Note to the Reader
Hail to you hero! The races located in this tome are Initian counterparts of the MCDM ancestries. I have completely rewritten the backstories and cultures of all the races that exist in Initia. This is important for two reasons.
The backstory in the Heroes book is WRONG. Read the corresponding entry in this Wiki for the correct info.
If the Ancestry is missing, it's not an option in Initia. Sorry memonek lovers, if you want to play one, please let me know and we'll work out an alternative.
Initia is always changing and, chiefly, belongs to you, brave hero. Always ask your director if you want something not included in these brief summaries.
For a last note, please know that 'ancestry' and 'race' can be used interchangeably.
"Forth now, to battle! Be fortunate and invincible! For justice, for Atraxia, for the King!"
~ Vyth of Barhamir XIII
Fantastic peoples inhabit the world of Initia. Among them are devils, dwarves, elves, other elves—and of course humans, whose culture and history dominates many worlds.
Your hero is one of these folks! The fantastic ancestry you choose bestows benefits that come from your anatomy and physiology. This choice doesn't grant you cultural benefits, such as crafting or lore skills, though. While many game settings have cultures made of mostly one ancestry, other cultures and worlds have a cosmopolitan mix of peoples.
In Draw Steel, ancestry describes how you were born. Culture (part of Chapter 4: Background) describes how you grew up. If you want to be a wode elf who was raised in a forest among other wode elves, you can do that! If you want to play a wode elf who was raised in an underground city of dwarves, humans, and orcs, you can do that too!
Devilkin: Devilkin are the spawn of a human and of a honest-to-hell Devil. They are similar in stature to humans, and their skin tones include deep blues, purples, and reds. They sport horns, eyes of all shades (including gold and red), and tails, and some have feathered or leathery wings.
Dragonborn: The Dragonborn of Atraxia are muscled draconic humanoids who stand between 6 and 7 feet tall. The scales covering their reptilian heads, bodies, and tails can be almost any color. All dragonborn have wings, but on only a few are those wings big enough to let them fly.
Dwarves: Humanoids with stony skin, dwarves have short and stout bodies. Many carve supernatural runes into their flesh, and some have beards made of crystals.
Wode Elf: Lithe humanoids with finely furred skin in all shades of blue, wode elves have angular features and large, pointed ears akin to a bat's. They possess a supernatural glamor that allows them to blend in with their surroundings when they wish to hide.
High Elf: Stately and graceful, high elves have tall, willowy bodies, pointed ears, and smoother skin than most other humanoids. The truest form of any high elf is hidden from most—sometimes even from themself—thanks to a supernatural glamor that makes them more attractive to others, whatever that might mean to an individual. This glamor transcends physical appearance, also slightly altering a high elf's tone and smell.
Mankind: Humans are the most numerous people in Orden Initia and many other fantasy worlds! In Draw Steel, humans have all the diversity that our species displays in real life—and they can sense the presence of supernatural energy!
Orcs: Orcs have skin in green tones and stand slightly taller and wider than humans. A supernatural energy they call "the blood fire" flows through their veins, igniting colorful lines in an orc's skin during life-or-death battles.
Halflings: The smallest of the ancestries in this book, halflings stand no taller than 3-1/2 feet. They look like smaller humans, and they have the ability to blend in with the shadows.