Post by DM Aram on Jul 21, 2015 23:28:44 GMT -5
There have been many of you asking questions about the races in Godsfall, so I've put together this section detailing what humanoids exist in our world. I'm still working on some ideas and there are races I don't want to introduce publicly until they are brought into the story, but here is what I have so far. For more imagery, check out the Races of Godsfall page on our website.
Humans
Hyper-evolved through divine intervention, humans are the dominant race in what is left of the known world.
The destruction of much of the planet has only increased that divide as Dwarves and Elves struggle to replenish their lost populations. They live in all parts of the Five Kingdoms and control the majority of its trade and resources, save for Ironwood from the Wild Elves, and the Seeker Stones of Gal-Hadir.
Playable Races: Human
Elves
Before the breaking there were three great Ironwood Forests. Each of them filtered raw Divinity from the Gods into their roots, birthing the first Elven Houses as their guardians. Though they were separated by culture and oceans, these Houses worked together to bring balance to their world. When Kalos and Rapel forged Dwarves out of stone and Divinity, some of the Elves grew jealous of these new humanoids and their gift of magic.
Elves from the First House of Nialum hatched a plot to steal magic from the Dwarves with help from the God Ius. The Moon God told the Elves to steal the magic under his full light. The Elves were successful, but Ius tricked them into sharing the magic with all humanity instead of keeping it for themselves. Mivia was furious at the theft of her magic. She cursed the House of Nialum with alabaster skin and blood-red eyes that were painfully sensitive to sunlight, and then banished them to the Great Desert south of the Union.
Without the First to lead them, the two remaining Elven nations fell into a century long war as House Syronia sought to build powerful libraries filled with magical tomes and treasures, while House Bellani fiercely defended their traditional rituals as well as the land itself. In the end a truce was reached - House Bellani would take charge of all the Great Ironwood forests, and House Syronia would be free to fill their great towers to the rafters.
Many of House Syronia returned to the lands of the First House in the South and were lost in the Godswar, but a thousand remained to found Rylend with the help of the Dwarves from the ruins of the once great mountain city, Pilar.
Playable Races: High Elf, Wild Elf, Pale Elf (+1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, Advantage on Perception rolls at night, at Disadvantage on Attack and Perception rolls in direct sunlight)
Dwarves
The Five Houses of Dwarves that remain after the Breaking of the World are largely insular, keeping to their mountain kingdoms except to trade gems and gold for food and other supplies not easy to come.
Of them, Gal-Hadir stands the strongest, her technologies and magics vastly more advanced than anything in all the world. Scorching lava forges gave birth to the first golems and machines of brass and steam while priests of Kalos and Barros manipulated flesh to create goblins and orcs as servant races.
Playable Races: Dwarves
Guidari (GEE-u-daree)
Another product of divine tinkering, the Guidari are an evolutionary "what if?" of what humanity might have become.
They stand on average over eight feet tall with thick, fur-covered bodies that frequently weigh up to 400 pounds. The speed of the Guidari belies their hulking girth. Though made humanoid through powerful magic, they have lost little of their primate agility. Added to this is their astonishing fortitude - Guidari scouts will frequently drop thirty feet from the treeline to surprise their prey and can leap from branch to branch with ease.
Once they broke free of their creators, the Guidari were chased and persecuted across Wessel. The humans hounded them through the Gloom and into the Southern Wetlands, only to have trolls take up the assault. Once in the Sand Hills the Orcs of Clan Deathammer savaged their numbers nearly to extinction. It was then that Ova took pity on the Guidari, leading them to a tropical sanctuary hidden deep within the heart of the Coalspine.
Ova sent spirt animals to guide the Guidari on a path of harmony with their new paradise, and they have fiercely guarded it against trespassers ever since.
Playable Races: Guidari (+2 Strength, -1 Intelligence & Wisdom, Climb +5)
Halflings & Gnomes
The wee humanoid folk have no racial power centers left in the surviving world. The Halflings lived mostly in lands to the South now swallowed by the Worldstorm and the Gnomes of the Five Kingdoms were burned out of the ancestral homes in Northern Kadar when Gal-Hadir went on a genocidal war march.
Halflings tend to stick close to the water and make good merchants and traders, so you can find them in nearly any coastal city throughout the Five Kingdoms. Most Gnomes take up residence in more inland cities, preferring ones nearing mountains and active mining.
Playable Races: Halflings, Gnomes
Humans
Hyper-evolved through divine intervention, humans are the dominant race in what is left of the known world.
The destruction of much of the planet has only increased that divide as Dwarves and Elves struggle to replenish their lost populations. They live in all parts of the Five Kingdoms and control the majority of its trade and resources, save for Ironwood from the Wild Elves, and the Seeker Stones of Gal-Hadir.
Playable Races: Human
Elves
Before the breaking there were three great Ironwood Forests. Each of them filtered raw Divinity from the Gods into their roots, birthing the first Elven Houses as their guardians. Though they were separated by culture and oceans, these Houses worked together to bring balance to their world. When Kalos and Rapel forged Dwarves out of stone and Divinity, some of the Elves grew jealous of these new humanoids and their gift of magic.
Elves from the First House of Nialum hatched a plot to steal magic from the Dwarves with help from the God Ius. The Moon God told the Elves to steal the magic under his full light. The Elves were successful, but Ius tricked them into sharing the magic with all humanity instead of keeping it for themselves. Mivia was furious at the theft of her magic. She cursed the House of Nialum with alabaster skin and blood-red eyes that were painfully sensitive to sunlight, and then banished them to the Great Desert south of the Union.
Without the First to lead them, the two remaining Elven nations fell into a century long war as House Syronia sought to build powerful libraries filled with magical tomes and treasures, while House Bellani fiercely defended their traditional rituals as well as the land itself. In the end a truce was reached - House Bellani would take charge of all the Great Ironwood forests, and House Syronia would be free to fill their great towers to the rafters.
Many of House Syronia returned to the lands of the First House in the South and were lost in the Godswar, but a thousand remained to found Rylend with the help of the Dwarves from the ruins of the once great mountain city, Pilar.
Playable Races: High Elf, Wild Elf, Pale Elf (+1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, Advantage on Perception rolls at night, at Disadvantage on Attack and Perception rolls in direct sunlight)
Dwarves
The Five Houses of Dwarves that remain after the Breaking of the World are largely insular, keeping to their mountain kingdoms except to trade gems and gold for food and other supplies not easy to come.
Of them, Gal-Hadir stands the strongest, her technologies and magics vastly more advanced than anything in all the world. Scorching lava forges gave birth to the first golems and machines of brass and steam while priests of Kalos and Barros manipulated flesh to create goblins and orcs as servant races.
Playable Races: Dwarves
Guidari (GEE-u-daree)
Another product of divine tinkering, the Guidari are an evolutionary "what if?" of what humanity might have become.
They stand on average over eight feet tall with thick, fur-covered bodies that frequently weigh up to 400 pounds. The speed of the Guidari belies their hulking girth. Though made humanoid through powerful magic, they have lost little of their primate agility. Added to this is their astonishing fortitude - Guidari scouts will frequently drop thirty feet from the treeline to surprise their prey and can leap from branch to branch with ease.
Once they broke free of their creators, the Guidari were chased and persecuted across Wessel. The humans hounded them through the Gloom and into the Southern Wetlands, only to have trolls take up the assault. Once in the Sand Hills the Orcs of Clan Deathammer savaged their numbers nearly to extinction. It was then that Ova took pity on the Guidari, leading them to a tropical sanctuary hidden deep within the heart of the Coalspine.
Ova sent spirt animals to guide the Guidari on a path of harmony with their new paradise, and they have fiercely guarded it against trespassers ever since.
Playable Races: Guidari (+2 Strength, -1 Intelligence & Wisdom, Climb +5)
Halflings & Gnomes
The wee humanoid folk have no racial power centers left in the surviving world. The Halflings lived mostly in lands to the South now swallowed by the Worldstorm and the Gnomes of the Five Kingdoms were burned out of the ancestral homes in Northern Kadar when Gal-Hadir went on a genocidal war march.
Halflings tend to stick close to the water and make good merchants and traders, so you can find them in nearly any coastal city throughout the Five Kingdoms. Most Gnomes take up residence in more inland cities, preferring ones nearing mountains and active mining.
Playable Races: Halflings, Gnomes