Great responses so far!
Here are a few comments.
I did not mean to discourage people whose first language is not English. I was mostly referring to those whose first language is engish, but they still can't write. Not that you have to be perfect. Just not terrible.
First, to the question. All characters that are not bad guys will be skinned as human. Since I went with halfling for the Ranger, he will be short, but still human.
Also, please don't listen to any of the Return to Northmoor Podcasts. It might spoil the fun. There were a few answers that were really close to how they played it in the podcasts.
Here are things I like so far. Feel free to suggest changes or additions, to any of the material so far, including the stuff in the glossary. I will keep world building for several more days unless I get some really strong stuff to work with and feel like we are done here.
The Mentor ("Da", "Father" or "Captain", depending on the situation)
Name- Jarod Hornheim
Description- Clean shaven, unlike most men of the realm. A widower, he seems to have a soft spot for children- but for his own recruits and troops he is well-known to be a bit of a hard-case. He is a father figure (in one case an actual adoptive father- in lieu of children he never had; in the other a stand-in for a dead or missing father- a status he accepts grudgingly, but with good grace). A Warlord and former captain in an army somewhere, he's missing an eye and has an impressive collection of scars, but he doesn't let that make him bitter - in fact, he's one of the most easygoing people the party knows, really.
Item: His former wife's wedding ring- when he is particularly maudlin he talks to it as if his wife is still there.
The Raftmaster:
Name: Guidry MacLynn
Description: A burly, nearly square fellow- as deadly with a bargepole or an oar as most men are with a sword. Once a promising sergeant at the outpost, he went into the bog to seek his fortune- when he returned he was changed; still respected for his strength and skill as a raftman, but now possessed of a dark, even cruel sense of humor- and a badly-hidden fear of the dark (The Blackwater Cat has far more lanterns than it needs, and he uses an awful lot of lamp oil). He is a good warrior, but largely uninterested in the lives of his employees. A former companion of the PCs died during a particularly dangerous mission under him. Always one step ahead - or at least he's sure he is. MacLynn always has big plans, and wild schemes to get rich, but somehow they never seem to pan out quite as well as he hopes. Still, he's an eternal optimist, and never lets the occasional failure get him down. He is becoming more concerned with staying alive now that he is getting older, and this is causing the development of his reputation as a coward, which is false.
The Ranger
1) Name of Ranger: Still looking
2) Description of Ranger: He is a retired adventurer, and has has a limp that he doesn't talk about. He used to do big jobs for the King, but he retired after a big failed job many years ago. He now serves as both bartender and bouncer for the tavern he runs, and keeps a collection of dried objects above the bar which he claims is an ear from every person who's given him too much trouble in the bar. Nobody is really sure whether or not this is a joke. Short and slight, he was once was a true master of the blade.
The King:
1)King Aleras.
2)rumor: The King hasn't showed his face in the last two years. His voice only is heard from behind a thick curtain, behind which the throne is located. For several months before his "disappearance", it was rumored that he had developed a nearly overwhelming interest in oracles and fortunetellers- his agents scoured the kingdom for them, and many of those who answered the summons were never seen again (or so it is said). No one seems to know what question he wanted to find the answer to...The king's retreat behind the omnipresent curtain began about the same time as the death of his wife during childbirth. Rumor has it that the child survived, but no one has seen him/her.
The Big city:
1)Lindinis, an attempt to rename it New Lindin (during the rebuilding years after the Great fire a century ago) never seemed to take hold, and the older name has taken over in nearly everyone's mind.
2) Whether you're big, small, old, young, man or woman, Lindinis has a job for you. The city of Lindinis is in a constant state of expansion - not contained by walls for over a hundred years - and each year a new wave of immigrants and fresh-faced youth from the countryside swells its size. As a result, the city is layered like an onion, getting more settled and wealthier the deeper you go in. Libraries and bookshops seem to be on every corner within "The Big Walls", the outer wall that contains most of the city except for the newest growth. Of course The Library is the largest, and nearly anyone in the kingdom who has even the slightest spark of talent for wizardry ends up here, at least for a while. While it is not a formal school of magic, it is one of the most well-known places to learn. This has all changer recently, as a witch hunt has recently begun in the City. Alchemy and Spellcasting is prohibited and persecuted, save for those in service of the King. Lindinis is also known for its bakers, who craft the most exquisite strawberry tarts around.
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