Clash of Nights -- Races v.1.2

=====Human====HUMN)
--Humans are the second-most technologically advanced, and also the most adaptable, race of sentient beings. Their civilizations are spread far and wide; from the hottest, driest desert to the coldest, most uninhabitable tundra, you can rest assured that with time, humans will settle there. Those who are trained in combat might wield a myriad of weapons, depending on the individual's preference, whether it be primitive Sword and Spears, or more modern firearms and explosives. However, they do not hold the strength of Beastkin, nor the mental capacity or magical ability of Mages. Individuals that have much wealth under their belts may buy special armaments that improve their strength or mental capabilities, and even some weapons that hold powers mimicking that of lower-class magics(though this is, of course, a mere imitation, not holding nearly the strength of true magics).

In the end, however, their adaptability is their only truly defining strength. Humans are, overall, the weakest of all known sentient races, not being nearly the most intelligent, strongest, fastest, or even most technologically advanced.




=====Beastkin====BEAS)(Plural: Beastkin)
--Beastkin are unusual sentients, being not quite as adaptable as humans, nor nearly as technologically advanced, but undisputably stronger. Even the weakest of full-grown beastkin can match a full-grown human for strength--but the average beastkin can usually overpower one. They are often the most spiritual of the sentient races, having strong faiths in higher deities determined by the strain of Beastkin they represent. Having a Beastkin friend is considered to be either very lucky or very UNlucky, as many incredibly improbable occurences tend to take place around them, supposedly(by Beastkin beliefs) due to religious karma.

A Beastkin's strain will often denote their overall abilities--a feline will oft be more agile and limber than other strains of Beastkin, and so forth, though sub-strains exist that divide them even more specifically. Like humans, Beastkin are overall greatly adaptable, though only specific species may reside in some areas, such as desert, arctic, or jungle regions.

Though it has been determined that the possibility for Beastkin of differing strains to reproduce with non-sterile offspring exists, such offspring are seen as bastards, and are never fully accepted by the races of either parent. Cases in which bastard offspring are produced are most often kept secret, though it is believed that there exists a special haven for these bastards, where they may reside peacefully and without fear of the Taboo of the typical Beastkin society. An exception, however, is found for Mel-Beasts.

Beastkin who are trained in combat tend to favor more simple, primitive weaponry, such as spears, axes, hammers, bows, and blowdarts, though on rare occasion may take an interest in more modern armaments.




=====Mel-Beast====MELB)
--Mel-Beasts are the offspring of Humans and Beastkin(Feline more often than not), and possess distinctive traits of both races. The most common traits associated with their Beastkin ancestry are clawlike fingernails or retractable claws, fangs, slit pupils, the ears, the tail. On occasion, Mel-Beasts may also develop soft, downy fur along the neck, shoulders, chest, forearms, feet, and/or pubic areas as they mature. In such cases, the fur will never become as thick or coarse as that of Beastkin.

Mel-beasts retain some fraction of the abilities harbored by their Beastkin ancestors, whether this be their strength, agility, or otherwise. In 19 of every 20 births resulting from a coupling of Mel-Beasts and other Sentients, the offspring is entirely of the same race as the mother, with no trace of the father's genes. This often results in families with Mel-Beast fathers having unusually large numbers of offspring, in hopes of passing on the father's genes. Thus far, the record for the largest family borne of a particularly unlucky Mel-Beast father is 27 children.

It should be noted that Mel-Beasts, though holding strengths common to both Humans(adaptability) and Beastkin(strain traits) alike, are also highly susceptible to illnesses and disease. Beastkin also rarely if ever accept Mel-Beasts as full members of their societies. Humans and other Mel-Beasts, however, generally tend to be more accepting, save for occasional prejudiced peoples.




=====Mage====MAGE)
--Mages have existed for decades, but only recently have they, by popular vote, been declared as their own race. This is still highly controversial, as it is also believed that Mages are merely members of other races born with a sort of birth defect or disease. Mages have been born of Humans, Beastkin, Mel-Beasts, and still other races.

Mages are not defined by appearance. Prior to maturing, the only way to tell that a person may be a mage is by their attitude and mental capabilities--Mages have a tendency towards photographic memory and apparent nonchalant behavior towards anything but the acquisition of knowledge, and upon setting theirselves to tasks, show theirselves to be true perfectionists. Mages of any age show no strong emotion, whether it be hatred, love, intense sadness or happiness, or otherwise, and in fact rarely show any solid understanding of emotion whatsoever. Those who do are few and far between.

A Mage only becomes able to cast "Magics"(the term being used loosely and skeptically by scientists) upon maturing, and entering an "awakened" state. They are the only race that can truly cast magic--it cannot be taught, nor learned, but must develop naturally within the individual. There are nigh-constant studies that attempt to determine whether or not a Mage's magics are developed according to their environments, though no studies have been conclusive as of yet.

The one, absolutely unmistakable trait of a Mage becomes clear after they have Cast for the first time. Upon Casting, the pupils of their eyes become horizontally slit-shaped. Human religions have determined that for this trait if not for their magics, Mages are clearly "evil demons" and are "insufferable abominations to society", and are strongly prejudiced against them. As of yet, no scientific explainations have been concluded as to why Mages' eyes change, or as to why they are the sole race of being able to Cast naturally.




=====Skaeven====SKVN)
--Skaeven are presumed to be the oldest race, and rightfully so for their incredible lifespans. Though seemingly human, from nearly every thinkable feature save for their wings and horns, the average Skaeven lifespan is up to 850 years of human age. They mature at the same pace as humans until they reach adolescence, after which aging slows to a crawl.

Besides their lifespans, however, the key identifying trait is the pair of reptilian wings sprouting from their shoulder blades. These wings are very delicate during the early stages of life, and slowly become stronger as the individual grows. Upon reaching adolescence, they can be used in flight, and as the individual ages and trains their wings, they can ascend to greater altitudes. There are legends of centuries-old Skaeven who have soared to the moon. Scientists deem it impossible, but is it, truly?

Having supposedly existed for millenia, Skaeven have adapted and grown tolerant to all climates. They are few in number, however, and live in secrecy for having been poached by bounty hunters and dark practitioners of various races. Horns, heads, and wings sold on the black market have lead to newly erected mansions and estates by peoples whose names were never previously known.

In legend, Skaeven are depicted taking the forms of dragons when provoked. Is this the truth? This race remains greatly shrouded in mystery...




=====Self-Sustaining Engineered Bio-Mechanical Organism (S.E.B.O.)====SEBO)

--The existence of SEBOs has been known for barely longer than the existence of Mages. They are the most technologically advanced race by a wide margin, and have hid their existence for an indefinite time via powerful cloaking devices before finally revealing theirselves to the world of their own accord.

They have kept all of their own technological advances secret, but with being as confined as they are, know little to nothing of the world outside of their ever-small civilization. It is believed that human technological advances may have been brought about by finding small fragments of abandoned objects left behind by the SEBOs.

SEBO stands for Self-Sustaining Engineered Bio-Mechanical Organism. As was only fairly recently revealed, they are not entirely made of metal, but are actually living organs fused to an unknown alloy that ages with the individual. They reproduce through manufacturing. Their lifespans are unknown, as is how they obtain the organs used in manufacturing more individuals.

Due to the tremendous firepower available to them with their incredible technology, many fear the race as a whole for the possibility of their taking over the world with higher numbers. However, SEBOs, as a society, strongly disagree with war--or even violence in general. They claim that this is partially due to the logic that they would rather not endanger their already-low numbers, and also because they highly value Order, whereas a time of war would throw their society into an unwanted chaos.

SEBOs value logic greatly--being an absolute opposite to most humans, who value emotion over logic most of the time. However, unlike Mages, who seem completely incapable of feeling Love or Hatred, SEBOs can feel all emotions, but keep them well-hidden, deeming them as unnecessary for social acivity. Their logics, however, can easily vary from individual to individual.




====aemon====MON

--The Daemon race holds terrible persecution due to their appearances, particularly by followers of Human religions, though other races also persecute them at times. They never truly made a race name for theirselves, and so Humans, upon discovering them, dubbed them as "Daemons" for their appearances. They are on neutral grounds with Mages, who see them for what they truly are, SEBOs, who also have taken the time to calculate them as a race and deem them harmless, and Skaeven, with whom they have supposedly coexisted since the race's origins.

Daemons hold an astounding resemblance to Demons of lore, having almost reptilian-textured skin with black to reddish hues, forked and pointed tails, and horns on their heads. Though they come in many shapes, sizes, and hues, the one most particular way to divide the race into subgroups(known as Lesser, Greater, or Arch-Daemon) is by determining whether or not they have wings. Those with no wings are considered "Lesser" Daemon, those with two or three are dubbed "Greater" Daemon, and those with four or more are known as "Arch" Daemon. This applies even if, by chance, wings are removed.

However, their fearsome appearances(and sometimes brash attitudes) belie their gentle natures. At worst, one might injure a person to preserve the well-being of a dear friend.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Daemon race is due to their incredible metabolisms and peculiar digestive systems. Due to their metabolisms, Daemons regenerate wounds at rates once believed to be absolutely impossible. One who might've had their entire arm flayed would have new skin by the next day. Mostly living underground, their primary diets consist of various rocks and minerals; gemstones are considered a delicacy among their kinds, different minerals having very distinct tastes to their tongues. These minerals toughen their skin and make their bodies nigh impenetrable by any but the most technologically advanced weaponry, such as plasma weapons engineered by SEBOs or firearms from humans. Even explosions would barely do more than rattle a Daemon with a proper diet.

None of this, however, says anything for their low intelligence. Though the toughest race by a wide margin, Daemons have terribly low intelligence, full-grown adults possibly being outwitted by human children.




LIFESPAN CHART


HUMN: 72-84 Years
BEAS: 54-67 Years
MELB: 65-76 Years
MAGE: ????? (race dependent?)
SKVN: 780-860 Years
SEBO: ?????
DMON: 156-230 Years