Races
Humans
Humans of Olindi are derived from four main stocks.
Maranite
Lauretan
Kanite
Eldortan
Maranites
The Maranite blood yields a dark-skinned, tall, and muscular human. Maranites primarily settled in Mysteria though their stock can be found in Messabia and the Isle of the Western Breeze. They are thought to have come from the uncharted southern hemisphere many eons ago.
Lauretans
Lauretans are fair-skinned northerners. The Lauretans currently dominate Haldizia and Cardonavia. Their influence can also be seen in the Kingdom of Kronyth, Messabia, and Lumerok.
Kanites
The Kanites came from the West, past the mountains. They are very dark-skinned, almost pitch. They almost always have dark hair and eyes. Their eyes are slightly narrower to other strains of man. Starting in the 2nd century A.B., the Kanites began to migrate East, which grew tensions with the already well-established Lauretan clans. The conflict came to a head in the third century A.B. where the Kanite War sent the Kanites back West. A splinter group of Kanites fled to the Eldurian penninsula, where they share blood with the Eldortans, who were already established there but who saw no reason to repel those exiled.
Eldortans
The Eldortans also came from the Southwest. Their stock is seen in what was Colderia, the southern deserts, Idion, Isacus, and Messabia. They resemble the Maranites but their skin is not as dark and they are slightly smaller, on average, to their deep-south cousins.
Dwarves
Mountain Dwarves (like Fredli, the most common dwarf)
Hill (darker skin, more common in cities)
Glacier Dwarves (Rare)
A Dave Perspective (7/2/97)
I see humans as greedy and always wanting to get one up on other humans. They possess a diverse culture, and do not give much thought to the community as a whole. It takes a great human leader to form a nation, and he must struggle constantly to keep it together.
I see elves as the happy-go-lucky frolicking independant type, generally helping those in need and sticking within their own families, local communities, and traditions. They don't form true nations, but exist in a fashion similar to the American Indians of old--as peoples.
I see dwarves as more of one BIG family, always looking out for one another because generally noone else will. Each hold and community would retainsit's individuality and territory, but not at the expense of other dwarves. Their culture is universal, for they are rooted simply to the mountains, while the elves claim the seas, skies, and forests, and the humans claim everything in between, making for diversity between lands and peoples. Yet to drink with a dwarf from one hold is to drink with a dwarf from any other. They generally don't desire lands or power beyond their immediate reach, but do demand the respect of their neighbors. The philosophy of the dwarves would be "Respect the mountain, respect the people (dwarves), and respect those who respect you." Kinholds would be an extension of all this, dwarves looking out for other dwarves, in order to preserve and protect another arm of the family, no matter how small or how far.
That's just how I envision things on Primordia. Just look at how independant and different OUR resident elves are. . . If we had another dwarven player in this campaign we'd be together all the way, sharing ideas and philosophies, as well as followers, hold plans, war tactics, etc. We don't discuss or ponder the varieties of trees, the tides of the waters, or the mysteries of magic; to us battle is furious, rock is hard, drink is good, and women are women. Dwarves don't think. We know! Additional Information
Elves
Moon/Silver/Grey (commonly called "high")
Wood/Copper/Sylvan (commonly called "Wood Elves")
Gold (Rare, found only in ancient cities)
Shadow (Rare, origins are sketchy)
Drow
Gnomes
Rock (most common on Tarria)
Forest (most common on the Andrian Isles; Daelandra, Baelandra, etc);
Halflings
On Primordia these are more like Tolkien halflings and less like Kender (no Lightfoots)
Hairfoot
Tallfellow
Stout
Languages
Common is a trade language originally developed by traders traveling between the Western Plainsman and the Eastern Kingdoms. It is a combination of dialects of Lauretian and Eldortian. Most Lauretan and Eldortan countries speak Common, but it is not uncommon for the local dialects (there are many) to be the one used in business and in writing.