Races

Caldera is a diverse and heavily populated world, containing a multitude of races. None of these races are inherently evil or inherently good. Most live in harmony in one area or another, with very few places populated by just one or two races. There is no singular race with distrust or dislike of another in Caldera - opinions to this effect are more commonly regional. Hearing someone from the Dusk Reach region of Shadebourne claim that "the Errani people are inclined to military conquest" wouldn't be unexpected, due to their history of conflict. Races mix often in Caldera and some physical features tend towards region as well, rather than just race.

Whilst races mostly speak Common tongue and their racial language, language is very much regional - the Western Marches, for example, is a historical goblinoid area, and all kinds of races are fluent in Goblin tongue.

Below is a brief description of the races, categorized by the most to least common.

### **Most Common Races**

#### **Humans**

The most common of all the races, humans are found everywhere, builders of great cities and makers of great achievements. They are physically diverse, standing anywhere from under 5ft to well over 6ft, with all shades of skin tone, all kinds and colours of hair, and so on. They are a younger race than many of the others, populating the continent more thoroughly in the last 1500 years than they ever did before.

#### **Elves**

Second, only to humans, elves are an ethereal people with an intrinsic connection to the realm of Fey. Some elves have lost a little of this connection - High Elves and Wood Elves are less Fey than Eladrin, and Sea Elves have a greater connection to the ocean than to the wilds. It is general consensus that elves were the first humanoid beings. There are several subraces of full-blooded elves in Caldera, not all of which are as common as others:

* High Elves are most often city dwellers.
* Wood Elves are more inclined to the wilds and smaller communities.
* Eladrin Elves are connected strongly to their Fey ancestry and are far rarer, although more of them populate the Feywild than Caldera.
* Sea Elves are common but more common on the underwater continent of Keh'rago than Caldera.
* Drow Elves are uncommon on the surface, but the most common race of the Underdark.
* Shadar-kai are extremely rare in Caldera but very common in the Shadowfell.

Elves tend towards beauty in their etherealness and have natural magic. They don't need to sleep and can instead meditate in a trance for 4 hours a day to rest fully, but can sleep if they want to. They are fully mature at 18 but due to their long lives, culturally claim adulthood at 100 years old. Some traditional elves also claim an adult name at this age. They can live past 800 and physically age very slowly.

#### **Dwarves**

Dwarves originated beneath the surface of the world in the Underdark. A bold and hardy race, they are historically inclined to mining and metal-working, the common work of the creator god Moradin. They stand under 5 feet tall but are broad and compact, matching humans in strength, weight and endurance. Dwarves of all genders can grow facial hair, and more traditional dwarves highly value the length of a beard as a sign of self-worth. They have a lifespan of more than 400 years.

#### **Orcs**

Orcs are a large and intimidating race on first glance, but they are as diverse as any other race. Intelligent and hardworking, orcs of Caldera are often found at in the mountains or in coastal regions or areas with lakes. Good at hunting and tracking, orcs are respectful and understanding of the forces of nature. Gone are the days of the worship of Gruumsh - you are as likely to find an orc cleric of Sune or Pelor as any other race. Orcs are taller than humans with a range of earthy skin tones from grey to reddish-brown and green. They have the shortest lifespan of any humanoid of their size, maturing at 12 years old and living to around 40 years. Culturally, orcs are less inclined to long term pair-bonding and marriage. Life's too short to settle down. Orcs are actually less common than half-orcs in current day Caldera, and most orcs have at least a little of another race mixed into their heritage.

#### **Half-Races**

Half race people are extremely common across all of Caldera. Races are so mixed that there are many races who probably can't claim to have a wholly pure bloodline anywhere, nor do they care to. Half-races come in all sorts of combinations; human-elf mixes are common continent-wide, as are human-orc mixes, but elf-orc mixes are prevalent too, especially in Elenithil, as are many other combinations.

Many races have a more dominant genetic strain, leading to some half-races appearing just like one of their parents. Half-hobgoblins tend to look almost entirely hobgoblin, and all children born to a tiefling parent appear as full-blooded tieflings, no matter what race their other parent may be.

#### **Halflings**

Halflings are one of the smaller races, growing no taller than 3 or 4 foot at the most. Unlike dwarves, everything about them is small and light. Culturally, they tend towards the comforts of home and a place to settle that is peaceful and quiet. Like elves, dwarves and humans, they have a full range of skin tones and hair colours. Facial hair is rare on halflings. They are adults at 20 and live a couple of centuries.

#### **Goblins**

Another small race and one with a shorter life, maturing at 8 and living to 60, goblins are found throughout the world. They have a similar range of skin tones to orcs, grey, red and green combinations. They are found in sparse but tight-knit communities in most cities - with a culture of family importance above all - and tend towards civilization rather than living in the wilds due to the vast number of overwhelmingly large predators. Small and fast, goblins have made speed a way of life.

#### **Dragonborn**

Looking like dragons in humanoid form, the Dragonborn of Caldera are intelligent, strong and extremely civilized. They lack the wings or tail of real dragons and generations of interbreeding between lineages have led to a more uniform tone to their scales; bronze, brass, scarlet, rust, gold or copper-green are the most common Dragonborn colours. They grow fast - developing to the size and mental state of a human 10 year old by three years old, and reaching adulthood at 15 - and have a lifespan of around 80 years. The largest community of Dragonborn in Caldera are found in the Southern Steps, and the second in Arakhis, but individuals can be found all over the continent.

### **Common Races**

#### **Lizardfolk**

Less common out of the Southern Jungles, Lizardfolk tend to come from smaller communities and less are found in large cities. Physical shape not withstanding, they share more of their physical traits with iguanas or geckos than humans or elves, and have sharp and vicious teeth that make for a clutch weapon if needed. They are a cold-blooded race. They reach maturity around 14 and rarely live longer than 60. Like orcs, they are naturally skilled hunters and trackers.

#### **Genasi**

Caldera carries a strong elemental connection and pockets of Genasi communities - as well as individuals in other societies - are not at all uncommon. This primordial race has some ancestral connection to a genie of their elemental type, or to the Elemental Planes. Occasionally the Genasi heritage lies dormant for generations and a child is born to a couple of another race or races, but often they have at least one Genasi parent. They are similar to humans in size and maturity, although they live to around 120. Genasi have physical features associated with their Element, or a blend of features should their parents be Genasi of other elements. Some appear more human, but all have at least one prominent physical giveaway of their heritage.

#### **Goliaths**

Historically mountain dwellers, individual goliaths have found their place in larger mixed societies. Skilled, strong and constitute, these grey and white skinned people reach up to 8ft tall and are naturally athletic and acclimated to high altitudes. They have natural dark markings on their skin reminiscent of tattoos. Goliaths have a slim concept of gender, with little care for it. Traditional goliath communities see every member of the group striving to pull their weight, with those who don't being outcast. Their lifespans are similar to humans.

#### **Gnomes**

Gnomes and Halflings are similar in many ways, but gnomes are culturally more progressive and many would say naturally more intelligent, often inventors and researchers. Around 3ft tall, they live twice as long as halflings to around 400 years old and mature at 40. Like dwarves, they originated in the Underdark and tend to mountainous and cavernous areas. As halflings traditionally made their houses into the earth, it is a point of debate as to whether they emerged from the same ancestors.

#### **Hobgoblin**

Tall, broad and strong, hobgoblins are a proud race in Caldera. They have fur-covered bodies in browns and reds and wide, flat feline noses. In Caldera, culturally they are very militant and hold themselves to very high standards with a long history of shared traditions, hating signs of cowardice. They excel in warfare, farming, construction, governance and both martial and arcane arts. They are commonly over 6ft tall and have similar lifespans to humans.

### **Rare**

#### **Satyr**

Charismatic fey folk and a common race through history, Satyrs are far rarer in the current day due to frequent mixing with other races, leaving their less dominant genetics to disappear through time. Satyrs are naturally slender and shorter, ranging from under 5ft to 6ft at tallest, and hairy on their lower bodies with fluffy tails, pointed ears, and horns on their heads. Some of the more common races can determine a satyr in their ancestry by pointed ear tips or more body hair, and it's a common saying that someone's ancestor must be a satyr if they have a tendency towards eccentricity, indulgence and revelry. They mature and age like humans.

### **Extremely Rare**

#### **Tieflings**

Wherever they go, tieflings are met with curious gazes. The tiefling race is unnatural to the material realm, forged originally by pacts or run-ins with the devils of the Nine Hells - but tieflings in modern Caldera are just as likely to be the results of genetics than of any devilish deals or ancestral sins. Because there are many ways to be born or become a tiefling, they are not looked down upon in Caldera, simply attention-grabbing for their appearances and their rarity. Due to their uniqueness, they are often considered very beautiful. Tieflings have a variety of traits, differing from one case to another - horns of various shapes, sharp teeth, solid coloured eyes, pointed ears and tails. Some have hooves, others humanoid feet. Their skin tones cover the full range of human colouration but also include all other colours from blue to green to red, grey, solid black and more. Their infernal heritage earns them natural magic and a slightly longer lifespan than humans. No matter the other race, one tiefling parent always results in tiefling children. Different devilish heritages provide different traits and magic for tieflings.

Verdant Astra is a uniquely teal coloured tiefling from a family in the Riveni forest who share his colouring. This colour is not seen elsewhere.

Pandora Di Rossi and her sisters are all rust-coloured tieflings, as was her mother, although her father is human.

#### **Aasimar**

The strangest and rarest of all the races, aasimar are not genetic, but more like a celestial blessing or divine intervention. Little is known about them except that they are a gift from the heavens. Most are given life by intervention or blessing from a *Deva,* a lower celestial that had more interaction with mortals than other aasimon. Some Deva would bestow a single aasimar child upon a bloodline as thanks for aid from a mortal ancestor, or out of love. Others would emerge when the celestial realms saw fit to intervene with the course of mortal fate, as a way to avoid direct interaction from the gods. Other aasimar could be created by Planetars, Solars or other celestial creatures, although these are more rare. Each aasimar has otherworldly characteristics to some degree - golden, gem-coloured or pale solid eyes, metallic or illustrious skin and traits similar to their celestial ancestors. Many were taller than most humans, well over 6ft. Some aasimar could sproud spectral wings as one of their natural magics.

An exception to this rule is Vanden du Argentfort, a Solar-descendant aasimar with an unseen before case of solid, corporeal wings that sprout from his back.

Aasimar chosen for a divine intervention are prone to prophetic dreams and contact from a celestial guide, usually a Deva chosen for purpose.