Primary playable race descriptions for world in progress

[curious-puzzle]

I'm planning on using these description blurbs as part of the intro to the fantasy setting I've been working on, was hoping to get some opinions/reactions. The goal is that they catch people's interest enough to want to read more about the world without being gigantic doorstoppers;

Spoiler: Humans

Show

If humans once ruled this world, those days are long past. Their kingdoms shattered, their gods slain, humanity hangs on by ragged nails and cracked teeth. But they still endure, fighting for whatever scraps they can claim.

The Day of Three Sorrows destroyed the ancestral seat of humans, broke the back of the empire that had grown and swelled around it, and murdered the gods who guided and protected it. The survivors fled and scattered to all corners of the world, desperate to somehow escape the end of everything they had known.

But 300 years later the race of man still stands. Whether a penniless child of refugees struggling in the bloated cities, a vagabond fighting for survival in the wilderness, or a mercenary killing for coin, humanity continues to fight against all odds.

Spoiler: Dwarves

Show

Dwarves live their lives by three tenets.
Loyalty to one's lord.
Honor to one's ancestors.
Duty to one's people.

Such iron dedication has enabled the dwarven race to survive a state of near-constant warfare for ages...but one could argue this has cost the dwarves greatly. Individual expression and drive is crushed by the necessity of the many, and dreams of the future are discarded in favor of obsession with the past and present

And ever so slowly, the dwarves are losing.

Spoiler: Forged

Show

The Dwarves were the ones to discover the first Creation Forge centuries ago. After managing to activate and control it, they used the Forged as little better than slaves, expendable untiring weapons of war. After all, even a sword that spoke was still just a tool to be used.

It took an act of unmatched bravery and compassion by an unnamed Forged, but the events during the Battle of Singing Steel reshaped the two races and what they meant to one another. No longer property, the Forged were free to choose their own path. Some stayed and continued fighting alongside their former masters, and ever so slowly the jagged bitterness between the two was hammered into unbreakable respect. Others ventured out into the world, causing ripples with every step.

The Great Forge the dwarves found has been lost and reclaimed over the years of roiling and shifting combat underneath the surface, and damaged to the point that it can no longer produce legions of gleaming warriors at will. But now another Great Forge has been unearthed, on the other side of the world.

Spoiler: Tieflings

Show

Tieflings were once shunned and persecuted for the Fiendish taint lurking in their bloodlines. Outcasts struggling at the fringes of society, many felt a strange calling to travel northwest, to the swamps. There they began to eke out an existence for themselves, away from the judgements of their progenitors.

There is no small amount of irony that 300 years after the empire of humanity was utterly destroyed, the kingdom built by the exiled Tieflings is one of the most powerful and stable in the world. 7 great Houses rule secular concerns, while 7 grand Choirs of deities preside over matters of faith and mystery. Indeed, there are more Gods, Powers and Dominions in the capital than any other - perhaps their otherworldly heritage calls to those in search of worship.

But despite their cosmopolitan outlook and mercantile attitude, one should never forget where the heritage of Tieflings originates. And there are whispers that the deepest, darkest parts of those swamps hides the secret of what those families did so long ago in exchange for their kingdom.

Or whom they made a bargain with.

Spoiler: Elves

Show

Eyes ever cast upwards to the heavens, the Elves are seekers of esoteric mysteries. Dissatisfied with physical existence, they strive to unlock the secrets of the universe, particularly that of Light and Radiance. Such focus (bordering on obsession) has granted elves a mastery with magic beyond any other race, but Radiance is not gentle to mortal flesh or minds. Its corrosive touch has weakened an elf’s grasp to the mortal coil in more ways than one.

Beyond their hunger for arcane knowledge, elves are guided by their past. Even more than the dwarves, for the elves’ ancestors still walk among them. Slipping their physical shell, they are infused with so much Light that they become beings of pure will and energy. These Deathless advise and direct their physical descendants, as well as creating and empowering the Risen, their undying champions. Woe to those who imply any similarities between undead and either the Risen or Deathless, however. The undead are anathema, and such an insult is more often than not worth the life of whoever utters it.

But can beings who cast their mortality aside as a stunted failure truly be trusted to guide the living?

Spoiler: Orcs

Show

Dismissed by many as primitive savages, the tribes of the orcs have held to their traditions for countless generations. Peerless survivors, they can live and even thrive in conditions that others would not even attempt. No expedition to the wilds would regret hiring an orcish guide - they have an uncanny connection to the land and its ferocious inhabitants.
Even this connection has not been enough to spare the orcs from the touch of Radiance, however. Slowly but surely they have become more prone to violence, more likely to dismiss reason and calm. The other races have only exacerbated this, clashing with tribes in their search for resources and relics. Forced to stray from ancestral hunting lands, the orc tribes have been forced to combat starvation, vicious monsters that were normally avoided, and near-open warfare against the predation of these ’wall-dwellers.’

As their numbers dwindle and tribes fracture, it remains to be seen if the Orcish way of life will survive.

Spoiler: Halfbreeds

Show

he adaptability of humans is truly remarkable, extending even to their ability to reproduce with other races. Tieflings are the epitome of this, claiming to be an improvement over their progenitors in every way. But other unions deserve attention also - half-elves and half-orcs in particular. Their circumstances all differ, but all hold the potential for true greatness.

Half-orcs are the children of two fallen races, and they will be either the salvation or doom of both their parents. Possessing both the ambition of humans and the might of orcs, these driven individuals thrive in adversity. Some communities embrace them as a new hope, while others fear them as a sign of a future with no place for the old ways. It is no surprise that many travel into the wilds to face their future head-on.

Often the children of tragic love, half-elves are set apart from both of their parents’ people. Romances of star-crossed lovers are popular amongst both races, but almost all end poorly. Humans warn that elves are too much like the stars they admire; beautiful, but simply too cold, distant, and even alien in the end. Elves, for their part, caution that humans are fire - rapid, passionate, and entirely capable of saving your life in one breath and consuming you utterly in the next. Such offspring feel out of step with both parent races, and the driving force behind many half-elf adventurers is finding somewhere they belong

The motives of Celestials are nigh-inscrutable to mortals, and those who inherit their blood seem to share this trait. Unlike the widespread Tieflings (who have fully become their own species), Aasimars (or Angel-blooded) are exceptionally rare. “Blessed” with strange visions and portents, the burden of their celestial heritage is rarely escaped.

Too much? Too little? Too pretentious? Any feedback would be appreciated!

[TyGuy]

Human description was great. It had enough to hook in, but stayed concise.

Dwarf description felt light. Maybe add 2-3 more sentences. Humans had a little more detail on history. If it can be added concisely like the humans, it would help to know more specifically how long they've been fighting and who they've been fighting and/or what for.

Forged description didn't draw much of a visual on what they are, from a personality point. The human blurb talked about grit and perseverance, the dwarf had tenets. I presume the Forge are all war machines, but there's nothing to really help me visualize how biological vs automaton they are in the realm of emotion/ thought/ personality.

Tiefling description is spot on. I would drop the last sentence as I found it redundant.

Elves description is good. The last statement/ sentence seems to be opening a whole can of worms that could either use a little more context/ description, or simply be saved for the long form synopsis. Would be nice to get definitions/ descriptions of all the new terms but I can see leaving them out for expedience.

Orc description is good. It has a second mention of Radiance however, and at this point I'm wondering wtf the Light and Radiance are (which is a good thing I think) but hopefully you have a little description for those things accompanying these race blurbs.

Half breeds descriptions are great.

[curious-puzzle]

Thanks, TyGuy! I'll work your suggestions in, that's what I was looking for.

[ARTHAN]

Too much? Too little? Too pretentious? Any feedback would be appreciated!

If you try to catch the attention and the interest of your players, I think you will manage it with ease. Every part was really nice to read.

All was interesting to read with the exception of the last phrase of the Dwarves. Are they losing? Okay... With the exception of a new kind of alien threat that has appeared and has started smashing dwarven defenses here and there, I am not interest in a random war-related loss of the Dwarves (and I like Dwarves in general). I think you should either drop the last phrase of the dwarf-related paragraph or improve it somehow...

In general, you have done a great work.

[curious-puzzle]

Thanks! And that's fair in regards to the Dwarves - I was aiming to set up a tragic vibe, i.e. despite all their efforts, the dwarves have only been able to achieve temporary or pyrrhic victories. Any suggestions on how to phrase it better?

[ARTHAN]

Thanks! And that's fair in regards to the Dwarves - I was aiming to set up a tragic vibe, i.e. despite all their efforts, the dwarves have only been able to achieve temporary or pyrrhic victories. Any suggestions on how to phrase it better?

I think it would be better if you explained exactly what you explained to me in a clear and honest way in the main text or in a separate ending line: and, despite all their efforts, the dwarves have only been able to achieve temporary or pyrrhic victories.

[curious-puzzle]

And updated blurbs! Well, updated Dwarf and Forged, the rest are about the same:

Spoiler: Humans

Show

If humans once ruled this world, those days are long past. Their kingdoms shattered, their gods slain, humanity hangs on by ragged nails and cracked teeth. But they still endure, fighting for whatever scraps they can claim.

The Day of Three Sorrows destroyed the ancestral seat of humans, broke the back of the empire that had grown and swelled around it, and murdered the gods who guided and protected it. The survivors fled and scattered to all corners of the world, desperate to somehow escape the end of everything they had known.

But 300 years later the race of man still stands. Whether a penniless child of refugees struggling in the bloated cities, a vagabond fighting for survival in the wilderness, or a mercenary killing for coin, humanity continues to fight against all odds.

Spoiler: Dwarves

Show

Dwarves live their lives by three tenets.
Loyalty to one's lord.
Honor to one's ancestors.
Duty to one's people.

Such iron dedication has enabled the dwarven race to survive a state of near-constant warfare for ages...but one could argue this has cost the dwarves greatly. Individual expression and drive is crushed by the necessity of the many, and dreams of the future are discarded in favor of obsession with the past and present. Despite such sacrifice and bloodshed, though, the dwarves have only managed temporary and pyrrhic victories against their immortal foes.

For millennia the Undead hordes have surged from the deepest pits of the world; for every ghoul and phantom granted true death, another is raised from those who fall battling against the tide of undeath. There will be no cessation or surrender from the dwarven people, though. That is not their way.

Spoiler: Forged

Show

Given life by the eldritch Creation Forges scattered throughout the underground, the Forged are sapient and unique constructs who somehow possess souls - or at least something so close as to be indistinguishable.

The Dwarves were the ones to discover a gigantic Grand Creation Forge centuries ago. After managing to activate and control it, they used the Forged as little better than slaves, expendable untiring weapons of war. After all, even a sword that spoke was still just a tool to be used.

It took an act of unmatched bravery and compassion by an unnamed Forged, but the events during the Battle of Singing Steel reshaped the two races and what they meant to one another. No longer property, the Forged were free to choose their own path. Some stayed and continued fighting alongside their former masters, and ever so slowly the jagged bitterness between the two was hammered into unbreakable respect. Others ventured out into the world, causing ripples with every step.

The Grand Forge the dwarves found has been lost and reclaimed over the years of roiling and shifting combat underneath the surface, and damaged to the point that it can no longer produce legions of gleaming warriors at will. But now another Great Forge has been unearthed, on the other side of the world.

Spoiler: Tieflings

Show

Tieflings were once shunned and persecuted for the Fiendish taint lurking in their bloodlines. Outcasts struggling at the fringes of society, many felt a strange calling to travel northwest, to the swamps. There they began to eke out an existence for themselves, away from the judgements of their progenitors.

There is no small amount of irony that 300 years after the empire of humanity was utterly destroyed, the kingdom built by the exiled Tieflings is one of the most powerful and stable in the world. 7 great Houses rule secular concerns, while 7 grand Choirs of deities preside over matters of faith and mystery. Indeed, there are more Gods, Powers and Dominions in the capital than any other - perhaps their otherworldly heritage calls to those in search of worship.

But despite their cosmopolitan outlook and mercantile attitude, one should never forget where the heritage of Tieflings originates. And there are whispers that the deepest, darkest parts of those swamps hide the secret of what those families did so long ago in exchange for their kingdom.

Spoiler: Elves

Show

Eyes ever cast upwards to the heavens, the Elves are seekers of esoteric mysteries. Dissatisfied with physical existence, they strive to unlock the secrets of the universe, particularly that of Light and Radiance. Such focus (bordering on obsession) has granted elves a mastery with magic beyond any other race, but Radiance is not gentle to mortal flesh or minds. Its corrosive touch has weakened an elf’s grasp to the mortal coil in more ways than one.

Beyond their hunger for arcane knowledge, elves are guided by their past. Even more than the dwarves, for the elves’ ancestors still walk among them. Slipping their physical shell, they are infused with so much Light that they become beings of pure will and energy. These Deathless advise and direct their physical descendants, as well as creating and empowering the Risen, their undying champions. Woe to those who imply any similarities between undead and either the Risen or Deathless, however. The undead are anathema, and such an insult is more often than not worth the life of whoever utters it.

But can beings who cast their mortality aside as a stunted failure truly be trusted to guide the living?

Spoiler: Orcs

Show

Dismissed by many as primitive savages, the tribes of the orcs have held to their traditions for countless generations. Peerless survivors, they can live and even thrive in conditions that others would not even attempt. No expedition to the wilds would regret hiring an orcish guide - they have an uncanny connection to the land and its ferocious inhabitants.
Even this connection has not been enough to spare the orcs from the touch of Radiance, however. Slowly but surely they have become more prone to violence, more likely to dismiss reason and calm. The other races have only exacerbated this, clashing with tribes in their search for resources and relics. Forced to stray from ancestral hunting lands, the orc tribes have been forced to combat starvation, vicious monsters that were normally avoided, and near-open warfare against the predation of these ’wall-dwellers.’

As their numbers dwindle and tribes fracture, it remains to be seen if the Orcish way of life will survive.

Spoiler: Halfbreeds

Show

he adaptability of humans is truly remarkable, extending even to their ability to reproduce with other races. Tieflings are the epitome of this, claiming to be an improvement over their progenitors in every way. But other unions deserve attention also - half-elves and half-orcs in particular. Their circumstances all differ, but all hold the potential for true greatness.

Half-orcs are the children of two fallen races, and they will be either the salvation or doom of both their parents. Possessing both the ambition of humans and the might of orcs, these driven individuals thrive in adversity. Some communities embrace them as a new hope, while others fear them as a sign of a future with no place for the old ways. It is no surprise that many travel into the wilds to face their future head-on.

Often the children of tragic love, half-elves are set apart from both of their parents’ people. Romances of star-crossed lovers are popular amongst both races, but almost all end poorly. Humans warn that elves are too much like the stars they admire; beautiful, but simply too cold, distant, and even alien in the end. Elves, for their part, caution that humans are fire - rapid, passionate, and entirely capable of saving your life in one breath and consuming you utterly in the next. Such offspring feel out of step with both parent races, and the driving force behind many half-elf adventurers is finding somewhere they belong

The motives of Celestials are nigh-inscrutable to mortals, and those who inherit their blood seem to share this trait. Unlike the widespread Tieflings (who have fully become their own species), Aasimars (or Angel-blooded) are exceptionally rare. “Blessed” with strange visions and portents, the burden of their celestial heritage is rarely escaped.

Now to do a "what the heck are the Words you Keep Capitalizing for some Reason?" summary, for stuff like Light, Dark, Radiance, etc.

[curious-puzzle]

And now an intro snippet, along with the "important Words & meanings." Any thoughts & opinions on the length, flow, tone, and interest level would again be appreciated!

Spoiler: Intro snippet

Show

Surrounded by her fallen comrades, the dwarven warrior flicks the gore off her blade and tightens her grip. Hissing ghouls clamber over the dead, inexorably swarming towards the last defender between them and the tunnel leading to the city.

The Tiefling wanderer clears his throat, mind racing for which song to play. The fey court watches eagerly, and he stridently ignores how sharp their teeth and claws look...as well as the messy remains of the poor soul who “auditioned” just before him.

Packs laden with treasure, the band of scavengers run for their lives. Lungs and legs burning, they scramble for the cavern entrance at the bottom of the valley. Trees tremble and the wind howls as the Radiance storm descends on them.

The mercenaries eye each other as the villagers flee to their homes. Doors lock and shutters slam as the eerily thick mist envelops the fishing village. Guttural chanting begins to echo from seemingly all directions, and out on the water, the prow of a raiding ship cuts through the fog.

Spoiler: What the heck sort of world is this?

Show

It is a world of Frontiers, Adversity, and Disparity.

Frontiers: There are precious few “tamed” regions. Even the greatest cities have their borders constantly pushed and encroached on by the wild. Destructive storms and bizarre magic reshape the landscape, wiping away established trade routes and roads. They also can reveal troves of valuable resources and plunder, waiting to be seized by those bold and strong enough.

Adversity: Conflict is ever-present and inescapable. Settlements battle with raiders, bandits, and each other for resources. Creeds and religions call for the death of non-believers. Different peoples and races spill blood far too readily. Even the world itself seems to lash out with Radiance-twisted monstrosities, mercurial fey, and disastrous weather.

Disparity: Light and Dark. Life and Death. The cities and the wild. The Spirit World and the Physical. This is a world of stark differences, and the friction between these disparities twists and shapes everything. Overcoming these differences is what separates those who thrive in this world from those who fall victim.

Spoiler: Important terms and definitions

Show

Light and Dark: Pure primordial energies of creation and dissolution Portals of Light and Dark pour forth from the north and south Poles, shaping and warping the geography & weather.

Light is heat, life, growth, expansion and complexity. Magic that creates something usually taps into Light, whether that creation is an explosion of flame, a summoned servant, or an idea in someone’s mind that wasn’t there before. Too little Light, and new life cannot come forth. Too much Light, and it corrupts, overwhelms, and ultimately destroys.

Dark is cold, entropy, simplification, division, and definition by absence. Magic that removes or curtails is associated with Darkness; tearing the life force out of a living being, binding a spirit, or clouding memories. Too little Dark, and life warps and grows rampant. Too much Dark is oblivion.

Radiance is the fallout from the pure Light at the north pole, spilling across the world in waves. It triggers unrestrained growth, eventually mutating and overwhelming. Radiance storms create insane monsters, wild magic, and rampant chaos. Weaker Radiance storms are wild and unpredictable with pulses of bizarre light - in the far north, the worst storms are sheets of golden-green energy that crash and flow through the air, reducing anything in its path to dust. Most settlements are at least partially underground due to this; the larger / more advanced often also have relics that help block Radiance

The Spirit World: Also known as The Ascendant Plane, this is the counterpart to the Physical realm / Material plane. An endless void of burning light and icy shadow, interspersed with floating monoliths of stone and crystal. A realm of will and power, creatures with enough of the latter can use the former to carve out their own world. Souls travel the Spirit World before birth and after death, grand shining ribbons zealously guarded by the Celestial angels. Hungry Fiends, malevolent spirits, and stranger things all attempt to prey upon these souls,eager to turn them to their own ends.

The Sorrows: Immortal monstrosities that have plagued the world for millennia. As much catastrophes as creatures, the three Sorrows have murdered species, nations, and gods alike. Appearing at random, the Sorrows have never been destroyed; only sometimes driven back at immense cost. Their absence for the past 300 years has brought both furtive hope and growing dread in equal measure.

Spoiler: The Hungry Dream, Sorrow of the Earth

Show

heralded by an eerie magenta glow seen even by the blind, a force that claims, controls, and consumes all it encounters. Only colorless rot and dust is left behind

Spoiler: The Tidebreaker, Sorrow of the Sea

Show

A pelagic nightmare of titanic proportions, the world itself trembles in its wake. Even the hint of its presence can drive the living mad with fear

Spoiler: The Ruinstorm, Sorrow of the Sky

Show

An endless storm that shatters the very stone. And at its heart, a mountain that walks

Spoiler: Primary playable races (as above, just including to have it all together)

Show

Spoiler: Humans

Show

If humans once ruled this world, those days are long past. Their kingdoms shattered, their gods slain, humanity hangs on by ragged nails and cracked teeth. But they still endure, fighting for whatever scraps they can claim.

The Day of Three Sorrows destroyed the ancestral seat of humans, broke the back of the empire that had grown and swelled around it, and murdered the gods who guided and protected it. The survivors fled and scattered to all corners of the world, desperate to somehow escape the end of everything they had known.

But 300 years later the race of man still stands. Whether a penniless child of refugees struggling in the bloated cities, a vagabond fighting for survival in the wilderness, or a mercenary killing for coin, humanity continues to fight against all odds.

Spoiler: Dwarves

Show

Dwarves live their lives by three tenets.
Loyalty to one's lord.
Honor to one's ancestors.
Duty to one's people.

Such iron dedication has enabled the dwarven race to survive a state of near-constant warfare for ages...but one could argue this has cost the dwarves greatly. Individual expression and drive is crushed by the necessity of the many, and dreams of the future are discarded in favor of obsession with the past and present. Despite such sacrifice and bloodshed, though, the dwarves have only managed temporary and pyrrhic victories against their immortal foes.

For millennia the Undead hordes have surged from the deepest pits of the world; for every ghoul and phantom granted true death, another is raised from those who fall battling against the tide of undeath. There will be no cessation or surrender from the dwarven people, though. That is not their way.

Spoiler: Forged

Show

Given life by the eldritch Creation Forges scattered throughout the underground, the Forged are sapient and unique constructs who somehow possess souls - or at least something so close as to be indistinguishable.

The Dwarves were the ones to discover a gigantic Grand Creation Forge centuries ago. After managing to activate and control it, they used the Forged as little better than slaves, expendable untiring weapons of war. After all, even a sword that spoke was still just a tool to be used.

It took an act of unmatched bravery and compassion by an unnamed Forged, but the events during the Battle of Singing Steel reshaped the two races and what they meant to one another. No longer property, the Forged were free to choose their own path. Some stayed and continued fighting alongside their former masters, and ever so slowly the jagged bitterness between the two was hammered into unbreakable respect. Others ventured out into the world, causing ripples with every step.

The Grand Forge the dwarves found has been lost and reclaimed over the years of roiling and shifting combat underneath the surface, and damaged to the point that it can no longer produce legions of gleaming warriors at will. But now another Great Forge has been unearthed, on the other side of the world.

Spoiler: Tieflings

Show

Tieflings were once shunned and persecuted for the Fiendish taint lurking in their bloodlines. Outcasts struggling at the fringes of society, many felt a strange calling to travel northwest, to the swamps. There they began to eke out an existence for themselves, away from the judgements of their progenitors.

There is no small amount of irony that 300 years after the empire of humanity was utterly destroyed, the kingdom built by the exiled Tieflings is one of the most powerful and stable in the world. 7 great Houses rule secular concerns, while 7 grand Choirs of deities preside over matters of faith and mystery. Indeed, there are more Gods, Powers and Dominions in the capital than any other - perhaps their otherworldly heritage calls to those in search of worship.

But despite their cosmopolitan outlook and mercantile attitude, one should never forget where the heritage of Tieflings originates. And there are whispers that the deepest, darkest parts of those swamps hide the secret of what those families did so long ago in exchange for their kingdom.

Spoiler: Elves

Show

Eyes ever cast upwards to the heavens, the Elves are seekers of esoteric mysteries. Dissatisfied with physical existence, they strive to unlock the secrets of the universe, particularly that of Light and Radiance. Such focus (bordering on obsession) has granted elves a mastery with magic beyond any other race, but Radiance is not gentle to mortal flesh or minds. Its corrosive touch has weakened an elf’s grasp to the mortal coil in more ways than one.

Beyond their hunger for arcane knowledge, elves are guided by their past. Even more than the dwarves, for the elves’ ancestors still walk among them. Slipping their physical shell, they are infused with so much Light that they become beings of pure will and energy. These Deathless advise and direct their physical descendants, as well as creating and empowering the Risen, their undying champions. Woe to those who imply any similarities between undead and either the Risen or Deathless, however. The undead are anathema, and such an insult is more often than not worth the life of whoever utters it.

But can beings who cast their mortality aside as a stunted failure truly be trusted to guide the living?

Spoiler: Orcs

Show

Dismissed by many as primitive savages, the tribes of the orcs have held to their traditions for countless generations. Peerless survivors, they can live and even thrive in conditions that others would not even attempt. No expedition to the wilds would regret hiring an orcish guide - they have an uncanny connection to the land and its ferocious inhabitants.
Even this connection has not been enough to spare the orcs from the touch of Radiance, however. Slowly but surely they have become more prone to violence, more likely to dismiss reason and calm. The other races have only exacerbated this, clashing with tribes in their search for resources and relics. Forced to stray from ancestral hunting lands, the orc tribes have been forced to combat starvation, vicious monsters that were normally avoided, and near-open warfare against the predation of these ’wall-dwellers.’

As their numbers dwindle and tribes fracture, it remains to be seen if the Orcish way of life will survive.

Spoiler: Halfbreeds

Show

The adaptability of humans is truly remarkable, extending even to their ability to reproduce with other races. Tieflings are the epitome of this, claiming to be an improvement over their progenitors in every way. But other unions deserve attention also - half-elves and half-orcs in particular. Their circumstances all differ, but all hold the potential for true greatness.

Half-orcs are the children of two fallen races, and they will be either the salvation or doom of both their parents. Possessing both the ambition of humans and the might of orcs, these driven individuals thrive in adversity. Some communities embrace them as a new hope, while others fear them as a sign of a future with no place for the old ways. It is no surprise that many travel into the wilds to face their future head-on.

Often the children of tragic love, half-elves are set apart from both of their parents’ people. Romances of star-crossed lovers are popular amongst both races, but almost all end poorly. Humans warn that elves are too much like the stars they admire; beautiful, but simply too cold, distant, and even alien in the end. Elves, for their part, caution that humans are fire - rapid, passionate, and entirely capable of saving your life in one breath and consuming you utterly in the next. Such offspring feel out of step with both parent races, and the driving force behind many half-elf adventurers is finding somewhere they belong

The motives of Celestials are nigh-inscrutable to mortals, and those who inherit their blood seem to share this trait. Unlike the widespread Tieflings (who have fully become their own species), Aasimars (or Angel-blooded) are exceptionally rare. “Blessed” with strange visions and portents, the burden of their celestial heritage is rarely escaped.

As you can probably tell, I've magpie-style swiped a bunch of ideas I find cool and slammed them together. Hopefully they have interesting enough tweaks and twists to be entertaining rather than clunky.