The Major Races of Alosha

Humans

• Northmen – Similar cultural traits to the Vikings of Earth, but with a technology level that has advances to the middle of the Renaissance age, with steel being discovered by accident. Firearms are becoming more common and less dangerous. Due to the amount of the ice in the area, many of the ships are equipped with ice sleds that enable them to glide on permanent ice surfaces.
• Slave Tribes – These humans have been under the Goblinoid Collective rule for 500 years, and as a result, there have been a few differences from normal humans. They have become less social and less intelligent, but stronger and healthier: +2 STR, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 CHA, They also have lost the bonus feat ability of normal humans.
• Empire of the Jade Dragon – With an oriental culture, this island is fairly isolated from the rest of the world. Very few travelers have made it to the island and just as few have made it back to the other lands. Foreigners are treated with a mixture of awe and loathing. New and different ideas are discouraged, and those wishing to spread them may find more than they bargained for.
• Scattered Tribes – Most of the human kingdoms were in the lands of the Goblinoid Collective. When they were enslaved, those that escaped became refugees in the world. There is no central government, and they tend to travel a lot, looking for a new land to settle.

Elves

• Elven Alliance – Along with the fey creatures of the forest, the elves of the mainland have kept the forests as a protected area from the Goblinoid Collective. Their use of nature born magic and enchanted wooden weaponry has kept them safe from losses due to the Collective’s main claim to power. The high eldritch magic of the fey and elves combined have turned the forests into the easiest way to travel around.
• Others – The rest of the elves generally keep to the forests and have a loose organization of trading of knowledge and goods. They occasionally travel through non-forested lands to learn what is going on with the rest of the world, as well as trade for goods they cannot obtain in the forest. A few have stayed out of the forests, and this is where most half elves have come from.

Dwarves

• Dwarven Kingdoms – Most of the dwarves stick to the mountains in their rocky strongholds. Their metallurgy skills and discovery of black powder lead them to the creation of firearms. While they did share this knowledge with the Northmen, whom they consider brothers, they have not shared all their technology. Some of their newer and more experimental weapons have been kept secret from all but fellow dwarves and a few gnomes. Using their weaponry, and their hatred of the Goblinoid Collective, they have kept the mountains and lower lands safe for travel. Many dwarves leave their homes in the mountains to trade weapons and hunt the Goblinoid Collective.

Halflings

• Slave Tribes – Enslaved by the Goblinoid Collective, the Halflings have become very scattered and lost their sense of themselves, their cultural identity washed away by the slavers and time. Despite their loss of identity, or perhaps because of this, they were the first ones to start the revolution against the Collective.

Gnomes

• Traveling Tribes – Moving from town to town, and using their magic and inventiveness, they keep the lands between the forests and hills free of the Goblinoid Collective. They have been working with many dwarves to improve the effectiveness of their firearms and have even helped develop rudimentary clockworks. There are even rumors of some more intricate and complex machines that they are not sharing with anyone but the dwarves. Most gnomes move from area to area, never really keeping still, afraid to become victims like their Halfling brothers. In years past, the two races were inseparable, but with the halfling enslavement, part of the gnomish identity was lost. They would do anything to free their brothers.

Saurials

From a distant realm, they arrived several thousand years ago and settled in the lands of the west of the main continent. They are generally quiet and don’t travel much, being a spiritual sort of community. They have formed loose alliances with lizardmen and troglodytes of the area, but generally don’t deal well with other lizard beings.

Planetouched

The various planetouched races (Genasi, Aasimar, and Tiefling) do exist in Alosha, but are very sparse and have no organization of their own. Most Genasi tend to be in the Empire of the Jade Dragon and are revered as holy beings. Tieflings are generally seen as demonic and driven from places, and as such generally keep themselves on the move and don’t show their nature. Aasimar are looked at strangely and muttered about behind their backs, but not given any open hostility. The races are exactly as described in the Forgotten Realms books including the same level equivalents.

Faeries

Living in the forests and part of the Elven Alliance, faeries have become a little more militant and grim in their outlook. They don’t take kindly to outsiders and treat everyone with a veil of suspicion until they get to know them. Their parties are not held as frequently, but with more jubilation. All faeries carry weapons and have a darker sense of humor, but not enough to cause damage to those undeserving. The only exception is the Unseelie court which has formed a loose alliance with the Goblinoid Collective, but to what end is not known. Some believe that they will eventually turn against the Collective after crippling them, but the truth is not known. The races are exactly as described in the Mythic Races book with the exceptions noted above.

Other

• Goblinoid Collective – A collective organization of goblins, orcs, gnolls, hobgoblins, kobolds trolls and the like. They are organized into tribes and ruled by the strongest one to take the throne. Since anyone strong or devious enough to take the throne can have it, the rulership changes rather frequently. At the moment, a goblin king rules the Collective. To try and appease the other tribes, he has taken a representative of each other tribe as his advisor council. This has created a general peace that has given him a rule that has lasted longer than any other.
• Council of Wyrms – The dragon council is a rarity on most planes of existence. For some reason, about 300 years ago, all dragons formed a council, both good and bad working together. There are still petty struggles between the different colors, but mostly, they keep a general peace. However, it would seem that only the ten major races of dragons are afforded much status in the council, so most of the other races don’t really follow the councils directives.