Races

These are the major races of Asmythe. These are general descriptions of the most common features of each race; societies in different parts of Asmythe may vary significantly from these descriptions.

Dwarves

Dwarves are short and stout by human standards. They gather in large, well fortified castle-cities, usually underground and in the mountains. They are excellent miners, smiths, and engineers.

Dwarves are typically friendly and stoic except when it comes to their personal property; and they consider everything they make their personal property. Anything "sold" by a dwarf is simply rented out and is expected to be returned. Dwarves live a few hundred years and have long memories.

Worldbuilding Note: These are classical fantasy dwarves modeled after the dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Elves

Elves are short and thin by human standards. They gather in small semi-nomadic tribes throughout the world. They are excellent gardeners, cooks, and carpenters. Like the dwarves, their crafts are artistic and of exceptional quality.

Elves live outside fortifications among the monsters of the world and have developed the skills necessary to survive. They are stealthy, vicious, and generally humorless except during rare times of festivity when they become almost hedonistic.

Elves typically live a few hundred years but it is possible for certain magical elves to live for thousands of years.

Worldbuilding Note: Asmythe elves are a mix of Elf Quest elves and fantasy sylvan elves.

Orcs

Orcs, or more accurately "goblinoids", are a society of three similar races.

Hobgoblins are large and smart and strong. Hobgoblins are the leaders of Orc society and the only race permitted to have magical ability; any magical ability that appears in the other races is destroyed.

Orcs are slightly larger than humans and very tough. Orcs are the warriors and hunters of goblin society and the sub-race most likely to be encountered by other races.

Goblins are small and nimble. Goblins are laborers and craftsmen and are by far the most numerous in goblin society.

Humans

At the end of the Age of Anarchy a group of technologically advanced humans arrived on Asmythe, but their technology did not function and they immediately devolved into an agrarian society. As years passed they learned to adapt and thrive on Asmythe. They formed the Armada Empire and learned how to use engineering and magic to protect themselves from the natural and unnatural dangers of life on Asmythe.

Human civilization and technology is comparable to late medieval or early renaissance civilization on earth. Civilization is driven by the ever threat from monsters and the human need to explore and improve.

More information on human civilization can be found in the article on the Armada Empire.

Ilthura

The Ilthura are an old race that inhabited Asmythe during the first era. They disappeared long ago but left behind plentiful ruins and artifacts of their civilization.

Worldbuilding Note: The Ilthura are modeled after the Ilthid, aka "Mind Flayer", of Dungeons and Dragons.

Half-kin

Crossbreeding between races is impossible, because each is a distinct genetic race and even if conception was biologically possible, the offspring would not be viable. There are no "Half-elves", "Half-orcs", or any other half-anything.

Other Races

Exotic races like Halflings, Gnomes, Tieflings (half-demon), ogres, trolls, cat-people, and such could fit in the world as a fallen remnant of an ancient Ilthura slave-race. But they are not common to the world and would exist only as a tiny barbaric civilization, if at all.