Races (Sylfaen Supplement)

Here are the races found in the world of Sylfaen. Races not listed here may exist, but they are so rare that they may only exist into really small communities, maybe within the same single small tribe.

Major Races

The major races are the races most commonly encountered in Sylfaen.

Humans

Witchbloods

To overcome magic restriction that impedes the conquest of Rethwin, wizards from the Imperial Army created Witchbloods, humans enhanced by magic, but not magic by themselves. These elite soldiers are spearheading the invasion of the elvish continent, being feared by both elves and human settlers alike. Witchbloods are pretty much like regular humans, but are sterile and have the following differences:

Dwarves

The region in Daear that is now called Eldor was once home of the dwarves, in a sprawling empire that spread both under and overground. The realm of surface, Runedar, was the territory of the Surface Dwarves (who use the statistics for the Hill Dwarf). The realm of the underground was populated by Deep Dwarves (using the statistic for the Mountain Dwarf).

Currently, after the end of the Long War, the dwarvish population is scattered through the lands, living mostly as second-class citizens in Daear. The Surface Dwarves were able to maintain their culture and traditions for the most part, since they could retain a very small portion of their territory in the Iron Hills, but the Deep Dwarves that survived the war were forced to adapt to the human lifestyle.

Dwarvish Traditional Life Cycle

Those who grew in traditional dwarvish communities, either by being born in the Iron Hills or those who were raised during the long war, keep the old ways though. Since dwarves have a very long life, compared to humans (dwarves in Sylfaen live around 400 years), they aren't as desperate to leave a legacy behind.

In the old ways, the life cycle of a dwarf would be as follows: as an infant, a dwarf would first study inside his own family and clan, learning their history, values and their family's craft. Then, they would be taught, alongside with other dwarves, basics of combat and religion.

After completing sixteen years, a dwarf is no longer considered an infant, but is also not a full adult, being in a stage of development who translates to "Duty" in common. A dwarf during the Duty period will serve the dwarvish people, especially their clan, to give back to their communities, and at the same time hone their skills. The "Duty" period takes 30 years to complete, and after reaching about forty-six years old (some dwarves take longer), they finally are considered adults, and can follow their own path.

There's an optional path, but most dwarves consider a great honor to do so, in which a dwarf who reaches very old age, beyond 300 years, return to his community to become an Ancient, whose function is to teach new dwarves the traditions of the people, and keep the dwarvish society thriving.

Orcs

Orcs are native from Eldor, a region they call Ukyr; however, most of them are scattered now, without a place to call home, being fully dispersed. Those who still live under the authority of the Empire have to live as second class citizens on human cities. For this reason, many orcs chose to live amongst the northern tribes, or risk their lives in the treacherous waters of Rethwin, free from the arcane authority of the war mages and the watchful eye of the Magisterium.

Orcs have a reputation for being able to survive under any condition, being highly adaptable to harsh life conditions. Orcish younglings mature quickly physically, and most orc teenagers are stronger and taller than the average adult human. For this reason, within their own communities, they are taught early in life how to fight.

They have been unjustly perceived as cruel savages due to the relation they have with the dead. Orcs usually will use each and every part of natural resources they get their hands on, and they rarely throw anything away, aiming to repurpose everything; because of that, they have certain foraging habits that are unsettling for other races. For example, they will not exitate in using the skin and bones of enemies and allies alike to craft tools and objects and use their meat to feed their domesticated predators.

Orcs never bury their dead, opting instead for using their body parts, giving them some utility, or burning it to avoid diseases if they are a threat. The only exception is the heads of deceased relatives. Skulls of deceased orcs are seen as sacred, and the key for connecting with spirits of ancestors. Usually an orc family will keep skulls of family members, and communities will have a place dedicated to storing the skulls of sages from that community.

For this very reason, in dire situations, Orcs will not hesitate in resorting to cannibalism, if it means they can keep themselves alive.

Minor Races

Dragonborns

Dragonborns in the world of Sylfaen aren't born from members of the same race, but instead, are the fruit of alchemy and transmutation magic. They have been created by the Cult of the Dragons, infusing humans with draconic matter - specially dragon bone - from a very young age, through a gruesome and painful process called Rite of Ascension. Most dragonborns are warriors (fighters, barbarians) or mages (sorcerers), being trained right after a successful rite to serve the Dragon Lords.

As kids, dragonborns trained as warriors amongst the cult will be taught in the art of the Arytiss Vaeri, a fighting style specifically created for dragonborns, using of their natural weapons and specific anatomy to create a deadly combat art.

Dragonborns are sterile, and those who form families will do so through adoption, although dragonborns living in the cult will not have strong ties with their family members, devoting all their loyalty to the cult.

Tieflings

Tieflings in Sylfaen are mostly demonic in nature, being the product of the presence of an open portal to the abyss. When a pregnant women spends enough time within a certain radius of a demonic portal (usually hundreds of meters), that baby is infected with demonic energy, and is born as a tiefling. Tieflings are treated with suspicion and antagonism in rural areas through the empire - usually being killed right after conception - although some regions more modernized and urban are more accepting, seeing the potential and value in them.

The empire now accept Tieflings as a type of humans and the law treat them as such, but there's an invisible barrier that must be crossed by most of them, that need to work twice as harder to reach the same status of a regular human. Tieflings are particularly well received in the Magisterium, due to their naturally keen mind and affinity with the arcane.

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