Races of Verdant

NOTE: These are the brief overviews for each of the peoples that inhabit Verdant. More developed profiles will be released along with completed artwork and will include their Government, Allies & Enemies, Religions, Social Structure, Family & Marriage. 

 ~Humans~
Height:167 cm – 192 cm
Weight: 120 lbs – 250 lbs
Lifespan: 85 years
Defining Traits: Adaptability and pioneering. The humans of this world are quite skilled at making a civilization out of bare rock and sand, putting down roots and finding a way to survive despite the environment surrounding them.
Advantages: Clever at finding solutions to overcome their limitations. Will find a way to survive.
Disadvantages: Prone to arrogance and a false sense of superiority resulting in strained inter-race relations. Genetic Compatibility: Humans/Orcs/Gabelins

Bio: Humans are the dominant race in this world. Culturally diverse, they come in an array of skin tones and speak many languages. They prefer the security of towns and cities to the open wilderness, and put much store in the safety of civilization. That being said, their ability to cooperate has made them a force to be contended with. Humans are adept at increasing their number, expanding their reach across vast swaths of land to create a nation which can be governed. However they are weak to extreme environments, requiring them to find inventive ways to survive. One might think the desert to be an insurmountable obstacle for such a thin skinned race. Yet it is here in Verdant that the women of their race have prospered and founded a grand nation.   
 
~Minotaurs~
Height:243 cm – 313 cm
Weight:240 lbs - 400lbs
Lifespan:120 years
Defining Traits: Determination and horticulture. The minotaur folk are expert horticulturalists, able to make life take root and farm almost anywhere they come to. Entrusted with managing the two growing seasons of Verdant, they are vital to the survival of the nation.
Advantages: Endurance against physical hardships and able to take damage and keep going regardless.
Disadvantages: Poor eyesight and sensitive nostrils make sandstorm season a miserable time. Genetic Compatibility: Minotaur 

Bio: Once refugees from another continent far across the sea, the last eleven generations of minotaurs have been born in Verdant. Broad shouldered and powerful, these people find satisfaction in the tilling of the earth and watching their hard work come to fruition. They prefer a rural life, but have adapted quite well to the comforts of being so close to Verdant proper. A family oriented species, one bull will often have three or four cows and many children, which help manage the large farms they oversee. Slow to anger, minotaurs can none the less be stubborn and unflinching against obstacles. Quiet by nature, they care deeply for their families and will do anything to protect them.   
 
~Orcs~
Height:188 cm – 216 cm
Weight:175 lbs – 290 lbs
Lifespan:85 years   
Defining Traits: Family and loyalty. Ones family is the most important thing to an orc, followed closely by their tribe, and their people. In the canopies of the Dense Jungle, they have built a new life, and they guard it with ferocious care.
Advantages: Agile and very dexterous with well adapted climbing skills.
Disadvantages: Overprotective of their homes with a rigid expectation of themselves.   Genetic Compatibility: Orcs/Humans/Gabelins
 
Bio:Some old tales say that the orcish people once had a great city that stood where Verdant now towers. But it matters very little. Muscular and agile, the orcs have found solace in their green surroundings for more generations than they can remember. However they have not forgotten what was stolen from them. They have little trust for humans, and will not permit them to go beyond their border marks. Anyone foolish enough to trespass won't make it past the tree line without hearing the sharp whistle of an arrow. And orcs do not miss. However, some small dispensations have been made. In recent decades, Verdant has begun to permit small groups of orcs to come into the cities and trade their wares.   
 
~Gabelins~
Height: 115 cm – 131 cm
Weight: 85 lbs – 110 lbs
Lifespan: 75 years
Defining Traits: Prudent and clever. Gabelins know that the world is a harsh place, and that the best way to survive is to have what everyone else wants. Nomadic by nature, they know the trade routes better than anyone else.
Advantages: Sharp hearing and eyesight in the dark and in adverse conditions
Disadvantages: Short stature and limited strength often means they are condescended to. Genetic Compatibility: Gabelins/Humans/Orcs
 
Bio: No race has mastered the desert quite like the Gabelin. They have no city to call their own, but live from the backs of their wagons, pulled by massive boars which have been tamed for that purpose. Short in stature, but by far making up for it in brains, Gabelin's have a unique skills in brewing, pickling and herbalism, making their wares highly prized by Verdant's people. Among their own, they are a vivid and cheerful folk. But around any other race, one will find them closed mouthed and shrewd, reverting to their own tongue as quickly as possible.   

~Vadels~
Height:170 cm – 192 cm (220 cm w antlers)
Weight: 120 lbs – 155 lbs
Lifespan: 70 years
Defining Traits: Daring and exploration. Vadels are always on the lookout for new landscapes and new places in which to settle and make their way. Cavalier and eager for stories to tell, there is nowhere they won't explore.
Advantages: Well adapted social skills and a knack for knowing if someone is lying to them.
Disadvantages: Often self absorbed with a tendency to nose their way into problems.
Genetic Compatibility: Vadels
 
Bio: Explorers from another continent, the first Vadels came to Verdant's bay only twenty or so years ago. They spoke very little about their homeland, returning before the sandstorms descended for the season. They returned the following year with more of their people. There was some suspicion at first, as there would be with any new group arrive with reinforcements. But these tall, antler baring folk truly seem to be more interested in whatever adventure awaits them in this strange new wilderness. They have set up an encampment in what was once the cliffside abodes near Last Respite.   
 
~Yenya~
Height:150 cm – 170 cm
Weight: 110 lbs – 140 lbs
Lifespan: 50 years
Defining Traits: Survival and tenacity. Yenya are a people, a people driven from their home after war and treachery, but a people none the less. Left to the ravages of the Red Wastes, they will endure at any cost until they can regain what was once theirs.
Advantages: Excellent constitutions, can eat or drink almost anything without adverse effects
Disadvantages: A low birthrate and low life expectancy means that they are a dwindling people.
Genetic Compatibility: Yenya   
 
Bio: Much like the orcs, the Yenya have been driven away to make room for the humans. But they were  pushed to the south, past the deserts and into the barren wastelands to scratch a living from this place where sandstorms are born. Determined to continue, the Yenya have often pitted themselves against the  humans, raiding the outlying villages and harrying traders. But what else can be done? Though diminished, they have young to provide for, and if it means allying themselves with bandits then so be. They have no sympathy for those that tore their once proud home from them.   
 
~Mixed-Race~  With the wide variety of races in this world, there is some genetic compatibility between them, allowing for some mixed heritage to exist. While some are relatively common, others exist only in a theoretical sense. Humans, Orcs and Gabelins are all genetically able to produce offspring, however the Gabelins are a closed community, and no one has ever seen the result of them entangling with anyone else. Since Verdant has begun allowing the orcs to come into their city to trade, there have been some opportunities for half-orcs to come into being. Some choose to remain in Verdant, while others seek out  their brethren in the Dense Jungles.