A guide to the various folk of the Hidden Realm that exists under the feet of the big ones.
Gnomes
There is much debate about where Gnomes come from.
Some say they are created and then left to wake up in a garden though who or what does the creating is a subject of much debate over a flagon.
Some say they are stones that woke up one day and became a gnome.
Some talk of the Gnome Wives who make up one in twenty of the gnomish population. Gnome wives do have gnome children though how that happens is a subject of much rumour among the gnomes, only the gnome wives know for sure how the handful of baby gnomes come to be and no gnome with any sense spreads rumours where there is a gnome wife to hear.
Dwarves
Elves
As Dwarves are of the Earth so Elves are of wood, in ancient times when wood was one of the six prime elements before big one science came along and tried to muck up the system.
Elves are of wood but not the trees, no self respecting tree wants to claim ownership of an elf.
The elf is tall and thin, most are nearly shoulder high on the average big one. Quick they are, graceful and dainty but lacking in strength and easy to damage.
Elves are Fae folk, those who dwell beyond the boundary and being the most numerous and the smartest of that lot they have set themselves up as rulers of that realm.
Your average elf is as risk averse as a health and safety inspector,
Fairies
Pixies
Troll
Trolls come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are covered in scales, some in warts, some are like boulders, some grow lichen like hair. But there are two general types of Troll, the bridge or river Trolls that you find across most of Europe from the Mediterranean coast up to Britain, and the Northern Troll.
River or Bridge Troll can be anywhere from four feet to eight feet tall but at skinny and wiry, more at home in the water than on the land but they like the shade which is why you tend to find them under bridges.
Northern Troll are big ugly brutes, from seven to as tall as ten feet and heavy set, not as bulky as an Ogre but still big. They don’t swim so they keep clear of the rivers of Fjords, you find them in the mountains living in caves.
Ogres
Back at the dawn of time when the scaly monsters died out and the two legs rose to claim the known worlds mankind was tall. Much taller than today, they were strong and healthy and strode the world as if they owned it, which to be fair they did.
Now as time passed and the magic faded the mankind began to change. Most of them lost all magic and shrunk down though there are some of the oldest in the realms who say they are getting tall again.
Some like the giants kept growing.
Some like the Ancient People stayed the same.
Some like the Ogres got stronger and more stupid in equal measure which is to say that Ogres being about the strongest beings in the realms are also what could be called, a bit thick.
An ogre is a pair of legs, a pair of arms, a great lump of a body and a head stuck on top. Most Ogres have as many muscles in one finger as an elf has in its entire body, they are so strong, well when folk talk about strong they say Ogres and when they talk about weaker they say everyone else.
Ogres eat just about anything, cows, pigs, horses, trees, stones and people. Which is why the northern mankind had a bit of a love hate relationship with Ogres, the Ogres love to eat them, they hate the ogres.
Fortunately there are never than many Ogres and many a northern mankind hero made his name by killing a Ogre, often by trickery, drowning, dropping a small mountain on them and the like.
The Ancient People
The Men of the North
Giants
Back in the depths of history when magic started going away and man kind began to shrink the giants did the opposite and started to grow.
They grew and grew and most are now twice the height of a big one, some like the cloud giants can be as tall as two and a half big ones.
There are three main types of giants.
The cloud giants who are tall and skinny and tend to spend a lot more time floating in the south where the weather is warmer, cloud giants have floating castles and Air magics which they use to hide themselves and to fly. They are the most private of the giants and rarely seen even by others of the folk.
Fire giants live in great caverns and carve cities into the hearts of volcanoes. They are prolific if crude smiths and are seldom seen on the surface.
Fire Giants and dwarves have the same sort of love hate relationship that the Northern mankind have with Orges and for the same reasons. Battles between the two are uncommon and usually result in the dwarves running away and the giants chasing them into somewhere the dwarves have set up a lot of siege weapons and crossbows.
Fire giants have their own underground farms and mines and mostly keep to themselves.
Frost giants are the ones most encountered, they live in the north and while their cities are well hidden in caves or isolated mountain valleys they do not farm for themselves, rather they raid others and take what they want.
At one time the Frost giants formed a vast army and tried to conquer the entire north, they were met by the Ancient People of the north known as the Odin’s along with every Hero and warrior who could swing an axe.
This battle lasted a day and a night and another day and in the end the Frost giants were defeated and the survivors fled.
Since then however the Frost Giants have secretly rebuilt and they are now stronger than they have ever been and they are eager for a rematch.
The beast folk of the southern waters
Minotaur
Satyr
Gnomes
There is much debate about where Gnomes come from.
Some say they are created and then left to wake up in a garden though who or what does the creating is a subject of much debate over a flagon.
Some say they are stones that woke up one day and became a gnome.
Some talk of the Gnome Wives who make up one in twenty of the gnomish population. Gnome wives do have gnome children though how that happens is a subject of much rumour among the gnomes, only the gnome wives know for sure how the handful of baby gnomes come to be and no gnome with any sense spreads rumours where there is a gnome wife to hear.
Dwarves
Elves
As Dwarves are of the Earth so Elves are of wood, in ancient times when wood was one of the six prime elements before big one science came along and tried to muck up the system.
Elves are of wood but not the trees, no self respecting tree wants to claim ownership of an elf.
The elf is tall and thin, most are nearly shoulder high on the average big one. Quick they are, graceful and dainty but lacking in strength and easy to damage.
Elves are Fae folk, those who dwell beyond the boundary and being the most numerous and the smartest of that lot they have set themselves up as rulers of that realm.
Your average elf is as risk averse as a health and safety inspector,
Fairies
Pixies
Troll
Trolls come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are covered in scales, some in warts, some are like boulders, some grow lichen like hair. But there are two general types of Troll, the bridge or river Trolls that you find across most of Europe from the Mediterranean coast up to Britain, and the Northern Troll.
River or Bridge Troll can be anywhere from four feet to eight feet tall but at skinny and wiry, more at home in the water than on the land but they like the shade which is why you tend to find them under bridges.
Northern Troll are big ugly brutes, from seven to as tall as ten feet and heavy set, not as bulky as an Ogre but still big. They don’t swim so they keep clear of the rivers of Fjords, you find them in the mountains living in caves.
Ogres
Back at the dawn of time when the scaly monsters died out and the two legs rose to claim the known worlds mankind was tall. Much taller than today, they were strong and healthy and strode the world as if they owned it, which to be fair they did.
Now as time passed and the magic faded the mankind began to change. Most of them lost all magic and shrunk down though there are some of the oldest in the realms who say they are getting tall again.
Some like the giants kept growing.
Some like the Ancient People stayed the same.
Some like the Ogres got stronger and more stupid in equal measure which is to say that Ogres being about the strongest beings in the realms are also what could be called, a bit thick.
An ogre is a pair of legs, a pair of arms, a great lump of a body and a head stuck on top. Most Ogres have as many muscles in one finger as an elf has in its entire body, they are so strong, well when folk talk about strong they say Ogres and when they talk about weaker they say everyone else.
Ogres eat just about anything, cows, pigs, horses, trees, stones and people. Which is why the northern mankind had a bit of a love hate relationship with Ogres, the Ogres love to eat them, they hate the ogres.
Fortunately there are never than many Ogres and many a northern mankind hero made his name by killing a Ogre, often by trickery, drowning, dropping a small mountain on them and the like.
The Ancient People
The Men of the North
Giants
Back in the depths of history when magic started going away and man kind began to shrink the giants did the opposite and started to grow.
They grew and grew and most are now twice the height of a big one, some like the cloud giants can be as tall as two and a half big ones.
There are three main types of giants.
The cloud giants who are tall and skinny and tend to spend a lot more time floating in the south where the weather is warmer, cloud giants have floating castles and Air magics which they use to hide themselves and to fly. They are the most private of the giants and rarely seen even by others of the folk.
Fire giants live in great caverns and carve cities into the hearts of volcanoes. They are prolific if crude smiths and are seldom seen on the surface.
Fire Giants and dwarves have the same sort of love hate relationship that the Northern mankind have with Orges and for the same reasons. Battles between the two are uncommon and usually result in the dwarves running away and the giants chasing them into somewhere the dwarves have set up a lot of siege weapons and crossbows.
Fire giants have their own underground farms and mines and mostly keep to themselves.
Frost giants are the ones most encountered, they live in the north and while their cities are well hidden in caves or isolated mountain valleys they do not farm for themselves, rather they raid others and take what they want.
At one time the Frost giants formed a vast army and tried to conquer the entire north, they were met by the Ancient People of the north known as the Odin’s along with every Hero and warrior who could swing an axe.
This battle lasted a day and a night and another day and in the end the Frost giants were defeated and the survivors fled.
Since then however the Frost Giants have secretly rebuilt and they are now stronger than they have ever been and they are eager for a rematch.
The beast folk of the southern waters
Minotaur
Satyr