Fantasy Races Reimagined - Races of the Sunless Setting

The Sunless setting, as can be surmised from the name, is a setting where the sun has mysteriously vanished, leading to the biosphere mostly dying off, leading to the waning of ambient magic, leading to the collapse of the magical surface civilizations… and leading to a vast exodus into the abandoned caverns of the dwarves. The civilization that remains and persists has little magic and is technologically mostly late medieval, save for electricity, which is decently understood due the importance of creating breathable air from water.  The setting is what I would describe as ‘low magic’ – magic exists, but since everything must be cast from one’s own life-energy at a high price, it’s not exactly useful or common.

I am using the Sunless setting here to highlight psychological / cultural differences between fantasy races.

The next post will use a different setting to highlight the adaptation of a set bunch of fantasy races in an PnP RPG for a particular setting.


Humans:
There are humans in this setting.  I’m not a fan of humans in settings, as readers tend to find humans more relatable, which in turn skews the perception of the other races as relative to the humans, rather than relative to all other races.  Alas, most of my readers are human, so there is some demand for humans.

Human physiology:
Humans have a variety of (brownish) skin colors, hair colors, and eye colors.  They are physically strong compared to elves and gnomes, but not as strong or tough as orcs.  They have some amount of magical ability, but do not live in it like elves.  They are noted for having particularly lousy vision in the dark.

Human psychology and culture: Humans control many of dwarven cities and other settlements, being strongly inclined towards hierarchical rulership.  Humans tend to welcome orcish labor, but dislike orcish culture finding them unruly. Meanwhile, they are altogether suspicious of gnomes, and find elves disheartening to be around.

Orcs:
I decided on orcs as a major race because I wanted something physically stronger than a human, but perhaps not as smart.  I also wanted a race that was known for raiding others, but not necessarily villainous.  What fantasy race is associated with “strong, raiding, not smart”? Orcs, mostly, though the “not smart” bit seems to be a question of how they are seen through the eyes of the protagonists.

Orc physiology:
The strongest of the major races, and the hardiest as well.  Orcs have a variety of greenish skin colors, prominent jaws and teeth, and the best ability to see in the darkness, though they do need some light.  Of the living races, orcs have the least ability with magic.

Orc psychology and culture:
Orcs are not that bright.  Numbers go put to how many fingers (and “many”), abstract thought tends to get lost, etc.  Orcish culture involves a strong loyalty to the group (clan), and all other matters are seen in terms of contribution to the group.  An orc’s value is generally a question of how much they contribute to the group, and their place in society is their role in the group.

Wealth and ownership differ from the private ownership of others to a question of “Do I currently need this object?”  If you need it, and it is not currently being used, then take it and use it.  This, obviously, causes some confusion with the other races, as humans, gnomes, and elves all have the concept of private ownership, and don’t take well to orcs ‘borrowing’ their stuff (particularly since orcs don’t return objects of their own initiative, but expect that if the other party needs the object, they will come and get it – other cultures call this ‘stealing’).

Place in society does not contribute to social standing, as every role is necessary.  Instead, the value of contribution is noteworthy.  Since most work in orc clans is relatively unskilled, orcs that find their work isn’t valuable will seek out some other task that is presently more needed, and contribute there instead.  Doing work is generally a matter of pride.

Orcs and the other races:
Those outside of the clan are not seen as people, precisely – orcs are known for raiding human and gnome settlements, and even fellow orcish ones without a shred of remorse.  They are not taking what is not presently not needed, they are taking anything.  None of the social rules apply to anyone outside of an orc’s group, and pillaging crops is not seen as any different from growing one’s own crops – both are contributing food to the clan.  This leads to a lot of embitterment.

The other practice that occurs during raids is the kidnapping of other races.  While orcs are not particularly clever, they are, in fact, rather aware of this shortcoming.  If the group is lacking some vital skill, they will attempt to find someone with that skill and bring them into the group, willingly or not.  Orcs are also aware that non-Orcs often have a hard time understanding where their labor is most valuable, and will direct non-Orcs within the clan to do what is needed.  Often a gnome kidnapped during a raid will find herself in charge of cataloguing the loot, then put to work repairing some machinery that is beyond orcish knowhow.

One strange consequence of this practice is that non-orcs often find themselves thrust into positions of planning and leadership, on account of their advanced cognitive ability.  Often an orcish clan will be run by non-orcs.  Of course, like all roles in society, this is temporary, right up until someone else can do it better, or the non-orc is needed more in some other capacity.

Living with orcs can take some getting used-to for non-orcs, particularly the sharing of objects and constantly being directed to perform some task that the non-orc is particularly suited for.  However, if the clan is familiar with the idea that non-orcs have different needs than orcs, and the non-orc can communicate assorted needs, the life can be downright comfortable, though some amount of scorn may occur on the basis of needing so much relative to the contributions of the non-orc.  This is only sometimes balanced by the inability of other orcs to do the necessary task.

Orcs appreciate when non-orcs are able to find important tasks, and if the non-orc is trusted, are often more than willing to take the non-orc’s word that a task is useful – orcs may never urge a non-orc to write a history of the clan, but if the non-orc thinks it’s a good idea… well, the non-orc is clever in ways that orcs are not.  And, of course, the utility or lack of utility will become apparent in time.

This also leads to more kidnapping, as often non-orcs plead an inability to do certain tasks, but do know who to have kidnapped who can do a certain task.

Orcish tribes can be surprisingly diverse – the main feature of the tribe being orcish is that the orcs’ view of the good of the tribe gets the last say on who is doing what.

On the other end of things, orcs are occasionally kicked out of their tribe, sometimes get separated and lost, or otherwise wind up outside of an orcish-dominated tribe.  They will, then, try to find some other group to join, regardless of the race – belonging is a strong psychological urge for orcs.

This often leads to some amount of culture shock, and also the potential for discrimination or abuse.  Some societies are welcoming of orcs, as orcs are known to be enthusiastic manual workers.  This works well, as orcs feel valuable and important to the group via their special physical abilities, while less-manually inclined folks can focus on other tasks.  This can vary from respectful to downright exploitative.

Other societies, often those suffering from orcish raids, view the newcomer orc as representative of their race, not understanding that the raids of orc tribes are a question of group-versus-group behavior, rather than orc-versus-civilization behavior.  This can lead to all manner of lousy behavior towards the orc in question, while the orc tries to contribute to their new group, and not be forced on its own again.

Either way, orcs have trouble integrating due to their tendency to steal, their tendency to leave a job for some task they think is more important, and their tendency to assault those they see doing antisocial behavior.

Gnomes:
Gnomes were conceived of as a sort of the counter-point to orcs, and are very much a mirror in the opposite direction.

Gnome physiology:

Gnomes are the smallest of the races (sometimes call halflings by humans, on account of being half the size of a human), and their strength is proportionate.  They are, however, quick and well-coordinated, and very dexterous with their hands.  Gnomes share skin tones, eye colors, and hair colors with humans. Gnomes have less potential at magic than humans, but tend to realize more of their potential.

Gnome psychology and culture:
Gnomes are noted for being horribly clever and utterly self-serving.  Even when they appear to be acting for the good of others, they are doing so because they expect it will also help them in the end.

This does not mean they are out to screw others over, as cooperation often leads to a better long-term outcomes.

Unfortunately, this does mean that they will do whatever they know they can get away with, and do have a tendency to betray the trust of others at the most inopportune moments – i.e., when there is nothing the other party can do about the betrayal.

Gnome-dominated culture tends to be very individualistic, with lots of deal-making between various group members, but often very little in terms of positions of power – the lack of trust makes leadership tricky.  Fortunately, gnomes are very clever, and the individual deal-making paired with the long view makes sure that things get done.

Gnomes and the other Races:

Gnomes are also aware that they could have an even better life when living in a non-gnomish settlement, and for this reason gnomes are the second-most-common members of almost any city.

With humans, their expertise at technology and cleverness make them valuable, but there is a stigma of betrayal.  Often this is not a problem, as a gnome can explain the virtues of maintaining a good reputation… however, often humans are unwilling to trust someone who is more clever than themselves, having been burned before.

When an individual gnome can’t prove that while other gnomes are duplicitous schemers, the individual gnome won’t screw over the humans due to maintaining a reputation… this causes a loss of incentive to be something other than a duplicitous schemer.  Thus gnomish ghettos can often be sources of crime – either rightfully, as gnomes are clever enough to do crime well, or wrongfully, as humans are quick to blame any crime they can’t solve on the superior intellect of criminal gnomes.  Of course, the gnome might argue, “What gnome criminal would allow the crime scene to look such a way that investigators wound up at his or her doorstep?  If were doing this crime, I would leave clues implicating someone else.  This crime is no doubt someone else covering their tracks by implicating me.”

Human law enforcement does not always get along well with gnomes.

Gnomes tend to see orcs more as ‘things’ than as fellow sentients, due to the orcs being predictable and duty-driven, rather than the orcs expressing their own volition, self-interest, agency, or free will.  This works well for gnomes in orcish clans, as once they catch on they tend to climb to a comfortable position in society.  Alas, this does not always work out when there are multiple gnomes in the same clan, as orcs wind up as pawns for power-plays between various gnomes.  Gnomes find it troublesome, though, that orcs have a tendency to go off-script.  This this can be counter-acted in a variety of ways, for a sufficiently clever gnome…

Gnomes are fairly welcoming of elves, and are happy to mine the memories of elves for historical knowledge, analyze the information relative to what other elves have said, and draw useful conclusions.  Unlike humans, gnomes don’t get depressed by elves, and so, like everyone else, an elf is a valuable tool.

In a certain sense, gnomes can always be trusted, so long as one manipulates the situation such that the gnome being trustworthy stays in the gnome’s best interest.

Elves:
Elves and dwarves are outside of the main triad of races, and they are both relics of a more glorious age.  Or, at least, the elves are, since the dwarves are all dead.

Elvish physiology:

Most notably, elves are an ageless species (as are dwarves, according to legend).  However, they are not physically robust, and are not energetic.  This is due to them being part magical in nature, and no longer having the ambient magic that their bodies expect.  Elves average barely shorter than humans, but are incredibly slight of frame, with a starved looking appearance.  Elves have all manner of skin color, eye color, and hair color, due to earlier magical manipulations.  Elves are the best at using magic, bar none, but are still severely limited by the current circumstances.

Elvish psychology and culture:
Elves are a broken people.  Once, long ago, their magical kingdoms ruled the entire surface, having survived their conflict with the dwarves.  In the old days, elves looked down on the mortal races as not really mattering, as they lived for only a few decades before withering away – not really a meaningful experience.  The manipulation of ambient magic allowed elves to raise their great living cities of wood and crystal, allowed them to fly through the air and communicate throughout the world.  It is whispered that elves even walked through portals to other worlds entirely.

But then the sun disappeared.  And with the sun disappearing, life on the surface died.  And without life, there was nothing to supply ambient magic.  The world went from a place suffused with magic to a place barren and dry of magic.

Not that the disappearance of the sun concerned the elves immediately.  They thought they could fix it with their magic.  Maybe even raise a more pliable source of light to replace it.  While the human cities fled the snow underground, the elves raised great lights throughout the world.

But the lights all flickered out.

The elves were the last to flee into the old dwarven caverns, and by the time they did so, they were nearly bereft of magic and facing cultures that had never relied so heavily on the mana arts.  Elves quickly went from being the most populous and powerful culture in the world to being the least populous and poorest culture in the world.

Worse, the lack of magic not only interfered with their bodies, rendering them frail, but also interfered with their minds – elves with centuries, even millennias of experience found themselves unable to sort through their memories efficiently, instead remembering things based on mere association.  Many went insane to varying degrees, either unable to cope altogether, or unable to distinguish reality from the aeons of memories dredged up by every sight or smell or taste.

Young elves enjoy the benefits of being unable to forget, but even on a timescale of decades, this turns into a curse, as every new experience brings back a flurry of past experiences.

This leads many elves to live lives away from the constant sensory overload of larger cities, living in traveling caravans, ideally experiencing new things, rather than repeated memory-laden ones.  Unfortunately, this also separates them from the small amount of ambient magic that exists from the creatures living in the cities.  Elves can sort their memories better while in cities, and often they will leave the caravan when that is not working for them, and try to live in cities, where they trade memories and stories for coin, before the wash of new experiences fills them up to a level they can no longer sort, even with the local ambient magic.

It’s not always easy, being an elf in this day and age, and a lot of elves get fairly mopey, and the older ones often live mostly in their memories of better times.

Elves and other races:
Elves are exploited by halflings, and sometimes orcs find use for their abilities at altering magic, but often exile elves who can’t consistently hold it together enough to make a positive impact on the tribe.

Dwarves:
The last major race.  They are all dead, and what actually happened to them is a big mystery in the story.  This is the non-spoiler version.

Dwarf physiology:

According to the elves, they are shorter than elves and much stockier, with a squat, wide frame.  They are physiologically ageless, and supposedly very smart.  Unlike most species, they have no ability for magic whatsoever, not even producing mana.  Some elves claim this as proof that they are not really alive.  This also renders them immune to purely magical attacks, though using magic to alter the environment (shooting a fireball, etc.) worked fine while the elves were at war with them.

Dwarven psychology and culture:
Not much is known about dwarves, as they exiled themselves underground a millennia ago to end a globally catastrophic war with the elves.

Elvish knowledge from the surface speaks of advanced non-magical technology – advanced flying carts engaging elvish dragon-riders, golems and summoned elementals being matched by massive electrical suits of armor or armored carts that spat death, and, towards the end of the war, devices that created explosions of unmatched power that poisoned the very land.

The relics found from beneath the surface provide evidence that dwarven creativity and technological progression never ended, with machines that turn water into fresh air and power, devices that turn waste into ingots of pure metal and charcoal, along with vials of strange gas, and other devices that, when linked with a suitable power source, turns the right arrangement of ingots and vials into a new dwarven device.

What the dwarves did not leave was any kind of writing, or instructions on how these wonderful machines were to be used.  The dwarves were also notably devoid of any form of art - at odds with elven memories of dwarves on the surface.

Most perplexingly, despite all this achievement, no living dwarves have been seen, and the caverns are littered with the corpses of dwarves, all having met some manner of violent end.

Other race:
Something else moves in the deepest, hottest tunnels.  Elves swear that new tunnels are being dug, that abandoned campsites have been slightly disturbed.  Sometimes the other races also think they can hear something through the stone.  But saying more would be a spoiler.