Sample Player Character Races

Timmy of the Wastelands

...First there came the humans, risen from the primordial muck in a time so distant that it is not even a memory. They made the others, some by accident, others by design. But the humans were wicked and red handed, as cruel to their servants as their foes. A day came when the other races banded together and threw down their masters. A terrible war ensued. human power was broken, but with it, so was the world...

-A fragment from The Wall of Loss at Ssaur.




Mutants, Mongrels, Cyborgs and Freaks:
These are perhaps the most common residents of the Metal Earth. Almost anything goes, all sorts of strange twisted creatures live and mingle among the more pure strain races. The social status of such creatures is variable- often completely dependent on how strange they look. Character generation for each of these would have to be dealt with on a case by case basis.




Humans:
The most exotic and least common of the races. Human diversity and flexibility are legendary; this very real aspect of the race, coupled with their extreme rareness has made them an object of distrust. If plague spreads, or there is an earthquake or a rash of bad weather, or if the soup is scalded and the cheese is hard, chances are, if there is a human about the blame will be cast in their direction. That said, most of the denizens of the Metal Earth go their entire lives without seeing any humans at all- and many beleive they have gone extinct or never really existed at all.

Some myths suggest that the other races are descended from or were outright created by humans. As in times past, human customs and mores vary widely from group to group, however, humans of the Iron Time tend to avoid large racially diverse cities, and are more likely to be found in small, often hidden woodland settlements.

Human Options:
• Anachronism: this is a human from another time, perhaps the twentieth century, or the age of sail- or really any time at all.

• Untrained: The character will progress to level 1 of a (martial) class of his/her choice after earning 500 XP- theses XP don’t vanish, though, and the character will still progress on to level 2 after gaining 500 more XP for a total of 1000. This is option might well lead to unbalanced parties- but the Metal Earth isn’t about balance, so piss off.


• Mur Madlings (see below) are humans- with one notable difference; they can tap the Arcane power source without a visit to the fountain. If anything, they are even less trusted than run of the mill humans.

Grod:
The second most common of the mammalian races, Grod are horned and tailed humanoids thought to be a hybrid of Humans and Minotaurs, or perhaps humanoid offspring of Devilgoats. Some scholars believe that Grod are a mixture of humanity and infernal sources. All this is, of course, mere conjecture.The truth is lost somewhere in the mist of time. Grod are largely urban and often dominate the political structure of multiracial settlements.
Advance as fighters. +1 CHA. Advance as fighters. Special attack Gore 1d6+ STR mod, must have a running start, no running start horns do 1d4 dmg.

Minotaur:
The most common of the mammalian races. Minotaurs, along with Leafeaters (see below) make up the foundation of most large settlements. The last great empire, which was destroyed during the Wars of Unreason, (see below) was dominated by Minotaurs. Minotaurs along with Leafeaters make up most of the agricultural peasant class on the Metal Earth. Minotaurs have an odd fascination with mazes and labyrinths, so much so that even the home of simplest farmer is likely to feature twisty corridors, fake doors, and dead end passages.
Advance as fighters. -2 CHA, -1 WIS, +2 STR. Special attack: Gore, DMG: 1d8 +STR (with running start) 1d6 without running start.

Reptarch:
The Reptarch are a saurian species that come in two varieties, Leafeater and Speartooth, of the two only the second is a suitable player character choice. All Reptarch are born as sexless herbivores, at the age of twelve they either sex or remain neuters, no one knows why. Sexed Reptarchs are known as Speartooth and unlike their unsexed counterparts, they eat meat- and if rumors are to be believed, sometimes it is the meat of Leafeaters. Speartooth are both more intelligent and more aggressive than Leafeaters, and they run Reptarch settlements. Although Reptarchs are occasionally found living in heterogeneous urban areas and villages, they more often keep to homogenous agricultural settlements.

Advance as fighters. +1 Str, +1 Con, -1AC (with descending AC=better), Breath Weapon once every 10 rounds for a maximum of twice a day range 10'/level Damage 1d6 +lvel- as missile attack.

Autonm:
Bipedal constructs of wood stone and metal, almost certainly created by humans for some forgotten war. Autonms are nearly as rare as their creators, and often travel in their company due to a special affinity the two groups have for one another. Unattached Autonms wander the world as mercenaries or adventurers.
Advance as fighters, +3 to STR or CON (player's choice of how to divide these up) -3 CHA. -2 AC.

Shae:
Thought to be only slightly less elder than the humans. Shae are sorceress being who tend to live in urban environments. They are often associated with magic and science both. Like a Mur Madlings, Shae can draw upon the arcane power source without a trip to the fountain. Appearence wise shae look very much like humans except they lack all body hair.
Advance as magic users- level limit 6, and then as fighters with no further spell progression.
Racial ability: Short Range Teleport (50' line of site, twice a day.)

Beastkin:
Another human hybrid, that occasionally even live among humans, and are often lumped in with them by the ignorant. Beastkin are more savage in appearance and more physical than humans in general. They are, however, more likely to live as a minority underclass in cities dominated by the other races.
Advance as fighters. +1 STR or CON (players choice), +2 DEX, -2 CHA -1 WIS.

War Ape:
Huge horned Simians from the tropical jungles of the sweltering southland, War apes sometimes travel in the settled lands working as mercenaries, bodyguards, or even just as wandering adventurers.
Note: The Hindrances listed in the Savage Worlds stat block should really come into play whichever system you are using.

War Apes advance as fighters. +2STR, +2CON, -2CHA, -2WIS.
Special attack: Gore, DMG: 1d8 +STR (with running start) 1d6 without running start.

A word to referee's about customizing the setting-
The Metal Earth is fucking huge, far larger in land area than our earth- how much larger? Nobody knows. Why is it larger? Fucked if I know; it just is. Now, fuck off and get over it. The races listed above are only suggestions, one could easily change them out for different races. That said, the list might prove useful for any GM who needs to fill a tavern or a city- or you can just use them as suggested. After all, it's your world. Bitch.

Anyway, I'm thinking of changing the racial bonuses out with a minimum attribute prerequisite system, but I'm undecided. I like idea that anyone can be whatever they want, and the prerequisite system messes that up.

Whatever- these races are just samples.