Races of Radelf

The world is dominated by humans; most elves live in the forests or in strange crystal outcroppings that dot Raldef. Orcs are either slaves or barbarian tribes, but of course many tribal humans make agreements and even at times make peace and trade with the more peaceful orc settlements. Dwarves often live in maze like stone citadel-cities that were once mountains and were carved from the outside in. Gnomes and halfings are a bit nomadic but often do well moving from place to place. Gnomes more than halflings will settle down as their experiments at times require a specific location to conduct their strange science and tinkering. Halflings are often found in the pub, in a caravan, on the street corner, or passing you on the road, halflings are numerous but never settle in Radelf. Other less common races come from specific settlements of their kind that have managed to avoid becoming incorporated into the human expansions or destroyed by another race in war. These races are varied and as such their life cannot be summed up in a simple manner.

The elves that remain on Radelf are the remnants of the true-elves who left to another plane of eternity before the rise of other races. The remaining elves stayed behind to guard the ancestral homelands of their race and to protect the world from those that seek to destroy it. Elves of today are decedents of these elder-elves. Elves of today do not sleep instead they go into a trance that allows them to store their experiences away for long term recall and rest their body during their trance their body is essentially paralyzed. They are aware during this time but to come out of a trance takes longer than a human would take to wake up. Typically their skin has a slight green tinge when hit by the right light. Elves are taller than humans and often more slender and live to be about 1000 at their most elderly age.However as they have such a long life span most elves do not die natural and are killed by disease, battle, or accidents. Thinking about death is not a common trait for elves however as they do not concern themselves with the world around themselves but often plan for the distant future. Elves are often proud and many consider a bit aloof. Orcs are strong and rule by strength. Not bright but often replace intelligence for wisdom they make existences out of the scraps other races do not or could not. They are blunt and heavy handed. Taller and bulkier then a human, they often have horns or tusks that many associate with their races ability to easily reproduce with monstrous humanoids and as such are traits that Orcs have acquired. Their skin is often a shade of red but also ranges to grey and is a leathery and tough natural armor. Settlements of the gearforged are made of refugees from the northern continent. In the past ages the immortal races and the mortal ones waged war and the gearforged and their immortal kind lost. They escaped to the southern continents long ago but hold no animosity to the victors and they view their leaders at the time as heretics and cruel dictators. Upon their arrival the gearforged dispersed into the seclusion of the mountain ranges high in altitude where other races could not survive. Here they live isolated and try to avoid conflict lest they be drawn into the affairs of mortals and again be forced to flee. The gearforged natural form is varied and each member of a settlement can be rebuilt to fulfill a different role. For example a gearforged smith would have a thick heat-resistant mesh on the front of his body and a hammer for one arm and clamps for the other. Those who do venture out of the cold mountain tops often take on appearances that mimic the mortal races in order to avoid panic or to blend in. The gearforged collective knows they’re not of this plane but were built long ago to conquer planes for a being existing outside of the realities. They threw off the shackles of their slave masters and escaped to Radelf. But they still wait, watch, and prepare for their masters to return and exact revenge for their betrayal.