Races (5A)
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Demi-humans are humanoids that are generally friendly to humans and on the side of good. Most work well as player characters. Some, with names in italics are odd or uncommon enough that they are not generally suitable as player characters, but may work well in specific campaigns.
Racial Description Page
This page is about a fantasy race from my version of the World of Greyhawk.
- 5A race pages: Humans—Demi-Humans—Exotics.
General Rules
The optional racial modifiers from Tasha's are not used. See Character Creation for what we use instead.
Races with names in italics are generally not suitable to most campaigns, but can fit excellently in some specific setting.
Dwarf
The difference between hill and mountain dwarves is mainly a degree of integration. Hill dwarfs are integrated into the culture of the Flanaess, while mountain dwarfs live more isolated in dwarven mountain fastness'.
Elf
Elves were originally one people, but have descended into tribalism. Because elves magically adapt to their surroundings, the elven tribes are quite different. High elves and wood elves are described in the PHB. Genasi are elves in Greyhawk, which affects their appearance but not much else. New kinds of elves are introduced here.
Elves are physically adult around age 20, but are not considered socially adult until they reach about a century of age. An important reason for this is that it takes a long time to master elven meditation, and elves consider this meditation to be extremely important, and the only way for an elf to remain sane over their long lives. This means elves retain only select memories of their long lives, giving up many mundane details. Gruach put less emphasis on this, but they keep doing it because they value the practical aspects of constant alertness.
- Elves that gain proficiency in the longsword from their specific subrace also gain proficiency with the Sabre.
Grey Elf
Sometimes called Sentry Elves, the Grey Elves are the original elves who lived in mountain fastnesses in what is today the Hellfurnaces. They preserve the curiosity and intellect that originally let them decipher the secrets of magic, but have not undergone the adaptations that other elves have. This may be why they are called grey, as opposed to the green (wood), light (high), brown (wild), or blue (sea) elves. They live in great citadel-cities in fairy, located in strategic locations to guard a planar boundary or to defend against some primordial evil. They come out of their cities to trade, explore, and mingle with high elves and occasionally other people. When seen in the mortal world, they live among and are often mistaken for High Elves. They royal family of Celene are grey elves.
They share the High Elves human skin tones, with eyes and sometimes hair of metallic colors; silver, gold, dark iron, or even metallic blues and greens.
- Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Fey Elf
Eladrin (MToF) The unruly cousins of grey elves, fey are the rustic nobility of faerie. Unlike Grey Elves who isolate themselves in fortresses in fairy, fey elves are fully adopted to fairy and take part in its incessant changes. Fey elves see themselves as the nobility and law-keepers of fairy. To outsiders the laws they keep seem very much their own whims. Some have human colors, others have saturated hues from the wild places they live or change coloration as they change seasons..
High Elf
High Elves are the elite of elves in Greyhawk as far as most people know. Those who know of grey elves may think of them as elven royalty, while the high elves are elven nobility. Neither is really true. High elves often live as a kind of nobility among wood elves, but the gruach disdain them. Still, high elves are the most cosmopolitan of elves, and generally represent all elves in relations with other races.
Wood Elf
Wood Elves are the most common elves in the Flanaess. Like the name indicates, they live in sylvan areas and this colors their culture. The common image of elves as elusive archers clothed in green come from wood elves, and they excel as archers and in guerilla warfare.
Sea Elf
Sea Elf Sea elves withdrew further than most other elves, entering an entirely separate element. The increase in sea travel, along with the advances of undersea evil has ended this isolation. These days they are somewhat coming back into contact with both elves and other surface races. Devotees or Deep Sahelas, a god of uncertain origins or perhaps an ancient sea-elf leader, sea elves emulate their exemplar in his protective aspect, but also in tribalism.
Sky Elf
The winged Avariel are extremely rare, living in the highest peaks of mountains and among the clouds.
Wild Elf
Gruach, the wild elves of Greyhawk, and are considered barbarians by other elves. They live primitive lives accompanied by the animals that taught them to survive in harsh environments. Wild elves are ruddy or swarthy of complexion with wild hair with colors from the environment or from beasts. Many have the eyes, tails, ears, or other features of animals.
Exotic Elves
These variants of elves are often not recognized as elves at all, especially by other elves. Lacking the trance abilities, these variant elves can't center their experiences like elves can, and thus don't live much longer than humans.
Gnome
Gnomes are both reclusive and gregarious at once. They are divided into two groups, but this is by inclination rather than breeding; there is only one races of gnomes, that divides depending on the interests of each individual.
Forest gnomes live in hidden communities in hills and forests, but once contacted these communities are very open and welcoming. Forest gnomes are occasionally mistaken for small wood elves, which pleases gnomes and annoys elves.
Rock gnomes, by far fewer, exist both in these settlements and among other races. Most gnomes living in human cities are rock gnomes. This means that outsiders think gnomes are about half forest and half rock gnomes, the proportion most folk see.
Half-Elf
Half-elves are rare, but their gregariousness makes people think there are more of them than there actually is. They have high status in areas where elves are rare. Such half-elven communities encourage marriage within the community to keep their family's racial status. In areas where elves are common, half-elves are more common, and seen as rogues. Elves generally pity half-elves while humans admire and envy them, but both attitudes can be overcome by half-elven gregariousness.
Half-Orc
Half-orcs are often children of tragedy and war and sometimes abandoned soon after birth. This means that many half-orcs grow up in military or religions institutions. Such an upbringing gives the half-orc a role in society, and acceptance as long as he sticks to that role. Not all half-orcs are raised this way and have a regular upbringing among orcs, human barbarians, or civilized human society. These half-orcs often face more prejudice.
Halfling
Halflings of the Flanaess are related to gnomes and live in similar locations. The variants of halflings are more families or bloodlines in halfling communities and not separate tribes. Halflings living near dwarfs and gnomes tend to be of stouts, tallfellows live around elves, but an outsider couldn't tell them apart. Lightfeet have good relations to humans and often live intermingled, usually in their own quarter of a larger settlement. The halfling part of town naturally welcomes other small creatures, but remarkably often also provides a home for half-breeds; half-orcs, half-elves, and even half-ogres tend to get along with halflings.
Lightfoot
Lightfoot halflings are the most common and most gregarious kind. Many humans think all halflings are lightfeet, as the other kinds are less common and more reclusive. Lightfeet get along with everybody, but particularly with humans and half-breeds.
Stout
Stout halflings are more powerfully built than most halflings and get along well with dwarves and gnomes.
Tallfellow
The rarest halflings, tallfellows are slightly taller than other halflings but slender and in the same weight range. They are fascinated by and get along with elves.
- Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
- Learned. Gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Nature, Performance, Persuasion, or Religion.