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 Races for Characters There are three major races on Lodoss -- Humans, elves, and dwarves. Most characters will be human, though dark elves or half-elves should not be too uncommon. High elves are rare, due to the high OP cost of playing one. Other races, such as goblins, kobolds, ogres, and so forth, are inappropriate for Player Characters. When you design your character, you must decide his or her race. By default, this is Human, and if you play a human you should still specify his nationality (Alan, Valis, Flaim, etc.). Other races require you to spend Option Points. Some of these are quite steep, especially high elf, so many Complications may need to be taken to counter-balance the cost (many high elves have Jealousy, Impulsiveness, Stubborn, and even, in some cases, a Bad Reputation among other high elves!). All races have certain Characteristic modifiers, Talents, special Powers, and Complications. Talents and Complications are as listed in the core Fuzion rules. Most of the Powers are found in Champions. Do not worry if you do not have access to this book. These Power are self-explanatory, and a GM should have no problem working them into his campaign. These "Powers" are innate abilities, and do not require a skill roll to use.
Humans
High Elves High elves are a race of magical, immortal people whose origins are unknown. It is believed high elves were once the elite warriors or wizards of the gods during the primal age when the gods warred for dominant of the world of Forceria. Elves, with their long life span, dislike getting involved with human politics since it is constantly changing. From an elf's point of view, the rising and falling of kingdoms and the shaping of human history seems just the blink of an eye. For this reason most elves look upon the other races as children who just don't get along with each other. A typical elven village has about a hundred elves, and is very similar to a small human village. In such a village there would be farmers, workers, hunters, elders, and several shamans of varying power. Elves live in small wooden homes, most with their own gardens or small field. Elves farm, as well as hunt and gather food from the forest. Villages are ruled by the elders. Important matters are discussed in village meetings, and decisions are made by voting. If a decision can't be made then the elders decide. Most high elves live in the Forest of No Return, and the largest elven village is Talnora. There are also a few elven villages in the Glassy Woods on the western end of Lodoss.
Very few high elves associate with humans, and only deal with them when necessary. Even so, some high elves do come out into the human world. Motivations for this vary, from simple curiosity to having been assign a great quest by a village elder. A high elf can make a powerful ally in any adventurous party. They use Shamanic Magic as their form of spell casting (see the section on Magic). Priest can use clerical magic instead.
Dark Elves The only physically distinctive feature between dark elves and high elves is skin color. Dark elves have dark skin (hence, their name), whereas high elves have very light colored skin. Both high elves and dark elves can have any color of hair, from black to silver white. Despite their reputation, not all dark elves are evil. In actuality, most are indifferent, and only fight to survive in the hostile land of Marmo. Even so, dark elves have a bad reputation. Dark elves form villages much like those of the high elves (see above). Dark elves live in the Dark Forest on Marmo, but many also inhabit Salbad. More recently, dark elves have begun forming villages in the forests of Kannon, and have a strong presence in the Marmo occupied city of Shinning Hill.
Elves gain a +1 ELMT, so can cast at least 1st Level spells. Like all elves, dark elves use Shamanic Magic. Priest can use clerical magic instead.
Half-Elves
Dwarves
Grass-Runners Grass-runners are native to Alecrast, and call themselves "faerie people of grass" in their native language, for they live in the vast grassy plains of that continent. They are uncommon in Lodoss, and usually cross over by ship to Raiden where they trade with local merchants. Grass-runners believe Lodoss is cursed and only visit to trade or prove themselves as warriors. According to their legends, at the end of the War of the Gods, Kardis used her power to curse the land and split it apart, creating the island of Lodoss. Elves, dwarves, and three tribes of the grass-runners heard Kardis scream her curse. The elf people hide from the curse and protected themselves within deep forests. The dwarves sought safety in caves and tunnels within the earth. But the grass-runners had no shelter. Only one thousands of their kind were to escape from Lodoss, the rest perished in flame. Thus, to the grass-runners, Lodoss is cursed. If a player wants to be a grass-runner he must have a very good reason to be on Lodoss. For example, Maar (see the section on NPC characters) came to Lodoss to gain experience as a bard.
Most grass-runners are rangers, but they can generally take on any character type. Their preferred weapon is the short sword (which they must use as a two handed weapon!) or a bow modified to their size (-1 DC and half range for a grass-runner bow). Grass-runner shamans who can commune with nature (as per Commune spell) have a special affinity for communicating with insects and plant spirits, and can actually ask them for information. A typical conversation might be "Did you see an ugly man, about forty years old and with plate armor, come stomping through here?" An insect would say that a person came stomping by, but could not recognize the facial features (of course, all humans look alike to plants and animals). GM's should think in advance of such conversations.
Hyuri
The items below only take effect when the character goes into a berserker rage (when angered, threatened, or in combat, roll Will + Concentration vs. 20 to avoid the Hyuri rage).
Goblins Goblins, like kobolds, are earth dwellers and live in the darkest regions of the earth, primarily caves, deep forests, or ancient tunnels. They are also quite sensitive to light, as they are so used to living underground. The strongest goblin always becomes the leader of its group. Goblins stay in groups of ten to twenty, and independent groups do not get along well with each other. Often, it takes the power of a goblin shaman or goblin lords bring several groups together. Large groups of goblins capture kobolds and used them as slaves. Even larger groups have a mix of ogres as well, and but these ogres are not slaves. Ogres lack intelligence, and often look to the goblins for leadership, joining the larger goblin groups.
Goblins worship the dark gods Falaris and the great goblin heroes of the past. Buajack, also known as "I am as rock", was known to have slain many dwarves and is greatly revered. Another goblin, Zak Urub, is also seen as a hero, though he was neither a shaman nor a goblin lord, simply an exceptional common goblin. He was able to become leader of over a hundred goblin warriors, and showed surprising concern for his people. Zak Urub had several human slaves and wore a cloak dyed with elf blood.
Goblins Lords
Kobolds
Ogres
Giants
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Humans are by far the most common race on the island of Lodoss. Humans control and dominate the major kingdoms, and fill up all the rolls is society. Humans are the default character race for all player characters. Human's themselves, however, are quite diverse. The humans of Alan, Valis, and Kannon are fair-skinned with dark to light colored hair. The humans of Flaim are tanner, and adapted to live in the harsh desert environment. Mossians are made up of both dark and light skinned individuals. The humans on Marmo are also a mix, many are dark skinned though some are also quite pale.
Everyone has heard of the elves. Yet, few people truly know the customs and culture of the elves. Few races have life spans that even compare to that of high elves. They are practically immortal, able to live up to 1000 years, or more, and their apparent age stops after 25-30 years.
Dark elves, like their high elf relatives, are a race of magical, long-lived people. Their origins are also unknown, but if they are anything like the origins of the high elves, it is possible dark elves were the elite warrior/wizards of the Gods of Darkness. Unlike high elves, dark elves are not immortal, though they are long lived (twice the average human life span). Most dark elves live on Marmo, though some are scattered throughout Moss and Kannon, and of course dark elves can always be found in Raiden (just about anything can be found in Raiden).
Half-elves are born of a mating between a human and an elf (high elf or dark elf). As can be imagined, high half-elves are extremely rare, as high elves rarely associate with humans. Dark half-elves are also rare, though far more common than the other type. The only difference between a dark and high half-elf is skin color. Because of this, darker half-elves have a bad reputation. Lighter skinned high half-elves do not have this reputation, so the OP cost for them is 15 OP. The majority of half-elves live on Marmo with the other dark elves, but many find their way to the Lodoss mainland. Half-elves find it easier to integrate into human society as their ears are not nearly as long as that of full elves, and their features can be somewhat concealed if necessary. Like all elves, half-elves use Shamanic Magic as their form of spell casting (see the section on Magic). If they are a priest, they can use clerical magic instead.
Dwarves are a people of great strength and stamina. Though shorter and heftier than most races, dwarves are not to be underestimated. Dwarves are not nearly as common as elves, but are far more likely to be found in human society. The dwarven Kingdom of Stone collapsed thirty years ago after their leader, Frepe, was killed in the war against the Demon King of Marmo. Ever since, the dwarven race has been in a decline. Some day, the dwarves may rebuild their Kingdom of Stone and once more ascend to greatness. Dwarves are renowned for their fine craftsmanship, and may find work in cities and towns as blacksmiths or craftsmen. There is also a small dwarf run mining company near Raiden, which mines the hill for gold and precious stones. Because of this, many dwarves can be found in the city of Raiden. Most dwarves do not have magical powers, but are skilled fighters and workers. They have the ability to see in heat (infravision) as well as light, as they have adapted to living underground.
Hyuri is not really a race at all, it is a curse. A member of any race (human, elf, dwarf, etc.) can be cured with a Hyuri Spirit (the Spirit of Fury), and so a character can have this "race" in addition to any other racial template (you could be a human Hyuri, a dark elf Hyuri, a dwarf Hyuri, and so forth). Hyuri is basically the raging force of a berserker. When angered, such a berserker can go into an unstoppable rage. Sometimes, a berserker can control his rage to some degree (as Orson could), but in most cases this is a very difficult thing to do. Most people fear berserkers, so they tend to keep quiet about their curse, but some magic users can still detect the presence of the Hyuri spirit.
Goblins are a race that inhabits Marmo and scattered areas of Lodoss. Goblins are reddish-brown creatures who inhabit caves and other dark and damp places. Most humans, elves, and dwarves, however, consider them monsters for all practical purposes. Their sheers numbers are far greater than that of any other raced in Lodoss, aside from humans.
Kobolds are basically wild, wolf-like beastmen who inhabit Marmo and some of the forests of Lodoss. They are semi-bipedal (standing and walking on two legs, but run on all four), and look very much like wolf-men. They have dark gray fur, tails, digitigrade legs, and the head of a wolf. A kobold's hands are, however, fairly human-like, allowing them to wield weapons. Kobolds are often found wearing armor as well, and are somewhat skilled with a sword. They are not suited for PCs.
