Races

Ten playable races exist within Lorithandar, each with their own special features and attributes that make them unique. Note that some races may be incompatible with the region or story which a Storyteller chooses to use. Elari in particular are noted to be particularly challenging to play, and careful consideration should be taken when incorporating an Elari character into a player campaign.

Racial Modifiers

Each race has a series of racial modifiers which indicates cultural or physical characteristics that have granted benefits or disadvantages. These modifiers will include at least one Favored Source.

Favored Source

Each race has at least one Favored Source you may choose for free at character creation. This is a Source commonly associated with a given race. For example, Trolls are often Adepts but rarely ever Mages. You may choose a non-Favored Source by purchasing the Favored Source Training for 2 Benefit Points.

Favored Statistic

Some races have a Favored Stat(istic). This denotes how that race is typically just a bit more potent in that area. A bit more dexterous, a bit stronger, a bit smarter. When players spend points at character creation to purchase that Favored Stat, the cost for Rank 4 is reduced by 1. When players spend GXP after character creation to raise that Favored Stat, the cost for Rank 4 is reduced by 10gxp. See the chart in the Primary Stat section for how the points spend changes.

Playable Races

The most common playable races are High Elf, Wild Elf, Wood Elf, Faerie, Feran, Human, Svaald, and Troll.

Elves

Three races of elves make their homes across Lorithandar.

High Elf

Main Article: High Elf

High Elves have pale skin. Their light hair colors range from blonde to nearly burnished metallic silver-gold. They have very long upswept ears, and narrow slender bodies. Though not often inclined toward athletic pursuits, they are the most magically gifted of the elven peoples and their society is one of the most advanced.

Wild Elf

Main Article: Wild Elf

Wild Elves have dark skin ranging from dark brown to nearly black. Their hair is dark and they tend to be much more heavily muscled and compact than other elves, in part due to their lifestyle. They tend to be the most hardy and militant of the elven peoples and tend toward tribalism. Many other races consider them to be barbarians, however this is often not the case.

Wood Elf

Main Article: Wood Elf

Wood Elves most often have tanned or olive skin and medium/dark hair colors, though this may vary widely from region to region. They have shorter upswept ears than the noble High Elves, and broader shoulders and hips. They are the most lithe and agile of the elven peoples.

Faerie

Main Article: Faerie

The Faerie are small winged humanoids approximately 1’-2’ tall. They are easily recognized by their slight stature and glittering, gem-like eyes which lack pupils. A variety of flesh tones with a nearly metallic sheen and brightly colored hair are common. They appear ageless, but often act energetic and flighty which causes most people to view the race as being childlike. Regardless, they possess powerful magic and are one of the oldest races in the world.

Feran

Main Article: Feran

The Feran are an agile feline race. They have cat-like faces, and their bodies are covered in lush fur from top to bottom to the tips of their very long tails. A bipedal race with reversed knees, they have paws with opposable thumbs and retractable claws. Female Feran tend to be larger and more muscular than the males.

Human

Main Article: Human

Humans are a common race, which varies drastically in appearance across different regions and cultures.

Svaald

Main Article: Svaald

Svaald are an ice-dwelling, blue-skinned race with voluminous manes of white hair. They tend to be shorter than the average human, with comparatively long arms for their height. Svaaldi skin tones from that of a deep ocean blue to a lighter sky blue; their eyes eyes often resemble smoothly polished gems and come in many colors. They have very broad shoulders and hips with rippling muscles.

Troll

Main Article: Troll

Trolls are a hulking, rock-like race of warriors whose internalized magic makes them larger, tougher and physically stronger than any other mortal race. They average 9’ tall and several hundred pounds in weight. A troll's thick leather hide secretes a fluid that hardens into calcified, stony armor across its body. Translucent white membranes and pronounced brow ridges protect their eyes; their ears lack external auricles. Though they are supernaturally strong and tough, they have limited ability with magic.

Half Breeds

Main Article: Half Breeds

Although rare, some of the races in Lorithandar can generate mixed-breed offspring. These offspring have a mix of their parents' benefits depending on how they were raised.

Races Requiring Storyteller Approval

Some playable races require approval of the Storyteller because they are tied to specific areas of the world, or their presence conflicts with many player groups.

Devinites

Main Article: Devinites

Devinites are the result of generations upon generations of interbreeding between wild elves and humans in the Duchies of Devin. They tend to have dark skin and pointed ears, however unlike pure-blooded elves Devinites always have distinct earlobes that denote their human ancestry.

Elari

Main Article: Elari

The Elari are an ageless, androgynous demonic race with glowing red eyes and bone-white skin covered with arcane tattoos. Elari are taller than human height, averaging over 6' tall, but tend to be thinner, with their naturally white hair often dyed black or other vivid colors. Elari have prominent pointy teeth and small, bony protrusions on face and arms.

Lichborne

Main Article: Lichborne

Lichborne are beings who have voluntarily transformed themselves into immortal undead upon reaching maturity. This practice is most common among the half-Wild Elf Devinites of Karn, or by those Wild Elves who reside in Elarum. Newly transformed Lichborne appear as pale, cold, humanoids. However, the older they get, the more their corporeal form breaks down, eventually becoming entirely skeletal.

Non-Player Races

Some sentient races exist in the world of Lorithandar that are not intended to be player characters.

Demihumans

The three goblinoid races, collectively known as "Demihumans" were share a bloodline native to Pandemonium, but were "naturalized" when they were brought to Lorithandar as slaves of the Elari.

Goblins

Goblins are small and wiry, with short life spans, although they breed like rabbits. They recently have shown an aptitude for shamanism, and taken up tribal shamanism as a religion.

Orcs

The orcs are larger, more warlike, bred and trained as shock troops for the Elari. They are a tribal, barbaric race, that craves war and bloodshed. Secretly they have begun to learn the dark arts of sorcery, and pockets of orc tribes have begun to take over regions. They have a synergistic relationship with the goblins, who they find irritating, but useful.

Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins are the rarest of the demihuman races, being essentially a blend of both orc and goblin, larger than either, but slow, dimwitted, and easily manipulated. They were bred by their Elari masters for manual labor. They can fight, as they are quite large, but don't have a warlike society, or even much of a society on their own at all. They regularly live as fringe members of a larger shared demihuman society filling roles of laborers.

Draeken

Main Article: Draeken

Tall bipedal draconic race of solitary hunters with magic cancelling powers.