Races
Human
Source: Players Handbook
Humans are the most numerous of the player races in Avonia. While they may not control the strongest magics or have the most wisdom compared to other societies, it is man that has left the large imprints on the world. Found in almost any corner of the world, humans can be just as varied as their real-world counterparts.
- Brax: The humans in Brax are tempered by the harsh conditions of their homeland and fierce political struggle of the Great Houses. To outsiders, Braxians are obsessive about their craft, whatever it may be. To them, it is simply a way to obtain worth in a land that can be cold and forbearing. Many notable, if not one-track minded, individuals have emerged from Brax. The savannas and swamps of Brax help support the barbarian tribes and other opportunists by providing a wide range of game and many ruins from the several failed civilizations of the past.
- Jih-jen Yi: Respect and honor are the two greatest virtues of the people of Jihjen Yi, known as the Yi-tau. People see the actions of an individual as a direct reflection as the actions and virtues of the family to which that person came from. Therefore, a Yi-tau knows someone as a liar then they assume that the entire family supports falsehoods. It is because of this mentality that self-betterment is a common thought to all Yi-tau since it brings great respect and honor to themselves and to their family.
- Farland: Humans first appeared on Nostandor in Farland. Here magic is apart of nearly everyone's daily life. While not everyone can use magic (in fact, the percentage of people who can is barely larger than most other countries), most find it common to use a device during the day that is magically opperated. Social life and community is important to the humans in Farland, which is modelled after the old elven way.
- Kasagon: When outsiders think of Kasagonians they think of drones working for the Empire. To a Kasagonian, there is no greater feeling than the sense of national pride and the strength that it brings with it. Kasagonians come across as a little arrogant thanks to their sense of nationalism. Serving the Empire, whether it be through doing your daily work to the fullest or serving in the military, is of great importantce. Adventurers and other thrill-seekers are often seen as rebels or slackers, unless they pay the hefty tax on treasure-seeking to the Empire.
- Nordan: Nordanites are divided into two groups of people. The first subgroup is the Templaedans, who migrated from Farland and settled in present-day north western Nordan. The Templaedans are very charismatic and lend themselves naturally to polotics and business. The Mekain is the second subgroup of Nordanites. Mekain is the collective name for the animal totem-worshiping barbarian tribes that have their lineage traced back to the first Templaedan migrators.
- Leness: Lenessians (often mistakenly called 'Lenessans') are probably the most freedom-loving of the humans. With a large sense of pride from their 'advanced' form of government, Lenessians are thought of often as care-free people. The freedom that Lenessians enjoy leads them to follow their dreams and has produced a great number of walks of life. Lenessians are often more accepting of outsiders than people from other nations, as they believe that everyone should be given the benifit of the doubt and have a second chance.
- Seleryanna: Seleryanna is made up of several countries. The people of each country have a unique outlook and set of customs.
Dwarf
Source: Players Handbook
Dwarves are found in nearly any moutian range and hilly region throught the world. Although customs may change from one group to another, all dwarves share a few common traits, such as their views on friendship, humor, and society.
- Mountian Dwarves: Moutian Dwarves in Avonia are the most numerous. High above the world in their monolithic keeps and mines, mountian dwarves have a deep sense of loyalty to their clan and to all creation that sees value in the life of another. Their armies are strict and proud and their wisdom is well grounded.
- Hill Dwarves: To their rockey brethren, hill dwarves are flighty and unpredictable. To most other races, however, there is little difference between the two races besides where they live. Digging deep into the soil until they find rock or other valuables, hill dwarves are slightly impulsive and less organized, although loyalty to their clan is still a chief concern to them. Hill dwarves in Brax are very likely to have formed a barbarian tribe that may have several non-dwarven members.
Elan
Source: Expanded Psionics Handbook
The elan (pronounced Ell-on' by themselves, El-an' by most others) call themselves a race from an alternate dimmention that are seeking escape into the Material Plane. They do this by having their energy-like bodies transplanted into human hosts through a device known as a birthing chamber. While several scholars are refuting their claim, few can deny that once a human leaves an elan birthing chamber he or she is a completely different person.
A 'young' elan typically seems disjointed and out of touch with the world. Sometimes a memory or idea from their host may come to surface, however no elan has ever recalled any large or meaningful part of the host's life. 'Older' elans can be as varied as humans themselves. They don't tend to act like elves do as they age since they are easily accepted in human-dominant lands.
On the Material Plane, elans do not have a homeland. They rairly talk about where they came from, often times refering to it as a place of bright light where elans are solid energy and the only tangible objects are made of crystal.
Elan Research
Archmage Palvaris Tenoro is a prominent scholar on psionics and has written several works dealing with the illithid, elans, and the psionic phenomenon. In one of his works he strongly supports the theory that an elan is not a creature that requires a host, but rather that the birthing chambers is simply a psionic device that awakens psionic potential within a human. In the process, the activity of the brain is "corrupted", giving the "host" a strange form of amnessia that he can never recover from. Although some thoughts may rise to the surface once in a while, the "host" never remembers that those memories where his. Archamge Palvaris also mentions that the reason why elans can only be born out of human hosts is probably the same reason why true illithid also require human hosts.
Another theory about elans that is of great concern to many religions thorught Avonia suggests than the elan birthing chambers actually place either a second soul or replace the soul inside of the body. This theory would explain why a new-born elan never enters the world with any real memory of where they have been or any skills beyond basic speach and motor skills.
Elf
The elven race is said to be the eldest race in the world.
Gnome
