Species

This is a list of the species that are playable in Shadow Star. This is not a complete list; we don't have every species known to man up here! If you don't find something you'd like to be, then please feel free to make use of the "Other" slot on the joining form. It will, however, have to be approved by the Council.
Please note that new species from first-time players will rarely be approved. We feel that players will develop species that fit better into the world of Shadow Star after gaining a bit of experience roleplaying in the setting.

For information on the species of the Chaos realm, click here.

We now have an aging scale for the elder races (dragoons, city elves, wylraen, and gnomes).

• Angels: Not in the traditional sense. They are winged humans, descended from those of the golden harps and clouds, yet still very good-looking. They were first discovered to live on the eastern side of StarScape mountain.
  Realm: Air.
  Lifespan: 100 years.
  
• Amaane: Amaane are long-lived humanoids hailing from the western coast of Mat'cel. They are short of stature and have slightly pointed ears. Their eyes have unique spiral irises, and can focus better at long distances and in dim light than regular humans. They are a very small race, numbering less than 200. Because the older generations refuse to marry other species, they've been intermarrying amongst themselves and slowly dying off. The most recent generation has been leaving their home to mingle with humans, much to the displeasure of the elders.
  Realm: Land.
  Lifespan: 200 years.
  
• Anthros: "Anthro" is short for "anthropomorphic." Anthros are humanoid, but with animal characteristics. For instance, an anthro might have a cat's fur, ears, whiskers, tail, and claws, but be otherwise human. Anthros can be mixtures of different animals, too - for example, Arax, a snake/cat anthro, has scales, fangs, and snake eyes, with scaled cat ears and a scaled tail.
  Realm: Realm of dominating animalistic portion.
  Lifespan: 50-100 years.
  
• Centaurs: There are three types of centaurs- land centaurs, pterocentaurs, and mercentaurs. Land centaurs are normal centaurs- horse bodies, human torsos. Pterocentaurs are centaurs with wings sprouting from their equine shoulders. Mercentaurs have two forms- a land form and a fin form. In land form, they look like a normal land centaur, although their coloring is usually strange- often similar to a maricorn's coloring. In fin form, their equine bodies are those of a maricorn, and their human torsos don't change except that they can breathe and 'path underwater. Magical abilities vary. Centaurs are highly intelligent, with a love of knowledge that borders on reverence. Most land centaurs tend to have fierce tempers and war-like natures, usually running in tribal herds centered around battle. Pterocentaurs are sometimes warriors, sometimes scholars, but very often mages, more level-headed than their wingless counterparts. Mercentaurs are the most passive of all the centaurs, for the most part, though there are exceptions. They have strong healing capabilities and are exceedingly intelligent, patient, and very even-tempered. They are healers, scholars, and teachers.
  The average centaur is fifteen hands high at the withers (roughly five feet), and the human torso adds two and a half to three feet, making the average centaur eight to twelve feet tall. Fifteen hands is the size of a light breed horse; draft breed centaurs would be roughly seventeen to eighteen hands high, with a taller and broader human portion as well, and would probably be another foot or so taller.
  Realm:
  Centaurs: Land Realm.
  Mercentaurs: Water Realm.
  Pterocentaurs: Air Realm.
  Lifespan: 200 years.
  
• Changelings: This is a fairly uncommon species that can change form from human to a single animal shape. The clans are grouped into animal types: birds of prey, songbirds, bear, deer, canine, and the big cats. These clans are further separated into families: raptors (hawk, falcon, and eagle), songbirds (which mainly stay together), bear (polar, brown, black, and grizzly), deer (elk, white-tailed, caribou, and mule deer), canines (fox, wolf, coyote and the house-mutt), and big cats (tiger, lion, jaguar, and cheetah). There is also a clan of otter changelings who live out on the open ocean waters. Each Changeling has the ability to sense the animal/human half of another, they cannot sense a bond pair, however.
  They can only Change after their 18th birthday (the coming of age). After midnight of their 18th birthday they can change at any time, anywhere, and with practice can learn to include some clothing in their shifts so they aren't totally in the nude. The month before coming of age, their strength and agility grows quickly. The person's personality sometimes reflects what they will become; songbird and deer, for instance, are usually shy and reserved, and often times bears, the most temperamental, are high-strung and easy to anger.
  Realm: Realm of animal form.
  Lifespan: variable.
  
• City Elves: City elves are not elves in the traditional sense of being overly short, but they aren't very tall, either. Most stand between four and five feet, sometimes taller. They have life-spans of about 1000 years and because of this make good druids. They are hearty people and prone to quips.
  Realm: Land.
  Lifespan: 1000 years.
  
• Dragoons: Dragoons are basically elves with dragon wings. Some also have dragon claws. They have the same lifespan as city elves, and are most often serious and good fighters. Average height for a dragoon is slightly below average for humans.
  Realm: Fire.
  Lifespan: 1000 years.
  
• Elementals: Beings of a specific element. They usually prefer a humanoid form, as it helps them to be accepted, but can take on just about any form within their element that they wish. Elementals are only of the five main elements or subelements of them- Fire, Water, Air, Land, and Chaos- and are VERY rare. (Subelements of Fire are Heat, Flames, and Magma; subelements of Water are Ice, Steam, and Liquid; subelements of Air are Electricity, Wind, and Smoke; subelements of Land are Rock/Earth, Plants, and Metal; and subelements of Chaos are Spirit, Shadow, and Chaotic energy). Elementals of subelements are far more common than elementals of a full element (we WILL restrict elementals and what elements they can control). Elementals can control anything in their element or subelement, but drawing on too much of their element can make them forget any sentience they have, and so many only use their elemental power sparingly. Elementals ONLY bond with a creature of their element. In any form, they have aspects of their element- a fire elemental in humanoid form, for instance, will have red hair, sometimes on fire, red eyes, reddish complexion, etc, which often gets them mistaken for Chaos-spawn.
  Elemental characters will RARELY, if ever, be given to first-time players.
  Realm: Whichever element.
  Lifespan: Immortal unless killed.
  
• Gnomes: Gnomes are your basic all-around good people. They are prone to mischief every now and then, however. Their life-spans are about the same as an elf (1000 years) and many enjoy being smithies or bards. Gnomes can speak to animals, so many are also druids. Their heights usually range from three to four feet tall.
  Realm: Land.
  Lifespan: 1000 years.
  
• Half Elementals: Half elementals are the offspring of an elemental and a nonelemental. They have fixed forms- a half elemental with a human mother and an Earth elemental father will always be human in form, although with earth-colored hair, eyes, etc. They can only manipulate their element with either intense, draining concentration or during high emotion. They are dangerous, even if not intentionally so. When they get angry, grieved, or any strong emotion, anything of their element that is nearby will be affected. For instance, if a phoenix is nearby when a fire elemental becomes angry, the phoenix could be destroyed by its own fires. The phoenix's bond would most likely suicide, and the elemental would be killed or would barely escape onlookers with his or her life. Therefore, half elementals are NOT trusted, but feared and hated. They are normally tolerated if they don't harm anyone, but if they do, the mob often attacks... Tales of half elementals, along with tales of chaos, are sometimes used to scare children into obeying, and even very open minded people will often be wary or fearing or hateful of elementals (don't have your character be super-nice and openly accepting of a half-elemental- it's not realistic!). Half-elementals bond either in their realm or the realm of the other half: a half gnome could bond land, a half angel bond air, etc.
  Part-elemental characters will RARELY be given to first-time players.
  Realm: Their element's realm.
  Lifespan: as long as their mortal half.
  
• Humans: Yeah, we made it here too, even if not in quite the same sense. For one, the life-span is about 100 years on the island for the average human. They have excellent magical abilities and make outstanding healers.
  Realm: None (most affiliate themselves with Land).
  Lifespan: 100 years.
  
• Kenders: Short, cheery, mischievous people that don't grow above four feet. Nothing gets them down for long. They're like children in their innocence at times, and their cheery view of the world is a trademark of kenders- serious or depressed kenders are a rarity.
  Realm: Land.
  Lifespan: 150 years.
  
• Khori~nath: In their tongue, their name means "ancient ones." And indeed they are, with an average lifespan of 1000 years. They are the sea serpents of the deep waters, distant relatives of the water dragons. A fully grown Khori~nath ranges anywhere from 30 to 100 feet. They are built for speed and endurance; it is said that nothing in the water is faster than a Khori~nath traveling at top speed. They have an endless patience born of many years of life, and are slow to forget an insult. Their attitude is a calm, 'go with the flow' outlook on life. Khori~nath travel and live in pods, small groups of members, usually related by blood. Each pod has its own territory, somewhere out on the deep waters, where the water is thought to be bottomless. It is said that a pod knows everything that happens within its territory, from a hurricane to the death of an oyster. Khori~nath rarely associate with anyone outside their own kind; one traveling near land or even in 'shallow' waters is all but unheard of. They are mistrustful of intruders and will often attack ships that enter their territory. For this reason, often ships will have a mer or other waterborn creature that speaks the hissing tongue of the Khori~nath aboard to negotiate peaceful passage, as the Khori~nath can understand human speech but are unable to speak it themselves. When a clan member is dying, a rare event, the Khori~nath will often perform the "derramamiento", an exchange of blood of the dying member with a living one, usually kin. The memories of the old one are then passed on to the younger one, and in this way, history is not lost. Because of this they are often sought by historians wishing to know about ancient times; however, the Khori~nath will not give information to anyone they feel is not worthy of it.
  Realm: Water.
  Lifespan: 1000 years.
  
• Kitsune: At first glance, kitsune may be confused with fox anthros. Unlike anthros, however, kitsune have the ability to shapeshift into a fully-fox form. They also have up to nine tails, even in human form and a type of magic unique to them. More information can be found here.
  Realm: Fire
  Lifespan: 1000 years
  
• Merpeople: Most merfolk can change between legs and a tail at will and are about as tall as a human when on land. They are excellent bards and artisans as well as gifted mages.
  Realm: Water.
  Lifespan: 100 years.
  
• Wylraen Elves: Wylraen elves are pure blooded elves, unlike the city elves who have human blood mingled with the elven blood. The wylraen elves are tall, averaging around the upper end of six and a half feet in height, with well-defined features and a somewhat delicate build (similar to the elves of Tolkein and Forgotten Realms). Their skin has a strange, translucent silvery color, almost as if it holds the moonlight within it. Wylraen elves are reclusive, disdaining cities and humankind, preferring to stay within their own tribes and clans. The wylraen can be found in the forest canopy, the grasslands, the mountains, and even the desert, with their appearance differing slightly for each habitat. They are masters of camouflage and are never seen when they want to be seen. They are elite archers and swords masters, and excellent mages. When a non-elf or city elf meets a wylraen, which is rare, the impression they get is that of disdain and aloofness. The wylraen are beautiful and graceful, yet cold and distant. They're a strange and obscure race; few Unitians blame the city elves' ancestors for mingling with humans as they did.
  Realm: None (most affiliate themselves with Land).
  Lifespan: Immortal unless killed.

Aging Scale for Elder Races (wylraen, city elves, dragoons, gnomes, demons)

• baby 0-5: Relatively helpless, though they can probably learn to crawl and make noises and maybe even occasional words after a year or so?
• toddler 5-20: Talking, walking, playing games, etc. They might look like young children slightly past toddler age sometimes here, and maybe even talk relatively normally, but their emotional/psychological maturity is that of a toddler, and culturally they're treated as such.
• schooling/training age 20-150 (puberty at 110): Few to none of the longer-lived individuals start an apprenticeship before 30 years of age, unless it's an apprenticeship that doesn't involve reading and writing. Basic general schooling happens from 20 to 30. Their apprenticeships last longer as well, because their learning curve is a lot different. Like children, they're easily distracted and have short attention spans; once they hit puberty at 110, hormones kick in and they behave like any moody adolescent. Apprenticeship usually ends around 115-125, less for more focused individuals, more for the more delinquint types. Most will remain journeymen or journeywoman for the next 25 years at /least/, but probably longer.
• adult 150: The individual is an adult in the eyes of his culture, and more or less the equivalent of a human adult physically and psychologically (though of course there are exceptions on the psychological end). Some time around here, the individual probably reaches master rank in his guild.
• adult wylraen: 200-210: This is when wylraen stop aging. They're also considered adults at this point.
• middle aged 300
• over the hill 400
• old 600
• venerable 750
• max age 1000