Post by Gaea on Mar 1, 2016 17:15:52 GMT -8
Humans
Unique among the races of the world in that very few have an innate attunement to magic, humans are nonetheless the most numerous race of Elibe. While centralized in the Lycian Divide as and almost the entirety of its population, they are found just about everywhere there is life, adaptable and resilient. Though often seen as a 'weaker' race, a small subset of the population is either naturally gifted with magic or can gain it through hard work, and some scholars suggest that magic is not as rare in humanity as commonly believed - that they are simply born with potential rather than natural gifts. Regardless of the fact that some humans are capable of feats just as great as any dragon or youkai, dragons in particular tend to view humanity as an inferior race based on the fact that such a small percentage of humanity is gifted so.
Humanity is also unique in that there is a fairly large rift between 'normal' humans and magically-gifted 'metahumans' throughout the Lycian Divide - they are often viewed by farmers and their ilk as something other than human, both resented and feared for their strength, though the uneasy relationship stops short of hatred due to the fact that most begrudgingly admit the usefulness of those phenomenal warriors in keeping threats from outside the mountains encircling the Divide from entering it. In the Outer Reaches and Arcadia alike, opinions vary far more wildly; people living in Arcadia are exposed to so many varieties of strangeness and other races that xenophobia simply ceases to be a meaningful concept, and those in the Reaches often rely heavily enough on those gifted with magic for safety, and interact with them often enough to realize they are still human, that discrimination is much rarer.
Dragons
Few in number but blessed by birthright with powers that most humans could almost dream of, dragons are almost fundamentally polar opposites to their short-lived cousins; all are born with both the ability to generate immense quantities of magical power and attune themselves to magic in Elibe. As a result, one would be hard pressed to find a dragon who couldn't effortlessly kill any normal human, and this has resulted in a certain level of discrimination. However, dragons face their own problems; for all their vaunted power, they are a race cursed by incredibly low fertility, and they are no more immune to the bountiful dangers of Elibe than the humans that many sneer at. Despite theoretically living nearly forever if not killed, dragons face mortality rates far exceeding humanity, and the race has a whole has diminished enormously over the last millennium as a result. Arcadia is the last major oasis for the draconic race in Elibe, but there are certainly others throughout the Reaches, though few know where they lay or how large they are.
Every dragon, without exception, is born with an incredibly strong connection to at least one natural element - most commonly the elements of Anima, but representatives of other spheres of magic exist as well, albeit in far smaller numbers. Some dragons are also born with an innate attunement to a second element, but it is common to simply learn how to control elements by conquest rather than birthright. But not all dragons find power to be a worthy goal in itself, and many - perhaps most - are satisfied with whatever strength they were born with; accumulating knowledge and wealth are also extremely common goals, often to the exclusion of all else. Dragons as a whole are an intensely individualistic race, and few particularly approve of their kin.
Dragons are naturally capable of assuming both a humanoid form, which can appear entirely human but most commonly includes one or a few inhuman traits like wings, ears, or tails, and an imposing bestial form - hence the 'dragon' thing. Some dragons, however, refuse or are unable to transform for various reasons, which can be as simple as 'turning into an overgrown iguana tends to scare people in the village' or "I just read books, man", or as complex as ancient curses, lack of control over their other sides, or a sense of honor that forces them to remain in human form against humanoid opponents.
(translation: Transformation is the default starting skill for all dragon characters, but you can drop it for something else if you have an in-character explanation. Just be aware that you literally cannot transform without the skill, so if you ever want them to be able to transform, try to pick it up by 500 posts)
Youkai
Beings of magic and myth, both figuratively and literally. Youkai are not exactly a race in the traditional sense, given how many races they appear to include; fox-like Kitsune certainly don't seem to have much in common with the Arachne and their eight-legged menace or the flying Harpies and Tengu who often live in the mountains. The one real trait binding them all together is that their existence is dependent on magic - they are beings of magic as much as flesh, dependent on it in much the same way that humans require air. Beyond that, everything varies on the subspecies, and no researcher has ever come close to identifying them all.
While relatively uncommon throughout the Lycian Divide, Youkai plague the Outer Reaches, often living in small tribes. Winged 'Tengu' tribes often claim mountains as their territory and hire themselves out as exceedingly highly-regarded mercenaries, while Lamias, beings with the upper body of a (usually) beautiful woman but the lower body of a snake, generally live in regimented clans in ancient ruins, valuing knowledge above all else and guarding it jealously. Fox-tailed kitsune are generally stereotyped as untrustworthy tricksters, but tend fiercely towards individuality, and it is just as common to meet a fox-tailed adventurer trying to shake the reputation of her race as it is to be bewitched and bedazzled by a handsome devil with ears softer than down.
Not all Youkai are simply humanoids with some animal characteristics, though, and some tread territory that even other Youkai view as alien. Elementals are born in areas of Elibe where natural magic is both at its strongest and tinged with a specific element; fire elementals can be found around volcanoes, while water elementals, to the surprise of absolutely no one, often call the ocean (or at least a large river) their home. Stranger still are those aspected to the Aether or Nether, the two planes of existence that exist parallel to Elibe; they are most commonly called to Elibe by summoners and simply left free afterwards, and they vary from beautiful valkyries and inhumanly beautiful angels to stranger creatures like shadow-drenched spirits and non-euclidean geometric shapes. 'Animalistic' Youkai often identify as close enough to human to essentially -be- human, but those who call the Aether or Nether home often have more alien mindsets or view human emotion through a slightly different lens.
More info on the various youkai races can be found here.
Monsters
Many breeds of monsters are standardized to the point that many believe they are the product of intelligent design in the distant past - perhaps the legacy of a mad scientist or long-forgotten legendary archsage. Whatever the case, they are a constant throughout much of Elibe, and an ever-present danger in life outside of the Core. While all are intelligent to some degree - perhaps eerily so - only Tarvos and the rare undead (mostly Bonewalkers) are actually sentient, living in clans and tribes throughout the plains of Sacae, and are the only monster races eligible for playability.
A short list of monsters:
A more complete list of monsters can be found here.
Wild monsters (aside from Tarvos/Mogalls) are often aggressive and tend to be quite dangerous, but the summoned variety vary wildly depending on the summoner. Even the best-intentioned summoner's gargoyles tend towards trickery, though perhaps less cruelly than the wild variety, and despite their eerie canniness, few undead are actually intelligent per se. Other varieties of summons are generally forged directly from magic according to the summoner's mental blueprints, and as such vary entirely based on the summoner.
Unique among the races of the world in that very few have an innate attunement to magic, humans are nonetheless the most numerous race of Elibe. While centralized in the Lycian Divide as and almost the entirety of its population, they are found just about everywhere there is life, adaptable and resilient. Though often seen as a 'weaker' race, a small subset of the population is either naturally gifted with magic or can gain it through hard work, and some scholars suggest that magic is not as rare in humanity as commonly believed - that they are simply born with potential rather than natural gifts. Regardless of the fact that some humans are capable of feats just as great as any dragon or youkai, dragons in particular tend to view humanity as an inferior race based on the fact that such a small percentage of humanity is gifted so.
Humanity is also unique in that there is a fairly large rift between 'normal' humans and magically-gifted 'metahumans' throughout the Lycian Divide - they are often viewed by farmers and their ilk as something other than human, both resented and feared for their strength, though the uneasy relationship stops short of hatred due to the fact that most begrudgingly admit the usefulness of those phenomenal warriors in keeping threats from outside the mountains encircling the Divide from entering it. In the Outer Reaches and Arcadia alike, opinions vary far more wildly; people living in Arcadia are exposed to so many varieties of strangeness and other races that xenophobia simply ceases to be a meaningful concept, and those in the Reaches often rely heavily enough on those gifted with magic for safety, and interact with them often enough to realize they are still human, that discrimination is much rarer.
Dragons
Few in number but blessed by birthright with powers that most humans could almost dream of, dragons are almost fundamentally polar opposites to their short-lived cousins; all are born with both the ability to generate immense quantities of magical power and attune themselves to magic in Elibe. As a result, one would be hard pressed to find a dragon who couldn't effortlessly kill any normal human, and this has resulted in a certain level of discrimination. However, dragons face their own problems; for all their vaunted power, they are a race cursed by incredibly low fertility, and they are no more immune to the bountiful dangers of Elibe than the humans that many sneer at. Despite theoretically living nearly forever if not killed, dragons face mortality rates far exceeding humanity, and the race has a whole has diminished enormously over the last millennium as a result. Arcadia is the last major oasis for the draconic race in Elibe, but there are certainly others throughout the Reaches, though few know where they lay or how large they are.
Every dragon, without exception, is born with an incredibly strong connection to at least one natural element - most commonly the elements of Anima, but representatives of other spheres of magic exist as well, albeit in far smaller numbers. Some dragons are also born with an innate attunement to a second element, but it is common to simply learn how to control elements by conquest rather than birthright. But not all dragons find power to be a worthy goal in itself, and many - perhaps most - are satisfied with whatever strength they were born with; accumulating knowledge and wealth are also extremely common goals, often to the exclusion of all else. Dragons as a whole are an intensely individualistic race, and few particularly approve of their kin.
Dragons are naturally capable of assuming both a humanoid form, which can appear entirely human but most commonly includes one or a few inhuman traits like wings, ears, or tails, and an imposing bestial form - hence the 'dragon' thing. Some dragons, however, refuse or are unable to transform for various reasons, which can be as simple as 'turning into an overgrown iguana tends to scare people in the village' or "I just read books, man", or as complex as ancient curses, lack of control over their other sides, or a sense of honor that forces them to remain in human form against humanoid opponents.
(translation: Transformation is the default starting skill for all dragon characters, but you can drop it for something else if you have an in-character explanation. Just be aware that you literally cannot transform without the skill, so if you ever want them to be able to transform, try to pick it up by 500 posts)
Youkai
Beings of magic and myth, both figuratively and literally. Youkai are not exactly a race in the traditional sense, given how many races they appear to include; fox-like Kitsune certainly don't seem to have much in common with the Arachne and their eight-legged menace or the flying Harpies and Tengu who often live in the mountains. The one real trait binding them all together is that their existence is dependent on magic - they are beings of magic as much as flesh, dependent on it in much the same way that humans require air. Beyond that, everything varies on the subspecies, and no researcher has ever come close to identifying them all.
While relatively uncommon throughout the Lycian Divide, Youkai plague the Outer Reaches, often living in small tribes. Winged 'Tengu' tribes often claim mountains as their territory and hire themselves out as exceedingly highly-regarded mercenaries, while Lamias, beings with the upper body of a (usually) beautiful woman but the lower body of a snake, generally live in regimented clans in ancient ruins, valuing knowledge above all else and guarding it jealously. Fox-tailed kitsune are generally stereotyped as untrustworthy tricksters, but tend fiercely towards individuality, and it is just as common to meet a fox-tailed adventurer trying to shake the reputation of her race as it is to be bewitched and bedazzled by a handsome devil with ears softer than down.
Not all Youkai are simply humanoids with some animal characteristics, though, and some tread territory that even other Youkai view as alien. Elementals are born in areas of Elibe where natural magic is both at its strongest and tinged with a specific element; fire elementals can be found around volcanoes, while water elementals, to the surprise of absolutely no one, often call the ocean (or at least a large river) their home. Stranger still are those aspected to the Aether or Nether, the two planes of existence that exist parallel to Elibe; they are most commonly called to Elibe by summoners and simply left free afterwards, and they vary from beautiful valkyries and inhumanly beautiful angels to stranger creatures like shadow-drenched spirits and non-euclidean geometric shapes. 'Animalistic' Youkai often identify as close enough to human to essentially -be- human, but those who call the Aether or Nether home often have more alien mindsets or view human emotion through a slightly different lens.
More info on the various youkai races can be found here.
Monsters
Many breeds of monsters are standardized to the point that many believe they are the product of intelligent design in the distant past - perhaps the legacy of a mad scientist or long-forgotten legendary archsage. Whatever the case, they are a constant throughout much of Elibe, and an ever-present danger in life outside of the Core. While all are intelligent to some degree - perhaps eerily so - only Tarvos and the rare undead (mostly Bonewalkers) are actually sentient, living in clans and tribes throughout the plains of Sacae, and are the only monster races eligible for playability.
A short list of monsters:
- Mauthe Doogs and Gwyllgi (one or three-headed hellhounds respectively, fast and deadly, who work in packs)
- Revenants and Entombed (zombified undead - Revenants are durable but slow, Entombed are monstrously strong and durable)
- Tarvos/Maelduin (spiritualistic centaurs who revere Mother Earth and Father Sky and roam the plains they call home)
- Gargoyle/Deathgoyle (flying, leathery-skinned demihumans with wicked minds and great durability)
- Bael/Elder Bael (titanic spiders with unbelievable fertility and endless hunger, often accompanied by thousands of their brood)
- Cyclops (massive one-eyed humanoids, often 1-2 stories tall, with unfathomable vitality and strength. Sometimes laser eyes.)
- Mogalls/Arch Mogalls (floating eyeballs with incredible magical prowess. Only attacks when provoked, otherwise completely harmless)
A more complete list of monsters can be found here.
Wild monsters (aside from Tarvos/Mogalls) are often aggressive and tend to be quite dangerous, but the summoned variety vary wildly depending on the summoner. Even the best-intentioned summoner's gargoyles tend towards trickery, though perhaps less cruelly than the wild variety, and despite their eerie canniness, few undead are actually intelligent per se. Other varieties of summons are generally forged directly from magic according to the summoner's mental blueprints, and as such vary entirely based on the summoner.
