Races of the Ring Realms


Other Realms Beings

Common Fantasy Races
General Race Notes Humans in the Realms Elves in the Realms Dwarves in the Realms Other Realms Beings
Ring Realms Unique Races
Elder Race Overview First ones & Descendants The Race of Jyril The Race of Kriar The Race of Eternals
The Race of Numanorians The Pantheon Lords The Race of Savants Abyssal/Planes/Elementals The Cyber Race

Other Realms Beings

Races of Grimmer


The Taurg
DESCRIPTION

Springing from an ancestory of a human and minotaur cross, the Taurg are an agressive culture composed primarily of violently unimaginative materialistic scum. The motivations of this bovine culture are simplistic in the extreme, relating mostly to territory, possessions, and intercourse.

The Taurg lineage over many generations has bred true and Taurg males and females function much in the same way as their bovine counter-parts, male's being polygamous, one's personal power being judged by the number of wives, personal wealth, and territory commanded by an individual.

Taurg intelligence is minimal the average Taurg never speaking more than three languages, the Taurian tongue, Common, and their alignment language. The Taurg do not have a written language, but some are smart enough to learn the written aspects of common.

The Taurg regard all races with a bare minimum of tolerance, they are generally foul mouthed, abusive, and otherwise stupid conversationalists. Taurg regard dwarves with slightly more respect than other races (primarily because of the importation of dwarven ale). They greatly dislike the Photar, and actively abuse them when given the opportunity. They regard the Photar as snivelling, back-stabbing, cringing little buckets of slime which cannot be trusted. This being one of the few judgments ever made by the culture that was more than fifty percent correct.

Taurg have many characteristics in common with bovine's, they have two stomachs, their flesh is extraordinarily thick and tough. They have vestigal horns which vary in size from entity to entity, rarely being longer than an inch. Because of the nature of their stomach's the Taurg are very susceptible to alcohol, and they imbibe heavily when given the chance. (Its been attributed to perpetual hangovers that result in the foul temperament of most Taurian's). Because of their size most Taurian's can still drink huge quantities and remain sober.

Taurg males average between six and half and seven and half feet in height, being very broad across the shoulders and having an average weight between 300 and 400 pounds. The biggest recorded Taurg measured almost nine feet tall and weighed close to eight hundred pounds. Females are slightly smaller (between six and seven feet).

The Taurg hale from the island chain between Suul and Eairon. They are heavily involved in shipping, mainly as rowers. It is not uncommon to see Taurg captains and first mates. Having little other sense, they are natural and very hearty seamen, given well to the Grimmer's randy and often harsh oceans.

APPEARANCE:

The Taurg are bipedal humanoid's with thick leathery skin, their features are very flat, the nose and jaw being wide, the eyes small and set far apart beneath an extremely thick expanse of craggy brow. Set near the temples in the thick bone are small vestigal horns. The hair of the taurg tends to be dark and coarse often running down the back of the neck to beneath the shoulder blades. The shoulders, legs, and stomach tend to also be covered in coarse hair. The torso and legs of the Taurg are human in most respects, the males having a vestigal growth of teats beneath the main pectoral mass. This trait is more pronounced in females which have on occassion possessed three sets of functioning breasts. The lower breast teats lay flat against the torso, growing above the abdominal muscles and generally are not pronounced except after child birth. Greater development of the secondary breasts is a beauty trait desirable in Taurg women in regard to the preferences of the male of the species.

Taurg live a little longer than humans, having an average lifespan of fifty to sixty years.


The Photar
DESCRIPTION

The Photar are an amphibious humanoid race which hail mainly from the swampy northern reaches on the continent of Grell. The Photar are fawning obsequious little rodents which infest most of Grimmer's more slimey port dives. Their sharp scheming intellects often place them in positions as advisors or spies.

The Photar are diminutive in stature but aspire to greater and grander things, wishing to rule and command armies etc. They are cowardly, traitorous, and greedy, and generally represent the more negative human aspects. When cornered they can be vicious fighters, but they generally flee at the earliest possible opportunity.

Photar are not true amphibians, they possess no gills or apparatus to breathe normally underwater, they can however hold their breath for up to fifteen minutes. Their eyes are more accustomed to the green spectrum which allow them to see normally underwater, also more sensitive to light allowing them to see in the greater depths where light is scarce. Their night vision is excellent because of this, allowing them to see equal to normal daylight when outdoors under a starlit sky. Photar have partially webbed hands and splay feet, and are powerful swimmers. Their skin when wet is extremely slippery. This near frictionless skin allows them to bolt through the water in short bursts from a standing start. They can leap up to 10 feet from the surface of the water if they have at least 30 to start. The strength of their legs gives them a similar leaping ability on land. Photarian skin is very sensitive to strong light, and the creatures burn easily if it is not periodically kept wet, which is usually why they are rarely found very far from water of some kind. Photar who make long overland trips stay heavily clothed and carry large supplies of water.

Among their other frog-like qualities the fingers and toes of the Photar have numerous tiny suckers, through ducts in fingers a sticky enzyme is exuded. This allows members of this race to cling exceptionally well to different porous and semi-porous materials. Even those Photar can easily negotiate walls, trees, and other obstacles that would give other creatures considerable pause.

APPEARANCE:

The Photar are small in stature, averaging between 4 and 1/2 and 5 1/2 feet in height, the habitual stoop in their bearing makes them seem even smaller than they actually are. Females are approximately the same size as the male, and difficult to distiguish apart except for the thicker growth of hair on the head. The skin is pale green in color and very silky to the touch when dry, and much like fish scales when wet. The head of the Photar is very wide and round perched on top of a corded very flexible neck. The eyes large and doll-like, the jaw being weak and inset. Photar have no body hair save for sparce tufts on the head in males, and a slightly thicker growths in females. Most hair is black, though brown and sometimes red hair have been noted in unusual individuals. The fingers and toes are webbed, the Photar have only three manipulative fingers and an opposing thumb. Photar mate and give birth in the same fashion as human's regardless of other physical differences.

Photar live slightly shorter than humans having an average lifespan of fourty to fifty years.




The Diathreen
DESCRIPTION

The slender willowy Diathreeni are one of Grimmer's few competitors with elves as the 'beautiful people'. These vaguely avian, distant, and often solitary people are largely a mystery both in origin and motive. It is guessed that their origins lay in the snow covered mountains in the northern reaches of Brodar, though Diathreen have been found in and around most every major land mass of Grimmer.

Strong fighters and skilled magicians the Diathreen culture is both diverse and complex. Half Diathreen are sometimes encountered, near some of the larger populations of Diathreen scattered through the more remote mountainous areas. Populations of more than a few hundred have rarely been seen. Overall they tend to form small familial groups which occupy given 'territorial' hunting grounds. Steeped in ritual and fierce competition, Diathreen males and females gather every few years in a pre-chosen arena where each strives to demonstrate his/her physical and mental superiority against others of the same sex. In this manner social and spiritual leaders are selected from the strongest competitors.

The Diathreen have some bird-like characteristics. Their bones are hollow, making them extremely light and fast. They can, dressed in special clothing actually glide for short distances. This is partly attributed to a limited levitational ability possessed by this race. Diathreeni can glide five times the distance fallen. Meaning an average Diathreeni when ground bound can (by running and jumping) travel about fifty feet of horizontal distance. Diathreeni by maturity are very skilled at flipping from a horizontal glide to vertical stand (landing on their feet) with a minimal clearance between body and ground, usually involving acrobatic hand springs or shoulder rolls. The head is covered in different colored plummage in place of hair. The Diathreen have poor visual resolution up close, but can see clearly at distances four to five times human normal. They can to some limited degree communicate with avian creatures, whether by some magical ability or a limited form of animal telepathy is unknown. This skill is apparently limited to the conferring of simple desires, hunting, spying, etc. The Diathreen can receive vague images from the avian creatures they communicate with, generally simple pictures, concepts, and emotions.

The members of this race heavily favor the outdoors, and dislike city settings. They generally disdain other races, getting along only with elves and half-elves on a common basis. Elf-Diathreen mixes are not unknown, and some of the most beautiful people on Grimmer.

APPEARANCE:

Diathreen are slender and fine boned, actually being quite sturdy despite their fragile appearance. Males average between five and 1/2 to Seven feet tall with females being slightly smaller. The weight of Diathreeni is between 70 and 200 pounds. The features of the Diathreeni are very delicate and elfin, the head covered with a colorful downy plummage. The eyes are large and slightly slanted and vary widely in color. Amber, Gold, Violet, Emerald, being some of the more notible shades. The skin tends to be pale and hairless.

Diathreeni are not as long lived as their elven counter-parts living between 200 and 300 years.




The Vegas
DESCRIPTION

Hailing from the jungle enfested depths of the continent of Sodra, the Vegas are one of Grimmer's more exotic humanoid races. The males and females are vicious in the extreme, rarely giving quarter once embattled and often tearing their opponents to shreds at the end. Highly emotional and very passionate, quick to temper, and quick to calm, the Vegas are very unpredictable.

Of the animal like races the Vegas are closest to their feline ancestory. Their eyes are slit as are cats, the skin is covered in a downy soft fur, and they possess a long semi-prehensile tail. The nails of the hands and feet are thick and strong and can be sharpened to keeness. They are humanoid in all respects beyond these basic animalisms.

Vegans are a war-like culture filled with superstition and myth, they actively fear magic, and regard clerics with some little awe.

Vegans interrelate well with humans, male and female, females being very dominant both in the Vegan culture and as mates. The male is the bigger and stronger of the two sexes but lacks something of the ferociousness of the female of the species. Because of the dominance of Vegan females, this eludes to the preferance of some Vegan males for females of other races. Half Vagens are not uncommon, and more rarely Elven/Vagen mixes have occurred. Vegan/Diathreeni mixes have not been noted but does not mean that such are impossible.

Because of their feline heritage the Vegans have the benefit of several animal traits. They have excellent hearing, smell, and superior night vision. Because they are intelligent Vegans can make use of their tale in ways that an animal would not. The tail is primarily used for balance, but can also be used to grip cylindrical objects of low weight (less than 10 pounds) a dagger would be a primary example of a object they could manipulate. Their control of the tail is not refined, however they can use it to threaten and distract.

APPEARANCE:

The Vegan's appear humanoid in most respects save for the tail. The ears are larger and slightly pointed. Their skin is dusky and covered with a short downy fur that is normally the same color as the hair on their head. Males and females are very muscular and lithe in appearance, averaging 6 to 7 1/2 feet in males and 5 1/2 to 7 feet in females. The eyes are large and cat-like and cover the gumult of the spectrum as far as color is concerned.