Races of the Middle World (A to D)
Races of the Middle World
Bugbears live amongst their smaller kin amongst the goblin family, either intermingling with them or living in villages that are amongst the villages of other goblinoids. Rumours still hold that bugbears were magically bred to be bigger and stronger than the other goblinoids by the hobgoblins, though some records from Bael Turath indicate that some goblins encountered resembled bugbears during that empire’s reign. Most bugbears live around the Dark Mountains and the Goblin Marsh with their kin, though some have been found in regions as diverse as the Draconic Mountains in the far south and in tribes along the southern jungles of Dukkharan.
Deva are as rare as races come, their history stretching back to the dawn of the middle world and the struggle between the gods and the primordials. They were immortal servants of the gods who willingly took on flesh as a way to circumvent the deal between the spirits and the gods that the world would be free of divine presence, allowing divine influence. Since only some of their memories travel with them from life to life, most deva have deviated from that original goal, though they do strictly adhere to beliefs in goodness and law, since those who did not quickly fell in rebirth to become rakshasa. Many deva roam the world, rarely encountering each other, though there are more sightings of these beings in the lands of Dukkharan and Zelakhat, far to the east of Varellia.
Doppelgangers live throughout the world, but only in numbers in the eastern lands, many residing in Nocturnus and Nefer-Qet, though it is not unheard of for them to exist in enclaves throughout the world, keeping their presence hidden from the rest of the locals due to their shape-shifting abilities. Their origins are lost to history, though many believe either they come from planes such as Sigil and came to the middle world through portals or that they were magically forged creations by the founders of some ancient civilization, older by far than even Dukkharan.
Dragonborn believe that they sprang up from the spilt blood of the god Io, though that is disputable by all save worshippers of Bahamut and Tiamat. They certainly arose in the lands that are now the Southern Principalities, learning how to flourish in temperatures and climates that few other species could do more than just sustain themselves in. They were foundational for both the Empire of Maru-Qet and later Arkhosia and their naval pursuits after the fall of Maru-Qet have spread them throughout both the northern continent and the southern continent. The dragonborn of the southern lands come in all the scale hues their kind come in, with all other dragonborn communities tending to become more specific over time.
Drow know that they were the disparaged lower class amongst the fey creatures that eventually became the drow, eladrin and elves, though Lolth taught them how to lift themselves from their servitude and strike back at their cousins. Her teachings have permeated most of drow culture, encouraging them to resist conformity and to struggle to attain power amongst themselves and the other races through any means necessary. She harboured them in the Underdark and they have flourished, though their ways tend to cull the weak and merciful. During this time, Lolth marked her foster children with their midnight-black skin and made their hair white like her webs. Given their penchant for raiding the surface and their female goddess, the drow are matriarchal, with many roles within society banned from males. Not all drow follow Lolth, but all have been touched by her teachings and even those that leave drow society for better, more honourable lands tend to be harsh parents and cunning foes for those that they oppose.
Dwarves claim that they were made from the earth itself, forged by Moradin in the earliest days of the middle world and that many of their first heroes fought alongside the Great Carver. After the gods and primordials were banished from the middle world, the most powerful servants of the primordials, the titans, enslaved these fierce warriors until they managed their own escape. It is surmised that the dwarves who escaped enslavement by the giants founded a mighty city as their first bastion of defence in case they were followed. Dwarves are found most in the lands of Akhadell and Dukkharan, though there are enclaves in both the Platinum Mountains and the Draconic Mountains in the south and a small group of dwarves used to live in the mountains that encircled Khatiroon. The only kingdom that truly exists as a dwarven society today is Akhadell, which itself was a satellite colony of the much greater Kingdom of Mytra-reneth [Dwrv: Circled by Mithral]. Most dwarven legends harken back to the feats of that great kingdom’s heroes, though their legendary skill at weapon- and armour-smithing are sometimes dismissed by scholars as mere hearsay. Mytra-reneth disappeared at the end of the reign of Bael Turath, most speculation leaning to its destruction when the great mountain range of the east collapsed into what is now the Bay of Wyrms.
Yeah, the next few races will come later.
Bugbears live amongst their smaller kin amongst the goblin family, either intermingling with them or living in villages that are amongst the villages of other goblinoids. Rumours still hold that bugbears were magically bred to be bigger and stronger than the other goblinoids by the hobgoblins, though some records from Bael Turath indicate that some goblins encountered resembled bugbears during that empire’s reign. Most bugbears live around the Dark Mountains and the Goblin Marsh with their kin, though some have been found in regions as diverse as the Draconic Mountains in the far south and in tribes along the southern jungles of Dukkharan.
Deva are as rare as races come, their history stretching back to the dawn of the middle world and the struggle between the gods and the primordials. They were immortal servants of the gods who willingly took on flesh as a way to circumvent the deal between the spirits and the gods that the world would be free of divine presence, allowing divine influence. Since only some of their memories travel with them from life to life, most deva have deviated from that original goal, though they do strictly adhere to beliefs in goodness and law, since those who did not quickly fell in rebirth to become rakshasa. Many deva roam the world, rarely encountering each other, though there are more sightings of these beings in the lands of Dukkharan and Zelakhat, far to the east of Varellia.
Doppelgangers live throughout the world, but only in numbers in the eastern lands, many residing in Nocturnus and Nefer-Qet, though it is not unheard of for them to exist in enclaves throughout the world, keeping their presence hidden from the rest of the locals due to their shape-shifting abilities. Their origins are lost to history, though many believe either they come from planes such as Sigil and came to the middle world through portals or that they were magically forged creations by the founders of some ancient civilization, older by far than even Dukkharan.
Dragonborn believe that they sprang up from the spilt blood of the god Io, though that is disputable by all save worshippers of Bahamut and Tiamat. They certainly arose in the lands that are now the Southern Principalities, learning how to flourish in temperatures and climates that few other species could do more than just sustain themselves in. They were foundational for both the Empire of Maru-Qet and later Arkhosia and their naval pursuits after the fall of Maru-Qet have spread them throughout both the northern continent and the southern continent. The dragonborn of the southern lands come in all the scale hues their kind come in, with all other dragonborn communities tending to become more specific over time.
Drow know that they were the disparaged lower class amongst the fey creatures that eventually became the drow, eladrin and elves, though Lolth taught them how to lift themselves from their servitude and strike back at their cousins. Her teachings have permeated most of drow culture, encouraging them to resist conformity and to struggle to attain power amongst themselves and the other races through any means necessary. She harboured them in the Underdark and they have flourished, though their ways tend to cull the weak and merciful. During this time, Lolth marked her foster children with their midnight-black skin and made their hair white like her webs. Given their penchant for raiding the surface and their female goddess, the drow are matriarchal, with many roles within society banned from males. Not all drow follow Lolth, but all have been touched by her teachings and even those that leave drow society for better, more honourable lands tend to be harsh parents and cunning foes for those that they oppose.
Dwarves claim that they were made from the earth itself, forged by Moradin in the earliest days of the middle world and that many of their first heroes fought alongside the Great Carver. After the gods and primordials were banished from the middle world, the most powerful servants of the primordials, the titans, enslaved these fierce warriors until they managed their own escape. It is surmised that the dwarves who escaped enslavement by the giants founded a mighty city as their first bastion of defence in case they were followed. Dwarves are found most in the lands of Akhadell and Dukkharan, though there are enclaves in both the Platinum Mountains and the Draconic Mountains in the south and a small group of dwarves used to live in the mountains that encircled Khatiroon. The only kingdom that truly exists as a dwarven society today is Akhadell, which itself was a satellite colony of the much greater Kingdom of Mytra-reneth [Dwrv: Circled by Mithral]. Most dwarven legends harken back to the feats of that great kingdom’s heroes, though their legendary skill at weapon- and armour-smithing are sometimes dismissed by scholars as mere hearsay. Mytra-reneth disappeared at the end of the reign of Bael Turath, most speculation leaning to its destruction when the great mountain range of the east collapsed into what is now the Bay of Wyrms.
Yeah, the next few races will come later.