Core Races -- Part I Note: If there is a sub-race to the species, then you MUST choose one; The racial traits of the base race and the sub-race stack. Humans are varied and resourceful, able to adapt to almost any enviroment at ease. They are commonly found throughout the world, but tend to concentrate in cities along bodies of water. Ability Scores: +2 bonus to any two ability scores, -2 to any one other ability score. Humans are versatile beings with a variety of traits depending on where they came from or where they grew up. Medium: Humans are medium sized creatures with no benefits or penalties associated with them. Base Speed is 30 feet. Skill Training : Humans are quick to pick up different skills, and as such, they gain 2 additional trained skills of their choice. If they have a high Intelligence score (15 or higher) they get to pick one more skill. Orcs are a tough warrior race who are organized into large clans, each sub-divided into smaller tribes. They are primal and strongly tied to nature, preferring to live the harsh rugged life of the nomad rather than dwelling in permanent settlements. Because of this, orcs value living in harmony with nature, rather than fighting against it or trying to bend it to their will. Culturally, they are a shamanistic culture and tend to worship the spirits of nature, and their Shamans often draw upon nature in order to fuel their magics. While they seem primitive and brutish, Orcs are characterized by a strict and complex culture centered around honor and prestige, which is typically earned through hunting, hard work, and battle. Naturally, this “Honor Code” as it is called by outsiders, shifts the overall Orcish culture into a ritualistic mindset. Honor influences all aspects of an orc's life, and if an Orc breaks the code of honor in any way, he brings shame upon himself and the tribe. Extraordinary feats of bravery, cunning, or craftsmanship often grant an orc huge amounts of Honor among their tribe and clan. Since standing in a tribe is determined by honor, hard-work, bravery, experience, and age are of significant importance to any orc. Acts of laziness, cowardice, or actions that directly endanger others are considered shameful, because the survival of the tribe depends upon all doing their part to keep the tribe safe from harm. An Orc will do anything within his own power to earn or regain Honor and Prestige, no matter how slight. All Orcs receive the following: Ability Scores: +4 Strength, -2 Agility, +2 Constitution. All orcs are incredibly strong and hardy, but are less nimble than other races. (Additional penalties or bonuses given based on chosen sub-race) Size: Orcs are medium sized creatures with no benefits or penalties associated with them. Base Speed is 30 feet. Enhanced Senses: Orcs gain a +4 racial bonus to perception checks due to their keen senses of smell and hearing. If their hearing or smell becomes impaired, the bonus is reduced by 2 for each one impaired. Low-Light Vision: Orcs have keen sight when in dim light. Racial Bonus: +2 Racial Bonus on Nature Checks. Sub-Races: Green Orcs are the most common type of Orc. They have green skin and brooding tusks. Hardy and warlike, they are well suited to many environments. Because of tribal inbreeding, all green orcs tend to have some kind of mental defect, or other deformity, such as hunched backs. Ability Scores: -2 to any one mental ability score (Most commonly Charisma). Grey Orcs are the learner, more cunning kin to the green orc, who have become well adapted to living in mountains and caves. As such, they are more stationary than their green skinned kin. Over the centuries, their skin has adopted grey and brownish pigments, and their eyes have become so sensitive to light that they can see very well even in total darkness. Ability Scores: -2 Strength, +2 Agility. Mountain orcs have given up a portion of their brute strength in exchange for being more flexible than their kinsmen. (IE, they have average agility, while their kinsmen have poorer agility) Darkvision (60 ft): Grey Orcs live in caves and as such have developed the ability to see in darkness. Light Sensitivity: Because of their sensitive eyes, Grey Orcs become dazzled when exposed to bright light, and they even wince in pain at regular light, such as that generated by a torch or fire. The effects of this can be mitigated if they wear a strip of dark cloth over their eyes, lessening the pain caused by bright and normal light, and allowing them to see normally during the day. Blue Orcs are a group of orcs adapted to living in the frigid north. These tough orcs have skin that range in tone from an almost whitish blue, to a deep sky blue. +2 Constituion, +2 Wisdom, -4 to Strength. Note: Stats haven't been determined yet, so Blue Orcs are unplayable, as of yet. Fel Orcs are the rarest, toughest, and most bloodthirsty of the orc sub-races. Descended from the unholy union between a group of fiends and their ancestors, these red-skinned perversions have no sense of honor or prestige, instead delighting in doing what they please. They often take childish delight in raiding, plundering, murdering, and other atrocious crimes. Often, they will torture their victims mercilessly, competing with each other to see who can give their prisoners the longest and most painful death they can imagine, before feasting upon their bones. +2 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. -2 Penalty to all Mental Ability Scores. Note: Stats haven't been determined yet, so Fel Orcs are unplayable, as of yet. Elves are a race of slender yet graceful humanoids, renowned for their long lives and even longer memories. Although they look mostly human, their slender build, graceful gait, and pointed ears easily give them away. General Elf Traits: Ability Scores: +2 Agility, -2 Constitution Size : Elves are medium sized creatures with no benefits or penalties associated with them. Night Vision: Elves have keen sight when in dim light. Fast Movement: Base speed is 40 feet instead of 30 Sub-Races: High Elves are the most common type of elf, often dwelling in cities located with temperate or tropical forests, but are known to be found in many varied ecosystems. High elves are known for their talented knowledge of magic, of which they are some of the most knowledgable in the world, but they particularly specialize in Green Magic (Magic that is heavily based upon manipulating nature). High Elves seem to have a compulsion to terraform the areas they seek to colonize, using magic to manipulate the landscape to their natural environment, and form huge cities through manipulating the growth of plants and trees. High Elves very are protective of nature, but are rather hypocritical about it, as they would rather bend it to their will, rather than let nature just run its course. High Elves value education and deep thought, and tend to view the shorter lived races as barbarians. Proud and uptight, they are constantly competing with their rivals, the Tal'Dori, over who holds the most magical and philosophical knowledge. +2 Intelligence +2 racial bonus in Knowledge (Arcana) and Composure Wood Elves are the calm, relaxed, and more pacifistic in nature than their northern cousins the High Elves. Dwelling mostly in moderate or tropical climates, they have an extensive knowledge of herbs, plants, and spices, of which they cultivate and extensively. Wines, drugs, and potent medicines are often exported from their forests, as they fetch a hefty price among the other races. Wood elves are curious and social, and as such, it is only natural for them to be the most open of the elven races. Because of their pacifistic nature, wood elves prefer peace and communication to war, but will not hesitate to use violence as a last resort. Lastly, wood elves have a spiritual streak which often results in them trying to communicate with the spirits of nature by smoking pipes filled with tabac and other herbs. This spirituality and addiction to smoking is somthing which their northern (and more academic) cousins continuously find baffling. +2 Wisdom +2 racial bonus in Knowledge (Nature) and Diplomacy Dark Elves are the dark skinned remnant of the most ancient of elves. Dwelling within the valleys of the tallest mountains, and boasting an extensive cave network, these exotic beauties are mysterious and the most isolated among the elven races. Not much is known about elusive and secretive beings, but conflicts between them, the Dwarves, and Grey Orcs are known to be fierce and bloody. Dark Elves are known to be ruthless and fearless, but tend to rely on stealth and guile, preferring to strike from the shadows, where their dark skin grants them an advantage. +2 Charisma +2 Racial bonus in Stealth and Athletics.
