Quickie race listing for Aelsif
Here's a list of the player races in Aelsif's core rulebook, which focuses on one continent and the islands between it and the other continents. My main concern is that they aren't sufficiently diverse or interesting at this time, and if I need to bring in the races from the other continents as well to round out the roster. You be the judge, and let me know if this is good enough for a core rulebook or we need the other continents too.
Humans:
Physical traits: Large and imposing, physically strong and durable, able to function while fatally wounded.
Cultural traits: Supportive, kind-hearted generous, loyal and helpful, but only to their family and close friends. Stubborn, tribalistic, pious and dogmatic. Only decent to their ingroup and quick to reject members, judgemental, self-righteous, hateful, vicious and bigoted. (Bigot, noun, person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.)
Pros: Extremely high base stats, last stand ability allows them to remain conscious while at or below 0hp temporarily.
Cons: Few special abilities or defences. Just last stand, a good number of perks, and some DR against bludgeon damage.
Children of Heaven: (Human variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, immortal, fire elemental, able to function while fatally wounded.
Cultural traits: Much like humans, except far more courageous and self-sacrificing, but also haughty and dispassionate due to their "divine" status and tiny population of 144,000 compared over a billion humans.
Pros: Regenerates, fire resistance, breathes fire, functions while severely damaged, heart can regenerate entire body.
Cons: Cold vulnerability, weaker than humans (even children their own size), destroying the heart can easily kill them.
Green Ash Goblin: (Goblin variant race)
Physical traits: Small, resilient, unusually hard to kill for something so small, except using direct physical attacks.
Cultural traits: Skeptical, insular, forms small tight-knit communities (stationary settlements and nomadic caravans) that are suspicious of outsiders and hard to earn the trust of, but treating their entire community like a family, lending helping hands and emotional support.
Pros: Exceptional special defences, especially against poison. Decent natural armour and mild energy resistance.
Cons: Weak, low faith stat, vulnerable on the physical side, defenceless against bullets and other anti-armour attacks.
Jungle Goblins: (Goblin variant race)
Physical traits: Similar to green ash goblins, but slightly smaller and lankier.
Cultural traits: Cynical, reclusive, forms ironclad family groups that only trade members for reproductive purposes.
Pros: Exceptional special defences, especially against disease. Sneaky little buggers with the highest in-game perception.
Cons: Weak, low faith stat, low charisma, not as tough as green ash goblins and are just as incapable of taking a bullet.
Hobgoblins:
Physical traits: Almost as big as humans, though a bit shorter, covered in thick hide that trounces claws and teeth.
Cultural traits: Tribalistic, cheery, idealistic, naive, violent and primitive. Wages wars of sport to claim tribute, does not understand total war and can only call other cultures evil for engaging in it.
Pros: Tanks start to finish, high defences and even a resistance to falling damage and good resting recovery outdoors.
Cons: Poor offence, defences optimized for natural weapons and not high damage anti-armour attacks like musket balls.
Children of the Sky: (Hobgoblin variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, immortal, sky elemental, levitates.
Cultural traits: Reserved, patient, courageous, self-sacrificing, idealistic, charming and charismatic. Their people's champions in war, able to call down lightning from the sky.
Pros: Same kill conditions as Children of Heaven, tanky with electric resistance, limited levitation and lightning.
Cons: Not as tanky as other hobbos, especially lower HP, so one gunshot and a bayonet through their heart is enough.
Dagonites:
Physical traits: Amphibians with features of sharks and frogs, adapted for great undersea pressure.
Cultural traits: Simple, reclusive, secretive, knowledgeable but unwilling to share. Mournful of the loss of the great Thetean civilization on the ocean floor, but unwilling to resurrect it. Live and serve now to isolate the south from northerners.
Pros: Best race in the water, bodies able to withstand concussion and cold, strong and deadly.
Cons: Slow on land and becomes ill if on land for too long, poor dexterity and vulnerability to fire and electricity.
Children of the Outer Sea: (Dagonite race variant.)
Physical traits: Eternal children, you get how this works and I respect your intelligence. Water elemental.
Cultural traits: The most dedicated of all to the quarantine of the southern continent (actually an ice sheet over an archipelago) of all dagonites. They live, breathe, sweat and bleed duty.
Pros: Immortality like the Children of Heaven and Children of the Sky and cold powers.
Cons: Not as fast in the water or as strong as other dagonites.
Pastoral Halflings: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Small, fat and durable. Incredible stamina for little fat people.
Cultural traits: Reserved, peaceful, complacent, ignorant, isolated and unable to realise the machinations the world has for them.
Pros: Basically small humans. Want better dexterity and perception, without being harder to play? Good choice here.
Cons: Less strength than humans, overall the same base stats, not as offensively powerful.
Pygmy Halflings: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Small, lanky and sneaky. Very fast for their short little legs, too.
Cultural traits: Timid, reserved, careful and calculating. Submissive and prone to deception, terrified of direct confrontation.
Pros: Skinny, stealthy version of halflings. Better skill bonuses, especially stealth, and high movement speed.
Cons: Lower base stats than halflings, lacks the endurance of their fatter southern counterparts.
Children of the Firmament: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, but even smaller. You get it. Wind elemental.
Cultural traits: Arbiters of halfling law. They calmly resolve disputes, preserving the peace within the island city-states.
Pros: Regeneration, immortality and a voice that can shake a palace, all packed into a tiny package.
Cons: Very fragile for an immortal, one good hit to the heart and they're screwed. Also very weak.
Drakelings:
Physical traits: Small dragon-men with four arms who breathe fire, though their fire is rather pathetic.
Cultural traits: Broken as a people. Submissive and subservient, left to flee or to submit, or else to die fighting.
Pros: Decent natural armour and fire resistant, also a firebreathing dragon. They also keep getting bigger as they age.
Cons: Weak, fragile, easily punctured or bludgeoned and their fire is too weak to stop a human from punching their clock. They also can't speak mammalian languages, and this language barrier is problematic when they live as an underclass in mammalian territory.
Flying Drakelings: (Drakeling variant race)
Physical traits: Drakelings with wings in place of their upper arms. Infertile hybrids born of drakeling females and pygmy wyrms. (Which are non-sapient animals.)
Cultural traits: Proud and stubborn, willing to fight to the last and unwilling to admit defeat. Still, melancholy before the fall of their people, who they once ruled.
Pros: Very limited flight, better fire breath and tremendous faith compared to other drakelings.
Cons: Even more fragile than other drakelings, and with only two working arms since they have a wyrm's wings.
Humans:
Physical traits: Large and imposing, physically strong and durable, able to function while fatally wounded.
Cultural traits: Supportive, kind-hearted generous, loyal and helpful, but only to their family and close friends. Stubborn, tribalistic, pious and dogmatic. Only decent to their ingroup and quick to reject members, judgemental, self-righteous, hateful, vicious and bigoted. (Bigot, noun, person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.)
Pros: Extremely high base stats, last stand ability allows them to remain conscious while at or below 0hp temporarily.
Cons: Few special abilities or defences. Just last stand, a good number of perks, and some DR against bludgeon damage.
Children of Heaven: (Human variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, immortal, fire elemental, able to function while fatally wounded.
Cultural traits: Much like humans, except far more courageous and self-sacrificing, but also haughty and dispassionate due to their "divine" status and tiny population of 144,000 compared over a billion humans.
Pros: Regenerates, fire resistance, breathes fire, functions while severely damaged, heart can regenerate entire body.
Cons: Cold vulnerability, weaker than humans (even children their own size), destroying the heart can easily kill them.
Green Ash Goblin: (Goblin variant race)
Physical traits: Small, resilient, unusually hard to kill for something so small, except using direct physical attacks.
Cultural traits: Skeptical, insular, forms small tight-knit communities (stationary settlements and nomadic caravans) that are suspicious of outsiders and hard to earn the trust of, but treating their entire community like a family, lending helping hands and emotional support.
Pros: Exceptional special defences, especially against poison. Decent natural armour and mild energy resistance.
Cons: Weak, low faith stat, vulnerable on the physical side, defenceless against bullets and other anti-armour attacks.
Jungle Goblins: (Goblin variant race)
Physical traits: Similar to green ash goblins, but slightly smaller and lankier.
Cultural traits: Cynical, reclusive, forms ironclad family groups that only trade members for reproductive purposes.
Pros: Exceptional special defences, especially against disease. Sneaky little buggers with the highest in-game perception.
Cons: Weak, low faith stat, low charisma, not as tough as green ash goblins and are just as incapable of taking a bullet.
Hobgoblins:
Physical traits: Almost as big as humans, though a bit shorter, covered in thick hide that trounces claws and teeth.
Cultural traits: Tribalistic, cheery, idealistic, naive, violent and primitive. Wages wars of sport to claim tribute, does not understand total war and can only call other cultures evil for engaging in it.
Pros: Tanks start to finish, high defences and even a resistance to falling damage and good resting recovery outdoors.
Cons: Poor offence, defences optimized for natural weapons and not high damage anti-armour attacks like musket balls.
Children of the Sky: (Hobgoblin variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, immortal, sky elemental, levitates.
Cultural traits: Reserved, patient, courageous, self-sacrificing, idealistic, charming and charismatic. Their people's champions in war, able to call down lightning from the sky.
Pros: Same kill conditions as Children of Heaven, tanky with electric resistance, limited levitation and lightning.
Cons: Not as tanky as other hobbos, especially lower HP, so one gunshot and a bayonet through their heart is enough.
Dagonites:
Physical traits: Amphibians with features of sharks and frogs, adapted for great undersea pressure.
Cultural traits: Simple, reclusive, secretive, knowledgeable but unwilling to share. Mournful of the loss of the great Thetean civilization on the ocean floor, but unwilling to resurrect it. Live and serve now to isolate the south from northerners.
Pros: Best race in the water, bodies able to withstand concussion and cold, strong and deadly.
Cons: Slow on land and becomes ill if on land for too long, poor dexterity and vulnerability to fire and electricity.
Children of the Outer Sea: (Dagonite race variant.)
Physical traits: Eternal children, you get how this works and I respect your intelligence. Water elemental.
Cultural traits: The most dedicated of all to the quarantine of the southern continent (actually an ice sheet over an archipelago) of all dagonites. They live, breathe, sweat and bleed duty.
Pros: Immortality like the Children of Heaven and Children of the Sky and cold powers.
Cons: Not as fast in the water or as strong as other dagonites.
Pastoral Halflings: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Small, fat and durable. Incredible stamina for little fat people.
Cultural traits: Reserved, peaceful, complacent, ignorant, isolated and unable to realise the machinations the world has for them.
Pros: Basically small humans. Want better dexterity and perception, without being harder to play? Good choice here.
Cons: Less strength than humans, overall the same base stats, not as offensively powerful.
Pygmy Halflings: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Small, lanky and sneaky. Very fast for their short little legs, too.
Cultural traits: Timid, reserved, careful and calculating. Submissive and prone to deception, terrified of direct confrontation.
Pros: Skinny, stealthy version of halflings. Better skill bonuses, especially stealth, and high movement speed.
Cons: Lower base stats than halflings, lacks the endurance of their fatter southern counterparts.
Children of the Firmament: (Halfling variant race)
Physical traits: Eternal children, but even smaller. You get it. Wind elemental.
Cultural traits: Arbiters of halfling law. They calmly resolve disputes, preserving the peace within the island city-states.
Pros: Regeneration, immortality and a voice that can shake a palace, all packed into a tiny package.
Cons: Very fragile for an immortal, one good hit to the heart and they're screwed. Also very weak.
Drakelings:
Physical traits: Small dragon-men with four arms who breathe fire, though their fire is rather pathetic.
Cultural traits: Broken as a people. Submissive and subservient, left to flee or to submit, or else to die fighting.
Pros: Decent natural armour and fire resistant, also a firebreathing dragon. They also keep getting bigger as they age.
Cons: Weak, fragile, easily punctured or bludgeoned and their fire is too weak to stop a human from punching their clock. They also can't speak mammalian languages, and this language barrier is problematic when they live as an underclass in mammalian territory.
Flying Drakelings: (Drakeling variant race)
Physical traits: Drakelings with wings in place of their upper arms. Infertile hybrids born of drakeling females and pygmy wyrms. (Which are non-sapient animals.)
Cultural traits: Proud and stubborn, willing to fight to the last and unwilling to admit defeat. Still, melancholy before the fall of their people, who they once ruled.
Pros: Very limited flight, better fire breath and tremendous faith compared to other drakelings.
Cons: Even more fragile than other drakelings, and with only two working arms since they have a wyrm's wings.