Races

Introduction
Note: These descriptions are guidelines. Feel free to discuss with plot alternatives for playing your character. This is not a comprehensive list of all races available, and this list may change at any time.

If any Races are not listed here, the description for them is simply not available at this time.

Human
Humans are perhaps the youngest race on Anthesis with their original only being able to be tracked back a mere 100,000 years. Humans are best described as being adapted. They are found in any climate or terrain, they range from the best of good intentions to the vilest of evil derangement. It has been noted that this might be their weakness, as in comparison to the other races, as for it is viewed that they have not found themselves as a race yet. Humans also have no home land on Anthesis as the most of the other same to have, which also leads to the previous stated opinion as to human not finding them selves. Almost all humans have an innate desire to find oneself and has become such a noted human trait that they are sometimes referred to by other races as “seekers”.

Humans have begun the development to “refine” their race. Some human are capable of being able to resist paralysis and all humans begin with an extra two body points. Humans are definitely creatures of habit and due to this basic tenant of their nature they cannot posses the capability of wild magic. Humans also range across the entire spectrum of class and professions.

Half-Orc
This race may actually be one of the oldest races known know to the world of man, but they’re orcs so who really cares? These green-skinned, pig-nosed, bore-tusked humanoids are only concerned with their daily needs… food, companionship, anything and everything that has to do with the here and now. History is for the birds and the future will come whether or not they stop to think about it.

Half-orcs become stronger and stronger the older they get (+1 strength for every 2 years a character is played). Half-orcs are also great fighters and they make incredible mercenaries. They are naturally aggressive and favor over-kills to the mundane stab and go tactics employed by other races. These nasty little buggers are cruel and short-tempered, although when they do bother to make a friend they are friends for life.

Half orcs are able to resist disease and are totally unaffected by any food that has been spoiled… in fact, their diet tends to revolve around spoiled foodstuffs. Half-orcs view magic cautiously and have an innate fear of necromancy and anything involving undead. They can work up the will to fight them, but it requires great courage for a half-orc to take one on.

Half-orcs pay +1 for literacy and every magical school save healing.

The Orc’s traditional home of Raver’s Blight lies to the north of Anthesis on the coast, directly below the outlands, This have given speculation on why the orcs have become as strong as they are.

Half-Ogre
Half-Ogres are the tall, dark and stupid type… well, stupid may be harsh but they won’t be attending the local university’s quiz bowl anytime soon. They have a natural nice streak and are generally polite which belies their fearsome appearance and overwhelming strength (they gain +1 to strength for every year the character has played). Ogres also develop a very tough hide as they age and are able to purchase thresholds to reflect this.

Ogres are naturally good fighters and as Neanderthals, ogres are legendary. On top of this they also make very good chieftains and gain +4 body when first rolled up. Since this race isn’t very intelligent, they pay +2 per level of literacy and +2 per level for any magic.

Half-ogres love games, especially feats of strength or anything else dealing more with brawn than brains. It’s not surprising to see an ogre playing a rousing game of push the boulder up the hill against himself… and even less surprising when you find out he lost.

The half ogre’s land has been called the lands of fortitude since recorded history, although the ogres don’t really care.

Clansman
Clansmen come from the Highlands mountain region and aren’t too social seeing as how they are generally left alone due to the harsh and unpleasant climate of their homeland that does little to welcome visitors who come calling.

The national sport of the Clansman is war. There is always one clan warring against another and they continue endlessly until an outsider threatens them… then it’s time for them to quit playing and get down to some serious fighting as they band together to be rid of the nuisance so they can get back to their fun. After teaming up to defeat the outsiders there is usually a week or so… okay, so maybe it’s just a day, of kinship then the old blood feuds fire up again and off they go.

Clansmen can be recognized by their heavy Highland accent, laddie, and the plaid skirts they caper about in (the color denotes their clan). Don’t make the mistake of calling it a skirt in front of one of them though or you’ll find yourself in a little game of Clan on One and there’s no loser outs in one of those… and you’re not trying to spell HORSE either. All clans have different plaids and consider wearing them an honor.

Clansmen suffer no body point disadvantages but cannot use any psionic abilities. They may be able to resist elixirs, sleep and ritual magic effects and they hold a high respect for wizards, being the first race to discover group magic using runes and all.

Clansmen have great heart and courage, almost too much. They value tradition over all else… and half of them even understand what it is they’re valuing, the others don’t care, and they just value it because it’s there.

The mountain region of the savage land makes for a good home for the clans.

Barbarian
Barbarians, or the Northlanders, are a race of humanoids from the Savage Lands. Since these aforementioned lands spread through a variety of climates, there are quite a few different barbarians out there. The three major types you will run across are the Jungle barbarians, desert barbarians and the Viking barbarians… the latter of which throw the best parties. The Journey Lands with it varied climate has supported all of the barbarians

Jungle
Jungle barbarians are at home in the… well, in the jungle. What, you thought they lived in caves? When a jungle cannot be found, wooded areas will do. They are very attuned to nature and some even consider themselves nature’s protectors. They make wonderful herbalists and rangers and may train in poisons and elixirs at –1 cost (never to go less than 4 cost total). Jungle barbarians are very vulnerable to cold (double damage) and may purchase resist poison.

The clans of the Jungle barbarians are all jungle animal themed. They work this animal theme into their costumes as well as their face paint, which they tend to be very fond of.

As with most barbarians, the jungle variety isn’t too concerned with reading and writing so they have a +1 disadvantage when training literacy.

Viking
This seagoing race of barbarian is as adept at sailing as they are at killing. Vikings enjoy strong ales, great battles, loose women, all night parties (these last two usually go hand in hand), and tests of strength and valiant deaths among fields littered with the bodies of their foes.

Much like their jungle cousins, Vikings dress in furs or hides and tend to favor huge hammers in battle (-1 from their base cost). Vikings have a great distrust of healing and nature magic and believe illusion was created solely for the destruction of their kind (i.e.:illusionary icebergs).

Their history suggests they believe the sea and sky are one in the same. The stars are the light from their ancestors floating in the Eternal Sea (that there’s Viking talk for outer space). For this reason, mages hold special honor among the Vikings.

Vikings also aren’t very big on education and pay more for the literacy skill (+1)… guess that explains why those “No Solicitors or Pillagers.” signs never work.

Vikings have a special distrust for pirates. They can’t understand why these flamboyant morons prefer to battle out at sea with other ships when they can simply land their vessel at port and have a veritable smörgåsbord's of booty groveling at their feet while saving wear and tear on their ship.

Desert
The desert barbarian have made home out of the one of the most cruelest and harshest environment on all of Anthesis. The heat of the deserts and the living conditions of have formed the desert barbarian into a hardy survivalist. Most desert barbarians have the ability to resist disease and start off with 3 extra body points from whatever class they might be.

Desert barbarians have brown skin and normally dress in furs or skins depending on what clan they belong to. Desert barbarians are also notorious wanderers moving from place to place in search of water and other necessities of survival. Desert barbarians are vicious in combat and enjoy a good combat. In most tribal structures the leader is determined by strength and constitution. Desert barbarians are also phenomenal runners and can run for extremely long periods of time without rest. This doesn’t means that they are naturally quicker than the other races but normally have an endurance that makes the other races pale in comparison.

Lizard
The lizard folk are a reptilian humanoid race complete with green scales and tails. These critters were actually slaves at one point and bred by the aboloth for servitude and labor. They were bred specially to be strong and resist disease, sickness and poisons… after all, a sick slave is a bad slave and who wants to spend money on humane living conditions?

Lizard folk are not able to train in bludgeon, sneak attack, forgery, or back damage because the aboloths were very careful not to allow them any means of escape from their positions as slaves. The aboloths forced these folk for centuries to never tell a lie and be as forthright as possible, the result is a very honest and somewhat naive race.

After the aboloths saw how much easier to control and more abundant the sea elves were, they decided to enslave them instead. The sea elves were in and the lizard folk were out, freed into the world to do as they please. They are slowly becoming more free-willed as future generations are being born into freedom and one of them could probably lie, just not very well.

All lizard folk speak with a soft hiss and can breath water at birth. Although they have not developed better than average battle skills, as a race they can hold their own.

The Lizardfolk ancestral home of Ladensmire with its wet swampy climate and terrain has given a good place for the lizardmen tribes to reside for centuries.

Elves
There are many types of elf and all of them are ancient peoples. All elves on Antithesis have very long life spans and deep, rich cultures. As a generality, all elves also have less body than the other races, but they make up for it by being resistant to a wide variety of effects depending on the type of elf. All elves have pointed ears and a variety of different cultures that we will now discuss.

Wood
These are the sturdiest of the Elvin races. Their unkempt hair and tattered clothing combined with plants and animal hides present a sharp contrast to the usually clean-cut appearance of the other elves. Wood elves are also those closest to nature and may even go so far as to have abilities garnered from their commune with the earth mother to resist nature magic.

These elves make excellent rangers and herbalists (no body point loss) and a few of their ilk have been reported to have even dabbled a bit in necromancy. Most of these elves lead solitary lives in remote swamps and fens, making friends instead with animals that they see themselves as the sole protector of. While some find their homes in the fens, others are the nomads among the elves, built for moving great distances in one go. These variety of the wood elf are well known for traveling light and carrying no possessions. They choose to stash their things in various locations and return to these stashes as they pass through to collect items they need for their trip.

High
High elves are so named for the mountains they traditionally inhabit… not because they are better than you, even though they are. They are by and far the most solitary of the elves since visitors usually don’t care to venture up to the peaks they call home. High elves have the ability to resist psionics (must be all those yodelers) and illusion due to most of their time being spent in thought and contemplation. High elves can be very thoughtful and take their time weighing the options of even the most mundane decisions… paper or plastic?, for instance, would cause quite a ruckus in the 10 items or less line.

High elves are physically weaker than the other races and receive a –1 to their total body points when they begin. They differ from other elves in that they use feathers to accent their hair and clothing. They also tend to have birdlike features with sharp prominent noses and keen eyes. High elves believe they created birdlings though most races discount this… especially the birdlings. High elves have a tendency to think themselves a higher breed than anyone else, with exception of the Socarians, and are often views as snobs by the other elves.

Socarian
The Socarian elves are the craftsmen, philosophers and thinkers of the elves. They believe that creation is a need in every creature’s life, whether it is physical or mental, and are renowned for being sages (no loss of body points, all other classes suffer –1). Socarian elves may possibly have resist rune and a mind restore ability. This variety of elves has very pale skin and usually some for of tattoo or marking defining their ancient lineage. They have long been thought of as the most intelligent of the elf community and are by far the best craftsmen.

Socarians do have emotions, but to show those emotions is considered obscene. Because of this they are sometimes considered cold and distant. This isn’t exactly accurate, as they are deeply passionate but feel if they were to let these feelings out that it would lead to insanity.

Sea
Sea elves are the ocean goers of the Elvin community. They have bluish-green skin and their dress usually includes objects gathered from the ocean floor. While they have functional gills, they can still breath out of water and their gills will cease to work if not used for more than a few weeks. Sea elves consider themselves the protectors of the ocean and hold a great disgust for pirates and Vikings. They have the ability to resist poison and ritual magic as well as limited telepathy with seagoing creatures with which they may implant suggestions to the more intelligent of the bunch.

There have been reports of lost continents that the sea elves have sunken below the waves to use as great cities, but nobody who has seen such a thing has brought back proof… if they come back at all. Sea elves are thought to be very fickle and are the free spirits of the Elvin community. They are not very talkative, choosing instead to show their thoughts and opinions through deed instead of word.

Desert
The desert elf is one of the few elves to sport a tan since their ancestors roamed the great deserts. In fact, many of the facets of a desert elf’s life revolve around their nomadic history. These elves make great hunters (-1 to archer) and bowman and the may also have the ability to resist sleep and poisons. Desert elves are more susceptible to the cold, taking double damage from ice.

These elves appreciate beauty in both flora and fauna and are very fond of nature. This probably stems from the fact that they don’t get to see much of either living in the desert and seeing any flower or creature is a rare sight indeed. Desert elves prefer solitude or groups of small numbers since large crowds make them nervous. Desert elves, once they’ve made an enemy, will never show mercy and are very tough to defeat in combat.

Dark
Dark elves live underground and have a rich and colorful culture considering they’ve been under a rock for the last millennium. They have black skin and black, silver, or white hair which is usually enough to tell them apart from their Elvin cousins.

Dark elves believe that they are the “true elves” and the eldest of all the races. Their traditions state that when light was released upon Antithesis from the cosmos, the elves were the only races that were wise and strong enough to survive. They feel the other races are fallen warriors and have become infected by the light. Dark elves can have the ability to resist necromancy, and are renowned as slayers and blackhawks and sometimes-fearful reavers.

Dark elves tolerate most other races with the exception of the dark dwarfs, which is the reason most dark elves are nicely shaved and well groomed. That way they’re not even remotely close to looking anything like that which they so despise.

Storm
The Storm Elves are the most unpredictable of the elves. In one minute they can be quite and reserved and the next burst out in shocking displays of emotion or rage. Due to their natural out bursts, they are regarded with great caution by the other Elvin tribes. Storm elves traditionally have tattoos across most of their exposed skin depicting lighting, clouds, or any other storm like symbol. All storm Elves enjoy a good fight.

Storm elves can train in abilities that allow them resist sleep and to resist Battle Magic. Storm elves also more easily adapted themselves to wild magic (-1 wild magic). Storm Elves greatly fear being confined and are under the effect of a fear spell when ever put into that situation. It has been noted that after being released that the storm elves fury is unmatched.

Storm Elves also suffer double damage from stone types of magic or damage and share the physical aptitude of their Elvin relatives (+1 extra body).

Wild
Wild elves or sometimes better known as feral elves are the most barbaric of the Elvin races. They prefer to roam the lands of Anthesis moving from one place in search of better living conditions. Wild elves general travel in clans, which each clan has it’s own markings they wear with their furs to be able to tell themselves from other clans of wild elves.

They are most commonly poorly educated (+1 literacy) and value a good bow (-1 Archery) than a good book anyway. They share the weaker constitution of their Elvin relatives (+1 extra body). They have been known to make wonderful Wild Mages (-1 wild magic) although they have become very susceptible to charm spells that effect them as enslaves of the same duration.

Dwarfs
Dwarfs are sturdy humanoids and are generally shorter than humans. All dwarfs are very proud of their beards… both male and female. The dwarfs are also a longer-lived race, though not quite as long as an elf. They have deep and rich histories that stretch back far enough to be the stuff of legend. Dwarven stories are the most renowned of the Dwarven traditions and every dwarf is always eager to spin a good yarn for anyone who will listen… and a few who won’t.

Gray
The gray dwarfs are not as sturdy as an ordinary dwarf. They, in fact, are thought to be a mix of the wood dwarfs and the dark dwarfs, which sort of put them in a gray area, hence the name. This also brings shame to the two groups of dwarfs previously mentioned so they grays are sometimes shunned by the rest of the community.

Dark
Dark dwarfs are said to have been created from a group of dwarfs that continued hunting the dark elves after the great wars. They followed the Dark Menace of the Drow underground to finish the job and once they did they decided to clean up the dark elves while they were at it. Soon it became obvious that killing them all wasn’t an option, so they decided to stay down there and keep them contained. Since a good dwarven tale is never forgotten, this still remains as fact today.

Dark dwarfs have black skin along with their beards. They are able to resist necromancy and poisons, but light spells effect them as if they have been shunned.

Wood
Wood dwarfs are the lumberjacks of Antithesis, keeping the world’s lumber supply at peak conditions. They are closely tied to nature and are able to resist nature effects and charms as well. Wood dwarfs prefer a great axe, which they use much better than most, and respect nature, always giving back to the forest what they take.

Cartesian
Cartesian dwarfs are the artisans of the dwarven world. They create beautiful architecture from the smallest privy to the biggest, most elaborate castles. The need to create is deeply inborn in their personality and culture. A Cartesian dwarf will never use any form of shatter or destroying spell.

Wild
Wild dwarfs are the wanderers of the dwarven community. These are the most adventurous of the dwarfs, although they still will not do anything on an impulse, they are the dwarfs that are willing to take the most risks. They are considered as crazy by the rest of the dwarven societies. Wild dwarfs can be far more resistant to poisons than other dwarfs and are more suited for wild magic than any other dwarf.

Halflings
Halflings are the quite folk of Anthesis. Halflings are smaller and quicker (-2 Evade skill) than almost all of the other races on Anthesis. The are renounced for their creativity and imagination. Halflings love to tinker with anything and small precision work seems to be well suited for them. It has also been said that if curiosity killed the cat it was only because all the Halflings were long dead first. When it comes to this a Halfling are insatiable and are able to learn how to resist fear. Although no fighter or warriors are known to exist do not be mistaken as to a Halflings bravery. There are great tales of Halflings resolute behavior and determination even in the face of great odds, but these are usually in accordance to a Personal conviction or believe.

Dire Wolflings
The dire wolflings are the hardy survivors of the Outlands, solitary, for the most part. Once in a while wandering tribes of the dire wolves will band together for a specific purpose but this is very rare, due to the strong individualism that exists among all dire wolflings. Dire wolflings do not in share common traits in their own families. The parental figure never teaches their children specific skills, just to hunt, to scent and to fight. Everything else is left to the young wolfling. This has lead to cubs having almost always a different set of skills than their parents.

Dire wolfling may have the capability to resist necromancy magic and have a widely renowned aptitude for Berzerking in combat. Education not truly be stressed in their culture, for they feel that other skill are much more needed for survival literacy is uncommon (-1) for dire wolflings. No wolfling has ever been seen as a Paladin, Buccaneer, Cavalier or gypsy.

Dire wolflings are normally dark in coloring and prefer dark clothing if they must wear any at all.

Tundra Wolflings
Tundra wolflings are a stark contrast to their dire cousins. They prefer having clothing and lots of it, prefer to travel in packs although they can be found alone sometimes, They have a traditionally pale complexion and prefer to dress in whites or very light colors.

They are as good as hunters as their dire kinfolk and they share the same tendency for Berzerking that their cousins do. They may posses the ability to resist nature magic.

Werelings
Werelings are a mixture between a human and some type of solitary type of animal. The animal form of the wereling is apparent in the clothing he wears, the features of his body and the mannerisms of the animal chosen. Werelings are different from birdlings and catlings due to the solitary nature of the animal, which the wereling resembles. Catlings and Birdling through the ages developed as a group culture where wereling’s culture developed along an entirely different path. Werelings are perhaps the oldest race on Anthesis. It is not clear what came first, the civilization of the animal into a more manlike creature or, due to the need to survive, man developing the traits that turn them into werelings. Among werelings both beliefs are just as common.

Currently werelings are hardy survivors and are capable of resisting poisons and resisting Disease, combine this with the ability to develop their claws into weapons and their ability to learn to harness their scenting abilities makes a Wereling very adapt for outdoor endeavors. Werelings value education very little (+2 on literacy skill) and cannot use lore magic. Also, due to the wide range of physical form the wereling race covers, werelings cannot buy wear extra armor skill and can only wear armor that specifically states that a Wereling may use it.

Sprites
The Sprites share a common ancestry with the Pixies, both being races of the Alderon. Although they are of the similar species, Sprites and Pixies have had a very different evolution from one another. According to Sprites, it all began thousands of years ago. At that time, the Alderon were a divided people, broken into political and social factions, a far cry from the peace-loving Folk of today. At this time, two factions were quite powerful. One was a group of sprites that revered the dark Powers of Anthesis and wished to bring their entire species over as slaves of the dark forces. Another group was given protection by the powers of Law and Order, and hoped to influence their species towards good. In the end, wanting to be neither totally good nor totally evil, the Sprites chose a balance between the two. When peace was reached, the Sprites banned their darker cousins, who became known as the Pixies. The sprites were more kindly looked upon. For their reverence of good, and because of the changes that developed due to their mastery of magical forces, the sprites emerged as the peace-loving race it is today.

In appearance, the Sprites are the same Pixie, except for the sparkles in their skin. They are ligther in weight than their cousins, with spindly muscles and hollow bones, like those of birds. Their hair colors cover a range of brown and black shades, with the rare blonde or redhead. Their eye colors range in tone:blues, greens, browns, and the occasional hazel or amber. The most noticeable difference between Pixies and Sprites, besides the smaller and more delicate facial structure, are the delicate-looking wings the Sprites have developed. Most of these non-functional wings, which were once used for flight and gliding, have the look of gossamer. They are silvery and paper-thin, with delicate tracery embedded in them.

Birdlings
The history of the birdlings started as all birdlings belonging to one race and one clan. Due to many factors including food supply, territorial disputes, egotism and the magic that began to seep into their race there were wars of unmatched fervor. These wars lasted for generation after generation, until eons had passed. During this time the birdling race grew smaller and the weaker of the bird species were eliminated by the stronger. The stronger of the birdling began to form clans and eventually the own sub-races of birdlings based upon the size and strength of their type of birdling. This theory is supported by the current war-like temperament, and the militant attitude of most birdlings that permeates the race.

Currently, the race has developed into seven major sub-races. The tribes of the eagle, the hawk, the falcon, the vulture, the osprey, the condor and the owls are all that are left of this once dominating species.

The birdlings being one of the older races on Anthesis have all dabbled in magic until the magic became part of their culture and up bringing.

Gnomes
Gnomes are the strong headed, strong willed of the diminutive races. Where Halflings prize solidarity, and calm, Gnomes revel in calamity and adventure. They are wild hearted, and love to be wherever the action is. They regard their minds as sanctuaries, and learn as much about the world as they can by experiencing it rather than reading about it. Their personalities are as varied as that of any race, but they are most notable cocky, quick to anger and action, but loyal to a fault, even being known to stick to a friend after he or she is incriminated of wrongdoing. A gnommish man, or womans, mustache is as prized among their people as dwarves are with their beards, and some tribes will not elect a leader unless the curls of his mustache reach past his ears.