Player Races

Common Races

Humans: Humans control most of the civilized land in Shadowend. The Amerite Empire once controlled most of the Shadowend, and as a result amer blood and Amerite culture is commonplace everywhere. The Haluar tribes are native to the east, though most of their culture was swallowed by the Amerites, and the northern lands are the domain of the Aesar and Vanar.

Dwarves: Masters of earth and stone, dwarves are an ancient race that command many greatholds and smallhalls in the mountains of Shadowend. Mountain dwarves, or dweorhin, are frequent in the north and east, while dwerg, or hill dwarves, are better known in the south and west.

Elves: Fair elves, or faerilven, are a powerful, reclusive race skilled in magic and attuned to the natural world. They have small settlements throughout the woodlands of Shadowend.

Gnomes: Cunning, inquisitive, and clever, gnomes are the fourth and oft-forgotten of the "true" races. They are fond of secrets and knowledge, and skilled in the magical arts of divination and illusion. In the east, the wood gnomes live in small villages and warrens, while the stone gnomes hold expansive subterranean realms rich with gold and gems in the west.

Uncommon Races

Domovii: Humanity's familiar, domovii have linked their fate to the larger race. Domovii are fey that dwell in human villages and hamlets, trading their labor and skills for protection and security.

Fuah: Outcast and rejected, fuah are goblinoid-human half-breeds, found wherever the two races meet. Most fuah make their way as thieves or mercenaries.

Jotunar: Jotunar are born to human families in the wilder lands of Shadowend, and sometimes called giantkin. Two races of jotunar are common; the frost giant-blooded talvijotun, and the hill giant-blooded firjotun.

Troldfolk: Also called bridge trolls or bjergfolk, troldfolk are found wherever they can steal a living. They fey beings are mostly seen as pests by the larger races, but powerful troldfolk paragons are a common feature in legends and tall tales.

Rare Races

Half-Elves: Neither wholly elven nor wholly human, half-elves, or ha'ilven, are often found where the two races meet. They are adaptable and personable, and move easily between the two cultures. A few half-elven families are found near the Driathorn Forest, the Shadowend Forest, and the Elven Forest.

Leshii: Spirits of the forest, leshii are wild fey that sometimes venture out of the deep woodlands to investigate the larger world. They are roughly human in appearance, with barklike skin, leafy hair, and a crown of branch-like horns.

Roane: Also called sealkine, roane are the offspring of a union between a selkie and a human. Their fey parentage makes them curious and charming, traits that set most roane on a life of travel and adventure.

Foes

Organized, powerful, or prolific, a variety of evil creatures influence the Shadowend.

Common Foes

Darilven: Good and evil are rarely visible to the naked eye, but that is not true of the dark elves. A fair elf who turns to evil and undergoes a Retreat awakens as a dark elf, or darilven, with black skin, black hair, and a gaunt appearance. Many congregate underground, but others remain on the surface.

Duergar: The gray dwarves, or duergar, are descendants of dwarves corrupted by a powerful Typhos.

Giants: Giants of all kinds are found throughout Shadowend. The Typhos loathed the giants, and corrupted many over the ages, creating the common giant races known today. If any true giants remain in the Shadowend today, they are well hidden.

Gnolls: Gnolls and their leaders, the flind, roam the Tehmar.

Humanoids: Humanoids are not a unified race, but a grouping of similar creatures, including orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, ogrillons, orogs, ogren, and trolls.

Uncommon Foes

Dopplegangers: Dopplegangers were shaped from Erdis's tongue, and agents of subterfuge.

Dragons: Dragons are rare and powerful creatures. The first true race created by the Elder Host, dragons eventually rebelled against the gods. As punishment, they were stripped of some of their power; this curse has been lifted with the Second Speaking of Te, and dragons born since then can change shape and breath fire.

Rare Foes

Cloakers: Inscrutable in nature, the mysterious cloakers haunt ruins and caverns across Shadowend.

Dark Folk: The Dark Folk are believed to be a race of cursed humans from before the current age. They are divided into a common class, the dark creepers, and a ruling class, the dark stalker.

Hulking Horror:

Oculuth: Only two oculuth could be created from Erdis's eyes, and they remain the rarest, but most powerful, of the dark races.

Sapints: The grotesque sapints were created from Erdis's brain, and are powerful psychics and enchanters.