Überstadt/Races
Races[edit]
Bugbears[edit]
Bugbears are explorers and guides, tradesmen and merchants. They are one of the few races that spend any significant time outside of Überstadt. They are known for their shrewd ways, silent movement, and secretive stoic natures. Bugbears keep to themselves and live in clans, mostly on the lower tiers. Very rarely do they befriend those of another race. If one were to leave Überstadt one would contact the Bugbear Guide and Merchant's Guild for hired help in reaching a particular location outside the city. Bugbears have been known to be tricky in their deals and dealings. They will never do any more than what their contractually obligated too. Even the Überstadt military hires Bugbears for its excursions. At first the military attempted to simply conscript the Bugbear population. Needless to say things went awry. For when a Bugbear is forced into a disfavorable position he simply slips away soundlessly.
Dwarfs[edit]
Seedy money-grabbing mobsters. Sturdy, yet wiry folk, the Dwarfs find themselves gravitating towards lives of crime. Whether they are thuggish enforcers or manipulative crimelords, Dwarfs find themselves making most of their gold out of criminal activities. They have no love for the law or any love for good. They gravitate around the Third and Fourth Tiers, leading underground fightclubs or drug cartels. One trait that Dwarfs happen to have is their loyalty to their own kind. Despite how greedy Dwarfs can be, their one redeemable trait is their respect to other Dwarfs, especially their kinsmen. They only steal from one another in the most dire of circumstances and if one Dwarf kills another, even for a good reason, it is likely that said Dwarf will be thrown to the Halflings.
Giants[edit]
Wise creatures that live at the highest level of Überstadt that is known only as the Top to lesser creatures. Living amongst the clouds, these Giants are proud scholars that almost live forever. Unlike their cousins, they are not bulky, brutish monsters. They are tall, elegant and almost lanky in comparison and rather than rely on brute force, rely on skill. While the Giants are patient and usually peaceful creatures, there have been cases where they have unleashed their fury upon their foes, skewering them upon rapiers of the finest craft in the land - fencers of this race are legendary and lethal and few ever survive an encounter with one, yet alone beat one. They also carry a upper-class British attitude about them, believing themselves to be above all other races and sharing the accent. They have Grecian inspired names.
Ettins[edit]
In today's Überstadt Ettin are distant relations of Giants who, for their obvious deformities, were thrown out of the Top to live with the lesser races. Ettins usually serve in the Military, The Clock, or as bodyguards of the rich and famous. There are even rumors of an Ettin fighting her way throw the pitfight-circuit. Several Kobold Lords have speculated that Ettin's are the offspring of inbreeding among Giants. Such speculations are never spoken aloud, however, for fear of the ever watchful eyes above.
Gnolls[edit]
Necromantic preservers and caretakers of the undead. They are the favored race of the God of Death, who's true name has been forgotten and is simply referred to as "The Bloody Wanker". Their job is to horde all of the undead that are descending into the Cold and use their brute, untiring strength to help maintain Überstadt. Gnolls usually keep to themselves, rarely interacting with other races and general live in the lower tiers. The only time when they venture beyond the Fifth Tier, the Pseudo-Crypts, is in order to collect both the Fleshies and the Hoolies that are slowly but surely falling into the Cold. Once both types of undead have reached the final level of the Cold, their fungus-ridden corpses are consumed by the gnolls.
Gnomes[edit]
Industrialists who are similar to the Goblins in many aspects despite the fact that the two races hate each others' guts. Gnomes are short, tough and muscle-bound folk who were born and bred for tough industrial work. Just as the Goblins have monopoly over the alchemical market, Gnomes have the monopoly over the industrial market. While Goblins work on the basic science, the Gnomes expand on this and mass-produce new technology, acting as foremen for the human and troll labor forces. Without each other, science in Überstadt would ground to a halt yet they do not seem to care about this. Constantly, Goblins and Gnomes are battling back and forth although not physically. Their battleground is the stock market and victory will only be assured when the other is put out of business. Gnomes traditionally are dark of skin and hair and speak with Middle Eastern accents.
Goblins[edit]
Silver-tongued alchemical merchants. Disliked by most races, they considered as a necessary evil due to the fact that they are masters of their trades. It was the Goblins who originally discovered the Periodic Table and it is primarily Goblins who act as Periodic Elementalists. However, it isn't just alchemy and science that goblins are proficient at - whatever a Goblin's trade may be, he is a master at it. Whether is a cobbler or a barber, a janitor or a wizard, he will always outmatch others. Their higher-than-thou attitude is also barely tolerated and combined with the fact the fact that Goblins leap up the hierarchy of companies faster than any other race, often putting others out of their jobs, they are targets for racial assault. A few goblins even move into the criminal industry and see how long it takes for them to become the top dogs there.
Halflings[edit]
Insane cannibalistic locusts that dwell in the lower tiers. Halflings are obsessed with being 'fisticated' and are usually seen donned with suits and jewelry which they have pilfered from the fools and adventurers who dare journey into the 6th tier and from the various noble houses that the halflings often raid. One could compare this obsession to that of magpies for shiny objects. They value such equipment so highly that they are willing to fight to the death over a high quality top hat, monocle or cane - despite the fact that they are likely to ruin it in the process. The higher ranking Halflings can be told from the quality of their outfits - they were all sorts of outlandish jewelry, ranging from golden chains to diamond rings to crystal monocles to top hats of the finest craft. They travel from the sewer systems throughout Überstadt, able to reach every nook and cranny from the highest peaks of the first tier, to the deepest pits of the last tier.
Thirdlings[edit]
A rare cross breed of a Halfling and another race; generally the product of a Halfling gang rape. They are usually born of Humans or the Elves that noble families keep as pets - however, it is not unknown for female Halflings to take advantage of Orcs and spawn Thirdlings.
"High" Elves[edit]
Most High Elves have to make a choice between two professions: to become a pet or a lawyer. A minority of the Elves that survived the fall of the Fey wandered aimlessly, unsure what to do and how to live. Slowly but surely, the remnants of nature were picking them off and by the time they were discovered by Überstadt, they numbered only a few hundred. Through strict breeding regimes, they have slowly filled back up and make up a small percentage of the civilized population of Überstadt. Even now, most of the High Elves still have no clue of how to take care of themselves. So the nobility of Überstadt keep High Elves as pets and status symbols, caring for them to show that they have the resources to do such. A few rare High Elves are capable of becoming men of the law, however, and they are damn good at it. The most infamous lawyers in all of Überstadt happen to be High Elves.
Humans[edit]
Average Joes. Run of the mill. There is absolutely nothing special about humans. They are not the most adaptable species. They do not possess a fascinating intellect or physiology. Instead, they are simply fast breeding mundane creatures that make up the majority of the average workforce for Überstadt. They primarily live on the Fourth tier although it isn't unknown for a few of them to make their livings of the Third Tier or even the Second Tier of Überstadt. Most Humans seem content with their lives in the working class although a few of them become tired of such a lifestyle and become sellswords, mercenaries, cut-throats and criminals.
Kobolds[edit]
Respected political nobility - this is mainly due to the fact they bear the blood of dragons. Despite the fact that the ancient beasts of legend are long dead, their descendants are still feared and raised above others to the rank of nobility. Most have become politicians, others have become judges and other high-ranking men and women of law - there have even been a few case of mobsters, although they take care to hide their affiliation to the crime syndicates that they lead. The majority of them are sorcerers, capable of unleashing terrible magic upon their foes. This is another one of the reasons why they have ascended to such a high rank despite their natural weakness and frailty. The Kobolds are well aware of their dominance being reliant on their monopoly on magic. As such, the leaders of Kobold society mark Kobolds without any spellcasting ability as one of "The False Brethren". When a Kobold without magical talent is discovered, they are exiled to one the lower layers of Überstadt, never to live with its own people ever again. The Kobolds make their dwelling on the Second Layer, where their draconian influence is obvious.
Ogres[edit]
They are servants although not of the exotic kind as Orcs and Elves are. Instead, they are standard workers for the upper-class and often end up as butlers or bouncers. They happen to be dull and rather slow but they are not unintelligent. Give them enough time and they will be able to solve intellectual problems that other races can solve at a much faster pace. They usually live up at the Top although not as the upper-class. Instead, they live in the servants' rooms of the mansions of the Giants and serve them obediently. They do not wish for anything great in their lives and they lack in ambition. They are more than happy to serve the Giants for the rest of their days and the Giants have no reason to convince them otherwise. Orges on the lower tiers have been known to act as spies and go-betweens for Giants. Though their limited intelligence makes them not most subtle of intriguers, and limits their use to Giants in this aspect.
Orcs[edit]
Strong masculine menservants. A race of masculine, green-skinned, and incredibly handsome humanoids. Before the construction of Überstadt, Orcs were the favored race of the Fey along with the Elves. They were pampered and treated like kings and princes in the days of old. But the construction of Überstadt had somehow messed with the ecosystem of the world and the Fey began to die off. Those Orcs that did not pass away with their masters, moved into Überstadtt and became the boy-toys and bodyguards of rich and bored. Most Orcs are employed as servants, bodyguards, or butlers. When they're not working they can usually be seen lamenting about the days gone by when they were more than just objects of desire. On the topic of Orc breeding, no one is actually quite sure how they do it - some people say that their females were the nymphs, the dryads and the fey, which have long since died out. Others say that the Kobolds and Giants keep the females behind bars in order to keep a tight leash on the male Orcs. Whether this is true or not is unconfirmed because the upper-class keep a tight lip on the subject and simply agree with the others - Orc breeding is a mystery to all.
Pale Elves[edit]
Crazed albino technomaniacs that live only in the deepest depths of the Pits, the Seventh Tier of Überstadt. They are obsessed with protecting and learning more and more about the ancient arcane equipment that they have discovered in the depths of the Pits. They constantly dismantle and build new pieces of equipment. Their constant tinkering has resulted in the Pits being filled with several meters of trash and equipment that the Alboes, as they known, constantly have to sift through in search for parts. The arcane residue present in the equipment often creates dangerous, hostile constructs that makes their lives just that bit more difficult. Like the rest of their kin and the Orcs, they were treated like kings by the Fey. However, the Alboes became curious of the outside world and questioned those that cared for them. They were cast out and these curious nomads traveled for years before they finally came across an underground complex, where they discovered this fascinating, arcane technology. They lived there for thousands of years, degenerating into albinos and barely even noticing the construction of Überstadt above them.
Trolls[edit]
These guys act as ogres except for the lower classes. They do the dirtiest, filthiest jobs that require more manpower than the others. If gates need to be opened, get a troll to do it for you. If a clean path needs to be plowed through a sewer, get a troll to do it for you. Trolls are the cheap and powerful labor that are willing to do anything for a bit of coin but they are unable to do anything subtle whatsoever. Their hands are not made to deal with machinery and they are only good for the most basic manual labor, which prevents them from taking the place of humans as the ultimate workforce. They usually end up shifting around carts full of the dead for gnolls and trolls without jobs usually head down to the sewers to sulk and keep themselves alive off of umberhulk larvae and rats.
Trolls, Lesser (Hobgoblins)[edit]
Smaller, nastier trolls that have a knack for pissing people off. Also known as Lawyer Trolls as they often deal in legal work. They are hardly professional, however - they don't even come close to it. Their most common method of making money is to stalk injured civilians and convince them to take part in some insurance fraud. Some theorize that the Lesser Trolls are related to the Halflings somehow - a more detailed theory is that they are the production of inbred Thirdlings that were born when stranded trolls took advantage of present female Halflings. Slowly but surely, they developed into a race of their own that is weaker than a traditional troll but also far more intelligent. Some know them as hobgoblins due to the fact that they look more like overgrown goblins than stunted trolls.
Undead (Fleshies)[edit]
Sophisticated, decadent party-goers. That's the perfect way to describe the upper-class undead, dubbed the Fleshies due to the fact that they are usually very well preserved. The upper-class often under-go rituals to ensure that they are safe from joining the ranks of Hoolies. This includes the wearing of a variety of charms, a requirement for almost immediate response to death from whatever cause and the correct funeral rites. The lesser Fleshies usually becomes Mummies or the like - they unlive for almost a century before they fall into the Cold. The less common Fleshies are the Vampires - they unlive indefinitely, as long as they have a constant source of blood. If they lose this source then they suffer a year of agony and descent into the Cold. Finally, there are the liches (also known as the "Phylacs") - these have to be people of incredible magical power and it has been some time since the last non-Kobold sorcerer lich was created. They unlive indefinitely, until their phylacteries are obliterated. Usually, the Fleshies enter undeath with a reasonable coin and are able to lead their organizations once more or live their unlives to the full in the Third Tier.
Undead (Hoolies)[edit]
These are the lower sect of the Undead of those reanimated by that Bloody Wanker. Commoners who are reanimated usually find themselves falling apart - lumps of flesh slipping off of their bones, skin rotting away to show off the muscle beneath and so on. They usually end up as all sorts of vile, usually mindless Undead such as zombies and skeletons although a few of the more fortunate Hoolies end up becoming ghouls. They are less fortunate than the Fleshies due to the fact that they are out of work and out of money. Although they get a few more decades of life - or rather, unlife - they need to make a decent coin to live it to its full. A lot of the time their minds rot with their bodies, leaving little more than thugs and hooligans behind, hence the name. Their entertainment usually consists of a good ol' brawl, drinking contests (which usually last until one of the contestants runs out of coin) or gambling. They unlive for a few decades before they fall into the Cold.
Wild Elves[edit]
Wild, barbaric marauders. A race of barbaric, dark-skinned, Zulu-esque people, scattered thought the world outside of Überstadt in nomadic tribes. Because of their wild behavior and connection with nature, most wild elves gravitate toward druidism and its terrorist-like factions. When the Elves were split in two within the Fey kingdom, the Wild Elves did not yet exist and the same applied to the High Elves. And so the half that remained lived in bliss for thousands of years t come. But then, tragedy struck - the Fey were degenerating and dying, fading away and leaving the world. They left the Elves and the Orcs to fend for themselves. And so, the remaining Elves split into two factions - the Wild Elves were the more populous faction. They adapted to the harsh wilderness and their skin darkened over time and they learned to create tools and became proud, savage warriors. Contrary to popular belief the culture of the Wild Elves doesn't create any more barbarians than any place, and most of it's notable members are warriors, hunters, chieftains, or shamans of some kind. Rumour has it that there is another strain of Wild Elves that have fled to the North and adapted to the chill just as their savannah kin have adapted to the heat.