Races of Kranos

## General - Why this article?

This outline is only made to ensure that players in a Kranos based campaign are aware of the unique quirks the setting imposes on certain races. It also lists homebrew races included in the setting. All the typical races of DND exist within Kranos, but some may be so rare that a player using such a race would benefit roleplaying wise from brushing up on the lore of the race within Kranos. If your 'typical' DND race is not listed here, then you can either ask the DM if there's anything you should know or simply assume there's nothing out of the ordinary to worry about.

## Aasimar and Tieflings

Aasimar are the walking descendants of Celestial beings, and in exceptionally rare cases even the Gods themselves. Tieflings are the earthly descendants of fiends and demons, and in exceptionally rare cases even Archdevils or Demon Princes. Some Aasimar try to keep their heritage hidden to avoid accidental worship or worse, while others make no attempt to hide their heritage. Some Tieflings face discrimination based on their 'evil' heritage, as their "ancestors" are said to be responsible for the ill-defined ancient "threat" spoken of in religious scripture, but the vast majority are treated no differently from others - it's all about the company they keep.

In Avaria, Aasimar and Tieflings are treated much like everyone else, though Tieflings are often not welcome among the magical and clerical elites of Khiva due to their perceived ties to the extraplanar threat that religious scripture claims almost tore the world asunder thousands of years ago.

In Varnia, Aasimar and Tieflings are considered natural leaders and are typically elevated through society's hurdles with ease. They are prioritised in schooling and training and enjoy what essentially amounts to unfair privileges and positive discrimination. However, they are still subject to the absolute meritocracy of the Varnian Hierarchy: If a human is better at something an Aasimar or Tiefling wants to do, the human gets the job.

Due to the cultivation of their races and promotion of their presence in Varnia, Aasimar and Tieflings are, quite frankly, a lot more common there. Some Tieflings leave other countries behind for the better treatment Varnia offers, and some Aasimar seek Varnia out just to make sure they don't have to hide, risk being worshipped or hunted down to become the prized possession of some theocratic authority that might want to legitimise themselves.

## Dragonborn

The Dragonborn of Kranos are somewhat rare, as their primary populations are concentrated in the areas in which the Dragonflights reside. These places are known as Dragonflight Roosts, and there are only two known roosts belonging to the two known Dragonflights: The Metallic Roost in Varnia's Mount Dyrrvodr and the rest of the Varnian Mountains, and the Chromatic Roost in the Western Avarian Mountains. Some Dragonborn also tend to wild unaffiliated dragons that roost in Xholoria's untamed lands, the peaks of the Tatrian Mountains miles and miles above the Dwarven Empire, anywhere else a dragon might nest - contrary to popular belief, there a plenty of places across Kranos that aren't mountains but still attract dragons.

Generally, Dragonborn roam around the Dragonflight Roosts for one of two reasons: 1) the religious belief that the dragons spawned them, i.e. they are the Dragonborn's Ancestor Gods; or 2) clan culture and tradition that ties them to the dragons they serve. However, there are plenty of Dragonborn who leave their clan behind to lead a different life among the other races, and Dragonborn born outside of Dragonborn society are a lot more common now than they were just 100 years ago.

## Dwarves

While there obviously are a vast variety of dwarves, they all originally came from the same place: The Tatrian Mountains. Their Empire there is the closest any race in all Kranos has come to unifying their entire race under one geopolitical entity - if you don't count the Under-Empire and the Underkin, that is. However, Dwarves have been around for eons, and as such are found all around Kranos. They are common sights regardless of what kind of Dwarf they are.

## Elves

#### General

The Elves of Kranos are spread out all over the continents of the world and come in a variety of 'subraces'. While most kinds of Elves are found basically anywhere, some are more geographically specific or hold special significance to certain parts of the world.

#### Drow

The Drow are known for their aversion to sunlight and their dark-hued skin. While found everywhere, there are particularly many Drow on Tempest Island in Varnia, as the Underdark region beneath it is technically where they originate from. Texts refer to this place as the Black Pit - a place hidden in the Underdark beneath the Dark City. Amongst scholars, it is rumoured that an ancient Drow city-state, once the seat of a now shattered Drow Empire, there is struggling with the wars of the massive Under-Empire of the Underkin - but only one particularly powerful wizard, the Warden of Tempest Island, knows whether there's any truth to that.

#### Eladrin and Wood Elves

The Eladrin and the Wood Elves are almost never seen in Kranos - unless you make the unfortunate, and most certainly lethal, mistake of entering Deni T'ila, the Shadow-Wood, uninvited. As no one is ever invited in, the best you can hope for in terms of seeing one of these isolationist races is seeing the tip of a carefully and masterfully crafted arrow before it pierces your skull and sends you to the afterlife. Or you could be extremely lucky and find one of their kind elsewhere. Simply put, these two subraces are incredibly rare outside Deni T'ila, and if the particular one you meet is a former citizen of the Shadow-Wood, they are likely mad and absolutely self-destructive for reasons that only they could fathom. Leaving the embrace of the forest once you are tied to it comes at a hefty cost, essentially cleaving the individual's soul in two. Particularly resilient individuals do recover, but usually go through a long phase of depression and existential dread.

#### High-Elves

High Elves are particularly common in Denthir, as they make up a large portion of the local nobility. Granted, Denthiran nobility encompasses almost every imaginable race under the sun, but as the Denthiran Heartland was originally home to an ancient elven civilization, there is a large amount of High-Elves to be found here. High-Elves are also common everywhere else, except for the Xholorian Continent.

Much of High-Elven history is shrouded in mystery, but it has been established that they dominated Tatria long ago with a continent-spanning empire - a sort of predecessor to the now shattered Denthiran Empire, if you will.

#### Night Elves

The Night Elves, or "Nottáerei" (Children of Enottáe), are about as rarely seen around Kranos as Eladrin and Wood Elves are - at least outside of Varnia. Within Varnia, they have been common ever since Veroldrassil and the Stellar Forest, or Kal'vithur, joined the Argent Empire. They are bound deeply to Kal'vithur, Veroldrassil, the stars and the moon, but do not suffer the same consequences of leaving as Eladrin and Wood Elves do when leaving D'eni Tila. The hue of their skin varies from anything between pink, purple, dark shades of blue and a blue-ish green, and their eyes shine brightly with the moonlight of their goddess, Enottáe. While they are considered "elves" by most people due to their appearance, they technically aren't. All Night Elves have fanged incisors and their blood makes them resistant to magic in general. Night Elves can also become literally invisible while staying still in the shadows, enjoy a certain level of invigoration at night, and are immortal -which is why they call themselves "The Firstborn". Their species is older than even the dragons and some of them are old enough to remember a time before dragons existed and Gods roamed Kranos.

#### Other Elves

Over the course of history, many other kinds of elves have either evolved or surfaced after prolonged isolation from the rest of the world. Exotic variants of Elves have popped up around the realms after an exodus from an extraplanar conflict, Shadar-Kai have begun to settle in the material plane and have become less uncommon over the last 200 years, and Sea Elves have been a constant in port-towns all over Kranos since time immemorial. Countless other kinds of elves of varying rarity live their lives around the world, too, and it would take eons to describe them all in a manner that would do their diversity justice.

## Orcs, Goblins, Bugbears and other Related Races

Orcoids and Goblinoids are a common sight in Avaria, Xholoria and some areas of Tatria, such as Synghgarth. They are, however, a lot less numerous than they used to be. In fact, the Greenskins were once the most numerous race in all Kranos. Today, however, you will not find a single one in Varnia - unless it snuck in and actively avoids contact with any kind of civilization. Similarly, you will find some, but not many, in Denthir. See, neither Denthirans or Varnians have ever been particularly fond of the bloodthirsty nature many Orcs and Goblins are born with - even if said Orcs and Goblins are not to blame for the blood curse that forces many of them to act this way. Regardless of the ethics behind it, every single Orc and Goblin that could be found in Varnia was exterminated more than a thousand years ago. In old Denthir, Greenskins were enslaved and served as expendable armed forces or hard manual laborers. Denthir has since relaxed its laws a bit and allow the Greenskins to live relatively normally within their borders, but Varnian Imperial Law still states that Greenskins are to be treated as a rodent infestation that needs to be exterminated immediately. Several Kings of Varnia have issues with this kind of law, but disobeying Imperial Law is treason and thus the law remains.

## Underkin

The Underkin are almost never seen above the surface, which is why many don't even believe they exist. They are extremely sensitive to sunlight, and should one come above ground, you would easily be forgiven for vomiting when laying eyes upon one. How else would you react to a bipedal, sun-deprived, likely urine-stinking rat or mole man?

The Underkin are referred to as one race, but they really consist of two: the Radan and the Moile. These subterranean creatures could also be referred to as Ratmen and Molemen, respectively. And unbeknownst to everyone else, they are the most numerous race in all Kranos these days. Their Under-Empire, though experiencing a bit of a schism right now, spans almost the entire world, nesting neatly underneath basically any major settlement of the surfacers above them.