People and Races

Humans
The dominant and most populous race in the world. They rule over more than 75% of the civilised, populated lands. They have dozens of distinct languages, and range in skin colour much as they do in the real world


 * ==== ​ ​ Human Subtypes ====

Toban

 * ​The most populous of the humans of the region. They are distinguished by their olive skin, black hair and dark eyes. Beyond the colouration, they are found in all shapes and sizes, in all manner of vocations; from beggars to the highest seat of the land: the Caliph.

Imatet

 * Histories tell that the Imatet were the humans that first explored and settled the Toba, centuries ago. Many scholars hold that they were emigres from what is now called Amicus, a nation to the northwest across the Golden Sea. They have dark hair, but paler skin than Toban humans, and with lighter eyes.

Thuuli

 * The native humans of the southern jungles. They have dark brown skin, black hair, and dark eyes. The Thuuli, in their native environment, are thought to be savages. They have no written language and are technologically less-advanced than the people of the Caliphate. Those new to the Toba from the jungle may seem overwhelmed by the relatively large size of the cities, and the more advanced society. Some have settled in the region, mainly the south, for several generations and have outgrown their barbaric roots. Thuuli traditionally favour lighter, more mobile armours and are skilled with spears and bows. They tend towards faith in the Elven animistic religions.

Sa'rana

 * Specifically, translates to "yellow hair". This name designates, generally, any of the peoples of the northern nations, across the Golden Sea, who have white skin and tend towards blond hair and blue eyes. The name doesn't designate any specific nation of origin.

al'Fayaq

 * "Outsider" A generic name for any out-lander that doesn't fit as either Thuuli or Sa'rana in background. The name is usually applied with a certain amount of derision, implying the person to be an uncultured lout.

Elves
As far as the elves believe about themselves, they have always been here. To them, the stories the eladrin tell of an ancient, pre-human, worldwide empire are myths and stories to place the elves beneath them. They live in scattered settlements in the more temperate, wooded lands controlled by humans. Their society is loosely structured and vaguely tribal, with highly ritualized traditions. Their language is fairly consistent, despite their scattered existence, though there are a half dozen dialects between them. They are generally fair-skinend, though range in complexion more widely than their eladrin cousins.

Eladrin
A distant and somewhat aloof race, the eladrin hold to the belief that they once ruled over a vast empire spanning the world. They, by and large, keep with their religious beliefs that pre-date human civilization. They have no truly exclusive settlements of their own, living amongst other peoples of the world, mostly elves. Physically, there is not much different between the eladrin and elves. The differences are cultural, for the most part. The eladrin believe elves were once part of their empire, a lower caste of workers that spread across the world under eladrin rule. They rigidly adhere to the maintenance of their traditional language, which shares a root with the elven language. They are almost universally fair-skinned, though some groups have been known to be of a slightly more tan complexion.

Dragonborn
Indigenous to the Toba region, the dragonborn are a savage, almost feral race that dwell in the rocky barrens of the southeastern expanses. They have a rigid, tribal societal structure that values strength and endurance over other traits. Leadership is decided by combat, as are most legal matters. They are rarely, if ever, are found outside of the desert. They are most populous in the Toba desert and the considerably larger desert regions to the south past the Thuul jungles. The dragonborn trade with the humans commonly, mainly rare gems and animal hides.

Dwarves
Dwarves are one of the most uncommon of the humanoid races in the Toba. They have no known settlements in the Caliphate, living amongst, almost exclusively, human cities and towns. Though it is commonly known that dwarves have cities of their own far to the north, beyond even the nations across the Golden Sea, the dwarves of the Toba have little cultural distinction of their own, beyond a smattering of words of the dwarven language passed down through generations. Much as the gnomes do, the dwarves tend to segregate themselves to their own districts of the cities. They are seen as hard, diligent workers, though of a somewhat lower social class than humans. This is an unspoken distinction, however, and most dwarves suffer through this unfortunate fact of life in the Toba silently.

Halflings
Halflings are one of the more populous non-human peoples of the Toba, second only to the Elves in number. Though they tend to stay in the northern stretch of savannah between the Toba desert and the sea, they can be found in varying amounts across the region. As a people, generally, they are nomadic. They wander the trade roads in large communities of wagons and caravans, subsisting on trading with cities and towns. This is not to say that all halflings spend their lives wandering. There are significant communities of halflings that call Rael and Albastra home. In fact, the halfling quarter of Albastra houses one of the three major bazaars of that city. Otherwise, their culture and religions seem to mimic those of the humans they live among. They have no real distinct language of their own, the "halfling" tongue being an amalgam of various dominant human, elven and dwarven tongue, with a few words of other languages borrowed into it.

Genasi
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">The Genasi are certainly one of the most atypical of the peoples of the Toba. Their society is highly regimented, and steeped with deeply ritualized tradition. On the most fundamental level, their communities are segregated into Houses and Castes. Each House represents one of the four primal elements, each Caste delineating their function within the community. The major Castes are: priest, warrior, arcane, merchant, smith, farmer, hunter. There are many others, as many as there are roles within a community. Genasi groups are a meritocracy, wherein the most skilled and experienced of each House and Caste serves on a Council which leads the community. A young Genasi's Caste is decided when he partakes in the Trials at the age of 12. The Trials are a gruelling set of mental, physical, and spiritual tests that guage a young adult's usefulness within the community. It is not unheard of for young Genasi to not survive the Trials. A death in the Trials is not mourned, as the Genasi never truly became one of the community.

Gnomes
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">The clever craftsmen of the Caliphate. Commonly-held belief says that Gnomes followed along with the humans who first came to live in this region. Because of this, they are rarely seen beyond the walls of the human cities and towns. They favour larger settlements, where their skills as craftsmen are valued. The great weapons of war - might siege engines and balistae of the Caliphate - were designed and built by Gnomish workers, and common folk tale holds that the Caliph has a secret guard of clockwork soldiers built by those same workers. Within the human cities the Gnomes form their own communities, often staking out whole neighbourhoods for their own kind - often quite near to bazaars and merchant districts. Over the years they have built strong ties to the nomadic Halfling merchant bands, to secure rare and useful materials.

Githzerai<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">A sparsely populated group within the Toba region. The Githzerai are very secretive of their history. What is know, however, is that there were living in the desert long before humans settled it - though, seemingly, after the legendary Eladrin cities disappeared. As a people, they tend to keep away from human cities and towns, and those of the races associating with them. Scholars have learned, from certain more out-going Githzerai, that their culture exalts the powers of the mind and that when an elderly Githzerai is on the verge of death their undergo a ritual calle Halai <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">where they imprint their mind on another Githzerai.

Wilden
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">These creatures rarely travel into the desert expanses of the region, prefering the verdant Thuuli jungles to the south. Those few who do venture north are held in a deep respect - almost religious awe - by the elves, and the eladrin to a lesser extent. They are seen as living expressions of the natural spirits that those people worship.

Devas
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;">More a legend than a race, those who believe in the existance of these creatures believe them to be the reincarnated sould of great heroes - or villains. No hard evidence has ever been presented to prove that Devas are real, however. If there are any in the Toba, then surely they are carefully hidden amongst the people.

Half-Orcs, Goliaths, Minotaurs, Shardminds, Shifters<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:tahoma,verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucidagrande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-left;"> - These races are not available to players.