Races

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Players of Aetolia may select one of 13 races to play as. Much as humans in real life come from all manner of places and backgrounds, these races comprise a diverse and flexible series of personalities, origins, and traits, allowing players to create a character that is exactly right for them.

Choosing A Race

In Aetolia's inception, each race came with its own set of statistics (Grook had high intelligence, Rajamala had low strength, etc.), requiring players to choose their species according to their desired class. This often made changing class difficult - a Rajamalan would have made an ideal [Syssin] with their balance recovery and high Dexterity, but with little Strength to speak of, a poor [Monk].

With the advent of statpacks, a player's stats are now divorced from their race, allowing any race/class combination to perform equally well, and allowing the choice of race to be a roleplaying decision. The races themselves possess four special racial skills, which are unlocked at levels 1, 25, 50, and 75. Though some ([Scent] or [Leap], for instance) are considered dramatically better than others, these racial skills do not significantly affect your play experience.

Things to Consider

When choosing a race for your character, consider the following:

• Where do I come from?

Naturally, each race has its own homeland(s), favored haunts, or other places of import to their culture. Rajamala hail from the Itzatl and other rainforests, Grook come from Ulangi, and Mhun are often born in Moghedu. However, in much the same way that no one would find a person of Pakistani or Thai descent growing up in America to be strange, your character's origin need not follow a strict set of rules. Your Kelki could have been adopted by a clan of Dwarves living in Khauskin, for instance; your Horkval could belong to a family who long ago moved to Djeir.

You should refrain from inventing a made-up location for your character to come from, however. Aetolia is an entirely charted world, and its greatest explorers would likely consider you insane, if you claimed you came from "Arcadia" or "a hidden village in the Liruma Scrubland."

• What do I look like?

Consider your race's physical characteristics carefully. If you want your character to be six feet tall, an Imp would be a poor choice. If you wanted to have blue skin, you would consider a Kelki or a Grook, but certainly not a Human! When beginning the game, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Explore and look at other players, other NPCs. You can generally get a great idea of how your race is constructed by observing and reading its help files.

• What do I want to do?

That's entirely up to you. The playable races of Aetolia have had many centuries to expand and build their cultures. Dwarves do not have to drink ale and strike anvils; Tsol'aa are just as comfortable living in an apartment or a mansion as they are in a homemade tree dwelling.

List of Races

Atavian

Main Article: Atavian

Racial Skills: Flight, Hover, Air Stability, Blood Regen

Winged humans, a mixed breed descended from the peoples of Aerie.

Dwarf

Main Article: Dwarf

Racial Skills: Alcohol Resist, Improved Forging, Endurance Regen, Rock Harvest

Hardy, hirsute beings nearly identical to humans, only much shorter and much stouter. Dwarves make their homes in a wide variety of mountains and hills.

Grecht

Main Article: Grecht

Racial Skills: Soaring, Air Stability, Nightsight, Lunar Regen

A race of bat people from the Northern Tundra, night-based hunters who soar on the air.

Grook

Main Article: Grook

Racial Skills: Swimming, Underwater Breath, Water Regen, Fire Retardant

Amphibious "frog men" from the distant island paradise of Ulangi. Known for their love of intellectual pursuits.

Human

Main Article: Human

Racial Skills: Imp. Meditation, Imp. Sleep, Selfishness, Blood Reserves

Among the oldest races of Sapience, humans call no single place home. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Horkval

Main Article: Horkval

Racial Skills: Clicking, Leap, Health Regen, Listening

Evolved insectoid beings originating from the island Ulangi. They are one of the least-understood races, and are rumored to share a like consciousness, called a "hive mind".

Imp

Main Article: Imp

Racial Skills: Tumble, Willpower Regen, Stalking, Heatsight

The favorite race of the late goddess Khepri, imps are very short humanoids, often bearing wings, tails, and horns. They are nearly as ubiquitous as humans.

Kelki

Main Article: Kelki

Racial Skills: Swimming, Underwater Breath, Water Regen, Fast Swimmer

Created by Slyphe from a combination of various aquatic beings, the kelki are the masters of the oceans, rivers, and other watery bodies of Aetolia. Most of them once lived in the city of Kelsys, before it was destroyed.

Mhun

Main Article: Mhun

Racial Skills: Dig, Underground Regen, Blood Regen, Rock Crush

The mhun originated from the underground civilization of Moghedu. They are nearly identical to humans, but tend to be a bit shorter, with bodies adapted to dark, subterranean environments.

Rajamala

Main Article: Rajamala

Racial Skills: Grooming, Imp. Sleep, Dash, Scent

A race of feline peoples from the Itzatl Rainforest. Resembling the great hunting cats of the wilds, they are considered the quickest race of Aetolia.

Troll

Main Article: Troll

Racial Skills: Satiation, Gripping, Health Regen, Natural Clotting

Massive, musclebound humanoids who originate from the ruined city of Hashan.

Tsol'aa

Main Article: Tsol'aa

Racial Skills: Forage, Imp. Harvesting, Hide, Forest Regen

Slender and beautiful, tsol'aa serve as the analog for elves in Aetolia. Their race chiefly originates from the forests and woodlands of Sapience.

Xoran

Main Article: Xoran

Racial Skills: Nightsight, Endurance Regen, Fire Breathing, Chameleon

Massive lizardmen who spawned from their human ancestors. They have an affinity for flame, and rival humans as one of the most diverse races in the world.

Special/Unplayable Races

Though the above listed races represent the most successful and propagated species in Sapience, they are by no means the only sort of denizens you can see in Aetolia.

NPC-only Races

Atav

The ancestors of the Atavian race, the atav are birdlike people who live in Aerie. When their population began to dwindle, a number of atav left the Vashnar Mountains, and mixed with the humans of Sapience.

Djeirani

The natives of the underground city of Djeir. They are much like tsol'aa, but with dark skin ranging from grey to blue to black, white hair, and slender figures. They are an analog to the popular mythical race known as "drow".

Seyda

A very rare species of humanoid foxes. Seyda are not very often seen, and have perhaps been retconned out of the game, or forgotten altogether. When the Sentaari monastery was being rebuilt in Enorian, there were Seyda construction workers near the site.

Xorali

A race of lizardfolk very similar to Xorani, who formerly lived in Hashan, but fled when the trolls there instigated a racially-inspired mass killing of their people. The only known xorali live in the town of Xoral, on the border of the Mhojave Desert.

Endgame Races

At level 99, the transition to the endgame state begins. When a being grows to rare levels of astounding strength and will, they undergo a bizarre physical and psychological transformation, becoming a being referred to as a "Tekal". These Tekal feel an overbearing need to absorb Divine essence, which for players, means acquiring the experience needed to advance to level 100. Once there, they have two options: harness this collected essence to become an embodiment of life or death, or reshape the essence within them to transform into an otherworldly being called an Idreth.

All endgame races lose their former racial skills, and instead have:

• Health Regeneration
• Endurance Regeneration
• Willpower Regeneration
• Blood Regeneration
• Natural Clotting

Further racial skills may be acquired by spending haven points.

Azudim

Main Article: Azudim

Azudim embody the aspects of death and destruction, taking on the essence sought after by the more violent and cruel Gods.

Idreth

Main Article: Idreth

Idreth are not very well understood. These strange and secular creatures use their own essence, not shared by any God.

Tekal

Main Article: Tekal

Empty, hollow beings who possess much physical strength, but a pervasive sense of emptiness. Theirs is a preparatory form, ready to change.

Yeleni

Main Article: Yeleni

Yeleni represent the aspects of life and preservation. Their bodies are filled with the same essence of those Gods closely aligned with life.

The Races of Albedos

Coming soon!