Kulmorost Divided
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The following is a product of many great minds working together on a /tg/ thread started by an anon'. It was produced over three days of hard labour (the thread is rumoured to be still going to this very day) and
Sinister magic
Kulmorost
Magic can only be conducted through flesh and bone, all artifacts and magical devices are built from once living (or in some horrible cases, still living) creatures.
While common animal bones are suitable for minor magical items -temporary light sources, directional tools, one-use 'ammunition- nobody has ever managed to make a powerful magical item with anything other than the body parts of a thinking being. This creates some demand for corpses in areas with numerous enchanters of skill.
Magic uses its user's life force to manipulate the world around them. Casting spells causes physical and mental exhaustion, and casting too much caused potentially terminal conditions, such as heart attacks, aneurysms, and lung collapses.
Metals in turn are not seen as that worty materials.
The Geopolitical World
The continent of Kulmorost is the main stage for the setting. It is a land of magic, beasts, civilizations at the height of their economy and brutish war tribes seeking only for bloodshed. The world is not unlike earth in the majority of climate, flora, and fauna (with exceptions) and is divided into many different factions.
Humans
The Haumics are mostly non-magic using scum who were driven to the cold Northern Wastes in the War of Human Exodus long time ago in the ancient times. In modern times, they hover on the brink of extinction, living in barbaric xenophobic nomad tribes, barely eking out an existence in the frigid, unforgiving wastes.
They still resent the more magically gifted races for what their ancestors did, and many tribes raid southern civilizations to supplement their hunting and gathering during the cold season. Despite their magical inability, Humans are still extremely good at killing things, and many of the more civilized races fear that eventually an ambitious Human chieftain will arise and unite all tribes under one banner, forming an unstoppable horde.
Curiously, some legends state that the Magical Races are offspring of humans.
Elves
Peaceful farmers and winemakers with rapidly changing culture and fashions. Been allies with Dwarves since the War of Human Exodus.
Elves often participate in magical rites at important points in their life that involves the manipulation of their own life causing them to live for centuries. Particular old elves deviate from the normal body shape significantly; their flesh twisted to extend their lives beyond which nature ordained. Still usually quite pleasant chaps though.
Elvish religion is based around the concept that their own society is in fact their creator spirit, and by making their cities and towns and roads are in fact "recreating" the body of their god. This is one of the reasons they treat their criminals so harshly (>>51256855) as not only is the offender a criminal, but a heretic against their god.
Worship of this god comes in the from of civic duty, doing your job and doing it well, and doing things "for the good of everyone".
They believe that the dwarves have their own society/god, and due to their close allyship, that their society gods are close friends/lovers or siblings (or both). They do not believe the humans have a society god however, which is one of the reasons they think they have such a barbaric way of life.
Dwarves
Dwarves are the most intellectually advanced race and are quite good at magic, especially enchantments. They highly value skilled jobs and education and the social status of a dwarf is mainly dependent on how much educated he is. Low skilled workers and farmers are the lower classes, semi-skilled are middle class and upper classes are highly skilled and scholars
Been allies with Elves since the War of Human Exodus.
Most dwarves believe in a kind of platonism or benevolent gnosticisme where a creator god, the Architect, created a Demiurge called the Maker and charged him to subcreate the world under his direction. Dwarves considered themselves to have been chosen by the Maker and charged by him to multiply and create civilization as the Demiurges within this world. They believe they will be reincarnated in this world until they accomplish their task, and then will ascend to the Realm of the Architect with the Maker as a reward, while the other races will live forever in this world, but transformed into a terrestial paradise. There is no dogma about whether or not non-dwarves have an afterlife, the most traditionnalists thinks they cease to exist after while moderates thinks they reincarnate as non-dwarves for all eternity. Altough this is mostly folklore, most dwarves thinks bad dwarves will have to expiate their sins before being allowed in the Realm of the Architect.
Lesians
Alpha predator reptiles from the Western isles.
Their language is almost incomprehensible to other races, as it depends on hissing, beak clacking, and cawing in a rapid pace syllabyllic dialect. Lesia is a rough translation of L'hs'iy'ah. Very few Lesians have the mental capacity to learn other languages, and those that do see little reason to communicate with the other strange and fragile races.
Their society is gathered into several dozen anarchic tribes, each composed of several dozen clans, each composed of several dozen mating pairs and their offspring. Due to their predatory, competitive nature, Lesian tribes and clans often fight over resources and familial disputes. To a Lesian, his clan and tribe are sacred, mates are less revered because they change seasonally.
When the Lesians evolved sapience, they drove the Blood Orcs from their homeland in a long, and bloody war.
Goblins
There is once once mighty race that, from over use of magic, have deformed into loathsome creatures. They were once on par with the elves and dwarves in their cities and agricultural projects. (They in fact resembled elves in almost every way and are speculated to have been elves once.) But they in their might they became greedy for power and were constantly casting rituals to increase their might; whether in physical strength or in willpower or in durability, and wenecer they increased in strength they captured more land for none were quite as strong or clever. But this over use of ritualistic and primal magic became almost like an addiction. And the more they used it the more they hated themselves and the more power they wanted. Eventually it got to such a point that they seemed to have overloaded and could not cast even the simplest of spells that it should only take a child to comprehend. Seeing their chance the mighty dwarves beat back their oppressers who were now reaped of all their powers and were now weak in comparison to all others. The dwarves with the aid of a few elvish kings destroyed their cities and forced them underground. Where they hid, hating all who use magic for it reminds them of their former glory. Ancient records are sketchy so no-one really knows their real name. Perhaps the records were destroyed as a mockery or even a curse towards them. But today they are known by the Dwarves as Ztunzka by the Elves Yrglin and by the human world as Goblins.
Created many monsters, particularly the Crude Dragons.
Orcs
Orcs are an oddity among the magical races as they are utterly unable to canalize magic on their own but are devoted priests and have a strong affinity for the spirits of their ancestors. Most of them live in the less populated regions of the south and have migrated in these regions well after the War of Human Exodus.
They tend to be physically stronger than humans but are generaly less resilient and very risk averse. They are already adult at 12 but are already old near 40, and die quickly after 60.
Their religion is based on the worship of a few deities revolving around basic elements of their live (Godess of Fertility for both females and agriculture, god of war, god of tribal authority,ect..) but very predominantly the cult of their ancestors.
The inclusion of a poorly understood and bastartized Maker is common among the dwarves wannabes.
Most of them are organized in groups of agricultural and exogamic clans, ruled by a tribal king elected for life by the chiefs of the clans. Some of the most advanced tribes are revolving around a small town whose need are provided by the agricultural clans.
They are matrilienal and patriarchal even if not in a very dominant or rigid way.
The Western Orcs were a subspecies of Orcs, known as Blood Orcs. After Lesians drove them from their homelands they are mostly extinct due to their ritualistic thirst for blood.
Minor Species
The Traders
Kobolds