Races

Races in this setting are generally similar to their usual descriptions. Any differences can be found below.

Bugbears
There exists a civilization of Bugbears that is is generally shrouded in mystery. Their outer facade is that of a savage, and barbaric race, but if one was ever to manage to locate a Bugbear city would find a more sophisticated, if still brutal, culture. Bugbears are usually solitary creatures in the larger world of Aon and are fairly rare to come across. Rumors constantly circulate among the orcish tribes and others who have an interest of a hidden Bugbear city deep under the mountains in the eastern part of Eldamaire, though they have never been confirmed. Within their society the Bugbears have a complex military-like hierarchy which goes as follows:
 * Soulbreaker (a rarely awarded title, for only the most powerful Bugbears)
 * Skulltaker (their equivalent of Chief)
 * Bonegrinder (usually, the second in command)
 * Fleshrender (captain or lieutenant rank)
 * Skinslicer (the rank between "private" and "captain")
 * Scratchraker (the equivalent of private)
 * Mealmaker (anyone who does not fight, it implies both cooking and literally becoming food)
 * Dirtscraper (a slave)

Dragonborn
Being of generally heartier stock than most of the races of the World, the Dragonborn are one of only a few races that make their homes on the peaks of the mountain ranges that span the Continent of Kings. Their culture is a highly sophisticated, if tribal one, organized around a chief who is chosen through diplomatic election, and based on his strength of will, and his perceived ability to lead the tribe to health, and prosperity.

Their "claim to fame" so to speak, is their ability to collect and refine Sky Stones. These valuable materials are found only at the very peaks of the mountains, and oddly enough the more harrowing a peak is to scale, the higher quality of stone will be found at its summit. Sky Stones have many various uses, for example, they are used as foci for flight rituals, and rituals related to the wind. Small ones are also used to circulate air through the homes of the upper class. They can also be refined into Cloudsteel and used to forge weapons and armor, among other things. The Dragonborn fiercely guard their summits, but are generally not outwardly hostile. Indeed, if they were, business would surely suffer.

They hold a special place in Mordenkainen's heart, having once lived in his realm, however since the last war with the King Below, they have retreated into the high peaks, and become much more isolationist. There are, however, several Dragonborn Peacekeepers under Mordenkainen's command. Normal citizens of Aon may act slightly surprised to see a Dragonborn outside of his tribe, as they rarely leave the mountain ranges.

Dwarves
The Dwarves of the Isthmal Mountains between the ruins of Arkhosia and the Empire were legendary in their own time. They created wondrous weapons and armor that far surpassed any other in Aon. Masters, they were, in all things metal and mineral. Their mines were massively productive, and their metalworks were the best around.

Then, in about 573 AD (it will be 1410 AD when we start our game), the Dwarves began crafting with a new material that had never been seen before. It was called etherium. One of the rarest metals, it had incredible magical properties. Probably the greatest of these was the ability to propagate itself when struck after being placed in a forge with enough heat, and with the right magical properties. This is to say, each time a piece of etherium heated thusly was struck, it would duplicate. The duplications lost this ability but retained all other properties intrinsic to the metal. The dwarves kept the few Prime Fragments that they had found locked away deep in vaults when they were not in use in secret refineries to create more etherium. Other nations and kingdoms tried to refine and shape etherium in the way of the dwarves, but it would always shattered in their inferior forges and invariably refused to duplicate itself.

The Titanforge was the crown jewel of the Isthmal Dwarves' kingdom, but it was also their undoing. They had captured and killed several primordial beasts, as well as one greater primordial being, and harnessed their power by sealing them inside massive astral diamonds. This incredible power source allowed the Dwarves to create amazing structures and machinations. It was also what allowed them to refine and manipulate etherium, which had previously been too resilient and temperamental for their mundane forges.

Once the Dwarves began working with etherium, the raw power of the Titanforge caught the attention of their neighbor to the south despite the Dwarves’ best efforts to keep it a secret. The King Below attempted to open trade with the Dwarves, but they refused. Outraged, the King invaded. This Isthmal War was long and bloody, but this was primarily by the design of the King. With the death of each Dwarf, the King's ranks were bolstered as he resurrected them under his control. Finally the Dwarves realized the full potential of the Titanforge when they began creating warriors completely out of etherium. These warriors had artificial minds that were shaped with a zealous obsession for destroying the undead and guarding the Titanforge. They used the entirety of their stores of etherium, and then used the Prime Fragments themselves to create beings that would lead the mechanized forces. With the help of these beings, called Etherials, the Dwarves were able to repulse the King from their borders and the war soon ended.

The seeds of destruction had been sown, however, for in their haste and desperation the Dwarves had unleashed far more power from the Titanforge than any of their smiths and artificers had realized. Greedy demons and aberrant horrors began to pour into the deepest caverns of the Dwarven kingdom in search of the power held within the Titanforge. Simultaneously the Etherials decided that the Dwarves themselves were a threat to the Titanforge and began to exterminate them with heartless determination. The Etherials had developed a warped view of the Titanforge as their god, and began worshipping it. Long after the last Dwarf had perished, the Etherials stood resolute in their eternal vigil of the Titanforge. They stand to this day both as immovable guardians, and grim reminders of the horror that came from the Titanforge, their devout chants echoing monotonously through the once beautiful and glorious halls of the Dwarven kingdom.

At the onset of the first Twin King War, the King Below obliterated a huge portion of the Isthmal Mountains and the Titanforge is now assumed to be lost forever.

Elves
While Half-Elves are numerous, and far flung, pure blooded elves are somewhat rarer. The reason for the commonness of Half-Elves is that, if a child has a parent with any Elf blood, they are physiologically a full Half-Elf, regardless of how far back the original pure Elf is in their ancestry.

​​The pure Elves of the world are an almost exclusively sea-faring race. I think of them as a nomadic, gypsy-like race. They are secretive and many consider them untrustworthy. The live in tight-knit family groups, usually with one core family per ship. The oceans between the continents on Aon are inhabited by all manner of terrible beasts (unaided sea travel would be deadly for any adventuring party below high paragon), such that the only sea-going travel that is done is by Elven ships, and the heavily armed and armored battleships of the King Below. These elves are distinct from their Eladrin cousins, however. The Eladrin kingdom lies between the great forest in Sorowal and the mountain range to the east of it.

It is generally unknown how the Elves are able to survive as their ships are small and lightly armed, but it is assumed that they use some type of magic to get by, or perhaps they have a contract with some powerful god or primordial. They earn a living as maritime traders and merchants, transporting goods over water, for a high price, but much more quickly than the traditional trade-caravans that litter the spaces between the three great nations and the smaller city-states.

It is rumored by some that the elves make their home on a large island in the far reaches of the wild seas, and by others that they live simply on the decks of their ships from birth to death, and by others still that they find sanctuary in wondrous cities beneath the waves Eladrin Ruled by the mysterious King of Dreams, the Eladrin nation in the northeastern portion of Sorowal is fairly enigmatic in and of itself. Eladrin are extremely long lived and reproduce infrequently which leads to a large amount of eccentricity among its populace. The Eladrin have lived in the same city for so long that their customs and practices have become alien and strange to most who visit there, purely in an attempt to find some excitement and interest in an immortal life that has become increasingly devoid of such feeling.

Some engage in a peculiar game that they refer to in the common tongue as fate chess in which the two players utilize and manipulate prophecies, portents, and predictions to cause some harmless event to occur, and to prevent their opponent's chosen event from occurring. These games last for decades with one player's goal being, for example, to cause a blue thrush to land on a particular rosebush on the exact moment of a total lunar eclipse while the other player's goal could be to arrange events such that at that same moment a bucket would fall on the head of a visiting merchant as he sat down in the inn for a late night meal. So skilled are the players that there has not been a draw in this game in hundreds of years.

Half-Elves
There isn't much to really be said about Half-Elves. They are basically the same as in Forgotten Realms and live along with a smaller population of humans (about a 70/30 ratio) in the city-state of Norofen. For simplicity of discussion a creature is physiologically a Half-Elf so long as there is any Elven ancestry in their bloodline at all, no matter how distant, including if one or more of their parents/grandparents etc. are Half-Elves. They primarily work in the ports of Norofen, dealing with Elven traders and resupplying the war ships of the King Below with which they have an uneasy truce.

Humans
Humans in the World are one of the more common races. They populate most of the cities, especially in Eldamaire, and Mordenland. The intervening city states have a smaller human population, the majority usually consisting of various half-races and other "civilized" races like Deva, Gnomes, Wilden etc.

Generally humans tend towards the divine power source as they seem to have a closer connection to the gods. It is even rumored that the Kings were human at one point, though all of them will deny it.

Each of the gods of the world usually selects a human at some point to be their spokesperson, unless that god is the patron of a specific race (like Moradin, or Corellon for example). There is almost always one spokesperson like this in the world for each god at all times. They are powerful religious figures but generally do not work together, save if their patron gods are also collaborating towards some goal.

Gnolls
Gnolls in this world are physically the same as they are in traditional settings. The traces of demonic blood in more traditional gnolls are amplified in this setting. The demonic form of gnolls manifests itself in times of heightened emotion and intense physical danger. Where gnolls from official settings might have particularly large talons, gleaming red eyes, or black fur with orange spots, in this setting when the demonic blood of the gnoll runs hot their true nature begins to manifest. Their sharp teeth extend into fangs, their claws become serrated, their eyes change into inky pools of jet black, and the breath shooting from their mouths and noses gives off the heat of the Nine Hells. Gnolls that have particularly strong demonic bloodlines may even sprout horns and see their normally paw-like feet transform into demonic talons. Gnolls mature rapidly thanks to their demonic blood, being ready for battle at just a year old. This rapid growth comes at the price of their short life spans—in fact, they rarely live longer than thirty years. Gnolls grow up in medium sized packs that usually roam the unpoliced wilderness between the towns of Mordenland. Most Gnolls stay with their first pack for most of their lives, though some prefer to seek out other packs or to join the military organizations of the more civilized races as mercenaries. In battle, gnolls are powerful and trustworthy allies, seeking to best exploit the talents of all warriors in their group with victory being the only goal. Gnolls tend to be particularly aggressive when compared to other creatures; a gnoll is more likely to demand an answer than ask a question for example. Among gnolls, this sort of intimidation isn’t considered a hostile act; it is a way of establishing strength.

In order to mechanically represent the heightened level of demonic blood present in the gnolls of this world, you may choose to use the following racial power in place of their usual one:

Desperate Power – Encounter Prerequisite: You must be bloodied or an ally must be dying. Effect (Minor Action): You allow your demonic power to flow unchecked, you take ongoing 5 damage (save ends) that you may choose not to save against. While you are taking this damage you gain a +2 to attack rolls, and a +5 to damage rolls.

Goblins
Goblins tend to live in smaller, family sized groups deep in caves, and the thickets of the deep forest. Their culture, if it can be called that, is based in thievery. They primarily worship Hruggek, the Master of Ambush for this very reason. A goblin that distinguishes itself is awarded the title "Hob," added to the beginning of their name.

Orcs
There is a known Orc country, referred to as Galranok by the Orcs, that takes up about half of the officially named country of Lenori. It has mostly peaceful dealings with its neighbors.

Generally speaking Orcs outside of Galranok live in semi-nomadic tribes whose territory spans up to 50 square miles, mostly keeping to Mordenland. The reason for this is, as is known, he does not police the lands between his cities. Were they to attempt to enter any other country or city state, they would be attacked at the first sign of a threat. These tribes are usually smaller, numbering in the 300 to 400 member range. When a powerful chief manages to combine several tribes, however, a marauding war-band usually results that numbers in the thousands. These war-bands ravage the land as they move, for the glory of battle, and in pursuit of favor with Gruumsh. Truly, many of Gruumsh's archons and lieutenants are selected from these war-bands.