Population and Culture
The lands of Ferrum are filled with a plethora of different races and peoples. Many of these races and cultures tend to hail from lands outside of the Nine Nations; from the Foreign Territories. However, there are a number of common races that populate the lands of the Nine Nations. Below you can find a brief snippet on each of the main races of this campaign, their social standing in the world, and basic information about them. You can also find links to their Custom Options, such as unique sub-races.
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Humans
The industrious nature of humanity has lead to their domination of the lands of Ferrum. While the other races of the world combined outnumber them, no other single race stands anywhere close to their numbers. The humans have spread across Ferrum, and dominate the portion of the world this campaign is focused on; that of the Nine Nations.
The humans have set a number of kingdoms and countries across the land. This competeing states prove to be the greatest threat to humanity in most instances, as their constant betrayal and in-fighting has led to more human death than almost anything else, other than the Grand Incursion. Each nation stands upon its own, dealing with the other nations only as they see necessary, though their citizenry may not always follow the strict guidelines of their rulers.
In this campaign, you may only choose to be one of the Human Options presented in this wiki. The Variant Human from SRD will not be allowed, though you may be able to make an argument for the standard human.
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Elves
In the ancient times, the Eleves ruled the lands of Ferrum - living in harmony with the natural world. When humans arrived upon the Material Plane, however, their influence and dominance slowly began to fade. In the distant past, Elven Kingdoms were plentiful and large, but millennia of development and growth of other races and left most of these proud kingdoms as little more than beautiful ruins. A few Elven nations still reside in the distant lands on the other side of Ferrum, but even there, they are rare.
Elves have - by necessity - been forced into cohabitation with humanity. Many find homes and lives among human society, and many have forgotten their once proud heritage. A few staunch zealots of elf-kind still work hard to preserve and share their ancient culture to the world, but most do this in nations and towns surrounded by non-elves.
Elves are seen much the same as humans in the current state of the world, possessing respect and authority on par with them. Few elves are actually leaders, but many do hold spots of nobility and leadership. They are often reprieved as being wise, and well-learned, though this may not always be the case.
There is one unique brand of elf in the Nine Nations called the Sehanine Elves. Blessed by the elven goddess of the moon, these elves can see dreams and sense the flow of life and death.
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Dwarves
The proud and industrious dwarves once held a dominion in Ferrum similar to that of the ancient elves. They possessed numerous impressive cities - many of them standing within the hollowed out husks of mountains. Some of these ancient domains still remain filled with Dwarves, living together and following their more ancient traditions, but most of them have fallen to the flow of time. The cities that remain are secluded, with strict codes on who can enter or when. Many of them rarely - if ever - allow non-Dwarves within their borders.
Most dwarves, however, have assimilated into the human societies that now dominate the lands of Ferrum. They practice their crafts in human cities - some of the best blacksmiths and jewelers carrying on the traditions of their ancestors there. They are a well respected race in society, holding near equal station to humans and elves. They are often seen as a simple people, not beholden to elegance and grace, but there are a few that hold stations of power in the Ironclast Empire.
A rare breed of dwarf can sometimes be found hidden away in dwarven cities; The Azeresh Dwarf. These master craftsman put the work of other dwarves to shame, possessing the fiery hot blood of the Azer mingled with their own dwarven nature.
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Orcs
Since ancient times, the race of Orcs has been known primarily as destroyers, barbarians, and raiders. They have wandered the lands of Ferrum for as long as history has been recorded, taking that which they desired, and slaughtering all that might stand in their way, as wel as most of those who tried not to. Orcs are, historically, brutal and malicious villains.
A few orcs throughout time have shrugged off the mantle of vicious brute, proving they can be functioning members of societies. As such, Orcs are often looked upon with cautious scrutiny, though not necessarily shunned. But if a large group of orcs were to approach a city together, it is like they would be turned away - treated as pillagers or raiders and nothing more.
Orcs exist mostly among the dregs of society, often employed as bodyguards, or henchmen. Most do not possess the refinement of an assassin nor the grace of a thief, but some do. A few also find more honest work as adventurers or soldiers. But they are never raised on a pedestal of nobility - even those that may have earned it.
For the purpose of this campaign, a standard orc has gray skin. However, there are a plethora of multi-colored orcs roaming the lands of the Nine Nations. These orcs are said to be of a bloodline that was exposed to the elements during the Grand Intrusion, and left them tainted with blasphemous divine influence. They are commonly referred to as Tainted Orcs.
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Halflings
The oft forgotten people of the world, the Halflings of Ferrum are a proud, studious, and good-natured breed. Historical tales seem to rarely mention this race of cherry little people, having existed in the background of the world's events. A few halflings of notable repute grace tales of heroism and gallantry, but most tales are mum on their presence. Halflings are alright with this, content with passing their own stories down from generation to generation.
Halflings are said to have numerous hidden villages scattered about the wilds of Ferrum - each of them unique in their customs and traditions. However, few non-Halflings have ever seen such places. But halfllings themselves are rather common in human cities, even if tales of them are not. Many journey to human lands to become reach - be reputable means, or otherwise. Their small stature makes it easy for them to go unnoticed, making it so few of them hold any positions of authority or power. But for the most part, they are content with this. And when they need to make themselves known, none do it better than the halflings of Ferrum.
A rare clan of halflings can sometimes be found in the Orkan lands. This clan is hated and despised by their brethren, called traitors and fiends. It is said they made a deal with the invading Elemental Deity of Air, and gained his blessings. But in doing so, they betrayed the Material Plane. They are the Galeian Halflings.
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Gnomes
Ostensibly, when one thinks of gnomes, there are probably two factors that come to mind. One of an industrious tinkerer, ever curious and working towards the completions of some mechanical monstrosity. The other of the cunning illusionist, masking their activities behind a layer of diffusion and befuddling the weak-minded with masterful fantasies seemingly brought to life. Both of these brands of gnomes, with all the foibles that come along with thine, roam the lands of Ferrum.
The gnomes of Ferrum are the type to keep mostly to themselves. While many of them live among the humans in their society, even there they tend to live solitary, private lives - often burying themselves in whatever activity strikes their fancy. History is - unsurprisingly - lacking on information of the past actions of these creatures in Ferrum. A few mentions pop up here or there, but mostly they are just known to have always been around. Sometimes their musing help those around them. Sometimes they are blamed for horrible experiments gone wrong. Either way, in most situations, it is hard to hold their misdeeds against them. They often mean no harm, and just fail to think their plans through fully.
Given their somewhat reclusive natures, gnomes tend to stay out of the spotlight and public eye. Few takes up positions of nobility, though a few do exist that are intrigued and excited about such things. Their rarely seen nature means even in present day, they can startle the random person with their sudden or unusual appearance. People know of gnomes, but many rarely see them.
Sturdy, strong, and found of alcohol, there exists a breed of Gnome in Ferrum that is said to have blood thick with the power of the earth. The Pech Gnomes are often compared to Dwarves in their temperament, but their nature of tinkering and manipulation is surely their strongest gnomish trait.
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Genasi
Elemental Children, the genasi are humanoids whose blood has been tainted or touched by the influence of the elemental planes. While the Material Plane being locked away from the other planes might lead you to think their kind would be uncommon or even impossible, the exact opposite is actually true. With no way to return to their own plane, various races of genies, elementals, and other creatures of the inner planes became trapped on the Prime Material. Stuck here, many of them eventually ingratiated themselves into the mortal societies. Their long lives allowed them to spread much influence among the world, and Genasi went from being nearly unheard of to quite common.
The Genasi presented here is the same basic premise as those Genasi presented in other works. However, some changes have been made to accommodate the setting of the campaign as well as expand the options of this race.
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Foyel
The Foyel are a race of people shaped by their history, and the history of their interactions with humanity. The Foyel trace their lineage back to simple foxes. In the early history of Ferrum, they were blessed with intelligence and a more humanoid shape by their progenitor diety, Inari. Their time on Ferrum since has been filled with constant battles for their survival and for vengance against humans.
The Foyel's lengthy history of conflict makes them targets of racism and bigotry within human societies. And in a world dominated by humans, that leaves them few outlets to escape the pain. Most Foyel have either retreated to nations that have slowly come to accept them, or stubbornly fight to protect their ancient homelands, their obstinance out done only by their crafty tactics. Foyel can be found scattered all around Ferrum, with a few unique sub-races dotting some of the nations.
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Dragonborn
Direct descendants of the mighty dragons of their name sake, there are many different tales as to where this proud race comes from, but none are quite sure of their true origins. What the world does know, is that prior to the Grand Incursion, they did not exist on Ferrum. Some claim they were created by the invading elemental beings - that their mighty elemental nature is proof they serve those masters. But this ignores the very clear relation they have to actual dragons - creatures that have existed before any other race of beings.
Dragonborn are powerful creatures, regardless of their origins. They can may powerful warriors, or paladins, or devout scholars and spellcasters. They have a knack for many things, and usually adhere to a strict code of honor. Different shades of dragonborn exist, but they all see to bind together as one, following much of the same teachings and with identical culutues.
Dragonborn are feared by some, but mostly are respected and admired. They often hold seats of authority, though there is never a record of any actually leading a nation or region. Still, they are viewed well in the lands of Ferrum, and often a welcome sight when help is needed.
Dragonborn have these additional racial options available to them in this campaign:
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Tieflings
The cursed bloodline of the tieflings is an ancient one. For nearly as long as humanity has walked the lands of Ferrum, their have been Tieflings among them. These souls are either the bastard offspring of some fiendish creature and a mortal soul, or a member of a family whose bloodline was forever cursed by some ancient pact with devils or other fiends.
Tieflings are often looked up with an eye of distrust and suspicion. Even tieflings with noble aspirations and the best of intentions have their motives called into question constantly. For most people, it is hard to look past the fiendish influence that dominates their appearance. They are often forced into less reputable professions or to battle a constant injustice in the world to try and make their way in an honorable fashion.
Tieflings find it hard to come to power due to the mistrust most other races have in them, but a few have managed to accomplish the task. Many notable tieflings throughout history have been known to break the stereotypes of their race and serve admiralty as captains or leaders. For everyone story of such wonderful pinnacles of honor, though, there are half a dozen others showing and reinforcing what the rest of the world believes to be true of all their kind.
The nation of Umbras is home to many Tieflings - hosting the largest population of them. Among those there, there is said to be a rare strand of Tiefling with a peculiar origin. The Unacubus Tiefling is one whose blood is defiled by the ancestry of a Succubus or an Incubus. They are power manipulators, and always seem to appear beautiful.
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Gith
The divided race of the Gith have traditionally not been creatures that dwelt long upon the Material Plane, but during the Grand Incursion, many of their kind aided in the battles against the elemental deities, helping to defeat their armies. Powerful members of both the Githyanki and Githzerai were also instrumental in the forging of the Mind's Eye - the Mystic Arm instrumental in the defeat of the elemental armies. When all was said and done, more than a few of them ended up trapped upon the Material Plane when it was sealed off from the Inner and Outer Planes.
With members of both gith branch stuck on the Material Plane, there was originally much fighting and conflicting during the Chaos between their two sides. Many lost their lives in the conflicts, but over time one of the Gith rose - a woman by the name of Yiugun. She preached loudly against the conflict, and reminded both sides that only their combined force was able to repel the evils of the invading elementals. With her words, she was able to calm some of the animosity, and the githyanki and githzerai called a temporary truce, settling upon different ends of Ferrum; the githyanki in the east, and the githzerai in the west.
Gith still maintain their separate societies among the human nations. Villages of secluded githzerai dot the forests of Lusach and hide in the dunes of the Shakari deserts. Strongholds of githyanki lie scattered about the mountainous regions of the Ironclast Empire. But some of the gith do mingle with and live among the other reasons.
Gith are considered powerful warriors, and are often prized as arcane battle smiths - able to mix magic and blade impressively well. Their intelligence and cunning is often respected for their battle strategies or their teachings. Gith rarely hold any sort of true power outside of their own villages, but that does not mean they do not hold positions of importance that demand respect. Many can sometimes find their unearthly appearance alarming, but not so much as to shun them.
Forced to exist outside of the Astral Plane and Limbo, and even on the same continents, some of the warring Gith tribes have actually come together in peace under the prophet of Yiugun. These Gith embrace all their brothers, and claim to be a return to the roots of their race. They are the Githiugum.
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Half Breeds
The lands of Ferrum are a melting pot of cultures and races. And given enough time in close proximity, almost any two races will eventually intermingle. The lands of Ferrum, and indeed the Nine Nations, are rife with different melding of racial ancestry. These half breeds tend to resemble one of their parents or ancestors more than enough, and often find themselves being treated and regarded as that race by most of the world. However, their two mingled bloodlines are obvious to members of both those races. These sometimes makes them outsiders everywhere, though this can vary from race to race or tribe to tribe.
If you're interesting in learning more about half breeds, click the link below.
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Minor Races of Ferrum
There are a plethora of peoples and cultures filling the lands, cities of the nine nations of our campaign. The lands are predominately human, with almost half the population being humans. The mixture of the other major races makes up the rest of the population. These are - in order - the elves and dwarves, the halflings and gnomes, the dragonborns and tieflings, and the gith and foyel.
But there are dozens of other races in the world. Most of these races are not common among the people of the Nine Nations, and hail form the foreign lands on the other side of Ferrum. Their presence in any of the nine nations is often seen as a rarity or an oddity, with most of those that do appear being either merchants, spies, or outcasts from other lands. The collection of dozens of other races makes up only about 2% of the total population of The Nine Nations.
You are free to be a character of any officially published 5th Edition race, including the various subraces of any of those races. If you choose to be a race other than one of the major races indicated above, you are likely to find dealing with people in the nine nations a bit more difficult than normal, as you will be looked on with a sense of curiosity, suspicion, or animosity that far excels that of any major race. This is not meant to discourage you from being any of those races, but just a warning of what to expect.
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