I'm close to finishing the section on Player Character Races in Urbis - all that's left are some minor details.
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"Trust not the gnome. Do not listen to his witty banter. What he lacks in stature he more than makes up in malice for humankind. Do not take his money, for then he will cast you into debt and force you to sell your own children into slavery..."
- Anti-gnomish pamphlet, signed by "Veritas"
Dwarves
Dwarves who live in human cities tend to congregate in their own neighborhoods - ghettos that are often walled from the outside world, where non-dwarves are seen with suspicion and all wealth is carefully hidden from outsiders. These areas have often hidden traps and defenses - a prudent measure, since there are infrequent pogroms against the dwarves when the human majority is looking for some kind of scapegoat.
These dwarven enclaves are often ruled a so-called "Hidden King", a dwarf whose actual name is never revealed to non-dwaves. Sometimes they are actual exiled nobles from the dwarven realms, but members of old, established families who have lived in the same city for centuries are more common. In the best case, these dwarves are elder statesmen, judges, and respected advisors to their communities. In the worst case they are nothing more than crime lords who extort their fellow dwarves and ruthlessly crush all dissent. However, the ability of a single ruler to act quickly during times of crisis has proven very useful during pogroms, and thus most dwarves support the system. Hidden Kings are most common in the following regions: Atalus, Desert of Thunder, Flannish Cities, Hobgoblin Dominions, Lake of Dreams, Parginian Rim, and Thenares. In all these regions, dwarves have faced persecution in the past, and might again do so in the future. Hidden Kings also exist in the Eternal Storm and Great Southern Chaos, since the political situation there is too unstable to allow dwarves to prosper without any firm leadership. Elsewhere, dwarven expatriate communities are usually ruled by a Council of Elders, which thanks to the reduced threat from their non-dwarven neighbors can afford to take more time when deciding things.
Another important aspect of expatriate dwarves is from which dwarven realm they can trace their ancestry. Dwarves from Gol Algor tend to me more outgoing and freely mingle with gnomes - and in some cases, even humans who appreciate their skills. Dwarves from Gol Grungor tend to be either staunchly conservative, suspicious of changes and outsiders and usually isolationist from the rest of the city, or (in the case of many younger dwarves who were born and grew up in human cities, as well as expatriate merchants) openly rebellious and contemptous of dwarven traditions. Dwarves from Gol Murak tend to be subdued but hard-working, and usually use a large portion of their income to support the war effort of their distant home.
Usually, the Hidden King is a member of the cultural group whose members represent the majority of dwarves in the city, and often dwarves from a different origin are seen as second class members of the dwarven community. However, in regions where dwarves from two different kingdoms are represented in roughly equal numbers - such as the Hobgoblin Dominions, League of Armach, and Lake of Dreams regions, there might be two (or more!) Hidden Kings in a single city, with their followers locked in vicious fights for dominance.
In theory, all dwarven professions are open to both genders, and a member of a certain profession can be expected to be judged on his merits alone. In practice, because of the low dwarven birth rate, dwarven women are subject to considerable social pressure to marry and give birth to and raise at least two children. After this, their obligations towards the continuation of the dwarven race are considered over, and they are free to pursue a new profession - even divorces are common and acceptable after this stage if the marriage was one of duty and not love (and such a divorce has no effect on the inheritance rules for their children). However, this means that over the spans of their lives, dwarven women tend to have less time to develop their skills in their chosen craft, and rarely rise to the peak of their professions.
Elves
Elves have a lot of advantages over humans and other shorter-lived beings - and they know it. They are longer-lived, usually more attractive, don't need to sleep, are very talented in the magical arts, and the experience accumulated over the centuries of their existence means they can do just about anything, and do it with style.
The attitudes of elves towards humanity varies depending on which elven kingdom they hail from. Typically, elves from Avareensee humans as interesting toys, pets, irrelevant, or a threat to their way of life. Few elves, even those of a generally benevolent nature, take humans seriously on an individual basis - after all, there are hundreds of millions of them around, so how important can a single one be?
Avareen elves travel to human cities and realms more often than one might expect - young elves (usually not more than a century or two of age) go there to celebrate, observe these interesting little creatures, and generally "sow their oats" before moving back to their home and assuming a position of responsibility (as much as there are positions of responsibility in Avareen). There they usually dabble in the arts, warfare, or politics. The intrigues of the latter type should be watched especially careful, for their attitudes can be described as a cat playing with a mouse, a child playing with an ant farm, or a noble playing out war strategies with tin soldiers - except that the tin soldiers are usually flesh-and-blood humans.
Human city dwellers close to Avareen usually view elves with a mixture of awe and distrust. The upper classes especially seek out the elves dwelling in their midst, for the attendance of a well known elven artist can make or break a party.
Elves from Narevoreen tend to see human society as fascinating for its modernity and quick pace, or are resentful for the changes humans have brought to their realm in recent years. Those going abroad tend to be in the former category. On the other hand, many humans from the Parginian Rim have adopted a patronizing attitude thanks to their victory over the Narevoreen navy, while at the same time resenting the long life spans of the elves. Sometimes this has resulted in violence, which has disillusionized the views of some Narevoreen elves on humanity.
Elves from Tuvareen rarely travel abroad, and when they do, it's usually to steal small children. The remainder tend to be exiles - either for some crime, or self-imposed over disagreement with the policies of the kingdom. In either case, they tend to travel far from Tuvareen and keep their distance from human society, either out of guilt or because they expect to be hated for the activities of their kin.
On the whole, elven culture is fairly egalitarian when it comes to gender. Avareen tends towards the matriarchal while Tuvareen towards the patriarchal (with Narevoreen showing no preference), but most positions and professions are open to both men and women, and human attitudes towards gender roles tend to mystify most elves.
Gnomes
On the surface, gnomes seem to have much in common with their cousins, the dwarves. Both tend to value craftsmanship, industriousness, and expertise in their chosen fields. Yet their focus is different - while it may be the greatest praise for a dwarf to be told that he can forge blades exactly as his great-great-grandfather could, gnomes (as they would put it) would never insult their ancestors' memories by trying to slavishly imitate them.
For gnomes, the highest achievement is to come up with something truly original. For this reason, they tend to study a broad range of subjects in their chosen area of expertise, in the hopes that this will provide them with new insights. A true genius, the gnomes say, shouldn't limit himself to what others have created before him. And once they have enough insight to create a masterpiece, they will move on to the next project. While a dwarf weapon smith who creates excellent axes will often be content to create one masterwork axe after another for the rest of his life, a gnome who forges a masterwork axe will either search for ways to make even better axes, or turn his attention to different kinds of blades.
Another important aspect of gnomish culture are their large and convoluted social networks. Every gnome has a long list of friends, acquaintances, and people with similar interests which whom they try to keep in contact as much as circumstances permit, whether through regular activities of a club they are both members in, irregular meetings in pubs or each others' homes, or through lengthy letters they write to each other at every opportunity. While the generally congenial nature of gnomes explains parts of this behavior, it is also true that a large number of favors is traded regularly through this network, which tends to give gnomes a large amount of political power behind the scenes.
Gnome adventurers should pick one area of expertise that they are interested in above all others (or constantly look for such an area if they haven't picked one yet), and miss no opportunities to learn something about it.
Gnomish society does not place any gender restrictions on the kinds of professions gnomes can pursue as such. However, custom and tradition expects men and women to develop seperate and gender-exclusive social networks which only interact at rare festivities and celebrations (which tend to double as match-making events for gnomes coming of age). The purpose behind this is to allow a newly married couple to effectively double their social networks, providing it with a large power base useful for a young family (and indeed, the number of important and influental contacts a gnome has tends to be more important for his marriage prospects than personal wealth). And since there are few settlements where gnomes are in the majority, gnome men and women tend to cluster to professions accepted for their gender by the population of the majority race. Gnomes won't discriminate against, say, a female gnomish soldier, but if the human population of the city she lives in has prejudices against female soldiers, then she won't be able to work effectively in her job and she will make few useful contacts in that profession. Most gnomes try to avoid situations like these and pick their professions accordingly, but if a gnome manages to prosper in a job despite such obstacles, she will get a lot of respect for her shrewdness.
Half-Elves
Half-elves are rare, and thus only rarely create a significant subculture of their own. Most common are half-elves who are the offspring of elven fathers who "rough it" in human cities. Typically, the fathers leave raising the child to the mothers, and give no more thoughts to their offspring beyond giving them a small gift or two at birth - if they even learn of the birth. Elven mothers are rarer - most elven woman know herbs that prevent unwanted pregnancies, and are sure to use them when intermingling with humans. In case when a pregnancy does occur - whether wanted or unwanted - the mother usually retreats to the elven kingdom of her birth. There the child will be raised by the sylvan community. It won't be treated badly, but it will never be regarded as an equal by the elves. As a result, most half-elven children will either form bonds of friendship with the other sylvan races, or leave the forests entirely in search of human companionship. The exception to this is the elven kingdom of Tuvareen, where half-elves are raised as equal members of the tribe - and are, in fact, strongly discouraged from leaving.
In human cities, half-elves share some of the glamour and mystique of elves - most humans tend to assume they have strong mystical powers inherited from their elven ancestry. At the same time, humans are quick to blame them when odd accidents and supernatural incidences occur.
Halflings
Halflings are opportunists. For them, this is a survival strategy - whenever an extended family moves to a city, they usually take jobs in industries that few people pay attention to, but which nevertheless are vital for the smooth functioning of a city. Examples include cleaning clothes, brewing beer, or running inns and pubs. They try their best to get along with everyone, and thus rarely suffer from the kind of pogroms that the isolationist dwarves in their ghettos have to face on a regular basis.
Despite this civil surface, the halflings are hardly obedient subjects of the ruler of a city. When problems arise in the halfling community, they prefer to do things "their own way", and they usually keep an "underground economy" going between them that bypasses the normal trade regulations of a city.
In general, gender roles among halflings are similar to those among humans, with the males tending to the fields or otherwise providing an income for the family through a regular job, while the women tend to home, hearth, and family. However, unlike among humans halflings see this an equal partnership where both man and woman are mutually dependant on the other, rather than the one-sided affair all too common among humans where the woman is expected to be subservient to the man in all things. If a young halfling wants to break out of these gender roles, then he or she will face the disapproval of the older halflings (who are famous gossipers), but little actual penalties, since it is generally expected that he or she will eventually settle down and raise a family like a good halfling is supposed to. The transgressor will only actually be rejected from halfling society if this aberrant behavior continues into middle age.
Half-Orcs
While the days of constant orcish raids are long gone in civilized regions, their legacy remains. Orcish blood is far more common among humans than most people want to realize - especially in the northern climates, where orcs were the most numerous - and frequently the strange rules of heredity produce individuals that fully qualify as half-orcs. These unfortunates are seen as a unpleasant remainder of a barbaric past, and are kept at the bottom of the social pyramid. Indeed, members of the high society frequently believe that most or all people from the lower classes have some orcish blood in them, and caricatures of the poor, criminals, and the violently insane often depict them with distinctly orcish appearances.
Hobgoblins
Hobgoblins are known for their skill in warfare, their iron discipline, their codes of honor, and their cruelty towards those they deem their inferiors. Their fortress cities are a testament to both their determination to survive in a dangerous world, and their organizational skills, and they are counted among the civilized races of Urbis as a result.
Personality: Hobgoblin personality is defined by their codes of honor. Anyone who achieves results is to be treated with respect. Anyone who is unable - or worse, unwilling - to achieve something is beneath contempt. The highest achievements are those revolving around warfare. Any insults to one's achievement, or one's clan, must be dealt with quickly. This is usually done through a challenge - the offended party pits him or his resources (his clan members, hirelings, and property - including slaves) against the offender. The precise details of the challenge are mutually agreed upon before it begins, or else decided by a war council of veterans. It is dishonorable to use more resources than one's opponent, but highly honorable to succeed with less resources. Cheating is considered highly dishonorable, and punished with exile or death.
A hobgoblin's word is his bond. If he has agreed to do something for someone, he will do it or die trying, unless his partner has lied to him about the facts - in which case he will go out of his way to take revenge upon the liar. This trait makes hobgoblins highly desirable as mercenaries.
Most hobgoblins belong to a clan, either by birth or by adoption. They will proudly wear clan insignia and defend their clan's honor with their lives. Sometimes exceptional non-hobgoblins are adopted into a clan, but this is a rare exception.
There is no gender discrimination among hobgoblins - men and women can both join any occupation acceptable for hobgoblins, and neither is considered inherently any less competent in any profession than the other. It helps that rearing children is not considered the job of the mother, but of older members of the clan who are too infirm to remain warriors. Shortly after birth, children are given over to them, thus allowing the mother to quickly return to her job.
Physical Description: Hobgoblins are large humanoids and grow roughly 6 1/2 feel tall. Most of their bodies is covered in a fine fur that is dark brown, black, or gray in color. Their skin tends to be dark or red-orange in color. Some family have hereditary marks on their faces in different colors such as blue, red, or green. Beards are common in both males and females. Their clothes are often colorful and display their clan symbols, but they tend to be militaristic in appearance.
Relations: Hobgoblins consider humans as a whole to be weak willed and lacking discipline, though most hobgoblins realize that there are some humans worthy of respect. Dwarves are regarded as almost-equals for their determination and skill in warfare, and their weapons are in high demand among hobgoblins. Half-orcs and orcs are considered to be uncouth barbarians. Gnomes and halflings are beneath notice. Elves receive the special hatred of the hobgoblins ever since the first hobgoblin felled the first tree in an elven forest. Humans might come to a peaceful compromise with the elven kingdoms, but hobgoblin honor made it impossible for them to back down, which made the elven defense of their forest ever fiercer. As hobgoblins have no value for nature that isn't actively harvested, this conflict will likely continue until either race is eradicated.
Alignment: Hobgoblins value honor, but at the same time they treat those who are weaker than they are with contempt, and see nothing wrong with keeping them as slaves. Pity and mercy are foreign concepts to most hobgoblins. As such, they tend to be both lawful and evil.
Hobgoblin Lands: The Hobgoblin Dominions are the ancestral lands of the Hobgoblins, and the majority of their population can still be found there. However, they have long since spread to other regions where they tend to live in small, clan-based groups that exist within larger non-hobgoblin communities.
Religion:
Language:
Names:
Male Names:
Female Names:
Clan Names:
Honor Names: Bonecrusher, Foecutter, the Cunning, the Silent
Adventurers: Hobgoblins live to prove themselves in the eyes of their peers. Thus, they readily take to the road to adventure, seeking glory in battle and riches for their clan. Many hire themselves out as mercenaries, and find plenty of people willing to hire them.
Classes: While it is fighters who tend to get the most acclaim, hobgoblin barbarians, clerics, monks, rangers, and rogues all have their role to play in the hobgoblin armies (though rogues who avoid all fights will quickly get a reputation for cowardice). Druids are almost unknown among hobgoblins, since they'd rather cut down a forest and use it for timber instead of protecting it, and the extremely rare paladins are considered insane by their peers for the mercy they show towards the weak. Arcane spellcasters are respected for their powers, but their peculiar powers cause other hobgoblins to look at them more as forces of nature that could blow up in your face if not treated carefully, and less as actual people. While arcane spellcasters can wield a large amount of influence within a clan, they are legally considered to be that clan's property, and not as actual members of the clan. Bards use this status to voice opinions about clan members that would get normal people killed.
Hobgoblin Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution: Hobgoblins are agile and tough.
Hobgoblin base speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision: Hobgoblins can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and hobgoblins can function just fine with no light at all.
+ 4 racialÃ,´bonus on Move Silently checks: Hobgoblins are surprisingly stealthy for beings their size.
Automatic Languages: Common and Goblin. Bonus languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Infernal, and Orc.
Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass hobgoblinâ,¬,,¢s fighter class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. Hobgoblin society has empathized the "warrior virtues" for a long time.
Level Adjustment +1: Hobgoblin are slightly more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other player character races of Urbis.
Humans
Humans are the most numerous of all the sapient races of Urbis, and as such feel that they have a special destiny to lead the world into the future. They may lack the elves' long life spans and mystical insight, the gnomish drive to innovate, the dwarven desire for perfection, and the hobgoblins' military prowess - but they make up for all this with numbers and sheer ambition to change the world in their image. It was humans who invented the Nexus Towers, and built them across the continent. It was humans who built cities bigger than anything seen in history. It is humans who are now connecting every major settlement with railroads. And will be humans who will settle the very planets themselves. Perhaps it is true that, as some elven sages speculate, that all this springs from a human feeling of inferiority towards the elder races. But as far as most humans are concerned, they are just following their manifest destiny.
Human society tends to be riddled with inequalities. In most regions, there are sharp divisions between those in power and those who are not, far more so than among most other races. Many, if not most humans won't try to upset the status quo, if only because they fear that any changes will cause them to be worse off than before. But visionaries and revolutionaries spring up in every generation, and with them, the dream of a better life and a more equal society lives on. Unfortunately, even if they succeed, the revolutionaries will usually eventually create a society as unequal as the old one, just with themselves at the top. But there is always hope for the next generation...
Most human societies are fairly sexist - women are commonly percieved (especially among the upper classes) as the "weaker gender" in both body and mind, and women who surpass society's expectations in these matters are seen as the exception, not the rule - the traditional role of women is that of taking care of home and family while the men take care of business and earn money. This doesn't mean that women cannot be successful in traditionally "male" ventures, but it does mean that they will have a harder time - for example, women are barred from joining most organized armies, which means that women interested in warfare must join mercenary companies with a more unconventional approach towards finding recruits. Likewise, women can and do lead businesses and be successful financially - but they will have a harder time competing with the "Old Boys' Networks" of their male counterparts.
Sexism and Prejudice
You will notice that a large part of the writeups for the individual races is taken up with descriptions of how the different genders are treated by that race. This is intentional - the 19th century, upon which Urbis is based, had strong gender roles, and it was felt that incorporating them was vital to preserving the feel of the setting. While sexism isn't quite as entrenched as in real-world history - mostly because of the existence of many powerful women in the setting, especially among nonhumans - it is still a frequent issue for most human women. Besides, the different roles of genders can, just like the different roles of the various races, provide ample opportunity for role-playing as the player characters try to deal with the pre-conceived notions of society and rise beyond them.
However, the game master should be careful - many women have been on the receiving end of sexual discrimination even today, and might not want to deal with it during gaming - which is often supposed to be a relaxing activity that takes the minds of the players away from the troubles of the real world for a time. Thus, it is recommended that the game master should discuss with the players just how much portrayal of sexism should be acceptable in the campaign. If it bothers you, just ignore these aspects of the setting.
On a related note, while much of human prejudice in Urbis is focused on the various nonhuman races - elves, dwarves, goblins and so on - biogtry against people from different ethnic backgrounds is alive and well in the setting. While it is not quite as virulent as in real world history - mostly because there are few large colonial empires in which their rulers tried to justify their rule through their "inherent superiority" over the subjected people - in general, most people still assume that their home region is better than any others, and their own city better than any other city in the same region. Again, how much the game master wants to incorporate these issues is up to him.
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Your thoughts?
No comments?
Yeah, I've had a hard time getting comments on races on my site, too. It can be a hit or miss thing.
I looked over your hobgoblins. At a glance they seem to be pretty close to the MM3.5 presentation. I like the way you expand it with the "word is his bond" classic warrior society (you know I was just writing that about a society not an hour ago...), though. Unless I'm missing something, you didn't change the stats from what I remember, so it might not be necessary to present them.
Your elves sound intriguing, but familiar (made you had something similar last time I reviewed Urbis?).
Love the flavor quotation at the top. I've found they work wonders.
QuoteYeah, I've had a hard time getting comments on races on my site, too. It can be a hit or miss thing.
I looked over your hobgoblins. At a glance they seem to be pretty close to the MM3.5 presentation. I like the way you expand it with the "word is his bond" classic warrior society (you know I was just writing that about a society not an hour ago...), though. Unless I'm missing something, you didn't change the stats from what I remember, so it might not be necessary to present them.
are[/i] a "standard PC race" now.
QuoteYour elves sound intriguing, but familiar (made you had something similar last time I reviewed Urbis?).
Love the flavor quotation at the top. I've found they work wonders.[/quote]is[/i] a fair amount of bigotry in the setting, and much of it is directed against non-humans living in human cities.
I've also decided to add flavor quotations to all sections of Urbis, so you will see more of them in the future.
Your ideas on dwarves are very cool--I like the 'hidden king' idea very much. The social pressures on the dwarves in general, particularly on the women, make a lot of sense.
Also, i like that you have made your elves very fae, even up to stealing children! I have always liked it when elves are as odd and otherworldly as stories paint them in a setting. Furthermore I like the touch of them having little sense of humans as individuals in a somewhat snobbish but well meaning way.
The prejudices and admiration for half elves makes sense in your setting.
Overall I have to say that while these descriptions are not entirely unique you have given them a cultural context and complexity that would make social interaction in your campaign world interesting. All too often settings imitate Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk in being a litle too pc for reality. Prejudice may not be universal but it ought to exist at the very least.
Quote from: TybaltYour ideas on dwarves are very cool--I like the 'hidden king' idea very much. The social pressures on the dwarves in general, particularly on the women, make a lot of sense.
After some thought, I've decided to make humans the most sexist race in the setting. But that doesn't mean that the other races are free of it.
And dwarves are always seen as a fairly isolationist and stubborn bunch. Thus, it makes only sense that they will form their own tight "ethnic communities" within human cities, with customs that seem strange to outsiders.
QuoteAlso, i like that you have made your elves very fae, even up to stealing children! I have always liked it when elves are as odd and otherworldly as stories paint them in a setting. Furthermore I like the touch of them having little sense of humans as individuals in a somewhat snobbish but well meaning way.
The prejudices and admiration for half elves makes sense in your setting. [/quote]Overall I have to say that while these descriptions are not entirely unique you have given them a cultural context and complexity that would make social interaction in your campaign world interesting. All too often settings imitate Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk in being a litle too pc for reality. Prejudice may not be universal but it ought to exist at the very least.[/quote]real[/i] oddities of the setting.