Races

Because species is more than skin deep.

Your race, like your class, determines who you are within the realms. Some races have certain advantages over others, as well as certain disadvantages. And every race has its quirks, both in the "rules" (game software mechanics), and in how players approach them (gnome fights). For some players, choosing race isn't difficult at all, or has no bearing on how they role play their character. In many instances, the race chosen is the race that offers the benefits or penalties that they feel they need for what their character "should" be able to do. But, for some others, the actual race of the character was the deciding factor, not the advantages or disadvantages associated with that race.

Short and sturdy, dwarves often seem fond of ale, and many have at best a haughty disregard for the "finger-waggling" mages and clerics that are found wandering the realms -- particularly the finger-waggling cleric/mages. Dwarves rejoice in melee combat, and have innately high resistance to poison, magic, and alcohol. They also are highly resistant to the idea of shaving, as both male and females sport impressive beards as symbols of their prowess. Dwarves gain benefits against giant class creatures, both in attacking them, and in avoiding them, due to their difference in relative stature. They are limited in which classes they can pursue to fighter, thief, and fighter-thief.

Tall and slight of build, Elves are a long-lived and somewhat light-hearted race, typically. Many folks have a great romantic affinity for elves, and roleplay them exclusively. Elves have racial benefits that result in their gaining a +1 to hit with long swords, short swords, and bows, and are also nearly immune to sleep and charm spells. They can achieve up to a 19 dexterity, due to their inherently graceful and quick nature, and this trait is partially responsible for their benefits with bows. They're also the race that crafts the fine magical cloaks which bear their name. Elves aren't a particularly religious species as a whole, and therefore cannot be clerics; however, they can be fighters, mages, or thieves -- or any combination thereof.

Halflings are basically rather similar to diminutive humans. However, their class limitations are considerably more strict, and they can only be fighters, thieves, or both. They're resistant to magic, though, and gain benefits when battling giant class creatures, as those creatures usually have a hard time hitting such low targets. Additionally, halflings have bonuses to hit when throwing things, being skilled at lobbing rocks and other hand-held projectiles while strategically hiding behind something large and protective! They are known for their love of food, especially mushrooms and their desire to get 5-6 square meals per day. They love to be comfortable and live in tidy burrows.

As the name implies, this race is half-elven. The other half is human, as the name doesn't necessarily imply. Half-elves, like humans, can be nearly any class they'd like, but due to their elven blood they are limited in the levels they can attain in most classes. Half-elves gain some of their full elven relatives' resistance to sleep and charm spells, and can be fighters, rangers, clerics, mages, thieves, or nearly any combination thereof. Unfortunately, the only class they can reach 10th level or higher in is thief, though, so this race is often viewed as undesirable by players wishing to have some of the abilities only a "maxxed" character can have, maxxed in this instance referring to the maximum level limits of the game. In a roleplay sense, the half-elf is an interesting creature, being possibly shunned by one (or both) of their parent's races as being a "halfbreed."

Gnomes are somewhat similar to dwarves, but are more resistant to magic, and less so to poison and alcohol. Many players that choose to roleplay gnomes role play the legendary "tinker" gnomes -- referring to a somewhat eclectic tendency gnomes have to devise mechanical creations of bizarre construction and purpose. Gnomes have also been known to get a bit excited when they talk, and some complain of entire sentences that seem to be blurted out as if they were but a single word -- not a pause in sight to help the unfortunate listener sort out where one word ended and one word began. They tend to be excellent stonecutters and jewelers, having a natural affinity and ability to deal with fine gems.

There is also a strange phenomena within the realms where human cleric/mages for some reason transmute themselves into gnomes for a period of time -- this is assumed to be some sort of ritual intended to atone for sins or failures committed by the individual in question. A gnomish purification, if you will. Gnomes gain benefits against giant-class creatures, and can be fighters, thieves, or fighter-thieves.

If you're reading this, you're probably either a human, somewhat self-delusioned, or taking your roleplay far too seriously. Humans are the "standard" class within the realms, and have no racial restrictions placed upon them. As well, they have no modifiers to their statistics, and can choose quite nearly any path that they wish. Humans cannot pursue two different careers simultaneously, however, and for a human character to gain the benefits of two classes, they must first study one class, and then "dual" to another -- sort of a mid-life change of heart, at which point they will begin anew as if a first-level character of the new class, with the benefit of the previous class's hit points to help protect them, however. Once this "dual" class character reaches a level in their second class one level higher than what they'd attained in their previous class, the majority of the benefits of their previous class return, making for some of the more-powerful character class combinations possible in the realms. For better, or for worse, humans are the dominant and most numerous race within the realms, and this fact has been largely accepted by those non-humans that travel alongside them.

Of course, roleplay allows players to conjure up anything at all to "be" within the realms. Various kinds of animals, monsters, and races besides the six listed above have been roleplayed over the years. We've seen tigers, ravens, various large cats, a pseudo dragon, a wolf, lizardmen, dragons, various undead creatures, trolls and ogres, and just about anything you could imagine.

Vampires, ghouls, ghosts, liches and other "not quite dead yet" things all wander the realms and are roleplayed by the players who have an interest in this unique type of character. Usually, they are rolled (using the game mechanics) as a human cleric/mage because of the inherent benefits of the huge number of spells available to that combination.

Fascination with the world of the Underdark has led to the creation of many of the races that populate that region. Drow elves, duergar and even the occasional Mind Flayer visit the realms. Often if PVP is the goal, then the character is rolled as a human cleric/mage. In most instances though, duergar are rolled as evil dwarves and occasionally drow are rolled as elven Fighter/Magic-User/Thieves. Since the female drow elves are almost exclusively clerics and an elven cleric is not possible within the game, you'll find lots of human cleric/mages with the distinctive black skin and white hair of the drow.

Often players will get together and decide to create a character which will act as a pet, friend or familiar (mage's pet). Usually these are rolled as something appropriate to the roleplay of the animal, for instance, a raven might be rolled as a thief as they are attracted to steal bright shiny objects. A wolf might be a fighter, and so forth. Roleplaying animals is tough, of course, as they cannot speak and yet must demonstrate their reactions without words!