(This is the planned design but character selection and related features are not yet implemented. Details subject to change.)
This is more or less a summary of this forum thread:
Mythruna Races
Human
This is the most obvious one and the first race that will be implemented.
Humans are the primary drivers of widespread civilization on Mythruna. They are the builders of roads and cities and seek to connect the whole world. The other races would normally be content to live on their own in isolation but the humans sort of force interaction through expansion and curiosity.
They have no built in special abilities and so all of their magic component slots are open.
Most above ground regular medieval style cities and towns will have been built and/or are run by humans, potentially in conjunction with Simians.
Elf
These are primarily forest people, tall and thin in stature. They each live for a thousand years or more and their patient lifestyle reflects this. Their years bring them wisdom and a vast knowledge of ancient lore with which they have come into contact. Though they do not readily seek knowledge on their own outside of their own civilization.
They are the only race in Mythruna that has an innate magic ability. It is based on life energy and usually requires sunlight to work. In other words, they can naturally transform sunlight into life energy. (sunlight and life energy are two of the many forms of elemental magic on Mythruna)
They build villages in the earth or in trees, either in burrow style huts or by manipulating trees into larger structures or hollows. They will rarely if ever “construct” things and will never dig in anything but raw soil or sand. They will never mine and cannot easily distinguish one rock from another even if they did.
As a natural ability, they have a night vision based on the ability to see “life auras” and similar magic energies.
Elves will tend to be “true neutral” in many respects and understand the ideas of conservation of balance even if it requires destruction. For example, thinning overpopulated herds or burning sections of the forest to prevent overgrowth.
Extremely likely to be naturalists, druids, healers, and rangers… though most elven rangers will be the product of having been outcast from elven society.
Dwarf
Their short and strong stature make them natural diggers and they will build deep and expansive cities underground where their population thrives. They are so good at spending time underground that they can determine their position on a map even if they’ve been wandering underground for weeks without seeing the sky. They also always know how deep they are.
They are natural miners and have a “nose” for minerals. Frequently a dwarves will be able to predict whether a mineral vein is worth following just by the smell and shape of the rocks. Some may even possess a homing sense for specific types of minerals and naturally be able to guess where they might be.
They are friends to nearly all underground creatures and even dragons view them as neutral parties unless provoked. Dragons will see them more as part of the mountain like any other rock-burrowing creature. Like an ant not worth swatting as long as it stays away.
Their relationship to the earth means that many types of magic energies are naturally and harmlessly absorbed making some magic have a diminished effect on dwarves.
Simian
The simian race is an ape-like humanoid that retains many of the traits of other apes. They are the scholars and tinkerers of Mythruna and a kindred race to Humans.
They tend to build large and expansive towns and cities above ground in the trees or on craggy cliffs. Over time they have become exceptional engineers. Humans and Simians regularly trade engineering knowledge and secrets and Simian’s have an almost compulsive need to collect and read books. Most Mythruna libraries will be run by Simian elders and no army would ever go to war without a Simian engineering council.
They are mostly herbivores but will eat certain meats.
Tree climbing is an innate special ability and there feet and tails can be used as additional climbing aids. If they have a chance to situate themselves, they can continue using both hands freely even in precarious positions. They are the only race that can naturally climb one-handed.
They have no natural magic ability but they can often understand the workings of magic devices enough to construct or repair them.
Like humans, they are adaptable. If they build a tree city then they build it to last and will spend generations there. Also like humans, they are not climate specific and will find a way to adapt their lifestyle to any particular location on Mythruna.
Reptilian
These silent and cold blooded humanoid reptile carnivores are natural predators and naturally distrustful of outsiders. Little is known about this mysterious race except that they tend to stick to warmer climates.
There special abilities are many. They can breath underwater, climb nearly any surface, move silently, and in some cases hide almost invisibly. They are rumored to have a heat-based night vision.
Pantherian
The pantherian’s are a race of humanoid cat-like people. They are carnivores that can move fast and silently making them formidable hunters.
They have limited tree climbing ability and can leap up short rocky slopes. They must keep moving and cannot use their hands while climbing trees.
They dislike large bodies of water and will almost exclusively live in simple villages built near or around lowland forests or caves. Caves are an especially popular choice in winter. Their dislike of water is such that indigenous pantherians will never travel by ship. If they must move from one continent to another then they must travel by air. This is extreme enough that a population of pantherians will stay and die fighting a dragon or other catastrophe if sea travel is their only other option.
It is very likely that they build makeshift camps during the warm months to be where food is plentiful, moving to a set of caves during winter hibernation periods.
If the Lion and Tiger sub-races live in close proximity then it is almost always true that they are at war. The leopard sub-race will often play as neutral parties in these conflicts.
Avian
The “bird men of Mythruna” are the true nomads. They tend to carry all of their possessions with them and still travel light. They rarely settle in one location for more than a few weeks at a time.
The have arms and legs like a human but light leathery wings on their backs. They are short, thin, and very light weight making them weak warriors in hand to hand combat. It is rare for them to wear anything but the thinnest leather armor since any extra weight will limit their ability to fly. Avian armor and cloth is known the world over for its lightness and durability but premade clothing will rarely fit other races.
In addition to flight, another special ability is that they can detect changes in the weather. If an Avian’s wings are damaged beyond healing then they are ostracized from their social group and must find their way in the world. It is very common to see flightless Avian’s on board sailing and air ships as navigators and lookouts. Their sense of weather and direction, as well as general knowledge of air currents, makes them valuable assets on any long-haul vessel.
The warrior Avian will tend to use a sling or in some cases a short bow. Bladed weapons are as light as possible and will either be a single dagger strapped across their chest or wooden cudgels or quarter spears.
It is extremely unlikely that an Avian sect has ever built a town or a city. They tend to move to where the weather is good and resources are plentiful, migrating as the seasons change. The civilized Avian loner or outcast may live in rented high towers or stay at inns when they travel. Most of the indigenous Avians will prefer a hastily built shelter on a mountain top or in a tree. It is rumored that avian tribes have communal aeries that they use to raise their young during certain years, between which the child is too big to carry but not yet old enough to fly on their own. These are high in the mountains or in the tops of ancient ruins and rarely even glimpsed by members of the other races.
Humans and Simians envy the Avian’s ability to fly and often ignore the limitations this imposes on the Avians. Reptilians and Pantherians see them as a rare delicacy. Dwarves think they are crazy for ever leaving the ground.