Peoples of Antire

General

The peoples and creatures of Antire draw on normal fantasy types, but tend to be less stereotyped. While “other-ism” tends to be as strong as in other worlds, it is more likely to manifest on geographic lines as racial or species lines. Cultures can vary greatly and tend to be defined more by geography than race or species.

Among the “two legged” kinds, there are three major families: Humanic, Gnomic, and Rishic. Humanic and gnomic species are both mammalian and tend to intermingle while the rishic peoples tend to keep to their own species.

When Antirans refer to intelligent, "two legged" beings, they tend to use their languages' term for people over "man" or "human." When referring to what we may call a race or subrace, "clade" is the preferred term.

Humanic Peoples

The humanics of Antire are most similar to the classic fantasy elves (fwyr, shadyn), humans (myrn), halflings (bryn), and a people akin to half-orcs(pathfinder) or goliaths (D&D 5E/2024) (jotyr, orcs as such are not present in Antire). All humanic clades are able to interbreed although the bryn nd jotyr are least likely to do so. While each has tendencies towards certain types of lifestyle, it is a function of culture and history more than genetics. A fwyr may be a fire wielding forge mage, a bryn could be a sailor, and a jotyr the most learned scholar in a university. In Antire's languages, these are all humans and tend to be viewed as subspecies and even breeds rather than separate species.

Fwyr - tied in myth to deep forests, the fwyr are the closest to the classic elf archetype: lithe and fair, tending to be 3-1/2 to almost 4 cubits tall. They tend be artisans rather than artists. They are the longest lived of the gnomics and humanics, and so tend to also have the most magic users. Fwyr focused cultures tend towards magics that draw on forest and animals.
Shaddyn - tied in myth to the plains and hills ,the shaddyn are lithe like their close cousins, the fwyr, but tend be shorter in stature and swarthy or darker in complexion. Shaddyn focused cultures on Oenklay tend to be industrialized with fire, earth, and esoteric magic being common. While industrialized, Shaddyn focused cultures tend to not be as urban as myrn or bryn and favor towns and settlements over cities.
Myrn - tied in myth to coastal plains and woodlands, they tend to be mid complexioned and a bit more stout than the fwyr and shaddyn and average slightly taller. Farming, trade, and city building are common traits. Because of their urbane and mercantile nature, they tend to be seen as the most populous group, but this isn’t quite true. They’re just the most likely to be encountered. They and the jotyr are the shortest lived humanics. In myrn focused cultures, their magic users tend towards weather, divination, and earth although they tend to be the more varied than other cultures. Overall, myrn tend to have fewer specialized magic users per capita, but many of those advance their skills further than in other humanic clades.
Jotyr - tied in myth to plains and hills like the shaddyn, they tend towards skin complexions more commonly seen in the hair color of other humanic than skin tones. Most range from straw to fawn to dark cinnamon and often are mottled. Jotyr are the bulkiest and tallest of the humanics. They tend to be tribal more than other humanics and this, along with their size, tends to give them a reputation for savagery that is unfounded. Jotyr focused cultures on Oenklay and western Larleoge tend to have a deeper connection to magic with many knowing one or two spells despite having fewer magical specialists. Their magic users tend towards nature, weather, and divination.
Bryn - tied in myth to inland plains and woodlands, bryn are almost as cosmopolitan as myrn. They are craftspeople and farmers although less inclined to long voyages than myrn. They are the smallest of the humanics, rarely exceeding 2 cubits or so in height and are much longer lived than myrn and jotyr. On Oenklay, a cultural propensity for legerdemain and illusion tends to create a reputation for being tricksters rather than magic users.

Gnomic Peoples

The gnomics are more deeply tied into the natural fabric of the world both culturally and intrinsically. Gnomes(homeg), dwarfs(petreg), goblins(vedeg), hobgoblins(urveg), bugbears(suveg), and tieflings/aasimar (alfeg) all have deeper connections to the world than humanics do - it's part of their make up, not just their culture or habits. Vedeg, urveg, and suveg are most closely related but even homeg and petreg will interbreed on occasion. In Oenklay, racism between homeg and petreg on one hand and vedeg and even urveg and suveg on the other is the norm more than the exception. Alfeg tend to stay aloof from the other groups, but not always. Other gnomic groups exist: ogres and various aquatics offshoots of the main branches are also gnomic.

Homeg - tied in myth to forest and hills, the homeg tend towards earth toned complexions and are the shortest in stature although longest lived. They have a reputation for using illusion and magics that manipulate objects.
Petreg - tied in myth to mountains and the deep underground, the petreg tend towards cooler earth tones than homeg. They are medium statured, shorter than most humanics but also bulkier. Their magical reputation rests on elemental magics of all varieties.
Vedeg - tied in myth and legend to swamps, mountains, hills, and any cast off place, the vedeg are short and big headed. With a history of being colored green (allegedly, vedeg are all greedy thieves) in racist art by homeg and petreg, vedeg are as likely to be swarthy or gray skinned as they are to be pale green. Unfortunately, the strength of the stereotype is such that banditry and thievery are often the only available option for many vedeg who don't wish to serve as slaves to another master. Being regularly downtrodden, magic vedeg majority cultures tends to focus on illusion and trickery.
Urveg - tied in myth to forest and coastal plains, the homeg are larger than myrn, but smaller then jotyr. Racism directed towards them tends to drive them towards unciv clans and tribes vs subjecting themselves to the "civilized" barbarism of other peoples. A recessive gene enables some to breathe water as readily as air. Two parents who both have this gene will produce children who share this trait so many urveg (also known as marveg) take to the sea. Urveg have a propensity for both destructive and life giving magic.
Suveg - tied in myth to wild places, the suveg are the most hirsute and largest, by far, of the common gnomics. On Oenklay, they receive little welcome in "civilized" areas except as lower class workers and often become slaves. Thus, they gravitate to unciv clans given the chance. They often become bandits, join pirate crews, or otherwise fall in with groups that put violence first. This creates a vicious cycle that perpetuates myths that suveg are genetically barbarous. Suveg cultures tend to be brutal and individuals rarely see the opportunity to become skilled magicians, but when they do, illusion and death magics tend to predominate.
Alfeg - Alfeg are born seemingly at random to parents from other humanic or gnomic clades. The are tied in myth and legend to any place that is underground, mysterious, or closely connected with the theurge lines that criscross Antire. They tend towards urban, subterraneanm, or remote environments and rarely find homes in villages or other small setttlements. Magic use is very common and tends towards life, death, or flame magic.

Rishic Peoples

The rischics of Antire are the kobolds(lesser dragonkin), dragonborn(dyna), and lizard folk(saur). They mingle with the gnomics and humanics far less and tend to keep to themselves in general. In addition to the three main clades discussed, more bird-like clades also fall into this grouping.

Kobolds - genetically nocturnal, lesser dragonkin tend to find themselves living subterranean lifestyles and often completely segregated into their own underground settlements. When they do find themselves in mixed cultures, they tend to be consigned to servile classes. This is particularly true on Oenklay where memories of the Pestilence mean they are seen as villains and vermin. This tends to reinforce the tendency to worship dragons and paint themselves both symbolically and literally as descendents of dragons.
Dyna - The rarity of dyna in general tends to force them to either live in hinterland tribes or in small clusters within large cities. The truth of their descent from dragons is hotly debated - some argue dragons are another branch of rishic people and not part of the dyna lineage. This difference of opinion tends to split them into even smaller groups. Those that favor the descent from dragons hypothesis often insist on being called dragonkin (a translation of their name from ancient Oenklayan) or dragonborn.
Saur - Saurian (not reptilian!) humanoids, there are two major morphs: terrestrial and coastal (aquatic). The coastal morph more common in Oenklay. They hardly ever interact, let alone integrate, with non-saur groups. This leads to distrust which isn't helped by the number of saur that seem to see anyone not a member of their tribe, clan, or crew as a fair prey. The general view of saur isn't helped by several Shatterend pirate crews being exclusively saurian. Peaceful groups in Imsea Marsha and Imsea Wood tend to be overlooked by other peoples.

Author's notes

I grouped traditional fantasy elves with humans, haflings, and "big 'uns" mostly due to the legacy of Elrond Half-Elven from Tolkien. Tolkien more than implies that halflings (hobbitses) are evolving to become more and more like "men" and orcs/goblins are bred from elves.

For a long time, I lumped the gnomic groups together with humaninc, but decided to split them out to add some variety and fuel a few other plot lines. Why choose "gnomic"? Simple - it seems easier to say.

The term "rishic" is derived from "Saurischia", the parent clade of therapods - that's dinosaurs and birds. I was going to call this group "Theric" based on therapod, but:

The Greek route of therion means "beast". I wanted to avoid the association of people with beasts.
"Therian" is a term used by people who identify as animals. Again, I wanted to avoid the association.