Species Overview

Dazhdvog

"Dwarf"-ish. Russian feel. Live underground.
Mental: +1 Will Infravision, Stonebound - Lifestyle: Underground miners, quarriers, stone-builders. Inspired by Slavs and dwarves. - Magic: Vitalis — stone-steadfastness, warding, resilience. See Dazhdvog Magic. - Element: Earth — grounding, trustworthy, steady. - Culture: Practical, charismatic, community-focused. See Dazhdvog Culture. - Relationships: Favored by Sektarri (trusted allies). Respect Fluvarri, dislike Kampanni (unrooted wanderers). Neutral to the Verdanni.

Fluvarri

Marshwiggle-ish. Native American feel. Fish-frog people. Live along shores.
Physical: +1 Finesse Amphibious, Leap - Lifestyle: Sedentary marsh and river dwellers; fishing, trading, cunning survivors. - Magic: Glamour — manipulate senses, create false images/sounds, beguilement. See Fluvarri Magic. - Element: Water — flowing, enduring, adaptive. - Culture: Marshwiggle-inspired pragmatism, slyness, and endurance. See Fluvarri Culture. - Relationships: Distrust Qnassi, appreciated by Dazhdvog, allied with Verdanni, tolerated by Sektarri.

Humans

Very adaptable. Newcomers. Typically live with established races.
Adaptable (+1 to any 2) +2 points to spend on Gifts/Skills - Lifestyle: Diasporic — humans live among all other races, adapting to their cultures. - Magic: Logomancy - Oaths and word magic. Can also learn the magic of whichever people they are raised among. See Human Magic.
- Element: None — adaptability is their “element.” - Culture: Descendants of Hume’s migration from another world. Often liminal, sometimes distrusted, sometimes valued as versatile intermediaries. See Human Culture for more.

Kampanni

Insect/Fae-ish. Romani feel. Small flying people. Butterfly/moth/dragonfly people. Live in airborne nomadic caravans up on high places. Mental: +1 Cunning
Flitter, Spark - Lifestyle: Nomadic flying caravans, preferring heights (cliffs, treetops). See Kampanni Flights. - Magic: Evocation (air & lightning) — quick spells, lightning, wind manipulation. See Kampanni Magic. - Element: Air — fleeting, nomadic, restless. - Culture: Romani-inspired; wandering outsiders, distrusted by many. See Kampanni Culture. - Relationships: Friends with Qnassi (fire + air synergy), friends with Verdanni (seen as “little companions”), distrusted by Dazhdvog, disliked by Sektarri empire.

Qnassi

Lizardfolk. Aztec feel. Somewhat nomadic; travelling from settlement to settlement.
Physical: +1 Vigor Heatblood, Long Haul - Lifestyle: Semi-nomadic, cycling through sacred hearth-villages. - Magic: Blood Magic — take on the best traits of lizards (regeneration, toughened scales, claws, fire-hardiness). See Qnassi Magic. - Element: Fire — restless, holy, destructive and renewing. - Culture: Aztec-inspired semi-nomadism, ritual fire festivals, Living Ember carried across settlements. See Qnassi Culture. - Relationships: Favored by Sektarri; rivals with Fluvarri; kinship with Kampanni.

Sektarri

Catfolk. Egyptian feel. Most live in cities/large villages.
Social: +1 Influence Balance, Cat Like Reflexes * Lifestyle: Sedentary, centralized, empire-builders. Inspired by Egyptian pharaonic structure, but with a twist: their “magic” is Technology — metallurgy, mechanics, architecture. See Sektarri Empire. - Element: Metal — permanence, sharpness, artifice, empire. - Magic Equivalent: Technology (forges, machines, complex tools, bronze and steel). Seen by others as unnatural or soulless, but respected for its effectiveness. - Culture: See Sektarri Culture. - Egyptian-inspired monumentalism: stone and metal monuments, temples, and tombs. - Divine kingship: the empire’s ruler is both high priest and Pharaoh-like warlord. - Bureaucracy, scribes, and overseers enforce tribute cycles from the other races. - Relationships: - Favor the Qnassi (fire-lizards) — both for their tribute (obsidian, pottery, warriors) and because fire/metal together are useful. - Favor the Dazhdvog (earth-dogs) — trusted allies, as their healing/protection magic complements Sektarri war-machine. - Rivals with the Verdanni (wood-elves) — empire vs. resistance, permanence vs. growth. - Distrust the Kampanni (air-moths) — too flighty, unrooted, impossible to tax. - Pragmatic respect for Fluvarri (water-frogs) — useful but viewed as sly. - Humans are scattered throughout; in the empire, some rise to prominence as loyalists.

Verdanni

"Elf"-ish. Early Western European feel. Plant/tree people. Live in tree-top villages in the forests.
Mental: +1 Cunning Root Down

• Lifestyle: Treetop principalities, elegant but politically divided. Inspired by Elves + Vodacce. See Verdanni Principalities.
• Element: Wood/Plants — growth, flexibility, cycles.
• Magic: Botanical Alchemy — command plant growth, shape wood, herbal medicine/poisons. See Verdanni Magic.
• Culture: Agile, lithe, artistic, proud. No genders — reproduce by combining seeds. See Verdanni Culture.
• Relationships: Friends with Fluvarri and Kampanni, rivals of Sektarri (resist empire hardest).