Peoples

## Races

The peoples of Sinia'Nor are varied and displaced, their old structures and relations disrupted. Because of this, the old world perceptions of many peoples have become inaccurate or misleading. What follows are general descriptions of what has become of many of the more common races.

## Humans, the Plentiful

Humankind’s numbers and adaptability suited them well to exodus and resettlement. However, when faced with organized threats or powers, they lacked the unity to stand against them. Humans exist throughout the settled world and occupy spaces at all levels within. Yet, they often serve beneath higher governances or forces.

## Elves, the Sovereign

Ancient and wise, elves bear most of Sinia’Nor’s witnesses, leaving the old world shaped by their memories and stories. In their establishment of the Astral Gate and the Ten-Thousand Truces, the higher elven nobility carved out a place of power in the new world. Though power was later divided, elvenkind retained a seat of dominance, be they the noble High Elves or the reclusive Wood Elves.

## Dwarves, the Forlorn

When the dwarves crossed the Astral Gate, they left behind their mountains and the centuries of history within. These traditions formed the base of their culture; without them, they found their culture uprooted. Searching for new mountains to establish their home, they created a nomadic caravan and took to the unformed roads. Some have broken off and begun the process of carving new strongholds. Yet, in Sinia’Nor, dwarven society has taken more to their endless journey. In tightly-knit extended families, they travel in nomadic caravans around the world, trading in what they find and collect.

## Halflings, the Seeking

When the empire’s power was divided, many halflings found their people overlooked, as they always had been. In a new world, many sought never again to serve beneath the greater races. A priest now known as Saint Proudfoot rose amongst the hills and fields they had settled. He spoke of a distant land that could be their own, one rich and fertile where every man could be his own king. Inspired by his promises, they began their second exodus into the distance. Some broke away and started communities on the way, but many others continued into the Southern Limits. Though St. Proudfoot’s congregation never returned, many halflings believe they reached their promised land, and some seek to undertake the journey themselves.

Halflings have a unique religious practice of sainthood. Though they revere the same gods, they treat their will as evoked through important mortals, whose influence can be felt to this day. While not gods, they are honored and worshipped to a minor extent, artifacts blessed by them believed to be conduits to miracles.

## Gnomes, the Delving

Where other people saw Sinia’Nor as an opportunity to claim new power or lands, the inquisitive gnomes instead saw two worlds of discovery. The old world lost endless knowledge to rediscovered, and the new bore just as many mysteries to investigate. Rather than risk themselves with conflict or conquest, they thrived alongside the larger peoples, often digging guarded borrows beneath their settlements. Here, they may set to work inventing and reinventing, concerned less with the affairs beyond.

## Dragonborn, the Enduring

Few, young, and disconnected from the gods; these traits that once separated them from the old world became standard. Unhindered by the change, the clans united and fought against both traitors to the truces and hostile Nura’Nor. In these small wars, a warrior king emerged, claiming a throne for himself and honor for his people.

## Orcs, the Conquerors

For the centuries of animosity existing between they and others who passed through the Astral Gate. Even so, they largely honored pacts far longer than more ‘civilized’ races. Coexisting within the restrictive cities proved difficult and unpopular, so many traveled out into the wilds, becoming pioneers and clearing the land for settlers to build. In fighting the monsters and mysteries of Sinia’Nor, they built strongholds on the edges of the world and explored further beyond the Limits.

## Drow, the Crestfallen

When their ancient enemy, the elves, proposed sanctuary to all who would kneel before them, the drow responded with hatred and violence. However, their retaliation proved too impulsive and weak, and they fell swiftly. What few drow did not retreat and accept their fate, bowed with shame. Upon crossing the gate into Sinia’Nor, they found their connection to their patron, Lolth, faded and distant. With not but animosity from their elven lords, their goddess turned away, and their pride shattered, they took into the distance. Few in numbers, they hide in what buried cities they could establish, nursing old wounds and scarred honor.

## Nura’Nor, the Outcast

*Nura’Nor* is the elvish word for the natives of Sinia’Nor. The beast-men lived in various nations and kingdoms for time immemorial until the Astral Gate opened. They devised the original pale lanterns and used them to create a network of paths between their lands. Current scholars suggest that they were once closer to the humanoid races, but the Mist twisted they and their progeny. A series of wars divided them mere months before the gate opened. In the battles that followed, they were driven out to the fringes of the world or even beyond the Limits. However, in recent years, rumors have spread of various peoples gathering under a single Briar-Crowned king. Nura’Nor races include giant-kin and many beastfolk.

Curiously, there is a tendency in Nura’Nor religion not to worship or revere gods. Most have legends of creators, but their reverence tends towards animism, ancestry, or local spirits.

Notable Nura’Nor races include: Aarakocra, Goliaths, Kenku, Tortles, Tabaxi, Lizardfolk, etc.

## Forebears

The Forebears are an ancient people who departed so long ago that none even know their appearance. They left behind ruins of fused stone and works of magic beyond the greatest of wizards. Some search for these answers, but their arcane control over Mist makes this a dangerous prospect.