Thursday 5/31/12

[Bart Smith]

No Star Trek group tonight. Also, looking at the possibility of
switching to doing Melkain (my personal homebrew system)

For your viewing pleasure - a list of the various playable races in
the world of Melkain. Feel free to take a look and get an idea of
what interests you.

Humans – Though they are relatively short-lived and fickle with few
special abilities compared to some other races they have always been
foremost in deciding the fate of the world and have often ruled more
of it than other races. However their short lives and easily changing
natures make them forgetful, and seem like a lesser race than others
such as the High Elves. Humans are numerous, diverse, and adaptable,
coming in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and inhabiting all parts of
the world except the most extreme.

High Elves – They are called the Fair Folk and are the children of
Aeros, the most idealistic and noble of all the peoples of the world.
As a race they are the greatest masters of magical arts in the world.
They are very long lived, impervious to disease, and they reincarnate
when they die for they are eternally tied to the world and do not pass
away out of it as many other creatures do. High elves even retain some
shady memories from their pasts. They are tall, slender, beautiful,
and wise, as well as haughty and apathetic to the pain of others. They
make their homes in palaces, temples or towers on mountain tops or out
on the plains: anywhere they feel close to their father.

Nereids – They are known as the Sea Folk and are the children of Mara,
inhabiting the watery parts of the world, from the coastal shores,
bright islands, and depths of the sea, to the rivers, streams and
wells of the world (inland Nereids are called Naiads). They have
relatively long life spans and upon death the essence returns to the
sea until it is reincarnated into another body. Their ties to the sea
are strong, and their life fades when they are away from any body of
water for a long period of time. When in the water their legs form
into fish-like tails and fins. The are very intelligent, pragmatic and
logical, yet secretive and capricious.

Dryads – Called the Forest Folk, they are children of Gia, ruling the
wild lands of the world where nature holds sway, especially dense
primordial woods. They are intricately tied with plant life and the
earth, and if they are away from forests or areas of lush vegetation
for extended periods of time they begin to wither. They have power
over fertility, and plants, with whom they can communicate, and even
meld with. Although they are very long-lived, when they grow too old
they slowly transform into walking trees, and eventually settle in and
live on as giant stationary trees. It isn’t until the tree passes away
that they once again enter the cycle of reincarnation. They live their
lives with passion and are very protective of their family and homes.

Dark Elves– The Shadow Folk are dark elves descended from high elves
who fell from grace and were cursed by the Triad in times nearly
forgotten to dwell deep underground and never live to see the light of
day. Now the curse has relinquished significantly, and Dark Elves may
go above ground, though too much time in the sun doesn’t sit well with
them. They dwell mostly in underground cities, and their activity
above ground is usually nocturnal. Cunning and devious, they often are
part of the less wholesome class of any society they are in. In
appearance they are much like the light elves, but paler, and usually
with dark hair and eyes.

Dwarves – The dwarves are great miners, craftsman, architects, and
even jewlers, and are known as fierce fighters as well. They are
stocky and hardy folk who are used to living in harsh conditions and
have usually tough way of life. They make their homes in great
underground cities in or beneath the mountains where they mine metals
and precious stones from the earth. Although they are short in stature
they are very proud people, and rightfully so, for they are masters at
most any craft they put their minds to. They are often proud to a
fault and such extreme perfectionists they struggle to ever be
satisfied with their work. Dwarves are short, stocky, and bearded,
with tough skin, and creased faces. They all have some kind of
deformity which they use their inventive craftsmanship to compensate
for.

Goblins – They are slight, small, and often perverted, quietly
sadistic creatures, who claim decent from Death herself. Goblins are
sly and devious, sometimes even malicious, in temperament. They live
in dark places such as dank caverns, rotten forests, or putrid swamps,
places others would usually avoid suits these strange people just
fine. Their love for mischief drives them to roguish work most often,
though sometimes they become warriors instead. Goblins are also quite
intelligent, though, and there is even a bloodline of them,
Hobgoblins, who have mastered dark arts of magic. Goblins are short
and wiry with angular features, knobby joints, large ears, wicked
grins, and reddish tints to their skin.

Orcs – They are mutated, twisted, and often hideous versions of human
beings, the orcs are savage, barbaric, and tenacious. They tend to be
quick to anger, and usually physically quite strong, so they make
ideal warriors, and often become blood thirsty berserkers. Although
they usually have few friends and many enemies, orcs are undyingly
loyal to their comrades and know no fear, since there are few things
scarier than them. They are used to being on the receiving end of
bigotry and have become quite bigoted themselves, while at they same
time fiercely loyal to their own kind. They are largely nomadic,
though there are a couple orcish kingdoms in the south of Melkain.

Haradines – Cousins of the savage and wild trolls, they are more
civilized than their racial relatives, but still live simple, tribal
lives close to nature. They are tall and muscular, gigantic in build,
as befits their troll heritage, often with lots of dark hair upon
their bodies, and deep dark eyes. Haradines are warlike people, but
are master craftsmen as well, for where dwarves are known for their
skill with stone and metals, Haradines are equally renowned for their
carpentry skills. They love peace, but love war as well, and live with
courage and passion. Honor and duty are everything to them, and they
would often choose to die rather than be shamed.

Sprites – The Faeries are spirits of nature made flesh, but they are
concerned more with the elements such as weather and natural
phenomena, then in dealing with plants and animals. The Seelie fae
embody the spirit of summer, warm, friendly, kind, helpful and
lighthearted; while the Unseelie fae are truly incarnations of winter,
being cruel, cold-hearted, and of a dark disposition. Sprites prefer
to be close to nature, and live in parts of the world that are wild,
even untouched by mortals; though some brave (or foolish) ones
sometimes venture to deal with the big people. They are skilled
magicians, but also make great rogues and thieves due to their small
size and great dexterity. Sprites are shorter than even to dwarves,
are quite attractive, and always have wings.

Gnomes - The halflings gnomes are similar in shape to dwarves with
slender hairy bodies and long-bearded or hairless faces. They are
thought to have descended from the dwarves, however gnomes are ancient
allies of the high elves and dryads rather than enemies. The Hill
Gnomes are high elf friends who have mastered magic, and though they
still dwell in hills, their underground palaces are airier than those
of dwarves, and often near to elf homes. The Wood Gnomes are friends
of the dryads and have learned the magic of nature and dwell in
elaborate houses carved out of the hallow parts of ancient trees and
the ground among their roots. They are simple folk who live in peace
and harmony with the world around them. They tend to be scholarly and
skillful as well as prudent, with great financial acumen.

Torseti – The Beast-Men dwell in the wilderness with the animals,
communing with nature, and shepherding the wild creatures. They were
created by Vinea, the goddess of life and nature to protect the wild,
and the animals, to guard them and teach the other races of the world
to respect and care for them. They are peaceful people, but very
strong, and very fierce when roused. The torseti have tall bodies
covered in multicolored fur from head to toe, with only their faces
and paws visible.

Unicorn Children – They are adolescent unicorns who live out their
youth as humanoids, and since they are immortal their early years last
several centuries. They were created to be guides throughout history,
relaying messages of the gods through prophetic visions, every unicorn
child has a mission to accomplish in the world, though some turn their
backs on their callings. They appear as half-man-half-unicorn, with
horse-like lower body and face, and a horn protruding from the
forehead, and usually originate near the sea, though they travel
throughout Melkain. They are nomadic (and enigmatic to the other
races) seldom settling in one place for long, and there are precious
few of them alive in the world.