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TheRacesOfFerren

The Races of Civilization

Humans

Humans, as in every other D&D world, are the driving forces of the lands around Ferren. There are no significant changes to human characters - they can be from anywhere, and anything. They form the majority of the noble houses, and only a few exceptions exist - a majority of the Free Barons of Kyrnheld are dwarves, several dwarves hold counties in Ferren, and the Sultan has been known to award exceptional halflings with the title of Padishaw.

Dwarves

Rugged natives of the frosty Ferralis and Kyrnheld ranges, the dwarves of Ferren often make their living as miners, sappers, trappers, soldiers, and craftsmen. They are largely unchanged from standard D&D dwarves, though they're a little more arctic and Viking in flavor.

Dwarves favor Fighter and Cleric (rangers are common amongst the dwarves as well).

Gnomes

Long before the humans of the Kunban Archipelago knew that there were other lands beyond their isles, the gnomes found them. The gnomes from the far east were vastly greater shipbuilders and sailors than the Kunbar, who had been working with mostly rafts, barges, and bridges. The two races quickly formed a mutually beneficial relationship. Fascinated by the rudimentary magic of the humans, the gnomes gave them plans to build ships in exchange for the knowledge of a few simple spells.

After the gnomes discovered the existence of the Academy on the mainland, they made up the greatest number of students at the Seljuk Academy, while gnome craftsmen and sailors remained the lifeblood of the Kunban islands. When civil war erupted among the Great Houses of Kunban, the gnomes were devastated. Their ships were converted to warships and forced to return home, while their teachers and students at the Seljuk Academy were forced to choose between their studies and their families (over half of the gnomes at the Academy chose to stay, forsaking their homes in favor of continued magical pursuits). 12 years ago, when House Katun gained control of the Great Houses and the ports of Kunban finally opened again, the knowledge-starved gnomes were the first to reestablish contact with the mainland. They jumped at Taliesin Ferren's proposal to create Tolesport, and a decade after nearly disappearing from the mainland, Tolesport and the Academy are again home to hundreds of Kunbar gnomes.

The favored classes for Gnomes are Wizard and Swashbuckler. Also, their Speak with Animals ability no longer applies to burrowing mammals. They can now speak to birds and aquatic creatures instead.

Elves

Some say that the elves were the first to build cities, and that the ruins of ancient elven cultures lie buried under the Seljuk sands, destroyed by a cataclysmic civil war. Others say that elves are as old as the world itself, before the mountains and rivers took shape, and that the elves were appointed by creation with the task of watching and recording all that took place. The elves themselves aren't saying what is true, and it is a matter of debate if they actually know and are keeping it a secret, or if they just don't know and like to keep their omniscient reputation intact.

There are relatively few elves in the world around Ferren, and they claim no homeland. Elves are highly coveted as servants and retainers to the nobility, as securing the services of an elf provides stability for generations. An elven historian can rattle off the rolls of lineage because he can recall the birth of each person. Elven tacticians have been seasoned by the study of hundreds of campaigns, and elven teachers are the most prized commodity of all.

Because of their expertise and a well-earned reputation for neutrality, elves are creatures of the court, finding a noble family willing to pay for their services and serving them for as long as the pay remains steady.

The new favored classes for Elves are Bard and Warlock. Elves also now have +2 int instead of +2 dex as their racial stat bonus (the -2 con stays unchanged).

The Wild Folk

Orcs

Orcs of the Golanor Wastes do not display the evil tendencies of their cousins on other worlds. While they are certainly barbaric and lack the history of the nations, the orcs have earned the respect of neighboring nations, whose people would certainly perish under the harsh conditions of the Wastes. Orcs are acknowledged as fine riders and fair trading partners, and the occasional orcs who leave their clans in the wastes to make their fortune in the outside world are welcomed.

Every once in a while, an orcish clan chief will entertain ideas of creating an orcish nation and try to expand beyond the wastes - usually, the Seljuk Sultanate quickly and brutally suppresses the fledgling orcish force, while the people of Ferren simply hide behind their mountains.

The favored classes for orcs and half-orcs are Barbarian and Spirit Shaman.

Halflings

Most halflings exist on the fringes of civilized society, often living in small packs and making their living as scavengers. Especially at home in the deserts and foothills that provide meager sustenance for taller races but plenty of food for smaller folk, halflings can often be found working as messengers and laborers for the Seljuk, since they are fairly hardy and easy to feed. A few halflings have managed to become valuable enough to the Sultan to gain status in society, and it is not unheard of for a halfling to become a Padishaw.

Halflings favor Rogue and Scout.

Raptorans

The foothills of the Wilds house many tribes of raptoran, who have never expressed any interest in establishing any formal sort of government. Raptoran-human relations were tense for centuries, as they consider several of the mountains of Ferralis to be sacred ground and do not like human and dwarven feet treading on the graves of their ancestors.

One of Taliesin Ferren's most impressive diplomatic achievements was forging a pact with each and every Raptoran tribe. While not an official alliance, the raptorans now help fend off the ogre tribes of the Wilds in exchange for goods and a promise that future Ferren settlements will never touch the most sacred mountains. Raptoran cooperation was essential to building the Long Walls through the foothills to Tolesport, which gave Ferren its first harbor in over a century (note that since many raptorans fly, they didn't care about the walls - the walls are mostly to keep the ogres out).

For more information on raptorans, see Races of the Wild. They are playable as a PC class, and the only change is that their favored classes are Ranger and Druid.

Ogres

Ogres are, well, ogres. You don't see them in civilization, except as slaves and, occasionally, extremely volatile siege engines. They are unchanged from their current form.