Races of the Imperium

The following is a list of the races of the Imperium, and a description of their role in the setting.
== Core Races ==
=== Humans ===
The Imperium is decidedly humanocentric, with most other races treated as second-class citizens. Human-looking races, such as elves, are treated considerably better than decidedly non-human races, but are still largely considered inferior to humans. All Imperial noble houses are human, and only humans can serve as officers in the Imperial military. For these purposes, planetouched races (aasimars, ifrits, etc.) are considered humans, though their "deformities" are whispered about behind their backs, and they find advancement more difficult than their pure-blooded counterparts.
=== Dwarves ===
Despite the wealth in precious metals and gems that the dwarven people are known for, the Imperium has yet to truly conquer the dwarves. This is largely due to the fact that dwarves are a subterranean race, and thus the Imperium cannot bring their air power to bear against them. Instead, the Imperium has placed the dwarves in an economic stranglehold, making certain that all wealth that leaves their mountain homes ends up in the hands of the Imperium.
=== Elves ===
The forests of the elves have been under the boot of the Imperium since the beginning, targeted for their abundant natural resources. Elven slaves are seen all across the Imperium, valued for their beauty and grace by human nobility as house servants, and by seedier individuals for less savory purposes.
=== Gnomes ===
Gnomes are a rare species in the Imperium, and many of its people go their entire lives without seeing one of their number. The gnomish knack with technology, alchemy, and illusion magic is not lost on the Imperium, however, and many gnomes find work (or enslavement) in Imperial alchemy labs and workshops.
=== Half-Elves ===
Half-elves were once a rarity in the lands of the Imperium, but that is quickly changing. Due to their enslavement by the Imperium, elves have spread far beyond their forests in recent years, and half-elves, either the children of freed elves that settled down with human partners or the product of the "attentions" of their parent's human masters, are growing up having never seen the homeland of their elven parent. In Imperial society, half-elves are treated much like their elven counterparts, though many view their human ancestry as "improving" their pedigree, making them very slightly superior to full-blooded elves.
=== Half-Orcs ===
Half-orcs are fairly rare in the Imperium. Most orcs are slaves or mercenaries in the employ of the ceratioidi, and rarely get the opportunity to mate with humans. However, the rare human-orc coupling does happen, and occasionally their ceratioidi masters will encourage such breeding, intending to create a more clever and reliable servant at the expense of some of the orcs' famous resilience and brute strength.
=== Halflings ===
The agrarian halflings have been largely left alone by the Imperium, as it was quickly discovered that, while easy to subjugate, the small folk make poor slaves. Instead, the Imperium allows halfling communities to prosper unmolested, so long as their food production does not falter and they continue to pay their tributes.
Category:Imperium