PC Race Allowed: Dalkeshi, Dwarfs, Eldar, Human, Ketari, Reptile Man, Stoneman, Insect Man, see GM if you want something else.
Dalkeshi are known as Goblins, though not to their faces. Dalkeshi are short, averaging about 5 feet in height. Dalkeshi prefer hot, arid climates, and can often be found in or near deserts. Their skin is jet black, with white, pointed teeth and solid red colored eyes. Their hair is black and straight, but turns white as they age. Dalkeshi traditional garb is a long, loose fitting, black robe worn over a loose fitting black tunic and trousers. A black cloth turban that can be wrapped to cover the face is also typically worn when outside. Dalkeshi will dress for the climate, but their preferred color for clothing is black.
The two defining characteristics of Dalkeshi are their nocturnal habits and their prodigious ability with numbers. Dalkeshi are nocturnal creatures, sleeping through the day and awaking at dusk. This, coupled with their secretive, stealthy nature has earned them a bad reputation in some quarters. Dalkeshi have Night Vision and see in the dark as well as humans see at dusk. They cannot see in pitch black, but if there is any light, they can see well.
Dalkeshi have an instinctive facility with numbers and mathematical calculations. They can perform the most complex calculations almost without thought. Their language and much of their culture is based on numbers and their felicitous and infelicitous combinations. In order to speak Dalkeshi, a foreigner must also learn mathematics.
Visitors to Dalkeshi cities are often disconcerted by the deserted appearance of the area. This frequently turns to dismay at night, when the city comes alive and they are trying to sleep. Dalkeshi are used to dealing with foreigners in the morning and evening, although they do not usually stay up during the day to deal with them.
Dalkeshi mathematical proficiency is most visible in their architecture, which is highly advanced. In almost all fields of design the Dalkeshi are sought after by other races. Their buildings appear fragile, yet they remain standing when other buildings collapse during natural disasters. Dalkeshi are also feared merchants. Their ability to manipulate numbers means they usually come out ahead in business transactions, although they rigorously adhere to the contracts they sign. Many a wise ruler has given the care of the treasury to a Dalkeshi, with the stipulation that he or she may keep a percentage of any profits made from speculation or investment.
Dalkeshi are often oppressed in foreign countries, and suspected of various nefarious plots. They are rarely seen alone outside their enclaves, and often do not travel in foreign lands except in large, well armed groups.
Among humans, the main exception to this shoddy treatment is in the Free City of Towers. Since Dalkeshi are adept at magic, they are welcome in Towers. There are several Dalkeshi mages in powerful positions in Towers, and there is a rumor that one of the Lords of Towers is a Dalkeshi. In return for their liberal attitude, Towers merchants enjoy a favorable trading status with the Dalkeshi Empire. Most of the usual tariffs and fees are waived for Towers ship captains. Towers also makes a large amount of money trading Dalkeshi goods to nations who have been barred from ports in the Dalkeshi Empire.
Dalkeshi are night hunters. They subsist on meat for the most part, although they can eat other foods. One habit other races find unsettling is their love of insect dishes. They are particularly fond of grubs, either toasted until they are nice and crunchy, or live and squirming larva that tickle your throat as they go down.
Dwarves are former members of the Faerie. Millenia ago, they renounced their Faerie heritage in exchange for the ability to work with Cold Iron.
Dwarves are short, stocky, bearded humanoids. They average between four and five feet in height, are heavyset, with massive upper torsos and large hands. Dwarves are incredibly strong. They are the most numerous variety of Faerie on Trollhaven. Contrary to popular belief, dwarves are not miners. They employ Kobolds and other Seelie to do the digging. The main occupation of Dwarves is fashioning wonderful artifacts, toys and mechanical devices.
Dwarves are immune to heat and fire. They can, and have, jumped into lava flows and gone swimming. Dwarves are also very magic resistant. Most wizards won't even bother casting a spell directly on a Dwarf, instead targeting something nearby to fall on him.
As with most other Faerie races, dwarves are a race of one sex. They mate with members of all female Faerie races, especially Niaads, Nymphs, and Lake Ladies. Offspring of these unions will take after one of their parents. The males are Dwarven babies, while the females take after their Faerie mothers. The male children are raised by their Dwarven fathers under the mountain, while the beautiful females go to live with their mothers. The families get together regularly in large family gatherings.
Dwarves start with one name and must earn their second name by an outstanding feat, usually related to their profession. A Dwarfs first name is chosen by his mother, according to Faerie custom. This leads to tough looking Dwarves named Moonbeam or Glitterstar, and gives an incentive to earn a good second name.
Dwarves have a special ability with metal. This ability allows them to shape and craft metal better than any other race. Their affinity for metal allows them to smell any type of metal, in very small quantities, up to a thousand feet away. Think of it as the way humans smell food.
There are several varieties of humans living on Trollhaven Island. They are the Archons, Eastmen, Islanders, Neathar, Troice and Westmen.
Archons are a pale, white haired, ancient race, originally from Westland. They are tall, lithe, and move with a grace that rivals the Eldar. Their records stretch back over ten thousand years, telling of vicious battles with the Garls over land uncovered as the glaciers receded to the south, culminating in a final victory where the ice ran red with rivers of Garl blood.
After their victory, the Archons developed an advanced civilization. After a time, the Archons were slowly driven from Westland by migrating barbarians now known as the Westmen. After many battles the were finally driven from Westland. They landed on Skaghane, and vowed never to be driven from their lands again.
Now, the Archons consider themselves to be at war with the rest of the world. They consider other humans to be little better than animals, and useful only as slaves.
Eastmen came to Trollhaven with the conquering legions of the White Horn Overkingdom. They are olive skinned, dark haired and much shorter than the other races of Trollhaven Island. There are actually several other types of Eastman, but they only made it to Trollhaven in very small numbers. The standard type of Eastman also makes up the majority of humans in the Tarsian Hegemony.
The Eastman language is melodious and beautiful, very different from the gutteral Westman tongue. Eastmen have a reputation for immoral behavior and corruption, left over from the days of the Overkingdom. This reputation is largely undeserved and is due to the contrast with the relatively prudish Westman cultures.
Islanders are so named by the Westmen. Among the Eastmen, they are called Riyanlar. They call themselves the Rhyafolk, the children of Rhya, the Earth Mother goddess. Islanders are tall, with pale, freckled skin and curly copper colored hair. Both men and women wear their hair long, tied in the back.
Islanders are a warlike race, originally fragmented into many warring kingdoms. While individually, their fighting prowess is unmatched, their reliance on individual combat between heroes failed them when the legions of the White Horn Overkingdom landed in their three decked war galleys. The uncoordinated and poorly led Islander warbands fared poorly against the disciplined legions of the Overkingdom, who often bypassed the warbands and struck at the undefended Cairs, cutting off the Islanders from their supplies and bases of operations.
The Neathar are the aboriginal inhabitants of Trollhaven Island. Although the Rhyafolk like to say they are the natives of Trollhaven, that distinction belongs to the Neather. The Neathar are a primitive people, short and swarthy with black hair and eyes, deep chests, and broad shoulders.
The Neathar live in the deep woods, and attack any others they find there. Little is known about their culture, except that they ritually scar their faces and bodies with strange, mystical patterns, and paint their bodies bright blue for special occasions.
The Troice are a race that came about when Islander, Eastman, and Westman mixed. This new race combines some of the better traits of all three into a new race unlike any of the other three. Troice skin color is somewhere between the pale Westman and darker Eastman. They tend to brown hair and eyes, and are in between the tall Westmen and shorter Eastmen in height.
Westmen are a tall, fair-skinned, fair-haired race. They have a reputation as raiders and pillagers, and their sailing ships range all over the known world, trading for the most part, raiding if the opportunity presents itself.
Ketari have the head and arms of a human, and the body, legs, and tail of a horse. Their upper bodies are somewhat larger than a normal human's. They have very little hair on their upper bodies, though the hair on their heads tends to be very long and silky. This hair is so prized for wigs, they were once hunted and killed or captured in large numbers by the White Horn Overkingdom solely for their hair. Their lower bodies can be black, brown, grey, dappled, strawberry, or even palomino. Ketari have no nudity taboo, but often wear furs on their human half for protection, warmth, or decoration. They never wear anything on their lower bodies, except a blanket in very cold weather. The average Ketari stands at around 6' 8" and weighs around 2000 pounds.
The vast majority of the Ketari are half horses. However, some human tribes have learned the nomadic ways from the original Ketari. The major difference between them is that the humans must ride ponies.
The Reptile Men are humanoid saurians. Their skin is scaly, tough, and completely hairless. Their scales are glossy and glint with brilliant colors in the light. Their heads are completely inhuman, dominated by a large snout filled with big, pointed teeth. In certain tribes, the male snout ends in a vestigial horn. Their eyes are wide and dark. Their bodies are powerful and very human, except for their broad saurian tails, the articulation of their massive leges, and theirclawed, paw-like feet.
Reptile Men are not native to Trollhaven, and are rarely found there. They are most common in Towers, where some Shamen travel with a large bodyguard contingent to learn more of magic, which they take back to their desert homes.
Reptile Men average a little over 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. They do not wear clothing, except for weapon and tool harnesses, and armor.
Stonemen are creatures of elemental stone, native to another plane of existence. The original Stonemen were summoned as servants by the Precursors. They were intelligent and capable of reporduction, but magically bound to obey their summoners. During the death throes of Precurser civilization, the Stonemen were left to their own devices. They are now free willed.
As befits a servant race, Stonemen are quiet by nature, and can easily escape notice or be forgotten despite their massive size. A Stoneman who hunkers down might even be mistaken for a rock formation by the ignorant.
Stonemen are massive creatures, typically standing 8 feet tall. They have a heavy bulk due to the elemental stone which permeates their tissue. Proportionally, they appear normal for their height, neither skinny nor bulky. The Stonemen's most distinguishing feature is their elongated skulls. Stonemen are hairless and smooth skinned, more like a river stone than a craggy boulder. Their coloring is as varied as the coloring of any type of stone, ranging from black obsidian to white marble. Any color or pattern found in rocks may be found in Stonemen. Stonemen are strict vegetarians, and will only eat plants or food derived solely from plants. They will not eat any animal products, and gain no nutritional value from them.
Stoneman reproduction is a mystery. There are male and female Stonemen, but their reproductive habits are intensely private, and have remained a secret since they were first summoned to Rhya. There does not appear to be any discernable gender role assigned to Stonemen. If asked, a Stoneman will confirm that there are gender roles, but that they cannot be understood by outsiders. Effectively, this means that there are no essentially female or male occupation in Stoneman culture, since no one has been able to figure them out.
Stonemen do not use buildings for shelter. They prefer to live in caves, either natural or created, or in the open. If they live in the open, they will erect buildings to protect their goods and property, but not themselves.
Insect Men are intelligent insects who look similar to the preying mantis. The average adult male stands 4' 8" tall and weighs 140 pounds. Females average 4' 10" and 150 pounds. The insect man abdomen and thorax are segmented, and the triangular mantis-like head swivels on top of the neck like "b-thorax."
Insect Men have eight limbs, two arms, four legs, and two intermediary limbs which function as either arms or legs. Their arms end in truhands, suited for fine manipulation, while their intermediary limbs end in foothands, suited for grasping and lifting. Both truhands and foothands have four opposable digits.
Insect Men evolved in dark tunnels, and have developed a sense called Faz, which allows them to detect movement by sensing atmospheric vibrations. They have widely spaced compound eyes which provide microscopic vision for close objects, but are less effective than human eyes at long distances.
The insect man exoskeleton darkens with age. A male's chitin starts out as light blue, a females as aquamarine. A mature adult is dark blue, while an old insect man darkens to deep purple. Beyond this natural coloring, the shell is decorated to show clan, job, hive, and personal honors. The insect man chitin is tough, but once breached, their open circulatory system makes any such breach life threatening.
Insect Men hatch from eggs and grow into large, 4' long slug-like larvae. Larvae are colorblind, slow, and have no sense of smell or faz. Larvea spend several years in a heavily defended nursery deep in the hive, where they are educated and prepared for the adult career of their choosing. Eventually, the larvae spin cocoons, and emerge several months later as adult insect men.
Insect Men prefer to live underground in large hive-cities. They are slightly afraid of open spaces.
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