Racial Roleplay

Atavians

Atavians have a diverse range of roleplay choices, with players able to highlight their racial feature of wings and flight in many ways, such as through emotes emphasizing the movement of their wings, or through stories about their love of flying. Atavians are amalgamated very heavily into modern Aetolian society, opening the door to virtually any backstory you may desire, although some players enjoy emphasizing their connection to the race's home in Aerie.

Dwarves

Like all races, dwarves come in a range of personality types, with each character having their own unique quirks and interests. If you choose to play a dwarf, you have some heavy racial features to draw on to help you when crafting your character's roleplay: dwarves have a reputation for loving alcohol, being keen on forging and other types of crafts, and the race also has a strong connection to the earth and rocky parts of the land. You can highlight these traits to create a character who is naturally drawn by his love of forging to the Templar class, or one who follows his taste for fine ales up to Spinesreach, or even one who embraces the earth fully by learning the ways of the Teradrim. A dwarf can be a good choice for a comical character, due to their short height and tendencies for booze, or they can be an excellent option for a stoic, stalwart character who is adamant in their beliefs.

Grecht

The grecht race is rich with roleplay potential, with an entire plateau claimed as their racial home. A range of backstories and character types can be pinned to these origins - from warriors to priests to rebels to hunters, nearly all character concepts can fit well with the grecht race. The physical details, such as the ability to soar, open the door to fun physical roleplay ideas and give players lots of ambient emote potential.

Grook

Grooks are typically known as the more reclusive, scholarly of Aetolian races, with weaker physical forms and a cultural emphasis on knowledge, learning, mysticism and magic. Their homeland, Ulangi, is home to the famous sage Oorangu, who oversees meditations and studies in a quiet village in the depths of the island's swamps. A typical grook would be an ideal match for a guild focused on the more arcane arts, such as the scholarly Ascendril or Sciomancer mages, or the science-driven Archivists, although some grook also feel that the serenity of the Sentaari monks resonates with them, while some find that they are a semi-rebellious "frog out of water" in their homeland and are drawn, instead, to the more physical arts, though this tends to be rare among the race.

Horkval

Horkval have an incredibly rich potential for roleplay, both through the physical features of their race and through the culture established in their lore - players have been known to create their own versions of hives, explore concepts of caste systems, and show incredible creativity with the diversity of form and features an insectoid race allows. Because the race is so alien compared to the more typical races, a creative roleplayer has room to consider a range of unique questions and challenges, turning the ideas of even basic notions of touch and taste on their head. Traditionally, horkval tend to gravitate towards the more physical arts, making them ideal for a role such as a Sentinel hunter, a Daru monk and even a vampiric warrior, while their culture's rigid hierarchy and tight-knit loyalty make them a natural fit in militaristic guilds like the Carnifex or Templar knights.

Humans

A human backstory can encompass nearly anything within Aetolia's lore - human settlements can be found all across the land, from modest farming communities to remote villages to sprawling cities, giving a player a diverse range of choices when crafting a human character. Similarly, there are no common personality traits or physical features, giving players a broad canvas to work with when making a human.

Imps

Imps can be a very fun race to play, with the role naturally suiting a trickster or comedic type of character. Their small stature and racial history lends itself well to a playful role, although the darker side of an imp's mirth offers just as much potential to explore, with fighters or politicians drawing upon the natural cunning to enhance their character's outlook - some players even choose to meld these potential aspects of the Impish nature, with childlike playfulness and deft manipulation two sides of the same coin.

Kelki

With their affinity to water and their connection to Slyphe and Lleis, kelki make natural choices for a citizen of Enorian or Duiran, although the race can be found scattered across all of the cities and guilds. Although kelki are not typically viewed as physically strong, many are agile, quick and clever, making them ideal for a range of roles. Their tendency for sharp thinking and a cultural interest in studying how things work lead many towards the inquisitive lifestyle of an Ascendril or a Cabalist, while their flexible, athletic forms make them ideal for the life of hunter or even a nimble assassin like a Syssin. The physical characteristics of the race and their link to the seas give players fun options to explore when describing the character or crafting a backstory.

Mhun

The mhun's racial heritage of struggle and oppression give players lots of freedom to play a character who has been disenfranchised or has fought against the odds. Humble origins, scrappy pluck or even browbeaten submission all work great with the mhun background - many "good" organizations make an effort to protect the lower-class mhun from oppression and attack, so a mhun finding their way to Enorian is a natural fit. Conversely, mhun also make an intriguing choice for a vampire character, and some players choose to play a mhun who has fallen into temptation or embraced the role of oppressed becoming the oppressor, turning to Bloodloch for a home. Mhun also offer a good fit for anyone interested in making a character who is interested in geology or craftsmanship, making the Teradrim or crafters of various ilks another obvious choice.

Rajamala

Rajamala offer a wide array of roleplay choices, with the physical form itself rich with potential - cat-like and quick, the race are natural hunters, making them a natural choice for a role such as a lycanthrope or Sentinel or a member of the forested city of Duiran, similar to their rainforest homeland. Culture and art flourish in the jungles alongside hunting, with mythology and lore passed down through the generations, making scholars just as common as warriors for the race, with priests - both those championing the light and cultists worshiping shadows - playing prominent roles in the race's history. Rajamala can be found in all guilds, cities and walks of life, suited for a range of roles and outlooks. The Goddess Omei, in particular, holds tight ties with the rajamala people, Her own history entwined with theirs, and many flock to Her patronage.

Trolls

Trolls can be a very fun race to play, either as a serious, stern warrior, devoted to combat, or as a more comical character type.

Stereotypes: The race's assumed tendency towards low intelligence is a bit of a misnomer - while not natural scholars, they bear the same capacity of a human's thought, only requiring more diligence in study in mental versus physical pursuits. Due to this, many trolls default back to manual labour or martial training, as it plays to their strengths beyond what the other races can compete with.

Culture: Trolls come from a history of good and bad - trickery and salvation - and with their redemption coming through a God of Truth, tend to form subcultures focused around a strict regulation and 'honour', even if this falls within a hierarchy of muscle and internal control.

Language: Their jilted speech patterns in the common tongue come more from an issue of translation between language types than true stupidity, and typically converse more naturally in their native tongue. Their native tongue is layered with meaning, with words often clustering to express more depth and intention than can be otherwise clearly communicated. There is a rough poetry to it, though it is greatly lost in translation, which leaves to many sources of miscommunication with other races.

Physicality: Trolls trend being larger and more muscular (from the typical beefed out muscle builder to a true heavyweight lifting build) than other races, both for the men and women. They are most commonly earthy in colour - grey, brown, or greenish skin that is thick and leathery, coarse hair and lower incisors that eclipse their upper lips. They trend sharp, bold features, with craggy noses and high cheek bones - their concept of beauty being something that suggests strength and longevity rather than fragility or delicacy - sharp versus soft, strong versus agile.

Overview: This conflict of speech structures can both build to a depth of roleplay of communication as well as forming the role for a burly, muscle-bound sort of comic relief. Conversely, a troll can make an excellent stoic character, stalwart and stubborn in single-minded pursuit of his or her goals. Their predisposition for physical combat makes them ideal for a weapon-user, like a Carnifex, Templar, Teradrim, or Luminary, and their fame for strong constitutions make them ideal for a sheerly physical fighter, such as a lycanthrope, Daru or Sentaari monk.

Tsol'aa

Due to their natural affinity to the forests, tsol'aa make an ideal race for someone interested in the guilds of Duiran, particularly the Shamans and Sentinels. The evacuation to Duiran makes a natural backstory for someone interested in playing a tsol'aa who grew up in the Heartwood, although the race has always had members who have sought homes in the cities. Characters have both embraced and rejected their forestal origins, with some displaying deep ties to the land, while other, outcast tsol'aa have rebelled against their heritage and instead sought to corrupt nature to strike at the society which shunned them, turning to classes like the Indorani to exterminate plantlife itself.

Xorani

A versatile and adaptable people, xorani can be found in all cities and guilds in Sapience. Their preference for warm climates makes the balmy weather of Enorian and Duiran a delight, while their ties to fire make Bloodloch's lava pools a natural draw, but the libraries of Spinesreach still have their own draw for the serious scholars of the race. Playing a xoran opens the door to very creative roleplaying, with many players enjoying the challenge of imagining how a lizard-like character would act - scales, tails, teeth and all.