Basic Character Template.

Angels

Angels of the powerful and highly destructive variety are extremely rare on this plane of existence. They serve as the Thugs of the Gods, typically created expressly for the purpose of serving their heavenly masters without question or second thought. (Though, it should be noted, that different Gods do things differently, and angels of all styles and creeds have been sighted throughout the millennia.) Angels of the strictly traditional sort are incapable of deeds of evil and malice and as such, be forewarned that playing such a character may make it difficult to develop into a satisfyingly complicated character.

Half-Angels are generally not much better. They may come about as the result of sexual congress between heavenly beings and mortals (very rare) or as a touch of the divine upon a relatively normal pregnancy (also pretty darn rare). Powers and appearance vary wildly from individual to individual, all depending on their particular heavenly heritage, and they may be called to serve the God from whom they descend.

Some are the descendants of heavenly bloodlines. Like Half-Angels, their appearance and powers reflect their ancestor, but their heritage has been watered down through the generations. They may be powerful avatars of their particular God, or they may merely be a fellow who is unusually honest and kind and smells a bit like fresh laundry.

Grim Reapers are not particularly grim in this world, and not so much a terrifying specter of death as they are delivery-persons, doing the bidding of the relatively benign gods of death, shuffling souls off this mortal coil. They almost never walk among the living and interact with them.


Cat People

Repeat after me; Cat-People are not endangered.

It's just a fact of life in Rhydin. A new feline anthro wanders into town seemingly every other week, they are plentiful in the world, and any cat-person who bewails their fate as a totally unique creature in a world of cruel humans who can't understand them will be regarded as blind in addition to being stupid. Cat-people are not unique, not new, and certainly not endangered.

It is something of a mystery to me as to why of all the mammalian options available, it is consistently felines of various makes and models that most frequently crop up. Several theories have been made. Perhaps cat-people are merely wizards' favorite practical solution to the problem of their pets being unable to open doors, complain about the ugly decor and shoddy food, and serve as openly hostile sexual partners. Perhaps they are the next evolution of humanity. Perhaps it's just a matter of popularity of character choice, the natural reasoning being that cat-ears and a tail is sure to spice up any back story.

Play Cat-People at your own risk.

Centaurs

Half horse, half man, Centaurs are creatures of the wild, they rarely associate with strangers. Though they take well to the art of fighting, they are generally mild-mannered, and avoid battles, but they are not adverse to shooting a few arrows into their enemies, and with their powerful legs they can be intimidating as well as fierce. They tend to shy away from cities, even when disowned from Centaur society. Maybe that's because no one can ever figure out whether to rent them a room at the Inn or offer a stall in the stables. Of all the races, they seem to be most comfortable with elves.

Demons

Demons of the powerful and highly destructive variety are extremely rare on this plane of existence. Demons are, by nature, incapable of deeds of goodness and kindness and as such be forewarned that playing such a character may make it difficult to develop well. If you feel almost-certain destruction and sociopathic wrongdoing is not an issue, you are welcome to one, but make note. Evil deeds do not go unpunished.

Half-demons are generally not much better. They are typically the product of the rape or seduction of mortals and burn with the rage and hatred that marks their demonic heritage, sometimes manifesting as a touch of the infernal upon a normal pregnancy. Powers and appearance vary wildly from individual to individual, all depending on their particular hellbound bloodline. Willpower alone is never enough to control their bloodlust, and most are punished for their crimes by death long before they reach adulthood.

Others are the descendants of trysts between any sort of demonic presence and a mortal. Like Half-Demons, their appearance and powers reflect their ancestry, but their heritage has been watered down through the generations. Their presence may be as uncontrollable and threatening as a full-demon's grandson or as relatively innocuous as a few odd spells and an appearance that only faintly suggests evil coupled with a career of pickpocketing because their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was a succubus.

Devils

You could almost mistake a polymorphed devil as a clever businessman. They are not so wantonly destructive as demons, though they too seek the power to enslave and cause strife. Despite their more discrete mannerisms.

Most devils never come to the material plane of Rhydin, they have their demons do their work for them, when one does come to the world though, something big is in the works and their very appearance makes the forces of good very, very nervous. They are extremely powerful, but using these powers gives away their true identity and it won't be long before the forces of the light swoop down to battle with the demonic lord. Not all devils are equal in power, but they are all powerful.

Dragons

Dragons are one of the most powerful and complex beings in the known world,

Because of their size, dragons require a large amount of territory and as such are uniquely unsuited to city life, which can give them feelings of claustrophobia and lead to unfortunate territorial battles between individuals; though a precious few seem to call Rhydin home for reasons that remain unclear, despite ongoing tensions. The ones who get along best tend to adopt humanoid personas and forms, though only a few species of dragons have this capability. The forests of Rhydin are similarly saturated with dragons, and newcomers will likely be met with open hostility since law enforcement is not terribly keen on telling dragons how to handle their business.

Most dragons choose to speak via telepathy, as the voice of a full-grown wyrm can cause maladies in many other species, ranging from discomfort to death; so even the very young among them are taught early to be polite and silence their vocal chords when not among their own kind. However, the darker of the dragon race don't seem to concerned with this problem.

Regardless of age, dragons have had a tendency to view humanoids as inferior to themselves. The real-world interactions that result can range from dragons who are saintly in their patience, compassion and understanding for their bipedal brothers; to dragons who see humanoids as pets or livestock who need strict discipline and punishment; to dragons who see two-legged creatures as pests who are best served lightly seared with mint jelly. As one would suspect, dragons raised alongside humans show a much greater respect and admiration for their talents and ingenuity than dragons raised to believe that humanoids are opportunistic thieves who cannot be trusted. Naturally, both camps are, in some sense, correct.


Drow

Drow, almost without exception, are scheming, traitorous, and entirely not recommended for play if you are thinking of making a character that is honest, noble, and gentle. The valiant exceptions to their race usually don't last very long in the surface world, since they are usually attacked on-sight by paranoid and experienced races

In Rhydin and few other cities, the few Dark Elves who have risen above their heritage occasionally find shelter and a home. There are even a few communities that prove that the evil nature of the Drow is largely cultural. While the vast majority of 'good' drow have come up from the Underdark, and thus have to deal with the culture shock, plus the chance of running into people who don't talk before swinging a sword at your head, surface raised drow have a different problem. Everyone they meet expects them to be something that they have no knowledge about.

For this reason, one rarely finds traveling drow who have been born on the surface. Settled into a community, the only people who do not know what to make of them are travelers.

Dwarves

Dwarves live in their mountainous abodes, digging ores from the ground and smithing them into wondrous marvels, armor, weapons, anything that they might desire. They are short, sturdy folk, only around half the height of an average human, but weighing just as much due to their stout builds. They share a deep love of all things alcoholic, and metals and gems that shine.

While they are a welcome addition to most communities for their talents, they rarely fully integrate into their urban homes.

Elves

Generally seen as aloof and haughty, the elves can't fathom why on earth you'd think that of them. They're the longest-lived of the bipeds and obviously the most cultured and the wisest. Why, they're just setting a good example for the rest of the backwards races.

Slim and tall, lithe limbs and lovely faces, elves have earned their reputation as being just a bit otherworldly no matter what particular locale they hail from. They vary in coloration and ethnicity almost as much as humans do, but every single one can be spotted by their high cheekbones, their finely chiseled features, and their exotic eyes; even if their ears are hidden under hats.

Some live in great cities shrouded in secrecy in far-off woodlands, some will associate with the 'lower races' only to a limited degree; but most who come to Rhydin have given up trying to be the best and are content to be the happiest, rubbing shoulders with everyone and not really caring what the length of your ears are.

Fey

"Fey" is a blanket term given to nearly every humanoid who seems to be more in touch with nature and magic than they are to modern society. Nymphs, Dryads, Sylphs, Fairies, Pixies, and many more fall into this catchall category of intelligent creatures; and some of the more magical races elves and gnomes for example, claim to share a common ancestry with them. Or at least parallel evolution. Or at least resemble them in some inscrutable way. Anything to be able to brag that their magic is better than everyone else's.

Ghosts

In popular culture, it is often suspected that the spirits of the departed linger on for some time after death as shadowy presences that can affect the physical world we inhabit. Here I have integrated this folklore into the world and expanded upon it; ghosts are a reality, and they have their own society apart from our own. However, they share the same physical space that flesh and blood characters inhabit, and sometimes the veil between worlds can be breached.

Not every person will linger and become a ghost after death; very few, in fact, do. And if they do, they will be disoriented and weak. If a character is killed in a fight, their ghost will not be able to continue fighting after death-- in most cases, they find that they no longer want to.

Ghosts generally will not interact clearly or meaningfully with the living. Freed from their terrestrial forms, they often cannot connect emotionally with the living, whom they often see as stupid and misguided. Even if they felt a need to communicate with the living, they often cannot due to the limitations of their realm. The most powerful among them can manifest as shadowy presences to the living or even possess another living body temporarily, but more commonly they can only move small objects, leave cold spots, or otherwise cause discomfort and annoyance to the living.

It should be noted that there are days during the year when the veil between our world and the next is particularly thin, and some people are particularly sensitive to the dead, so some interaction is possible. However, no spirit can live in this limbo-world forever and eventually they do have to move on.

Good and Evil spirits who believe in their causes, however are much more powerful. Sometimes they become guardians of tombs, temples and other places for untold centuries. Evil spirits become poltergeists and haunters that seek revenge, or just cause torment in general.

Spirits may be summoned by magic users, and they can possess people if they have enough powers to do so.


Gnomes

A low birthrate and a long tradition of peaceful compromise has left the gnomish population decimated throughout history; they are known as the Forgotten Folk. Most appear as only footnotes in the textbooks of other races, usually as trusted servants to monarchs and nobles, remembered only dimly for their services as inventors, scientists, and tacticians. More frequently, gnomes have been extremely cheap slave labor for powerful nations, valued for their hardiness but scorned for frequent escape attempts and deceitful ways.

Most free gnomes live in isolated communities (always centers of near-frenzied intellectual activity), cloaked by magic and illusion, distrustful of the nations and peoples that have betrayed them in the past. The long tradition of old wives' tales of little men that steal children and kill livestock for sport are entirely undeserved in this day and age, though most gnomes will grudgingly admit to an ancient history that was not above swindling and outright stealing to survive.

Other races can often find it hard to take a gnome seriously for a variety of reasons. They rarely grow over three and a half feet tall, and their bodily proportions tend to verge on the comical, with large heads topping their smaller bodies, over sized hands and feet, and large expressive faces. A noted tendency towards practical jokes does not help matters. For these reasons, it is of little wonder that no other earthly race claims a close evolutionary tie to the gnomish peoples, though many find that they enjoy the company and hospitality of such a warm and earthy culture in personal dealings with the gnomes.

While it is rare to see an older gnome in the company of other races, their children have come to question the wisdom of the traditional isolation from other societies. Change is often slow in gnome communities, yet self-declared "modern" gnomes are leaving their quiet hamlets to venture out into the world and offer up their unique variety of skills-- for a price.

The Grotesque Humanoids

In any other world they are mere cannon-fodder, just another thing to stand between the hero and the beautiful princess. In this world too, most of them continue their dreaded night-time raids on isolated communities and lurk in the darkest corners of the world, ready to snack on the unwary and foolhardy. A few have cleaned themselves up, learned a trade, turned their back on their monstrous brethren, and have become pillars of the community. They have families and careers and dogs with endearing names like 'Scruffy'. They are citizens. Killing them will result in jail time.

Goblin

Goblin's are a nasty race that live in the dark places of the world, and cites. They torment all the races equally, but rarely ever fight anybody head on. They are good with illusions and making promises they never intend to keep. They are known for running scams, sending people on quests to ambush spots for their horde. Goblins are only seriously dangerous in great numbers and from time to time, they do go on the warpath and can number in the thousands. No race claims relation to these monsters either, but the Goblins wouldn't have it any other way.

Ogre
Ogre's are giant races that love nothing more then the taste of the flesh of man, and elf..and any other living thing. They often only appear less intelligent then they are. They are fully capable of striking a deal, giving directions and forming effective traps and strategy, but nobody trusts these monsters and when one is reported, the community it is near becomes on guard. They typically live anywhere that is isolated from the cities, but near well traveled roads. They are responsible for many disappearances in Rhydin that remain unsolved.

Orc
An anti elf race is there ever was one. These creatures hate the sunlight, and life. They are interested in the metal working, but in a crude, primitive manner unlike the dwarves. This race is very hostile to humanity, and elves in general. They lack the leadership in their tribal lifestyle to united the race as one, this keeps Rhydin safe, if a leader should ever arise in their ranks, there could be very dark times ahead in all the land.

Troll (Forest)
Of varying sizes but generally taller than a man, these hairy mischief-makers are identified by their fondness for living flesh, their capacity for dull-witted mayhem, thick and muscled bodies, and long lion-like tails with a tuft of wiry hair at the end. The club for bashing things' heads in is almost a given. No relation to Mountain Trolls. These creatures are immune to most magical powers, but usually only like to cause trouble for adventures. Can often be appeased with something shiny, or something that seems valuable.

Troll (Mountain)
A truly startling creature indeed, Mountain trolls are made entirely of rock and tend to be rather large and rather dense both in the physical and metaphorical sense. Sunlight slows them down to slug-like speeds, contributing to tales of all sorts of them turning to stone at dawn. No relation to Forest Trolls. These creatures are rarely seen as they inhabit the isolated mountains.

Half-Angel-Half-Demons

Angels and Demons are basically the same thing, on different ends of the spectrum. Demons are just angels that have betrayed their God to a Devil, and have lost grace. So, in theory there can not be a half and half mixture.

Humans

In times long past, Humans were seen as little more than an evolutionary quirk and a dead end. They seemed to possess no inherent magical ability, extraordinarily short lives, and no culture whatsoever.

But that was an awfully long time ago.

Now, they virtually rule the realm.

Most claim that the trouble started when the elves took pity on their comparatively primitive neighbors and gave unto them gifts of knowledge and technology that improved their quality of life immensely. It was barely a generation, not even twenty years later, when the elves noticed that humans had far outpaced them at many of their own games, showing an inventiveness and drive to succeed that had not been anticipated.

Due to their breakneck pace of reproduction and flexibility, humans could be driven to the most inhospitable climates and nearly killed off; yet within a hundred years, their children's children would be quite prosperous and quite numerous. Such extraordinary adaptability has resulted in sub-species of humans with unprecedented variety and a range and subtlety of cultures that exceeds any other race.

The humans of Rhydin tend to be on the pale side, often of sturdy stock, and occasionally leery of the many other races and unfamiliar faces that populate their township. Most work as farmers or local merchants or craftsman, and rarely venture out of their increasingly strange city; they know it like the backs of their hands and are fiercely proud of it.

Humans, though are often the most power hungry and greedy of most the races. This trait has put them at odds with most of the other races in Rhydin. They also love the use of magic and do their best to copy all advantages all other races have, especially magic.

Of course, native Rhydin dwellers aren't the only humans in the area. New people are arriving all the time from other realms on accident, or by design making this one of the most varied and interesting races.

Vampires

Vampires are intelligent walking dead, with cunning and charisma that far outstrips any mere zombie. The agenda of your common vampire is simple. They are the hunters, and other races are the prey. Vampires exist by draining others of their blood.

It is not fully known how they draw their power from the blood. However this is accomplished, one thing is widely agreed upon; without blood, vampires will weaken and eventually die. ALL vampires must drink blood, regardless of their personal circumstances; rare substitutes exist, and vampire can subsist on blood drained from, say, raw steak... but it would never satisfy so much as the real thing.

In appearance, vampires can vary widely; but because they do not live, unnatural pallor is a must. Fangs are another necessary feature, used for the draining of blood.

Many players seize upon vampires because of their immortality; it is important to understand that vampires are not truly immortal. They are immortal only in the sense that they do not age; they do not age because they are DEAD. It is uncertain what magic or device preserves vampires' flesh and minds. Vampires do not heal, but any damage they take by a non holy weapon or natural weakness is ineffective, and any damage taken is repaired instantly.

Which brings us to a point that cannot be stressed enough: VAMPIRES DO NOT REPRODUCE! Mating with a vampire would be like mating with a corpse. There are instances where, through magic or magical accidents, individuals portraying some but not all vampiric traits can be produced. Ancient artifacts can also bestow the vampire's gifts upon a person as well, but these are very rare.

Finally, vampires have weaknesses. There must be something to counterbalance their supernatural strength, agility, and command of magic (particularly hypnotic abilities). The main and most prevalent weakness is the sun. No true vampire can survive the sun's rays; whether the vampire instantly turns to ash, or merely burns at a hyper-accelerated rate is subjective to their age, but you will NOT find a vampire casually walking around in the daylight unless they are the most ancient of vampires, fourth generation and above.

Less notable weaknesses are garlic and holy weapons/water. Garlic is a plant that is used in many healing potions throughout Rhydin, so it only stands to reason that the healing powers of the plant would act like a poison to the undead, and it does. The second weakness, to holy weapons or water, is more relative. Vampires are undead, so a holy weapon would inflict major damage upon them. However, it must be a TRUE holy weapon; murmuring a prayer over your dagger does not a holy weapon make.


Werewolves

Men and women caught between the worlds of human and beast, werewolves are among the most feared and distrusted races that roam the realm. Their bloodlust is renown, and their appetite voracious; yet these individuals are often pitied even as they are shunned.

Rhydin, being an unusually egalitarian society, tolerates it's lycanthropes just so long as they keep to themselves and stay far, far away from town and livestock while in their wolf-shapes. The theft and/or murder of pets, cattle, sheep, and people are serious crimes and authorities are unlikely to shed any tears for the suspect who blames an irrational alter-ego who commits crimes of this variety.

Many different lines of Lycanthropy exist, with variations on the timing of the curse every night, only at full moons, or at will, variations on the form taken indistinguishable from a wolf, or any number of variations on the theme of 'wolf-monster', variations on heritage and transmission some lines are by birth only, others are transmissible only by blood, others by any fluid contact, and differences in rational human thought capable in the turned individual some Lycanthropes maintain complete control, others become mere animals with no memory of their human forms, with many gradients in between. The origins of the curses and bloodlines are similarly complex and widespread, with many different variations on the theme of bestial transformation.

Few, if any, cures are known for most bloodlines; though spells and potions have been proven to exist that can temporarily alter the state of Lycanthropes, allowing some to shape shift at times that this would normally not be permitted, retain conscious thought, or make the individual's lycanthropy non-contagious.

Silver is used to hunt these creatures that have proved to be too much of a menace to a society. It should be noted that the energy of the silver is cleansing, and it also works well against any monster or undead creature as well, but it is used for the werewolves, for the most part.