I am rewriting huge chunks of GH canon for a recurring home campaign setting. Please let me know what you think...
Gnomes don't yet exist, because I can't find a way to make them "not Halflings". I'm toying around with them as "related to Dwarves", but there's not much that I can pull from that.
Dwarven society is built around one simple fact: Only a quarter of Dwarves are born female. (I'll let that sink in for a bit.) As one would expect, their society is matriarchal and polyandrous, and structured around a very rigid and somewhat complex clan/class system. Dwarven males must prove their worth before being considered for marriage into a clan, generally through mining, crafting, adventuring, or war. Some Dwarves rebel against the structure, and take up adventuring or become sellswords.
Dwarven regions are considered plutocracies, and would look nearly Fascist to a modern observer. However, there is a fair amount of mobility among the Clans, and there are a number of outlets for the individuals serving them. Also, very few Dwarves complain about a rigid social structure.
Strangely enough, it is an open question among non-Dwarven scholars whether Dwarven women are bearded or not.
Elven society is ancient, decadent, and very post-modern. Their society is based on transient cliques and fads, and complicated political maneuverings impenetrable to non-Elves. About all we can say is that Elven politics are definitely based on popularity, although there is no apparent structure or mechanism through which political power is concentrated and exercised. (Picture high school, but worse.)
Many Elves find themselves unpopular or rejected, and find themselves spending a few years in Human lands, or even adventuring. Some find a purpose in their new homes or careers that they didn't find amongst the fads and cliques of their homeland.
Sadly, the self-named High Elves are a faint echo of the Grey Elves who were the first sentient race, who named everything, and who discovered the first keys to magic.
Halflings are related to Humans, just as Goblins are related to Orcs. Halfling society is based largely on a symbiotic relationship with Human society; Halflings are tinkers, farmers, vets, artisans, midwives, nannies, etc. Halfling society is very decentralized, with politics extending no farther than town councils and village elders. It's considered acceptable to adventure for a few years before settling down into a trade, but old adventurers are looked at with a mix of pity and jealousy.
Every few years, Halflings in a region will hold a Trademoot, a huge trade fair. Many Halflings attend, seeking mates, trade, news, and such. It’s a big deal for many, and there is some inadvertent xenophobia towards the Big Folk. Some discussion among the town council members and village elders happens at a Trademoot, but there is no formal arrangement or structure.
Humanoids (Orcs, Goblins, etc) are not just savages, a mere bath and education away from ourselves; they are truly tainted with Evil. Even the most pious Half-Orc feels the pull towards the darkness., although he may resist it.
Interesting concepts. Thanks for making dwarven society non-fascist. It distresses me that so many these days equate "disciplined" with "oppressive" - the two are in no way related!
It's a pity you couldn't incorporate gnomes. I remember once playing in a campaign where gnomes were very fey, magical creatures. They inhabited a position in relation to elves similar to that of the halflings you describe in relation to humans. They were, however, much averse to human civilization in that campaign, and didn't like large settlements of any kind.
I'm curious: what are you doing with half-orcs? And how do the drow, valley elves, duergar, and humanoid races fit in?
Thanks for the feedback. I see Dwarven settlements as being similar to Tokugawa Japan, with clans competing for power, although there's no central emperor as such. The Shogun position would also change a bit more than it did in Japan.
Half-Orcs will absolutely have some issues operating in this social environment; I would see their situation similar to that of a black man in post-Civil War America. Tieflings would be in the same boat. It should be said that there are many examples of both races who are successful and contributing members of society, if anyone is willing to just look around.
The Drow are nearly unknown; they haven't been seen or heard from in centuries, but adventurers sometimes come back from deep underground with tales of encountering them. (Basically, I'm returning to the AD&D Drow.)
Duergar are in a similar situation; Dwarves know of them, but they're not a concern for most of the world.
Most Humanoid races are tainted by Evil with a capital E, hence the Half-Orcs having issues with acceptance. I originally wanted Orcs and Goblins to be "related", but I think the Goblin-Hobgoblin-Bugbear family will remain (and will all be Lawful). Orcs will be related to Ogres, and may get a bit of a stat boost and a "smaller cousin" similar to Goblins.
I forgot to add it, but Humans are the traders, explorers, and such. There's a fair amount of animosity between the races, but all view Humans favorably. An Elf wouldn't deal with a Dwarf, but he'd gladly buy a Dwarven-forged sword from a Human.
Basically, I'm driving a bit of a wedge between the races, but I'm driving a very big wedge between the demi-humans and the humanoids. I'm hoping this will move the feel of the campaign back towards AD&D, and away from the "anything goes" feel that ends up with a party made up of traditionally monstrous characters.
I'm also revisiting Demons and Devils, and changing a lot of pre-history, but that's another topic entirely.
Just a thought that might be of use to you. In one of my old campaigns I pitted the goblinoids (bugbears, hobgoblins, goblins, xvarts) against the orcs (including ogres, orcs, and a couple of homebrew orc variants). The two "tribes" fought constantly for territory and resources. Basically, I depicted both sides as Native American tribes - with the exception that they both deserved to be discriminated against. The players had a great time with this dichotomy, and used it to their advantage several times.
I don't know if anyone here is familiar with Savage Worlds, but I'm using it as the rules system for my next GH campaign. I'm taking the opportunity to return to the flavor of earlier editions, yet also to add my own twists on things.
Intentions: The Human subraces can be recreated with the basic SW character creation rules, if you start as Human. These are simply how I see the subraces, and will act as NPC guidelines. Mixed races (and even purebloods) can be anything the player wants.
Nonhuman races cannot be emulated using the basic SW rules; they have elements that are not available in character creation (size, enhanced vision, etc). The exception is Half-Elf, but that's close enough. Normal character creation rules give Humans an extra Edge; the nonhumans may look more powerful because they don't have this bonus.
Gnomes are about 2.5' tall, and are distantly related to Dwarves. Halflings are 3-4' tall, and are distantly related to Humans.
Here are the races and subraces in SW lingo:
Humans - Basic Savage Worlds Human template.
Bonuses: Free Edge
Penalties: None
Suel (Human subrace) - Arrogant and possessing a natural magical talent.
Bonuses: Edge: Arcane Background (Magic), +1 Free Edge
Penalties: Hindrance: Arrogace (major)
Baklunish (Human subrace) - Blessed by Al-Akbar or born in the saddle.
Bonuses: Edge: Arcane Background (Miracles) or d6 Riding, +1 Free Edge
Penalties: Hindrance: Vow (Al-Akbar - major if caster, minor if Rider)
Flan (Human subrace) - The least prosperous of the subraces, but the most capable of handling it.
Bonuses: d6 Survival, +1 Free Edge
Penalties: Hindrance: Poverty (minor)
Oeridian (Human subrace) - Prone to violence, and dangerous when provoked.
Bonuses: d6 Shooting or Fighting, +1 Free Edge
Penalties: Hindrance: Quirk (Short-Tempered, minor)
Dwarf - Resilient and tough against magic, poison, or physical damage; loyal to friends, clans, and ideals.
Bonuses: d6 Vigor, Low Light Vision, Edge: Arcane Resistance
Penalties: Pace: 5, Hindrance: Loyal (minor)
Elf - Social butterflies whose culture is built on popularity.
Bonuses: +2 Charisma, Low Light Vision
Penalties: -2 to resist effects of cold
Gnome - Very short mechanics, archivists, and craftsmen.
Bonuses: d6 Agility, Low Light Vision, Edges: McGyver, Scholar.
Penalties: Size -2 (-2 Toughness, -2 to incoming attack rolls you're aware of), Pace 4, Strength x2 cost to improve.
Halfling - More bucolic Hobbit than anything in 3.x.
Bonuses: d6 Stealth, Edges: Lucky, Alertness.
Penalties: Size -1 (-1 Toughness, -1 to incoming attack rolls you're aware of), Pace 4.
Some rationale: I didn't give Elves or Halflings a bonus to Agility because I don't see it as necessary to the race. Most character of those races will probably have high Agility scores, but it's not mandatory.
Gnomes are a tough one, since the toolkit I used doesn't give a value to the Size modifier. I could be way off on the valuation of them (and Halflings, to a lesser extent).
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