she will begin to become much fatter, also growing in height and build as well, after about of year of this her skin will begin to build up thick layers of dead skin until it forms something a cocoon around the goblin. In several months, this cocoon will break open and a male goblin will emerge. This male goblin, or hobgoblin, will generally be a full foot taller than it was before the transformation and at least 100 pounds heavier than the typical goblin. The fat that built up before the transformation will be replaced by dense muscles after the hobgoblin emerges from its cocoon. In many ways the hobgoblin resembles a goblin, though his body is more masculinely shaped, his muscles are larger, and his skin is slightly darker and scalier. Hobgoblins also have even more prominent cuspids that protrude from the mouth almost like tusks. Hobgoblins will usually live another 40 or 50 years after the transformation, the most easily recognizable sign of aging being the thickening of their tough scaly skin.

Goblins are highly resistant to the freezing cold of Daduchus, though they still often wear furs and leather to keep themselves warm or as a sign of status. Goblins can see in the absolute darkness of Daduchus as well as a human can see in twilight, so they often go about with no forms of lighting, but in their homes or when in need of seeing fine details they use torches and candles to see by. In the light of day they are completely blinded by the bright light, and even at dawn or dusk they are uncomfortable because of the brightness of the sunlight. They also have a limited ability to tolerate warm weather; around freezing is most comfortable to goblins and anything warmer than 60 degrees will make a goblin feel ill. Temperatures greater than 90 degrees are debilitating and will cause a goblin to expire if it is exposed to those temperatures for more than a few hours. Goblins prefer to eat meat as they are primarily carnivores, but they can survive on plant material to a limited degree but will become malnourished if forced to do so for too long.

Hobgoblins rule over goblins, they are not only significantly more physically powerful than goblins, but are are older and wiser than the goblins, they are the ones who have proved themselves to the the smartest to survive as long as they did. Goblins usually live in large villages with several hundred goblins and 10 or 20 hobgoblins. The typical goblin usually has a variety of rolls in the community, most act as a combined farmer, hunter, warrior, and mother. A goblin household is lead by a hobgoblin who is father or mother to the rest of the family. In most cases several of the goblins stay at home and look after the young while the others go out to do labor or to fight, in the case of labor the hobgoblin generally stays at home to help protect the children and to command the family, but in times of conflict he usually leads the warriors to battle. In larger more organized goblin cities, the hobgoblins form something of a council that votes on major issues facing the community. In most cases this ruling council has an eldest member, chosen by the other hobgoblins, to act as ruler, to be decisive, and to make difficult decisions. Hobgoblins represent the only legal representation that goblins have, so a family of goblins without a hobgoblin member will have very little power or protection from violence from other goblins or hobgoblins.

The entire family and social structure of goblin life is based on the family units with hobgoblins as household heads. In a major sense these families are harems, all of the goblins in the family are more or less property of the hobgoblin, who is father and/or mate of the rest of the family. In many cases, the hobgoblin gave birth to many of the goblins in the family when he was a female goblin. When a goblin in the family becomes a hobgoblin, it is customary for him to take several of the family's goblins with it and some of the family's resources to start a new family. This break off family will usually maintain close ties to the original family. The only times that a hobgoblin will stay with the family is when the original hobgoblin is old and sick, meaning that the younger hobgoblin can take over the family soon. When a family's hobgoblin dies with no replacement, the family becomes very vulnerable because it effectively loses all status and legal rights. Usually such a family will either be absorbed by closely related families (such as break away groups) or the close families will protect the hobgoblin-less family until one of the goblins matures into a hobgoblin. If neither of these things happen, then unrelated families will probably capture the goblins and force them to join their family. Sometimes certain paranoid or jealous hobgoblins will kill elderly goblins so that they will not mature into hobgoblins and divide the harem. This kind of behavior usually spells disaster for the family eventually, since when the hobgoblin dies, there is no other to watch out for his family. In families where there is such a jealous hobgoblin, often a goblin will run away and hide so that it may live long enough to survive its transformation into a hobgoblin - in such a case the newly transformed hobgoblin will often return to the family for its fair share or to seek revenge and gain control of the family for himself. A change in leadership under such conditions is often welcomed.

Goblins have medieval technology. They can work iron and bronze, some fine items are even made of steel. They usually live in simple stone huts, but wealthier goblin families will often make more advanced fortresses that resemble castles. Most goblin villages or cities are protected by massive stone walls that rise 30 or 40 feet into the sky. There are usually also a number of other dwelling in a goblin town such as a temple, blacksmith's shop, etc. Most goblins are hunter/farmer/warriors but, just as in any village, there are some who are professionals. There are stone masons, metal workers, weavers, etc. Sometimes goblins who specialize in these professions share their money earned with their family, meaning it will ultimately go to the hobgoblin. Some goblin professionals, however, operate independently of a hobgoblin or family unit, surviving and prospering because of their unique and valuable skills. Goblin mystics in particular are known for their independence from the harem system.

Goblins raise a number of different animals for use as food, labor, or warfare. Their main war beast are the dire wolves. Goblins breed dire wolves to be as large and ferocious as possible, most reach the side of a small horse. Hobgoblins and the occasional elite goblin soldiers ride these dire wolves into battle. Another animal that is made use of by goblins are the dark boars - large (between 300 and 400 pounds typically) pig-like creatures covered with bristles and with large tusks. The goblins raise dark boars for food, for their milk, and also use them as beasts of burden to pull plows, carts, or occasionally to ride. Wealthier goblins or hobgoblins will always prefer to ride a dire wolf though. Goblins also keep domesticated buzzards for their eggs and feed them table scraps or allow them to feed upon corpses of dead goblins. Stone spiders are another creature that goblins keep. Stone spiders are named this because their mottled grayish coloration allows them blend in with the rocky landscape of Daduchus. They have rather bulbous bodies, not unlike a black widow spider, and are highly venomous. Goblins keep these spiders to harvest their silk, stone spider silk can be spun much the same way a worm's silk can. Some of the finest clothing available to goblins comes from spider's silk. Goblins also use the spider's venom to coat their arrow tips, making them particularly deadly. Perhaps one of the most common staples of the goblin diet is rat flesh. In Daduchus giant rats are extremely numerous and though goblins do not raise them, traps or hunting trips usually can supply a steady supply of rats for goblins to eat. Goblins are also known to dig up worms out of the ground to eat them, or more frequently since they aren't very tasty, to feed to their animals. Goblins are not particular or sentimental about their meals - they will eat just about any living creature, from insects to their own dead. When a goblin dies, it is either eaten by its family or is given to domesticated beasts to eat, which ever the goblin family is in the mood for. This practice also includes prisoners and casualties of war along with anyone who happens into a goblin village and is unwelcome or unable to defend themselves.

Most goblins and hobgoblins in Daduchus share the same religion, the worship of the god Gulaga. To goblins, Gulaga is the supreme deity, the creator of all things, all power and all knowing, and the goblins are its chosen people. Goblins believed that Gulaga created the world and all life in it, but deliberately left them flawed. It is only goblins who have a perfect design, one matching that of Gulaga for Gulaga gave birth to the universe as a goblin goddess and rules the universe as a hobgoblin god. Gulaga as the goddess gave birth to female life among all the creatures of the world, and then become a god and sired all life through his female children, becoming both father and mother to all living things. Only goblins became like him however, with the holy ability to transform from mother to father.

Gulaga is worshiped by almost every goblin, but there are priestesses to Gulaga who dedicate their lives to worshiping him. These priestesses - who are called "Gafa" - are the brides of Gulaga, part of his harem, and therefore are never allowed to mate or bare children with a hobgoblin, nor are hobgoblins allowed into the clergy of Gulaga. The priestesses have a special building in the center of every goblin village where they can go to preform rituals in worship and praise of Gulaga. Normal goblins and hobgoblins are bared from attending the majority of their rituals, though many outside of the clergy will pay priestesses for blessing or to offer sacrifices to Gulaga on their behalf. Though hobgoblins rule over goblin society, the priestesses of Gulaga have a huge amount of sway. It is forbidden for a hobgoblin to harm or even to touch a priestess, because she is seen as a bride of Gulaga himself and Gulaga is a jealous god; any who showed such disrespect would be killed by other hobgoblins and goblins in hopes of some personal blessing. To join the priestesshood - called Valagud - the goblin who wishes to join must attain permission from the elder priestess, called a Fergaf, of the community. Often goblins who find themselves in a family without a hobgoblin will attempt to join the the Valagud for safety and protection, though most are denied entry.

The Valagud is very militaristic in its customs and beliefs. The Gafa train to fight as one of the primary duties to the faith. Before a battle the certain Gafa will chant for hours and take a mixture of herbs and chemicals as part of a religious ceremony to work themselves into a frenzy of destruction before a battle. The Valagud is the only goblin organization that extends beyond the size of cities and villages, it has a supreme high priestess called a Ferfergaf who has complete control over the Valagud and as a result is perhaps the most powerful single goblin (or hobgoblin for that matter) alive. Despite having no official power within a goblin village, the Gafa there have a large amount of unofficial power because of the reverence they are given as brides of Gulaga and because of the blessings that can befall those who treat them respectfully or alternatively, the curses which befall those who would treat them with no respect. When a Gafa becomes old and starts to gain weight in anticipation of entering a cocoon to transform into a hobgoblin, instead of allowing the transformation to take place, the Gafa commits a ritualistic form of suicide, insuring that the Gafa will be forever female and forever a bride of Gulaga.

It is believed that deep in the earth is the dwelling place of Gulaga and that Gulaga's blessing spring up from the ground and thus to give offering to Gulaga, the offerings must be placed into the ground. Because of this, temples to Gulaga are vast deep tunnels set into the ground, topped on the surface by a stone castle-like structure. The most holy and secret ceremonies are preformed as deeply in the ground as is possible. Temples are constantly under construction, going deeper and deeper into the ground, the Gafa continually build new ceremonial chambers as the tunnels go further down, the very oldest temples in the largest of goblin cities are incredibly deep. When a Gafa commits ritualized suicide, her body is buried deep within the temple. The is a single great temple from which the Ferfergaf rules the Valagud, this great temple not only has a great stone building above ground, but has tunnels and chambers so deep that many think that one can encounter Gulaga himself by descending to the deepest levels - though only the Ferfergaf and her must trusted servants are allows to go the the very bottom. Goblins who are religious or wish to make sacrifices to Gulaga ceremonially bury meat as an offering.

Goblins believe that when they die that a number of fates can befall them. Is is believed that when a Gafa dies, she becomes an angel-like servant to Gulaga himself, joining his harem and being his mate for all of eternity. When a hobgoblin dies, it is believed that becomes one with Gulaga, sharing all of his knowledge and power, sensing and knowing all things and eternally one with the infinite. For a regular goblin, they believe that when they die that they will be born again into the body of some other goblin in the future, and will continue to die and be born again until eventually surviving long enough to become a Gafa or a hobgoblin. Goblins believe that non-goblins are doomed to oblivion, since their lack of a true soul mean they can never become one with Gulaga or to be a direct servant of him. Those who worship other gods, false gods, suffer the same fate as the lesser races, complete oblivion after death, as Gulaga devours their souls for as a punishment.

To goblins, all other races are seen as nothing more than animals. There is nothing wrong in mistreating them, torturing them, killing even helpless children. They have no souls and thus don't truly suffer or feel as a goblin does. Goblins view even goblins who do not believe in Gulaga with a similar level of distain. They are blasphemers, liars, fools, they fail to respect the holiness of the creator of the universe and father of all goblins and hobgoblins. As such, they are deserving of horrible torture, humiliation, and death. In past generations there have been many goblins and hobgoblins who have died because of their lack of faith in the supreme god Gulaga, but now only a rare few fall victim to such punishments. Though, an accusation of lack of faith, a direct act against the brides of Gulaga, or sometimes even a suspicion of practicing some other religion can cause tremendous trouble for the accused and may even cost the unfortunate its life. For Gafa who violate their vows (such as chastity) the punishments are swift and terrible as well, especially when combined with the believed loss of their souls as divine punishment.

In the more Northern reaches of Daduchus the black clouds that swirl and churn above southern Daduchus meet the earth, creating a thick unnatural dark grayish fog that obscures sight and chills the bones. Here it is so cold that even goblins must wear heavy clothing to survive, here goblins must carry torches if they are to see because the darkness hangs so heavily in the air that is suffocates every speck of light, here even monsters and the great beasts of southern Daduchus must fear for their lives. This is where the greatest enemy of the goblins dwell, the orcs.

Orcs have a humanoid shape with similar proportions to humans in most respects. They are about the same size as humans, perhaps and inch or two taller on average and usually about the same weight. Their skin is typically a grayish tint, about the color of concrete or a bit darker. Their eyes do not glow, but are luminescent and are usually either of red, orange, or yellowish coloration; though a few have purplish or violet eyes.

Young orcs, those who have not yet reached puberty, have a skin texture similar to that of humans, perhaps a bit rougher and coarser. As an orcs get older their skin tends to wrinkle very quickly and become thicker, and most young adult orcs have skin as wrinkly as humans in their eighties. Young orcs also have hair in similar patters as humans do - thick hair on their head, with sparser hair on various other locations of the body, this hair is almost always black or dark gray. As male orcs enter puberty they begin to develop male pattern baldness and by the end of puberty they are usually bald on their head, though they also develop a thick, coarse, bristly hair on their back, arms, and shoulders. Female orcs do not lose their hair during puberty, but they develop breasts like human women and, like males, they also grow hair upon their backs and arms but not to the same degree. As female orcs get older they usually start to lose their head hair as well, but typically not until middle or old age. Female orc hair is usually slightly wavy, they typically wear it in long braids or falling naturally and cut about shoulder length. As orcs approach old age, their skin becomes lighter in coloration and even a little transparent, sometimes allowing veins and even muscles to be seen beneath their flesh. Orcs reach puberty around the age of 20, but do not reach middle age until around 300 years of age, after that old age begins to show at around 1000 years. Orcs do not die of old age, they just gradually get wrinklier and more pale over the millennia - though their physical and mental abilities do not decrease.

Orcs faces have some similarities to those of humans, though there are major differences. Orcs tends to have broad, flat noses. Their mouths are very large as are their jaws. The entire mouth and jaw structure is distended slightly compared to that of humans, this in combination of the broad flat nose give orcs the appearance of a muzzle or snout more than a mouth and nose. Their lips are very thin, hard to notice unless they speak. Orcs tend to have thick bony ridges above their eyes and bony lumps beneath their scalps, they also have large bony knuckles, shoulders, elbows, and knees.

Orcs teeth are larger and more vicious than human teeth, and instead of four sharp teeth like humans have - they have twelve. Orc teeth, because they are strict carnivores, are more for ripping and tearing than for crushing or grinding. Orcs have very thick and hard fingernails, and if allowed to grow naturally would form sharp claws, these nails are not flat like human nails, but rather are triangular (like an epee blade) giving them more structural strength. Orc ears are like those of humans, though their earlobes are long and always connect to the sides of their faces and the tips of the ears are pointed - not like those of elves - but rather more like a cat’s or wolf’s ears.

The differences between orcs are humans are not just superficial. The blood of orcs is not red, but rather it is pure black. Not only is this blood black but it is thicker than human blood as well, and tends to slowly ooze from wounds rather than flow like human blood. The blood of an orc is a deadly poison, even a drop on the skin can kill an adult human and its said that once a blade has cut orc flesh that it will forever carry the poison. When exposed to sunlight, and orcs skin quickly darkens and cracks, causing it to bleed. Prolonged exposer to the sun causes orc flesh to wither, this will cause great pain and eventually death to the orc. Orcs are immune to most poisons that affect humans, though the touch of cold iron immediately causes orc skin to blister and peel. Orcs are immune to the cold but they become weak when exposed to temperatures above freezing. Orcs also can see in absolute darkness and even see through the thick black mists that enshroud northern Daduchus, but light is painful to their eyes, even a candle makes them uncomfortable though it will not significantly hinder them.

Orc society is more egalitarian and structured than that of goblins. Males and females have equal status and equal rights. Orc society is also strictly hierarchical, having different classes who swear fealty to the class above themselves in a very feudalistic manner. This extends all the way up to kings and queens of orcish kingdoms, and many orcs believe that one day there will be an emperor to rule over all orcs. Orcs view themselves as the nobility who are meant to rule over others, and even the lowest in the orcs hierarchy are the equivalent of knights in human society. The real workers and laborers among the orcs, the serfs of their feudal system, are not orcs at all, but goblins. Orcs often go on raids to capture goblins to use as slaves, but many goblins join with the orcs of their own volition. Goblins who fear oppression for religious reasons or who resent the rule of the hobgoblins will often seek out orcs as protectors. In such situations, despite their extreme cruelty, the orcs will swear an oath to defend the goblins from harm in exchange for lifelong labor on the part of the goblins. Orcs keep virtually never break such an oath, but an orc is betrayed they will spot at nothing to get vengeance on the oath breaker, this vengeance usually entails weeks of horrible torture.


Because orcs are sensitive to iron, they use neither iron nor steel tools or weapons, instead they use brass. Because brass contains no iron and is comparable to steel in its strength, it makes an ideal metal for orcs to use. Orcs are excellent metal workers and make fine quality swords and armor, the typical orc can be seen wearing a brass breastplate, chain mail, or a coat of plates for armor. Another metal that orcs use is called dark steel. Dark steel is not really a metal at all, but created from the essence of evil stolen away from another creature. Among the orcs there is a profession called shadow shapers, who have the ability to control the very essence of darkness. They will take a slave or prisoner and light a small candle nearby, causing the victim's shadow to be cast against the wall. The orc then sinks its talons into the victims shadow and rips it free from the body; this horrible act shreds apart the victim's soul driving them forever insane or leaving them as a drooling vegetable. It is said that the act of having your shadow stolen is the most painful experience that any sensient being can suffer. The shadow shaper can then use the shadow for any number of purposes, such as animating it into an intelligent servant, consuming it to strengthen the orc's personal powers, or forging it into dark steel. A dark steel weapon is highly prized among orcs and quite expensive, its is much stronger than steel and much lighter as well, even when it is damaged it will reform into its natural shape unless it is completely burned away or exposed to sunlight. When a dark steel blade pierces the flesh of a living creature, it also chills them to the bone, drawing out the warm and life from their bodies.

Orcs use their goblin (or sometimes other creatures) servants to build huge fortresses for them. These keeps are more than just defensive structures, they are castles covered with ornate carvings and with redundant structures which exist to only to please the orcish eye. Along the same lines, orc clothing is stylized and esthetically pleasing. It is usually significant to the individual orc in some regard, such as bearing some personal crest or family heraldry. Orcs favor large dark fur trimmed cloaks worn over their other clothing and even their armor, these help to conceal orcs from other creature's limited vision is the dark mists in their realm.

When orcs go into battle, they ride Worgs. A Worg is a creature than in some ways resembles the dire wolf to the south, yet is also different in a number of ways. It is larger, as big a a full sized horse, and has a slightly different build. Its shape is slightly more catlike in some regards, having hugely powerful shoulders and large claws upon its feet. Their jaws are massive and filled with rows of dagger-like teeth, their faces look like a grotesque mixture between that of a bat, a cat, and a hyena. A Worg's fur is as dark and night its eyes gleam an eerie red. Worgs were created by orcs using selective breeding and dark magic over the years, feeding dire wolves alchemical substances to make them larger and more powerful and well as subjecting them to other foul experiments.

Orcs worship no deity nor do they believe in an afterlife, they think that all things go into oblivion after death unless their souls are somehow preserved through magic. They do believe in gods and greater supernatural creatures, but do not think that such creatures are worthy of worship. Some orcs do occasionally preform a ritual here or there to seek favor from a certain greater power, but they see it as more of a business arrangement than any kind of worship. Orcs do tend to practice sorcery at a fairly high rate, it is not uncommon for them to summon forth creatures of darkness and evil do do their bidding or perhaps to make an arrangement with. Demonic pacts are the closest that orcs get to true religion, and they look down on those who dedicate themselves in service of gods who the orcs believe will ultimately betray the worshipers and allow his or her soul to go into nothingness. They view such things as prayer as pathetic begging and believe themselves above it.

In orc society, the first born child of an orc couple is destined to inherit all that its parents own. Sometimes this first born child must be patient because of the extremely long life spans of orcs, despite this fact and orcs evil nature, patricide is almost unheard of because of the orcs' sense of personal honor and family loyalty. The second born child in an orc family receives training in some form of special professional skill. For poorer orc families, this could mean that the 2nd born orc becomes a scribe, stone mason, or blacksmith; in wealthier families the 2nd born orcs can expect to become shadow shapers, alchemists, or sorcerers. The largest category of orc are those called the "3rd Born" who are orcs who have at least 2 older siblings. These third born receive nothing from their parents after reaching adulthood aside from a weapon, armor, and a Worg. The 3rd Born are the knights and warriors of the orcish populace. They go to battle toe earn their money and to achieve glory and prestige that was denied them by birth. Though some 3rd Born die in battle, others win fortunes and lands greater than those that their parents held and they too carry on the tradition with their children. Because of orcish inheritance, arranged marriages are the uniformly practiced in their society. Because first born males often wed first born female, it means that wealth is often concentrated over the years into extremely wealthy families. This tendency often leads to feudal warfare between different orcish families because of the dichotomy in wealth - with 3rd born orcs fighting both sides trying to win land of their own.

[Balyano]

Was thinking about the ecology of the ettin today.

These two headed giants are often described by the common folk as vile man-eaters, but the truth is ettins are incapable of digesting meat and become ill with gastrointestinal inflammation if they do.

The ettin is a creature well adapted to its lifestyle of browsing leaves from trees. On the tree dotted savana giraffes graze the tree tops, in some lands enormous sloths fill the same niche.

But in the colder lands it is the ettin that takes advantage of this food source. But these leaves are rather poor fodder, vast quantities must be eaten, and heavily processed to provide enough nutrients for the beast to survive. This is where the ettins unique physiology makes all the difference.

The ettins two heads allows for the ettin to chew twice as much food at a time as a single headed giant could. If not for having two heads the ettin would not be able to eat enough in a day to thrive.

Ettins also possess a rather round gut, and for good reason. While both heads have separate throats they share a common stomach, and enormous multi-chambered stomach capable of fermenting even the poorest food into everything the giant requires. Even still an extensive intestinal tract is required, making their guts protrude.

This diet and means of digestion result in excessive flatulence, ettins are a danger to have around a fire for this reason.

The ettins twin heads have other advantages for the creatures beyond the ability to eat double. The heads allow them to scan for predators (such as tyranosaurs, smilodons, big game hunters, dragons, and rocs) in two directions at a time. Each head sleeps separately, so the ettin never needs to stop eating. In fact ettin heads have difficulty waking up and usually require the other head to wake them up.

Ettins spend the summer layering on fat for the winter. When their food turns shades of yellow and brown the ettins know it is time to sleep. They seek out caves in which to communally hibernate. Sometimes the ettins find a really good cave. It's dry inside, and keeps the wind out, and its warmer, and full of soft stuff sometimes. And easy to find, out there in the middle of a field with lots of little people around it. And these caves have lots of chambers and tunnels and high spires. So the ettins walk in and chase off the little people inside and smash the ones that don't leave. Then they gather all the soft stuff into a pile in the biggest room and huddle together in a warm pile of hibernating bodies. When the spring comes the sounds of booming thunderstorms wake the ettins and they return to the forests.

Of course the little people sometimes interrupt their slumber. The little people don't like it when you take their caves or as they call them ''castles''.

[Cyrus_Mortis]

This thread is awesome, I really love a lot of the ideas, especially the kobolds/dragons from pg. 2
Anyway, this inspired me to post(it started as a story , but I recently started DM'ing a pathfinder game in the setting)

I apologize in advance for the length, I'll try to shorten it as much as possible:

Ok, the origins of all sentient species are of divine origin.
In the beginning there was darkness and death, filled with ancient beings killing one another in constant conflict.
That is until the gods arose above the fray, they beat back the darkness and that which thrived there. There were eons of peace enforced by the gods, but they grew bored.

In this boredom they created the world forged by the gods of the elements, something they could all watch form. when the world was done their boredom returned.

Then one god created green life that covered this new world. the other gods were fascinated, but quickly grew jealous (why shouldn't they have their own creations. The gods went wild, creating various creatures of increasing power and style. The king of the gods stopped this, it was getting out of hand.

A few gods hadn't had a chance to create and complained, so the king granted them one being each, and from that point to life would be created upon pain of death(non-existence).

These gods created the sentient races of the world, each competing to make the best. The first beings were the orcs, strong warlike they quickly conquered their terrain. The next was mankind, not as strong but much more intelligent and ingenuitive. Next the dwarves, longer lived and stronger than humans and just as ingenuitive, but smaller and uncharismatic. Next the elves, weaker then the other races, but much more intelligent, fierce, willful, and elegant and living far longer.

The last race left the other gods in awe. They were stronger, fiercer, more intelligent, and immortal. Worse though, they were covered in scales of natural armor, had a pair of powerful wings capable of carrying their massive bodies great distances, a breath of flame capable of charring entire armies of lesser races. Thus the dragons were born.

The ancients(beings in the darkness, predating gods) looked on in jealousy, attempting several times to affect the world, when the king decided to separate the world, into a different realm of existence, warding the ancients.
(the ancients are basically a mix of the titans and a bit Cathulu esk but less tenticly)
The ancients managed to break through partially in weakened places, where the barrier between dimensions was weaker, sometimes leaving a bit of their essence. an evil corrupting essence the world knows as the taint(the taint that ruined their once perfect world; blamed for death and disease)

There is more to creation, but nothing of import to the subject at hand.


Other races are either sub races or cursed, some specifics about races:

Orks: the orks are more like warcraft orks in spirit, but duller. Not evil just warlike, basically a viking esk culture with a bit of native american (shamans and the like). Interesting tidbit - they often have a series of war-braids(kind of like dread locks) with bones, and blades in them to make them appear more fierce... they often also shake around to make them clatter to terrify enemies. Also consider crows holy - they believe that they collect and deliver souls to the afterlife.

Black Orks: orks captured and twisted by a great evil, they have black skin(like that of drow). More Tolkien orks, warlike, evil, and a bit more industrious, but not particularly smart.(created using the taint)

Drow: cursed elves, typical D&D drow

Lycanthropes: The origins of lycanthropes are the cursed children of a man who pissed of a nature goddess.

Ork-kin: goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears are subspecies of orks, that evolved due to their place in ork culture.
goblins: the runts of the litter evolved to be quick and clever(but not smart) and capable of eating anything. they were the lowliest of the orks, forced to feed on only scraps and to run away from bullies.
hobgoblins: not as large as typical orcs, they developed to be the smartest, ruling and governing with reason and fighting with ferocity and skill
Bugbears: bigger than most orks, they developed to be the guardians of powerful orks and hired killers. the most powerful and dangerous they rarely needed to think beyond what to kill next, making them the dumbest of the species.
ork: typical ork, top class beyond rulers, these were the warrior class, raiding, killing, and slaving.

Half-lings: actually a half-breed of dwarves and humans, they gained the charisma of humans, the cleverness and craftiness of dwarves, with the ingenuity of both. They inherited the longer lifespans from their dwarven progenitors.

Giants: children of mortals and demigods. Variance of race is due to the differing gods.

Ogres: their progenitors are black orks and humans; capable of good and evil.. though usually evil.

Undead: mindless undead are either creations of necromancers, or corpses of the dead come in contact with the taint. Sometimes the taint creates intelligent undead, such as wights and ghouls.
--Necromancy was introduced to mortals by the ancients---lichdom was discovered not shared------

Vampires: an undead curse placed upon mortals.. still working on origin specifics
(mainly because not sure about how I'm running vamps)
Vamp option 1: I was thinking Legacy of Kain type, they sleep, evolve and wake up more powerful and changed, but the change is more specific rather than varying and random.
2: typical vamps minus garlic and holy symbol weakness
3: vamp subspecies(possibly combined with 1)
sub1: vampiris sanguineis - typical vamp, drains blood for sustanence
sub2: vampiris vitas - a vampire that feeds on life force direclty - harder to hide but more powerful
sub3: vampiris animas - a vampire that feeds on souls - rarest of all, very hard to procreate, but incredibly powerful(though they start as the weakest; basically getting more powerful with each soul consumed like a demon, and more powerful souls have higher increases) - not too dangerous to typical mortals, most are old and only feed on typical mortal if they have to, preferring to prey on more powerful targets ie: lesser (or if powerful enough greater)demons, heroes, and even off species vampires.
4: vamp families(also possibly combined with 1):
basically families of vampires have different traits: (think warhammer vamps)
feral: monsterous, and barely human anymore
lahmian type: manipulate and seduce
warlike: warrior type vamps, seek phyical perfection and cure from hunger
magic focus: phyically the weakes, but powerful magic users
close to progenitors: oldest of the species, often having characteristics from multiple families... and capable of transforming into more monsterous winged forms(think volkihar vamps from skyrim)

EDIT:

Dragon variant races are dragons that evolved to suit their environment - reds being the progenitors.

[LordotTrinkets]

An idea I've been tinkering around with has been to make constructs and undead very similar in creation. First off, there is no 'positive' and 'negative' energy, but there is 'logic' and 'emotional' energy and both are needed to produce sentient life. Though these two seem to just naturally come together in the perfect blend via procreation, mages have been unable to successfully produce an 'artificial' soul.

Constructs and undead are both the byproducts of these attempts to create life, undead have too much emotional energy and constructs having too much logical energy. On occasion, the ratios get incredibly close in either case, but the end product is still not quite human. Vampires are capable of reasoning, but terrifying extremes of dementia are also always present. The 'Pinocchio effect' has also been observed every now and then, but these too tend toward either robotic behaviors or straight up sociopathy.

[Cyrus_Mortis]

An idea I've been tinkering around with has been to make constructs and undead very similar in creation. First off, there is no 'positive' and 'negative' energy, but there is 'logic' and 'emotional' energy and both are needed to produce sentient life. Though these two seem to just naturally come together in the perfect blend via procreation, mages have been unable to successfully produce an 'artificial' soul.

Constructs and undead are both the byproducts of these attempts to create life, undead have too much emotional energy and constructs having too much logical energy. On occasion, the ratios get incredibly close in either case, but the end product is still not quite human. Vampires are capable of reasoning, but terrifying extremes of dementia are also always present. The 'Pinocchio effect' has also been observed every now and then, but these too tend toward either robotic behaviors or straight up sociopathy.

Wow, I really like this idea, incredibly interesting take on undead and constructs. I like the emotional/logic vs positive/negative.. implies that undead aren't necessarily evil. Mindless are as evil as their use, and intelligent are as evil as the person, but more often than not I would assume merely driven insane.

[WMO?]

An idea I've been tinkering around with has been to make constructs and undead very similar in creation. First off, there is no 'positive' and 'negative' energy, but there is 'logic' and 'emotional' energy and both are needed to produce sentient life. Though these two seem to just naturally come together in the perfect blend via procreation, mages have been unable to successfully produce an 'artificial' soul.

Constructs and undead are both the byproducts of these attempts to create life, undead have too much emotional energy and constructs having too much logical energy. On occasion, the ratios get incredibly close in either case, but the end product is still not quite human. Vampires are capable of reasoning, but terrifying extremes of dementia are also always present. The 'Pinocchio effect' has also been observed every now and then, but these too tend toward either robotic behaviors or straight up sociopathy.

Warforged anyone?

[LordotTrinkets]

Warforged anyone?

Huh, now that you mention it, that is pretty much what it is... Now I feel UNoriginal.

[Deepbluediver]

Huh, now that you mention it, that is pretty much what it is... Now I feel UNoriginal.

Hey now, don't get down. I think that Warforged being a halfway point between undead and constructs could be a cool plot-point. Especially if you've got a warforged player who is curious about the origins of his race, for example.

But will the truth lead to new enlightenment, or only heartache and despair? Tune in next week to find out, folks!

[LordotTrinkets]

Hey now, don't get down. I think that Warforged being a halfway point between undead and constructs could be a cool plot-point. Especially if you've got a warforged player who is curious about the origins of his race, for example.

But will the truth lead to new enlightenment, or only heartache and despair? Tune in next week to find out, folks!

Well, I suppose you're right, that does sound pretty cool. Plus, the world I've been tinkering with that's modeled around this idea is moving in the direction of having a polynesian (or at least stereotypical-island-ish) feel. Which, you know, brings to mind war forged dressed in coconut bikinis and grass skirts, which is ALMOST funnier than the warforged costume mentioned in my sig.

Yeah, warforged have a surprising potential for comic relief...

Side-note: All in all, I now think that war forged should be the dominant race of the setting.

[Max_Killjoy]

Neither of my fantasy settings -- the long-standing fictional setting, or the one I just starting working on to hopefully run a game in, have straight-up elves, dwarves, gnomes, or the other usual sorts.