Humans, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Bleaker Goblins of Averlorn

HUMANS: Humans are among the most numerous of the “civilized” races and tend to be the dominant race in most political circles. Humans are broken down into 3 racial subtypes: the Ardrois of the city states, the sea-fairing Volkyr of the Archipelago, and the Thugee of the North. The three strands of humanity have substantially different cultures, technology, religious beliefs, etc. Their appearance and even body types are all markedly different. Humans of all sorts are found throughout the land and though they get on well with most races, humans view dwarves as trusted allies. The Thugee hold a deep resentment for elves of all sorts and their hatred for giants is unrelenting. Both of these beliefs seem to stem from deeply held religious principles.

HALF-ELVES: The elven gene frequently resurfaces in later generations in the lands of Averlorn so pure ½ human, ½ elven mixes are quite rare. Considering their mixed heritage, half-elves are welcome among both parent races. In fact, among certain cultures, they are viewed as favorite sons, chosen by the Gods for great deeds.

HALF-ORCS: Orcs are strange creatures in Averlorn being not so much a product of evolution, but rather born of sorcery from a forgotten past. Even today, many of their number are created by despotic wizards who use them to defend their domains. As a result, half-orcs are not at all uncommon since the parent orc race has no females, and breeding stock is found among whatever local populace of humans or humanoids is at hand.

BLEAKER GOBLINS: Often regarded as a bizarre mix of goblin and gnome, these creatures are found in the cities of Averlorn. They are a clever race, inventive and given to magical research and other intellectual pursuits. Bleaker goblins, which obviously share a distant ancestor with the common goblin, differ from their goblin cousins in that they have the large bulbous nose so characteristic of gnomes. Additionally, males sport thick beards (they curiously lack an accompanying moustache) and eyebrows, which they wear in a variety of imaginative styles, though always neat and trim. For such small creatures, they hold their kind in high regard to the point of being viewed as arrogant bores by most other races. No one would dispute their skill as spell casters, scholars and inventors, the problem seems to be that they are perhaps to much aware of their own perceived superiority.

Players should use the base gnome for bleaker goblin creation except that they enjoy a +1 save modifier to spells and devices rather than the +2 of their gnomish cousins. Their ability modifiers are +1 DEX, +1 INT, and -1 CHA. They make spectacular thieves and are unlimited in advancement. They may also advance to 12^th level magic user, perhaps even higher with exceptional intelligence. Most bleaker goblin PCs or NPCs will be a multi-class character with levels in either illusionist or magic user.