The conventional pantheons are strongly influenced by the cotemporal expanse of the Far Realm which led to the stratification of the Outer Planes. Events in the nonlinear region are essentially fixed and it is convenient to think of them as causative to the Cataclysm out of which the demihuman races (and yugoloths) arose. Though seemingly made over into our own, however, the same universe still exists in which the celesternals are not divided between angels and devils, and persist in their...
View full commentThe conventional pantheons are strongly influenced by the cotemporal expanse of the Far Realm which led to the stratification of the Outer Planes. Events in the nonlinear region are essentially fixed and it is convenient to think of them as causative to the Cataclysm out of which the demihuman races (and yugoloths) arose. Though seemingly made over into our own, however, the same universe still exists in which the celesternals are not divided between angels and devils, and persist in their persecution of the demons, the giants have never ceased to rule over the apians within the spheres of light, the wildmen still contribute to the prosperity of the empires of the mind seekers, and the lesser abominations continue to dominate the gobbels. (The hermetic protoillithids are dismayed by their mind flayer descendants' decline into the subjugation of inferior servitors.) Fractured realities also exist in which the primary conflict is between Law and Chaos, for example, or the kingdoms of the giants coexist in peace with those of humanoids.
The three species of precosmological protohumans are related, though not closely, to the humanoid races. The several breeds of orcs are descendants of apians and an intermediate race between wildmen and humans, the cavemen. The interaction of wildmen and cavemen with gobbels led to the origins of dwarves, troglodytes, and also other protohuman races which diverged into bestial monstrous humanoids such as minotaurs and gnolls. Goblinoids and kuo-toa are the proud descendants of those gobbels whose bloodline was not sullied. Elves and sahuaguin claim similarly pure descent from the giants' apian slaves. The apians also crossbred with gobbels, producing another protohuman ancestor race, olbitlans, which rehybridized with apians to create halflings, and gobbels to produce gnomes. In most cases, humanoids related through a hybrid race can interbreed, but these small races are difficult to crossbreed.
Similarities in appearance and behavior have led to the existence of confusion among the original protohumans, humans, and contemporary protohumans such as gith and fey. Besides humans and mermen, shadar-kai, githyanki and githzerai are all descendants of wildmen, who were initially adopted by their protoillithid patrons because they demonstrated admirable loyalty to the group. Fey have both apian and wildmen blood and were shaped by their exposure to elemental forces, whereas the disobedient...
View full commentSimilarities in appearance and behavior have led to the existence of confusion among the original protohumans, humans, and contemporary protohumans such as gith and fey. Besides humans and mermen, shadar-kai, githyanki and githzerai are all descendants of wildmen, who were initially adopted by their protoillithid patrons because they demonstrated admirable loyalty to the group. Fey have both apian and wildmen blood and were shaped by their exposure to elemental forces, whereas the disobedient wildmen who hid from their masters in the planes of Shadow, long before the treachery of Gith, eventually became the shadar-kai.
View full comment
View full comment