Yon Crusade: Races

Heavenly Races

The Heavenly Races are those whose creation is attributed by the celestial faith to the stars, spun from the primordial chaos during Creation. This is as opposed to Earthly Races, whose creation are thought to be the result of powerful mortal sorcery. There is rarely any absolute proof that any given race is one or the other. Some high elves think every other race in the world is derived from high elven sorcery for example, but these seven are the generally agreed ones.

Humans

Humans have long been the most numerous of the mortals and hold dominion or population majority over many regions. They are a keenly adaptable race with no serious weaknesses all around, and counting endurance as a primary strength. Because they are numerous and nose in on all but the most extreme of environments, a lot of other races view humanity with resentment.

Though others think of them as a fairly homogenous race with only cosmetic variation in face, skin, and hair, humanity lives in a huge variety of lifestyles with strikingly different cultural nuances.

Elves

A race of lithe demihumans with relatively slender builds and distinctive sideways pointed ears. They are sharp, coordinated, and have excellent eyesight but tend to be frailer and not as physically enduring as humans. Armour or equipment that is heavy by human standards present serious issues to elves unless it is made of mithril or crafted in some specialized way. Generally, elves are most at home in temperate forests.

Elves have a longer cultural history than most races – no surprise since elves, left alone, can live ten times as long as humans. Yet, demographic problems are a fact of life within purely elven societies and few are without a sense of paranoia in the shadow of more populous neighbours, especially humans, who could potentially assimilate them entirely.

High Elves

High elves are the most numerous sort of elf and can occasionally be found in human cities as well as their own. Long ago, high elves successfully melded advanced civilization with the natural surroundings of their native forests into a seamless whole, building towering keeps of gleaming white stone and giant living trees. High elves emphasize magic, education, and even-handed leadership, often ruling over kingdoms of humans, half elves, or both. They have fair skin and a reputation for frailty and being snobbish, but are as generally good natured as any.

Wood Elves

Wood elves have slightly darker skin and inhabit less organised societies, usually forming small strictly homogenous communities in the deepest of forests, plateau meadows and highland woods, avoiding excessive contact with the outside world. They are generally a much tougher lot than their prissy high elf cousins and produce infamously good foresters and war archers.

Dwarves

Dwarves are short, heavily built demihumans with big beards and a devout love of strong alcohol. They have good vision in dim light, though they do not perceive colors as clearly, and are physically tough atop of being able to bear heavier armour than others. This stoutness also causes them to sink like rocks in water and they have scant trust for any but the largest of ships.

Averaging a lifetime four or five times as long as humans, dwarves are another race with a long history of civilization. With strong affinity for the earth, their settlements are always partly or wholly underground and they rarely mind what is above it, though their idea of prime real estate correlates well with having a mountain over their heads. Their technology surpasses that of humans in some areas, especially when it comes to big, heavily engineered things that belch fire and smoke for no good reason. They carefully guard their secrets of craft and uniquely plentiful mineral resources even in the face of the Anathema threat, making them unpopular on the economic scene.

Hill Dwarves

Hill dwarves are the less numerous variety of dwarf whose societies are only partially ground dwelling, generally spending at least equal time on the surface. While they do not have the same technology and access to resources as their mountain dwelling cousins, hill dwarves are a more flexible and martially superior, making better, more disciplined soldiers when above ground, and remaining good smiths and engineers. This is the usual type found coexisting with humans in their cities.