Races of the Middle World (H to M)
Yeah, I have no life. I blame my wife for visiting T.O. today and for everyone else having Easter celebrations today while I had mine yesterday.
Races of the Middle World (H to M)
Half-elves aren’t exactly what their name implies. In general, half-elves are anywhere from a quarter-elf (one elf grandparent) to seven-eighths-elf (one human great-grandparent). This means that a significant number of half-elves aren’t the result of a union between a human and an elf, but between half-elves and either elves or humans. These people are common in any area where both elves and humans are prevalent, northernVarellia and the Northern Principalities in particular. Due to good relations between humans and elves in general, most half-elves are raised by the most cosmopolitan of atmospheres, which is one of the reasons why they are often charismatic and diplomatic. They combine the emotional openness of elves with the versatility of humanity in ways that are generally only positive.
Half-orcs, like half-elves, are only rarely actually half-orc and half-human. Half-orcs range between an eighth-orc (one orc great-grandparent) and seven-eighth-orc (one human great-grandparent) before they are considered human or orc respectively. The origin of the half-orc was likely first due to raiding of human villages by orc savages, but enough half-orcs were around by the time of the Kingdom of Baghestra that the hobgoblins found a perfect intermediary between them and their orcish vassals. It was around that time that half-orcs stopped being a mismatch between two species and became a race unto themselves. After the hobgoblin defeat, the half-orc became a more common sight in the Stone Barrens, often keeping order between the orcish tribes that they often became leaders of. After all this time, many of the descendants of those half-orcs are now full-blooded orcs, but a number of those lineages have mingled between humans and orcs enough that they are still considered half-orcs. A number of other half-orcs left that region and set up half-orc enclaves in the Tangled Forest west of the Stone Barrens. There are a number of half-orcs outside of the area around Varellia, but there are no places in which half-orcs were specifically bred like they were in Baghestra.
Halflings have always lived amongst the other races, their nomadic ways along rivers meaning that they have always gravitated to the roles of trader, ferryman and, more often than they’d admit, smuggler. The city of Rivenbrook in the Northern Principalities is the only known city that has been centred around the halfling way of life. Most halfling communities keep in excellent touch with relatives, even though they may be many leagues and generations removed from each other. Despite the prevalence of dragonborn as sailors, halflings come a strong second, though it is much more rare for a pirate to bother halfling ships since they are often scaled appropriately, leading to little cargo space and little chance that your average pirate could ever sail a captured halfling ship. That being the case, halflings are considered the most reliable means of sending messages and small cargoes to another port. Halflings believe that they were adopted by the goddess Avandra after Melora and Sehanine tired of their creations, though some also believe that they are related to humans in some way.
Hobgoblins are still smarting from being usurped by the civilized races coming together to form the Nerath Empire. While they don’t often write down their history, the oral traditions of the hobgoblin people hold that they are the proper rulers of the lands of Varellia, the Northern Principalities and the Goblin Marsh, harkening back farther than Bael Turath. The civilized races acknowledge that Nerath was formed from the ashes of the Baghestran kingdom, but most would challenge the existence of an earlier hegemony by the hobgoblins and their cousins. Hobgoblins are by far the most industrious of the goblinoid race, building their own settlements, weapons and armour. One element of history that all sides tend to agree on is that hobgoblins were pushed into the Goblin Marsh in an attempt to keep them from having significant resources since their ingenuity and work ethic would have allowed them more opportunities outside of the massive swamp. Tieflings hold a special hatred of hobgoblins due to the frequent purges of tiefling families that occurred during the reign of the Baghestran kingdom. Hobgoblins that become adventurers run the gamut of roles, the most frightening thing being the number of Bane-worshipping paladins that are hobgoblin-trained.
Humans are a race that has scattered throughout the world, ranging from kingdoms to small isolated settlements, their roles in society anywhere from kings and emperors to slaves and peasants. Ancient human settlements and ruins attest to the persistent need for humanity to put its stamp on the world, some of the earliest empires rising due to human influence, Bael Turath originally being a human empire and the Nerath Empire being human-led for the entire duration of its existence. The versatility of the humans mean that it’s not hard to find humans who worship every deity and humans in every role within an adventuring party. It is unknown which god created humanity, but only the naïve think of humanity as the forgotten step-children of the gods; their success in the middle world couldn’t be matched without divine intervention.
Kobolds believe that they are true kin to dragons and their reptilian draconic appearance would seem to confirm this. Unfortunately for them, dragons rarely agree with that assertion, often using kobolds as servants, but rarely giving them more thought than a king gives a serf. Some kobolds are raised up to greater heights in the eyes of the dragon they serve, but it is debatable if this is positive for these kobolds. In general, the maintenance and construction of traps within a dragon’s lair is given to the kobolds and many kobold tribes subsist on the torn carcasses of prey that the dragon doesn’t eat whole. Rarely a kobold leaves their tribe and the shelter of their draconic patron to adventure in the world, but stranger things have happened.
Minotaurs are often portrayed as bestial brutes that worship Baphomet the Horned King (a demon lord), but this is much more simplistic than realistic. While a subset of the minotaur race act with no more civility and honour than your average gnoll, many minotaurs are civilized and have built many of the city-states in the Southern Principalities, either recently or for the Emperor of Arkhosia in days gone by. While Baphomet is worshipped by the savage minotaurs of the wilds, civilized minotaurs worship Bahamut, Pelor, Moradin or Erathis. The stereotype of minotaurs in mazes holds a grain of truth though since they do construct mazes in their cities, though most are used as other races use parks and fountains: places of peace and serenity.
Nearly at the end... though I'm not going to post anything about Warforged so that eyebeams doesn't get to know more about his character's species than I want him to know.
Races of the Middle World (H to M)
Half-elves aren’t exactly what their name implies. In general, half-elves are anywhere from a quarter-elf (one elf grandparent) to seven-eighths-elf (one human great-grandparent). This means that a significant number of half-elves aren’t the result of a union between a human and an elf, but between half-elves and either elves or humans. These people are common in any area where both elves and humans are prevalent, northernVarellia and the Northern Principalities in particular. Due to good relations between humans and elves in general, most half-elves are raised by the most cosmopolitan of atmospheres, which is one of the reasons why they are often charismatic and diplomatic. They combine the emotional openness of elves with the versatility of humanity in ways that are generally only positive.
Half-orcs, like half-elves, are only rarely actually half-orc and half-human. Half-orcs range between an eighth-orc (one orc great-grandparent) and seven-eighth-orc (one human great-grandparent) before they are considered human or orc respectively. The origin of the half-orc was likely first due to raiding of human villages by orc savages, but enough half-orcs were around by the time of the Kingdom of Baghestra that the hobgoblins found a perfect intermediary between them and their orcish vassals. It was around that time that half-orcs stopped being a mismatch between two species and became a race unto themselves. After the hobgoblin defeat, the half-orc became a more common sight in the Stone Barrens, often keeping order between the orcish tribes that they often became leaders of. After all this time, many of the descendants of those half-orcs are now full-blooded orcs, but a number of those lineages have mingled between humans and orcs enough that they are still considered half-orcs. A number of other half-orcs left that region and set up half-orc enclaves in the Tangled Forest west of the Stone Barrens. There are a number of half-orcs outside of the area around Varellia, but there are no places in which half-orcs were specifically bred like they were in Baghestra.
Halflings have always lived amongst the other races, their nomadic ways along rivers meaning that they have always gravitated to the roles of trader, ferryman and, more often than they’d admit, smuggler. The city of Rivenbrook in the Northern Principalities is the only known city that has been centred around the halfling way of life. Most halfling communities keep in excellent touch with relatives, even though they may be many leagues and generations removed from each other. Despite the prevalence of dragonborn as sailors, halflings come a strong second, though it is much more rare for a pirate to bother halfling ships since they are often scaled appropriately, leading to little cargo space and little chance that your average pirate could ever sail a captured halfling ship. That being the case, halflings are considered the most reliable means of sending messages and small cargoes to another port. Halflings believe that they were adopted by the goddess Avandra after Melora and Sehanine tired of their creations, though some also believe that they are related to humans in some way.
Hobgoblins are still smarting from being usurped by the civilized races coming together to form the Nerath Empire. While they don’t often write down their history, the oral traditions of the hobgoblin people hold that they are the proper rulers of the lands of Varellia, the Northern Principalities and the Goblin Marsh, harkening back farther than Bael Turath. The civilized races acknowledge that Nerath was formed from the ashes of the Baghestran kingdom, but most would challenge the existence of an earlier hegemony by the hobgoblins and their cousins. Hobgoblins are by far the most industrious of the goblinoid race, building their own settlements, weapons and armour. One element of history that all sides tend to agree on is that hobgoblins were pushed into the Goblin Marsh in an attempt to keep them from having significant resources since their ingenuity and work ethic would have allowed them more opportunities outside of the massive swamp. Tieflings hold a special hatred of hobgoblins due to the frequent purges of tiefling families that occurred during the reign of the Baghestran kingdom. Hobgoblins that become adventurers run the gamut of roles, the most frightening thing being the number of Bane-worshipping paladins that are hobgoblin-trained.
Humans are a race that has scattered throughout the world, ranging from kingdoms to small isolated settlements, their roles in society anywhere from kings and emperors to slaves and peasants. Ancient human settlements and ruins attest to the persistent need for humanity to put its stamp on the world, some of the earliest empires rising due to human influence, Bael Turath originally being a human empire and the Nerath Empire being human-led for the entire duration of its existence. The versatility of the humans mean that it’s not hard to find humans who worship every deity and humans in every role within an adventuring party. It is unknown which god created humanity, but only the naïve think of humanity as the forgotten step-children of the gods; their success in the middle world couldn’t be matched without divine intervention.
Kobolds believe that they are true kin to dragons and their reptilian draconic appearance would seem to confirm this. Unfortunately for them, dragons rarely agree with that assertion, often using kobolds as servants, but rarely giving them more thought than a king gives a serf. Some kobolds are raised up to greater heights in the eyes of the dragon they serve, but it is debatable if this is positive for these kobolds. In general, the maintenance and construction of traps within a dragon’s lair is given to the kobolds and many kobold tribes subsist on the torn carcasses of prey that the dragon doesn’t eat whole. Rarely a kobold leaves their tribe and the shelter of their draconic patron to adventure in the world, but stranger things have happened.
Minotaurs are often portrayed as bestial brutes that worship Baphomet the Horned King (a demon lord), but this is much more simplistic than realistic. While a subset of the minotaur race act with no more civility and honour than your average gnoll, many minotaurs are civilized and have built many of the city-states in the Southern Principalities, either recently or for the Emperor of Arkhosia in days gone by. While Baphomet is worshipped by the savage minotaurs of the wilds, civilized minotaurs worship Bahamut, Pelor, Moradin or Erathis. The stereotype of minotaurs in mazes holds a grain of truth though since they do construct mazes in their cities, though most are used as other races use parks and fountains: places of peace and serenity.
Nearly at the end... though I'm not going to post anything about Warforged so that eyebeams doesn't get to know more about his character's species than I want him to know.