The Races
The realms are home to many peoples, each with their own histories, traditions, and ways of life. Some have lived here for generations beyond counting. Others are newcomers to lands that seem to have always been theirs.
The peoples of the realms do not always understand one another. Nor do they always agree. Yet all share the same world, and all have a place within it.
Humans
Humans are adaptable, ambitious, and remarkably short-lived compared with many of the other peoples of the realms. Their lives are brief, but they have an unusual ability to change with the times.
Human settlements can be found almost everywhere. Kingdoms rise and disappear within the span of a few generations, and humans have a talent for making themselves at home wherever they go.
Dwarves
Dwarves are an ancient and traditional people, most closely associated with the mountains and the deep places beneath them. They are renowned craftsmen and builders, and their works are often made to endure far longer than those who created them.
Dwarven society places great value on tradition, craftsmanship, and the knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. Their beards are worn with pride, and a dwarf without one is a rare sight indeed.
Elves
Elves are among the oldest peoples of the realms. Their history reaches back into ages that humans know only through fragmentary legend, and their traditions have survived largely unchanged for centuries.
Elves are deeply connected to magic and possess a knowledge of the old world that few others can match. They are not necessarily creatures of the forest; elven civilization can be found wherever their long history has taken them.
Gnomes
Gnomes are curious, eccentric, and endlessly inventive. Where other peoples see a perfectly functional object, a gnome is likely to see something that could be made faster, stranger, or considerably more complicated.
Gnomish tinkering has produced both remarkable inventions and devices whose original purpose is now known only to their creator. Gnomes are rarely content to leave a mystery unexplored, particularly if there is a mechanism involved.
Centaurs
Centaurs are a largely nomadic people who roam the open country. They are hunters and travelers, more comfortable beneath an open sky than behind the walls of a city.
Centaur communities tend to follow the seasons and the movements of game rather than permanent borders. Their knowledge of the wild places of the realms is extensive, and their relationship with the wilderness is older than many of the roads that cross it.
Lizardfolk
The Lizardfolk are an ancient and mysterious people whose origins are poorly understood by the other races. They are most commonly found in the warmer southern regions of the realms.
Cold-blooded and fond of warmth, Lizardfolk seek the sun and are poorly suited to cold climates. They are patient hunters and keen observers, possessing an intimate knowledge of the lands in which they live. They rarely hurry, and they rarely explain themselves.
Some say the Lizardfolk were here before the first human kingdoms. The Lizardfolk do not discuss the matter.
Nymphs
Nymphs are born of nature rather than of parents. A nymph may emerge from a thunderstorm, be found beside a newly formed spring, or appear among the stones of an ancient mountain.
Each nymph is associated with an aspect of the natural world. Lightning, sea, cloud, stone, fire, rain, and countless other manifestations are possible. A nymph's nature is part of who they are, but it does not dictate who they must become.
Nymphs possess ordinary physical bodies and live much as other peoples do. Their elemental nature may sometimes reveal itself in subtle ways, however, and those who know them well often recognize qualities of the element within them.
Nymphs are uncommon, and their connection to nature and magic makes them more comfortable in the wilderness than in the great cities of the realms. They tend to place greater trust in elves and centaurs, whose own traditions are closely tied to the natural world.
Urdun
The Urdun are a people of enormous stature, standing roughly eight feet tall. They are powerful warriors, physically imposing and difficult to mistake for any other race.
Urdun are not known for subtlety or complicated philosophies. They possess a straightforward view of the world and a reputation for being slow to understand things that seem obvious to everyone else. What they lack in cleverness they make up for in strength, endurance, and determination.
To underestimate an Urdun is generally considered a mistake.