Races of Caedria

 In creating the following list of races I wanted to reflect the history of the setting while keeping as much of the PHB open as possible. This is why there are 2 extra races and only Gnomes are missing from the PHB. There are other races in the world that can be suitable for PCs, but to start with I wanted to stick with the most common races of the area my campaigns will initially be set in and the ones that were important to the setting’s history as a whole.

The use of miniatures in 5E is of course optional, but in the absence of any great drawing talent of my own they make a great visual code to help develop what the setting looks like that I cannot manage via other means, or at least without a lot of time scouring the web for images that are “mostly right”. Better I use miniatures that I have and do use from time to time in games to set the right tone anyway.

The following outline is the second part of my player’s guide.

The following races are always part of the Shadows of Caedria setting:

Aasimar

The aasimar’s ancestors were once servants of the gods, angels that stood in the divine armies, but thousands of years ago they came to the world to fight to protect it from the demon armies of Demogorgon, and in the aftermath of the war they were no longer able to return to their astral domains trapped in the world they joined the communities of the other races. Aasimar are the descendants of unions between humans and those angels trapped in the world all those years ago.

Mechanics for the Aasimar are in the DMG on page 286-287.

Dragonborn

The dragonborn of Caedria came to the land as conquerors in the armies of Dragonspire. Where they came from before that is unclear, though there are rumours of a city on the edge of a great desert far to the south beyond the treacherous maelstrom known as the Eye of Walek.

Dwarves

The dwarves that reside around Lake Miryl have three large groupings, mountain dwarves who live in the Iron Heart Mountains and call their kingdom Samatia, hill dwarves who live across the land dwelling in small communities of their own or in larger communities of humans and the sea dwarves.

Sea dwarves are strictly speaking mountain dwarves, as their home is the great port city of Minshantal in the Iron Heart Mountains that connects Lake Miryl to the God’s Sea on the other side of the mountains from the lake. However their use of ships and firearms stands them apart from their cousins. Sea dwarves are tall like mountain dwarves but tend to have a slimmer build than either mountain or hill dwarves (though still quite stocky by human standards).

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Sea Legs. Sea Dwarves are great sailors, you may choose Vehicles (Water) instead of an artisan’s tool for Tool Proficiency.

Gunpowder Masters. As the inventors of pistols and muskets, sea dwarves teach their secrets to their children. You have proficiency with Pistols and Muskets.

Elf

The elves that were part of Caedria had two distinct cultures, the southern elves were students of nature while their northern cousins were students of magic. Both groups had many members, especially warriors, which became isolated from their homelands as the world turned darker after the end of the Dragon War and thus took up residence around Lake Miryl with the patience that comes from a lifespan of hundreds of years. The elves from the northern Crystal Court moved into the remaining cities of humans, especially Sylvintor, Caedria’s capital. While the elves of Manoshikae to the south moved into the northern borders of the Durnwood forest and returned to a lifestyle similar to what they had known in their homeland.

There is another group of elves that are occasionally seen on the surface of the world, the istathi. They are a twisted evil group whose goal is to set their dark goddess Callach free so that she may “assume her rightful place as ruler of the world” driving all the other gods and light from the world. They were nearly unknown around Lake Miryl during the time of the Empire of Caedria, but in the years since its fall they have been seen more frequently conducting raids on the surface and leaving few survivors while taking slaves and performing dark rituals for their goddess.

Halflings

Are one of the three races that have always lived around Lake Miryl. They are divided into two groups, the hill folk that live in and around the foothills of the Iron Heart Mountains and the river folk who live on the plains surrounding Lake Miryl. Both groups’ lives are centred on the waters of the lake and its tributaries. The river folk (or insultingly lightfeet) are nomadic river traders and fisher folk, while the hill folk (or stouts), who are said to have dwarf blood in their veins, tend to build small villages and settle in one place. Since the Dragon War many Halfling tribes and families have moved into the settlements of their larger neighbours as the world has become a more dangerous place.

Half-Elves & Half-Orcs

The children of humans and elves or orcs these individuals are rare. Half-elves tend to be the result of relationships between high elves and humans in the cities where they live side by side, while half-orcs tend to be found more commonly in remote villages or among the mountain tribes of the Black Reaches, especially those closest to the orc stronghold, The Fang. In the larger cities both are able to find their way with little trouble, but in small towns and villages, especially in the Fallen Principalities both can meet a lot of hostility.

Humans

The Caedrian Empire was forged by the alliance of the first king Caedaria, and the golden dragon Emberassal’tyn. The alliance between Caedaria’s heirs and the dragon lasted 600 years and saw their kingdom grow into a mighty empire through trade and warfare that influenced all the known world and beyond. As the lands around Lake Miryl were the heart of the Empire it is here that humans of all the lands of the empire came. As a result while humans with fair skin and light brown hair are the most common in the region many different hair and skin colours are now found, especially in Caerlon and Sylvintor. Humans are still the most likely group to come from beyond the heartlands of the Empire for trade to the ports of Caedria, Minshantal and the Fallen Principalities.

Tieflings

Born at the end of the Demon Wars in a union between demonic forces unable to escape the world and an ancient human empire who fought beside the demons, tieflings have a long history and are now spread across the world. Though the largest populations of tieflings are found on Naranla, an island just to the south. There a family of tieflings has united the island under their rule and elevated those among their race who will join them to positions of power.

 All Miniatures painted by ObsidianCrane. The half-orc is from Bombshell Miniatures, all the others are Reaper Miniatures, the dwarf and dragonborn are from their Bones line while the others are metal.