Races

The standard races from the Player's Handbook are used within the Azentia campaign, with the differences as described below.

Dragonborn

A fiercely proud people, dragonborn consider personal honor and loyalty the most important of character traits.

Legend states that the dragonborn people were once human, all members of the one tribe. They were the first people to ever slay a dragon, and as it lay dying, the great golden dragon, Hyazara, cursed their children to take on the likeness of a dragon so that they would remember forever what they had done, until their line was no more.

It is not known whether the legend of slaying a dragon is true, however many believe it explains the personality traits common to most dragonborn. Rumors abound of ways in which the curse might be lifted, though obviously none have ever succeeded.

The original homelands of the dragonborn remain a mystery to all, including the dragonborn themselves. Some sages speculate that they came from the lands across the Endless Sea, regardless of the fact that so many people deny that there is an ‘other’ side, whereas others claim that they lived in the burning lands beyond the Solestani Empire.

Dragonborn rarely form their own communities, instead living amongst other races. They do still maintain their clan identities though, and while they may mingle with other races freely, no dragonborn ever forgets that his first allegiance is to his clan.

The dragonborn are unusual in the world, in that they seem to have no ongoing feuds with any other races. Whether this is due to their ability to adapt to living with other races, or simply due to their mercenary nature is a topic of speculation.

As a general rule, the dragonborn are taller than all the other races, with the exception of the elves. They are similarly broad of stature, though not to the extent of the dwarves. There are tales of mighty dragonborn warriors of ancient times with wings, similar to those of the dragons, though none have been seen for many generations.


Dwarf

The dwarves of the Iron Sky Mountains are a fierce and resolute people.

More interested in protecting their people than in helping the humans, they withdrew to their own lands during the war, and to this day there is still some animosity between the people of Estar towards dwarves in general.

In addition to their traditional homeland, there are enclaves of dwarves throughout many of the mountain regions of Estar/Azentia.

The dwarves are ruled by King Guyaur of the Golden Ridges Holdfast. King Guyaur rose to power with the promise of conquest, of the reclamation of the lands to the south that have been taken by the Golden Empire Orcs, and to the dragons in the east. After suffering a major loss against the orcs in the Battle of the Summer Pass, King Guyaur was forced to bow to pressure from the dwarf lords, and withdraw his forces during the Azentian war. To this day, he is still struggling to restore the damage done to his reputation.

Every dwarf shares in this emotion to a certain extent. Honor being so important to dwarves, even the merest suggestion of cowardice or retreating from a fight is a tangible insult.


Eladrin

Thought to be the forbears of the elves and drow, no-one knows what happened to the mystical eladrin.

Legend has it that the last of their kind returned to the land of the fey centuries ago, and it is not known when, or even if, they will ever return. The cities that were once occupied by the eladrin are now wholly populated by the elves, and there is very little left in the world that can be thought of as eladrin.

Eladrin artifacts are now prized possessions, particularly eladrin-forged arms and armor, which was often infused with the most powerful magics at their command.


Elf

Tall and nimble, the elves are an everyday reminder of the wonder of the Fey realm.

The elves were strong allies of the Kingdom of Estar in the beginning of the war, but fearful of the toll the war was taking, they withdrew their forces less than a year after the first battle.

The elves rule the Algarra Woods, though they are forced to constantly repel invading humanoid races, particularly in the aftermath of the war. They have always enjoyed strong relations with the dwarves of the Iron Sky Mountains, and it was in part their decision to withdraw from the war that influenced the dwarves to do likewise.

The relationship between the elven nation and Azentia is very tense, primarily due to the ban on arcane magic of the Azentians. This grows to even greater levels when interacting with members of the Church of Seven, whom first brought about this decree.


Halfling

Halflings are renowned throughout the world as being some of the best sailors, and most fearsome pirates. While they have never been able to utilize oars for rams, their small stature enables them to easily outnumber any similar sized human vessel. Halflings are also noted for dauntless explorers, and willingly travel leagues inland in pursuit of a discovery.

The halflings did not participate in the war, but did maintain their standard trading operations. It is thought that many halfling merchants took the skull and crossbones when it suited their purpose, raiding against the fleets of both Azentia and Estar, though there are no survivors alive to confirm this.


Half-Elf

Half-elves have always walked a path between the other races, never welcomed as true kin, but never spurned for their mixed blood. Many half-elves took up arms with Estar in the war, and they are now viewed by many of the Azentians as potential enemies.


Human

Humans of all varieties inhabit the regions of Azentia, from the dusky-skinned nomads the roam the wastes and form the Solestani Empire in the far south, to the brutish barbarian tribes that inhabit the frosty far north, and the standard cast in between.

Humans have only risen to prominence in the area over the last couple of hundred years, after the eladrin disappeared and the elven people retreated to their forest homes.

The war between the two largest human nations in the immediate region, Estar and Azentia, has done much to shape the region, and the ensuing instability has allowed many humanoid races to spread into formally human lands.

In truth, the other races probably outnumber the humans in total, however their reluctance to put themselves forward to dictate world events means that they tend to play lesser roles.


Tiefling

The tiefling people fled to this world to seek refuge from an unnamed evil that was slowly consuming their own. They were sworn to the service of the Solestani Empire for ten generations as payment for their help and even though that contract has long ago expired, they are still considered second-class citizens in the Empire of the South.

Since their contract ended with the Solestani, tieflings have spread across much of the world. They are welcomed by some, who sense in them a people willing to earn their place in the world through their deeds, while other fear them, suspecting their link to the infernal shows an inner evil that will eventually rise to the surface.


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