DreadPirateMurphy said:
Just curious...how do you explain the existence of multiple species of sentient humanoids in your campaign world?
In the real world, we have one dominant, sentient species, one extinct branch (neanderthals), and a handful of intelligent but not quite sentient mammals and birds.
I'm looking for something more than just hand-waving or "it's magic!" Those are fine answers for any individual campaign, but I'm looking for more developed rationales.
A topic close to my heart.
I'm also of the view that competition of the fitest favors a single or few sapient species. The intelligence of the various australopithecus species may be in doubt, but that of neaderthals is not, clear tool users which we coexisted with for some time. They lost out we survived.
IMC there was originally (in the sense of existing before about 10,000 years ago campaign time) only five species: dwarves, elves, humans, halfings, and goblins. They all share a common lineage, the goblins being of the australopithecus branch, humans and elves being very close (they can interbreed after all). Goblins IMC are well adapted to tropical and equitorial environements. They pushed humans and others out of these regions long ago. Elves, humans and dwarves split to different environments and did not come into contact again until about 10,000 years ago. It is said certain gods had a hand in fashioning elves from men and dwarves from men or halflings. Others say elves were a mutant strain of humans that retreated into dense forests due to an initial sensitivity to ultraviolet light. They also say dwarves were pushed into the mountains by humans where they adapted admirably to the high altitude and cold. So IMC different species had advantages in different environments which allowed them to develop relatively undisturbed. Halflings, they were always found associated with humans in a symbiotic relationship it seems.
On goblins, I lump kobold, goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears all together as one species: goblins. They start off small and never stop growing given a proper diet. So they progress from kobold to bugbear. The broad range in size of australopithecus species inspired this.
The other fantasy species arose from interaction with a campaign mythical material called solarium, or pieces of the sun. Not to go over the whole campaign myth and details. Elves, humans and dwarves find themselves in an ice age. About 10,00 years ago, magic is discovered along with the existance of this magical metal solarium. An Elf gets a bright idea that if we gather up enough pieces of this stuff, we can use it to power magic to end the ice age and all will be good. (They did end the ice age but all was not good) Well, solarium is magical and mutagenic. Pieces were gathered from all over but those who handled the raw ore mutated and combined with things "central to their way of life." The fishing tribes became mermen, the mounted tribes became centuars, goat herders became satyrs, frost giant were men of the cold wastes, fire gaints men of the forge, etc. Whole tribes changed overnight, Whether a man became half horse, or his horse became half man is unknown; but certainly it is an insult of the deepest kind to call one of these "Children of the Sun" an animal that became a man.
This mutagenic ore is also an explaination for many of the chimeric creatures, giant creatures and other monsters IMC, and why they sometimes arise spontaneuosly by mutation without a breeding population that would normally wreak havoc on the countryside. Bascially, IMC humans, dwarves, elves, halflings and goblins evolved and became what they were without knowledge of magic or fantasy monsters around. All that changes with the unearthing of this solarium (oh the pride of the elves).
Orcs came later and were made from men, at least, as they can interbreed.
That's it in brief.
