The Common Races

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The Common, sometimes called "Lesser," Races are the most prevalent in the world. They are by no means the strongest, or the most powerful, but when it comes to sheer numbers, these are the most populous. The majority of characters should come from this selection (or the variants thereof. See the Variant Races thread for more details).

Keep in mind however, that these are categories, not explicit species. There could be dozens, even a hundred different species or more within some of these categories. After all, we care less about what you - the player - call your character or what your character looks like, and more about whether each player's racial benefits are balanced with another's.

These categories do not, however, take into account natural abilities, like what a character can breathe, how fast they can run, or how far they can see. Natural abilities will be addressed on a case by case basis in the character creation process.

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Human -
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free at Tier 0, 1 Free at Tier 2, 1 Free at Tier 4.

The least magical of the races by nature, Human beings nevertheless have great magical potential. They are the second most populous of the races, just behind the Beastfolk, and have made the most technological advances of all the races. It's more common for a human to have a gun or an enchanted sword then to throw a spell, but quite a few human wizards have outstripped their non-human peers. Humans run the gamut in terms of size and shape, usually standing around 5'6" to 6'6" tall on average. Halflings and "small" giants  (in proportion to other giants) technically fall under this category, though they usually stand 2 - 4' and 7 - 10 feet respectively.

Special Game Mechanics: A human being's magical potential is unlocked slowly. They technically gain more special abilities than comparable races, and with greater freedom - but only when their own magic has sufficiently advanced. A Tier 0 (Nonmagical) human only has one bonus special ability. When a human reaches Tier 2, they gain a second bonus ability, and they gain a third bonus ability when they reach Tier 4. These choices may be from any category.

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Wild Fey -
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, 1 Magical

The Wild Fey are not a race: they are a classification that engulfs a massive assortment of various life forms. They are connected to magic as much as they are connected to nature, and though not all are explicitly casters, they have a deeper awareness to the mystical side of the world. These are the satyrs, the centaurs, the selkies, the kitsune and kamaitachi, and so many more. In total, they are the third most populous group, though numerous subdivisions mean that each is functionally a small minority, living in cultural pockets. Many of them are still hunter-gatherers and, in terms of technology, millennia behind other races - not that they need it.

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Noble Fey -
Bonus Special Abilities: 2 Magical, 1 Travel - Vulnerability to Metal, Lose Travel

The Noble Fey live and breathe magic almost from the time they're born. In some cases, they practically are magic, wrapped up in near-immortal flesh. This classification is narrower than the Wild Fey, but it still includes many species: the elves, the gnomes, pixies and the like. Noble Fey tend to be more technologically advanced than their Wild counterparts, but their over-dependency on magic has largely stunted their interest past the Middle Ages.

Special Game Mechanics: All Noble Fey instinctively know how to use magic and how to move through the world in some supernatural way. They gain a single bonus Travel special ability. Many are natural teleporters. There is no such thing as a Tier 0 Noble Fey. Their highly magical state comes with a slight disadvantage, though: a Noble Fey that is cut, stabbed, or otherwise physically injured by a metallic object experiences a disruption in their powers. Aside from making it slightly harder to perform magic (though not significantly), the injured fey loses access to their Travel ability for the duration of the combat, until they can rest and adjust. Healing magic out of combat accelerates this process.

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Beastfolk -
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Free, 1 Physical

The most populous - if not the dominant - race of the planet, the Beastfolk live in every corner of the world. The Beastfolk resemble human beings in many ways: they are of similar size and build, walk on plantigrade legs, and have comparable senses. Some even grow hair, and many middle aged Beastfolk sport beards. Yet unlike human beings, all the Beastfolk have overt aspects of a specific animal species: fur, perhaps a tail, claws, and facial features that more accurately represent the animal then the human, while simultaneously possessing a human's level of expressiveness. They are a hardy race, with subspecies living in the sea, flying in the sky, and burrowing under ground. As technologically diverse as the planet itself, the Beastfolk living in one place are as likely to be wearing loincloths as they are to be wearing a three piece suit in another place.

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Magical Beast -
Bonus Special Abilities: 1 Physical, 1 Magical

A broad category of creatures, not all Magical Beasts are sentient - but enough are to merit mention among their fellow rational beings. Animals that have been 'awakened' or 'enlightened' by magic are such creatures, as are the more fantastical, intelligent creatures, such as the sphinx and the griffin. Some people like to think they're Wild Fey, but Magical Beasts are practically - if not real - animals, in terms of their thoughts, their shapes, and their natural abilities. Sentient Magical Beasts strike a fine line between being considered people, or monsters. It should go without saying that almost all Magical Beasts lack thumbs, and thus are responsible for few to no technological advancements of their own. Many cannot dress themselves without help, if they even wear anything at all. Obviously, most don't need to. It's quite common for sentient Magical Beasts to live almost exactly as the rest of their species, wild and unashamed of that fact. Sentient Magical Beasts are incredibly rare, of course, but not unheard of. Spellcasting sentient Magical Beasts are thus even rarer, and face more difficulties with learning some forms or styles of magic than other races.