The Peoples of Crossroads
Oct 28th, 2020 by FayOnyx
The Crossroads Setting is a place of diversity and that diversity includes a wide array of sapient species (species capable of human-like thought). There are:
- Animal-Folk
- Orcs
- Humans
- Hobs (in progress)
- Merpeople
- Plasmodial Slime-People
- Fungal Vampires
- Vine Collectives
- Pitcher Crabs
- Shifters
- Sapient Animals
- Sapient Constructs
- Melding Ghosts (in progress)
- Sapient Skeletons (in progress)
- Motley Fae
- Dryads
- Elves (in progress)
- Fairies
- Pixies
- Dwarves (in progress)
- Gnomes (in progress)
- Goblins
- Imps (in progress)
- Trolls (in progress)
- Ogres
A gold compass rose is surrounded by slices from eight different landscapes. Clockwise from the upper left they are: a rainforest, a desert with red stripped hills, a grassy plane surrounded by mountains, red mountains, a temperate forest, a lake with a rainbow, snow covered mountains, and an underwater view of a coral reef.
Mundane Species
Illustration of the dim interior of a simple cottage kitchen. The walls are thick stone and light streams in the small window, illuminating baskets, pots, and pans. This artwork is a modification of a photograph by JerzyGorecki.
Mundane species are grounded in the here and now. If magic was involved in their origins, that contribution is over and they are not inherently magical. However, while mundane species are non-magical as a whole, families and individuals can be magical, and anyone in Crossroads can learn magic.
Animal-Folk
Illustration showing a Parrot-Folk character, a Dragon-Folk character, and an Elephant-Folk character. All three were illustrated by Jessica Kuczynski.
Overview: Animal-Folk are human-animal hybrids. Most Animal-Folk look like humanoid versions of animals or magical creatures.
Physical Description: As human-animal hybrids, each type of Animal-Folk, such as Otter-Folk or Phoenix-Folk, is composed of parts from humans and parts from a specific kind of animal or magical creature. There are three common body plans for how these parts are combined.
- Evenly Blended: This body plan is a mostly even mixing of animal and human, though the head is usually more animal-like. It is most common when the animal being mixed is capable of standing upright, like bears and kangaroos, or has hand-like front paws, such as raccoons and beavers. The Dragon-Folk character illustrated above is an example of this type.
- Mixed Parts: This body plan has some parts that are more human-like and others that are more animal-like. The most common version of mixed parts is a human body with an animal head, feet, tail, and skin. Two examples of this are minotaurs and the Elephant-Folk character in the illustration above. Another common version of mixed parts is a human torso with an animal lower body. Centaurs are a prominent example of this. Mixed parts is most common when the animal or mythical creature being mixed with a human has nothing that can be used as a hand.
- Mostly Animal: This body plan is quite animal-like, but it has one or more human traits. Common human traits are having hands, being human sized, and having human senses. Being mostly animal is common for animals with bodies that can already do most the things humans can, like squirrels, and flying animals that need to maintain their ability to fly, like birds and bats. An example is the Parrot-Folk character shown above.
Orcs
Black and white illustration of Ort Cooper, a male Orc in his mid-thirties with broad shoulders, a strong jaw, a sculpted beard, and a flamingly gay hair style. His hair is shaved on the right and long on the left and middle, and it is sculpted so that it arches from the middle to the left, hanging down to frame his face. Ort is wearing fashionable fabric armor with a row of buckles that go down his chest. Illustration by Jessica Kuczynski.
Overview: Orcs are a plant-eating humanoid species that are, on average, larger and more muscular than humans. Most Orcs have tusks, green skin, pointed ears, and colorful hair.
Physical Description: On average, Orcs are six and a half feet tall, a foot taller than the average human, and they find it comparatively easy to put on and keep muscle, giving many muscular builds. While being muscular is common, Orcs have just as diverse a range of sizes, builds, and body types as humans, including short-statured orcs, scrawny orcs, and disabled orcs. Orcs are as diverse as humans in other ways too, having just as broad a range of ethnicities and cultures.
Most Orcs have green skin, with the shade of green ranging from yellow-green to blue-green and from dark to light. Green is also the most common hair color, but Orc hair can be any color of the rainbow, including vivid shades, like fluorescent pink or electric blue. Most Orcs also have tusks that protrude from their lower jaws. Other common features are small, pointed ears and strong jawlines.
Humans
Watercolor portrait of a black woman with her hair tied up using a red and gold scarf that matches her shirt and her bold, teardrop-shaped earrings. She has a serious, watchful expression on her face and is looking to the right of the viewer. Portrait by andremsantana.
Overview: Humans are a non-magical, sapient, omnivore species known for using tools to adapt to a wide range of different environments and for significantly altering the environments they live in.
Physical Description: Humans vary in height, build, and ability, as well as skin, hair, and eye color. The variation between individual humans is much greater than the variation between different populations. For example, the biggest difference in height between human populations is eight inches, but individual human height ranges from a little under two feet to a little under nine feet tall. Five and a half feet is the average human height.
Hobs
Black and white drawing of Ayo Clayton and Misty Tailspin. As Hobs, they have a human-like appearance, are short-statured, and have small, pointed ears. Illustration by Jessica Kuczynski.
Description in progress!
Merpeople
Watercolor of a merperson with pale skin and a red, gold, and blue fish tail sitting on a large rock on the ocean floor. Their back is to the viewer and their blue, green, and gold hair is sweeping through the water in a graceful curve that obscures their face. Beyond them, a shipwreck sits on the ocean floor. This watercolor was created by R-region.
Overview: Merpeople are a sapient, part-human and part-fish, aquatic species. They can breathe both water and air, and regularly use wheelchairs for mobility on land.
Physical Description: Merpeople have a humanoid upper body and a fish tail. How human-looking their upper body is varies from population to population. Some groups have entirely human-like upper bodies, while others are much more fish-like, with fins, scales, and webbed hands.
The scales of most merpeople are in shades of silver and blue, but a significant number have the vibrant coloring and patterns of coral reef fish. Similarly, many merpeople have simple, stream-lined tails, but a significant number have tails with dramatic fins, spines, and other appendages. Most merpeople have hair, or something hair-like, such as fins or tentacles, growing on their heads.
Most merpeople can transition quickly between breathing water and air, and can live in both saltwater and freshwater. How long a merperson can stay out of water varies more widely. Quite a few merpeople need to keep their skin moist to prevent injury and are sensitive to heat and dry environments.
Magical Species
Digital artwork of a black cat with glowing orange eyes sits in darkness. They are surrounded by swirling magical lights that trace out flower shapes in electric purple, blue, pink, and red that are accented with streaks of gold and green. This artwork was made by igorda888.
These species have magic infusing their bodies.
Plasmodial Slime-People
Pronunciation: plaz-moh-dee-ahl
An illustration of pink slime filled with complicated, twisting currents and goopy bubbles.
Overview: Slime-people are sapient beings whose bodies are made from a gelatinous substance that is squishy, flexible, and elastic. Most slime-people have a roughly humanoid form and can change their shape at will.
Plasmodial Slime-people are a specific group of Slime-people descended from plasmodial slime-molds that were altered by powerful magic that infused them with amphibian and humanoid traits. They are the largest population of Slime-people in Crossroads.
Physical Description: Like most species with magical origins, Plasmodial Slime-people are physically diverse. Their gelatinous bodies are roughly humanoid, but vary greatly in size and shape. Some have significantly different body plans, including those with tails, gills, more than four limbs, no limbs, skin flaps, horns, and dangling appendages. While blue and green are most common, their colors vary so widely that they can be any color of the rainbow. Many are a single color, but others are a combination of colors, with a significant number displaying the striking patterns of the most vivid amphibians.
The internal structures of Plasmodial Slime-people also vary, but all have less structure than flesh and blood species. A few have no organ-like structures, while others have one or more organ-like structures that carry out key functions. For example, those without organ-like structures have bits of food floating throughout their bodies as it is digested, while those with a stomach-like structure have all of their food contained and digested in one place.
Like amphibians, most Plasmodial Slime-people are adapted for a life both in water and on land. Most breathe through their skin, which allows them to breathe underwater, but does require their skin to stay moist. Many also have basic lungs which allow them to breathe air and use verbal language.
Fungal Vampires
A close up of the face of a pale-skinned Vampire with muted colors and deep shadows. Their silvery eyes are emphasized by dark eye makeup, the tips of their fangs are showing against their full bottom lip, and their hands are at their mouth and cheek, displaying white pointed nails. This image is an alteration of a photograph by linolombardi.
Overview: Fungal Vampires are an interdependent partnership between a Mutualistic Vampiric Fungus and a living, vertebrate host (a person with a skeleton). They subsist on the life force energy that they get from drinking blood, resulting in a unique range of benefits and limitations.
Physical Description: Becoming a Fungal Vampire is a transformation than can happen to any member of a living vertebrate species. Each person who undergoes the transformation gains multiple vampiric species traits and vulnerabilities, but they also retain some of the species traits and vulnerabilities from their pre-transformation state. Fungal Vampires also retain their pre-transformation appearance. In most cases, the only outward sign of a Fungal Vampire transformation is a distinctive set of fangs.
The Transformation: A person becomes a Fungal Vampire by drinking a large quantity of Fungal Vampire blood, which contains Mutualistic Vampiric Fungus spores. The spores germinate within the person’s gastrointestinal tract, growing into a magical fungus that completely transforms their whole digestive system. The fungus is able to absorb life force from blood, which is a potent energy source that sustains both fungus and host. The host gets all of the other nutrients they need from the blood as well. In fact, most Fungal Vampires are only capable of digesting blood and will become ill if they consume anything else.
The host receives multiple benefits from being able to directly absorb life force. While the specific benefits each host receives vary unpredictably, the most common ones involve enhanced health, such as rapid healing. As a result, many Fungal Vampires have increased life spans and only age slowly. A few don’t age at all.
Vine Collectives
Illustration of the head of a plant-person whose face is composed of bark-like strips that could be individual plant stems. The top of their head is covered in a crest of pointed leaves that are dramatically lit from behind by the sun. This artwork is an alteration of an AI artwork by Ennaej.
Overview: Vine Collectives are a sapient plant species. Each individual is a group of animated vines that entwine together to form a shared body and consciousness.
Physical Description: Most Vine Collectives have a roughly humanoid body covered in leaves. The vines, usually siblings, are unbranching. They are joined together at the feet and weave together as they go upward to form legs, a torso, arms, and a head. Each foot is an interconnected root web that allows the vines to share water, food, and other nutrients with each other. New shoots start in these root webs and grow quickly because they are nurtured by the adult vines.
In order for a Vine Collective’s roots to get water and nutrients from soil or mud, the ends of their roots temporarily extend out of the root web and sink down into the ground. Vine Collective roots can pull in water and nutrients quickly and store them in the base of the vine stems, allowing the collective to retract their roots and move on after only a short time of being rooted. This also gives their humanoid bodies big feet, thick legs, and a low center of gravity. Combined with strong roots, many Vine Collectives have the added benefit of being difficult to knock over.
Different vines in each collective perform specific tasks. At a minimum, most Vine Collectives have woody Structure Vines that hold the other vines up, leafy Energy Vines that make lots of food, and delicate Sensory Vines with organs that let the Vine Collective perceive the world around them. Many Vine Collectives also have tough Protector Vines that form an armor-like shell. A few have thorny Protector Vines instead. And some don’t have Protector Vines at all. There are many other variations and some individuals have vines that fulfill other tasks, like helping the collective endure extreme weather or repel insects.
Most Vine Collectives can reweave their structures as needed to take advantage of the functions of their different vines. For example, they can reweave to extend their Energy Vines and maximize food production, then tuck those Energy Vines underneath Protector Vines when a threat is near.
Pitcher Crabs
Image of the pitcher of a Pitcher Crab, showing the red and green mouth of a pitcher with its lid partially raised. Above the lid, black oval eyes rise on pale eyestalks that attach to the back of the pitcher in the same place as the lid. Two fang-like, green projections hang down from the bottom of the pitcher’s lid, adding the the impression of the lid being the top of an open mouth.
Overview: A sapient plant species that has a large, crab-like body, with roots for legs, a leafy body, and a large pitcher that forms both face and stomach.
Physical Description: An average adult Pitcher Crab is six feet wide and five feet tall. The majority of their size is eight thick, woody roots shaped like the legs of a giant crab. Protective bark on these roots mimics the tough shell of a crab. These crab-like legs support a bushy plant body with long, dark-green, oval leaves. Delicate, feathered antennae are distributed through this bushy body while a single red and green pitcher sprouts from its front. A pair of beady, black eyestalks, like those of a crab, rise alertly from the place where the lid attaches to the pitcher. Below these eyes, the mobile lid of the pitcher acts as a mouth, creating the Pitcher Crab’s face.
The cup of the pitcher acts as a Pitcher Crab’s stomach. In it, Pitcher Crabs ferment and digest fallen leaves and other nonwoody plant debris for both nutrients and energy. The ability to digest food makes Pitcher Crabs less dependent on sunlight than most other sapient plant species, giving them greater lifestyle flexibility.
A Pitcher Crab’s front two root-legs form large claws that can be used like hands to pick up and hold things. The joints in these two root-legs allow a wide range of movement, but like a crab, a Pitcher Crab’s remaining legs have a limited range of motion. It is easiest for them to move sideways, but they can shuffle forward and backwards. They are the fastest when moving sideways, so they always run sideways.
Shifters
Illustration of a howling wolf silhouetted against an enormous moon. The wolf is standing on a rocky outcropping. Below and to the left of them, trees are silhouetted against a gray sky. This artwork was created by Placidplace.
Overview: Each Shifter can shapeshift between one humanoid and one animal form, which are deeply connected. Humanoid and animal forms vary from person to person.
Language: The type of animal that a Shifter turns into is important, so different types of Shifters are categorized by their animal form. For example, there are Wolf Shifters, Antelope Shifters, and Dolphin Shifters. Each type of Shifter also has a WereName (for this “were” is pronounced “wehr”), making them WereWolves, WereAntelope, and WereDolphins. Both terms are regularly used.
Physical Description: As a magical species that originated from a group of mixed-species humanoids, Shifters have diversity in both their humanoid and animal forms. Most Shifters have humanoid forms that are mundane species, like Humans, Hobs, Orcs, and Merpeople. Of these, Humans are the most common.
For Shifters, mammal and bird animal forms are the most common, but there are plenty with marsupial, reptile, or amphibian forms. Insects forms are rare, as are magical animal forms, but they do exist. For example, there is a family of Unicorn Shifters that live in the Rainbow Hills.
It is important to know that being a Shifter is more than being capable of shapeshifting between humanoid and animal forms. Members of other species are capable of shapeshifting. What is distinct about Shifters is that they have a deep connection between their two forms and these two forms mark and enhance each other. For example, a human that shifts into a coyote is likely to have enhanced senses in their human form and be larger than a mundane coyote in their animal form.
Sapient Animals
Portrait of a raven with their head up in an alert posture. They have the left side of their face turned toward the viewer and their beady, black eye is watchful. This artwork is a modified photograph by mgabor.
Sapient Pronunciation: SAY-pee-uhnt
Overview: Sapient Animals are highly magical beings with the bodies of animals and minds capable of human-like thought. Most Sapient Animals have a trait that clearly marks them as magical.
Physical Description: Sapient Animals can be any type of animal, though the majority of sapient animals are medium or large. Most Sapient Animals are also vertebrates (animals with skeletons), though there are a few important exceptions, like Sapient Crabs and Sapient Octopuses.
Most Sapient Animals have one visible or audible trait that marks them as magical. For example, they may have glowing eyes, hooves that spark, fur that is an unnatural color, a forked tail, trailing shadows, a feature from a different type of animal, feathers that make delicate chiming sounds, or scales patterned with runes. Outside of this trait, and a mind capable of human-like thought, Sapient Animals are indistinguishable from non-magical animals.
Because their bodies are infused with magic, many Sapient Animals have additional magical traits, such as telepathy, regeneration, and magical flight. Like these three examples, many of these additional traits are abilities that aren’t apparent until they are used. These magical abilities can be quite dramatic, such as a Sapient Elephant with a magically malleable body that is able to squeeze through a six-inch gap.
Sapient Constructs
Illustration of an extremely complex, steampunk-style mechanical horse. The machine parts are showing on the side of the horse’s body, but pieces of carved wood with an attached mane and tail cover the their rump, neck, and face. This illustration is altered from a digital artwork by nokono.
Sapient Pronunciation: SAY-pee-uhnt
Overview: A Sapient Construct is an object built by a person that has gained a magical form of animation and sapience, meaning that they are capable of human-like thought.
Physical Description: Any object shaped or constructed by a person can become a Sapient Construct. Because objects shaped like living beings, such as statues, become sapient more easily than other kinds of objects, the majority of sapient constructs are shaped like humanoids and animals. Sapient sculptures, clockwork automatons, and stuffed animals are all particularly common. In most cases, the magic that animates the Sapient Construct is the same magic that makes it sapient.
Awakening: Each Sapient Construct gains sapience in a unique magical event. This event is called the Sapient Construct’s awakening. Because each awakening is unique, so are its magical effects. Some awakenings are intentional, while others are accidental. For example, an animated suit of armor used to defend a town might become sapient when a spell designed to enhance it goes awry. Or an explorer’s tool chest could be awakened by the unpredictable magic of the Warped Magic Zone they are exploring. Another example is a Sapient Construct parent that procreates by intentionally creating a Sapient Construct child.
Undead Species
Artwork of a foggy cemetery with headstones silhouetted against the golden light streaking through it. A bare tree and bush cast deep shadows.
Anything that is dead, but that continues to interact directly with the living world is considered undead. There are three main types of undead.
- Animated Dead: These are dead bodies that have been magically animated without the use of souls. The most common types of animated dead are zombies and animated skeletons. Animated Dead are not sapient (not capable of human-like thought).
- Ghosts: These are the souls of the dead which have become anchored to the living world. Ghosts include will-o’-wisps, haunts, and melding ghosts. Some ghosts are sapient.
- Full Undead: These are the souls of dead beings that have been anchored in a dead body. Full undead include ghouls and sapient skeletons. Full undead are sapient.
Melding Ghosts
Watercolor portrait of a man with stars swirling over his skin. He is turned to the right and his eyes are closed. His face is covered by blue and purple swirls of stars, while black, purple, and red swirls of stars are visible through his close-cut black hair. This watercolor was made by Nika_Akin.
Description in progress!
In Progress Undead Species
Sapient Skeletons are in progress!
Fae and Fae-Descended Species
A green tinted photograph of a temperate forest that was taken looking upward at the tops of the trees disappearing into the fog. This image represents one of the gateways into the Other Realm. Photo by Free-Photos from Pixabay.
Species that originate in the Other Realm (the fae realm) have had their bodies and minds shaped by its fae magic. When a member of one of these species is born in the Other Realm they gain a magical bond to that realm, called a fae bond. Any being that is shaped by fae magic and also has a fae bond is a full fae. All living things and magical objects that start their existence in the Other Realm have a fae bond.
In contrast, members of species that originated in the Other Realm, but who were born outside of it, don’t have a fae bond and are called fae-descended. Because fae bonds are mind-altering, fae-descended people are distinct from fae, being more like non-fae, those who aren’t fae-descended and also lack a fae bond. In contrast, full fae have minds that are like forces of nature, making them difficult for both non-fae and fae-descended people to understand.
The descriptions below focus on these species as fae-descended living within Crossroads.
Fae Bond Details: Powerful full fae can create fae bonds to living things and magical objects that didn’t start with them, such as non-fae. This bond can’t form to a sapient being without that being’s consent. Members of non-fae species who gain a fae bond are fae-touched. Because of the transformative nature of fae magic, the bond gradually transforms the body and mind of the fae-touched person, eventually turning them into a full fae, though this process takes many years. In contrast, fae-descended people who gain a fae bond are immediately affected by it and it causes them to undergo a seven-day physical and mental transformation into a full fae.
When beings with fae bonds are outside of the Other Realm, they can use their bonds to detect nearby fae magic and other beings with fae bonds, including full fae and fae-touched people. Fae bonds can also be used to facilitate communication between beings with fae-bonds.
It is difficult, but possible, to break a fae bond, turning a full fae into an ex-fae and a fae-touched into an ex-fae-touched. Severing a fae bond is painful and leaves the ex-fae or ex-fae-touched with a powerful craving to regain their connection to fae magic and form a new bond. This is why most people with an unwanted fae bond try to make it go dormant, rather than remove it. Another reason fae bonds are rarely severed is that full fae take it so seriously. They will hunt down and destroy any non-fae who severs a fae bond, regardless of why it was done.
Fae Origins: It is believed that the Three Rulers of the Other Realm crafted the different fae species out of the different consciousnesses that fill their realm. For example, Elves were made from the consciousnesses of individual plants, while Dryads were made from the consciousnesses of forests. Because inanimate objects and natural forces also have consciousnesses in the Other Realm, species were also crafted from these things. For example, Trolls were made from rocks, Imps were made from erosion and decay, Goblins were made from the heat and creative power of lava, and Motley Fae were made from the exuberance of biodiversity.
Motley Fae
Watercolor illustration of a small, rainbow-colored, four-legged creature with an elongated body climbing over a dandelion that is bent down with its weight. It has dragonfly wings and a long thin tail that ends in a leaf-like fan. Illustration by Victoria_Watercolor from Pixabay.
Overview: Motley Fae embody the exuberant diversity of nature. Each individual is unique and many have extraordinary appearances.
Physical Description: Diversity and variation are the rule for Motley Fae. They are all sizes from tiny to huge. Some are humanoid and some aren’t. They frequently display a disparate mixture of animal parts, with many plant traits and a few additional natural elements mixed in, but this also varies. There is no body plan or trait common to them. Nothing but variation marks a Motley Fae, not even heredity. The traits each individual’s parents have don’t have any relationship to their traits, not even for Motley Fae-descended people living outside the Other Realm.
Some Motley Fae have contrasting traits paired together, such as a lion with a fern mane, a person with butterfly wings and goat eyes, a deer with beetle jaws, a snake-person with feathers and a scorpion tail, a salamander with gemstones embedded in its skin, and a fungus-person with an elephant face. Others have different traits combined into one, such as flint hooves, tree branches that grow as horns, skin the texture of a seashell, tusks made from ice, wings with leaves instead of feathers, bands of moss and lichen that grow like striped fur, crystal teeth, and crests made from colorful mushrooms. Striking appearances are common, as is asymmetry.
Dryads
Close-up illustration of gray branches that merge into a bark-covered face with delicate features. This artwork is a modification of a fairy tale image created by Kellepics.
Overview: Dryads originated as forest consciousness within the Other Realm. They are now humanoid beings with tree-like traits. Most dryads have a deep, often magical, connection to the natural world, especially their home forest, and feel drawn to protect it.
Physical Description: The appearance of dryads varies a lot, but they are all roughly humanoid, with tree-like traits, such as bark, roots, thorns, leaves, and flowers. Most dryads have androgynous bodies with green or brown skin. Some have more humanoid faces, while others have mask-like faces covered in leaves or bark. Many dryads have symbiotic fungi or epiphytes, such as moss, lichen, ferns, vines, bromeliads, and orchids, incorporated into their bodies. Dryads can also have plant versions of animal trails, such as horns formed by branches, talons made from thorns, fur composed of moss and lichen, hooves formed from roots, and tails made of swishing vines.
Elves
Image of a pale-skinned elf sitting in a tree with golden leaves. It is fall and the elf has moss and bare branches for hair, with a scattering of yellow leaves just barely hanging on. Their skin has patches of bark-like swirls and leaves. This image is an alteration of an AI artwork by Ennaej.
Description currently in progress…
Fairies
Indigo-blue illustration of a slender woman with pale skin and long hair standing in a grassy field looking up at the stars. She is shown from the back, wearing a long, flowing dress. Trailing lines of tiny, sparkling lights wrap around her body and float off into the air, like streamers gently blowing in the breeze. This art piece was created by Larisa-K.
Overview: Fairies are the physical embodiment of dreams, giving many fairies enchanting and monstrous forms, an urge to revel in emotion and imagination, and a willingness to embrace fluidity and change. They often have wings and their sizes vary widely, ranging from tiny to large. In addition, while each fairy is different, most look like humans that have several animal or plant traits.
Physical Description: Their connection to dreams means that most fairies have an enchanting form that is evocative of good dreams, a monstrous form that is evocative of nightmares, or both. An enchanting form is appealing in some way, but it doesn’t have to be conventionally beautiful. For example, it could be vibrant, adorable, compelling, or fascinating. Similarly, a monstrous form is off-putting in some way, but it doesn’t have be conventionally ugly. In fact, a monstrous form can be extremely beautiful, as long as there is something unpleasant, frightening, or disturbing about it.
Most fairies have enchanting and monstrous forms that look like humans with two or three animal features, such as rabbit ears, antelope horns, spider eyes, cat teeth, heron beaks, lamprey mouths, lizard crests, butterfly wings, porcupine quills, jellyfish tentacles, hawk talons, deer hooves, koi scales, peacock feathers, hagfish slime, and squirrel tails.
Some fairies have plant traits in addition to, or instead of, animal ones. For example, they could have heads crested with leaves, hair that grows flowers, backs covered in thorns, skin patterned like variegated leaves, shoulders that grow mushroom frills, lichen-spotted arms, and bark-covered legs. In addition to these animal and plant traits, fairies can also have hair, eyes, or skin of any color found in nature.
Fairy sizes are even more diverse that the rest of their appearance, ranging from tiny fairies a few inches to large fairies seven feet tall. Another important type of diversity is wings—while many fairies do have wings, quite a few don’t.
A fairy’s magical nature is usually evident in their form in some way. For example, those with enchanting forms may have an iridescent shimmer, be surrounded by dancing lights, sound like tinkling bells when they move, or constantly smell of baking bread. Meanwhile, those with monstrous forms may be wreathed in smoke, have shadows clinging to their skin, sound like scraping leaves when they move, or constantly smell of rot and mold. The exact form the magic takes depends on the individual fairy.
Pixies
Black, white, and red watercolor illustration showing a slightly green eye peaking through a gap between gray and red leaves splattered with black and red droplets. The eye looks human, but the eyebrow sweeps up in an uneven, jagged arc that looks like tufts of fur. This image has been modified from a watercolor by Nika_Akin.
Overview: Pixies are the embodiment of turmoil and disturbance, such as the turmoil that causes, and is caused by, storms. Physically, pixies are one-foot-tall, vaguely-humanoid beings that are a mixture of insect and other animal traits.
Physical Description: Pixies appear more insect-like than anything else, but they are vertebrates, meaning that they have bones. They do have many insect traits, such as chitinous armor, segmented bodies, multiple sets of legs, mandibles, jagged claws, and stingers, with a scattering of traits from other animals, such as shark teeth, goat eyes, lizard scales, snake mouths, and tiger fur. Most pixies have wings and their faces and upper bodies tend to be humanoid. As might be expected for a species embodying turmoil and disturbance, their physical forms are diverse and frequently unsettling.
Dwarves
Illustration of a fairytale-style, male dwarf with light-brown skin, dark eyes, and a long, gray-brown beard. He is dressed in purple, medieval-style clothing and surrounded by purple flowers. This AI artwork was created by JuliusH.
Description currently in progress…
Gnomes
Drawing of a gnome with purple-pink skin, bright pink eyes, and dark purple hair, wearing dark, purple-blue clothing. They have large eyes and small, pointed ears. This picture was made by OpenClipart-Vectors.
Description currently in progress…
Goblins
Illustration of a goblin with pink skin, yellow and blue hair, huge ears, bat wings, round eyes, a small nose, and pointed chin. They are dramatically backlit by the sun. This artwork is a modification of an AI artwork by jcoope12
Overview: Goblins are the embodiment of the creative powers of lava and geothermal forces. Creativity is usually central to their lives. Physically, Goblins are small, carnivorous humanoids with large ears, big eyes, and pointed chins. Many Goblins have predatory animal features.
Physical Description: Goblins are small humanoids that are, on average, three and a half feet tall, though individual heights vary widely. Their connection to Earth and Fire Magic means that Goblins can be any of the colors of plants, earth, or fire, with red, green, and gray being most common. Being full of creative energy, Goblins have greater physical diversity than humans, but most have large, bat-like ears, big eyes, pointed chins, and wide mouths with many small, sharp teeth.
Because Goblins are the embodiment of creative forces that are also destructive, many goblins have a few features from predatory animals, such as cat eyes, heron beaks, crocodile jaws, frog tongues, raptor talons, bear claws, salamander stripes, leopard spots, wolf fur, snake scales, stork legs, bat wings, and lion tails.
Imps
Illustration of a fuzzy, bat-like creature hanging upside down in a tree. They have a black face, rust-red ruff, and black body. Their head is fox-like, with large, round, black eyes, small, pointed ears, and a shiny, black nose. This artwork is an alteration of a photograph of a flying fox by 13810.
Description currently in progress…
Trolls
Illustration of a Troll with a gray, stone-like face that is surrounded by thick drapes of moss that hang around their face like hair and roughly outline shoulders and arms. This is an alteration of an AI artwork from Artie_Navarre.
Description currently in progress…
Ogres
Illustration of a horned Ogre with blue, rippled skin that looks like ice. They are muscular, have spiky armor that is part of their body, and they glow from within. This artwork is an alteration of an ice giant illustration by Artie_Navarre.
Pronunciation: OH-grz
Overview: Ogres are giant humanoids that are the physical embodiment of destructive forces. Each Ogre embodies a specific destructive force that determines their appearance and capabilities.
Physical Description: Ogres are giant. On average, they are nine feet tall, though individual heights varies widely. Ogres are humanoid with bulky builds, pointed ears, and large mouths. They frequently have tusks and horns.
Ogres can embody fast forms of destruction, like thunder storms, hail, blizzards, ice storms, avalanches, land slides, insect plagues, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, sandstorms, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. They can also embody slow forms of destruction, like glaciers, droughts, epidemics, plant and animal infestations, and wind, water, and ice erosion.
Most of each Ogre’s appearance and physical traits are determined by the specific destructive force they embody. For example, a Thunder Storm Ogre might have dark, purple-gray skin that is constantly flickering with lightning, while an Ogre that embodies earthquakes might have brown skin covered in dips and ridges that look like tectonic plate boundaries.
Format Details
An old book and old bell sit on a rough wooden surface. Perched on the book is a yellow and brown butterfly and perched on the bell is a brown and white butterfly.
The goal of this section is to share vibrant species with unique physical and mental characteristics, while simultaneously depicting the diversity within each species. This is challenging. I don’t know of any model for doing this, especially one that makes room for the existence of disability within a species, so I’m figuring out how to do it as I go along.
Part of what makes it challenging is that I believe it is important for different fictional species to feel significantly different. To me, this is part of the joy of portraying a nonhuman character. It also creates space for diverse physical and mental experiences within the fictional world. The presence of this physical and mental diversity also emphasizes the role society plays in creating accessibility for its members.
One major reason that I’m using the word “species” here instead of “race” is because these groups of people are intended to be significantly different from each other with unique biology, not socially constructed groups within the same species.
At the same time that the differences between species are portrayed, it is also important to avoid racial essentialism. Racial essentialism is “the view that racial groups possess underlying essences that represent deep-rooted, unalterable traits and abilities,” and it affects how people think. There is long history of racial essentialism in the portrayal of “fantasy races,” with groups like orcs and goblins being used as villainous stand-ins for people of color. Using the word “species” instead of “race” might help, but it doesn’t remove this idea from people’s minds. That is why it is so important to oppose these ideas by separating morality from species and emphasizing the diversity within each species.
The challenge is to find ways of defining and describing each species that show what is unique about it, while simultaneously making room for the diversity within that species. Finding this balance is also important for disability representation. In the real world, disabled people have bodies and minds that don’t fit with what is considered “normal” by mainstream society, but disability is a normal part of humanity. If we want to make space for disabled people as a normal part of each species within this fictional world, we need to expand normal from a single type of body and mind to a diverse spectrum of bodies and minds.
For those who want the specifics, the list below goes over the general format in which each species entry is written. For individual species, some sections are skipped or additional ones added.
Overview: A rough overview of what this species is, with a few key facts to provide useful context for the following discussion.
Physical Description: A description of what the bodies of most members of the species are like. Common variations are noted.
Senses: A discussion of the senses most common in the members of this species, and frequent variations in them.
Diet: The types of food that members of this species can eat.
Common Mental Characteristics: A discussion of those mental characteristics that are especially common in this species, their most frequent variations, and related traits like behavior.
Magical Affinities: The types of magic that members of this species frequently have a talent for. These types of magic may have connections to the species’ origin or its history. These affinities are listed from most to least common. None of them are universal.
Common Species Traits: A list of traits ranging from things most members of the species have to ones only a few have.
Common Vulnerabilities: A list of vulnerabilities ranging from things most members of the species have to ones only a few have.
A Few Interesting Facts: Any interesting facts about the biology of this species that don’t fit into other sections.
History: Important historical events that involved this species, such as their origin or historic oppression they experienced.
Prominent Cultures: The most noteworthy cultures that have a significant connection with this species or its history. While species and culture are separate, there sometimes are one or more cultures associated with a species—cultures that are heavily influenced by the species’ most common physical and mental characteristics.
Naming Traditions from Prominent Cultures: A description of any special naming traditions that involve this species.
Inspiration: A list of interesting facts, mythology, and other sources that inspired me or that I used to create this species.
This is challenging. I don’t know of any model for doing this, especially one that makes room for the existence of disability within a species, so I’m figuring out how to do it as I go along.
Thanks