Humans
Does this need explanation?
Humans are sometimes said to be the jack of all, master of none, but this is downplaying their capability. In actuality, humans tend to be, not average, but second best at most things.
According to the Son, the greatest and final prophet of the Tritheos, humans are made in the image of the First Man and are his favored children.
Elves
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A Terrestrial Earth Elf with the characteristic traits of her subspecies - silver or blonde hair, purple or gold eyes, slender build, long ears, and modest height.
The firstborn, or so they claim. Elves are said to have been born to the First Man and Life before the pact of mortality was formed between Life and Death. But the elves were reluctant to accept this arrangement for they had grown to love Life very much. Thus they were granted long life spans with which to enjoy the living world.
Elves, more than any other species, have variable forms. They were initially planned to be a template from which more life would be built. Myths tell of many different variants of elves which existed in the past. Currently, only three remain - Terrestrial Earth, Subterranean Earth, and Terrestrial Fire.
Elves have unusual biologies. They mature about as fast as humans, but they require a century of life within Elfholds attuning to the divine magic of their particular subspecies. The locations where these devices can be deployed are limited so elves tend to live in heavily, heavily fortified city-state enclaves.
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The Subterranean Earth Elf. Also called the Drow.
This biological quirk limits their population growth and forces expansionist Elfholds to rely on collaborators from the subjugated. Nearly always this will result in a half-elven caste of noble administrators to run the territories on behalf of their elven lords.
No mortal race has a special predisposition toward magic, but due to their long lives, elves have the time to ponder the deep mysteries of the forms. As such, they have high rates of learned magic users making their Elfholds very formidable.
Elfbloods
Of the mortal races, the two most sexually compatible are the Elves and Humans. They possess extremely similar anatomies and physical forms. It is only natural then to expect that on occasion humans and elves would take a fancy to each other. They occupy a unique place. Neither elf, nor human. They inherit longer life spans, but not nearly so long as their elven parent.
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A half-elf born to two half-elves. Both her grandfathers are elves while both grandmothers were human. Notice her shorter ears and paler complexion
Dwarves
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Dwarves are an oddity amongst the mortal races. Sometimes called the Subterranean Smallfolk, dwarves actually differ greatly from the so-called halflings. For one, dwarves are lithovores. That is - they eat rocks, stones, gems, and in a pinch even metal. They represent a peculiar experiment in the design of the mortal races to design a species that need not consume other living things to live.
The results are a mixed bag. Dwarves are notoriously horrendous spellcasters because the process of breaking down their diet into primal material to be converted into more "dwarf" is more complex and energy-consuming than the other races. Thus, a dwarf may find himself very quickly starving to death from just a little bit of spell casting.
On the other hand, dwarves are amazing to have as allies and cohabitants because they do not compete for the same resources as the other mortal races.
Dwarves are stout and hardy. They have a reputation for being honest, loyal, and legalistic. None can hold a grudge like a dwarf. Their lives are longer than that of humans but nowhere near as long as elves.
Orcs
Big, green, and vicious. Orcs are traditionally maligned by humans and dwarves for their warlike and unruly behavior. For untold millennia, hordes of orcs crashed against the realms of dwarf and man in search of glorious combat. Trying to batter down Elfholds was seen as too futile even for them, smallfolk are happy to pay the orcs off, and goblins are happy to accept them as members of their societies.
These days, however, while still warlike, orcs are worshippers of the Tritheos and follow their prophet The Son.
Smallfolk
A simple and humble people. Smallfolk are very human-like in their appearance with the exception of being roughly half the size. Yet despite this difference in stature, they are no less effective at farming. And by the Gods do they love farming. Thanks to their comparatively small caloric needs, no other mortal race can produce such a surplus.
Smallfolk can be found in idyllic fertile valleys and flood plains diligently and peacefully farming, herding, and crafting.
Peace must be protected, however, and the smallfolk are not ignorant of that. They are also not ignorant of their small size. In melee massed combat, they would be slaughtered. To overcome this weakness, the smallfolk must innovate. For centuries they have hoarded the secret to gunpowder and jealously guard it, for example, and before that they were at the forefront of crossbow technology.
The world should, perhaps, consider itself fortunate that the smallfolk do not go to war unless forced to defend themselves.
Goblins
Next to the dwarves, goblins are easily the strangest of the mortal races. Goblins exhibit outrageous sexual dimorphism. To the extent that it is considered a grievous insult to suggest that male and female goblins belong to the same species. A grievous insult to the female goblins, that is. Male goblins lack the mental capacity to understand such a sentiment let alone be offended by it.
Female goblins possess intelligence on the level of the other mortal races. They are short like the smallfolk though they are almost universally 'thicker' for lack of a better word. Female goblins are also very amicable to other races. Very, very amicable. In fact, they are the only mortal race that enjoys the company of other races more than their own. This is in part because a union between a female goblin and a male of any of the other mortal races always produces a goblin. Or more specifically, between three and five goblins typically (with a 3:1 ratio of male:female)
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Female Goblin specimen.
Male goblins, on the other hand, possess intelligence perhaps rivaling that of a chimpanzee. They are even shorter than their female kin and their proportions tend to be strange with long spindly arms. Males have a natural inclination toward understanding and obeying the females of their race. Enough that they can be counted on to do very basic labor by themselves and other types of manual labor under supervision. They are generally considered an unpleasant menace by everyone, including female goblins, due to their poor hygiene and stupidity.
Due to this, female goblins desperately seek out non-goblin husbands or mates. Laying with their own kind is considered distasteful. So much so that laying with one is a form of criminal punishment for wealthy goblins.
The females are very capable though. The male goblins working the fields only require a handful of supervisors so the rest work in crafts, mercantile ventures, or magic. Typically, they hope to get wealthy enough to attract a non-goblin male. Human families, for example, might send a third son to marry a wealthy goblin to secure privileges for their family.
Goblins are also useful allies in a war because male goblins will die in droves without complaint if directed by one of their females. Used effectively, this can be a tremendous advantage on the battlefield. Quantity does have a quality of its own after all.