Player Character Races

The humanoid peoples of modern-day Talislanta are remarkably diverse in outward appearance, ex hibiting an uncanny variety of skin colorations, fa cial features, and bodily forms. Yet despite these dis crepancies, the continent’s humanoid inhabitants are all believed to be descended from one of four* root sources:

1. the wild raCes Primitive tribesfolk such as the Yrmanians, Druhks, Za, Beastmen, Jaka, and Ur.
2. the arChaens “Civilized” humanoids such as the Cymril ians, Phantasians, Thaecians, Hadjin, Aa manians, Zandir, and Mandalans.
3. neOmOrphs: maGiCal hybrids/mutatiOns A wide-ranging group consisting of hy brids such as Thralls, Muses, Bodor, Green Men, Araq, and Yassan; mixed breeds such as Rajans and Virds; magically evolved or devolved species such as the Gryphs and Aeriad; and magically mutated species such as the Ahazu and Moorg-Wan.
4. extra-dimensiOnal entities Includes the Sindarans and Ariane; also, so-called demons, devils, and other enti ties who have come to Talislanta from other planes of existence.

• Although the Archaens are descended from the Wild Races, scholars of the New Age claim that the two races diverged and became distinct after the Archaens discovered how to use magic to alter their appearance. This theory is supported by the Wild Races as well; such is the ages-old animos ity between the two peoples that neither race will acknowledge being related to the other. This should tell you all you need to know about Talislantan race relations. a note on baLanCe Many different roleplaying games go to great lengths to ensure a proper balance is maintained be tween characters of different types. Talislanta has never been one of those games. The sheer number of playable races makes balanc ing them all impossible. Talislanta has always been about the setting, and as such, matters of balance are largely ignored. The focus of Talislanta has been, and should be, about roleplaying. This means that certain character types might be less powerful than others in game terms, however this should have no bearing on the fun a player will have playing a lesser powered character. An Aeriad Botanomancer can be just as much fun to roleplay as a mighty Thrall or Kang war rior. playaBle raCes With the sheer number of races and ethnicities found on the continent of Talislanta, it is impossible to include them all in one book. The playable races found in this chapter represent the most common groups that take up an adventuring lifestyle. There are races here from all over Talislanta with a concen tration on those found regularly in and around the Seven Kingdoms region.
  For players looking for even more choices, more than 50 other playable races are fully detailed in the Gamemaster’s Guide to Talislanta, including many of the races normally considered malign in the civilized lands of Talislanta (the Za, Beastmen and Urag for ex ample) as well as those considered exotic and bizarre (like the Green Men, Bodor, Snipes and Gnorls).