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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Piratecat" data-source="post: 4796111" data-attributes="member: 2">Let's stay away from labeling me as an excellent fluffer. I'm not sure I like the connotations of that...[sblock=Player Character Races in Capria]DoppelgangersThese were virtually eliminated in a holy purge two generations ago after a high priest was killed permanently by a hired assassin who supposedly was one. It's illegal to be a doppelganger, of course, punishable by death. The more paranoid commoners believe that the Grey Guard attracts doppelgangers for exactly this reason, as it would allow them to live freely without risk of punishment, but no one reasonable actually believes this. DragonbornCivilized dragonborn still retain the stories from their long-lost empire across the ocean, and are the loremasters of the Caprian Empire. Savage dragonborn from Pless are occasionally imported to fight in gladiatorial matches. Dragonborn are largely unknown to commonfolk, who simply won't know what to expect from them. More worldly people usually assume them to be either sages or warriors.There is a disease – perhaps of the spirit – which is causing civilized dragonborn to retreat to mindless savagery. The dragonborn posit that the tieflings are behind this, but have not yet proven it; resentment and racial hatred runs high. DwarvesThe dwarves are said to have supported the Emperor almost fanatically over the years, and are one of the few nations that joined the empire through diplomatic channels instead of military victory. As a result, many humans feel that dwarves put on airs, and rumor has it that they enjoy a high social status near the heart of Capria. In the provinces, many people are wary of dwarves. They keep to themselves, guard their old secrets carefully, create crafted goods far superior to human quality, and are often assumed to be extremely wealthy. Clans of dwarves have become brutal and tightknit mercenary forces, selling their swords to the Empire.Sages sometimes say that dwarves originally owned other lands and were driven out by an unknown foe. If so, no one knows what might have caused them to flee to their current home.You can choose to be a more scholarly dwarf connected to the homelands, or from one of the outlying mercenary clans who have become more deadly with arms. EladrinMost eladrin in the Caprian Empire are refugees fleeing the Feywild as it is devoured by an unknown shadow. Other fey may still idle in their glass castles within their estates, believing that they will never be in true danger, but many eladrin within the waking world have left their ancestral paradise to find a new home.You can choose to be an eladrin that has fought the shadow creatures but lost, that lost their homeland without having directly been in a war, or one whose homeland is still completely safe but who has left the Feywild for a different reason. ElvesElves are clannish, but those who have sworn allegiance to the Emperor and integrated with humans are generally given wary respect. The elven territories have turned out to be some of the most loyal of the wild provinces. Caprian elves still live primarily within the deep forests, but a surprising number have chosen to embrace other wild areas within the empire such as vast plains or even cities. Elven spirit-trees supposedly hold the memories of the race's ancestors, and these guide the elves even when away from the forests.It is said that the Queen of the elves in the great northern forests resents the hold that the emperor has on what used to be her people. She has never brought her armies south of the treeline that marks her kingdom, however. The empire maintains a northern garrison to guard against this possibility of invasion.Rumors persist of elven tribes who secretly worship the Old Gods from before the time that elves chose the path of sentience and civilization. Most elves consider this unthinkable, but it has fostered some paranoia and distrust within the elven communities. HalflingsThe halfling nation was conquered and assimilated by the Empire generations ago, splitting the race into two cultural branches. The halflings who didn't flee from the empire were initially slaves until (according to legend) one made a secret bargain with an old emperor; now they serve as scouts and sappers in the army, and it is considered extremely prestigious to have a halfling cook, gardener or nursemaid. The halflings who fled became riverfolk and seafolk who took to the water when their lands were destroyed. These halflings now play the role of gypsies and traders, living in their small boats and traveling the waterways. "Never trust a soggy halfling," people say, and with good reason.The assimilated halflings are more like hobbits. The riverfolk are more like D&D halflings. You can play either. Half-elvesImperial decree requires any child born of an elven and human union to serve for at least two years in the Empire's bureaucracy or armies. Many join the ranks of diplomats and clerks who keep the empire running, and choose to stay longer. There is no distinct cultural homeland for half-elves; they are generally welcome in places that welcome both humans and elves, and looked upon with disfavor elsewhere.It's said that bribing a less honest half-elf can get you information available nowhere else. Of course, that's likely just a rumor; anyone entrusted with the secrets of the empire who is caught betraying that trust typically has their tongue ripped out.It is not uncommon for half-elves in the bureaucratic and diplomatic corps to be made into eunuchs. Many half-elves join the Grey Guard to escape this fate. HobgoblinsWild hobgoblins are usually slain on sight, as are any goblinoid, but during the empire's expansion a hobgoblin nation was conquered and largely put to the sword. Some hobgoblins were spared and made into slaves, usually finding their way into the gladiatorial pits or into house guards. It is uncommon, but certain houses still use loyal hobgoblins as sergeants-at-arms or house troops. TieflingsThe dragonborn claim that tieflings used to keep humans under subjugation as slaves for their demonic masters, but that was long ago and few people believe it. The bargains for power that the tieflings made so long ago still have left their mark; tieflings are either albino or red-skinned, sporting small horns and other signs of a fiendish taint.Now, of course, the tieflings have left the jungles and spread amongst the free people. They have no homeland or particular ethnic identity (other than those rogue tieflings who covet the old days of power.) It is difficult for a tiefling to advance in a position of trust within the empire, and just sporting tieflings traits can get a person lynched in some corners of the empire. WarforgedThe warforged have largely vanished from the world. For hundreds of years they were a deadly tool in Capria's expansion, living constructs who could be created on demand, but that was centuries ago. Most were destroyed in battles or retired after the empire settled down, and most citizens go through their entire lives without ever seeing a living one. They still turn up now and again in old tombs and ruins, usually still extremely skilled and dangerous.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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