Humans

Driven from the west in ancient times by a vast Orc migration, humans have settled and occupied lands in the centre of the continent. Once a primitive society, they have evolved and progressed to rival even the elder races for supremacy. Humans are the dominant racial group on the continent, their populations broken into different regions and realms. Aside from these, there are several other distinct cultural groups that exist within the larger realms, preserving traditions and customs of long-dead empires. Most of the people populating these countries have little opportunity for free movement, and so adventuring provides an escape for many. Fleeing otherwise plain and boring lives, many ply the roads as travellers, always eager for some new challenge or threat to face.

Human Realms

Swidnica Steppes

Swidnica is a large swathe of territory in the northern part of the continent. Mostly a large area of tundra and steppe, it was once a vast fertile grassland. Forming the extreme reaches of the Noreyan Empire, the lands here helped to feed the booming civilization that grew in the north. After the Aetherbreach, however, the lands became poisoned. Now they are fit only for grazing, the Swidnicans driving their herds of cattle and horses across them in droves. A fairly foreboding people, Swidnicans are traditional and very conservative. They travel and live in tight-knit communities, and are wary of any outside of those groups. They pride themselves on being honest and simple, preferring practicality over any sort of vain decoration. This attitude is helped by the constant conflict they face, keeping the horrors of the Aetherbreach at bay. Their sacrifices keep them safe, and by proxy the other realms as well. This reality has made the Swidnicans quite bitter towards their southern neighbours; a relationship that more resembles rivalry than anything else.

Princedom of Premyslid

The people of Premyslid are dour and restrained, living in and among the Karska mountains. The land itself is heavily forested, gradually giving way to the Swidnican steppe in the east and the plains of Arran in the south. Life in the mountains is hard, and it shows in the people who live here. Hard workers, they are earnest and strong in their convictions. A deeply conservative and religious culture, the mountain folk are quite insular, their settlements isolated by the vast distances between them and other foreign cities. As such, few in the region ever try to leave, content in their own rural lives. The nobility of the realm has total control over their subjects, living a decadent lifestyle at their expense. Seen mostly as a backwards realm by outsiders, it nonetheless has considerable wealth; wealth which it uses to fund its defence and maintain its independence.

Routot Confederacy

The Routot are the dominant cultural group on the continent. Occupying a series of small petty kingdoms, their lands are united into a grand confederacy, ruled over by an Archduke elected from the aristocracy. This hierarchy, while giving their society some structure, is also very prone to undermining. Political conflicts are common among the kingdoms, with factions drawn along both regional and historical ties. While these fights rarely escalate to outright conflict, it does create an atmosphere of tension across the realm. This trickles down to all levels of society, with each Routot seeking to carve out his own place in the world and climb the social ladder. With a reputation for being contentious and dishonest, it is a wonder their neighbours rarely trust Routot intentions. Bound together for mutual trade and defence, the Routot are an exceptionally powerful group, only limited by their mistrust of one another. They are extremely common as mercenaries across the continent. Especially so in the Midlands, where their ambitions can be sated to their fullest.

Kingdom of Arran

The Arran are a fairly dominant force among the human realms, having risen to rival the Noreyan Empire in its dying days. Since then, the Arrans have competed with the Routot for supremacy over their surroundings, with numerous conflicts and battles between them over the centuries. The Kingdom of Arran is a fairly diverse place, having been originally several separate groups united by a single conqueror. This original conquest was fuelled by the Arran friendship with the Dwarves, their traded weapons and armour propelling them to great heights. Arrans maintain these bonds with the Dwarves of the mountains, being the primary allies of the Dwarf High King. Within their borders, Arrans clump together in their various ethnic groups, relatively segregated from one another. This gives their cities a patchwork feel, with distinct differences in culture depending on the neighbourhood or region. Many Arrans have used their skills at managing prejudices to become successful traders, travelling the breadth of the world to hock their wares.

Firdach Highlands

The eastern realm of the human lands, it is a mix of inhospitable marshland and rocky highlands. Neither provides the foundations for empire, and so the Firdach has long been left to stagnate as a backwater. The area is mostly two distinct regions, though to any outsiders it might as well be one. The highlanders are rough and angry people, raiding down into the Routot lands and scratching a living off of rocks. The lowlanders are much more similar to the Routot, and conduct trade with the Elves. The two groups are at odds about their path forward in the world. The lowlanders wish to emulate their more successful neighbours, raising themselves from the marsh to become a trading empire. The anchor around their necks has proven to be their rural cousins, who have dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world. With strife between them a near constant, it is little surprise to find the two groups have entrenched bias towards the other. Nonetheless, they are united by language and culture, and come together more often than not when pressed or threatened.

The Midlands

The Midlands are a diverse cluster of various petty kings and lords. Founded by crusaders in a centuries ago fight against the Orcs of the region, the lands that remain are fractured and dangerous. Adventurers and warlords hold sway in the centre of the realm, while the remnants of crusader states cling to their meagre holdings in the west. A series of large trading towns line the bay that cuts into the region, forming two separate factions that war with each other for control of the coastline. All of this conflict is interrupted by periods of relative calm, or unity to repel raids by the Orcs to the south. Dwarf holds scatter across the region, lending their influence to the people here. Elves too have several colonies in the region, eager to curb Dwarf control over the human settlements. All of the peoples of the world come together in the Midlands, making each town unique and defying any blanket description of the area.

Comati

The Comati are an ancient people, having lived beyond the badlands far to the south. Truly the first human empire, before even the Noreya came to prominence, their realm was torn apart from within by a great civil war. Pressured by the Orc migrations, they fell and were scattered. Since that time, the Comati have rarely settled, instead roaming as nomads until their lands are returned to them. Travelling in great caravans, they move through the human lands as entertainers, traders, and labourers. They are generally mistrusted, similar to the Noreya, treated with superstition and even outright hostility in some cases. They hate Orcs more than most other humans, owing to them the downfall of their once great people.