HUMANS - In the beginning there were Humans, Elves and Ogres. Humans are the most numerous and the plainest race in the Realms. Although possessing no special abilities or bonuses, they are the most adaptable and flexible race and are able to assume any class. Humans are bipedal creatures with two arms and a roundish head. Their height, weight, eye and hair color vary greatly. It is rare to find any two who look exactly alike.

ELVES - Tall, slender creatures with an affinity for the woods and nature, Elves are distant cousins to the Pixies and share the intelligence and dexterity of that winged race to a lesser degree. With a lighter frame than Humans, what they lack in strength and stamina is made up for with their superior agility - both in thought and movement. Elves are capable in all classes, though they function poorest in the role of pure fighter. Most Elves will prefer to stay close to nature, and many become druids. All Elves have the inherent ability to detect magic.
The average Elf stands taller than most Humans, being well over six feet. Most have fair skin and long, straight hair, though there are individual Elves who chose a darker life reflected in their outward appearance.
Elves gain experience on a scale of normal rate * 1.1.

DWARF DWARVES DWARFS - Dwarves are relatively short (in Human terms), stocky and powerfully-built creatures. Long-lived and extremely sturdy, they are known equally as well for their hardiness as for their cantankerous personalities. Their thick, stout frames lend them poor dexterity, but high strength and stamina. This race has produced some of the most reknowned fighters. Dwarves possess the inherent ability to see in the dark with infravision.
Dwarves average from four foot five inches and five feet tall, with dusky complexions and thick, fur-covered torsos and limbs. Both men and women proudly wear and take pride in their beards.
Dwarves gain experience on a scale of normal rate * 0.97.

HALFLING HALFLINGS - Stout, round, open-minded and very elusive the Hobbit has a level of dexterity which is only equal to his wit. Many enjoy the thrill of reading a good book, or telling stories by the fire. Many halflings, because of this, tend to avoid adventuring, though some rare hobbits choose the path of the Bard, or storyteller, for their keen intellect serves them well. This intelligence, coupled by a surprising determination makes them a curious (though somewhat underpowered) ally.
Halflings have compact bodies and thick, long limbs, and usually have very hairy feet. Eye color range from blue, brown, green, and any shade inbetween.

PIXIE PIXIES - Pixies are small Elfin creatures with gossamer wings. They are very much more intelligent than most other races, but their strength and constitution suffers from their small size. Because of this, the Pixie often choose the calling of magic and excels especially in the arts of the Mage; the mind of the Pixie knows no equal. Pixies possess the obvious ability of flight. (to use pixie's wings, simply type 'fly', or 'land' to land again)
Pixies are slight of stature, standing less than two feet tall. Both their skin and hair color varies from among all the colors of the rainbow.
Pixies gain experience on a scale of normal rate * 1.08.

OGRE - The Ogre race is a relative of the giants of old.
The ogre generally range between eight to nine feet tall in height, and range between 400 to a massive 600 pounds in weight.
The ogre is very muscular and generally are hairless. The have long arms that nearly touch the ground.
The ogre don't get along with any race, but are sometimes controlled by Tanzean'al and his minions.

ORC - The Orc race was created by Tanzean'al who mutilated tens of thousands of creatures with his black magic to create the race of Orcs, and Goblins.
Orcs are as tall as humans, but on average a little more muscular. Orcs have a grayish pigmentation, sloping forehead, jutting jaw, prominent teeth, and course body hair.
Orcs follow any directives by Tanzean'al and what they believe is their deity Gruumsh. Gruumsh has been sometimes called the One Eye, or he who never sleeps.

TROLL - The Troll race is a mindless creature that is motivated by greed.
The troll is generally around eight feet tall in height, and range between 300 to 500 pounds in weight.
The troll are hairless, and have a green skin color. Their long arms nearly touch the ground, and they have talons for toes.
The Troll don't get along with any race, but are sometimes controlled by Tanzean'al and his minions.

SHADES - Shades are one of the most unusual races, composed of living shadow rather than flesh. The presence of even one noticeably dims the surrounding area, and their homeland is always covered in gloomy night. Their semi-insubstantial nature also allows them to phase through most doors. They make capable warriors and mages, and their shadowy form and natural pass door ability makes them highly effective thieves.
Despite their decidedly cruel and immoral nature, shades have no allegiance to Tanzean'al, who presents as much a threat to them as the rest of the world. Many see the benefit in fighting Tanzean'al alongside the other kingdoms, but most are likely to seek profit from the chaos of the war via thievery or other underhanded means.

GOBLIN - The Goblin race was created by Tanzean'al who mutilated tens of thousands of creatures with his black magic to create the race of Orcs, and Goblins.
Goblins are simular to dwarves in body, but have a aptitude for evil. Goblins have a grayish pigmentation, and pointed ears.
Goblins follow any directives by Tanzean'al and will go out of their way to harrass, or kill dwarves, elves, or humans.

DROW - Drow are the darker, more evil cousins of Elves. They were once part of the happy community of Elves which roam the forests today, but have long since moved under the ground, building vast subterranean cities and complex networks of caves.
Drow have black skin and white hair, and are moderately weaker and have a more slight constitution than average humans. Still, like all Elves, they have a slightly higher dexterity than men.
Members of this race specialize in spell casting, and have thus developed a very high intelligence. Being creatures of darkness the Drow tend to fight more proficiently in the darkness, and have innate infravision with which to discern objects and living things in the absence of light.
Drow gain experience on a scale of normal rate * 1.08

GNOMES - Gnomes are a quirky demi-human race. Though not the mightiest of races, they are well versed in their studies of knowledges, magics and religions. Additionally, due to their familiarity with such lore, they tend to be more resistant to magics. They can, though, suffer tremendously from physical attacks.
Gnomes usually focus in the magical or clerical arts, though a few rogues have ventured into the arts of thieving (albeit often not very well.)
Gnomes are a short, stocky race, similar to their dwarven cousins. Most often prefer an evening at home with a magical tome, a loaf of pipeweed bread and a cup of ale over venturing out to battle.
Gnomes gain experience on a scale of normal rate * 1.2

CENTAUR - The proud race of men/women that are half horse half human. They are strong warriors, but have an affinity with nature and the woodlands. The centaur are known to attack with their hooves in battle.

DRAGONS - The race of dragons live somewhat secluded from other races. Dragons can live to be thousands of years old.
Dragons are larger then other races even at a very young age. Only on rare occassions do dragons have anything to do with other races. However, these are dark times and each individual dragon type may have their own reason for dealing with other races.
* Note: Power levelers - Dragons are very hard to level, they should be more thought of as an investment, and are great for roleplaying.
Dragons cannot wield weapons, but because of their size they get a bonus to hitroll and damroll that increases as they grow. Dragons grow in height and weight with each level.

CELESTIALS - Celestials are an ancient, angelic race descended from the heavens. They are composed of pure energy, but often take the material form of a human while they walk on the earth. Having existed solely on an immaterial plane, they sometimes find the transition into mortal life a little confusing.
Once on earth and outside of the Creator's influence, they find themselves with Divine powers beyond that of a normal human, and the willpower to pick and choose their targets as they see fit. Most decide to stay as 'guardian angels', but there are those that turn their powers to darker, personal gain.

VAMPIRES - Vampires are one of the powerful creatures of the Realms. Being a creature of the undead, they require copious quantities of fresh blood. Instead of using mana, Vampires use blood points (bp) for spell casting. If a Vampire takes a large amount of damage, Blood points will be lost, but, Blood points can give a small surge of hit points (hp) in battle when needed. As a undead creature of the night, Vampires recieve an armor class (ac) bonus at night, and access to their more powerful skills like 'mistwalk'.

DEMON - Hellspawn warriors sent to bring the world of mortals into chaos. The race of demons are a cunning race with magical powers as well as ghastly skills.

MINDFLAYER - The race of mindflayers are known to have psionic abilities. These powerful mental powers allow the mindflayers to perform near magical acts with the power of their minds. Mindflayers are not a melee type of class, generally using the power of their minds to defeat opponets.