Humanoids - Overview

While they can be considered ‘human’, as human as say, the Elves or Wyldkin in nature and lifecycle, not everyone on Dragondeep that calls themselves such, actually is Human.

In particular the Necromancers and the Grape Barons are distinctly ‘almost Human’. While many of the undead that inhabit the Necropolis are based upon humanoids, they can also be said to be their own race. Residing under and among the cities of the Sulfur Shadow, the Underlanders are nearly extinct but still present. All of these have the same basic arrangement of two legs, two arms, hands, a face with the right features, and no terribly obvious extras. While they do have changes to or subtractions of certain features, overall they are not going to be mistaken for Demons or Clocks any time soon.

It is worth noting that while the planet of Dragondeep has been visited by and inhabited by a wide variety of creatures over the hundred-plus thousand years that the Portals and Gates have allowed it, most of the species who manage to remain are Humanoid in configuration. Whether this is by design – the Gods were playing on other worlds after all, and did subjugate numerous other species before arriving to this world – or purely that Humanoid biology works best with the world, none can say. It is up for rigorous debate in many universities.

There are many connections between the worlds which these people are from. Not just ‘different versions of Earth’, but disparate planets across what might be several different universes. The ‘base stock’ for the Dragonkin, aside from Dragons of course, may actually be the same genetic line as the Necromancers: their six fingered hands and base coloration are reasonably similar. Of course, if the Necromancer line are from the same world, they would have had their own several-hundred-thousand years worth of evolution to change into their more recent form even before arrival to this world. There are also similarities between the current Necromancers and a species that had been on the Otherforest (mentioned elsewhere) which also involved the creation and upkeep of Portals. Since there is only one surviving “Ancient” there on that world – and he’s more than a little weird – he may represent the original form of that species when the Gods were farming out their work. With six fingers and that very tall, very alien look to him, someone might want to dig through his old brain for information.

Some species of Humanoids may be equitable to other frequently-seen ‘fictional races’, such as Halflings, Dwarves, Trolls and the like.

Features of Humanoids

• Covers a wide variety of not-quite-Human folk, including Necromancers, Grape Barons, Vampires, and Nomads, but there are others on the planet not in great numbers with similar features
• Most might be able to interbreed, but hardly ever do, though interaction is quite common
• Have remarkably varied lifespans and lifestyles
• Comprise the second largest racial ‘group’ short of the Wyldkin (Vampire, Undead, Necromancer in one large group, and Baron/Nomad/Underlander in another – the four-fingered ones outnumber the others by at least twenty to one for those with a heartbeat)