Post by Teller on Sept 8, 2016 21:38:29 GMT -4
Council Races
HumansDescription: N/A (I hope.)
Strengths: Mentally resilient, more likely to survive warmblooded communicable diseases than some races
Weaknesses: Not as physically strong as other races
Lifespan: Average 65-85 years depending on social status and means available to person.
Notes:
Elves
Description: Very similar to humans, but typically taller, with narrow features and pointed ears. Strengths: One of the stronger and more attractive races.
Weaknesses: More prone to warmblooded communicable diseases, very low birth rate.
Lifespan: Average 200 years.
Notes:
Description:
Strengths:
Weaknesses: Being coldblooded, they can't survive in cold climates without adequate protection.
Lifespan: Average 500 years.
Notes:
Centaurs
Description: Humanoid to the waist and some of the hips, then blending into a variety of horse halves, the human half blending in where the horse's neck would be. The horse halves vary as all horse races do, and centaurs with deer, donkey, pony or other four-legged, similar, hooved creature also occur. Pointed or rounded ears.Strengths: Best stamina of the leading races.
Weaknesses: Prone to the same harms and illnesses as horses, don't recover well (if at all) from broken legs.
Lifespan: Average 60 years.
Notes: Vegetarian
Description: Fae are delicate, small-boned, humanoid creatures. Being shorter than humans, they rarely top five and a half feet for the men, and five feet for the women. Over time, fae naturally begin to acquire traits of their surroundings, and there's no telling what will develop: leaves, scales, vines, glassy or wooden-looking skin.... Pointed ears.
Strengths: Can project a concrete glamour.
Weaknesses: Allergic to iron.
Lifespan: Average 250 years.
Notes:
All following races are considered too minimal in the workings of the world to be a part of the Council, and as these are the five most populous in Verden, these five are personally represented.
Embassy Races
Embassy Races
Description: Human upper body, and scaled lower body is a single tail. Their appearances also vary, and they may have a shark tail, or the fin may be vertical or horizontal, or an eel tail, or others. Their scales sometimes extend higher up their bodies and into their hair or around their faces.
Strengths: Capable of shifting their tails into legs for indefinite periods of time. However being on land for extended periods of time or too often will shorten their lifespans.
Weaknesses: Are prone to airborne afflictions such as certain allergies and respiratory disease.
Lifespan: Average 60-85.
Notes: Are poikilotherms, or able to adjust their bodies to absorb or produce heat, to adjust to varying climates within a certain range.
Unrepresented Races
Vampires
Description: Vampires retain their original appearances after being converted, with the notable exception that they stop aging. Their canines are also more pronounced than they were when mortal.
Strengths: Faster and stronger than they originally were. So a human vampire would be roughly on par with an elf, and an elven vampire would be quite a bit more to reckon with.
Weaknesses: Can only drink from their own mortal race, otherwise are likely to be poisoned. Also typically on the To Undo List of the likes of witchhunters.
Lifespan: Indefinite -- immortal unless killed.
Notes: Vampires must drink blood to survive. However they don't need so much that they must kill their host.
Jorogumo
Description: Humanoid, but with a massive spider body attached to their back, in place of 'human' legs. The height of most Jorogumo when in their true form is approximately ten feet.
Strengths:
Weaknesses: Generally not allowed to live in towns. If seen will likely be slaughtered or chased out by mobs. Thus, if they want to live among the other races they have to expend the energy to conceal themselves and pass as a different race, and as a result are generally weak when 'passing'.
Lifespan:
Notes:
Gargoyles
Description: Retaining the shape of their previous race, but as they age gradually growing more 'monstrous' traits such as horns, beaks, tails, ridged bones, altered teeth, talons, altered eyes, claws, scales, or other attributes. (Usually about one every fifty years.) As they age gargoyles' wings also grow, though all gargoyles are able to fly at least short distances when they transform. During the day gargoyles are trapped in whatever position they have when the sun rises, and they and their clothes turn to virtually indestructible gray stone. At sunset they become active again, though their skin remains hard, and has a chalky, stony appearance.
Strengths: The physically strongest race thus far, hard skin, flight, immune to illness.
Weaknesses: Unable to defend themselves during the day (though their skin then is harder than it is while they're awake), relatively inflexible in comparison with other races--though the more active gargoyles will be slightly less stiff than more sedentary ones. Often disliked for being nocturnal, like vampires, and not technically alive.
Lifespan: Indefinite unless killed (must be melted--volcanoes being the choice for most, as it's difficult to melt stone otherwise--or dehydrated, which can take years).
Notes: Gargoyles lose whatever curse or magic they had before their transformations. They also have finite memories, and can only remember long-term that which they work to retain. Most don't remember much beyond the last forty to eighty years of their lives. Gargoyles also no longer have a heartbeat, but a thrumming vibration beneath their skin, which increases strength with exertion, much as a heartbeat would. They can be harmed by having pieces of themselves chipped or broken off, but the pieces will eventually reassemble. Gargoyles don't eat or drink in the usual sense, but absorb water and moisture through there skin, and therefore most enjoy soaking, especially after hard work.
Creation: Gargoyles are individuals who have suffered a long-term or significant curse while 'alive', one which hasn't specifically been the cause of their death. If death is sudden, the individual's body would begin a rapid transformation, which would still take several days and leave the fully transformed gargoyle comparatively very weak and sluggish in comparison with other races, at least for the first few months. For individuals who die over a period of time, usually about six months prior to death the individual begins the transformation, skin hardening and changing texture, the individual growing stiff and weary during daylight hours, wings slowly emerging, until the individual's heart stops beating and begins vibrating instead, and the individual has 'died' or fully transformed.
*Also, whatever emotion the gargoyle is in when they go dormant during the day, they will still have when they wake, so being around a gargoyle who was frightened or fighting when they went dormant is hazardous.
*Non-living items gargoyles are holding frequently turn to stone with them when the sun rises.
Description: Vampires retain their original appearances after being converted, with the notable exception that they stop aging. Their canines are also more pronounced than they were when mortal.
Strengths: Faster and stronger than they originally were. So a human vampire would be roughly on par with an elf, and an elven vampire would be quite a bit more to reckon with.
Weaknesses: Can only drink from their own mortal race, otherwise are likely to be poisoned. Also typically on the To Undo List of the likes of witchhunters.
Lifespan: Indefinite -- immortal unless killed.
Notes: Vampires must drink blood to survive. However they don't need so much that they must kill their host.
Jorogumo
Description: Humanoid, but with a massive spider body attached to their back, in place of 'human' legs. The height of most Jorogumo when in their true form is approximately ten feet.
Strengths:
Weaknesses: Generally not allowed to live in towns. If seen will likely be slaughtered or chased out by mobs. Thus, if they want to live among the other races they have to expend the energy to conceal themselves and pass as a different race, and as a result are generally weak when 'passing'.
Lifespan:
Notes:
Gargoyles
Description: Retaining the shape of their previous race, but as they age gradually growing more 'monstrous' traits such as horns, beaks, tails, ridged bones, altered teeth, talons, altered eyes, claws, scales, or other attributes. (Usually about one every fifty years.) As they age gargoyles' wings also grow, though all gargoyles are able to fly at least short distances when they transform. During the day gargoyles are trapped in whatever position they have when the sun rises, and they and their clothes turn to virtually indestructible gray stone. At sunset they become active again, though their skin remains hard, and has a chalky, stony appearance.
Strengths: The physically strongest race thus far, hard skin, flight, immune to illness.
Weaknesses: Unable to defend themselves during the day (though their skin then is harder than it is while they're awake), relatively inflexible in comparison with other races--though the more active gargoyles will be slightly less stiff than more sedentary ones. Often disliked for being nocturnal, like vampires, and not technically alive.
Lifespan: Indefinite unless killed (must be melted--volcanoes being the choice for most, as it's difficult to melt stone otherwise--or dehydrated, which can take years).
Notes: Gargoyles lose whatever curse or magic they had before their transformations. They also have finite memories, and can only remember long-term that which they work to retain. Most don't remember much beyond the last forty to eighty years of their lives. Gargoyles also no longer have a heartbeat, but a thrumming vibration beneath their skin, which increases strength with exertion, much as a heartbeat would. They can be harmed by having pieces of themselves chipped or broken off, but the pieces will eventually reassemble. Gargoyles don't eat or drink in the usual sense, but absorb water and moisture through there skin, and therefore most enjoy soaking, especially after hard work.
Creation: Gargoyles are individuals who have suffered a long-term or significant curse while 'alive', one which hasn't specifically been the cause of their death. If death is sudden, the individual's body would begin a rapid transformation, which would still take several days and leave the fully transformed gargoyle comparatively very weak and sluggish in comparison with other races, at least for the first few months. For individuals who die over a period of time, usually about six months prior to death the individual begins the transformation, skin hardening and changing texture, the individual growing stiff and weary during daylight hours, wings slowly emerging, until the individual's heart stops beating and begins vibrating instead, and the individual has 'died' or fully transformed.
*Also, whatever emotion the gargoyle is in when they go dormant during the day, they will still have when they wake, so being around a gargoyle who was frightened or fighting when they went dormant is hazardous.
*Non-living items gargoyles are holding frequently turn to stone with them when the sun rises.
Photo Cred: scales--Patrick Briggs;
mermaid--Leslie Casilli; fae--dragonstorm;
Elven Girl--Deviantart, abeautifulxlie
mermaid--Leslie Casilli; fae--dragonstorm;
Elven Girl--Deviantart, abeautifulxlie