A little background might add perspective to the odds and ends i'm adding here.
The current human civilisation, the Empire, was built on the ashes of an earlier civilisation, as it was built on the ruins of the one before, and the one before that, and so on. Hundreds of thousands of years of the rise and, more importantly, fall of great civilisations has left a world dotted with ancient ruins and tomb cities. None of which had any real relevance to any save the occasional adventurer until the Rise of Necromancy three centuries ago.
Human civilisation has adapted. The Temple of Light is one of the more powerful institutions, protecting humanity from the undead and fell tainted beasts that arise in the outlands.
There are five human subraces:
The High Folk - those born to the heriditary noble class, many family lines having some celestial blood.
The Steadingsfolk - the common (or garden) human, making up the bulk of the population.
The Warborn - humans with an inborn propensity for violence, they can arise from any other subrace, but breed true as warborn.
The Faekin - those with some elf somewhere in their ancestry, odd arcane talents often arise spontaneously among them.
The Seakings - the classic nordic seafarer, many bearing the blood of the giant races.
There are two dwarven subraces:
Anvil Dwarves - the classic dwarf, safe in their mountain kingdoms.
Shield Dwarves - much more personable than their kin, they were instrumental in the formation of the Temple of Light and the war against the undead.
Aasimar, the descendants of celestials, occasionally emerge among the Highfolk families.
Half-elves are rare. The elven race's long seclusion leaves little scope for non-hostile interaction. Their elven blood expressing an unusual range of powers.
Warforged. Immune to being raised as undead, they are seen as the great hope by the common folk. Created by a secretive cabal of dwarves and humans, sponsored by the Imperial House, they also make up a signifigant portion of the Emperor's power base.
Human society is feudal, the land owned by nobles but is worked by free men. The constant plague of undead has resulted in bludgeoning weapons coming into favour; and with so many undead arising with bladed weapons, blades have fallen out of favour and their weilders regarded with suspicion.
Likewise has arcane magic fallen out of favour, with the majority of practitioners being Necromancers, or fallen to Taint. The Temple of Light keeps a vigilant watch out for children with arcane potential, taking them from their families at an early age and subjecting them to a harsh regimen of mental discipline and physical training. Those who survive the constant testing join the Order of the Azure Flame, becomming Battle Mages, and are placed for a period into the service of a respected Paladin.
The classes available are:
Bard - affiliated with one of the Colleges, or perhaps serving as Herald to one of the great Houses. One of the few groups of people who maintain the ancient art of duelling, and are respected not reviled for their use of a blade.
Battle Mage - always affiliated with the Order of Azure Flame. The Athame class feature is always a longsword, bastard sword or greatsword.
Cleric - usually affiliated with the Temple of Light, but often with the Orders Militant or the Holy Inquisition. The Light grants access to the following domains: Fire, Good, Healing, Protection, Sun, and War. The favoured weapon is the Great Mace.
Druid - a watered down expression of their elven blood, only half elves can be druids. Their inborn link to the natural world a pale shadow of their elven ancestors. Affiliations outside their racial ones are rare.
Fighter - can have any affiliation, but will often favour the Orders Militant.
Noble - usually affiliated with their House, but occasionally elsewhere. The only other group to use a blade without suffering undue suspicion.
Ranger - often affiliated with the Orders Militant, or just about any other military affiliation. Rangers fall into two classes, with or without the ability to cast spells.
Rogue - affiliation is dependant on concept.
...more another time...
