Races - Ternova

The Races of Ternova are Divided between those who inhabit the surface and those who dwell in the Underdark.

Surface Races
Aasimar: The Aasimar are the mortal descendant of Angels. Aasimar of the past often were seen as lone paragons of angelic virtues and were regarded as great heroes, but in reality they only allowed themselves to be seen this way to disguise the loneliness they felt wandering the mortal world as they would almost never meet another of their kind due to their rarity. Modern Aasimar are a reclusive bunch but they have since banded together in secret societies were they can be with others of their kind, hidden within the human kingdoms. This has helped them greatly, staving off depression caused by loneliness. Without the presence of Angels or sentient Gods, the Aasimar have taken hold of their own free will and destinies, shaping it into what they feel is best for them and their kind.

Dragonborn: The Dragonborn are the former servants of the Great Dragons that once ruled Ternova, and they once had a great civilisation spanning half the world. This has long since fallen and modern Dragonborn are nomadic wanderers of the deserts and savannahs. Their culture revolves around reverence of their ancient history and they still sing the ancient songs of their people and pay tribute and homage to remaining Dragons in the far places of the surface, beyond the reach of the human kingdoms.

Elves: Once holding a world spanning, powerful empire, the elves have fallen so far in the world. Not much remains of their former glory and modern Elves now live as simple Hunter-Gatherers in old forests far from human boarders. Modern Elves are not fond of humans due to their ever increasing unnatural reliance on technology and their further deviance from natural magics that the elves still hold dear, they even go so far as to blame humans for the non-sentience of the Gods through lack of worship.

Half-Elves: An extremely rare union of Human and Elf, they have the best of both races with Natural Elven beauty and magic alongside Human resourcefulness and pragmatism. They are never truly a part of Human or Elven society, in fact they are often rejected in Elven lands but can flourish in the Human Kingdoms.

Humans: The most numerous and most volatile race inhabiting the surface. With humanity comes their Kingdoms, societies, empires, politics and war. Ever since mankind took it first steps into the world they have thrown themselves into it. An alliance of them, Elves and Dragons once fought in the primordial wars, and after that they have allied, betrayed, double-crossed and made war with almost all of the surface races. But conflict and war are not all that humans are about, they fancy themselves as creators, innovators and intrepid folk and have done a lot to help and discover more about their world and those who live within it. The last great Human war was the Last War of the Magi. Modern Humans have Three nations: The United Kingdoms of Aelesir and Lerrasir, The Protectorate of Wirgard, and The Imperial Lands of Shino. Unknown to them they are doomed, but their legacy will be hard to forget.

Merfolk: The Merfolk lay claim to seas and they protect it vigorously. Over the centuries, their empires have risen and fallen like the tides but they have been a fairly constant presence in the oceans and have enjoyed numerous alliances with all surface races. Modern Merfolk have a great trading relationship with the UKAL, and even have colonies on Aelesir’s coast. Merfolk clans are ruled over by a Queen who is also responsible for the propagation of the their race (quite like Ants and Bees), and most merfolk are sexless but work together for the benefit of their clan. On rare and desperate occasions, an ordinary Merfolk can undergo a ritual that will turn them into a new Queen. In the deep cities, several clans unite and rule through the council of Queens. Male merfolk are reasonably rare but they bond themselves to a Queen (who can have multiple mates) and will defend her life as an elite bodyguard as well as providing seed for the Queen.

Tabaxi: The Cat-people of Ternova were once far more numerous, but have declined to few clans living on Shino’s boarders. They are a highly curious people and will often wander across the lands and even travel across the seas on occasions. While they are a rare sight they are not feared and are reasonably well liked by most surface races, save the Wolfschildren. What a Tabaxi searches for varies for each one.

Wolfschildren: Humans born with the Ears and Tails of wolves, are often thought of as an offshoot of humans but their own history is a complete mystery, even to them. Most Wolfschildren live in the forests, in family clans; others have integrated with Humans and live like them but their heightened senses give them a slight advantage even in towns and cities. "Wolfchildren Traits: Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom Score increases by 2 Age: Wolfchildren reach maturity around 8 years old, and can live 40 to 50 years. Size: Medium Speed: Your base walking speed in 30ft. Darkvision: You can see in dim light within 60ft of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darnkess, only shade of grey. Lupine Senses: Your Wolflike attributes grant you proficiency in the Perception skill Subrace: There are two subraces of Wolfschildren: Wild Wolfschild and Urban Wolfschild Wild Wolfschild: Your Dexterity score increases by 1, Agility Surge: If you fail on a Dexterity saving throw, you may reroll that save and you must use the new result. You may only use this feature once per long rest. Urban Wolfschild: Your Charisma score increases by 1, Personality Surge: If you fail on a Charisma saving throw, you may reroll that save and you must use the new result. You may only use this feature once per long rest."

Underdark Races
Drow: The Drow were once elves, but were driven underground when they allied with the demons during the Primordial Wars by their former kin. During their time underground they forged their own empire in their image and dedicate it to the Demon Spider Queen Lolth, who is sealed away from the world. The Drow are arrogant in the extreme and seek to exercise their right to dominate all life they meet and are constantly at war with the other races of the Underdark (and the surface if they remembered it exists). The Drow have diverged from their surface counterparts significantly as they now have a similar hierarchy to that of Ants/Bees in that each drow family has a Queen who rules and propagates that house. Male Drow are absolutely subservient to the Queens providing them elite protection and seed. Ordinary Drow are sexless but are still born with traits that other races would use to define their sex. When the Drow conquer other races they love to take slaves. Their favourite slave race right now are Tieflings.

Dwarves: The Dwarves were once a mighty surface power, but they delved deep into the depths of Ternova and became trapped in the Underdark. Still they prospered here until they came into contact with the Drow, and are stuck in eternal war with them. Despite everything they still hold strong against the Drow sieges and for every fortress that falls another is built stronger than the last.

Gnomes: Staunch allies of the dwarves, they were once the favoured slaves of the Drow. Now they live and fight alongside the Dwarves as well and protecting their own hidden places in the Underdark. Gnomes do dream of seeing the mythical surface once again and they believe that when the Drow are vanquished the ceiling will crumble away and bring the immortal light back to them. In the meantime they use their ingenuity to assist the Dwarven war machine.

Tieflings: Tieflings were once humans who allied with the Demons during the Primordial Wars, but at the end they turned against their Demon masters and helped to seal them away. They were not however welcome among other humans and were exiled to the Underdark. For a long time they lived as slaves to the Drow and served alongside the dwarves. But they were not content with either of these situations. They wanted their own civilisation and they built it over the span of centuries. Modern Tieflings live in the great Underdark city of Azmardeus, and are quite proud of the life they make there. The Drow do like to make their dominance known but they have an accord with Azmardeus for as long as the war with the Dwarves persists, that states the Drow shall not take Azmardeus for themselves as long as the citizens of Azmardeus acknowledge Drow superiority and they send their prisoners as slaves to the Drow.

Alien Races
Aaracockra, Firbolg, Genasi, Goliath, Halfling, Half-Orc, Kenku, Lizardfolk, Tortle & Monstrous Races: These races are not native to Ternova, instead hailing from other dimensions or alternate mortal planes. They are extremely rare, almost unheard of, however something is bringing strange things to Ternova.