ELF: First Born, Elvin, Far Sighted, long lived ones, pointy ears.
All elves are of one race and one mind united with one another in harmony with themselves and nature. Once in a very distance past there was a war between elves, but that is long since past and will never happen again. Elves though they seem frivolous or playful to humans are just acting as someone with all the time in the world would. Elves are immortal never dying lest they fall from grace and become evil, then they will rapidly age and die. Some elves choose to depart this world and move into the next, and some are driven there by violence.
Physically elves are not much different from humans with normal hair and skin color. Their form is smaller and thus they are typically lighter and more dexterous than humans. Mentally elves are typically far more advanced than the other races and tend towards magic use. They view the other races a children, though they have come to respect the drive and ability of the short lived humans they still will not consider one for a mate.
The Elves live separated from the rest of the races on a island in the north seas. Though it is typically colder there most of the island is warm and sunny all year round. No other race is allowed on the island, they have done this to protect them selves. Most elves are somewhat isolationist from the other races. Those that choose to adventure or leave home are not looked down upon by other elves but they are discouraged from doing so. Many elves feel that nothing good can come from mingling with the younger races.
In Game: All elves must be of good alignment. and have normal human hair and skin tones.
DWARF: Second born, short ones, earth children, mountain child or baby.
Dwarves are long lived but not immortal, though some have been rumored to live for over 500 years. They enjoy anything that requires working with their hands, they are often master craftsmen of some sort. Most tend to be gruff and standoffish to new comers, and always short on words. They will often speak their mind without thinking through the consequences.
Physically dwarves are not much different from humans with normal hair and skin tones. Though short they tend to weight as much or more than humans due to their dense build. They are quite stocky and stout, this makes them quite strong and enables them to move around in tight quarters like mines and other subterranean areas. Mentally dwarves are strong willed and hard headed, they tent to speak their minds and view others individually rather than judge them by their race. They dislike magic and trickery.
Dwarves in general live in the mountains or high on the slopes of mountains, in thick walled keeps, or underground. They have a major settlement near the Tanamerah Empire in the Finisterre Mountains.
In Game: Dwarves can be of any alignment, though they tend towards good and neutral, evil is rare. They have normal human hair and skin tones.
HUMAN: Tall ones, the final ones, those with out sight, round eyes.
Humans are by far the most populace of the races, seems their short life span drives them breed more than the other races. Humans have settled all the known lands except the Elf's island home. See Lands (coming soon) for more specific info on humans from various different areas of Arcana.
In Game: Humans can be of any alignment and have normal human hair and skin colors.
HALFLING: Hairfoot, Stouts, children, small ones.
Halflings though they have no real society of their own, none really know where they came from, some say the mating of a dwarf and man others say they are a separate race all together. They typically live with in the protection of larger human settlements, few known halfling only settlements exist.
Physically halflings are smaller than humans and have hairy feet, though many prefer to be barefoot they wear shoes when living near humans to help fit in. Mentally they are very cheery and bubbly in personality and lean towards entertainment as a hobby or for work. They enjoy good song and good drink.
In Game: Halflings can be of any alignment but tend towards good. They also have normal human hair and skin colors.
GNOME: Builders.
Gnomes though they have no real society of their own, none really know where they came from, some say the mating of a dwarf and man others say they are a separate race all together. They typically live with in the protection of larger human settlements, no known gnome settlements exist. They tend towards magic and pursuits of the mind, they love puzzles and engineering feats.
Physically gnomes are quite small and have long arms, their bodies have odd proportions compared to humans or even halflings. Mentally they can seem quite grumpy to others though it's typically because you interrupted a thought process.
In Game: Gnomes can be of any alignment though they tend towards neutral. They should have normal human hair and skin tones.
NOTE on Gnomes and Halflings: Arcana is a conversion of my pen and paper AD&D world. There were no gnomes and halflings in that world, so if they seem sort of an add on here, that because rather than disallow those races I just added them in.
Thanks DM Daniel of Arcana.
