TEXT: EARTHDAWN
  1
  MAJOR RACES OF BARSAIVE
  Many of  my people say that the other races are too big, take up too much space, and use up too much air. Theirs is a shortsighted view; they
  fail to see the irony. After all, how boring the world would be if  there was no one to make fun of!
  — Seethian, windling
  EARTHDAWN
  
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  Many different species and races of sentient beings populate the
  world of Earthdawn. This section describes the most numerous races
  in the region of Barsaive. They vary in size and shape, color and culture,
  and together bring the game world to life. These races are all Name-
  givers.
  Your character will belong to one of the major races of Barsaive. In
  this fantasy world, the word “race” means the same as and replaces
  “species.” Besides the human race there are elves, trolls, and even more
  exotic races such as the obsidimen and the t’skrang. The descriptions in
  this section provide basic information about each of the races populating
  the world of Earthdawn.
  These descriptions contain broad generalizations. Though we may
  say that orks are slow-thinking but quick-tempered, you may choose to
  play your character differently, creating an ork who is quick-thinking
  and/or slow-tempered. Players are always free to customize their
  characters. When roleplaying, remember that other races, particularly
  Gamemaster characters, may treat your character as though he or she is
  merely a stereotyped version of the description given here. You may
  even be able to take advantage of their misconceptions.
  KINSHIP BETWEEN THE SPECIES
  The elves possess fragmentary records claiming that dwarfs, elves,
  humans, orks, and trolls are profoundly similar members of a single, as-
  yet-unnamed species. Most scholars no longer accept this opinion as
  valid. Theran scholars, especially those in the school of Darok Thanalea,
  believe that the current high level of magic increases the differences
  between the races.
  DWARF
  Old King Varulus was a wise ruler. Young Varulus seems a bit hasty in
  his policies. We need to trade with all in Barsaive, that much is true. But
  just because I trade with the t’skrang doesn’t mean I want one of  their
  damned lizard tongues in my cask of ale.
  —Counselor Holliz of Throal
  Dwarfs are of stocky build, with an average height of 4 feet and
  weight of 120 pounds. Their skin tone ranges from pinkish white to
  dark ebony. Some reports seem to indicate possible other skin colorations,
  but these variations are more likely the result of ritual tattoos begun
  during the time dwarf groups began to seal themselves off from the
  Horrors. Dwarf hair grows quickly and in abundance, particularly the
  hair on their heads. Dwarfs are broad-chested, tough, and strong for
  their size, though slow runners, as their legs are disproportionately
  short for even their squat bodies. Dwarf ears usually come to a gentle
  point on the tip, though less pronounced than elven ears. Dwarfs
  reach physical maturity sometime after ten years of life, whose span will
  average 100 years. Some individuals have recorded life spans of 150
  years or more.
  Dwarfs organize themselves into families, tribes, and nations.
  Though their social instincts comfortably embrace the idea of kingdoms
  and nations, a dwarf’s first loyalty is to family and tribe. A gift for large-
  scale organization and unshakable loyalties come naturally to dwarfs, as
  they are aggressive, quick to latch onto a single solution, and quite
  stubborn. Even other dwarfs admit that members of their race often
  seem curt and lacking in social graces.
  One thing that sets dwarfs apart from other Name-giving races is
  their predisposition to making things with their hands. Dwarfs are
  very skilled craftsmen, and most often are taught from a very young
  age in the home, helping his family build necessary things for life. So as
  a child, their perspective is that everything in the world is something
  constructed, and as a result, they often question how something was
  built. Also, one of the most treasured items dwarfs have in their
  possession are their tools, which are often their first Pattern Items. Most
  often their tools are handed down to the next generation so that tradition
  and history are not lost to them; most every tool has a story that is a life
  lesson to be learned. It is a rarity for dwarfs to possess any item made by
  another race, as they believe it to be inferior to their craftsmanship.
  Some races are insulted by this arrogance.
  Dwarfs prefer to live underground or as close to the earth as
  possible. While not adverse to travel and life above ground, they often
  develop a “home sickness” for subterranean life. Dwarfs generally refuse
  to ride animals, as their build makes the act ungainly. They also dislike
  travelling over open water, out of sight of land.
  ELF
  Our great Queen’s bright, terrible beauty shines like a beacon. Her
  whole court reflects that beauty, and reflects the choices made by the elves of
  Blood Wood. I think we must soon choose again, this time for ourselves. I
  think we should choose a different path.
  — Elf Elementalist Furnithann, in a letter to his friend,
  the Nethermancer Mestoph
  Elves grow to an average height of 6 feet, 3 inches and weigh an
  average of 150 pounds. Elven facial features appear completely
  symmetrical, often flawless, and many of the other races of Barsaive
  find elves attractive. Elven skin color varies wildly by tribe and region,
  but the most common are pure white, pink, tan, brown, and midnight
  black. Elves with skin of a pale green or iridescent, pearly color called
  cetharel exist, but remain rare. Elves produce sparse body hair, but
  grow luxuriant facial and head hair, often in uncommon colors. In
  addition to white, blond, brown, and black, naturally occurring violet,
  blue, and even metallic colors have been seen. Elves have elongated,
  sharply pointed ears and move with unmatched grace, but the slight
  
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  build that makes that gracefulness possible also makes them vulnerable
  to injury. They have long legs for their height. Elves reach physical
  maturity in their twenties, and enjoy a natural life span of 300 years.
  Some records show individuals living up to 400 years. Legends speak
  of some elves rumored to live even longer.
  Elves give their primary loyalty to their family, rather than their
  tribe or nation, and consider blood ties the most binding relationships
  of their lives. Elves prefer to establish and live in small communities,
  and elven cities generally consist of a loose confederation of villages
  grouped into neighborhoods. Elves may also live in human or dwarf
  settlements, but rarely feel anything more than a congenial friendship
  for the other races of such a settlement.
  Elves prefer living in wilderness areas. They construct dwellings
  and other structures from living plants, integrating their community
  with the surrounding natural world. They find underground settings
  uncomfortable, and may experience a kind of claustrophobia in human
  or dwarf settlements if unable to visit a wilderness area two or three
  times a year.
  Elves see all life as a journey of discovery, change, growth, and
  ascendancy. Throughout his life, the elf treads a metaphysical pathway
  represented by the Wheel of Life. The Wheel contains five paths, each
  corresponding to different stage of life. As an elf ages, his journey along
  the Wheel leads him until he reaches the Wheel’s heart. At this still
  center of being, he prepares for ascension into the metaplanes, to the
  mystical place known as the Citadel of the Shining Ones.
  Each Path represents ever-greater spiritual maturity. Though a
  few elves disagree, most accept the following five paths: the Path of
  Warriors, the Path of Scholars, the Path of Travelers, the Path of Sages,
  and the Path of Lords. Each Path has certain regalia and rituals associated
  with it that mark its followers.
  HUMAN
  Thera and the Kingdom of  Throal. Those are the giants straddling this
  land. Our best strategy is to keep to ourselves, choose only if  we must, and
  then choose Throal. Dwarf  condescension is easier to shrug off  than Theran
  shackles.
  — Adviser Kaj Ther of Landis
  Humans average 5 feet, 7 inches in height and weigh an average
  of 150 pounds. They produce less body hair than most races, but more
  than elves. Skin tone ranges from ebony to tan and pinkish-white.
  Their ears are small and rounded. Humans reach physical maturity in
  their teens and live a natural life span of 75 years, although individuals
  have been known to live 100 years or longer.
  Humans feel a natural loyalty to their families. Inclined to form
  social groups, humans easily transfer this loyalty to tribes, cities, or
  kingdoms, though they do not adapt to large-scale society as well as
  dwarfs. This reluctance to pledge allegiance to a government does not
  prevent them from quickly adapting dwarf advances into their own
  cultures.
  Humans prefer to live in roofed dwellings, clustered with others
  of their kind. They have adopted the dwarf invention of the city,
  though many human cities spring up in too haphazard a fashion for
  dwarf tastes. Most humans find elven communities unsettling.
  Of all the world’s Name-givers, only humans can learn talents and
  skills widely disparate from their chosen Disciplines. The longer-lived
  elves and dwarfs, and other Name-givers, by contrast, can only learn
  certain kinds of magical and non-magical skills. Some scholars explain
  this so-called Law of Versatility by theorizing that the other Name-
  giver races are finely tuned, but limited, extensions of humanity. Magical
  energy heightens the particular attributes of a Name-giver race, but
  also limits the number of inborn abilities they possess.
  OBSIDIMAN
  Listen to the rocks of  the earth. Those around you want to hurry, for
  they listen to the waters of  their blood and the fire of  their hearts. You are
  hewn from living rock. Listen to the rocks of  the earth. The call of  those
  around you is the call of  the volcano. The fire of  other hearts burns hot
  enough to melt your world around you. Listen to the rocks of the earth.
  — Saying from “The Liferock,” Dwarf translation
  Obsidimen are tall, reaching an average height of 7 feet, 3 inches.
  Seen from a distance they seem squat, because their massive average
  weight of 900 pounds offsets their height. Their craggy skin and
  
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  bodily tissue incorporate the properties of stone, and their most common
  coloration is black or gray. Their blood is blue-gray. The skin of a few
  obsidimen, usually those of high-ranking families, shows veins of
  semiprecious stone such as tourmaline. Obsidimen are mostly hairless
  and have internal ears completely covered by a thin layer of skin.
  Obsidimen mature physically by the end of their first century of life.
  Natural life span has yet to be determined, because as they age,
  obsidimen spend more time attached to their Liferock, the largest source
  of stone within four hours’ walk of their birthplace. They may remain
  attached to the Liferock for decades, showing no signs of being aware
  of their surroundings, then emerge again in a time of crisis. In one
  indication of obsidimen life-span, dwarf records show that individual
  obsidimen have traveled and lived away from their Liferock for at least
  500 years after reaching maturity.
  Obsidimen feel loyalty to their Liferock and all others formed
  from it. These loyalties loosely resemble human or ork loyalties to a
  tribe. Obsidimen do not form villages or cities, though they do erect
  ceremonial structures on or near their Liferock. Obsidimen prefer to
  live outdoors, exposed to the sky. Obsidimen can live underground for
  short periods, but those who spend too many months in a dwarf city
  without traveling outside to the open sky fall into a hibernation-like
  state. Once carried outdoors again, the obsidiman will awaken in two
  to five days.
  Every obsidimen in all the world can tell you (if he chooses) the
  Name and the place of his Liferock and the Names of all obsidimen
  who have ever sprung from it. Obsidimen can no more disregard their
  Liferock than a dwarf might disregard his parents, or an elf his ancestral
  lineage. The Liferock brings them into the world, shapes what they are,
  and allows their race to endure. Like the other Name-givers, obsidimen
  are reluctant to speak too freely of a thing as close to their hearts as is
  their Liferock; for this reason, many of the other races do not know
  what a Liferock is. Another curiosity of obsidimen is their lack of gender.
  Most obsidimen dress and act like males of other races; however, there
  are some who have chosen to adopt female identity. In general, obsidimen
  find the other races’ preoccupation with gender amusing nonsense.
  ORK
  Dwarfs pay well, but I don’t like their attitude. Of  course, I don’t like
  most Name-giver’s attitudes.
  —Kraeg Yelloweye, ork Cavalryman in service to the
  Kingdom of Throal
  Orks have powerful builds, averaging 6 feet, 3 inches in height
  and 225 pounds in weight. Large lower canines protrude over their
  upper lip and their body hair has a coarse texture, almost always colored
  black or gray. Some orks appear nearly hairless, and head hair usually
  grows in sparsely but with the thickness of fine wire. Common skin
  colors include olive green, beige, pinkish-white, tan, and ebony. Their
  ears are pointed, and about a quarter of the population show elongated
  ears. Natural life span for an ork averages 40 years, though some live 60
  years or more. Orks reach their physical maturity in their early teens.
  Orks recognize only a loose concept of family, giving greatest
  loyalty to their tribe. Social organization within the tribe varies
  considerably, as orks often adopt social structures of the other races
  with whom they interact. Isolated tribes usually contain only two
  authority figures, however, the warchief and the shaman. Most ork
  tribes live as nomads and willingly inhabit any kind of dwelling. They
  live in tents when with their own tribes.
  The ork’s reputation for violence grows from his passionate nature.
  You may say that your heart is full of love, or full of spite. When you say
  this, you are speaking poetry. When an ork says it, he means it. If you
  arouse an ork to desire or fury, they feel it in their heart as intensely as
  other races would feel a fever in their head or poison in their gut. Orks
  call this sensation gahad. If an ork’s gahad is awakened, expect them to
  act on their emotions. They can try to resist the gahad, but resisting sets
  their brain to boil and curdles their stomach. This is not a simple
  metaphor – it hurts when an ork resists his gahad. Orks believe that
  such resistance shortens life – an able-bodied ork who suddenly drops
  dead at forty is said to have swallowed his gahad one time too many.
  
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  TROLL
  Take no back talk from anyone, not even an obsidiman. Stand for
  your word and make them stand for theirs. I generally make an exception
  for windlings. They fly like blazes, and their tongues move just as fast. Open
  confrontation just encourages them. It is best to wait until they sleep, then
  pop their puny heads off.
  — Larus Baldurion, Crystal raider captain, making his
  traditional speech to a new crew
  The average troll height is 8 feet, 6 inches and average weight is
  500 pounds or more. Skin colors range from olive to mahogany-brown.
  Troll skin has a rough texture, increased by the ridges, spines, or plating
  resulting from deposits of trolthelia, a substance similar to the material
  in rhinoceros horn. Body hair is sparse except on the chest, and head
  hair grows considerably thicker and longer than human hair. Lower
  canines protrude from the mouths of a slight majority of trolls. The
  nose is broader than the human nose. Trolls exhibit fierce, aggressive
  personalities. The average natural life span is 50 years, though some
  trolls have lived into their seventies. Trolls reach physical maturity in
  their early teens.
  Trolls are fiercely loyal to their family or clan. Multiple clans can
  organize through the ritual of the trollmoot, gatherings of several clans
  whose leaders swear the loyalty of their clans to one another, but such
  unified action remains rare. Troll clans often war among themselves
  when other enemies are lacking. Trolls prefer to live in caves, ice caverns,
  or other natural geographic features. They find dwarf or elven
  settlements more comfortable than human or ork communities, and
  have been known to camp around obsidimen connected to a Liferock.
  Trolls find the serenity of the obsidimen calming and deeply moving.
  Their regard for the obsidimen mountains often prompts trolls to
  choose those sites for trollmoots.
  Most other races recognize that trolls are governed by honor, but
  do not understand the many things that honor means to a troll. For a
  troll to explain the distinctions between the various meanings of their
  honor is like a bird trying to explain what it is to be a bird. Paradoxically,
  only a troll could even attempt to explain their view of honor, because
  only a troll understands it.
  What a troll calls “honor” actually encompasses two ideas: honor
  and pride. Troll honor combines recognition of abilities with a sense of
  dignity and personal worth. Their honor tells them who they are and
  what they can accomplish. Without it, trolls believe they have nothing
  by which to know themselves and nothing to give to the world; they
  are Nameless and useless, and might as well die. The troll language has
  no single word for his concept of honor. Instead, they use three words:
  katorr, kat’ral, and katera, the meaning of all of which are simultaneously
  related and separate.
  Katorr translates most closely as personal honor, the pride an
  individual troll feels in himself. Kat’ral refers to the honor of a troll clan,
  and katera might best be translated as racial honor. These three kinds of
  honor are intertwined like the strands of a rope, woven so closely
  together that they blend into a single thing. Yet, all the strands remain
  separate. The intricacies of the links between katorr, kat’ral, and katera
  are central to the life of a troll.
  Troll legend tells us that many hundreds of years ago, long before
  the Scourge and even the Orichalcum Wars, most trolls married in the
  same way as other Name-givers. A man and a women mated, raised
  children, and passed their family name and lineage in this way from
  generations to generations.
  But with the advent of the Orichalcum Wars, many troll clans
  and families saw their ancient Names die out. All too often, the father
  and son(s) of a single family would be slain in the same battle, forever
  ending many noble bloodlines. In an attempt to ensure that a family
  might endure throughout years of warfare, two and sometimes three
  families within a single clan began joining together into a single family,
  increasing both their number and the likelihood that some scions of
  that family would survive and carry on. These joinings came to be
  called “line marriages.” Because far more men than women died in
  battle, the women took charge of the line marriages. All the wives
  together chose new members of the family as needed, adding both
  husbands and wives.
  Within several years, the practice of line marriages spread
  throughout most of the troll clans and moots in Barsaive. Even after
  the Orichalcum Wars ended, the tradition of the line marriage
  continued; current members of the families involved had never known
  any other way, and the marriages had preserved family lineage that
  otherwise would have died out. Over the centuries, the tradition of
  line marriages has become an important part of troll society and culture.
  T’SKRANG
  The name of  our people? Well, my Theran friend, there are many stories
  that tell that tale. For the true one, you must listen very carefully to the
  sound inside your helmet. What? Oh, that’s just my tail. Listen carefully, for
  the truth will soon be revealed.
  — From the transcript of the trial of the t’skrang pirate
  Theormaz
  T’skrang are reptilian beings with a flair for the dramatic. They
  average 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and their tails add another 6 feet of length.
  T’skrang weigh an average of 200 pounds, of which nearly 40 is the
  tail. T’skrang skin color ranges from verdant green to green-yellow or
  green-blue, with aqua-blue and even sunset-red variants. T’skrang have
  cauliflower-shaped ears set into the sides of their heads. The t’skrang
  mature physically by the age of 10, and often live 80 or more years.
  
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  The t’skrang talent for tale-telling casts doubt on their claims of a 181-
  year-old t’skrang, particularly because careful dwarf observations place
  the oldest known t’skrang at a mere 115. T’skrang scholars blame this
  variance on faulty dwarf calculations, which of course the dwarfs
  vigorously deny.
  T’skrang give primary loyalty to their families, though like humans,
  they can transfer this loyalty to tribes and nations. Some individuals
  pledge their loyalty to other races’ societies, but pirate federations are
  the closest thing to a nation the t’skrang have built for themselves.
  Females lead t’skrang society, which is matriarchal in most aspects.
  T’skrang prefer to live in roofed dwellings along bodies of water, and
  submerge portions of their homes. T’skrang love to swim and immerse
  themselves in water, becoming sulky and irritable if unable to do so at
  least once a week.
  T’skrang consider members of the other Name-giver races rather
  dull and boring. In turn, most other Name-giver races consider t’skrang
  overly flamboyant and somewhat frivolous. All races agree that each
  holds a unique and necessary place in the society of Barsaive, and so
  agree to disagree.
  Each t’skrang takes pride in the heritage and bloodline of his or
  her niall, or foundation. The foundation is a large communal family
  consisting of thirty to sixty kin, from infants to ancients, all living
  under a single roof. Lineage is traced through the maternal line. When
  a woman takes a husband, the male leaves his foundation to join the
  niall of his mate. Sometimes, allied nialls will band together in what is
  known as a “crew covenant,” combining their numbers to operate a
  riverboat or fleet of riverboats.
  The largest political units among the t’skrang are the aropagoi, or
  Great Houses. Just as a crew covenant consist of several cooperating
  foundations, so each aropagoi consist of numerous villages and crew
  covenants. Each Great House coordinates trade operations to the benefit
  of the crews and villages that compose it. The main purpose of the
  aropagoi are profit and trade advantage. Political ambition, especially as
  understood in Throalic and Theran terms of military alliance and land
  control, has no place among the t’skrang aropagoi. Each of the aropagoi
  controls a section of the Serpent River and regulates trade and passage
  in that territory. The aropagoi do not control the entire length of the
  Serpent; some villages do not belong to an aropagoi, but most see the
  advantage of that system.
  WINDLING
  “Wheeeeeeeeeeee!”
  — Poorht, windling Thief, as he fled for his life after
  stealing the dagger of Captain Larus Baldurion, troll crystal
  raider
  Windlings are small, winged creatures. They average 18 inches in
  height and weigh an average of 13 pounds. They fly using two double-
  wings, similar to a dragonfly’s, made of a tough, iridescent membrane.
  A windling’s wings and hair, and sometimes even skin color, matches
  the brightest-colored elements of the environment in which it lives: icy
  white in a snowcap, the yellow and orange of meadow flowers, the
  glazed blue of the ceramic roof-tiles of the city of Vewbane. This
  coloration only changes after a windling has lived in the same place for
  two or three months. Then, in the space of three nights, the windling’s
  skin changes to match its current surroundings. Windlings grow very
  little body hair, though their head hair can be luxurious. Their ears
  come to a sharper point even than elven ears. Windlings mature
  physically over 30 years, reaching a natural life span of 170 years. Their
  appearance does not age during this time.
  Windling society can best be described as haphazard. Windlings
  often speak of a class of nobles who rule them. Though they will obey
  a direct order from a noble, the social hierarchy stops there. Windlings
  acting on orders from their queen cannot wield authority over other
  windlings by virtue of these orders, but may persuade other windlings
  to seek out the queen to determine for themselves that the orders are
  legitimate. Windlings are happiest when living outdoors, taking shelter
  under or inside whatever nature can provide and windling magic make
  comfortable. Windlings can tolerate cities, but consider them a colossal
  waste of time and effort. There are more males windlings than female
  windlings, though there is not a good explanation for this oddity.
  Because of this, if more than one male wishes to wed a female, the clan
  holds a contest they call a sleerah. Once every contestant has completed
  the competition, the female selects her husband from among the males,
  or may choose none at all!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Earthdawn/Earthdawn - Major Races of Barsaive.pdf