I know that most people start with race right away, but I'm going to talk a bit about location and background because I think it matters more. I'll move onto race in a moment.
Odds are good that your PC is from the Southern Kingdoms (that's sort of the default location). It's a collection of mostly decent kingdoms and nations that make up the central southern lands of Shaintar. Don't assume that you NEED to be from here just because it's the default assumption. For a darker background, maybe you fled the Kal-a-Nar empire to the north because you hated their evil ways (if you think of them as Necromongers, you won't be too far off the truth). Maybe you defected from a Malakar Dominion bankhouse after refusing to crush a young family's finances (you can think of the Dominion as .... actually think of them as Monsanto meets Wells Fargo meets the US Senate on a really bad day and you'll be pretty close).
You might have left the Island nation of Korindia, feeling that you have learned everything that you can there and wanting to test your martial skills (fae-like korindians use something akin to martial arts to master themselves. They have a strict society that considers metal to be a mainland evil and tend to be very sparse on personal property). Or maybe you're a member of a Goblin gather (a goblin, an orc, or an ogre) who either left their people or was shunned (or perhaps your people were killed or you were left for dead after a fight). There's also plenty of room in Shaintar for former slaves (as many nations trade heavily in slaves).
That said, here's a few things you should know about life in Shaintar:
- Many forms of government exist, though it's seems that feudal kingdoms are the most common, even if they are very small.
- Obviously we're looking at a mostly fantasy-level technology. Alchemists make life easier, but not that much easier and while magic is fairly common, it's not common enough to infiltrate all aspects of daily life (also it's pretty short lived stuff)
- In Shaintar if you say you're a priest, odds are good that people are afraid of you. That's because the only "church" that isn't almost 100% evil is the church of Light, who worships Archanon. But, just to confuse matters, there is also the Church of Archanon from the Prelacy of Camon. Same god, totally different church. They are everything that is bad and wrong with religious fear and intolerance. They seek to wipe out all the nonhuman races and spread their faith till it dominates the earth. So even if you say, "No, it's okay, I'm a priest of Archanon," people aren't soothed. It's sort of like saying, "It's okay if I babysit. I'm a Catholic priest." You might be a great guy, but that probably won't make a lot of people feel better. More on religion later, but the point is that there's not a lot of wandering healers eager to help you out, so things like sickness and disease are not that easy to fix.
- Shaintar is basically one continent and a lot of surrounding islands. The whole thing is probably the size of Half the US (or roughly the size of Europe). Don't think that makes it simple. There's no fewer than 12 major kingdoms and dozens of minor kingdoms in there.
About religion
Before we get into races, I want to comment on religion. Shaintar doesn't really have "gods" the way you are used to thikning of them in a fantasy game. The closest thing they have is Archanon, who has a church (or two) and may or may not be a god. Most of the "gods" is Shaintar are really the Ascended. They are said to have one been mortal people and they were elevated by Shanais and Targon: the supreme beings who created Shaintar. they set them about the task of looking after creation and then left to go create other worlds. They are revered, but rarely worshiped. The Ascended are not worshiped so much as venerated like potent ancestors or heroes. They are said to provide favor and they guide people. Think of them more like Olympian gods, or even better: comic book gods. One from each of the original "normal" races (that is to say, no goblinoids). Their servants are called Druids, though ultimately they are more like co-workers. Druids are seen as the hand of the Ascended on Shaintar. They do their work as best they can and act on their behalf. It's a sacred duty and it is taken very seriously. They are highly revered, but also not common. If a druid comes to town people are happy to see them for the most part, but they are like big name officials: people try to stay out of their way.
A quick list of the Ascended is as follows:
There were originally five Ascended: Vainar, Ceynara, Dranak, Illiana, and Zavonis.
- Vainar: Originally raised from the fae people, he was intended to lead the Ascended. He was eventually lured by the power of the Necrolords, seeking ot master it and turn them to good purpose. He not leads them as their master Vainar the Fallen: the Shadowlord.
- Ceynara: raised from the humans to guard the Abyss, she was eventually seduced by Uldor the demon lord. She is now Ceynara the Demon Queen and Uldor is her Prince Consort.
These two obviously no longer serve their intended purpose and their followers worship them as gods, seeking to create power among them. It is said by scholars they they seek to ascend their positions and become true gods. This is part of the reason religion is so odd in Shaintar.
- Dranak was raised from the Dwarves and became the Stronewalker, master of the realms beneath the earth.
- Illiana was raised from the Dregordians and became the Waverider: Mistress of the seas and the life giving waters.
- Zavonis was raised from the Aevakar and became the Windmaster, Lord of the Skies.
This left the Ascended with a hole in their ranks for a long time. About a century ago it is believed that the Ascended got together and raised Vainar's sister Landra to their status and gave her the mantle of Soulfinder. This greatly weakened them, and caused them to step back from the realsm of mortals. Further complicating this are the Covenants. Landra put these in place to ensure that the higher beings could not act upon Shaintar without a great token in return (and violating the Covenants takes a terrible toll on them).
Soon after, Archanon made himself known as the Lord of Light. Nobody knows much about him for certain, and both his warring churches believe themselves to be in the right. Perhaps they both are.
Okay, now that we've got cultural stuff out of the way, let's talk races. I'll try to keep them grouped logically.
- Humans: Your standard fantasy human. Not much to see here.
- Dwarves: Your standard fantasy dwarves. If it ain't broke ....
- Eldakar: not too different from most fantasy elves. They are immortal beings who created much of the culture, civilization, and law of the world.
- Aevakar: A rare cousin race of fae, the aevakar are winged material fae. They are said to only number in the thousands worldwide and mostly keep to themselves.
- Alakar: A lower kind of fae, said to be mixed with mortal blood, these are much more common. they are long lived, but not immortal. Often called Half Bloods by pure fae.
- Korindians: Even more rare, these descendants of a long line on "half elves" were born of a terrible plague and fled the mainland to rid themselves of pain and persecution. They lead strict lives and eschew metals of all sorts.
- Ogre: Giant goblinish beasts, ogres tend to be slow witted, very strong, and posessed of bad vision. Somehow this doesn't bother anyone looking to employ them as bodyguards. They stand sometimes 9-10 feet tall and, like all goblinish, they have little to no body hair and eyes that glow faintly.
- Orc: Smaller and brighter than their ogre cousins, orcs are larger and tougher than most humans, but still middle sized for goblinish.
- Goblins: These are the smallest, smartest, and most numerous of the Goblinish races. They are possessed of poor eyes, but an excellent sense of smell.
- Dregordian: lizard-like creatures who are at home in the water or on land, they are quite well rounded with great strength and calm minds. If you were to think of them as aquatic Vulcans you might not be too far off.
- Brinche: Catlike people of the plains: brinchie are a lot like feline barbarians or any other sort of primitive tribe. They are flighty and get bored easily.
So now that you have looked at the races (seriously, there's a LOT) what do you do with them? Well, the system is skill based, so just about anything you want. each has some leanings (for example, Eldakar lean toward the magical while Korindians are more likely to be unarmed fighters, druids, or Adepts) but here's a few ideas that are NOT always common in fantasy fare:
- Adepts: practitioners of The Way, adepts are like spiritualist monks. Shaolin meets Wire Fu.
- Druids: wielders of the essence of Life, they do the work of the Ascended. Basically think of them as Druids from old Ireland, not as Druids from D&D.
- Sorcerers: ye old spellslingers, but they are not 100% dedicated yet. Eventually they take on the mantle of Mage proper.
- Priests and Paladins of the Church of Light channel the Light energy of Arcanon pretty directly.
- Alchemists: use the raw stuff of nature to create spectacular effects. it's not "magic" exactly, but since everything is made of essence, they can take advantage of that. Think of it like then exploiting a loophole in the system. They hack reality.
Beyond those more technically skilled types we have your standard warriors, archers, rogues, runners, wanderers, ex-slaves, former pit fighters and even just your standard common folk, which is a fun one if you just want to start with nothing and see where it goes.
Also bear in mind that you need not start as any of these things. A farmer with no skill can spend a while studying and become a druid or a sorcerer if he or she dedicates themselves to it. And there's plenty of game to go. In a skill and edge based game there is really no such things as falling behind. There's just how long it takes you to get to your goal.
Okay, I think that's enough for now. Feel free to respond with questions or comments.
