The Known Lands

Campaign Journal, Entry 2
Other Races

Other races in the Known Lands include:

Halflings (player) -- Another human genetic redesign -- although by natural forces. Halflings also come from another planet; but the planet they came from is a water world of Archipelagos and not continents. Evolution has created them over millions of years of natural selection. Most halflings are usually forward -- adopting human customs. Others cling to their tribal heritage.

Gnomes (player) -- Little space aliens that look human; the origin of the gnomes are unknown. They live longer than humans and thankfully; are a rare species.

Dwarves (player) -- Dwarves are also space aliens. They also look human, but their smaller, tougher frames and genetic differences fail to produce perfect offspring. Half dwarves and half humans are known as mulls (pronounced ˈmyül as in mule).

Goblins (non-player) -- Monstrous humanoid aliens also from another planet. The goblins are a defeated enemy of the Ancient civilization. Goblins in the Known Lands are the descendants of traitors and prisoners of war after the Second Interstellar War. Mostly a tribal society of primitives, most goblins retain an inherent genius for technology. Most people often don't realize that the goblins and their genius -- during the Second Interstellar War, the goblins were the leaders of the opposing civilization that fought the ancient humans and their allies.

Hobgoblins (non-player) -- Hobgoblins are genetic redesigns of goblins. The goblins created them to be the warrior caste (with the goblins being the science caste) of their original civilization. Bred for war and violence, the hobgoblins are a larger and human sized version of the goblin. They are warriors first and thinkers second. Although in the millions of years since the second Interstellar War, the hob-goblins live in isolated tribal societies and developed a culture built around honor. Hobgoblins are typically ruddy -- a reddish brown color offsetting the brownish green of the goblin.

Bugbears (non-player) -- Brutish goblin redesign, the bugbears are meant to be shock troopers; elite troops that were abandoned because of their ferocity. Bugbears still exist in the Known Lands, and are hard to deal with. An infestation of bugbears means violence in short order.

Ogres (Non-player) -- When the goblins conquered Archaeri and most of Outland, they found the Orcs. Using their weird science, the goblins managed to recreate humans from Orc DNA, and studied the orcs. Then they genetically redesigned a few of them to be even more primitive and monstrous. The result is the ogre, a human genetic redesign that incorporates goblin DNA with the human DNA. The goblins then enslaved the orcs, made them worship demons and turned them into a powerful force to use against their enemies: the Ancient humans.

Using "magic" the orcs and ogres were unleashed on the home planet of the Ancient humans; the Known Lands. The goblins were ultimately defeated in the Second Interstellar war, but ogres exist in the Known Lands. They are primitive, savage, backward, and dangerous. As a human genetic redesign, human and ogre relations do produce half-ogres.

Centaurs (non-player) -- Centaurs were allies to the humans during the First and Second Interstellar Wars and a colony was allowed to settle in the Known Lands. They aren't prolific, but Centaurs exist everywhere. Wemics were also allies, and have settled in southern lands among the black humans.

Draqons (Non-player) -- Dragons are the most powerful beings in the Known Lands. They are also the true inhabitants of the Known Lands. When the humans came, millions of years ago, the Dragons regarded them as a threat, but they were quickly defeated by their own disunity. There are three types of Dragons in the Known Lands:

Metallic Dragons include Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass, Bronze, Mercury, and Steel. Metallic Dragons typically worship Bahamut, the good dragon god.
Gem Dragons include Amethyst, Sapphire, Emerald, Topaz, Ruby, and Crystal. They abandoned worship of a draconic god long ago and learned the Ancient physics of the humans. Applying human physics, they have developed psionic power.
Chromatic Dragons include Red, Green, White, Blue, and Black. The chromatic dragons typically worship Tiamat.

Next: Unusual Races -- will humans mate with anything?