Races & Classes

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HUMAN. The most prevalent and powerful race in Thedas, if not the most divided and diverse. Ruling over all the major nations — the Anderfels, Antiva, Ferelden, the Free Marches, Nevarra, Orlais, Rivain, and the Tevinter Imperium — humans dominate everywhere, except for the dwarven underground and the Qunari islands to the north. Humans are known to be at the heart/root of most historical conflicts; its their ass in almost every seat of power throughout Thedas, including the Chantry.[break][break]

ELF. Long, long ago, the elves were the most prevalent race of Thedas, believed even to be immortal. But their ancient civilization was felled by the Tevinter Imperium and the elves enslaved for centuries, during which their culture was entirely destroyed and/or forgotten. When they were finally liberated, the elven people were granted the Dales and began to restore their civilization. But eventually that society, too, was destroyed by the Exalted Marches. Now, the elves have — for the most part — splintered into two distinct groups: the Dalish, who travel in nomadic tribes and preserve the ways of their ancestors, and the City Elves, who usually reside in alienages throughout all kingdoms. There are many Dalish clans, each lead by a Keeper; they wander throughout Thedas, seeking to recover their lost heritage. They worship their gods of old and most clans are suspicious, if not outright hostile, toward outsiders. On the other hand, most city elves have disregarded their heritage and are prohibited worship of their Old Gods. Most city elves have adopted Andrastian faith. While the treatment of city elves varies from kingdom to kingdom, in most nations they are treated as second-class citizens, forced to live in alienages, constructed in the poorest, dirtiest corner of the city. [break][break]

DWARF. The dwarven race once had a underground empire whose population outnumbered the elves and humans both, but this society was almost completely destroyed by the First Blight. Now there only remains a scare amount of dwarven settlements, the largest (and home of the dwarven monarchy) being Orzammar. Unlike the rest of Thedas, most dwarves are not considered religious; choosing instead to revere their Paragons and the Stone itself. They have a rigid social structure, consisting of various castes, such as the artisan caste, mining caste, merchant caste, warrior caste, noble caste, etc. Dwarves without a caste are considered casteless and are basically outcasts, branded with a tattoo to indicate their lack of standing. Most dwarves never venture to the surface and those who do are generally called "Surfacers", stripped entirely of their caste and considered exiles. Dwarves are the heart of the lyrium supply throughout the entirety of Thedas.[break][break]

QUNARI. Not much is known about these horned creatures, as they originate from islands north of Thedas. Physically, the qunari are larger and stronger than humans, with metallic-colored skin (usually in hues of gold, silver, or bronze). Most qunari have horns of varying size and shape; these horns can be removed and, in some rare cases, a qunari may be born without them. A qunari without horns is widely considered to be intimidating in their society, and thus they remove the horns of their mages, called Saarebas — to indicate their innate danger to all. The qunari are governed by the Qun, their ruling philosophy. Within the Qun is a rigid structure that all qunari adhere to, and within this structure, there is little personal identity or family ties. Qunari are born into roles and while some may have nicknames, they will usually refer to themselves as their titles, such as "Arishok" or "Sten". Though we will be using the term "Qunari" to refer to this race, Qunari truthfully only translates to "followers of the Qun". Other races (dwarfs, humans, elves) can technically become Qunari, but they are considered to be "Viddathari". Qunari who do not follow the Qun are considered to either be "Vashoth" or "Tal-Vashoth"; the former being those born outside of the Qun, and the latter being those who have abandoned the Qun. [break][break]

HALF-BREED. As far as mixed blood goes, if a child is conceived between an elf and a human, the offspring may be considered "elf-blooded", but they are human. No obvious elven traits will be passed down to these children, though they may still inherit magic from their elven parent. A dwarf conceiving a child with a human is rare, and even rarer still with an elf, but not entirely impossible. In such instances, the offspring would be considered a half-dwarf, and could carry some traits from either parents. Half-dwarves are shorter than other humans/elves, but taller still than other dwarves, and inherently unable to use magic. There have been no recorded instances of conception between Qunari and any other race, as Qunari are more often than not, selectively "bred" within their society. [break][break]

ANOMALY. Ideally, all characters would fall in one of the former four categories. But occasionally there may be an allowance. Two good examples of an anomaly: a) Shale, a stone golem, and b) Cole, a spirit. Though Shale may have once been a dwarven woman, they are no longer and it wouldn't make much sense for them to be classified as such. Similarly, Cole is a creature of the Fade. Though he has the appearance of a human boy, his true identity is a bit more complicated.

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WARRIOR. The fundamental backbone of any successful party. Heavy-hitters, these characters rely on melee weapons — be they two-handed or the classic sword-and-shield combo. Warriors are more hardy than other classes; they are able to don heavy armor, wield heavy weapons, and withstand a bit more abuse. A warrior's focus is strength, constitution, and stamina; these fortes are often relied on to draw and keep the attention off other, less-resilient party members. [break][break]

ROGUE. Though generally weaker than a warrior, rogues make up for their lack of strength with speed, mobility, and stealth. They rely on faster, consecutive attacks, or devastating surprise attacks. They know where to strike to inflict the most damage, and how to get that close without being seen. Rogues are unable to take a hit as well as a warrior, so they will generally try to end the fight before it can truly begin. Dual daggers, dagger and sword, longbow, shortbow, crossbow — chances are you won't even know the weapon of choice, before it's already sliding between your ribs or lodged in your heart. Rogues account for the majority of thieves and assassins in Thedas. [break][break]

MAGE. Those blessed (or cursed) with arcane gifts. Mages have a special connection with the Fade and are more attractive prey for demons searching for a foothold in the waking world. Because of this, mages are widely considered to be corruptible and dangerous, to themselves and others. In no place is this more true than Kirkwall, where the templars rule the Gallows with an iron fist, ever tightening. Ideally, mages are brought to the Circle in order to be trained and guarded over, but some may live as apostates, hiding or fighting their way from the Circle's walls. Dalish mages, who often become Keepers, are often overlooked by the templars in favor of avoiding conflict with the the elves. To appease the Chantry, most Dalish clans only have a handful of fully-trained mages, and if too many are born into a clan, they are transferred to another clan or driven out of the clan entirely. Mages rely on mana for their spellpower, which can be supplemented and strengthened by the consumption of lyrium. [break][break]

CIVILIAN. Characters who do not fall in any of the above categories and who are not trained in any sort of combat.