-Two Worlds Information File- (Races)

["Cilia" <cilia@xxxxx>]

I've noticed that I really need to get my facts straight about some of the
races I've created/used in Two Worlds to date, so I sat down and wrote info
on the major race down. If this goes well I might sit down and do a segment
on the various heroes and monster, but the might take a little longer,
Cilia


-Two Worlds Information File-
First Edition
(Races)

Elves
Race: Elves
Fundamental alignment: Neutral/Good
Homeland: The Kingdom of Elves
Capital: The City of Elves
Race Status: Stable Population
Ruling Gods: Order/Goddess, the Goddess of the Twin Moons and the Spirits of
the Forest.

The Elves are the embodiment of good in the Realm, for the most part. Their
society is a futile one where the King and the Royals rule, the King rules,
but only with the approval of the council. They are among the oldest races
in the Lands and those who live the longest and they can reach ages of over
one thousand years.
The Kingdom of Elves is relatively new, King Vitor Solonus united it through
a series of wars that brought the Royal House together. They?re one of the
founders of the Alliance along with the Drow and the Dwarves and remain to
this day it driving force.

Elves closely resemble humans in appearance, and were it not for their
distinguishing ears they might easily pass for Human. All elves have about
them a natural grace of movement and keen senses to all things in nature.
Elves are by nature very sensitive to magic and are among the few races that
can see auras without any augmentation of magic.

Elves aren?t city dwellers by nature, but they?ve adapted to the changing
times; still the City of Elves remain among the few known elfin cities in
the entire Realm. Most elves life in small communities deep in the Great
Forrest that makes up a large part of the Kingdom of Elves. Each Royal House
controls a certain lands usually surrounding their ancestral tree where the
home of the House is.

The Elves worship many gods and spirits, but are all pay tribute to Order
or the Goddess. Since elves have a strong connection magic there are few
elfin mages since there is no need for a mage cast, but healers are the
finest in the land.

There are many subspecies of Elf, the Common Elf as the name might suggest
is the most common and their appearance may vary greatly just like humans.
Common Elves dwell in cities and are the foundation of elfin society. Most
Royals are Common Elves.
Moon Elves, or those who worship the Goddess of the Twin Moons, have very
distinctive look about them, their hair is silvery and their skin slightly
paler then that of a common elf, they are warriors of the night and are have
a close relation to the Drow.
The Forest Elves are the primal elves and they life out their entire life in
the forest that is their home, they make for the best Rangers and are valued
part of the elfin culture, they do not engage in political debate, but will
lend soldiers to a cause if they think it?s just. Forest Elves are very
closely related to the High Elves.

In war, elves will really heavily on their archers, Elves prefer to fight in
environments familiar to them such as forests or cities, but on any
battlefield an elf is a formidable warrior. When it comes to leadership in
combat, the fluent chain of combat gives the Elves an edge many races lack,
their soldiers are very independent and can function well both in small
groups and in large division. Women are preferred leaders in battle in all
elfin society, but nowhere more so then with the Drow (see Drow Elves).

Drow Elves
Race: Drow (Gray Elves)
Fundamental alignment: Neutral/Evil
Homeland: The Nether
Capital: The City of Necris
Race Status: Stable Population.
Ruling Gods: None

The Drow Elves, or Grey Elves, are closely related to the Surface Elves. The
split between the two races only occurred a few millennia ago, but in that
time the Drow have adapted to life underground in the Nether. The reason for
the break between the Drow and Surface Elves is unknown, but the two races
have been at war almost continually since then, the war recently ended when
the Drow sought out the Elves help to retake their capital. The City of
Necris is the center of Drow Society and their lands only extent as far as
the city that rests deep within the underground labyrinth known as the
Nether.

Elves are similar in appearance to surface elves, but their skin is ashen
gray and their hair is commonly white. They have similar life spans as other
elves, but it is believed the drow live the longest of all mortal beings,
aside from High Elves.

Drow society is ruled over by the Queen and the Royal Houses much like with
surface elves, but the Queen has total power and can chose to ignore the
Royal Houses. In Drow society a Royal House is just that, a House surrounded
by a wall, so power is derived not from land, but from who controls the most
military or political power.

The Drow control some innate powers of magic and chaos, they can cast globes
of total darkness around themselves or others and see in total darkness.
They?re adept at magic and stealth, but their biggest assets are the minds.
The Drow?s are thinkers not by nature but by necessity, there is no finer
race in the Realm when it comes to plots and solving problems then the drow.
They?re assassins are the best in the realm and few can match a drow in when
it comes to swords.

Although the Drow have recently given up their chaotic ways and joined the
Alliance, their powers are still firmly rooted in Dark Magic and chaos, but
having free will like all species has made them chose to distance themselves
from the darker aspects of their nature, but it will never fully go away. At
present the Drow worship no gods and have instead set on a path of
self-focus and total freedom from meddling celestials. They believe that
there is a line in between darkness and light, this gray line they wish to
walk.

Every House trains it?s own soldiers and then contributes them to the war
effort if called upon by the Queen. Both males and females get equal
training, but females are nearly always chosen for leadership, it is very
rare that a male leads a drow army and even rarer that he leads a House.

Dwarves (Clan Thunderfoot)
Race: Dwarves
Fundamental alignment: Neutral
Homeland: The Nether
Capital: Halls of Clan Thunderfoot
Race Status: Stable Population.
Ruling Gods: God of Fire and War.

The Dwarves are among the ancient races and they live deep within mountains.
Their Halls are their homes and there are many Clans. The Clan Thunderfoot
is among the oldest clans in existence and they live close to the Drow in
the Nether.

Dwarves are short and compact beings, among the shortest in stature in the
entire Realm, but one should never under estimate a dwarf. There are
immensely strong and weigh well up to 300 hundred pounds of solid muscle and
beard. Dwarves bride themselves in their beards that can be in almost any
color. They let them grow long along with their hair and are both kept in
elaborate braids. Dwarves can reach extremely high ages and are only
outlived by the Elves.
They are miners, by nature and mine the metal mythril that?s the most sought
after mineral in the Realm. They are also master craftsmen and dwarf-made
weapons will fetch a pretty price anywhere in the Realm.
Dwarves and Elves don?t seem to get along very well, this has caused them to
clash at times, but both races seek only to life in peace so a fight between
a Dwarf and an Elf will more likely be with words then weapons.
There is an offshoot of the Dwarf race known as Gray Dwarves. They are not
numerous and their society consists of rowing bands, the Gray Dwarves are
like locus in sense that once they?ve used up every resource then back up
and move on.

The clan is ruled by a monarch who? s power is absolute, he can chose to
appoint a council to assist him in ruling the clan, but that?s entirely up
to the monarch. Clan Thunderfoot is ruled over by King Einar Thunderfoot.
Clan Thunderfoot Halls lays only a few days journey, through the Nether,
from the City of Necris. Trade between the cities is established and the two
often put on a unified front in the Alliance council. Amazingly enough there
has never been war between the Drow and the Dwarves, despite this closeness.

Dwarves are not magic users, unless it?s connected with their craft. They
will use magic to enhance weapons, but are otherwise suspicious of magic.
They worship the God of Fire and War and their priests can summon their
support in battle by singing to him.

Dwarves are hoarders and love gold more then all things, aside from a good
fight and good mead of course. This has let them be paranoid and they always
have a standing army to guard their Halls and treasures. At any time the
monarch can call upon vast armies to defend the Halls or to avert a coming
threat and if there is profit to make from the battle then the dwarves will
be eager to join in.


Humans
Race: Humans
Fundamental alignment: Neutral
Homeland: Tharon
Capital: None
Race Status: On the rise
Ruling Gods: The Goddess and various others.

The Human are the youngest race in the Realm, they originated on the
Continent of Tharon and have since spread out across the known Realm. They
have established city-states on the boarders of the Kingdom of Elves, mainly
along the east coast beyond the Wall. The City of Larken lies almost within
the Kingdom of Elves and was among the first to join the Alliance.

Humans need little description, they are the most common beings in the Realm
and after the fashion the weakest, and they have many strength and
weaknesses, but don?t dominate any one aspect or power. Humans have a very
short lifespan and they can only hope to life to a hundred years, but there
are instances with magic strong humans where the number is doubled.
The Humans created the status of the Mage, that has since been adopted by
other races, this came around since unlike other races only a selective few
have the ability to control magic among the Humans. The Mages are respected
among all beings in the Realm, since every child has heard stories of their
rage.

Various forms of government exist within the human society. Leaders are
either chosen or they earn their place through wars or politics. In the
city-states the cities protector is the ruler, but he must obey the will of
the people, or at least the will of the ruling class.

The Humans can step into almost any role or class. Their versatility has
allowed them to thrive almost anywhere in the Realm. Still many of the older
races appose the humans drive and keep a close eye on how the process,
seeing the humans as a possible threat to the way of things. The Humans have
little understanding of the natural order of things; this is perhaps due to
their short lifespan. Human are curious by nature and are filling to seek
out new things and often despite obvious risks.

Humans are prone to battle and are almost always at war somewhere. Their
armies are the largest in the Realm, they are innovative in weapon making
and tactics, but their victories are often won by simple numerical
superiority.


Shadows
Race: Shadows (Humans)
Fundamental alignment: Neutral/Evil
Homeland: The Dark Lands
Capital: The City of Shirl
Race Status: Nearing extinction
Ruling Gods: Chaos and the God of Shadows

The Shadows are an offshoot of the Humans. Since humans are by nature
natural beings and have free will there have been those who chose to follow
the dark paths similar to those taken by the Drow Elves and Gray Dwarfs
millennia ago.
Their homeland is known through out the Realm as the Dark Lands, named so
because of it?s dark soil and blackened mountains which legend has was
scorched in ancient times during a conflict between Order and Chaos about
who should watch over and guide the young human race. No one victor emerged
from the battle but the Dark Lands forever bare the marks and so do their
Human inhabitants that were forever changed by the dark energies that Chaos
unleashed over the lands after his defeat.

The Shadows have the same features and body proportions as their Human
cousins, they require food and water to survive and are mortal. Their blood
is red like the humans, but their skin is blackened like the mountains the
give their land its name, thus giving them a shadowy appearance and making
them near invisible in darkness. The whites of their eyes are gray and the
pupils are white as are their nails that traditionally grown long by the
higher circles of society.

The Shadows are close to extinction and their society is stagnant. The
reasons for the drop in the birthrates are at present unknown, but their
reason for war is not. There is no one ruler and the state is governed by a
ruling body, which is made up from members from all circles of society. The
Priests and Warriors are leading the assembly at present time. The Shadows
imperialistic race and believe in their own superiority above all other
races, this however does not stop them from assimilating concurred beings
into their own culture, but this is a forced decisions since their own race
is slowly, but stately dying.

Dark Magic is very strong in Shadows, since their ancestors were bathed in
the pure chaotic energy. They use it to augment their speed, strength and
senses and there by make up for any numerical intefernce they might face in
battle. They also have inherited control over the more primtive species that
inhabit the mountains of the Dark Lands, such as Goblins and Trolls, which
they use to augment their armies and as cannon fodder.

Every male is trained as soldier from age 17 to 20 and every other year he
must report for duty. Women are not allowed to fight in battle, but are
expected to fight if the land is invaded, they are the ones who tend the
fields and keep the armies supplied if they are at war. The army is very
active mostly due to constant fighting on the Dark Lands northern borders
that are constantly plagued by barbarians. Yet for the most part live is
just as it would be in every other culture in the Realm, with farmers and
cities based on commerce where the farmers come to trade with the craftsmen.

When it comes to tactics and information gathering the Shadows have no
equals in all the Realms. Their spies are the best there is and every battle
is carefully planned and nothing is left to chance. This is achieved by
gathering excellent knowledge of the enemy beforehand, but it also leaves
the Shadows at a disadvantaged if they?re faced with a situation they are
not prepared for. A very strict hierarchy also makes for a very rigid chain
of command. A soldier will not leave his post unless ordered to do so.

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