Races -- Other Races in the World of Ere

Player’s Handbook I
Below are the races that use racial stats in the DnD 4e Player’s Handbook with a short description of their place in the world and origins on Ere.

Azindran (Fiendish Breed)
In the time of the Age of Tragedies, devils were at their height of their power in the world due to the widespread strife, suffering and dark thoughts of the mortal races. Behind the scenes, they orchestrated some of the worst atrocities and most harrowing failures of the age. And very few of them were ever found out.

During that age, many devils bred with mortals to foster agents to serve them more openly, or simply to sate their base desires. But Ere is far from the power that commands and controls the nature of devils and without that control, they found their offspring beyond their own.

These were the first azindrans, also called the fiendish breed, who were bred to rule, but chose to rebel. Though not all rebelled and even many of those were not at all altruistic, their sheer numbers guaranteed that they would survive to become a race of their own. In the present age, tieflings are an uncommon, but unsurprising sight in most cities and large towns and even then, they prefer to stay with their own.

Azindran always breed true, regardless of what race they breed with, a testament to the strength of their fiendish blood and the reason they maintain a stable population.

Azindrans use the game statistics of Tieflings (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook)

Common Half Elf
In a further dilution of daoine blood, half elves as they are in the present day are the result of the massive baby boom following Draconic Control. As such, they are far more human than fey and take to human societies like a fish to water.

Half elves are a race unto themselves, breeding true with one another, but the child of a half elf and a human is always a half elf, the child of a half elf and an elf is always an elf and the child of a half elf and an daoine is always an elf as well, hinting at a hard limit to how diluted daoine blood can become.

Half elves have very little in the way of racial identity, proud of both sides of their heritage and more concerned with living for today than comparing bloodlines.

Common half elves use the game statistics of Half Elves (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook)

Daoine
Daoine are the common folk of the fey and the favored race of Sylph. Most dwell on the moon Azelia in the place of their goddess, but their fey nature has tempted more than a few to come to Ere to make their homes in the wilds.

Ere-bound daoine have a reputation as tricksters and being dangerously flighty, despite the fact that most daoine are haughty and regal. Both however, occasionally find themselves embroiled in affairs on Ere, especially when those affairs might threaten the personal interests of an individual daoine or fey noble.

Daoine use the game statistics of Eladrin (see the D&D 4e Players Handbook)

Dragonsired Throwback
Occasionally, a dragonsired is born with greater affinity and resemblance to their draconic half. These beings are rare and considered more unusual than even dragonsired.

Dragonsired throwbacks uses the game statistics of Dragonborn (see the D&D 4e Players Handbook)

Erean Elf
Erean elves we originally the result of the coupling of daoine and humans but in the early days, such unions were so common and so fruitful that they have now become a race unto themselves. Depending on how strong their human or daoine blood, elves may favor life in human cities, or live in the tree spanning elfhames that mirror and sometimes exceed the grandeur of those forest kingdoms of the daoine.

Elves in general have a racial dignity that makes them appear xenophobic and haughty to outsiders, but unlike the stereotypical view of hailene (conjured from the real views of hailene during the War of Ascension, and eastern hailene tribes in the modern day) elves respect the accomplishments and contributions of other races – they are just more vocal about those same deeds when done by elves.

Erean Elves use the game statistics of Elves (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook)

Erean Human
One of the first common races to set foot on Ere, humans are still the most numerous (though recent census says that half elves will overtake them within a few generations). Humans are what most non-demihuman species refer to when they say ‘mortal’.

More than any other race, humans define themselves by nationality rather than by race and think little of racial unity. Humans are known for their innovative skill and their greater willingness to accept new ideas.

Erean humans use the game statistics of Humans (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook)

Genmidi Dwarf
It is said by most Genmidi dwarves that they were created by the dragons during draconic control to mine ore and gems to satiate the great creatures’ greed and fuel their war effort. But the dwarves rebelled and sealed their mountains until late in the time of the Vishnari Empire.

Today, most traditional dwarven society is found in Genmide and northern Mindeforme, where they lead insular lives except when they can trade with other races for gold (an affinity they are said to have inherited from their draconic creators). But increasingly, the latest generation of dwarves is bucking tradition; working with machines, trimming their beards, showing open affection to their lovers, and leaving the mountains entirely to join mortal society. Where once dwarves encountered outside their lands were either on a mission or were dour loners, now dwarves can be found actively seeking camaraderie and adventure.

Genmidi dwarves use the game statistics of Dwarves (see the D&D 4e Players Handbook)

Pandemian Halfling
Descendants of the original band of companions of Pandemos in his time wandering and exploring the young world after Saint’s Landing, halflings for the most part maintain the carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude they ascribe to Pandemos.

Most halflings integrate seamlessly into the societies of other races, while others continue the tradition set down by their forefathers in Pandemos’s service and travel the length and breadth of the two continents in caravans of garishly painted wagons. No one is entirely sure why, save for possibly some divine providence, but spirit beasts and most unintelligent monsters will not attack halfling caravans and other creatures. Villains who run afoul their defenses quickly learn that it is not all divine providence that keeps them safe.

By and large, halflings are a friendly, peaceable people, who see almost the entirety of their race as family, calling one another ‘cousin’. They are also known to adopt members of other species, treating them as one of their own and giving them special items that let of the halflings know that person is also a halfling.

Pandemian halflings use the game statistics of Halflings (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook)

Player's Handbook 2
Below are the races that use racial stats in the DnD 4e Player’s Handbook 2 with a short description of their place in the world and origins on Ere.

Beastmen
Beastmen are the result of either the union of a human or elf and a lycanthrope or the children of a survivor of a lycanthropic attack that involved the exchange of fluids (usually from a bite). Beastmen don't represent a unified group and many either try and hide their nature, or embrace it fully to the point of abandoning society and living in the wild. Natural lycanthropes feel a special bond with beastmen of their 'bloodline' and will hesitate to attack them unless pressed.

Beastmen use the game statistics of Longtooth Shifters (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Common Half-Orc
'Half-orc' represents the rather crude understanding of the muddled ancestry of the race of nomadic tribesmen that roam the plains and deserts of Taunaun and parts of Novrom. In reality, the bloodlines of these men are far more muddled; the result of political intermarrying of tribes of humans, orcs, goblins, ogres and even trolls over the centuries of the Age of Tragedies. Orc quite possibly represents the smallest percentage of their heritage, the majority being human and hobgoblin.

These so called 'half-orcs' now make up a sizable portion of the barbarian tribes in the region and the vast majority of non-dragonsired dragon cultists. While they are certainly capable of advanced thought and learning, their culture not only does not encourage learning and innovation, but actively ridicules it as a waste of time in a world where danger is everywhere and violence is the fastest route to safety.

There exist 'civilized' half-orcs, especially in Novrom, who have grown tired of their people's way of life and pine for the better things in life, usually introduced to them by adventurers and mercenaries.

Common half-orcs use the game statistics of Half Orcs (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Half Miare
Half miare are the offspring of miare and humans, elves or daoine. Like their progenitors, they are by far the most civilized shifters, rarely displaying their bestial nature unless excited. Most cities have at least a small number of half-miare, who almost invariably favor the more demihuman side of their nature, rather than Sylph's influence.

Half Miare use the game statistics of Razorclaw Shifters (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Ious (Angelic Breed)
In the Previous Age, before Hessa and the current pantheon came to Ere, angels walked to earth among mortals to directly carry out their goals of enforcing the will of their divine patrons. They served all manner of being in all manner of capacities, but one thing was constant; they were eternal and ever reborn when their material form was destroyed.

Until the world the knew ended. Like all other living beings in the world at the end of the Previous Age, the angels died in an instant and found no world to be reborn to. Their souls, like all the souls of that world formed the core of Ere; the Source of All Souls.

Occasionally, one of these angelic souls is reborn into the world as a child of one of the mortal races, growing up with strange skin markings and otherworldly eyes that only become more prominent as they grow older. By adolescence, they begin having dreams of life in the Previous Age; of angelic glory and strength. As many are driven mad by it as are inspired by it.

Ious, or the angelic breed, are a truly rare and auspicious occurrence; often mistaken for inborn and thus usually treated as such. In more learned communities, especially those with special connections or knowledge of the well of Souls, they are favored sons and daughters.

Ious use the game statistics of Deva (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Stonebrother
The word 'Stonebrother' is a dwarven name for a specific kind of inborn manifestation that occurs far more often among dwarves than other races. While they seem like normal members of their race at birth, puberty brings on stunning growth spurts and the development of rock-hard skin and incredibly strength and resiliency.

Dwarven stonebrothers eventually cannot physically live comfortably in the underground tunnels and halls of their fathers and are so forced to live on the surface. Nonetheless, they maintain the dwarven work ethic and a desire to honor clan and name that the newest generation of normal dwarves lacks. As such, they are valued guards and warriors who represent their clans on the surface.

Stonebrothers use the game statistics of Goliaths (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Sylphian Brownie
The first brownies were created from halfling druids in the service of Sylph near the end of Draconic Control and were charged with the protection and nurturing of the mangrove forests and wetlands along the coast of the Eastern Continent.

During the Hailene War of Ascension, the hailene systematically hunted brownies to force them into servitude as guides though the semi-aquatic mazes they called home so as to strike at Vishnari holds without giving away their positions and numbers.

As the hailene air forces became more viable and numerous, the brownies became a liability and forces of hailene specially trained to track and slay the elusive fey creatures were dispatched. These borwnie hunting regiments were still scourging the present day Mindeforme wetlands at the very end of the war.

Those brownies that survived today live largely in Sylph's domain on the green moon Azelia. A few, usually youngsters, occasionally find their way to the prime material, but no brownie settlements exist on Ere.

Sylphian Brownies use the game statistics of Gnomes (see the D&D 4e Player’s Handbook 2)

Monster Manual I
Below are the races that use racial stats in the DnD 4e Monster Manual with a short description of their place in the world and origins on Ere. Some races may not be included because they are assumed not to be part of the world or not considered ‘playable’ in the world. This should not stop DMs from adding them if they wish.

Eastern/Western Minotaur
Created from human stock by Denaii to be the best and most disciplined mortal warriors, minotaurs suffered greatly from the Hailene War of Ascension. Almost eighty percent of their population was enslaved by the hailene during the war and by the time the minotaurs managed to return to their homelands, dwarves and humans have moved in and drove them away entirely. Eventually, two distinct cultures of minotaur formed from the descendants of those thusly exiled.

Eastern minotaurs; those who settled in the rural regions of Mindeforme, have adapted to the quieter, more private life of the people there. They value family honor above all else and engage in ancestor worship. General order and cleanliness is considered to reflect on the family and community and so minotaurs are almost obsessive in their efforts to maintain their homes and villages as such.

Western minotaurs; those whose ancestors traveled to Callen and Rizen to escape the Age of Tragedies are tribal folk. Personal honor is the highest priority to a western minotaur and this presents itself in the brash, loud manner that has come to be associated with all minotaurs. These minotaurs prove their mettle in combat, whether in tribal warfare against the other nomadic tribes of Callen, or in non-lethal honor duels among their own.

Minotaurs are a common sight in most mid-sized and larger towns and cities, as their strength and work ethic make then valuable hires for all sorts of jobs.

Both eastern and western minotaurs use the game statistics of Minotaurs (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Erean Doppelganger
It is a mystery as to where the first doppelgangers came from and it is impossible to tell how many of them actually exist, but doppelgangers have been utilized as spies by powerful beings at least since Draconic Control.

Doppelgangers have no concept of racial or sexual identity and tend to adopt one mortal race and sex or other to treat as their own (usually the one they are raised in). The offspring of a doppelganger and a member of another race have a ten percent chance of being a doppelganger, though this is not apparent until puberty.

It is very common for a known doppelganger to be met with distrust even in very open minded communities thanks to copper-piece novels that portray them as cowards and impulsive turncoats.

Erean Doppelgangers use the game statistics of Doppelgangers (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Gaun (Corrupted Daoine)
In the early days of the world, before many of the common races even came into being, the minions in service to Kayda captured many daoine for their master and in their dark, eldritch laboratories, submitted them to the then rudimentary processes now used to create Kaydan demons.

Forged in eldritch flame these once daoine were gained powers beyond their former kin. But the remainder of their fey nature kept them from falling completely under the Threefold Moon’s sway. They slaughtered their creators and disappeared into the deep caverns that once held the labs that birthed them.

Today, in the dark hot tunnels beneath the southern part of the world, the gaun still dwell, only coming to the surface world to raid. But the advent of the printed word in recent years has meant that these raids have bought the culture of the world below to the gaun and like the dwarves, some young gaun have become obsessed with the world above them and strike out, wishing to see more of it.

True to their demonic alterations, gaun are a naturally violent and forward people, worshiping gods of their own making. Their lives in the tunnels, among other brutish gaun make them seem incredibly alien to other races.

Gaun use the game statistics for Drow (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Tribal Kobold
Another race older than Saint’s Landing; kobolds maintain tribal, insular societies on the fringes of civilization, making their way by serving more powerful creatures rather than risk extermination by engaging in raiding.

More so than any savage race, kobolds will readily ally with humans if they prove to be stronger than the kobolds, though they prefer serving dragons or dragonsired due to their old religion, which revolves around the mighty, bestial dragons of times long past.

Once integrated into a society, kobolds prove to be skilled craftsmen and mechanists, but poor business people. A kobold is more comfortable and adept being a follower than a leader. Most kobolds refuse to follow any other god than their dragon cults, though a few kobold mechanists have a passing reverence for Denaii.

Tribal kobolds use the game statistics of Kobolds (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Tribal Orc
Orcs are another race that survived the end of the Previous Age into the age ushered in by Saint’s Landing. By the time of the Hailene War, orcs had become one of the favored peoples of Dey, whose priests extended missions to the tribes even as the hailene began enslaving them.

When the hailene discovered minotaurs, however, they felt they no longer needed orcs and ordered the genocide of the species. Dey’s reaction to this, compounded with the plight of the brownies for similar reasons, was what caused her to bring an end to the war in a display of divine vengeance.

Orcs survived into the Age of Tragedies, where they allied with goblins against ogres and minotaurs in battles over land. Today, there are few orcs. Too much inbreeding with goblins has rendered pureblooded orcs a rarity and hobgoblins the status quo in ‘orc’ villages. Still, orcs remain in their tribal societies, making war for land and survival against spirit beasts. Enterprising parties in Novrom (especially the troll big May) have given orcs a second chance at glory, however, hiring them into mercenary companies to fight their wars for pay.

Tribal Orcs can use any of the game mechanics of Bugbears, Hobgolbins, or Orcs (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Ul-Iant
Following the Ashing of the Green, purportedly caused by an artifact weapon excavated by the Calderians, archeology has become a booming business in many part of Ere. One of the most interesting results of this effort has been the uncovering of vaults containing ul-iant (‘Machine Soldier’ in the imperial language.).

While they have no memory of their time before being reactivated, the ul-iant are sapient to the point that the Thirteen Nations Accords was amended to recognize them as an official race, despite numbering less than five thousand (though more vaults are still being discovered).

Ul-Iant are highly capable warriors, but are happy doing any other work as long as they feel useful. This comes across as compulsive behavior as ul-iant become nervous and irritable when not doing something productive.

Ul-lant use the game statistics of Warforged (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)

Warren Goblin
Wild and savage humanoids that were already on Ere when Saint’s Landing occurred, goblins live to breed and breed to create hordes with which to fight other savage races over territory. Goblins had an incredibly unstable genetic heritage, which gives rise to bugbears and hobgoblins in about ten percent of births.

Very few goblins even think beyond their endless raiding and war and coming up with new ways to make war to consider the existence of other races beyond creatures they fight or steal from, but those rare and curious few that do often find gainful employment in militaries or watch patrols where their brutal knack for coming up with new weapons (from melee to siege to mechanical and alchemical) is highly appreciated.

All goblins tend to be single minded and obsessive, but ‘civilized’ goblins tend toward being heavily materialistic and look down on their more emotion driven brethren. To a man, goblins in civilized settings worship Dey in the aspect of a female goblin tinker, mostly to justify their borderline sociopathy.

Warren goblins use the game statistics of Goblins (see the D&D 4e Monster Manual)