What kinds of humanoids filled the Skies of Mor-ladron after the Catastrophe? First, I’ll touch on three common playable fantasy races and why I didn’t include them (and what’s changed). Then, we’ll look at what other races have been playable in the multiple revisions of Skies.  

Halflings, Dwarves, and Elves

I had a blurb in the very first document handed to players (which seems to have been lost to time) titled, “What about my Favorite Race?” That blurb went into detail on why halflings, dwarves, and elves were not playable races. As you will see below, some of that has changed. 

The original intent was to prevent players from creating a character that could have been alive before the Catastrophe (as in the case of dwarves and elves). As for halflings, here’s what I remember from the original lore: 

Joyful, am I right? Going forward, they just won't exist—no need to kill off a whole race just to exclude them. 

When it came to elves and dwarves, here’s what I had in the original lore.

As you will see, I changed my mind about dwarves and elves and told players they had to create a character that was born in the Skies after the Catastrophe.

Current Playable Races

Let's start with some of the more well-known races in fantasy and what they are like in this world. Then, we’ll work our way down the list to the odd stuff. 

All of the races were homebrewed to a greater or lesser extent. Some, like the humans, were based on their D&D counterparts but were tweaked just a bit, in part to raise their power level compared to some of the completely homebrewed races. You might notice as you read that I do not mention half-elves or half-orcs. At present, half-breeds do not exist in Skies (with one exception, which I discuss elsewhere). I say if you are going you play a race, then play it. 

Humans 

Surprise, I have humans! In fact, if I was making a world for myself and not my players, it would only include humans, or mostly humans with one or two rare races (lucky for everyone, my players insisted on more races. Honestly, trying to fit a bunch into the setting and lore has been fun). 

The humans in Skies are your typical well-rounded fantasy human—with an edge. (They have to have something that allows them to survive amongst the other races.) Humans have plus one to all abilities, and they gain two skills and the Lucky trait, which allows them to reroll ones. Like most of the races, humans can be found in all the cities across the skies. The heaviest concentration of humans resides in the Duchy of Hilen and its surrounding villages and mining towns. 

Dwarves

The dwarves, as mentioned before, live in Mount Ancora. Dwarves spend most of their days crafting rune-carved weapons and armor to help them fight the demon hordes in the deep dark tunnels of the mountain. The dwarves know they are the first line of defense against the demons that constantly threaten this last bastion of the land. 

Again, these are pretty standard dwarves. However, being at constant war means there are not many of them. Their population numbers in the hundreds. Their king, known as the frozen one or the Frozen King, sits on his throne in a block of ice, silent and still. He controls a mighty blizzard that surrounds and engulfs the lower part of the mountain, preventing the hordes from making their way up. If his concentration should ever break, the demon hordes would be able to swarm over the mountain. Those in the mountain would have to fight on two fronts and would most assuredly be overrun. 

Elves

Oh, elves… My players would say I hate them, which might be close to the truth. There’s nothing fun about a race that is the best at everything. This might explain why I didn't have them as a playable race at first—that and their population numbers falling to the dozens—but eventually, I was convinced it could make a good story. Why would an elf, who lives a life of luxury and learns magics that others can only dream about, leave? Elves still seem pretty one-note to me, and they aren't the only race that feels that way. That’s something I hope to fix. I have some fun ideas for these guys based on what I have heard about elves in the MCDM RPG. 

The elves of Skies are, in effect, beefed up Eberron high elves. They get their double proficiency skill or tool, but instead of a cantrip, they also get a first- and second-level spell that they can use at the third and fifth levels, respectively. (Starting the game at the fifth level meant that the player had access to all three spells right off the bat.) The elves live in and run Empyrean. They make up the council and are the nobility in this city. Anyone and everything in the city works for them and their benefit.  

Orcs

Orcs had to fend for themselves, as not many cities were willing to let orcs in during the Catastrophe. Most probably assumed (falsely) that the orcs were in league with the demonic hordes. Scholars are unsure how orcs survived, but decades after the Catastrophe, they appeared on the backs of Sky Whales. Sky Whales are immense creatures, large enough to carry small villages. It took some doing (in large part, surprisingly, by a goblin diplomat), but eventually, the orcs were welcomed in. Orcs now live in many of the cities, while some still sail the skies on whale back. 

Orcs were meant to be the big powerful race, so they were heavily modified. I didn’t fully homebrew them, as they were pretty much a combination of the orc and half-orc races. Orcs had Powerful Build, and I added in the toughness trait from the dwarves. I also took Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks from the half-orc. 

Goblins

I really wanted these guys to be in the world. It started out with wanting a couple of things, the first being a small race. Halflings were out (see above), which left goblins and gnomes. I also wanted an archetypal techy race, building strange contraptions and such. Both goblins and gnomes fit the bill, depending on what fantasy you are looking at. I settled on goblins because I wanted a sense of chaotic energy rather than the mischievous nature I associate with gnomes. 

Goblins live amongst the other races, as they hitched a ride when the cities left the land below. Little did people know that most of the cities’ sewers had been infested with goblins. Again, as with the orcs, acceptance took some time. However, everyone could use all the help they could get, and few could afford to be picky about their neighbors. Goblins' curiosity and lack of fear (or common sense, some say) have led them to make groundbreaking inventions. Some goblins have become well-known master artificers. Because of this, the largest portion of their numbers is in Empyrean. A few goblins also head up a large and successful merchant guild. 

What’s Next? 

That covers the more well-known races of Skies. In the next post, I will introduce the lesser-known and weirder races in the setting. See you then.