The major races of Kaerith include humans, dwarves (which are typical fantasy dwarves), a very small and declining population of gnomes and halflings (who have no territory of their own), goblins , elves , ogres , and orcs. Goblins, elves, and orcs are somewhat unusual on Kaerith, as compared to their typical counterparts in fantasy fiction and D&D; the differences are described below. Other races include gnolls (hyena-men), wemics (lion-centaurs), and zebranaurs (zebra-centaurs), but these races dwell far in the southern Beastlands and are very rare in the Baronies.

Goblins

Goblins are still the small, petty evil creatures familiar to longtime gamers, but come in four varieties: the green goblin (the classic fantasy goblin), the brown hobgoblin (larger and smarter than typical goblins), the rare red goblin (tough-skinned, fire resistant, and capable of breathing a gout of flame at great risk to their own health) and the rarest, orange goblins (tiny, intelligent creatures with magical powers). Goblins worship the war-god Glarath and travel in raiding bands, often working for powerful human, orcish, or ogrish warlords.

Orcs

Kaerith's orcs were once the grunting, stupid, primitive warriors of classic fantasy, and a few isolated tribes still are. But a messiah named Gagner rose among them half a century ago, uniting several orcish kingdoms into a powerful military theocracy. Dedicated to the war-god Dukagsh, whose teachings include ideals of military discipline, orcish racial purity, and conquest, the orcs have become an intelligent, well-organized society similar to Nazis, but with Klingon ideals of honor. The Gagnerian Empire is now the largest and most powerful single nation on Kaerith. They recently conquered the human barony known as the Whitelands (see The Eyepoint Manifesto), but have pledged not to attack any other human nations– for now.

Elves

The strangest race on Kaerith is doubtlessly the elf. In stark contrast to their forest-dwelling counterparts on other worlds, Kaerith's elves average 7 feet tall and have gold-colored skin, white hair, and slitted golden eyes. They reject nature, loving only their scholarship; Kaerith's elves hoard knowledge, their only currency and the chief pursuit of their society. They are emotionless and logical, and supposedly worship Hhalen Solissus, the evil god of pride and ambition. The entire race has powerful psychic abilities. Some elves combine psychic and martial prowess; these beings, the Rho Lhar, wield powerful double-bladed polearms, the yen lhar, while psychically crushing their enemies at the same time. The Rho Lhar are the defenders of the elven people, and have repelled every human, orcish, and dwarven attempt to raid the elven nation of Hlar'Vila. The elves are xenophobic and have no relations with other races; few ever leave their desert nation, and almost nothing is known of their society. Other races universally hate and distrust them, and elves wandering into human cities would more than likely be stoned on sight. There is no half-elven race; the first child born of man and elf, it is said, will bring about the end of the world(1).

Faeries

Faerie folk are a powerful force on Kaerith, and only the foolish venture into the wilderness of the Baronies without a protective charm, such as a small bag of iron nails and flint. The faerie folk and their gods (such as Titania and Oberon) are a part of the pantheon, albeit a rejected one; humans who worship them are called druids, and burned at the stake as witches are. Only the nation of New Braghney, which benefits from an ages-old deal with the faerie king forbidding his people to enter the country, is immune. Common faerie types are the same as in classical myth and legend, and include other non-faerie sylvan beings as well: pooka, sprites, pixies, nixies, atomies, grigs, seelie and unseelie spirits, banshees, leprechauns, clurichauns, quicklings, brambles, bogies, boggarts, gorse, brownies, centaurs, satyrs (fauns), nymphs, dryads, and treants. Their behavior is consistent with that of faeries in Earthly legends and myths.

Espers

Some humans have psychic powers granted them by the earth goddess Elamonel ; these individuals are called espers, and are charged with defending humanity from outside threats. The powers of espers vary widely, ranging from healing to dowsing to channeling to weather control, but most of them are classical psychic abilities of telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance (for D&D veterans, psionics). Espers wander the realms of humanity, guarding humans from outside threats and pursuing their own goals. Most espers hope to someday attain enlightenment, a unity with the gods in which the flesh is shed and the esper becomes a being of pure energy. Espers also teach ordinary humans to use the powers which Elamonel sometimes grants them. These powers are called Earthgifts; thus, it is not uncommon for a Kaerithian human to have a single special power, usually a minor ability such as mind reading once per day, sensing emotions, or seeing in the dark. Espers are rare, however, and their powers are much respected and much feared.

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Footnotes:

1. For this reason half-elves are banned as player characters on Kaerith.