The information on this page supercedes the descriptions of the races found in the Dungeons and Dragons books. In my Flanaess, Demi-Humans are sufficiently different from each other so as to be recognisable based upon description. That is an important fact for players to notice. Please use this page as your reference guide for your Player Characters.

Demi-Humans[edit]

Racial Affinity for Specific Class Archtype[edit]

Demi-Humans lack the all-around abilities of the Humans to be proficient in every classification of adventurer. They are proficient in only certain, characteristic category classifications. For example, the Dwarves, well-known for their lack of magical inclination no not use magic.

Similarly the oldest of character races, the Elves, have no need of a cleric since each individual worships nature directly. Their immediate contact with nature is through magic and the structured form of ceremonial magic means they have no need for a cleric class to be their intermediary with nature. Ceremonial magic is a proficiency with Elves, who shun the concepts of sorcerery, itself another spiritual concept based on intermediacy. So Elves follow neither a clerical nor a sorcerer's path.

These racial strengths and weakness suggest some true stereotypes with classes within the races. Favoured Class By Race

Dwarf	Elf	Gnome	Half-Elf	Halfling	Human
Fighter	Wizard	Sorcerer	Druid	Rogue	Any

Class Category Predispositions by Race

Character Class (Max Level)	Dwarf	Elf	Gnome	Half-Elf	Halfling	Human
Barbarian	Yes (U)	Wild Elf Only (7)	No	No	No	Yes (U)
Bard	Multi-Class Only	Multi-Class Only	Multi-Class Only	Multi-Class Only	Multi-Class Only	Multi-Class Only
Cleric	Yes (12)	No	No	Yes (7)	Yes (7)	Yes (U)
Druid	No	Yes (8)	No	Yes (U)	No	Yes (U)
Fighter	Yes (16)	Yes (10)	Yes (10)	Yes (10)	Yes (4)	Yes (U)
Monk	No	Yes (12)	No	No	No	Yes (U)
Paladin	No	No	No	No	No	Yes (U)
Ranger	No	Yes (19)	No	Yes (U)	Yes (17)	Yes (U)
Rogue a.k.a. Thief	Yes (12)	Yes (12)	Yes (9)	Yes (12)	Yes (U)	Yes (U)
Sorcerer a.k.a Chaos Mage	No	No	Yes (U)	Yes (10)	Yes (10)	Yes (U)
Wizard a.k.a Ceremonial Mage	No	Yes (U)	No	Yes (10)	Yes (10)	Yes (U)

Rare

U = Unlimited class advancement.

Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings all continue to advance in Saving Throw Bonuses as if they had unlimited class level progression. Their ongoing Saving Throw bonus progression is based on the continued development of their superior resistances rather than due to any class advancement.

Physical Appearance[edit]

Physical Characteristics of Demi Human Races

Race and Subrace	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	Life Expectancy
=Dwarven= Hill Dwarf (70%)	Average Height 4'0" (122CM); Weight: Stocky 150lbs or greater (68Kg). Typically wear cotton with rugged leather outer garments such as long coats, belts, pouches, boots and backpacks. They prefer deep earth tone colours: dirt brown, stone grey, red earth, and marble yellow as well as royal blue and deep purple.	Thick, dry skin, leathery in texture, ranges in colour from red, when flaking on hands and face, to a healthy feldspar or silvery blue.	Large square face and flat head. Eyes spread far apart either side a large nose. Square-jawed, mouth full of large. thick molars.	Coarse hair ranges in colour from dark brown to crimson red, worn long, greased and braided into thick beards as one design.	Caramel to Dark Brown, Hunter Green or Deep Black.	Mode Average: 350 or older.
=Dwarven= Mountain Dwarf (30%)	Average Height: 4'5" (137cm); Weight: Hardy and strong 226lbs. (103Kg) Outter garments from skins indigenous to animals living in mountainous regions such as goat, big cats, and bear. Thick, unfinished tunics, sweaters, trousers, leggings and backpacks are made of wool, tend to be simple and undyed.	Thick craigy skin tends to be tanner in colour, like deer hide.	Large square face and flat head. Eyes spread far apart either side a large nose. Square-jawed, mouth full of large. thick molars.	Coarse hair ranges in colour from strawberry blonde to sandy brown. Style is unkept to shoulder length. Beards are chest length and braiding is simple not intricate as with other Dwarves.	Caramel to Dark Brown, Green Marble or Deep Emerald.	Mode Average: 400 years or older.
=Elven= High Elf (65%)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Elven= Wood Elf (30)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Elven= Grey 'Faerie' Elf (5%)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Half-Elven=	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Gnome=	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Halfling= Hairfeet (85%)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Halfling= Stout (12%)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A
=Halfling= Tallfellow (3%)	Distinguishing Characteristics & Traits	Complexion	Facial Features	Hair Colour	Eye Colour	A

General Racial Attitudes Towards Others[edit]

In a recent survey on racial attitudes, the inhabitants of Flanaess were asked the question, '"On a scale from 1 - 10, where 1 is the lowest ranking and 10 is the highest ranking, how highly do you rank your fellow inhabitants of Flanaess?"' Based on survey size, results are accurate within a margin of 0.001% error 19.75 times out of 20. Human sampling includes subgroups from every country in Flanaess. Each demi-human race considered without subgroupings.

Racial Preferences: A Numerical General Overview

Player Races	Dwarven	Elven	Gnome	Half-Elven	Hobbit/Halfling	Half-Orc	Human
Dwarven	10	9	9	7	4 (Stouts +3)	0	3
Elven	7	10	4	1	4 (Tallfellows +1)	0	3
Gnome	9	3	10	9	9	0	7
Half-Elven	3	2	8	10	7	1	9
Hobbit/Halfling	7	7	7	7	10	0	7
Human	6	3	6	4	7	0	10 to 2

Racial Preferences: A 1-10 Scaled View

Prefered	Goodwill	Tolerated and Accepted	Neutral but Suspicious	Antipathy	Hostile
10	8-9	4-7	2-3	1	0
Open, Welcoming and Relaxed	Peaceable,and Friendly	Indifferent and Impartial	Careful, Guarded, Distrusting	Closed; Strong Dislike	Hatred, Rancorous

To accentuate that the term "Halfling" is actually offensive, D&D Halflings are referred to as Hobbits (above). The term "Halfling" is derogatory and applies to any mixed race. Hobbits accept the appellation. Halflings and "half-breeds" prefer to be identified with one race or the other but would rather not be called half-anything. For medieval thinking this is not a racist/nationalist attitude but a puritanical one. It is unappreciated by any person being labelled but it is common practice and not considered impolite by the standards of the time. It is uncommon courtesy to refrain from such labels, however, and will be instantly recognised and appreciated.

A half-elf may declare him or herself to be Human and try to hide his or her Elven parentage. Note, however, it would be harder for a half-breed to hide in a Demi-human community.

Hobbits have accepted the term "halfling" for their race name without harbouring a grudge on the one (typically a Human) who uses it to refer to a Hobbit. The Hobbit attitude in this regard is to inwardly condescend to the offender regarding such a person to be uneducated and uncouth.

Races that are Hostle to each other will attack on sight or otherwise seek the other's destruction.

Dwarves[edit]

1 in 10 of Flanaess’ civilized population is a Hill (70%) or a Mountain (30%) Dwarf.

Physical Identification[edit]

The Dwarven skeletal structure is blockish, and big boned in healthy specimens. Dwarves have short legs and slightly longer arms. Their arms hang from broad shoulders down to where their fingertips can touch their knees. They are stocky and walk erect, like thick little men. They are between 4' to 4'5" (122 - 137cm) in height and between 150 to 226lbs (68 - 103kg) in weight. They are surprisingly agile in movement but not graceful, tending to throw their weight when they walk rather than carry it. Their skulls are proportionately larger than a Human's and flat. Their eyes are spread far apart on either side of a large nose. They are square-jawed. A Dwarven mouth has larger teeth, all thick molars.

Hill Dwarves’ skin ranges in colour from red, when flaking on hands and face, to a healthy feldspar or silvery blue. Their dry skin is thick and leathery in texture, possibly as a result of living in the deep heat of the subterranean. Mountain Dwarves are less pale in comparison to their deeper dwelling cousins. Their tough skin tends to be tanner in colour, almost like deer hide.

The hair of Hill Dwarves is coarse and ranges in colour from dark brown to crimson red. Mountain Dwarves’ coarse hair is coloured lighter ranging from strawberry blonde to sandy brown.

To protect their skin from the boiling heat far below the earth’s crust, Hill Dwarves grow their hair and thick beards long and they grease and braid both their hair and their beards, sometimes into one braid design. This can create the illusion that both beard and hair are darker and grow together as one and the same.

The popular misconception that all Dwarven women grow beards is often due to an intricate beading of their long greased hair worn down the front and back. Another myth is that Dwarves, when shaved and naked, are indistinguishable from stone. Wisely, no one living has attempted to prove either hypotheses.

Music, Dress and Customs[edit]

Dwarves enjoy percussive music with heavy resonating drumbeats mixed with the sounds of wind instruments such as shrill horns, brass trumpets, and bellowing tuba. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPcnJZYERhQ

Hill Dwarves

Hill Dwarves prefer cotton with rugged leather outer garments such as long coats, belts, pouches, boots and backpacks. They prefer deep earth tone colours: dirt brown, stone grey, red earth, and marble yellow as well as royal blue and deep purple. The common weapon of a Hill Dwarf is a one-handed Warhammer slung over the shoulder or the two-handed, dual weapon, Dwarven Urgrosh – so large it can only be strapped across a Dwarven back. The Urgrosh is an excellent weapon against charging opponents. A heavy crossbow is a common ranged weapon.

Outside of old-time Grasslanders who are responsible for Dwarven settlements above stone, Hill Dwarves tend to be more unfriendly towards outsiders and certainly more unwelcoming towards those who leave them alone (such as Elves). This reflects attitudes of Stoneholders who rarely leave their impressive subterranean cities and mines.

Mountain Dwarves

Mountain Dwarves prefer outer garments made from skins indigenous to animals living in mountainous regions such as goat, big cats, and bear. Clans may pen goats and sheep for milk and wool, which they weave into thick, unfinished tunics, sweaters, trousers, leggings and backpacks. They tend to colour their fabrics very rarely as dye ingredients are traditionally a scarce commodity at higher altitudes. Clothing that has been coloured are prized possessions. Common weapons include the one-handed Dwarven Warhammer and the famous Dwarven War-Axe. Simple wooden stone-tipped spears are common ranged weapons.

Mountain Dwarves are friendlier towards people who venture into the mountains, often acting as guides. They enjoy the role of advisor to travellers. On rare occasion, and if the weather is unsuitable even for a Mountain Dwarf, outsiders may be invited into the upper city or the mines for shelter. Few, if any outsider, are ever invited into the city centre proper.

Habitat[edit]

Dwarven folk are mostly encountered in rocky, hilly terrain, though Mountain Dwarves are more often encountered at higher elevations. These are study and rugged folk who hold together in clans that are neither mutually exclusive nor hostile to one another but they are competitive.

Rite of Passage[edit]

Upon reaching maturity, a Dwarf is required to undergo a Rite of Passage and live above ground for a period of time. This has led to the establishment of Dwarven settlements in atypical places, associated with the clans that send their youth topside, and the formation of countries within Flanaess' political framework. The Rite requires Dwarves to "gain an understanding of trees above their roots" by direct experience of the Grassworld.

Grassworld settlements are typically youth-oriented but older Dwarves help run the settlements and form the core of its leadership.

After completion of the Rite, the majority of Dwarves return underground. However, some few remain above stone to assist the settlements, seek political office above ground as official legates or simply seek their fortune as merchants, builders or adventurers.

Celebrated Facts[edit]

Dwarves are non-magical by their nature. Neither do they readily use magical spells nor are they easily susceptible to its power.

Dwarves are known for their ability to see in total darkness (up to 60’) and they possess powerful upper body strength, particularly in their arms. Their physical strength and their tradition as a disciplined Spartan people, combine in Dwarven defenders making them formidable opponents in hand-to-hand combat, often encountered in highly defendable positions due to their slower movement.

The cast iron quality of Dwarven stomachs is a widely reported tale of Dwarves. The race exhibits superior constitutions in handling both food and drink from the exotic to the deadly poisonous.

They are world-renowned engineers, stonemasons and miners of legendary proportion, able to sense slope and depth underground as well as building detail in stonework. Their cities are one of the wonders of the Flanaess, built deep into Oerth's bedrock 1,000's of feet below the surface of the ground onto carefully surveyed subterranean terraces. Their dwellings and underground mines form layers of multi-levelled stepped terraces that are sinewed by roads cut into the towering rock, running deep into the earth, and often lit in a variety of colours by glowing florescent fungi.

The predominant feature of Dwarven architecture is the use of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian fluted columns, both for decoration and for function. Columns and design indicate the status of a building for example. The practical designs of Dwarven dwellings tend to have stylish immovable furnishings, which are cut directly from the stone interior. Moveable furnishings are made from wrought iron or other metals easily mined from the deep such as brass, though it is possible to find furniture of highly polished wood made from the roots of dead trees in the homes of nobles and merchants. Despite the high status associated with wooden furnishings, Dwarves have never become adept wood at carving. Rarely will furnishings from the outside be seen underground. While the former articles created of wood enjoy a status from their novelty, their owners would revere these latter pieces.

Game Mechanics[edit]

Like all Demi-Human races, Dwarves are limited to their progress in classes where they have less affinity. They may only progress to the 12th level as clerics or rogues, and to the 16th level as fighters. Rarely do Dwarves become legendary barbarians but in this class they have unlimited potential for progress.

Dwarves continue to advance in Saving Throw Bonuses as if they had unlimited class level progression. Their ongoing Saving Throw bonus progression is based on their continued development of a superior constitution rather than due to any class advancement.

Otherwise, the race is unchanged from official guidebook.

Naming Conventions[edit]

Types of stone

Metal

Iron working

brute strength

Typical Dwarven Names

Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Name Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic

Elven, 2 in 100 is an Elf of one sort or another[edit]

Elves represent a mere 2% of the entire population of The Flanaess. SOMETHING ABOUT ELVES

elves high elf the most common elf.

TYPES OF ELVES: GREY SYLVAN WILD

Physical Identification[edit]

High Elves’

Grey Elves’

Sylvan Elves’

Wild Elves’

Music, Dress and Customs[edit]

High Elves’

Grey Elves’

Sylvan Elves’

Wild Elves’

Habitat[edit]

High Elves’

Grey Elves’

Sylvan Elves’

Wild Elves’

Rite of Passage[edit]

Celebrated Facts[edit]

Game Mechanics[edit]

Unchanged from rulebook

Like all Demi-Human races, Elves are limited to their progress in classes where they have less affinity. They may progress only to the 8th level as Druids, 10th level as fighters, 12th level as monks or rogues, and to the 19th level as Rangers. Their natural affinity for ceremonial magic allows them unlimited potential as Wizards.

Only Wild Elves may take up the mantle of barbarian and progress is limited to the 7th level of experience

Unlike the other Demi-Humans, Elves do not continue to advance in Saving Throw bonuses beyond the scope of their class limitation.

Otherwise, the race is unchanged from official guidebook.

Naming Conventions[edit]

Typical Elven Names

Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Name Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic
Unisex, Male or Female	Given Name	Shortform or Nickname	Family Name	Characteristic

Half-Elven[edit]

More Elven than Human, and more despised than Humans by Elves for a perceived parental slight on the customs and ores of Elven folk. Elves believe in the separation of the races and Half-Elves, often given the derogatory term "Half-lings" in their Elven nation, are the lowest of the low.

Naming Conventions[edit]

Gnome, 5 in 100 are Gnomes[edit]

Gnomes represent 5% of the total population of The Flanaess. SOMETHING ABOUT GNOMES. gnomes preferred habitation is an area of rolling, rocky hills, well wooded and uninhabited by humans.

Naming Conventions[edit]

Halfling, what we know to be Hobbits, represent 3 in every 100 living in Flanaess[edit]

Halflings represent 3% of the total population of The Flanaess. SOMETHING ABOUT HOBBIT.

Naming Conventions[edit]