THE RACES OF AVALON

'Elves' by Peter Bradley, used without permission.

The Races of Olde

THE BULLIWUGS

These amphibious humanoids rose from the waters of the great rivers all across Avalon. Of all the Old Races, the Bulliwugs advanced the least technologically, never mastering the use of any metals and using only naturally available materials for their weapons, tools and decorations. However, their mass reproductive style and closely guarded crèches have helped to ensure the Bulliwugs are the most widespread of the surviving Old Races.

Influence/Inspiration: Amazon River Basin
Religion: Worship of the River Mother
Technology: Stone Age
Known Sciences: Biology and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

Simple wood-frame huts with linen walls and thatch roofs built on stilts to escape seasonal flooding
Clothing consisted of simple hide loincloths/skirts with bone piercings, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry
Weapons were made of shaped stone or bone and included daggers, axes, spears and bows

THE BUGBEARS

These large, hirsute goblinoids emerged from the hills and mountains that run from Avalon's northern plains to its far south, including the Great Peninsula. Though they never managed the architectural achievements of their neighbor races, the bugbears' prodigious strength and mindless tenacity earned them a place in the ancient world. The species' innate hardiness and simple lifestyle have enabled large numbers of bugbears to survive into the present age.

Influence/Inspiration: Celtic
Religion: Worship of the Spirits (whether of their ancestors or entities of a more animist nature is unclear)
Technology: Early Medieval
Known Sciences: Biology, Geology, Mathematics and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

Simple wood-frame and animal hide walled huts or tents with earth floors
Clothing consisted of simple animal hides or leather in skirt or dress styles supplemented by various belts, metal or bone piercings, animal teeth or claws and heads from defeated enemies serve as jewelry
Warriors decorate themselves with body paint before any raid or battle
Weapons tended to be clubs, mauls or maces, often augmented by metal spikes

THE FOMORIANS

Giants, dude. Just a fancy name for giants. Believed to be the ancestors of the modern-day ogres.

Influence/Inspiration: Norse
Religion: Worship of a clan's own patron deity, whose fortune rises and falls, or even fails, along with the fortunes of the clan. These deities tend to be associated with aspects of the weather or the elements.
Technology: Iron Age
Known Sciences: Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Mathematics and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

The clan lord's Great Hall was the center of all fomorian civil organization
Clothing consisted of linen shirts and vests, fur or hide overcoats, leather trousers and boots with bracers, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry
Weapons were all known types for their technology progression

THE LAMMASUS

These close cousins of the sphinxes appeared in the lush grassland and jungle plains of central Avalon and much of their culture reflects that of the Lammasu’s desert dwelling relatives, however, their religious beliefs are clearly different. Additionally, the lammasus' step-pyramids served the purpose of temple, rather than tomb.

Influence/Inspiration: Aztec
Religion: Worship of the sun and moon as equal (not opposite) deities.
Technology: Bronze Age
Known Sciences: Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Mathematics, Physics and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

Cities built around plazas
Aztec style architecture but with ramps – not stairs
Clothing consisted of headdress, over-sized collars with bracers, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry
Weapons were ‘wrist’ daggers or tiger’s claws type affairs

THE SPHINXES

The winged, leonine sphinxes emerged from the wind-swept dunes and verdant oasis's of Avalon's arid central southwest. Their magnificent and opulent cities, with their open, expansive architecture and their colossal, trap laden pyramid tombs exist still among the drifting dunes of the Great Desert. The fanatically preserved remains of their dead reveals much about the way the sphinxes lived and the incredible riches that surround those mummified remains tells much about their beliefs.

Influence/Inspiration: Egyptian
Religion: Preservation/worship of ancestors and leaders.
Technology: Bronze Age
Known Sciences: Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Mathematics, Physics and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

Recounting ancestors back hundreds of generations
Cities built around plazas
Egyptian style architecture but with ramps – not stairs
Clothing consisted of headdress, over-sized collars with bracers, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry
Weapons were 'wrist' daggers or tiger's claws type affairs

THE TROGLODYTES

These reptilian creatures emerged from the jungles ranging from the northern plains to the deep swamps of the far south, including the Great Peninsula. Though they never managed the architectural achievements of the northern races, they produced iron and crude steel weapons and tools. Many believe that the present day Lizard Men are the regressed descendants of the once-mighty troglodytes.

Influence/Inspiration: African
Religion: Worship of the Egg-Mother and individual Tribal Fathers
Technology: Iron Age
Known Sciences: Biology, Geology and Thaumaturgy
Other Racial Traits:

Simple mud huts with thatch roofs
Clothing consisted of hide loincloths/skirts and woven linen shawls and shirts with various piercings, necklaces and bracelets for jewelry
Weapons were simple daggers or axes

The Races of the Virtues

THE DWARFS