Chronicles of the Vale Lands Online Game

[VikingTy]

I wonder what the Yuan-Ti version of history is in your world, Ian. They are kinda like cultists. And pretty scary.

[SmilingGM]

Heheh, yes they are a Bestial race and therefore have their own version of history.  They are a very bitter race and calling them cultists is one way of describing them. 

[SmilingGM]

These are likely to be expanded upon in the future but I wanted to get them out there.

Age of Beginnings

          The end of Reconstruction and the departure of the Celestial Expeditionary Fleet mark the Age of Beginnings.  A total of 19 Numinar and Dominar remained in the Material Realm and set themselves up as the Celestial Gods of the Vale Lands.  Tired of the war and bloodshed, one of these gods named Fauna’boon, gave life to a host of new races.  The first race Fauna’boon created was the Gnomes.  She then created the Halfings, the Dwarves, the Duermahn, and finally the Humans.

          She spread these races across the Vale Lands in hopes to repopulate the lands with agreeable and peace loving cultures.  Fauna’boon failed.  Not only was there war between species, but also this time war broke out sporadically between nations of the same race. 

          Corresponding with these minor wars there was a general withdrawal of direct guidance from the Celestial Isle.  No sooner than the Younger races began warring with each other than rumors spread of political maneuvering within the Courts of the Gods.  The Gods still walk the Vale Lands, but the sightings have grown fewer and fewer over the eons.

Age of Heroes

          The Age of Heroes is marked by the rise of the one who is known across the Vale Lands as the Emperor.  His origins are unknown.  What is known is that a young boy in the far North West reaches of the Vale Lands gathered together an army to challenge the local Elven Kingdoms.  And despite the fact that the Elves were backed by the Celestial Isle by mandate, this young boy managed to gain the loyalty and following of not only fellow humans, but Orcs, many of the Draconic races, and most surprisingly of all, he managed to sway Dragons to his side.  If it were not for the Emperor’s inclusion of Demons into his campaign, he might be more celebrated across the land.  However, his alliance with the Demons and his creation of the Dragon Legion has struck fear in most of the neighboring countries and trepidation within the kingdoms further away.   

          However, the Emperor was only the first and most prominent.  Since his rise to power, there has been an influx of mortals rising to heroic standards all across the Vale Lands.  And it is in these times, that we now live…

[SmilingGM]

The Unsung Gleanar

            Much of what you are about to read is unknown by most mortals.  Bracketed sections are unlikely to be known by your characters.

            [The Gleanar are not mentioned in the history of the Ages because they are a very misunderstood and complex race.  Gaia who used the Key of Beginnings created the Gleanar to live at her base.  There they have lived for eons farming.  But they do not farm fruits and vegetables like farmers in the Vale Lands.  Instead they farm the soils of the roots of the World Tree, Gaia.  For it is there that the souls of the dead descend.  And it is there that the Gleanar methodically and carefully clean the souls and plant them, thus recycling them back into the circle of life.  Cleaning souls is tricky and perilous business and Gaia had to make sure the Gleanar could withstand the extreme rigors their jobs necessitated.] 

            Reproducing at a slow rate, the Gleanar make up for it as an ageless race who standing at six to eight feet have strong sinewy muscles, a tough but smooth skin, and wield acute, intelligent minds.  And just as almost everything Gaia has created, she made sure that the Gleanar are a beautiful race.  Their skin is that of the blackest night and under the moonlight it shines with an inner glow as if rays of starlight were caught within them. 

            [At one time, there were a great many Gleanar at the base of the World Tree.  However, their numbers today are few.]
 
            During the Titan God War, the Titans called upon the Gleanar for assistance.  Massive ritual spells were cast forcibly summoning a great host of Gleanar to aid the Titans. 

            [The Gleanar are intrinsically a gentle race and wish nothing more than to do that which they were designed to do.  The agreement was that after the war the Gleanar could go home and that the Dragons would owe them a debt.  However, the Titans were not victorious, and the surviving Gleanar were stranded in the Vale Lands.] 

            Since the Titan God War there have been other attempts to summon Gleanar to aid sorcerers and magicians, but except for a few unconfirmed reports, those attempts have failed.  Yet the legend of the Gleanar and their stupendous capacity as warriors has lead to many magical experiments.  These experiments have lead to what are known today as the Gleanarian Races.  Too little of the Gleanar gene has lead to Goblins and Hobgoblins.  Too much of the Gleanar gene has lead to the creation of Trolls and Ogres.  Orcs have been the most successful result in all of the Gleanar programs.  The most famous and direct link succeeded yet has been the Black Orc Tribe.  But even these do not match the majesty or give credit to a true Gleanar.

            [Interestingly, a great majority of Orcs (and to a certain extent the other Gleanarian races), are fairly simple and gentle creatures.  However, the stigma and expectations for them to be terrible and awesome fighting machines (and in many cases expendable), has lead to the Gleanarian races to be viewed as evil and warlike races by the majority of mortals.]

[SmilingGM]

Below I have supplied some initial and general information for the Gnomes of my world.  Feel free to ask questions.

Gnomish Appearance
            Gnomes stand five to seven inches tall with most standing at six.  Gnomes are extraordinarily strong for their size and would be roughly eight times the strength of a Human if they were Human sized.   Proportionally Gnomes are identical to Humans except that they are plumper than the average human and their heads are about twice the width of what a human’s would be at their size (that equates to about 8 times the size for the mathematically inclined).  Males tend to sport full thick beards and large mustaches while the females are wide of the hip and rosy cheeked.

Gnomish Culture
            Gnomes rub noses in both greetings and farewell.  Gnomes are careful creatures who reason with common sense but are generally good hearted and genial people.   Gnomes are quick to make friends with those who are kind in disposition while wary and suspicious of destructive and mean hearted creatures.  Gnomes will usually use creative and indirect methods to remove unwanted individuals from their lands or presence when all other options have been closed. 

Gnomish History
            The Gnomes were the first of Fauna’boon’s creations.  She created them to reflect her curiosity and love for living things but at the same time also instilled them with a hunger to create, experiment and innovate.  Indeed, Fauna’boon imbued all of her creations with this trait to one extent or another.  However, none of them were given such a drive for it as the Gnomes were.  Many scholars claim that it was Gnomish experimental drive that drove them to their size that they are today.  The Gnomes simply see it as a different lens to work through. 

            Gnomes were not always five to seven inches tall.  Originally, when Fauna’boon had created them, the Gnomes were only a little shorter than Halflings.  The story of “How the Gnomes Joined the Little People” is a favorite tale to tell small children of the Vale Lands.  There are many variations to the story, but most agree upon the insatiable hunger to experiment to the detriment of the Gnomish race.  The Gnomes hadn’t been around for more than a few thousand years when a race wide experiment went awry and shrank the entire race and their offspring.  The effects of this experiment have lasted to this very day.  The details of what the experiment was and what exactly the Gnomes were trying to do is unclear and if the Gnomes remember it today, none of them are talking…
Gnome Habitats

            However, the Shrinking of the Gnomes had other side effects.  The race as a whole since that time has gone largely into seclusion.  They have mastered the art of living in the wilderness and are most fond of forests but can be found in nearly any environment.  Their homes are worked heavily into the local materials at hand and to the untrained eye are virtually impossible to spot.  Gnomes are also very magical creatures and tend to have a variety of warding spells built into their homes and surrounding territories that inform them when outsiders are near.

Gnomish Religion

            Gnomes have a distinct interest in nature and go to great lengths to protect and care for Gaia’s wildlife.  They do not tend to build temples, as they do not hold favor to any of the gods save perhaps for Gen’nos the embodiment of nature.  However, Gnomes will build shrines to specific gods when and where they deem it appropriate.
 
Gnome Society

            While Gnomes have an affinity for the countryside, that does not mean they don’t enjoy the hustle and bustle of towns and cities.  But unlike the sprawling Human cities or the Deep cities of the Dwarves, Gnomes make their cities in hidden and unlikely places, warding them with heavy magic.  It should be noted that much of the magical wardings Gnomes install in their dwellings is to protect others as well as themselves, as they are often experimenting with magical contraptions that go awry. 

[SmilingGM]

Goreum – (gore-ee-um)

Appearance – The Goreum resemble something between a humanoid version of Earth’s goats and mountain rams.  Average height for males is 6’2” and females at 5’9”.  Built with heavier frames than humans, Goreum weigh in at an average of 220 lbs for males and 190 lbs for females.

Habitat – Goreum are omnivores and thus can survive in a wide variety of habitats. However, because of their alienation and general enmity with other races, the Goreum tend to keep to heavily forested or remote regions that are difficult to get to.  There are legends of Goreum cities but no outsider has seen one since the Dragon Age. 

History – Towards the end of the Third Great War, the Goreum imprisoned their own god and used its power to vanquish their enemies.  The means of how they managed to do this are unknown as is the fate of what ever happened to their god.  The Goreum were so powerful at the end of the war it took an alliance of the majority of the Bestial Races to force them into an armistice.  Throughout the Titan God War, the Goreum kept hidden and out of the war as best they could just as all the Bestial Races did.  As the Age of Beginnings rolled in, it was thought by some that perhaps the Titan God War had changed the Goreum.  Those scholars were wrong.  As the fledgling races spread out across the Vale Lands they almost immediately ran up against resistance from the Bestial Races.  But no race caused more havoc than the Goreum.  From time to time, throughout the Age of Beginnings and the Age of heroes, the Goreum have been known to pour out of their places of hiding and lay waste to entire civilized kingdoms.  Their barbaric tactics and often low-tech weapons rarely seem to give their enemies much of an advantage. 

Culture – The Goreum are an extremely violent race.  In Goreum culture, it is the strongest and toughest that earn the respect of their kind.  Because of this violent nature, the Goreum have developed a chain of leadership and authority that is determined by a system of challenge by combat.  So integral is this system in their society that there are systems of challenges for political disputes as well as for family, friends, acquaintances, strangers and military.  It is important to understand that the Goreum view themselves as superior to most other races and a run in with a Goreum will most likely be met with contempt if not outright aggression.  That does not mean all Goreum act this way however.  There are a rare few Goreum that have been encountered outside of their lands that would appear to be drifters and outcastes.  These individuals, while still fairly violent, tend to be far more amenable than the majority of their race.

[SmilingGM]

Minotaur(s) – (min-uh-tawr)

Appearance – Minotaurs are a large and solidly built humanoid race with heads resembling long-horned cows’.  However, this is about where the resemblance to cows ends.  Minotaurs are omnivores and find all sorts of strange places and ways to grow or raise food.  Interestingly, it seems every generation produces a fair number of quality bakers and cooks.  Minotaurs are completely furred from head to foot.  Their feet consist of three large, widely splayed toe-hooves in the front and a third in the back for support and balance.  The horns of a Minotaur have deep, swirling grains that overlap and entwine like Celtic knots.  Their large, thickly nailed hands are deceptively gentle and use the strength their size promises only if necessary.  Males stand an average of 7-8 feet tall while females are 6-7 feet.  Fur color tends to be relatively uniform across the body. Common fur colors tend to be shades of brown, black, or red.  Minotaur clothing is often a hodgepodge assortment of sturdily yet craftily constructed layers with unfolding flaps and pockets hidden within pockets.  The clothing is always reversible and often can be changed to accommodate different weather or moods without ever taking it off.  These transformations are accomplished by: folding and unfolding flaps, wrapping and unwrapping sashes, buttoning and unbuttoning pouches, rolling and unrolling sleeves and leggings, and zipping and unzipping compartments.  Minotaur weapons and equipment are often simple in appearance but always utilitarian and versatile for a range of functions. 

Habitat – The Minotaurs have a unique ability that ties them to mazes, making them a curious race indeed.  It has resulted in them living in some of the unlikeliest of places.  Therefore, Minotaurs can be found virtually anywhere and very likely at random across the Vale Lands.  The only commonality between permanent Minotaur residencies is that they all live within mazes.  Whether it is their snarled citadels or an elderly Minotaur couple’s sod skein house, (Minotaurs have an uncanny knack to find and move through mazes of one sort or another).  The place of residence need not even be a purposely-built maze.  A convoluted multi-story parliamentary building that people constantly get lost in works just as well as an evil scientist’s dungeon.  Nor does the maze need to be well known.  If a wizard, for instance, builds a brand new tower with maze-like defenses, that wizard could very well wake up the next morning and find a Minotaur in their kitchen.  Minotaurs spotted walking the roads and wilds of the Vale Lands, are more likely than not homeless, and thus dubbed Meanderers by their race.

History – Of all the Bestial Races, only Minotaurs can claim to have never lost a single city stronghold.  The key to this reputation is their intrinsic connection with mazes.  Long, long ago, some time before the Great Wars of the Dragon Age, the Minotaurs somehow managed to adjust themselves to better study the Puzzle of Light for their god.  The result was a heightened understanding of mazes.  However, in order to comprehend and navigate mazes, Minotaurs had to become one with those labyrinthine intricacies.  And so the Minotaur race sacrificed the ability to live simple lives and became an extension of the very mazes and puzzles they wished to understand.  Races have learned to wage wars around Minotaur citadels rather than get bogged down in a protracted conflict that inevitably drains the coffers and the will to fight on.  Entire armies are rumored to have entered Minotaur cities never to return or be heard from again.

Culture – One might think that because Minotaurs are large and cumbersome creatures that they would be dull-witted and simple folk.  On the contrary, Minotaurs have incredibly complex thought patterns that resemble the mazes they live within.  In social circles this means that Minotaurs often use circular logic coupled with unexpected conclusions and actions.  Public officials who interact with Minotaurs had better be prepared to expect political pitfalls, hidden opportunities, frustrating dead ends, and loaded questions, and have to back-peddle out of embarrassing social snares.  Goods produced by Minotaurs have similar unexpected and frustrating qualities, whether it is food or a finely crafted maul.  Every facet of a Minotaur’s life resembles a maze in some manner or another.  Even their methods of combat are unusual.  From bar fights to full-scale war, Minotaurs use surprise, feints and bewildering tactics and puzzling strategies to defeat their adversaries.  Needless to say, an encounter with a Minotaur, whether friendly or not, is never straightforward. 

               A Minotaur’s personal name always has a suffix attached to it referencing its place of residence.  While this is not their surname, it is generally all that is required to identify the Minotaur.  If in a Minotaur family reunion personal names are insufficient to identify an individual, the name of its mother with son or daughter suffixed to the end is used as their form of a surname. 

[SmilingGM]

           A Note on Bestial Races and Crossbreeds: 

         Since most of the Bestial Races have certain commonalities, I thought it would help you visualize them better if I explained some of those traits.  First off, the majority of the Bestial Races are digitigrades.  What this means is that they stand on their toes and what at first glance appears to be a backwards knee joint is in fact their heel and a toe fused together.  Secondly, all of the Bestial Races have humanoid hands with opposable thumbs.  And thirdly, for simplification and visualization purposes, all Bestial Races have humanoid breasts and genitalia. 

         These similarities are not mere coincidence.  Virtually every race in the Vale Lands was created using the Key of Beginnings.  Interestingly, this means that races can technically interbreed.  However, by no means are these Crossbreeds ever found in vast numbers.  Simply put, Crossbreeds are rare.  However, as rare as they may be, Crossbreeds can be found in greater than expected numbers under certain circumstances.  There are of course complications that make likelihood of Crossbreeds unlikely.  The first and most obvious issue is physical appearances don’t tend to attract mates from a different race.  The second issue is cultural differences between races.  And the third issue is that in some cases physical intercourse between races becomes rather implausible due to size differences.  Unfortunately, war in the Vale Lands is not at all uncommon, and bored soldiers in occupied territories tend to find entertainment (whether that “entertainment” is willing or not).  This sad and unfortunate reality is what can result in a higher than average number of Crossbreeds found in regions devastated by war. 

         Crossbreeds are generally easy to identify since they always result in a child who primarily resembles the mother’s race coupled with strong traits of the father’s race.  It is theoretically possible to create a sub-race between Crossbreeds of the same kind, but except for two instances this has never happened and even in those two cases they were engineered by outside forces and did not survive the course of time. 

[SmilingGM]

Halfling(s) – (half-ling)

Appearance – Halflings are proportionally the same as humans but at only half the size.  Average male height is 4’2” with women at 3’10”.  Average male weight is 90 lbs. while women weigh in at 70 lbs.  As for other physical traits, Halflings tend to be identical to humans.  The only exception to this is that Halflings are almost always quite skinny because of their fast metabolism.  It’s as if their fast paced lifestyle by itself keeps them skinny… and perhaps maybe it does…  A Halfling’s average lifespan is about 60 – 80 years.

Habitat – So long as they are welcome, Halflings can be found in just about every major city, town and trade route across the Vale Lands.  Since Halflings physically and militarily are no match to pretty much any other race, they have no major land holdings or kingdoms of their own.  Instead they create small communities and territories within and among those of other races.  Whether these are trade routes or districts within city districts, if there is hustling and bustling going on, Halflings always seem to be able to find a place where they are “needed”. 

History – As with all of her races, when Fauna’boon created the Halflings, she scattered them across the Vale Lands without any lands of their own.  Some historians argue that if the Halflings had cities and technology of their own, they might have been able to carve a niche out for themselves somewhere.  However the argument, like most historical debates, is irrelevant.  The Halflings had no such cities or technology to aid them in open war, nor did they have the knack for open battle.  Worse still, they lacked natural weapons and aside from the Gnomes, the Halflings were the smallest sentient race in the Vale Lands.  And so it was that one by one the various groups of Halflings were forced to turn to the Fair Folk for a solution to their predicament.  The Fair Folk in turn taught the Halflings the true power of a favor.   Between their resourceful creativity and their newfound understanding of favors, the Halflings were able to negotiate with the other races for places to live. 

When the Dwarves were introduced into the Vale Lands the Halflings quickly caught on to the fact that Dwarves tend to have a disposition that is counterproductive to making them good at trading.  Also, the Dwarves were isolationists who produced exceptionally good quality products.  Therefore, the Halflings made deals with the Dwarven kingdoms that gave them safe travel along Dwarven roads and authorization to set up trade camps, which then transformed into trade towns along Dwarven borders.  In exchange the Halflings traded the Dwarven goods with other races.  Whenever war broke out, the Halflings offered extra services including runners, spies, and assassins.

It wasn’t until Humans came along that Halflings really came into their own.  Humans are by far the most accepting race in the Vale Lands.  Humans also build more cities and towns than any other race.  Halflings were finally allowed to move into whatever places they could manage to rent.  Unfortunately the Halflings still lacked any homelands of their own, but for the most part they have been grateful for what they have today compared to what they had in the past.  There were quite a few groups of Halflings that either still weren’t happy with this predicament or wanted a life even more wild and adventurous but still revolving around trade.  Those who were wishful for a homeland of their own became what are today known as the Kenders and Hobbits.  Their stories are fully explained in their own race descriptions.  There was another group of Halflings that wanted to own their own land and had a hunger for trading all across the Vale Lands.  These Halflings turned to the Blood Sea for their solution.  Through much trial and error they built their own ships and set up a lifestyle of sailing around the continent and trading with the coastal communities and kingdoms.

Culture – Halflings are a fast paced and busy people who are always seeking out opportunities for new ventures.  Because of the manner in which Halflings were forced to live for so many generations, they are one of the most resourceful races ever to walk the Vale Lands.  In order to ensure that future generations continue to learn from past ordeals, Halfling parents educate their children in the cruel realities of the world at a young age.  Young Halflings then take this knowledge and rather than viewing the world in a bitter and depressed light, instead receive it as a challenge to survive and prosper better than their predecessors. 

Halflings live and breathe to barter.  Their sense of ethics and morality therefore is heavily influenced by this barter and trade mentality.  However, unlike Humans who tend to trade for money and wealth, Halflings trade for different reasons.  To a Halfling, money is only worth so much as it can buy, and for much of their race’s history, money by itself bought very little.  Likewise, land is worth less to a Halfling than most other races.  The reason for this is that whenever a war breaks out, the first thing that is often seized by the local authorities is any land deemed essential to the war effort.  Since Halflings control no lands of their own, this makes owning land less appealing than say for instance Humans.  Therefore, while Halflings certainly trade for monetary gain, their goals tend to be long term.  Also Halflings are often willing to make trades where they don’t come out on the favored side of the deal.  In cases such as these, it is often either because the Halfling only needed what they traded for, or because the Halfling somehow benefits in some other way, either immediately or perhaps down the line. 

In reality there are two sides to Halfling society.  The first half includes the bartering lifestyle explained above.  The second side of Halfling society is a complex and convoluted interrelationship between members of their own race.  As was stated in their history, Halflings found their solution to survival through the Fair Folk.  The key to this survival was an elevated understanding of the power behind favors.  This has in turn lead to a very interesting social structure. 

Because Halflings have no existing lands and what lands they rent can shift and change on them, they cannot rely on political boundaries like the majority of the world does.  Instead, Halflings have a dizzyingly complex network of districts across the Vale Lands, which are each controlled by a Liege.  The Lieges are whichever Halfling controls the most favors owed to him or her.  Generally these favors are directly linked to something in which that Halfling has control of within his or her district.  For example the Lord Toll Bridges of High Cliff would be the Liege of High Cliff District and his principal favor he controls are the toll bridges within that district.  Halflings would then be able to use those toll bridges for no monetary cost but instead owe a favor to that Liege for using them. 

When Halfling strangers meet, they identify themselves by stating the Liege they owe fealty to.  This is important for Halflings to determine straight away because: they report first and foremost to their Liege, they tithe generally at least 10% of their earnings to their Liege and; if a Halfling isn’t careful, they can find themselves owing favors to a different Liege, which in turn becomes a conflict of interest and therefore could cost them in any number of different ways.  This doesn’t mean that Halflings can’t become friends with Halflings who owe loyalty to a different Liege, but it does result in a strangely divided society. 

Halfling children under 20 years old are exempt from owing loyalties to a Liege.  Instead they are protected and punished by their parents.  Once a Halfling reaches 20 they are no longer under the protection of their parents.  If a Halfling has managed to somehow avoid owing favors to a Liege, they can remain independent of a Liege.  Liege-less Halflings however lack certain common privileges.  These privileges include: free food and lodging within their district; assurance against other Halflings committing crimes against his or her person and belongings; and finally, certain securities in relation to other races’ customs and laws.

[SmilingGM]

Duergahn – (doo-air-gon)

Appearance – Duergahn are extraordinarily smart and inventive people.  They stand on average at roughly 5 feet tall for both males and females.  Average lifespan for a Duergahn is somewhere between 300 and 400 years.  Duergahn look much like misshapen Humans.  Compared to humans their arms are disproportionally longer than their truncated torsos as are their fingers.  Duergahn are lean and wiry and if they get fat at all it tends to be in the manner of a potbelly.  Male Duergahn almost always sport large eccentric mustaches and sometimes an accompanying beard while at the same time they tend to lose the hair on the top of their heads.  Females for whatever reason do not seem to lose their hair nor do they sport mustaches and beards.  One distinctive feature is that both males and females have whiskers that are packed with receptors.  These receptors help the Duergahn detect anything from close proximity vibrations in the air to differentiating chemical fumes they are working around.  Duergahn skin texture ranges from tough calloused leather to something close to a smooth supple leather.  Their clothing is both practical, durable, and looks like a cross between cargo overalls and a blacksmith’s apron.  Duergahn clothes sport a great many pockets and hoops for their tools.  Also, because Duergahn lifestyle is always a bit on the dangerous side, their clothes are well padded and fire resistant.

Habitat – Duergahn are not well suited for organized war.  Also the Duergahn’s ability to make products other races deem too dangerous to craft, coupled with their disinterest in procuring raw resources themselves, means that the Duergahn have had little problem finding remote patches of land to live on.  Duergahn are so independent from one another that aside from gathering together in small communities for mutual protection or individuals settling down for the family life, their race has never unified into kingdoms.  Instead they tend to live here and there, all across the Vale Lands.  Even their households are compartmentalized with practicality and independence in mind.  Each section can be closed off to protect from experiments and double as privacy barriers for ruminating.  A traveler can usually identify a Duergahn’s residence by the warning signs posted around the borders of the property, alerting the danger of explosions, shrapnel and other unforeseen hazards. 

History – Following some time after the Dwarves, Fauna’boon introduced the Duergahn to the Vale Lands.  Like her other races, she spread them across creation.  However, unlike the other races that banded together for protection and attempted to create societies, the Duergahn seemed quite complacent with their geographical independence from one another.  Masters of improvisation, the Duergahn took in their surroundings and simply settled wherever looked to be a relatively unobtrusive spot.  Of course not all races were willing to have random Duergahn move in, and where that was the case, those Duergahn were either driven out or simply killed.  When they heard of this happening in their early years, it never seemed to bother the Duergahn much.  Instead they effectively shrugged it off as part of life in the Vale Lands and set up their individual households.  For the most part, Duergahn have changed very little over the eons.  When Humans arrived, most settled around the Duergahn, giving them the space safety necessitated.  The less tolerant groups of Humans killed or drove off the Duergahn.  The majority of communities today leave Duergahn alone, identifying them as a valuable resource, and in some cases even go so far as to protect their resident Duergahn. 

Culture – A Duergahn’s mind is always thinking and formulating new ideas.  As a result they are usually in the process of pursuing a number of projects at any given time.  When approached they often appear to either be self-absorbed in a task they are working on, jotting down notes, or pacing in deep rumination.  Except when sleeping, Duergahn are constantly in motion.  This activity helps distract whatever portions of their mind currently aren’t in full use.  Likewise, Duergahn often will hum or sing to themselves random snatches of songs or made up ditties when working.  Again this helps occupy their minds.  A still Duergahn is either unconscious, has just been very surprised, or is concentrating scarily hard. 

Duergahn are not much good at extracting raw resources like Dwarves and Humans do.  Instead they tend to purchase whatever ingredients and materials they need.  As far as tool making goes, they are not the master craftsmen that the Dwarves are, and instead make whatever ever they need for a given task.  In order to make a living and earn enough to buy what they need to further their own personal experiments, Duergahn generally have two options.  Either they make rare and dangerous ingredients and products and sell them, or they provide maintenance for other races’ machinery. 

Duergahn tend to mate for life and often times the only way you will see one traveling long distance is because they are young and in search of a mate.  Duergahn can travel in such a fashion for a great many years before finding a suitable life mate.  On the rare chance that two members of the opposite sex meet and actually get along with each other, the decision is usually made right then and there to remain together.  Parents school their children with a hands-on approach from an early age.  Duergahn are strong believers of learning through trial and error and much prefer to test out a theory in prototype form rather than simply draw up the numbers.  It is because of this experimental lifestyle that to live too close to a Duergahn can be hazardous to one’s health.  It is also why people tend to give Duergahn properties a wide birth. 

What little Duergahn society does exist is tied up in their Households.  Duergahn identify themselves by Household.  The oldest member of a Household is the head of the family and commands the respect of his or her family members.  The Family Oldest is commonly approached for advice.  Also they command the respect to settle major disputes within the family and between the family and another Household.  Rarely must the Family Oldest make a decision concerning the entire family.  Household names are handed down through the younger of the mother and father to help promote breeding (something that Duermahn are not the best at). 

[SmilingGM]

Dwarf (Dwarves) – (dwawrf/dwawrvz)

Appearance – Dwarves are short stocky people standing on average between 4 and 4 ½ feet tall, with the males standing a little taller than the females.  Despite their size, Dwarves have a dense bone and muscle structure, making them weigh in at around 150 lbs for women and 225 lbs for men.  Dwarven skin tones vary as widely as Human tones as do their hair color.  Dwarven life expectancy is about 400 to 500 years.  The older and more skilled a Dwarf is, the more money the Dwarf is likely to earn.  Logically then, the older Dwarves tend to own and wear better-crafted things. 
Males take great care and pride in their beards.  Lacking beards, women instead pay equal attention to their hair.

Habitat – It is said that if there is a mountain, there is likely to be a Dwarf nearby.  It is also commonly said that if there is a mountain range, it is likely that there is a Dwarven University nearby.  Dwarves do not have kingdoms but rather they have Universities.  Exceptionally large mountain ranges sometimes have one or more competing Universities.  While these Universities may be schools of learning, they still act and behave much like kingdoms.  They are fortresses in their own right and University grounds can encompass hundreds of miles.

Dwarves construct their homes out of stone, earth and timber, and while one might expect their cities to be cold and drafty places because of this, the reality is quite the contrary.  Masters of heating and insulation, Dwarven buildings are surprisingly comfortable and homey.

History – Fauna’boon introduced the Dwarves to the world some centuries after the Halflings.  No sooner than they had arrived than the Dwarves gravitated to the monolithic edifices that dominate the landscape of the Vale Lands.  Various races of course already claimed the mountains and so small wars immediately broke out all across the Vale Lands.  The Dwarves were not about to settle for a lifestyle like the Halflings.   With primitive weapons, shrewd tactics and mostly sheer tenacity, the Dwarves drove out enough of the mountain inhabitants to secure anchor points.  There were of course, a few instances where the Dwarves attempted to move into a mountain range controlled by a Bestial Race.  These conflicts were short lived.

The first settlements the Dwarves built were simple mountaintop fortresses.   Today some of these ruins can still be found upon cold and unfriendly craggy summits – a testament to Dwarven grit.  Modern Dwarven architecture is a bit different.  Their homes and cities are within the thick walls of the very mountains themselves.  In order to provide enough food without having to rely on outside sources, Dwarves farm all of their own crops, terracing the steep mountainsides. 

As soon as they were able, the Dwarves built cities within the thick walls of the very mountains themselves.  They dug deep mine shafts to extract precious ores.  And they terraced their mountaintops to grow the food necessary to feed so many hungry mouths.  Within a very few short centuries the Dwarves proved to be quite the self-sufficient race. 

Culture – Dwarves are isolationists by nature.  Most of the raw materials the Dwarves need are either mined from beneath their mountains or taken from their surrounding mountainsides and valleys.  They grow all of their own food.  And they make all of their own tools and equipment.  They don’t so much see themselves as superior to all other races, but rather that they simply don’t need all that much from outside of their lands. 

However, Dwarves are not excellent at everything and so there are a number of commodities they are willing to trade for.  For instance, Dwarves may grow enough food to feed their cities, but the food that will grow at their altitudes is limited.   There are even few spices that will grow at such extreme altitudes.  With such a slim selection of food and spices, few Dwarves become master cooks and chefs.  As a result, foreign foods and especially foreign baked goods are quite the delicacy amongst Dwarves. 

Dwarves think linearly and pragmatically.  If there is a problem at hand, it is dealt with.  If there is a task that needs to be done, it gets done.  If a Dwarf has something to say, they say it.  But when a Dwarf decides to act, they consider all known variables.  Then, depending on the time and resources available, a Dwarf will choose the most complete and deserving action.  Once a decision has been made, Dwarves are unremitting.  Dwarves may be rectilinear and see themselves as logical, but it sometimes takes an outside eyes’ patience and scrutiny to see that practicality.  For example, if a door needs to be built, then a Dwarf will spend the time and care deserving of that door’s construction, ensuring that the door will last its intended lifetime.  In other words, realistically Dwarves take the entire scope into consideration and execute appropriately.

However, Dwarves are not slow on the uptake or sluggish in making decisions quickly when the need is present.  If necessary a Dwarf will efficiently access a situation at hand and decide upon an appropriate action within a heartbeat.  In such cases the Dwarf is aware that it may not be the most profound solution and may adjust his or her course of action as the situation plays out. 

In order to understand Dwarven society, one must first understand its roots.  Dwarves believe that in order to survive as a people, they must work together and become masters of their own futures.  In order to accomplish this monumental and ever ongoing task, the Dwarves have turned to schooling as a solution. 

Starting at the young age of 7, Dwarven children are sent to Rudimentary School where the basics of authority and structure are established.  Secondary School comes next at the age of 9 and teaches the basics while still allowing room for play.  Prep School follows after and prepares the children for University life from ages 12 through 18.  Prep School gives young Dwarves the chance to prove their talents and earn scholarships for University.  Up through Prep School, Dwarven children remain at home and go to local schools.  In the case of Dwarven frontier families, the children are home schooled.  It isn’t until the Dwarf’s 18th birthday that they must choose a University.  It is not mandatory to attend a University, but because of peer pressure and social stigma, it is exceedingly rare for a Dwarf not to attend a University.  If a Dwarf does choose not to go to a University, they become ostracized from society.  If they continue to refuse, they are cast out of the Dwarven community entirely.

The University a Dwarf chooses to attend is generally a lifetime commitment and taken very seriously.  For most Dwarves, the decision is simple.  Universities charge new students enrollment fees.  These fees are substantial.  However, a Dwarf’s local University is free to enroll in.  This is because the Dwarf’s parents already belong to the University.  Through their services over the years the parents have effectively paid for the young Dwarf’s entry fee.  The idea is that the Universities want to keep the majority of their population stable, while scholarships and wealthy families enable fresh blood to cross borders.   

Dwarven University Classes are divided into Decades (or Deks), with years determining the ranks of experience within each Dek.  First Dek Students are tested for aptitude and talent.  By Second Dek, University Students have determined their best skill sets and talents and are apprenticed appropriately to a Path.  Examples of   Dwarven career paths include soldier, farmer, miner, weapons smith, engineer, and etcetera.  Third Dek Students have graduated to Journeymen status and are given basic tasks and responsibilities within their Path.  Fourth Dek Students graduate to Adept status and are entrusted to moderate tasks and responsibilities in their Paths.  Fifth Dek Students graduate to Master status and are entrusted to most tasks and responsibilities.  Sixth Dek Students are graduates of Ascendant status and entrusted to major tasks and responsibilities.  Seventh Dek Students are graduates of Transcendent status and entrusted to truly important and significant tasks. 

By the end of Seventh Dek a Dwarf is considered to be in their prime.  It is at this age that Dwarves are given the option to take time off from University life in order to make room for family time.  If a Dwarf does not wish to settle down, or already settled down and has raised one or more children, the Dwarf has the option to become a Professor at the University.  The new Professor is certified to teach First Dek Students.  Every thirty years of experience teaching at a University permits the Professor to instruct a higher Dek of students.  A Professor is entitled to suspend their teaching in exchange for family time at any point to either have another child, or to start up a family if they have not yet started one.  It is not until a Professor has taught all levels of students that they can join the University Council.  Council members are given complete freedom to move about where ever they wish and have access to all levels of security.  Every seven years the Council votes on a Chancellor.  The Chancellor is the head of the University and holds veto power that must be over ruled by two thirds of the Council.  In times of war the Chancellor is the final arbiter on all war related decisions. 

Through out a Dwarf’s University life, their training is centered on one Path.  However, in Dwarven society, a Dwarf is expected to be able to do any task if the situation calls for it.  Therefore, while a Dwarf may be training and earning a living through one path, they are simultaneously cross training in all other fields.  This also means that if on the rare occasion it becomes apparent that a Dwarf selected an incorrect path to follow, it isn’t too difficult to change directions later in life.

Dwarven families are very nuclear in nature.  The parents always command authority over their children so long as those children are a part of their nuclear family.  As soon as a child starts a family of their own, that Dwarf and their spouse become their own center of authority and no longer are expected to follow their parents every wish.  The Young parents can approach their parents and grandparents for advice and must give them proper respect, but they no longer are bound to them like they were before they gained a child of their own.  Family names are passed down from the mother’s side. 

[SmilingGM]

Note: Cliff-notes at the end for those uninterested in the details. 

   Here's a little something for those of us who are science geeks.  I'm not a meteorologist and most of what I am working with is 9th grade earth science that I have retained.  I know it may not be entirely accurate and I am open to suggestions from any of you who knows weather science better than myself.  However, given the constraints of working within a fictitious world, I think what I have come up with should suffice. 

   The reason I have gone to such efforts in determining the weather of my world is simple.  One... it makes it easier to determine how the topography of my world should be laid out.  And two... it makes it just a wee bit more real for those of us who care to get a bit more immersed in a world of imagination. 

Vale Lands Weather Patterns

   Weather in the Vale Lands acts considerably different from weather on Earth.  There are several reasons for this difference.  For one thing, the Sun revolves around Gaia while the Vale Lands themselves are predominantly flat. 

   Heat is generated from two sources.  The primary source of heat is Gaia herself.  This means that the altitude and not latitude, is the primary factor determining temperature across the Vale Lands.  The sun (a Light Factory), acts as a secondary source of heat.  In its cycles, the sun pulsates very slowly, expanding and contracting.  The length of time for the Sun to pulsate just once takes one year.  The four seasons reflect the Sun’s pulsating sizes.  Summer solstice coincides with the Sun at its largest point, while Winter Solstice marks the Sun at its smallest size.  And so the Vale Lands cycle through Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter in the span of 12 months, but because of the heat given off by Gaia, temperatures at Blood Sea altitude remain tropical, and temperatures of Inland Sea altitude maintain something closer to Mediterranean Earth norms.

   Because Gaia does not spin, wind and weather patterns of the Vale Lands act very differently from Earth.  For the majority of the year, both the Inland Sea and Blood Sea create High-Pressure cells because of the greater atmospheric pressures above their regions.  Meanwhile, the Mountains create Low-Pressure zones around them because of the thinner atmosphere.  Winds blow straight out from the centers of the high-pressure cells, carrying with them warm air off the seas.  Weak, isolated showers are often found along the coastlines. 

   The Low-Pressure zones of the mountains draw the warm Seaward winds up the valleys to higher altitudes.  The air moving upward cools by expansion and at some point reaches condensation level.  The result is often cloudy wet weather among the mountain ranges.  Depending on the height of a particular mountain chain, the moisture either waters the entirety of the mountain slopes or precipitation stops near their tops. 

   The higher altitude winds that feed these high and low-pressure zones tend to remain fairly stable through out the year.  However, each autumn, colder air manages to descend upon the Inland and Blood Seas.  When this happens, heat is imparted into the systems from the warm waters below.  Updrafts form, pulling moisture into the air, culminating in very large Autumn Storm Pulses, which then ravage the high seas and their coastlines. 

Cliff-notes:  Wind and storms blow inland off of the Inland Sea and Blood Sea.

[Sweeney]

you may wish to consider a revision of the homeland of the elves, if that is what "Numinar" is. Regardless of how you came up with the name, it rings to similar to "Numenor" from LOTR. Even though it is probably not a copycat, it could easily be construed as such, I know that was the first thing that came to my mind.

[SmilingGM]

No the Numinar are the highest echelon of gods from the celestial plane in my world.  Nothing to do with any homeland.