RACES OF EASTERN OERIK

Nearly all the humans of the Flanaess can trace their roots to five racial groups. (A sixth group, the Olman of the Amedio jungle, exist as former slaves in the Hold of the Sea Princes.) Many folk retain distinctive racial characteristics, but most are difficult to recognize due to long centuries of mixed marriages. However even in these cases, many families identify with a certain racial group and follow those traditions and customs whether they resemble their ancestors or not. Only the Rhennee shun marriages outside their own race.

The Flannae

Members of the Flan race are accepted to be the first human inhabitants of eastern Oerik; hence the term Flanaess. Originally scattered nomads with no real settlements, the Flan were pushed to various areas of the continent just over a thousand years ago by the invading Suel and Oeridians.

The Flannae are recognizable by their bronze complexions and wavy or curly hair. Their skin tones range from a lighter coppery color to a deep brown. Flan eyes are most commonly dark brown or black, with brown or amber appearing less frequently. Their hair is usually black but also ranges through shades of brown-black, dark brown and brown.

The Duchy of Tenh boasts of a pure Flan heritage. Geoff and Sterich, while slightly mixed with other races, still identify with the Flannae. Other nations that show strong Flan roots are the Rovers of the Barrens, Stonehold and the Theocracy of the Pale.

The original Flan nomads of a millennium ago wore simple, utilitarian clothing including loincloths, capes and leather wrappings on their feet that served as shoes. They also wore brightly colored body paints, primarily vermilion and yellow ochre, in primitive patterns, a practice still common among the surviving Rovers of the Barrens. In civilized regions such as the Duchy of Tenh, Flan clothing tends to follow current fashion, though in solid, bright primary colors.

The ancient Flannae were a peaceful people who followed a regular pattern of seasonal migration. They lived off the land, hunting and gathering, and their population remained relatively steady. They had a strong view of nature as an entity, and the myths, legends and culture all emphasized the importance and values of a dose relationship with nature. All of the known druidic gods are Flan in origin.

While many Flannae were able to coexist with the immigrating Suel and Oeridians, others found themselves pushed from their traditional lands. They were forced to hunt in unfamiliar territories and climates, and some scholars speculate that the Flannae nearly died out during these difficult years.

Some of the pureblooded Flannae still show characteristics of their ancestors. They tend to prefer open spaces to crowded cities, and they have an affinity for gardening (especially among those with no choice but to live in crowded conditions). Some Flan (particularly those of the Rovers, though many of them have been killed in recent years) are good with horses. The Flannae have a strong tradition for storytelling, and most families have a repertoire of legends and traditions passed down through the generations. They like to spend as much time as they can out of doors, and a favourite pastime during comfortable weather is to build an outdoor fire and gather the family around for an evening of stories.

A modern custom among the Flannae is to plant a tree at the doorway of their home. The tree helps to maintain the families ties to nature and remind them to care for the Oerth mother Beory. Among some branches of the Flan, if the tree sickens or dies, this is taken as a sign that the family must move or perhaps bad luck or some evil influence. Trees and plants are often given as gifts to welcome a new baby or to greet a Flan family moving to a new home. For good luck, some Flannae keep a dried or pressed leaf from their home tree when travelling or adventuring.

The Oeridians

A millennium ago, the Oeridians moved from the west into the Flanaess, where they eventually took control of what is now Furyondy, Perrenland, the Shield Lands, the Great Kingdom of North Aerdy, the United Kingdom of Ahlissa, Onnwal and Sunndi They are sometimes difficult to differentiate from other races, with skin ranging from tan to olive, hair varying in color from honey-blonde to black (with brown and auburn being most common), and eyes of every common color, though most often brown or gray. Oeridians are recognized more easily through their choice of clothing.

Favouring plaids and checks, sometimes with unusual variations such as diamond or lozenge patterns, the Oeridians are perhaps the flashiest dressers in the Flanaess. Their clothing normally consists of close-fitting trousers and short tunic with capes or cloaks.

Historically, the Oeridians were fierce warriors and aggressive about controlling land. They fought hard to maintain their borders and even harder to acquire lands they desired. Conquerors by nature, they are accustomed to thinking of themselves as the best humanity has to offer and thus destined to rule. They are prone to take charge, obey their superiors, and sacrifice for the good of whatever group they are in. All Oeridians suffer from bouts of temper, however, and those who can control their emotions and channel their energies into productive activity are regarded highly among other races.

Oeridans have a talent for focusing their attention in combat. And this sometimes gives them the upper hand. They consider fighting a craft, and practice is taken very seriously. Some Oeridians practice acrobatics, tumbling, unarmed fighting and even dance as part of their training. Because of the great amount of time the warriors devote to practising their art. Oeridians tend to be nimble.

The Oeridians are recognised for the superb weapons and armour they produce. They are always looking for ways to improve their odds in battle, and that includes perfecting existing weapons and armour designs, and inventing new types of armour and weapons. They are also very inventive with developing magical armour and weapons and combat spells.

Oeridian custom requires that a gift be offered to a host or hostess when an overnight stay is anticipated. Traditionally, this gesture was meant to put the hosting family at ease and serve as a sign that the visitors had no designs on acquiring the host’s land or property.

The Oeridian people feel deep ties to their clan and are fiercely protective of both their immediate and extended family. A threat to an Oeridian’s land or property is only slightly less important than a threat to his family.

The Rhennee

The Rhennee are truly the enigma among the races of Greyhawk. While the other four races can trace their histories to elsewhere on the continent, the Rhennee have separate origins. They are thought to have first appeared in the Flanaess in the area around the Adri Forest around 150 cy, moving west to avoid harassment by Aerdy soldiers and citizens. The Rhennee increasingly left the land to become migrants on the central rivers, until comparatively few land-dwelling Rhennee now exist. Though they rarely speak of this to outsiders, their legends claim that the race came to Oerth accidentally from their home world of Rhop. Although the Rhenn-folk have only a few ideas of what their home plane was like or how they got here, they know that it was quite different from the Flanaess.

At a glance, some Rhennee might be confused with Oeridians. Rhennee skin color ranges in the tan to olive shades and hair tends to be black or dark brown, and curly hair is most common. Their eyes are most often brown, gray or hazel, but blue or green eyes are not unusual The Rhennee are wiry and short, with males averaging about 5' 6", but they are exceptionally strong for their build.

The Rhennee live exclusively on the waterways, making their homes on large barges that average about 60 feet long and 15 feet wide. These sturdy barges are similar in style to a junk; they are capable of navigating the Nyr Dyvs often-choppy waters and treacherous storms, as well as river ways. These ships may have one or two masts. A single barge may be home to as many as 45 people, including a captain or chief, two to four guards, a "wise woman," an advisor or two, 13 to 24 adults, and seven to twelve children (up to age 12). The guards may be male or female, but the advisors are always female. The wise woman is the matriarch of the group (although not all families on the barge are related); her role is to sell fortunes for land-dwellers and thus earn coin, and also to predict the weather, settle disputes and use her skills with herbalism for minor healing. The wise woman is the driving force in Rhennee society; not even a noble will knowingly contradict her. In spite of the role of the wise woman and her advisors, Rhennee society is extremely chauvinistic. Other women are treated as helpmeets and gain some respect from the men, but they are basically considered chattel. No formal rite of marriage exists, and barge captains and nobles may have as many "wives" as they can support. The men tend toward proud, aggressive behaviour and are quick to issue a challenge to a non-Rhennee male who looks in the direction of one of their women.

The Rhennee earn their living primarily through transportation of goods and passengers, with some hunting, fishing, trading and craftwork on the side. Most will not work when they can steal and thus have good thieving skills, although they avoid stealing from each other. Some also have a skill for tinkering, but their reputations vary widely.

Most of these folk do not seem inclined toward good or evil, but instead lean toward neutrality. Some Rhennee have recently followed evil cults (for example those of Vecna and Iuz), but this influence has been thrown off. The Rhennee follow a rather strict set of norms that has different standards for their own kind and for non-Rhennee. Many of their customs are baffling to outsiders, and the Rhennee seem to like it that way. Outside the city of Greyhawk, a large settlement (if it can be called that) of Rhennee floats on the Selintan River. The city officials ignore the flotilla, leaving the Rhennee to resolve their own problems in their own way. The system works well for all concerned.

The Suloise

The Suel folk arrived in Oerik as refugees from lands south and west of the Crystalmist and HelIfurnace Mountains. Escaping the wars in their homelands, the Suloise helped to displace the Flannae from their traditional lands and were themselves scattered far and wide.

No one is certain what the ancient Suloise Empire was like. Most of their former realm was destroyed by the Rain of Colorless Fire, leaving behind what is now called the Sea of Dust. Rumours abound of Suloise ruins and treasures buried in the Sea of Dust, but the climate there is so harsh that few dare to go looking for this wealth.

The Suloise are the fairest-skinned of Oerik's races, some being almost albino. Their eyes vary from pale blue and violet through deep blue and the occasional gray. Hair color ranges in the strawberry blondes, yellows and platinums. Wavy or kinky hair is seen as often as straight hair.

The Frost, Ice and Snow Barbarians are the best examples of pure Suel blood. Suel descendants are also predominant in the Duchy of Urnst, the islands off the eastern coast of the Flanaess, and the lands of the Scarlet Brotherhood on the Tilvanot Peninsula. Some Suloise settled in the Amedio Jungle and Hepmonaland, where they became tanned and freckled.

Ancient Suloise wore wide-legged pantaloons and loose blouses. These styles are still popular but have been adapted for climate. In the north, these garments can be of fur or felted wool, worn with capes, furred boots and mittens. Those in the south sometimes wear a loose vest instead of a blouse, and fabrics are lightweight. Solid colors are preferred universally, with most folk having only one or two colors in their wardrobe. The Suloise also like to wear emblems and souvenir trinkets on their clothing. These ornaments are considered important items of family heritage. They can be passed down through generations.

The Suloise have a strong sense of the importance of ancestral and family ties. They fight more among themselves than other human groups because of these ancient allegiances.

The Suloise are not known for their patience and have a short way with disagreements since they tend to be opinionated and convinced that their notions are the best. A popular saying in some parts of the Flanaess is, "when all the Suloise have left the table," meaning that nothing constructive will take place in a discussion until anyone unwilling to be open-minded is removed.

These folk are also known for their manual dexterity. They have a talent for all arts and crafts, especially those involving detail work such as embroidery, sewing, leather tooling, sculpting and painting. Suloise weavers can demand the highest prices on the continent for their fabrics, both for the fine grain of their weaves and the extraordinary detail of their patterns.

The Suel have a long tradition of wizardry and magical research, and the ancient Suel Imperium produced many powerful magics, culminating in the Invoked Devastation that laid waste to the ancient Baklunish Empire. Even now many Suel become mages. Perhaps their dexterity gives them an advantage in manipulating spell components and gesticulations.

The Baklunish

The Baklunish are settled mainly in the northwestern regions of the Flanaess. Zeif, Ull, Ekbir and the Tiger Nomads are the best examples of pure Baklunish folk.

Their skin tends to be golden and eyes are most commonly green or gray‑green, with gray and hazel less frequent. Hair color is always dark, ranging from blue black to dark brown. Baklunish features can he seen mixed with those of other races in the nations of Ket and Tusmit, and among the Wolf Nomads and the Paynim tribes.

In the north, bright colors and gaudy patterns are typical of Baklunish costume, with gowns and robes favoured, and short breeks with long coats nearly as popular. Peasant folk in the north also wear gaudy fabrics, but tend more toward a single long robe with whatever adornments are available. The southern Baklunish favour colors in the pastel ranges, with patterns also popular. Dress is complex and fancy, with puffs, slashes and peplums.  Ruffs might be seen at formal occasions. When at war, this fanciness is eschewed, and most soldiers wear rough fabrics, leathers and hides adorned with shields and coats of arms. They often carry banners displaying clan colours and symbols.

All Baklunish are raised to esteem honour, piety, generosity and family. Pursuit of these virtues is so consistent that for a Baklunish to kill his parents, for instance, is unthinkable.

The Baklunish have developed two distinct cultures. One group long ago developed a horse-based nomadic culture based on raiding, herding and trading the fine horses they breed. The settled Baklunish are traders and farmers who have achieved considerable power and built great cities and roads.

Like the Suel, the Baklunish are recognised for their magical skill. They are especially noted for inventing new elemental spells and using spellcasting in concert with others through co-operative magic. Even to this day their reputation is due in part to the Rain of Colourless Fire that the Baklunish brought down upon the Suloise Empire a thousand years ago.

Elves

Elves (called "olve" or "olvenfolk" in Flan) inhabited the Flanaess for centuries before the fall of the Baklunish and Suloise Empires. Suloise, Oeridian and humanoid invaders pushed the elves from their grassland and prairie homes. Fortunately, the elves willingly resettled to the forests, where they held their own as nearby human kingdoms rose, expanded, made war and fell. The Suloise and humanoids, particularly orcs, gave the greatest trouble to the elves, who often found themselves allied with their old Flan neighbours and with the aggressive but reasonably trustworthy Oeridians.

High Elves tend to mix with other races most easily. They favour the town of High folk, Duchy of Ulek, Archclericy of Veluna and the Spindrift Isles. The shortest of their race, high elves average only about five feet in height. They have pale complexions, dark hair and green eyes, and tend to dress in greys, greens and pastels.

Gray Elves are reclusive and keep to themselves in the Kingdoms of Celene and Sunndi. They have silver hair and amber eyes or golden hair and violet eyes. The Elves of Sunndi have been forced to add war-making skills to their culture due to the threat of the Scarlet Brotherhood and the former Great Kingdom.

Sylvan Elves, also known as wood elves, tend to be even more reclusive than the gray, avoiding even other elves when possible. They make their homes in the kingdom of Celene, the Duchy of Ulek, the ancient forests of the Flanaess and the town of Highfolk. Their skin is darker than that of the high elves and they dress in browns and greens.

Grugach, the wild elves, live in tiny, isolated bands in the temperate forests. They are short like the high elves and very pale, but otherwise resemble sylvan elves.

Valley Elves are treated with suspicion by other elves for reasons not clear to humans. These unusually tall (up to six feet in height) elves live exclusively in the Valley of the Mage. They are known to practice unusual magic presumably taught to them by Jaran Krimeeah.

Aquatic Elves breathe water as well as air, and have webbed fingers and toes. They prefer temperate and tropical oceans and seas. Near the Spindrift Sound and Spindrift Isles, the aquatic elves are allied with the high elves.

Dwarves

Dwarves (“dwurfolk”) are about four feet tall, broad shouldered and muscular, with tan, gray or reddish brown skin and brown or black eyes. No Man or Elf has ever seen a beardless Dwarf, for the Dwurfolk have beards from the beginning of their lives, both male and female alike! Dwarves live long lives, though not as long as eIves, and they reproduce slowly.

The stout, sturdy folk of the mountains are considered by most to be the salt of the earth and the keepers of the realms below the surface. They prefer to live underground in vast caverns or tunnel systems where they mine precious metals and gems. They usually don’t live in human cities for more than a few weeks at a time. Dwarves have a reputation for being taciturn and grumpy (which is partly deserved), but they make excellent allies in any type of battle or warfare, though it is hard to get them involved in conflicts among those they consider “outsiders”.

Hill dwarves are most populous in the Principality of Ulek and the Iron Hills. They are the most common type of dwarves in the Flanaess. They are cooperative with the other races and are especially valuable in battles against giants and humanoids.

Mountain dwarves are less common, taller, and paler than their hill-dwelling cousins. The Archbarony of Ratik and the Principality of Ulek have the largest populations of mountain dwarves. These folk know secrets of the underground that other races cannot even guess at.

The dwarves have evil counterparts in the derro and duergar (gray dwarves). These races live deeper underground than the hill dwarves. The secrets that they harbour are better left unknown.

Hobbits

Hobbits ("hobniz") are a cheerful race that make homes in burrows similar to the gnomes. Light hair covers most of their bodies, especially the backs of their hands and the tops of their feet. Hobbits usually travel barefoot, their thick-soled feet protecting them from the pain others would feel stepping on briars and sharp stones. Most hobbits build shallow burrow cottages called hobbit holes in grasslands, forests or hills. They have no nations or kingdoms, but live here and there in small villages and little towns, far away from the Big Folk. A peaceful existence. They love good food and drink, in great quantities, and a pipe to smoke afterwards. To an outsider it may seem that hobbit life is centered around eating, they generally take six meals a day - first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, dinner, tea, and supper. Hobbits make a living as farmers, hunters of small game and as reasonably skilled craftsmen.

Three subraces of hobbits live in the Flanaess. The harfoots are the most numerous~ and many live among humans. The fallohides are about six inches taller and comparatively willowy in build, usually living near elves, and stoors are about six inches smaller and live among dwarves.

Hobbits are quiet, retiring, and do not seek attention. They are farm folk, pastoral people who don't get excited about much. Basically good-natured, they have adapted many creature comforts used by humans, and like safe comfortable lives. The few hobbits who go adventuring are exceptions to the rule.

Gnomes

Gnomes ("noniz") are believed by some to be related to dwarves, but aside from height, there are few similarities. Gnomes favour woodlands for their homes, residing in burrows just below the surface in hilly country. Gnomes are rarely taller than three and a half feet, are moderately built, and have skin that resembles the color of wood (from light ash to dark oak). Gnomes usually wear red or blue conical hats. They work well and enjoy merrymaking.

In general, the gnomes of the Flanaess defended themselves ably in the Greyhawk Wars, though the Flinty Hills gnomes suffered more than their kindred elsewhere. The gnomes' success in the Wars is due in part to their strong military tradition. They have recently expanded burrow communities in the Kron Hills, County of Ulek, Veluna, Verbobonc, Highfolk and Celene.

One important but scarce subrace, the deep gnomes (or svirfneblin) live far underground; these have gray, hairless skin and excellent heat-sensing vision, but little else is known of them. Some are rumoured to magically command creatures made of living earth and rock. Svirfheblin are believed to be among the few good underground races.

Humanoid Races

Kobolds are the smallest of goblinkind, standing only a yard high and having certain features that are both reptilian and doglike. Cowardly as individuals, kobolds prefer mass attacks against outnumbered foes. Their worst enemies are the gnomes.

Slightly larger than kobolds but sharing their cowardice and mass-combat tactics, xvarts are squat, yard-high, blue-skinned humanoids. Xvarts ally with rats.

Goblins are more manlike than kobolds, slightly taller, with flat faces, pointed ears, low sloping foreheads, orange skin and fangs. Cave-dwelling slave-takers, goblins hate humans, dwarves and gnomes.

Orcs are the most common humanoids in the Flanaess. As large as well-muscled humans, orcs resemble bestial gray-green cavemen. They are extremely warlike and eagerly challenge other races for food and living space. They prefer caves and can see in the dark, but return often to the surface to loot and hunt for meat. They hate dwarves and elves and have learned a bitter respect for humans, their most dangerous foe. Orcs often fight among themselves, pitting tribe against tribe. Orcs can breed with many other sorts of humanoids. The offspring of an orcish father and an ogre mother is an orog or great orc: - basically a taller, stronger, braver and better-equipped orc. The child of an ogre father and an orcish mother is an ogrillon - still orclike but even more brutish, stupid and violent, with particularly thick skin and powerful fists.

Hobgoblins are the most ferocious, aggressive and organized of the goblin races. They resemble tall, heavily muscled and furred humans with red-brown or gray skins and red or orange faces. Smarter than other goblin races, they are renowned for their brutality and military skill.

Norkers are shorter relatives of hobgoblins, with thick, armoured skin. The innately vicious norkers use clubs and their own fangs to attack their enemies.

Gnolls and their stronger cousins, flinds, are seven-foot-tall, hyena-headed humanoids of evil, selfish nature. They hate their own leaders and can’t organize themselves for more than occasional raiding parties. Gnolls and flinds take slaves to perform all chores.

Bugbears are very tall goblins with thick, shaggy fur. For their size they move quietly, and their strength is considerable.

Ogres can be as tall as ten feet and have savage tempers. Nearly as strong as true giants, ogres gladly eat humans and demihumans. They are stupid but dangerous.

Half-humans, such as half-orcs and half-ogres, are disliked by most humans and demihumans. Some find work and respect in civilized areas, but the majority of half-humans are wicked in intent and lack foresight and organization.

Other Intelligent Races

Giants

Giants of the Flanaess come in many sizes and races, some with unusual quirks. Though an army of giants and humanoids conquered Geoff, they are not as a rule well organized. Most giants hate humanity, probably because they were driven into the mountains by humans.

Hill giants are the most common sort, often inhabiting and raiding the outskirts of civilized lands. Heat-loving fire giants dwell in the volcanic areas of the Hellfurnaces, and frost giants live in the high, cold peaks of the Barrier Peaks/ Crystalmists chain and the mountains of the subarctic Thillonrian Peninsula. The cruel and grotesque fomorian giants are best known from the Howling Hills in the original lands of Iuz but can be found elsewhere. Various other types exist.

Dragons

Dragons are huge winged reptiles of high intelligence that can project breath weapons of fire, frost, acid, poison gas, lightning or the like. Incredibly strong and often with great magical abilities, dragons are widely feared. While their numbers have diminished over the centuries, individual dragons are still dangerous. Each can live longer than a thousand years, and many recall great historical lore.

Three primary types of dragons inhabit the Flanaess. Chromatic dragons are evil- natured and have scales like bright enamelled armour. They are usually red, blue, green, black or white. Metallic dragons have scales like bright metal, and are usually gold, silver, bronze, copper or brass. Metallic dragons are wise and better disposed than chromatic ones, though even they may think fast of their own interests and safety.

Greyhawk dragons are unique to Oerth. These fantastic creatures are said to spend their time disguised as humans, living in their cities and mingling with the populace. Their human alter egos are supposedly wealthy, respected individuals who interact with the upper classes and intelligentsia. Greyhawk dragons are scrupulous about their disguises and maintain them down to the last detail. Two Greyhawk dragons, a male and a female, are rumoured to inhabit the City of Greyhawk.

A number of unusual dragonlike beings inhabit the Flanaess, some intelligent. The dragonne is a cross between a brass dragon and a lion; the chimera is a cross between a red dragon, a lion and a goat. Wyverns, flying reptiles with poison stingers on their tails, are not uncommon in the mountains. Multiheaded hydrae prey on adventurers in badlands and caverns.

One dragonlike being native to the Flanaess is the dragonnel, a wyvernlike creature found in the hills of the Pomarj. Hunted by humans for centuries, the dragonnel is nearing extinction, though some humans and orcs are rumoured to tame dragonnels and use them as aerial mounts.

Underground Races

Beneath the Hellfurnaces is the world of Under-Oerth, seemingly endless natural caverns and artificial tunnels spreading out and down into the earth. These passages have their own peculiar underground ecology of water-dwellers and lichens, mosses and fungi. In its upper levels, this dark realm is inhabited by humanoids of every sort. Farther down are stranger races, most hostile to surface-dwellers.

Drow, the evil dark elves, thrive in Under-Oerth. They trade with or war on other races there and on the surface, and are renowned as spellcasters.

Duergar, the gray dwarves, inhabit deep regions and seldom venture to the surface. Organized and intelligent, they easily hold their own against other subterranean races. They are masters of stone- and metalworking, but hate their cousins, the hill and mountain dwarves.

The stunted dwarflike derro are among the worst of the Under-Oerth races. They crave magic, power and slaves. They are hated and distrusted even by other evil races, which avoid them. Every twenty years, derro explode outward through the underworld, attacking anything they encounter and destroying or enslaving weaker races.

Jermlaine look like miniature humans that stand twelve to eighteen inches high. These troublesome gremlins love to swarm and rob larger beings, leaving the stripped victims for monsters to find. Jermlaine like rats, and share their lairs.

Troglodytes are manlike reptiles that dwell underground. These creatures emit a nasty musk in battle that disables humans, demihumans and humanoids, allowing the trogs to kill quickly and take the bodies back to their lair for a feast.

Kuo-toa are fish-men, the descendants of an ancient race almost completely destroyed by humanity. The few survivors found refuge beneath the earth. Now they struggle to hold their own against smarter, faster, more powerful races.

Wererats are frequently seen in the upper levels of Under-Oerth, particularly beneath the Hellfurnaces and in the sewers of cities and towns they have infiltrated in their human forms. They conduct trade with other races, both under-and aboveground.

Beholders may have come to Oerth from another world or plane. A beholder resembles a sphere about four to six feet across, with a single huge eye, a fang-filled mouth and ten eyestalks crowning the sphere. A beholder can levitate to any height, floating at the speed of a slowly walking human. Xenophobic and cruel, beholders cast powerful magical rays from their eyestalks; the central eye can cancel out magic used against the beholder. Very few people ever ever see a Beholder. Fewer still will ever live to tell their tale. But everyone knows of the existence of them so terrifying is their reputation.

Mind flayers, also known as illithids, are human size and vaguely humanoid in appearance. Their slimy skin is violet-colored and each hand has three fingers and a thumb. The mind flayer's head resembles an octopus: four tentacles hang around its lamprey-like mouth, and its two huge eyes have no visible pupils. The mind flayer uses the tentacles to grasp a victims head and flays open the unfortunate's skull, eating the brain. Many mind flayers can cast magical spells, but some also have dramatic mental powers called psionics, with which they can enslave or brainwash others. Mind flayers live in great underground cities; one such city apparently exists beneath the Hellfurnaces. They are not believed native to Oerth.

Svirfneblin, the deep gnomes, are almost the only good underworld race. These hairless, hunched gnomes defend themselves against the hordes of evil.

Other Creatures

Aarakocra, are reclusive, winged bird-men who inhabit mountainous regions, particularly in and around the Thillonrian Peninsula and the Lortmils. Their wings (of which their arms are a part) span twenty feet or more. Males have bright plumage; females are gray and brown.

Beastmen are unusual green-furred humanoids who live in tropical forests, especially the Amedio Jungle and Hepmonaland. Skilled hunters living in treetop nests, they appear to be peaceful but are wary of strangers.

Bullywugs are savage froglike humanoids who hate all other races. Usually found in dismal wetlands, particularly the Vast Swamp, bullywugs are notoriously destructive. It is thought that some are servants of the bigoted amphibian deity Wastri. Similar "frog­men" from tropical regions of the Flanaess include the little grippli and the nasty grung.

Centaurs inhabit the cold northern plains called the Barrens, now controlled by Iuz. Much of centaur culture is similar to that of nearby humans, so the centaurs share their neighbours love for finely tanned leather and fur, brilliant colors and face paints. Other centaurs are known to live in Celene and in the Dry Steppes.

Lizard men are bipedal reptiles who dwell in swamps and other wetlands, particularly in warmer spots like the Gnatmarsh, the Hool Marshes, Rushmoor, the Mistmarsh and the Vast Swamp. Barbarous carnivores, the scaled lizard men are avoided by most other races. Lizard men are usually green, gray or brown. They are not very smart.

Lycanthropes of the Flanaess include werewolves, werebears, wereboars, weretigers and wererats. Wicked werewolves, a danger in grasslands and hills, mix with regular wolves and strike down wayfarers. Werebears are good-natured, solitary inhabitants of woodlands and mountains; they have been known to serve as Rangers of the Gnarley Forest. Forest-dwelling wereboars are bad tempered and prone to pick fights. Weretigers are rare, solitary and catlike in personality. As a group, wererats are the most organized and powerful of lycanthropes, dwelling in ruins and underground areas such as city sewers.

Kraken - evil gigantic intelligent octopi - attack shipping in tropical and warm temperate waters.

Quaggoths are white shaggy-furred humanoids found across the north. Quaggoths of the Flanaess are surface­dwellers who prefer forests and rough terrain aboveground to subterranean areas.

Sahuagin are the "devil men of the deep:' an evil race of aquatic humanlike creatures with piscine features such as scales, fins and webbed hands and feet. Sahuagin raid other undersea races and coastal communities.

Carnivorous trolls are seen throughout the Flanaess. Vaguely human in form but with green skin and ravenous appetites, trolls can heal their wounds, recovering even from decapitation. Only acid and fire kill them.

Serpentine yuan-ti, exhibiting snake and human characteristics, lurk in the tropics. Evil and untrustworthy, yuan-ti seek the overthrow of humanity.