The Peoples of Urdas

“Race” in Urdas is a biological lineage, a cultural community and a post-war political label all at once. Demon, Dragon, Elf — none of these tells you a person’s position, profession or morality.

Character creation offers thirteen races so the gameplay entry points are clear. People inside the world care far more about where you were born, which family, which faith, which guild, and what you chose.

The thirteen races

Demon

Physically and magically far beyond humans. After the Divine Age war they were cast as the calamity opposed to the gods and driven into the barren far north — but “Demon” was always an outside label, and residents of Abyss City are more likely to introduce themselves by clan, hearth district or house name. Not all of them are hostile to anyone; a great many learned to hide their features long ago and have been living quietly inside human society ever since. Generations without arable land made them expert at fungus cultivation, heat-well farming, salvage repair and strict rationing. High mana capacity costs them worse childhood loss of control and worse medium backlash.

Dragon

In the distant past they ruled this continent as an upper race. Their descendants can rarely take dragon form any more, and scales, horns, heat tolerance and build all vary by lineage — but the name alone still makes an enemy think twice. Strongly built, able to carry heavy weapons and work in high heat, with correspondingly higher food intake, custom equipment costs and water transport costs. Cold stiffens the joints of some lines: “immune to fire” is not a species-wide rule. A dragon whose ancestral blood awakens can ascend to High Dragon, keeping the full Dragon power set.

Dwarf

The finest craft tradition on Urdas. Towns organise around forges, mine roads and communal halls, and craft knowledge is held jointly by master, family and guild — copying a formula without permission is treated far more seriously than stealing the finished object. Short, but sturdy enough to hold a line under a direct charge; well adapted to dust, though a long mining career still brings lung disease and hearing loss. Bringing a jar of the local drink is a reliable way to make friends, but that drinking culture comes from replacing salt after a shift, not from every dwarf being fond of it.

Elf

Excellent physique and the highest elemental affinity of any people. Their ancestors’ scholarship went deep enough to spread elven magic across the whole continent, and they are said to have been born blessed by natural law, with some old connection to the Winged Spirits. Long lives make them good at maintaining cross-generational projects and let one political failure be resented for centuries. Acute perception has its own cost: city noise, industrial smells and dense magitech lighting genuinely exhaust them.

Human

The most common people on Urdas, with national, class and regional differences far larger than any shared custom. Humans have no innate advantage at all, and a will to survive no other people can match; fed on tavern stories, becoming a top-rank adventurer is the dream a great many of them keep quiet about. Their real talent is turning other peoples’ techniques into something trainable and reproducible. That produced the Guild and public medicine. It also produced imperial ordnance and ecclesiastical censorship.

Kitsune

An old people, skilled at commanding fire and souls and capable of immortal arts to a degree. They still carry a duty inherited from the ancient Divine Age and mostly live apart from the world, concentrated in the Yoran archipelago and the eastern coastal expatriate districts, known for house-shrines, incense trade and memory illusions. In some lineages the number of tails grows with soul compacts; it is not a general index of age or rank. Overusing substitution and memory work blurs their own recollection along with everyone else’s.

Feline

Light on their feet and sharp by instinct — excellent stalkers, and swift enough in a brawl to play with an opponent at close range. Their ancestors are said to have made a pact with the god of shadow, which is where blending into darkness comes from. Settlements follow caravan rooflines, mountain terrace towns and port districts, with a strong tradition of light, portable property and shared escape-route maps. Balance, night vision and burst movement are all excellent; bright light, sustained noise and certain smells cause real stress.

Mecha

Powerful modified humanoid inorganics left over from the previous era. They were built as guards for the ruins, and after a certain incident they were sealed and slept for centuries. Those with continuous memory and independent judgement are now recognised as people by the cross-border guilds. Immune to most biological toxins, suffocation and bleeding, and dependent on oil, parts, calibration and power. What they resent is not being called machines. It is other people deciding on their behalf what a machine is not allowed to become.

Mermaid

Absolute dominance in water and a natural command of water magic, while on land they are no different from anyone else. The Sea God’s essence protects them, so going without water is not lethal — but long stretches in dry conditions raise mana consumption and damage the skin. The people include lineages adapted to salt water, fresh water and the intertidal zone, who introduce themselves to each other by current, reef or house rather than by species.

Oni

Unmatched raw strength and physical capability. Most take the magic-warrior path, and their remarkable talent for body augmentation is far less widely known than their arms are. They are said to share some old origin with the Kitsune. Mostly found in the Yoran highlands and mercenary settlements, where horns mark lineage and coming of age — a broken horn is not lost honour. A short burst costs both muscle and mana circuit, which is why self-harming berserker fighting is not considered everyday courage within their own communities.

Rabbit

Born with superb jumping and agility, able to move through broken terrain, avoid danger and counter immediately. Legend holds that they were blessed by moonlight in ancient times, and some lineages are still strengthened by the moon phase at night. Settlements follow highland meadows, post roads and moonlit terraces. Long-range hearing is excellent; sudden loud noise and enclosed spaces with no exit trigger genuine stress responses. What outsiders read as timidity is usually faster risk assessment.

Slime

Humanoid creatures with a strange internal structure. Their ancestors could liquefy completely; their descendants held the disguise so long that they lost the shift, though they still use most of a slime’s abilities. Good resistance to blunt force, falls and some toxins; slashing, extreme dryness and sudden temperature change are far more dangerous. A malleable body does not mean no privacy — asking one to demonstrate liquefaction on the spot can be a serious insult.

Winged Spirit

An upper race devoted to the gods, with real if limited flight, magic and healing. They are in fact descendants of the legendary Wing-folk, who in ancient times served as the gods’ own right hand and as Star-Law escorts and local liaisons. Since falling to Urdas most communities have kept that history only as myth. Low flight, slow descent, and light and healing magic all come easily; wing injuries heal slowly and confined interiors exhaust them quickly. Younger winged spirits increasingly object to being defined by who their ancestors served.