Character Creation: An Overview of Character Races
There is a wide variety of different sentient life-forms in Tellaia. Scholars have divided them into several categories. The first category, natural humans ('gli uomini naturali'), are the creation of the Divine One at the beginning of time. The second category, bestial humans ('gli uomini bestiali'), were generally created by angels from humans and animals. A third group, the monstrous humans ('gli uomini mostrousi'), were created from humans as well by demons. To these three, we might add an unofficial fourth group of those who do not fit any category.
Natural Humans:
This category consists of humans, as engendered by the Creative One. They are the largest group worldwide. It also includes within it all humans who have the mark of a spiritual being upon them: angel-born (aasimar) have the mark of heaven, fey-born (elves) and fey-touched (half-elves) have the mark of fairies, and demon-born (tieflings) have the mark of hell. The elemental-born (genasi) have the mark of the natural spirits of the land. In addition, dragons and giants are both powerful enough spiritually that their descendants are spiritually marked as being dragon-born or giant-born (goliaths). Most scholars think that the orc-touched fall into this category too, although some feel that they belong among 'gli uomini mostrousi'. Changelings are unknown to scholarship - it is very easy to stay hidden as a natural shapeshifter! - but their origin, being spiritually influenced by members of the Host, means that they also fit into this category.
Bestial Humans:
During the Hostwar, the angels created a wide range of soldiers by blessing them with the powers of animals. Bestial humans are rarer in Tirenia, and tend to be the subject of prejudice. They are often considered less human, and more animalistic - cat-folk are all imagined to be vain and lazy, for example. However, they are all human for all intents and purposes, with just as wide a range of personalities and intelligence. In their own homes, they are integrated into society and do not face the same prejudice. Bestial humans are common anywhere that the natural animal might be found. The most common races are horse-folk (centaurs), lizard-folk, bull-folk (minotaurs), sibilants or snake-folk (yuan-ti, and the most common in Tirenia itself), bird-folk (aarakocra or their disgraced cousins, the kenku), cat-folk (tabaxi) and tritones or fish-folk. There may well be other types. There are also some humans who are beast-folk (shifters), who have the mark of bestial humanity on their soul. This places them half way between the first and second categories, but due to prejudice they are often included among the bestial humans.
Monstrous Humans:
These are humans who were once human, but are no longer. The majority of these were shaped by demons to be their soldiers in the Hostwar: the orcs, goblins, bugbears, hobgoblins, and more. Kobolds are goblins that polluted their souls by trying to force a connection to dragons - this makes them similar to dragon-born in the first category, but their failure (and the fact that everyone looks down on them) leaves them among the monstrous humans. Most scholars also put giants (and firbolgs, by extension) into this category - they were created before the Hostwar, and were not created by demons, but they are no longer human. Some scholars believe that orc-touched and giant-born (half-orcs and goliaths) also fall among this category. Since they don't face the same prejudice, because they can pass as human, they are usually included in the first group.
The Others:
Not all races fit the three categories neatly. Dwarves, in particular, are a great puzzle. The Storia does not tell of their origins, and they reject the humano-centric model. At different times, different scholars have argued that dwarves belong in each of the three major categories, much to the disgust of the dwarves. Gnomes and halflings are assumed to be offshoots of dwarves. While this is probably true of halflings, who have cultural links to the dwarves, it is definitely not true for gnomes, who are fey that abandoned their spiritual nature for the opportunity to remain living in the world. Turtle-folk (tortles) are assumed to be bestial humans, and they are happy to agree: they do not want people knowing that they are actually visitors from another world. Finally, the created (warforged) ignore this entire classification system, being intelligent life with souls created from nothing.
Ordinary people generally do not know these names and classifications. Most people, therefore, are called what they appear to be: human. An angel-born person from Vanzenia will probably be called 'the Vanzenian' by strangers. There is no such thing as 'racial culture'. Different races follow the culture of the place that they live. There are members of every race living in Tirenia, and they follow Tirenian culture. In more isolated areas, the people who live there have their own unique culture. Many of these places have larger proportions of demi-human populations, leading to stereotypes about 'elvish culture' or 'horse-folk culture'. A rural elf from a largely elven community in Tataria will act very differently from a urban elf in Vanzenia - but may also have very little in common with a desert-dwelling elf from Sahelia.
Natural Humans:
This category consists of humans, as engendered by the Creative One. They are the largest group worldwide. It also includes within it all humans who have the mark of a spiritual being upon them: angel-born (aasimar) have the mark of heaven, fey-born (elves) and fey-touched (half-elves) have the mark of fairies, and demon-born (tieflings) have the mark of hell. The elemental-born (genasi) have the mark of the natural spirits of the land. In addition, dragons and giants are both powerful enough spiritually that their descendants are spiritually marked as being dragon-born or giant-born (goliaths). Most scholars think that the orc-touched fall into this category too, although some feel that they belong among 'gli uomini mostrousi'. Changelings are unknown to scholarship - it is very easy to stay hidden as a natural shapeshifter! - but their origin, being spiritually influenced by members of the Host, means that they also fit into this category.
Bestial Humans:
During the Hostwar, the angels created a wide range of soldiers by blessing them with the powers of animals. Bestial humans are rarer in Tirenia, and tend to be the subject of prejudice. They are often considered less human, and more animalistic - cat-folk are all imagined to be vain and lazy, for example. However, they are all human for all intents and purposes, with just as wide a range of personalities and intelligence. In their own homes, they are integrated into society and do not face the same prejudice. Bestial humans are common anywhere that the natural animal might be found. The most common races are horse-folk (centaurs), lizard-folk, bull-folk (minotaurs), sibilants or snake-folk (yuan-ti, and the most common in Tirenia itself), bird-folk (aarakocra or their disgraced cousins, the kenku), cat-folk (tabaxi) and tritones or fish-folk. There may well be other types. There are also some humans who are beast-folk (shifters), who have the mark of bestial humanity on their soul. This places them half way between the first and second categories, but due to prejudice they are often included among the bestial humans.
Monstrous Humans:
These are humans who were once human, but are no longer. The majority of these were shaped by demons to be their soldiers in the Hostwar: the orcs, goblins, bugbears, hobgoblins, and more. Kobolds are goblins that polluted their souls by trying to force a connection to dragons - this makes them similar to dragon-born in the first category, but their failure (and the fact that everyone looks down on them) leaves them among the monstrous humans. Most scholars also put giants (and firbolgs, by extension) into this category - they were created before the Hostwar, and were not created by demons, but they are no longer human. Some scholars believe that orc-touched and giant-born (half-orcs and goliaths) also fall among this category. Since they don't face the same prejudice, because they can pass as human, they are usually included in the first group.
The Others:
Not all races fit the three categories neatly. Dwarves, in particular, are a great puzzle. The Storia does not tell of their origins, and they reject the humano-centric model. At different times, different scholars have argued that dwarves belong in each of the three major categories, much to the disgust of the dwarves. Gnomes and halflings are assumed to be offshoots of dwarves. While this is probably true of halflings, who have cultural links to the dwarves, it is definitely not true for gnomes, who are fey that abandoned their spiritual nature for the opportunity to remain living in the world. Turtle-folk (tortles) are assumed to be bestial humans, and they are happy to agree: they do not want people knowing that they are actually visitors from another world. Finally, the created (warforged) ignore this entire classification system, being intelligent life with souls created from nothing.
Ordinary people generally do not know these names and classifications. Most people, therefore, are called what they appear to be: human. An angel-born person from Vanzenia will probably be called 'the Vanzenian' by strangers. There is no such thing as 'racial culture'. Different races follow the culture of the place that they live. There are members of every race living in Tirenia, and they follow Tirenian culture. In more isolated areas, the people who live there have their own unique culture. Many of these places have larger proportions of demi-human populations, leading to stereotypes about 'elvish culture' or 'horse-folk culture'. A rural elf from a largely elven community in Tataria will act very differently from a urban elf in Vanzenia - but may also have very little in common with a desert-dwelling elf from Sahelia.
Art: 'The Vitruvian Man.' Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1490
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