Races

What follows is an account of some of the many races who inhabit the world of Erata

## Humans

Humans are native to the central countries of the continent of Dines: Elben, Heden, Varta, Docuth, and Ospus. They have two languages, known as Western and Eastern common, with the majority speaking Western and the inhabitants of Docuth and Ospus speaking Eastern. Being so widely distributed, their societies vary greatly, but to the west most follow Tosi Vilis and to the East, Mugorism

## Orcs

Orcs are a short-lived race from the northern country of Hespor, but they used to control lands as far south as Corsanah. More recently, large groups of orcs have migrated from their homeland due to political unrest.

Orcs in Hespor live within a strict caste system, maintained however only within the country. Most refugees are of the lower castes. Wherever they are found, orcs tend towards a matriarchy. While surnames are not traditional, many non-Hesporan groups have adopted clan names or local names to identify lineages.

Mugorism is the only legal religion is Hespor

## Gnomes

Gnomes hail from the southern countries of Dines: Pao and Nidong. Those from the mountainous and warlike region of Nidong are known to outsiders as "rock gnomes" due to their environment, while forest gnomes come from Pao. Deep gnomes, however, are thought to originate from cross-breeding between forest gnomes and gith, and prefer to live underground, similar to dwarves. They tend to be animist, though deep gnomes are largely Melian

## Dragonfolk and Lizardfolk (Erponi)

Erponi are the inhabitants of the northern continent of Eaden. The majority of these countries are home to what are known as "lizardfolk", with similarities to creatures such as chameleons (Talin) and monitor lizards (Netta), the Chescan empire is ruled by dragonfolk. Legend states that these erponi groups are descended from dragons themselves, but while there are certainly many similarities modern scholars believe it to be a case of parallel evolution, or possibly a shared ancestor species which is now extinct. Erponi from Mish, known for their large scales, argue that dragonborn are the descendants of Mishans.

Both types of erponi practice ancestor worship, but only ruling-class dragonborn (and those with pretensions) include ritual cannibalism in their practice

## Catfolk

No-one knows from whence catfolk originate, but they appear to be drawn to desert coasts. As such, many are to be found in the Kalahi desert in Ospus. They travel in family groups, meeting once a season to swap stories and knowledge, and to mate. They seem to largely ignore religion, with the ability to perform rites being seen as a luxury

## Halfings

The halflings of Paese are known for their artistry and love of food. Unable to agree on many things, however, their land is less a country and more a loose conglomeration of city states. There are also the Selva, a group of halflings who inhabit the rainforests of Paese and have significantly darker skin. They are thought to be more closely related to the firbolgs who inhabit the woods of both Eaden and Aebloa than to the shorter dwarves. These are the only halflings able to grow significant facial hair. Paesans are largely Morabist

## Dwarves

One of the longest-lived races found on Erata, dwarves inhabit the continent of Aebloa. The so-called "mountain dwarves" largely occupy the country of Galia, while the "hill dwarves" prefer the lower-lying Yara and Yana. Dwarves from this continent tend towards darker skin, though the dwarven diaspora have largely altered through interbreeding and natural selection to match the tone of other races of the same areas. The dwarves of Eredon, however, have jet-black skin, and are the only ones to primarily live above the surface. Unlike their counterparts, they are often to be found in bright, tie-dyed clothing and coloured hair. Despite this, they are known by most as "dark dwarves", though in dwarvish the term translates to "garish peoples". The dwarves are followers of Melianism

The dwarves' famed resistance to poison is partly a result of their diet, which is extreme from the earliest years, and partly due to their unusual beard hairs acting as an air filter. Dark dwarves shave beards rather than using the death penalty, conferring a sort of temporary disability in their underground homes.

## Firbolg

The tall and secretive inhabitants of the woods of the eastern continents. Little is known of them besides their inherent magic and possible relationship to the more aggressively isolationist yuan-ti. They often follow Tosi Vilis or Morabism, though the cult of Oily Josh is gaining traction

## Elves

Elves originate from the largest continent on Erata, Phubor. They come in many varieties, but largely live the same arboreal life, with treehouse designs varying from group to group and even from village to village. They are keen travellers and traders, and a Phuboran is not considered truly mature until they have completed the "crwydro", a journey in which they spend at least a year living in another country, but most prefer to spend this time as a nomad. The deep elves live below the surface, but tend to maintain a connection to nature by living amongst the roots of large trees when possible.

They tend towards worship of the Ancient Ones

## Gith

Ask either of the two gith societies about the other, and you will hear a thousand stories about how they are thieves and tricksters. In fact, they contain as much variety as any other race. Gith have a tendancy to planar travel, originating as they do from The Wastes, near to an entrance to the inter-planar void. There are those who believe gith to be the result of interbreeding between extra-planar beings and some long extinct inhabitants of The Wastes. They have a straightforward approach to religion, living so close to a means of planar travel, and tend to treat gods more as monarchs than as deities