Daedal Macabre has the following major racial categories:
The various humanoid races are called that because, except for humans themselves, they are all offshoots or corruptions of the human race. Humans, being the most common of the natural races, were the easiest for the gods to experiment with.
The races commonly called 'humanoids' are: Humans, of course, the Goblins, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Orcs, Half-orcs, gnolls, centaurs, and minotaurs round out the rest.
Humans are the most common race in the world, and make up the majority of adventurers. Although they have no special talents like the other races, they are more versatile, being skilled in any class. They have no great strengths, but no weaknesses to prey upon either.
The remainder of the humanoids were twisted or reformed versions of the humans by the gods during the godwars. As troops of darkness, they all have excellent vision, even in darkness, with few exceptions. The Orc and Goblin footsoldiers of the godwar were later replaced by the large Hobgoblins. Their bodies were mostly used as cannon fodder or minor infantry units, and the stronger hobgoblins were used as the frontline troops.
Half-orcs were created by human interbreeding, trying to create an officer race of superior intelligence than the orcs. In their squalid conditions, the weakest members of the orc, goblin, and hobgoblin tribes were quickly killed, so all of these races share some resistances to poison and disease, which ran rampant in their camps. They were not the most commanding of mental powers in general, and may be somewhat easily fooled in certain regards. Orcs and half-orcs speak orcish and common, goblins and hobgoblins speak common and goblin.
Orcs range from 4 to 6 feet on average, with pig-like features and often tusk-like teeth. Half Orcs are usually in the same height range, with more muted features than their orcish relatives. Goblins and hobgoblins are somewhat misshapen humanoids, goblins moreso than hobgoblins. They both have flat broad faces, and backwards-sloping foreheads. Their skin ranges from yellow to dull red, with hobgoblins often furred as well. Both races have pointed fanged teeth, hobgoblin's are usually yellow. Goblins are usually 3-4 feet tall, hobgoblins about 6 1/2.
The scouting races of the Kobolds and Gnolls were altered to be effective scouts in the lands of the elves. Kobolds being small and weak are nonthless effective as scouts or spies. Gnolls, a larger, hardier race from the same strain, are effective rangers, but also tend to be more of free-thinkers, and as such are not as likely to be serving the dark powers of their creation. Kobolds tended to hide and live in the dirtiest conditions, being the smallest and weakest humanoids, and are resistant to the diseases and plagues that would kill most individuals, but like their stronger brethren, they are not the brightest of the races. Gnolls, on the other hand, prefer the wide open spaces, and were especially useful in the forays into the frozen wastes of Thera and upon the lightning-swept mountaintops. Both Kobolds and Gnolls speak common and kobold. Kobolds and Gnolls both resemble dog-faced peoples. Kobolds are usually 3 1/2 feet tall or so, where gnolls range through the entire height range of tall humans, as tall as 7 1/2 feet.
The Centaurs were the cavalry troops of the light gods against the darkness. A mixture of man and beast, various forms exist, from the half-man half horse, to the half-man half-antelope of the heated plains. They all share the same common characteristics, however, regardless of appearance. From their common association, they share the common language and also speak the tounge of sylvan inhabitants. As their senses are close to humans, they are the only humanoid race besides humans that are not naturally equipped to see in darkness.
Minotaurs were the shock troops created to battle-rage against the forces of good. Their extreme twisting in creation, however created a race that was unstable, and even the gods of darkness were hard-pressed to put them to use. Banished from the camps, they formed loose bands and raided any and all to survive until they were placed in deep underground prisons by their creators. Eventually regaining their senses, these mighty warriors emerged from the darkness of the underdark maze prisons and have been seen in the daylight world once again, but no longer a renegade threat. Minotaurs are single minded and focused, giving them some mental armor. Their dense bodies are tough, turning away unwell-placed blows. If there is one thing that they still fear, from their time in the darkness, it is untamed light. Minotaurs speak common and the language of the underdark. Most minotaurs are upwards of 7 feet tall, and heavily muscled. They are usually bull-headed, and can be quick to rage.
Back to TopThe Demihumans are a collection of races that are physically similar to humans, but are different and usually smaller. Elves and Dwarves traditionally fit in this category, but are treated separately due to their populus nature.
The demihumans were evolutions of the other races. Shapeshifters evolved from humans, kender and halflings from gnomes and dwarves, and quicklings from elves. Each has their own abilites and tendencies, and is outlined here.
Quicklings are very small cousins of elves. They are incredibly quick. The gods, during the godwars, tried to kill a particular race of elves. This band, continually racing ahead of this god, became so small and quick that they were difficult for gods to slay. They are very tough to hit because of their speed. They are amongst the smallest creatures in the land, so they rely on that speed to help them survive. They speak both common and the sylvan tongue.
Kender are small human-like individuals. Their size and appearance and curiosity can leave them mistaken for human children at times. They have a natural ability to 'borrow' things, sometimes, even without their own consciousness directing them. Small, quick their bodies are suprisingly tough. They speak only the common tongue.
Halflings are the most uncommon of adventurers. They prefer many of the comforts of home, but are some of the most aware of their surroundings of any demihuman. Their short stature makes them poor swimmers, but other than this shortcoming, they are excellent thieves. They speak only common.
Shapeshifters are a secretive race, and this quotation may explain why, of sorts: "As time rolled on in the cosmic being of things, creatures began to be borne with less and less distinguishing features. Pasty skin, dull eyes, hairless, no ears... in all other respects seeming Human. One young Lad, Daarg, found that through concentration, he could change the form of his body into other animals. Soon, his knowledge was widespread of what he could do. Other races hunted and killed all of his kind that they could, while which skills person that could sought refuge to keep their heritage alive from extermination. Shapeshifters they would come to be called." -- Elaz Wllrwrysih, sage, ancient of the High Elves.
. Back to TopThe five mystical races, Trolls, Titans, Gargoyles, Pen'gywns, and Wraiths, were all created in the time of the godwars. Titans and trolls to combat the giants, gargolyes to combat the evil that would come in the night. Wraiths were the humans drained of life by self-sacrifice to their dark gods, only the blackest of human hearts were given this regeneration to drain the life essence of the living. Trolls and titans, with the resurgence of the Creator, are now of free wills. The Gargoyles, no longer of single purpose nor single creator, found themselves free in both day and night, but this newfound freedom twisted some of their spirits. The Pen'gwyns were created for water combat. Following the godwars they found independence and solace in an isolated and frigid region of Thera.
Trolls are big ferocious fighters. Their regenerative properties make them tough to keep down. Their awareness is very acute and they can walk through the dark with ease. Trolls are very resilient fighters but quiver in fear of some magics. Their ferociousness makes them dangerous. They are large, strong, rubbery, and usually green. They speak common and their own strange gibbering troll language.
Gargoyles were hewn from stone, and enchanged with life to be the guardians against the evil that would come in the night. With the freeing of their spirits, they can now choose to follow the old ways, or that of their own gain. Being of stone, they are resistant to various shortcomings of flesh, like poison and disease. They can see in the dark, and fly to combat their enemies. They speak common, as stone has no language of it's own.
Titans were made to combat the giants, in particular the powerful storm giants. Their larger size made them physically dominating, usually 25 feet tall or taller. Slow of mind, however, and low quickness can be their downfalls. They speak common and titan.
Wraiths are the final corruption of a black human heart that gave their soul to the blackness in a self-sacrifice. These spectre-type undead have a free will all their own, and drain the living for their existance. They can pass through substantial material at will, and most physical barriers mean nothing to a wraith. Most things that kill mortals do less to a wraith, but the forces of light and darkness still hold much sway over their existance. Wraiths speak only common, like their formerly human consicousness.
Pen'gwyns are small birds, created to be the greatest water combatants ever known. Due to spending much of their lives in and under water, they find movement on land extremely difficult. Because of their size (the average Pen'gwyn is a mere 3'4"), they lack strength. They are usually black and white, with leaders exhibiting some small tufts of yellow feathers near their eyes. A sharp beak might be used as a weapon. Pen'gwyns are known for their amazing insight, hardiness, and ability to tolerate cold temperatures.
Back to TopOne of the original creations of Gaeia, the elves were created where her essence touched the lifegiving earth. Some, early in time, before the human blight of technology even occured, became dark and fled the waking world, shameful of their being. Lloth found them, and shaped them to her purpose. The other elves, reveling in magic and light, grew stronger in those ways, to the point of being able to become nearly one with their natural surroundings. The Drow, what the elves that fled the surface are now called, became dark from the machinations of their goddess, and also from the strange radiations in the underdark.
The elven types in modern Thera are: High elves, the nobles of the race; Wild elves, the most natural of the race, and most at home in the wilderness; Valley elves, an offshoot of the wild elves, but a bit more subtle and recluse; Moon elves, dark elves but those that follow the night and not the darkness; the Sea elves, an ancient race of elves that found their way into the waters of the world; and the Drow, the dark elves of the underdark who are utterly twisted by the evil around them.
All elves are slightly taller than humans, but have a much lighter build. They lack the strength and stamina of the other races, but are for more agile, both in body and mind. Surface elves are superb mages and thieves, but have at best fair talent as warriors or priests. Drow, through the tutelage of their mistress Lloth, are excellent priests and warriors, though their natural constitution hinders them in these endeavors.
All elves resist charm spells most effectively, due to their magical nature and because they are so in tune with their surroundings. Surface elves are notoriously hard to spot, thieves especially. Their magic and quickness combined make them slight but dangerous. Drow are excellent at nearly all classes, but make up for this in higher creation points. All elves, regardless of type, have keen vision. All elves speak common and elven, except drow which speak drow and common.
Back to TopCreated by the gods to harvest the land for the stores of precious ores and gems hidden within, the ancient dwarves were the craftsmen of old. Their original race has now become with time specialized to different locales.
There are four main varieties of dwarves, each from a different location in modern Thera. They all share some racial characteristics. They all tend to be short, stocky demi-humans, known for foul temper and great stamina. Dwarves have high strength and constitution, but poor dexterity. They are not as smart as humans, but are usually wiser due to their long lifespans. Dwarves make excellent fighters and priests, but are very poor mages due to their general lack of magic prowess, and poor thieves from stubby fingers. All dwarves speak common and dwarven, except duergar which speak common and underdark.
There are 4 variations of dwarves in modern Thera: Mountain, Hill, Sundred, and Duergar. Mountain and Hill dwarves are from the same stock, and are more recent offshoots of a single root. They are both a hardy people, with strong constitutions and innately find ores of use. Water is a bane to them, and they have no taste for magic.
Sundred and Duergar are both dwarven races that are at home in the deep underground, and they have adapted very well to that life. Sundred dwarves are found in the coldest reaches of the underdark, where no other real underdark races are found. They do not share the common dwarven dislike of water, but are as hardy as their mountain and hill cousins.
Duergar are twisted remnants from the godwars. They are dark in their character, and at times have been known to associate with drow. While sharing the hardiness of their more goodly brethren, they have been associated with darkness for so long that they are unable to tolerate many a holy item.
Back to TopWhile dwarves were created to make weapons and mine for metals, Gnomes were the gem miners and technological mages of the godwars. They focused on magical and mental abilites, but in turn neglected their physical attributes. Short and stubby, their nimbleness is comparable to their cousins.
Three modern offshoots of gnomes are generally recognized. Tinker gnomes, Deep, and Dark. Each is closely related, and all speak common and gnomish. All fear water, but the Deep gnomes and Dark gnomes both fear light from their long underdark inhabitations. The Tinker gnomes, having long ago emigrated to the surface, are the most magically active of the three races, but all make strong mages or mentalists. All retain the ability to see in darkness, but their physical size and strength typically keeps them from being effective fighters. Dark gnomes were tainted more than their cousins by the forces of darkness, and are excellent necromancers.
Back to TopThe Giants were created to be the true shock troops of the godwars. Bred to be warriors of cold, fire, lightning, and the very rock itself, they could turn the tides of battle. The lesser races of Ogres and half-ogres are usually counted among their numbers. Ogres were used as the serjeants of the humanoid infantry, and half-ogres are human-ogre offspring. All giants, including ogres and half-ogres, speak common and giant, as well as they can, that is.
Ogres and half-ogres share some common characteristics. Ogres are large, heavily muscled, resembling large humans but with brutish features and strong jowls and sloping foreheads. Half-ogres share these physical features, but in a muted fashion. Both can see well in the dark, and their dull wit makes them somewhat vulnerable to certain things. As Ogres are full-blooded, they are somewhat hardier, but also a bit duller than their cousins that share human blood. Ogres and half-ogres can range from 8 to 10 feet tall.
Giants are a large race, ranging from 10-14 feet in height. They are stronger than most of the other races, and just as durable as the dwarves. They aren't too bright, however, and their huge size makes them more clumsy than the other races. Giants make one of the best warriors of any race, but are ill-suited for any other profession. They resemble large humans, but each was bred for a particular combat duty, and became different in some of their abilites, but mostly appearance.
Stone giants were hewn from the sides of stone mountains, and are slow, massive individuals. Their nature makes them able to withstand much physical punishment, and the elements of nature sometimes have strange effects upon them.
Frost and Fire giants were both created after the massive stone giants, one's blood mixed with glacial ice for frozen warfare, the other with molten lava, to create a warrior able to withstand the fiercest flame. Like all other giants, their mental faculties were not enhanced beyond that of their stone brothers', as loyalty and unfaulting following was their destiny.
To add to this army, soldiers fromt he very storm were created, and Storm giants walked amongst the clouds and upon the ground. Their very lifeblood was the electrcal storm, and they could ground themselves upon water, making them vulnerable to drowning.
All giants, including ogres and half-ogres, see fairly well in the dark, necessary for nighttime battles. As a race, they prefer to let their bulk, size, and strength bash their enemies into submission.
Back to TopThe Nymphs were created from various elven mage families during the godwars. Their magical abilites were magnified, with the dimunition of their physical forms. Three major types of nymphs are in modern Thera, with their magical prowess unrivaled by all but perhaps the tinker gnomes. All nymphs speak sylvan in addition to the common tongue.
Sprites are small, diminutive, woodland creatures.. beautiful, lovely, enchanting, kind, alluring creatures. Their powers of magic are immense, while their physical strengths are lacking. Their beauty is rivaled only by their magical prowess. The only flying nymphs, they are physically frail.
The other nymphs, Wood and Water, are related closely to their home, and their powers are closely related to these places. They are extremely flighty in appearance, but have extremly sharp minds, and can see through most persuasion.
Back to TopWhen the Creator first brought forth the world, beings were also formed to enact the will of the Creator. These creatures were known as Nephilim. Formed of spirit, they were the weilders of the will of creation, like their Creator. With time, some lusted after the favoritism that the Creator gave to his other creations, even those without the purity of spirit that they had. These lustful creations took upon themselves bodies of flesh, formed from their final efforts of creation. They were the Abashai. The Nephilim saw this abomination, and wept. The Abashai taught the Drow how to worship Lloth, and fought in the godwars. The remaining Nephilim created a new form, that of light and spirit and flesh merged. Into this entered a Nephilim, forming the first Spirit-made-flesh, the Sephilim. Soon after this, the creator freed the Nephilim and Sephilim spirits from his own, giving them free will, but never to change from their origins of light.
Nephilim and Sephilim are spirits of the original creation. They all can fly, and are resistant to the weakness of flesh. Nephilim are of spirit, and Sephilim are spirit made flesh. They are strong warriors and priests, each with piercing gaze and only burnt by the touch of evil, which they see in the Abashi, their twisted brethren, more than anything else. Nephilim and Sephilim both speak common and angelic.
Back to TopAt the time of the Creation, Nephilim created with the will of the Creator. Some lusted after this creation, and took upon themselves bodies that they made with their last rebellious creation of will. They were the first of the Abashi. The taught the Drow of Lloth, and incited the rebellious gods into the godwars. Their corruption was complete, and their bodies reflected this twisting of the original creation. Thus the Abashi came to plague the waking races of the lands.
Abashi are twisted creations from the dawn of time. They are naturally cunning and evil, bearing sharp claws and huge maws of fangs. Ugly, demonic, hellish things that they are, they excel at most professions easily. Their slightish intellect and dim wits are made up by brute strength and quickness, despite their size. They sport natural claws and high metabolisms, so they can fight very proficiently with their hands. All abashi speak common and demonic.
Abashi come in different colors or forms ("flavors," according to Bagheera), each according to his dominant aura at the time of his final act of creating his body (see the Solar file for more info on this creation). Each of the main types, Red, Black, Blue, White, and Green, has a variable physical form, and all can fly, see well in darkness, and resist the forces of good at every opportunity. Holiness and light have been known to burn them terribly, while the dark forces and disease run through their veins. Most are unable to withstand cold, but some have grown to love the freezeing temperature of Geryon and dislike the firey brimstone pits. In all, they are in very nature chaotic, and dangerous.
Back to Top"They were created from will of the gods alone, and the dragons know their power in the world." -- Elaz Wllrwrysih, sage, ancient of the High Elves.
Dragons are the fiercest and most mighty creatures known to the land. They don't rise to power very quickly. In fact, it is a very slow and laborious process. Dragons will gain skill levels in the same way that all other races do, however, levels of maturity will be different. The progression is Hatchling, Draconian, Wyvern, Dragon, Wyrm, and GreatWyrm. The three types of dragons are based on alignment. There are separate help files for each of them. The color of a dragon is determined at the time the fourth level of maturity, dragon. All dragons are very powerful. The classes of dragons are Chromatic (evil), Oxidized (neutral), and Metallic (good).
Hatchlings are the newborn offspring of a dragon. They are very small and very weak. They have the potential to become the most powerful creatures in the game. This process takes many years in a dragon's life. As dragons mature, their strength and size go up. A fully mature dragon will be hard to bring down. Hatchlings hereditarily get enhanced damage and second attack.
There are currently 6 stages to a Dragon's life. They start out as hatchlings, and grow further on into a Draconian, then Wyvern, Dragon, Wyrm, and lastly a GreatWyrm. Each stage must be completed before the next can be possibly attained. To attain the next size, a number of factors must be taken into account, which is a big secret!
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