Most humans of Chalbrae are the descendents of the Fremain Raiders and the slaves they bought with them. These human colonists occupied the south-western tip of Chalbrae over 700 years ago, and grew powerful over 400 years of expansion and conquest, until 300 years ago they allied with the Dwarves to destroy the Empire of the Chalbrae, the war initially went well, but after nearly 100 years had bogged down in to a stalemate with the powerful humans holding the south, southwest and much of the western lands, the Dwarves holding the central mountains and the Orcs holding the rest.
The final 200 years of the war saw the humans gradually break up into many city states, until in the present time the Kingdom of the Fremain is no more. The City States are generally quite powerful and mostly built around the fortified Towns of the former Kingdom, though some new ones have also been founded in the ruins of Orcan Towns and Fortifications.
However there is a local human race called the Mesnor, they are a sallow skinned race who inhabit the Menan Islands to the north west of the mainland, they also have ancient villages on the northern coast of the Fremain Kingdom and form a large minority in these areas, Also to the east are the Indri Peoples, a fair skinned coastal trading and fishing people from the main continent, who form a considerable minority in the eastern city states
The ancient Dwarves have lived in these lands since before time was measured in years, they have weathered the rise and fall of various domains of the shorter lived races, the coming of the of the Elves, Orcs and Humans and the depredations of Dragons and Giants.
After several betrayals by Warlords of the Chalbrae Orcs, the Dwarven Kings decided to ally with the Human Kingdom of Fremain to break the power of the Orcs. It took time but finally the Orcan Empire fell, but it took relative peace and security with it, and several Dwarven Towns and Fortresses. Also in the final years of the war, three major earthquakes devastated several dwarven cities, this caused the Dwarves to retreat from the War which accelerated the collapse of the Kingdom of Fremain.
Dwarves are a burly race of 5ft average hieght, short legs and a low centre of gravity
The powerful Orcan tribes arrived in Chalbrae over 2000 years ago, these semi-nomadic forest dwellers occupied much of Eastern Chalbrae and opened relations with the Dwarves and Elves. It didn't take long however for territorial disputes to break out between the Orcs and Elves, both races being semi-nomadic by nature and requiring similar areas for occupation.
The ongoing battles with the Elves and threats from Goblinoid Raiders forced the Orcs to start fortifying areas they had occupied, this lead over an 800 year period to the founding and growth of the Chalbrae Empire until it occupied all of Chalbrae east of the Dwarven Homelands and much of the more temperate southern coastline.
At its height, the Empire had over 8 million subjects, including approx 1.5 million Goblinoids of various races and nearly 100,000 Ogres. But it is now but a shadowy remnant of it former glory, broken up between the various Warlords when a succession of weak Emperors failed to stop the conquests of the Humans and Dwarves. The Goblins have also broken free of the Empire and are finding their own destiny.
Orcs a burly race, standing on average 6ft tall with broad shoulders and thickset bodies.
Orcs are fecund, and can breed with many other races. The most common pairings are Orc-Human (Half-Orcs), Orc-Hobgoblin (Orocs) and Orc-Ogre (Ogrillons), there are also a few Orc-Elf (Elocs) offspring but they are very rare.
The Elves came out of the west over 2500 years ago, spreading from the coastal areas to the interior over a 400 - 600 year period, until increasing conflicts with the Orcs forces a retreat to the Western Forests. The semi-nomadic lifestyle clashed with the similar lifestyle of the orcs and the weaker elven people were forced to retreat to the wilder woodlands which they could more easily defend.
Elves and Humans got along very well from the first meetings, and the Humans have been strong allies ever since, though the Elves despaired at the Alliance between the Dwarves and Humans as they consider the Dwarves to be betrayers of their race for not allying with them against the Orcs.
Elves are a tiny race, standing approx 4ft tall and very slim, they have vestigal wings which help them glide amongst the trees for short periods and are very agile
The various Goblinoid Sub races have been in Chalbrae as long as the Dwarves, and indeed have been in conflict with them for as long.
There are 4 Sub-Races of Goblinoids
1/ Goblins; The most common of the sub-races, Goblins are primitive creatures who dwell in the hills and mountains and live by raiding and scavenging. Many were enslaved by the Orcs and have returned to their tribes with advanced knowledge of weapon making and warfare since the collapse of the Empire. This has caused a sort of Renaissance Technologically amongst the Goblin Tribes and they have increased in power because of it.
2/ Hob-Goblins; Hob-Goblins are a highly disciplined sub-race of Goblins, their history tells of a renegade Dwarven Prince who took their people from the primitive life they had lead and disciplined them. He wished to form an army to reclaim his lost throne, nothing came of his plans, but the Hob-Goblins took the lessons learnt and created a more martial society. Because of this, Hob-Goblins tend to be near 50% larger then their more primitive Goblin Cousins. Many thousands of years of evolution has separated them from the common Goblins, at least that's what they will have you believe.
3/ Bugbears; The most primitive of the Goblinoids, and also the largest, Bugbears are nomadic hunters who aren't above raiding and pillaging for supplies. Bugbears are famed for their ability to move noiselessly and invisibly thru the forests, indeed many foes have been wiped out by Bugbears before anyone knew they were even there.
4/ Gnomes; The smallest and most technologically advanced of the Goblinoids, Gnomes have been allied with the Dwarves for many millennia, and have bought many innovative ideas to life, including Power Catapults, Steam Driven Engines and Diggers and the great Steam Trains.
The Giants of the north are a more organized and warlike race than their southern cousins, and were quite a shock to the immigrating Orcs and later Humans. These large human looking creatures are actually a human sub-species that had developed in isolation for millennia and evolved along entirely different lines to Humans.
On average Giants are nearly 12 ft tall and weight over 450lb, northern giants tend towards wild reddish hair and green eyes, while Southern Giants are around 10ft tall and approx 350lb with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Giants rarely form communities of over 30-40 except in times of war and other troubles, there have been recorded sightings however of Giant Villages in the far north of over 100 population
The Ogres are a powerful though very primitive people, only barely above animal intelligence and very aggressive. These large creatures were long ruled by the Orcan Empire and learnt some discipline from the Orcs, but since the fall of the Empire they have reverted to their former lives as raiders, hunters and mercenaries
Ogres are on average 9-10ft tall, with grey pebbly skin and dull yellow eyes