GOBLINS:
The
goblin race seems to be somewhat related to orcs, although Goblins seem faster, a bit more agile and a tad smarter. They have big eyes, ears and mouths, and their whole body is covered with short fur while their faces have a somewhat leathery, greenish or brownish skin. Their voices are commonly squeaky, and some are known to cry annoyingly loud if anything
frightning or mean happens.
Goblins are small,
not very strong and
have average intellegence. They usually live in a sort of loose family clan and their type of leadership varies. Goblins are not evil, and really dislike all
"boring" types of religions, but they have a bad sense for fashion and an almost orcish
respect for hygiene. They tend to
eat things which no other creature would ever touch and they can have a liking for pokey things like simple spears and rusty short swords.
Sometimes, goblins are caught and enslaved by orcish tribes,
therefore they usually tend to be quite afraid of orcs. In fact, goblins can be afraid of
most things except Halflings, which they really adore for their cooking skills. Their acute sense of smell and taste as well as their dexterious fingers can make them talented Alchemists, craftsmen or thiefs, if they can concentrate long enough to learn something. They do not make talented spellcasters or mages usually, but a few are known to have mastered magic, although this seems quite rare. Actually, a high lor-angurian arch mage is a goblin, and said to be very wise –
but how he ever reached that position is a saga in itself .
Goblins have no towns or likewise, but live in small settlements which can be commonly found
deleted . Sometimes such settlements can become dangerous and develop
bandit-like habits, which is a reason why goblins are
generally disliked .
In Albar, Goblins are
famous for their pit-fights against other animals. More intelligent ones can sometimes be found as slaves or, because of their acute smell, as a kind of hunting
dog.
Some more civilized goblins even live in Gynkese or sometimes Salkamaerian towns amongst humans. These civilised ones often work as astonishingly well-mannered and
gentle Servants, messengers, gifted merchants or even as respected Alchemists.
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FAIRIES
The existance of fairies has been realised for a long time , but they have always hidden very well. Only sometimes spotted, they are known to play usually harmless tricks and jokes on people. Because of their very small size and their ability to fly they can hide very well in bushes and
leaves.
Female fairies have multi-coloured wings,
similar to butterflies' while the wings of males are often grassy or transparent. The use of their astonishingly stable wings though looks more like that of a dragonfly, so they are able to stand still in the air even against strong or quickly changing wind. Almost no creature can run as fast as a fairie can fly. The drawback on this is definitely their minimal strength. Since they are very small and seem somewhat fragile too, they make very poor fighters in close combat. Like Lizards, they can regrow every cut-off or maimed bodypart – especially the wings, which would regrow within less than two weeks if cut off.
A
deleted count in Albar has once been
known to hunt and chain fairies;
then cutting and selling their wings, but since fairies are very rare in human lands, very few fairies were caught.
He was killed after he suddenly combusted, whislt walking in public with a powerful protective amulet around his neck, which burst into flames; after that, all his fairies were quickly released. It is said that his daughter, who had befriended these creatures, became the only female albarian countess who was able to claim her father's land as her own property.
Fairies seem to inhabit natural places, mainly deep woods. It is said that they like to dwell near elven settlements, both races seem to get along with each other
deleted . In fact, both races
seem to have been allies for a long time . Even though fairies usually do not get too old – in the eyes of an elf, about four centuries
doesn't seem to be a very long time– both races seem to understand, respect and like each another quite well.
Fairies do not know the heritage of noble titles.
Unlike elves
however, they call their actual rulers kings and queens, they are always a couple – unmarried fairies never become rulers. The "nobles“ forming the court
did not inherit their titles , and were granted the honor of such a title from their royal couple after having
earned it. Different from humans, such nobles do not own any land since fairies are convinced that land cannot be owned. Because of this, they often think of humans as very stupid beings.
Like elves, the fairies have generally a good understanding of nature and life, usually they respect every living being. Their religion is usually that of the elves, although some are known to follow the ideals of younger gods too, especially Adron. Like elves, they
deleted hate unnatural things like smelly undead or mean things like dangerous demons. They are naturally talented spellcasters. Even though they often seem to get bored and loose concentration if they have to study for too long, their natural talent and curiosity are high.
Commonly, fairies like to have fun and are very curious, but also careful and easily scared. They are known to never forget if someone treated them
well or bad
ly, and to always repay
what they owe to their debtors . Farmers who live near forests which are inhabited by fairies, may find a golden coin or two in times of need when they or their ancestors were friendly to a fairie, but it is also rumored that a farmer who once tried to betray a fairie, had
some problems with the growth of enormous thistles and stinging nettles on his fields from then on.
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*gasps for breath* wow, this is fun
GNOMES
Gnomes are somewhat related to dwarves. Although much thinner, a bit smaller and
weaker than halflings, they are intelligent, agile and very good at crafting
mechanical things. Usually they do not make good thieves
due to their philosophical views . Their noses are somewhat big, and they have a liking for long names. It is common that male gnomes have three to four first names.
Gnomish clothes have usually more practical than decorative use. Gnomes love to dwell under the surface, in fact they prefer living in a kind of
mine , although not as big and deep as
dwarven ones. Gnomish homes tend to have their walls painted with bright clay.
Gnomes have a liking for strange mechanical
contraptions. Their caves and mines are often equipped with complicated
devices composed of wooden gears, frames and ropes just for the sake of getting water out of a well, and they are known to produce the most effective, but also most complicated and sometimes quite self destructive siege engines
in the whole world.
Gnomes don't
generally live in the mountains like dwarves do, and unlike dwarves, they even have a liking for magical things. Some gnomes are very talented illusonists. Although it is common that magic – except for illusions – is not liked to be seen as entertainment, gnomish illusionists are welcomed on every big official celebration. In fact, gnomes are the only non-human race who can travel through Albar without having to suffer from too many prejudices or even discriminations, mainly only because the albarian nobles would not like to see their
well-paid party attraction unable to perform their tasks.
Gnomes often pray to Irmorom like dwarves do, but they usually are not very religious.
Most gnomes are convinced that everything can be done without the help of mythical creatures and by the use of the own intelligence, but there have even been some who became priests or priestesses of the younger gods. Male and female gnomes are equal in society.
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And thats gnomes done too, anything else? [PS- they sound too much like D&D gnomes
]
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ORCS
The average orc is a little
shorter than a human. Their skin is greenish, and two of the lower jaw teeth are longer than the others, and reach a little over the lips.
Their society cannot be described as organized, in fact, it consists of different tribes. The
majority of these tribes live as nomads, with a certain teritory in which they travel with their herds.. Pigs and sheep are their main
source of nourishment.
Orcs do not build houses, they prefer living in caves. An orc tribe
's territory normally has several caves, some are natural, extended caves, others are digged out of the ground like mines. Some orcs have specialized in mining for ore and coal, and sometimes find rarer metals or even a few gems. The main tribe changes its cave with the seasons of the year, some individuals, shamans, old ones or the tribe leaders sometimes, live in the same cave or sometimes a hut over the whole year.
The
deleted larger orc tribes are split into sub-tribes with a kind of sub-chiefs. The tribe leader, most of the time, is the strongest one, and one of the oldest. Usually the main shaman is the smartest one, and often, he is
their active leader, his wishes passed on by manipulating and impressing the chief.
Or sometimes simply by brewing his favourite beer.
Most orc tribes are quite poor
deleted. Over the centuries, they have developed a rudimentary writing, consisting of different signs and scratch marks. In
times of war , an orc tribe leader developed an encrypted languague, allowing allies to exchange messages without leaving the enemy the possibility to read them.
Most orc tribes honor different gods. Oldra, for
most tribes, is the goddess of
fertility and growth, and is prayed to in spring. She is also called the "spring- goddess" by them. In Summer, they honor Brágon, the "daily-sun-maker" or "strong-in-summer". Since summertime often means wartime for an orc tribe, some tribes pray to Moshran, called "bone-crusher" or simply "blood lord". Either Moshran or Malachín is the war god of a tribe, sometimes both.
In Fall, the most tribes pray to Malachín, "the hunter", for a good hunt and to prepare for the hard winters. The winter caves must be filled with food for the tribe and its herds.
During Winter, the tribes live in the winter caves, and
Cherga is the honored goddess. Winter is the time of death, time of spirits, time of the ancestors. Some of the
ancestors' skulls, are placed in holy places in the winter quarters, and some in the chief's and shaman's quarters, to help them in their decisions and to speak to them in dreams.
Summertime often means wartime for an orc tribe
THIS IS REPEATED !!! . These wars are often territorial conflicts between the different orc tribes, not resulting in many deaths, often more a sport and training to the warriors. These conflicts include
espionage, stealing of animals, and some battles or battlegames to
prove the strongest clan
Since the tribes are quite poor, they tend to raid small villages or farms sometimes, if they don't have enough food for the next winter. Normally, orcs are not bloodthirsty, but when they fight with other races, their primary war tactics is to cause fear in their enemies. Captives who are too badly wounded to survive, are sometimes brutally killed after the battle, with the surviving captives witnessing it. Then, some of these captives, who show strength and a brave heart, will be given the possibility to escape, to spread the news;
and drive fear into the enemy's hearts. The others are sold as slaves or become personal servants, mostly peasants, cooks, or
forced to help the women with their work. If the slave is worthy and shows good work or strength,
and is of strong blood,
he may be given the choice to leave some day. Sometimes a slave marries a female orc, and becomes a member of the orc tribe that way, resulting in several half orcs.
Orcs have a different
idea of "Art"
compared to a human or elf. Orcish "poetry"
doesn't rhyme, but tells stories and produces disharmonic sounds to underline or describe situations. Same with orcish music. The melodies an orc produces with a flute or trumpet, can best be described as "loud", because they use
most instruments just for the fun and for loudness. Orcs seem to love the sound of a drum, too. "Normal" songs, if played by a good bard, can fascinate an orc too, but it may sound strange to him, like music from another culture always does.
Orcs don't like to
complicate matters.
For them, it is best if a man speaks directly and with little words. That's why they sometimes have problems with elves, who always take their time, and prefer a more metaphoric speech. If a human insults an orc, the orc would
n't immediatly strike him with a weapon, instead he would make a fierce, suiting answer, trying to make the other one look stupid. But since the orcish humor appears a little rough compared to a human's, it takes a lot for a human to insult an orc ( if he does not start to insult the orc's tribe or race ). In the most cases, it's the human who attacks first.
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Hmm.. i need a break
