Bleeding Edge (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Races

Major Races

The major races of Accolade can potentially be found all over the world, in any civilization at any time. Of course, some are much more easily found in some places than others, but these species has gone global in their spread.

Aasimar and Tieflings

The aasimar are tieflings are technically the same species, consisting of descendants of the Miskato Tribe and subsequently the students of Atheneum of Knowledge. They are humans (or humanoid creatures such as elves) whose descendants were said to come into direct contact with the gods, fundamentally changing them into something divine. The blood has thinned since then, and the alien superhumans of the past are no more leaving the much more common forms of aasimar and tiefling in their wake. Rather than be born of celestials and fiends respectively, which of the two they are simply determines how human, or how terrifying, their predecessor was. Aasimar come from more human-shaped blood, though they are prone towards metallic or even mechanical appearances, while tieflings arise from the eldritch form of celestials, whose horrifying appearance has no bearing on if the spirit is friendly or not. Thus, any alignment suggestions of either creature is mutable.

In Accolade, their appearance makes them simultaneously popular and feared. Their appearance and nature inherently connects them to the works of Vulpeculae, and thus their curse.

Dwarves

Perhaps the second most populous and well known species on Accolade next to humans, the dwarves are a long-lived race of stout humanoids who live in the frigid tundra and high mountains, where their prodigious beards insulate them from freezing cold. Excellent miners and craftsmen, they built the first major kingdoms of humanoids accord Accolade and are responsible for many ruins from their long defunct but once world-spanning empire, Lithos. As the ages past, their power ebbed and waned, but to this day they have yet to fade as they sit upon their vaults of old money and the legacy of their forefathers. It has bred them proud and melancholic, fearful that this time perhaps their mines will run dry or their power will pass to other races.

Many are friendly with dwarves, and they run a stable society. Yet distant rumbles of dissent lay on the horizon as fear begins to grip their hearts.

Elves

The elves originally hail from the insular kingdom of Tejan, where their long-lived culture benefited from being an island onto its own which protected them from many threats, as well as hampered their interactions with others. Thus, it did nothing to help when the seafaring orcs of Loch arrived bearing weapons and bloodthirst. Thus elves first encounter with others was violence, and it embedded a virulent xenophobia within their kind. It was only those elves which bucked the trends of their cultures who ventured (or who were exiled) outside, and many end up as adventurers for lack of a home to find their own. Many do not trust elves for the behavior of their kin in Tejan, and wanderers often are driven to desperation and subsequent crime in order to keep bread on their tables.

This isn't to say that elves are hated everywhere. Certainly, such effects are localized to certain areas. But the stereotype remains. So to do the grudges the elves bear against orcs.

Halflings and Gnomes

The shortfolk halflings and gnomes are, like aasimar and tiefling, considered to be two sides of the same coin. Wee beings who seemed to have never had a home of their own but have always been found among the legs of other humanoids, especially humans. The difference between the two shortfolk seems to be largely one of bloodline. Gnomes were more subterranean shortfolk who worked the mines and explored the depths with the Abyss Dwellers, inevitably bringing magic into their bloodline and making them hardy and strong. Meanwhile the surface dwelling halflings found themselves nimbly becoming urban explorers, druids of the modern age living in the nooks and crannies most would consider unlivable due to height, space, or safety. Ever fearless, these thrill-seekers would inevitably be found attracted to the adventuring lifestyle.

Halflings have a somewhat deserved reputation of being the daredevil or rebellious ne'er-do-well. Gnomes on the other hand are seen as dutiful workers who release the stresses of work with rich entertainment, pranks, and vacations.

Half-Orcs

With the spread of orcs upon the sea, their own rising personal power and fame, and the inevitability of piracy, interbreeding was certain to happen. Half-orcs, the result of this intermixing of orc with any of the other humanoid races, are semi-common due to the ubiquitous of the orcs travels across the world. How well they are treated is largely a regional affair. Among humans, most would barely blink an eye. Among elves, many would find themselves exiled simply for existing. This is especially true for orc/elf crossbreeds (where the orc side is more prominent than the elf side), which are seen as anathema.

Half-orcs themselves have no civilization to call their own. Like halflings and gnomes, they exist under the wings of others. Because half-orcs can be crossbreeds of any humanoid race, half-orcs in this setting can replace the human half of half-orc with elf, dwarf, or another humanoid species. This has no effect on mechanics, other than for purposes of subtype.

It is recommended that you use the half-orqs in place of traditional orcs.

Goblins

Goblins are common not for them being any world-spanning conquering force or cunning civilization of their own, but rather for their association with the orcs of Loch. While both orcs and goblins bear green skin, they have no more relation than humans and halflings. Goblins are a subservient race, partly of their own doing. They have figured it is better to be number 2 and benefit from a partnership or escape with their lives rather than be number 1 and be targeted for their strength. Thus it was that they aligned with their powerful orc brethren and joined them upon many a mission to explore the world and spread everywhere.

Though they are a seemingly second class citizen in their own country of Loch, they use their positions to run things in the shadows. Goblins are not strong, but they are cunning businessmen, tricky dealers, and subtle backstabbers when they need be. They do nothing for free, and when they do perform something for free you can be assured that somehow, somewhere, the goblin has benefited from the arrangement.

Humans

Humanity had started small, set in a world of long-lived elves, rich dwarven empires, and other strong species. Through perseverance and pluck, and no small amount of steadfast determination, humanity has risen from a weird subrace of non-pointy eared elves to one of the most ubiquitous species on Accolade. Though commonplace, it is often set upon humanity's shoulders the grim reminder that they are not yet the top dog in their world and that their kingdoms, though strong, are as short lived as they are. It's this opposition which seems to drive humans on to greater and greater heights out of sheer spite and resistance, and some worry that one day they might take Accolade in its entirety for themselves.

Orcs

Hailing from the ever-misted lands of Loch, and its tropical islands off its southern coast, the orcs bear a strange civilization which is surprisingly stable and peaceful given its rather anarchistic system. Built as a confederacy of city-states, and their lands choked by unnaturally dangerous jungle, they turned their efforts into becoming a naval force to rival that of far larger nations and became known and feared everywhere as explorers, merchants... and pirates. With a caste of goblins working for them, orcs are interested in power, both physically and economically. Their greatest rivals are the dwarves, who they see as a fading kingdom. Now they are in a race against humans for the crown of global superpower. Of course, if you ask the elves they would say they are the greatest rivals, for the elves were hardest hit by orc pirate raids of the past.

It is said that the greenskinned people of Loch and the surrounding area developed as a way to blend in with their jungle, and this may yet be true. But Loch is a strange and mysterious place, full of ancient beasts and horrors even before the fall of Vulpeculae. Who knows exactly where their mysterious genetics appear from.

It is recommended that you use the orqs in place of traditional orcs.

Other Playable Races

These are the races that are still seen, but not nearly as often as the ones above. Whether it is because they are outsiders or simply outcasts, it matters little. Here's how they fit in.

Beastfolk (General)

Covering the likes of gnolls, tibbits, tengu, and other humanoid-animal hybrids, beastfolk are scattered about the land and largely hail from the continent of Pintado. The most notable are the gnolls who were the original keepers of the land now known as Dier, and technically the lizardfolk of the desert also apply (see their entry below). Here is a list of the most commonly known beastfolk:

Centaurs were once populous on the planes of Esperant, but the explosive growth of civilization has driven them from their traditional homes. While some have integrated into society, small pockets of barbarian reclaimers sometimes dot the landscape where they make their lives as bandits slowly chipping away at the new occupants.

Gnolls were hunters in the land of Dier, a land of great and powerful beasts which they employed cunning traps and trickery to take down prey much larger and powerful than themselves. They have a stereotype of being lazy creatures due to their propensity for long mid-day naps, the fact that these great beasts provided food for weeks at a time, and their habit of only taking on challenges where they have the advantage. However on the hunt, being able to take down your prey with the least amount of effort via traps and deception is exactly what counts most. The gnolls have a strong druidic tradition, and still maintain some of the old religion alive today.

Mer cover all manner of human-aquatic hybrids from the famous mermaid, to more unusual cecaella. These beings stay in the oceans in small city states which serve as pockets of resistance against the current ruling sahuagin empire of the sea. Those on the surface rarely hear of them, as both mer and sahuagin are a reclusive lot.

The tibbits and catfolk species were once wild hunters believed to have originated in Afallon, but spread out once the remote continent was contacted by orc slavers in the past. Now, they are usually found in urban environment lurking about the back streets and alleyways. Their dexterous natures have lent them to a life of thievery and assassination, so the stereotype goes. It's not entirely unwarranted. In certain places it is easy money, leading to a life of cheap and bloody luxury.

The tengu and a few other winged beings like the raptorians can be found within the windswept canyons between Kathib and Dier, where the natural high winds promote flight. Their cities are vast vertical structures built into the walls of the canyons, impassable for anyone who can't fly or at least glide. Like the gnolls, the tradition of druids remains among them. While gnolls focused more on the hunt, the tengu and raptorians took more philosophical routes pondering the nature of the howling air, steady earth, rolling waves, and fire above. They also have used their greater mobility to become merchants and traders connecting gnoll society with others all over Pintado.

Drow

The drow are related to the elves, this is for certain, but neither race will speak of the other and they seem to hold the other in great contempt. These coal-skinned elves live in the underdark, a realm where underground caves melt into the Plane of Shadow. On this borderland, the caves seem deeper, darker, and take paths unnatural to the normal world. Here the drows follow their ancient and forbidden religious worshiping mad alien gods for unknown purposes, while enslaving many of the other underdark races such as duergar, svirfneblin, and more. In ages past they often clashed with Dr. Martel and his Abyss Delvers as they would sometimes pass through the underdark in their quest to discover ancient buried secrets.

Giants

The giant civilization has already come to a close. Once, they were a proud people who lives on flying cities and lived in great castles. Now, their civilization lies in ruin to the point where not even the giants remember what happened to their predecessors. Reduced to brutes at the edges of civilization and few in number, giants run the gamut of being pleasant to being difficult. Each giant is a survivor in for themselves.

Half-Elves

While half-orcs are relatively common, half-elves are extremely uncommon. The xenophobic conservative elf rarely leaves their homeland, much less to breed with a species not their own. Half-elves almost exclusively arise from elven outcasts or adventurers, who rarely see another of their kind and often shun the old ways altogether. How well they are treated is largely a regional affair. Most would barely blink an eye, though among elves they are seen as strange or pitiable. If the crossbreed is elf and orc, even if they show more elf than orc they are often expelled to live among others. And so many half-elves, for all their rarity, end up as adventurers and wanderers.

Half-elves themselves have no civilization to call their own. Like halflings and gnomes, they exist under the wings of others. Because half-elves can be crossbreeds of any humanoid race, half-orcs in this setting can replace the human half of half-orc with dwarf, orc, or another humanoid species. This has no effect on mechanics, other than for purposes of subtype.

Kobolds

Kobolds, while numerous, are not commonly seen on the surface. Many exist in the caves between the surface and the underdark, and the lot tends to keep to themselves. Their public face tends to be concentrated among two major colonies. One lays below Kathib, where they work under the lizardfolks who populate the area and explore the mysteries which lay in the ruins below. The other work within Zaeim, where they are employed among the underclass of that nation digging away from new and fantastic treasures. Even though the kobolds are hardly in any position of power, they are surprisingly and perhaps disturbingly content with their lot in life. Many are worshipers of Arsatum the Dragon, and a great prophecy awaits about their eventual rise to power. They just need to outlast this age and await the fall of man.

In kobold societies not associated with the previous two surface nations, the kobolds tend to form large collectives known as vaults where they live and mine all day. Wealth is gathered and stored collectively in mimicry of the dragons they worship, or perhaps in preparation for the return of dragons to major players in the world. Excepting Arsatum, gods are not worshiped and many turn to introspection. Many are monks and sorcerers, with surprisingly few clerics even if they are quite religious themselves.

Lizardfolk

Arising from the vast desert and the rare fertile river or oasis, lizardfolk are a species bred to survive the harsh heat and biting cold that the desert brings to them. Because few wish to venture in the desert, their homelands remain mysterious to many. It is rumored that their very cities prowl the desert as if they were alive, always moving and thus always difficult to find. The lizardfolk have a great number of rangers and druids within their rank as well, for they have mastered nature and often employ animals and the rare plant into their very technology. They typically are seen in the form of traders and messengers, wearing strange robes and carrying curved swords.

It is recommended that you use the nile lizardfolk in place of traditional lizardfolk.

Ogres

Believed to have been the result of ancient magical experimentation of humanoids, ogres are massive, dumb, brutish hulks that are usually used as semi-intelligent beasts of burden. Those that work with ogres must do so with caution, for the strength of an ogre is rarely matched and their dim minds are quick to instinctual behavior. Rumor has it that the kingdom of Vulpeculae had not merely employed ogres, but actually created new ones, as servants and body guards for special places.