Humanoids

Humanoids were the most populous people of Ruin before the Fall, especially the Humans. The group includes Humans, Halflings, Dwarves, Gnomes, and many others.

Humanoids don't share many traits, aside from their lack of defining traits. They are all highly adaptable to their circumstances, even compared to other sentient beings, and this adaptability allows them to produce offspring with many other beings, such as Eladrin (Half-Elves), Hobgoblins (Half-Goblins), Orog (Half-Orcs), and others. Between Humanoids these groups are much more common, but also more subtle; A Pintling (Half-Human/Half-Halfling) might only be identified by their tendency of shortness, compared to humans, or tallness, compared to halflings.

They were found all over Ruin before the Collective was created, though that is a time no Humanoid could look back on, due to their shorter lifespans.

Humanoid Spirits are reincarnated most of the time, but about 10% of them remain as Ghosts in the world. Ghosts are under no natural compulsion to act a certain way, though many are drawn to their bloodline as time progresses.

## Humans

Humans are still the most common being after the Fall. They are highly adaptable even among other humanoids. It was largely humans which pushed for the creation of the Collective, and largely humans which pushed for integration in all places.

After the Fall, Humans tend to occupy roles of light leadership and all-rounder work, but they can be found in nearly any camp and nearly any role, due to their ability to learn well and learn quickly. They are often more put-off by the Cursed than other peoples, owing to their short lifespan and relative lack of experience.

## Halflings

Halflings are the only humanoid ancestry with a minor hand in making the Collective. Before the Collective, Halflings tended to live in small family groups separated from the larger cities, most without any modern Steam Tech. Even after the Collective's founding, the Halflings tended to live in their small towns with their small families, still away from most cities. But those small towns now had other Humanoids, Giants, even some Dragons, as well as as much Steam Tech the Collective could get them.

After the Fall, older Halflings tend to occupy the role of campkeepers, while younger Halflings, and Halflings now living without a family group, tend towards scavenging and other reckless tasks. Older halflings tend to be spooked by the Cursed, especially former halflings, while younger ones are almost universally jaded.

## Dwarves

Dwarves are the least populous of the Humanoids, but occupied a major role in the creation of the Collective. Traditionally, Dwarves were forgemasters which lived in incredible sprawling clans, but as the times changed and Steam Tech largely replaced their ancient tools, they took initiative alongside the Humans to unify the world and it's technologies.

After the Fall, the ancient ways have made a resurgence, and many older Dwarves remember those ways, taking up their older mantle of forgekeepers, where possible. In general Dwarves like to keep a record of the old history, even the youngers, who spend much of their time learning from older Dwarves. Otherwise they tend to take camp roles; fortifications, armaments, and the like.

## Gnomes

Gnomes occupy an odd place in Ruin's history. They spread much like Humans, but their incredible lifespans and natural curiosity led many gnomes to become engineers even before the Collective's founding. Gnomes were never a majority anywhere, but their loose and pragmatic nature meant that there were enough gnomes everywhere. Not all gnomes were genius engineers, of course, but societies across Ruin held the Gnomes' potential for such work was more than worth extra effort to let it be so.

It was a Gnome, Sutanna "Steamy" Cunninghearst, who created the Steamworks Foundry, which would revolutionize the world with it's Steam Tech and prompt the creation of larger more industrialized cities, as well as the Collective (Indirectly, as few gnomes were involved in such politics).

Most of the previous Gnomish generations have perished in the Fall, but the youngest generation is filled with talented Gnomes who help maintain the surviving Steam Tech, some even continuing the work and trying to improve what came before.