I'm looking to trick my players into a game of Heroquest. They are really stuck in the D&D mentality. Setting must be Greyhawkish, races Greyhawkish etc.
Can anyone help with Keywords that would fit this type of setting? I know the ocupation keywords port over just fine, but there may be others that would fit as well. Mostly I'm looking for racial and Common and Theisim magic keywords. I think I'll try and stick with Theisim and common as my only magic for now using a few of the Greyhawk deities, and stick with the Heroquset idea that everyone can know some type of magic.
Certainly someone out there has had a similar experience, hopefully they've done the work for me.
Thanks
Andy

I need serious help with the human races, and someone to check the others. You help or criticisms are appreciated. I'm using the Templetes from the Glorantha website.

Cultural/ Racial Keywords
Dwarf Keyword

Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Merchant, Petty Noble, Scholar, Thief, Warrior
Native Abilities: Dwarven Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Dwarven, Identify Precious Minerals, Stonecunning, Tough, Darkvision, Resist Toxins
Native Flaws (not always present): Short
Typical Personality: Dour, Taciturn, Greedy, Love (gold,gems,silver,etc) courage, tenacity, vengeful
Typical Relationships: Clan, Elder, Worship Mordain, Beard
Magic: Common, Mordain
Common Names: A dwarf’s name is granted to him by his clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf’s name is not his own. It belongs to his clan. If he misuses it or brings shame to it, his clan will strip him of it. A dwarf stripped of his name is forbidden by dwarven law to use any dwarven name in its place.
Male Names: Barendd, Brottor, Eberk, Einkil, Oskar, Rurik, Taklinn, Traubon, Ulfgar, and Veit.
Female Names: Artin, Audhild, Dagnal, Diesa, Gunnloda, Hlin, Ilde, Liftrasa, Sannl, and Torgga.
Clan Names: Balderk, Dankil, Gorunn, Holderhek, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln, Torunn, and Ungart.


Dwarves are known for their skill in warfare, their ability to withstand physical and magical punishment, their knowledge of the earth’s secrets, their hard work, and their capacity for drinking ale. Their mysterious kingdoms, carved out from the insides of mountains, are renowned for the marvelous treasures that they produce as gifts or for trade.
Personality: Dwarves are slow to laugh or jest and suspicious of strangers, but they are generous to those few who earn their trust. Dwarves value gold, gems, jewelry, and art objects made with these precious materials, and they have been known to succumb to greed. They fight neither recklessly nor timidly, but with a careful courage and tenacity. Their sense of justice is strong, but at its worst it can turn into a thirst for vengeance. Among gnomes, who get along famously with dwarves, a mild oath is “If I’m lying, may I cross a dwarf.”
Physical Description: Dwarves stand only 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Dwarven men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than dwarven women. Dwarves’ skin is typically deep tan or light brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black, gray, or brown, and worn long. Dwarven men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their hair, beards, and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 50, and they can live to be over 400 years old.
Relations: Dwarves get along fine with gnomes, and passably with humans, half-elves, and halflings. Dwarves say, “The difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years.” Humans, with their short life spans, have a hard time forging truly strong bonds with dwarves. The best dwarf–human friendships are between a human and a dwarf who liked the human’s parents and grandparents. Dwarves fail to appreciate elves’ subtlety and art, regarding elves as unpredictable, fickle, and flighty. Still, elves and dwarves have, through the ages, found common cause in battles against orcs, goblins, and gnolls; and elves have earned the dwarves’ grudging respect. Dwarves mistrust half-orcs in general, and the feeling is mutual. Luckily, dwarves are fair-minded, and they grant individual half-orcs the opportunity to prove themselves.
Dwarven Lands: Dwarven kingdoms are usually deep beneath the stony faces of mountains, where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals and forge items of wonder. Trustworthy members of other races are welcome here, though some parts of these lands are off limits even to them. Whatever wealth the dwarves can’t find in their mountains they gain through trade. Dwarves dislike water travel, so enterprising humans frequently handle trade in dwarven goods when travel is along a water route.
Dwarves in human lands are typically mercenaries, weaponsmiths, armorsmiths, jewelers, and artisans. Dwarf bodyguards are renowned for their courage and loyalty, and they are well rewarded for their virtues.
Language: Dwarves speak Dwarven, which has its own runic script. Dwarven literature is marked by comprehensive histories of kingdoms and wars through the millennia. The Dwarven alphabet is also used (with minor variations) for the Gnome, Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Terran languages. Dwarves often speak the languages of their friends (humans and gnomes) and enemies. Some also learn Terran, the strange language of earth-based creatures such as xorn.
Adventurers: A dwarven adventurer may be motivated by crusading zeal, a love of excitement, or simple greed. As long as his accomplishments bring honor to his clan, his deeds earn him respect and status. Defeating giants and claiming powerful magic weapons are sure ways for a dwarf to earn the respect of other dwarves.

Elf Keyword
Occupations Available: Cavalry Soldier, Entertainer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Hunter, Petty Noble, Sailor (if sea elf), Scholar, Spirit-Talker, Thief
Native Abilities: Elven Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Elvish, Pass with out Trace, Inspire Awe, Quick, Elfbow, Quiet
Typical Personality: Amused, Curious, Aloof, Regal, Unfazed, Haughty
Typical Relationships: Nature, Family, Lord
Magic: Common, Animism
Common Names: When an elf declares herself an adult, usually some time after achieving her hundredth birthday, she also selects a name. Those who knew her as a youngster may or may not continue to call her by her “child name,” and she may or may not care. An elf’s adult name is a unique creation, though it may reflect the names of those she admires or the names of others in her family. In addition, she bears her family name. Family names are combinations of regular Elven words, and some elves traveling among humans translate their names into Common while others use the Elven version.
Male Names: Aramil, Aust, Enialis, Heian, Himo, Ivellios, Laucian, Quarion, Thamior, and Tharivol.
Female Names: Anastrianna, Antinua, Drusilia, Felosial, Ielenia, Lia, Qillathe, Silaqui, Valanthe, and Xanaphia.
Family Names: Amastacia (“Starflower”), Amakiir (“Gemflower”), Galanodel (“Moonwhisper”), Holimion (“Diamonddew”), Liadon (“Silverfrond”), Meliamne (“Oakenheel”), Naïlo (“Nightbreeze”), Siannodel (“Moonbrook”), Ilphukiir (“Gemblossom”), and Xiloscient (“Goldpetal”).


Elves mingle freely in human lands, always welcome yet never at home there. They are well known for their poetry, dance, song, lore, and magical arts. Elves favor things of natural and simple beauty. When danger threatens their woodland homes, however, elves reveal a more martial side, demonstrating skill with sword, bow, and battle strategy.
Personality: Elves are more often amused than excited, more likely to be curious than greedy. With such long lives, they tend to keep a broad perspective on events, remaining aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether an adventurous mission or learning a new skill or art, they can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance.
Physical Description: Elves are short and slim, standing about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet tall and typically weighing 85 to 135 pounds, with elven men the same height as and only marginally heavier than elven women. They are graceful but frail. They tend to be pale-skinned and dark-haired, with deep green eyes. Elves have no facial or body hair. They prefer simple, comfortable clothes, especially in pastel blues and greens, and they enjoy simple yet elegant jewelry. Elves possess unearthly grace and fine features. Many humans and members of other races find them hauntingly beautiful. An elf achieves majority at about 110 years in age and can live to be over 700 years old.
Elves do not sleep, as members of the other common races do. Instead, an elf meditates in a deep trance for 4 hours a day. An elf resting in this fashion gains the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep. While meditating, an elf dreams, though these dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. The Common word for an elf’s meditation is “trance,” as in “four hours of trance.”
Relations: Elves consider humans rather unrefined, halflings a bit staid, gnomes somewhat trivial, and dwarves not at all fun. They look on half-elves with some degree of pity, and they regard half-orcs with unrelenting suspicion. While haughty, elves are not particular the way halflings and dwarves can be, and they are generally pleasant and gracious even to those who fall short of elven standards (which, after all, consists of just about everybody who’s not an elf).
Elven Lands: Elves mostly live in woodland clans of less than two hundred souls. Their well-hidden villages blend into the trees, doing little harm to the forest. They hunt game, gather food, and grow vegetables, their skill and magic allowing them to support themselves amply without the need for clearing and plowing land. Their contact with outsiders is usually limited, though some few elves make a good living trading finely worked elven clothes and crafts for the metals that elves have no interest in mining.
Elves encountered in human lands are commonly wandering minstrels, favored artists, or sages. Human nobles compete for the services of elven instructors, who teach swordplay to their children.
Language: Elves speak a fluid language of subtle intonations and intricate grammar. While Elven literature is rich and varied, it is the language’s songs and poems that are most famous. Many bards learn Elven so they can add Elven ballads to their repertoires. Others simply memorize Elven songs by sound. The Elven script, as flowing as the spoken word, also serves as the script for Sylvan, the language of dryads and pixies.
Adventurers: Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust. Life among humans moves at a pace that elves dislike: regimented from day to day but changing from decade to decade. Elves among humans, therefore, find careers that allow them to wander freely and set their own pace. Elves also enjoy demonstrating their prowess with the sword and bow or gaining greater magical powers, and adventuring allows them to do so. Good elves may also be rebels or crusaders.

Gnome Keyword
Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Farmer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Merchant, Petty Noble, Thief
Native Abilities: Gnome Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Gnomish, Speak with Woodland Creatures, Get Away With It, Quick Wit, Darkvision, Prestidigitation
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Reckless, Inquisitive, Prankster
Typical Relationships: Worship Garl Glittergold, Community, Family
Magic: Common (illusion), Garl Glittergold
Common Names: Gnomes love names, and most have half a dozen or so. As a gnome grows up, his mother gives him a name, his father gives him a name, his clan elder gives him a name, his aunts and uncles give him names, and he gains nicknames from just about anyone. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with humans and others who are rather “stuffy” about names, gnomes learn to act as if they have no more than three names: a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname. When deciding which of his several names to use among humans, a gnome generally chooses the one that’s the most fun to say. Gnome clan names are combinations of common Gnome words, and gnomes almost always translate them into Common when in human lands (or into Elven when in elven lands, and so on).
Male Names: Boddynock, Dimble, Fonkin, Glim, Gerbo, Jebeddo, Namfoodle, Roondar, Seebo, and Zook.
Female Names: Bimpnottin, Caramip, Duvamil, Ellywick, Ellyjobell, Loopmottin, Mardnab, Roywyn, Shamil, and Waywocket.
Clan Names: Beren, Daergel, Folkor, Garrick, Nackle, Murnig, Ningel, Raulnor, Scheppen, and Turen.
Nicknames: “Aleslosh,” “Ashhearth,” “Badger,” “Cloak,” “Doublelock,” “Filchbatter,” “Fnipper,” “Oneshoe,” “Sparklegem,” and “Stumbleduck.”


Gnomes are welcome everywhere as technicians, alchemists, and inventors. Despite the demand for their skills, most gnomes prefer to remain among their own kind, living in comfortable burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills where animals abound but hunting is a very bad idea.
Personality: Gnomes adore animals, beautiful gems, and jokes of all kinds. Gnomes have a great sense of humor, and while they love puns, jokes, and games, they relish tricks—the more intricate the better. Fortunately, they apply the same dedication to more practical arts, such as engineering, as they do to their pranks.
Gnomes are inquisitive. They love to find things out by personal experience. At times they’re even reckless. Their curiosity makes them skilled engineers, since they are always trying new ways to build things. Sometimes a gnome pulls a prank just to see how the people involved will react.
Physical Description: Gnomes stand about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their skin ranges from dark tan to woody brown, their hair is fair, and their eyes can be any shade of blue. Gnome males prefer short, carefully trimmed beards. Gnomes generally wear leather or earth tones, and they decorate their clothes with intricate stitching or fine jewelry. Gnomes reach adulthood at about age 40, and they live about 350 years, though some can live almost 500 years.
Relations: Gnomes get along well with dwarves, who share their love of precious objects, their curiosity about mechanical devices, and their hatred of goblins and giants. They enjoy the company of halflings, especially those who are easygoing enough to put up with pranks and jests. Most gnomes are a little suspicious of the taller races—humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs—but they are rarely hostile or malicious.
Gnome Lands: Gnomes make their homes in hilly, wooded lands. They live underground but get more fresh air than dwarves do, enjoying the natural, living world on the surface whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden, by both clever construction and illusions. Those who come to visit and are welcome are ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome never find the burrows in the first place.
Gnomes who settle in human lands are commonly gemcutters, mechanics, sages, or tutors. Some human families retain gnome tutors. During his life, a gnome tutor can teach several generations of a single human family.
Language: The Gnome language, which uses the Dwarven script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge of the natural world. Human herbalists, naturalists, and engineers commonly learn Gnome in order to read the best books on their topics of study.
Adventurers: Gnomes are curious and impulsive. They may take up adventuring as a way to see the world or for the love of exploring. Lawful gnomes may adventure to set things right and to protect the innocent, demonstrating the same sense of duty toward society as a whole that gnomes generally exhibit toward their own enclaves. As lovers of gems and other fine items, some gnomes take to adventuring as a quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Depending on his relations to his home clan, an adventuring gnome may be seen as a vagabond or even something of a traitor (for abandoning clan responsibilities).

Halfling Keyword
Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Farmer, Healer, Hunter, Merchant, Nomad, Thief
Native Abilities: Halfling Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Common, Cook, Eat & Drink Enormous Quantities, Appear Non-Threatening, Sneaky, Hearty, Ramble On and On, Resourceful
Native Flaws (not always present): Short
Typical Personality: Hedonist, Prefer trouble to boredom, Cleaver, Cunning
Typical Relationships: Family, Worship Yolanda, Food & Drink
Magic: Common, Yolanda
Common Names: A halfling has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. It would seem that family names are nothing more than nicknames that stuck so well they have been passed down through the generations.
Male Names: Alton, Beau, Cade, Eldon, Garret, Lyle, Milo, Osborn, Roscoe, and Wellby.
Female Names: Amaryllis, Charmaine, Cora, Euphemia, Jillian, Lavinia, Merla, Portia, Seraphina, and Verna.
Family Names: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, Highhill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage, Tosscobble, Underbough.


Halflings are clever, capable opportunists. Halfling individuals and clans find room for themselves wherever they can. Often they are strangers and wanderers, and others react to them with suspicion or curiosity. Depending on the clan, halflings might be reliable, hard-working (if clannish) citizens, or they might be thieves just waiting for the opportunity to make a big score and disappear in the dead of night. Regardless, halflings are cunning, resourceful survivors.
Personality: Halflings prefer trouble to boredom. They are notoriously curious. Relying on their ability to survive or escape danger, they demonstrate a daring that many larger people can’t match.
Halflings have ample appetites, both for food and for other pleasures. They like well-cooked meals, fine drink, good tobacco, and comfortable clothes. While they can be lured by the promise of wealth, they tend to spend the gold they gain rather than hoarding it.
Halflings are also famous collectors. While more orthodox halflings may collect teapots, books, or pressed flowers, some collect such objects as the hides of wild beasts—or even the beasts themselves. Wealthy halflings sometimes commission adventurers to retrieve exotic items to complete their collections.
Physical Description: Halflings stand about 3 feet tall and usually weigh between 30 and 35 pounds. Their skin is ruddy, their hair black and straight. They have brown or black eyes. Halfling men often have long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches almost unseen. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes. Unlike members of most races, they prefer actual comfort to shows of wealth. A halfling would rather wear a comfortable shirt than jewelry. A halfling reaches adulthood in her early twenties and generally lives into the middle of her second century.
Relations: Halflings try to get along with everyone else. They are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, elves, or gnomes and making themselves valuable and welcome. Since human society changes faster than the societies of the longer-lived races, it is human society that most frequently offers halflings opportunities to exploit, and halflings are most often found in or around human lands.
Halfling Lands: Halflings have no lands of their own. Instead, they live in the lands of other races, where they can benefit from whatever resources those lands have to offer. Halflings often form tight-knit communities in human or dwarven cities. While they work readily with others, they often make friends only among each other. Halflings also settle into secluded places where they set up self-reliant villages. Halfling communities, however, are known to pick up and move en masse to some place that offers a new opportunity, such as where a new mine has opened up or to a land where a devastating war has made skilled workers hard to find. If these opportunities are temporary, the community may pick up and move again once the opportunity is gone, or once a better one presents itself. If the opportunity is lasting, the halflings settle and form a new village. Some communities, on the other hand, take to traveling as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place, with no permanent home.
Language: Halflings speak their own language, which uses the Common script. They write very little in their own language so, unlike dwarves, elves, and gnomes, they don’t have a rich body of written work. The halfling oral tradition, however, is very strong. While the Halfling language isn’t secret, halflings are loath to share it with others. Almost all halflings speak Common, since they use it to deal with the people in whose land they are living or through which they are traveling.
Adventurers: Halflings often set out on their own to make their way in the world. Halfling adventurers are typically looking for a way to use their skills to gain wealth or status. The distinction between a halfling adventurer and a halfling out on her own looking for “a big score” can get blurry. For a halfling, adventuring is less of a career than an opportunity. While halfling opportunism can sometimes look like larceny or fraud to others, a halfling adventurer who learns to trust her fellows is worthy of trust in turn.

Half-Orc Keyword
Occupations Available: Cavalry Soldier, Clergyman, Foot Soldier, Hunter, Nomad, Spirit-Talker, Warrior
Native Abilities: [Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Local Dielect], Strong, Big, Wear Scars With Pride, Explosive Rage, Eat Anything
Native Flaws (not always present): Ugly, Not So Bright, Disliked
Typical Personality: Short-tempered, Sullen, Crass, Boastful, Violent, Brutal, Cruel, Simple Pleasures
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: Common, Grumsh
Common Names: A half-orc typically chooses a name that helps him make the impression that he wants to make. If he wants to fit in among humans, he chooses a human name. If he wants to intimidate others, he chooses a guttural orc name. A half-orc who has been raised entirely by humans has a human given name, but he may choose another name once he’s away from his hometown. Some half-orcs, of course, aren’t quite bright enough to choose a name this carefully.
Orc Male Names: Dench, Feng, Gell, Henk, Holg, Imsh, Keth, Ront, Shump, and Thokk.
Orc Female Names: Baggi, Emen, Engong, Myev, Neega, Ovak, Ownka, Shautha, Vola, and Volen.


In the wild frontiers, tribes of human and orc barbarians live in uneasy balance, fighting in times of war and trading in times of peace. The half-orcs who are born in the frontier may live with either human or orc parents, but they are nevertheless exposed to both cultures. Some, for whatever reason, leave their homeland and travel to civilized lands, bringing with them the tenacity, courage, and combat prowess that they developed in the wilds.
Personality: Half-orcs are short-tempered and sullen. They would rather act than ponder and would rather fight than argue. Those who are successful, however, are those with enough self-control to live in a civilized land, not the crazy ones.
Half-orcs love simple pleasures such as feasting, drinking, boasting, singing, wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing. Refined enjoyments such as poetry, courtly dancing, and philosophy are lost on them. At the right sort of party, a half-orc is an asset. At the duchess’s grand ball, he’s a liability.
Physical Description: Half-orcs are as tall as humans and
a little heavier, thanks to their muscle. A half-orc’s grayish pigmentation, sloping forehead, jutting jaw, prominent teeth, and coarse body hair make his lineage plain for all to see.
Orcs like scars. They regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of shame indicating servitude and identifying the half-orc’s former owner, or marks of pride recounting conquests and high status. Such a half-orc living among humans either displays or hides his scars, depending on his attitude toward them.
Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans and age noticeably faster. Few half-orcs live longer than 75 years.
Relations: Because orcs are the sworn enemies of dwarves and elves, half-orcs can have a rough time with members of these races. For that matter, orcs aren’t exactly on good terms with humans, halflings, or gnomes, either. Each half-orc finds a way to gain acceptance from those who hate or fear his orc cousins. Some are reserved, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Others demonstrate piety and good-heartedness as publicly as they can (whether or not such demonstrations are genuine). Others simply try to be so tough that others have no choice but to accept them.
Half-Orc Lands: Half-orcs have no lands of their own. They most often live among orcs. Of the other races, humans are the ones most likely to accept half-orcs, and half-orcs almost always live in human lands when not living among orc tribes.
Language: Orc, which has no alphabet of its own, uses Dwarven script on the rare occasions that someone writes something in Orc. Orc writing turns up most frequently in graffiti.
Adventurers: Half-orcs living among humans are drawn almost invariably toward violent careers in which they can put their strength to good use. Frequently shunned from polite company, half-orcs often find acceptance and friendship among adventurers, many of who are fellow wanderers and outsiders.

Human Keywords

Baklunish
Occupations Available: All
Native Abilities: Baklun Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Baklunish, Speak Common, Astrology, Ride Horse, Sing and Dance
Typical Personality: Honorable, Generous, Pious
Typical Relationships: Family, Lord, Worship [Deity], Steed
Magic: Common, Pantheon
Common Names:

Flan Keyword
Occupations Available: All
Native Abilities: Flan Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Oeridian Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Rhennee Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Suel Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

I need serious help with the human races, and someone to check the others. You help or criticisms are appreciated. I'm using the Templetes from the Glorantha website.

Cultural/ Racial Keywords
Dwarf Keyword

Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Merchant, Petty Noble, Scholar, Thief, Warrior
Native Abilities: Dwarven Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Dwarven, Identify Precious Minerals, Stonecunning, Tough, Darkvision, Resist Toxins
Native Flaws (not always present): Short
Typical Personality: Dour, Taciturn, Greedy, Love (gold,gems,silver,etc) courage, tenacity, vengeful
Typical Relationships: Clan, Elder, Worship Mordain, Beard
Magic: Common, Mordain
Common Names: A dwarf’s name is granted to him by his clan elder, in accordance with tradition. Every proper dwarven name has been used and reused down through the generations. A dwarf’s name is not his own. It belongs to his clan. If he misuses it or brings shame to it, his clan will strip him of it. A dwarf stripped of his name is forbidden by dwarven law to use any dwarven name in its place.
Male Names: Barendd, Brottor, Eberk, Einkil, Oskar, Rurik, Taklinn, Traubon, Ulfgar, and Veit.
Female Names: Artin, Audhild, Dagnal, Diesa, Gunnloda, Hlin, Ilde, Liftrasa, Sannl, and Torgga.
Clan Names: Balderk, Dankil, Gorunn, Holderhek, Loderr, Lutgehr, Rumnaheim, Strakeln, Torunn, and Ungart.


Dwarves are known for their skill in warfare, their ability to withstand physical and magical punishment, their knowledge of the earth’s secrets, their hard work, and their capacity for drinking ale. Their mysterious kingdoms, carved out from the insides of mountains, are renowned for the marvelous treasures that they produce as gifts or for trade.
Personality: Dwarves are slow to laugh or jest and suspicious of strangers, but they are generous to those few who earn their trust. Dwarves value gold, gems, jewelry, and art objects made with these precious materials, and they have been known to succumb to greed. They fight neither recklessly nor timidly, but with a careful courage and tenacity. Their sense of justice is strong, but at its worst it can turn into a thirst for vengeance. Among gnomes, who get along famously with dwarves, a mild oath is “If I’m lying, may I cross a dwarf.”
Physical Description: Dwarves stand only 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Dwarven men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than dwarven women. Dwarves’ skin is typically deep tan or light brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black, gray, or brown, and worn long. Dwarven men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their hair, beards, and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 50, and they can live to be over 400 years old.
Relations: Dwarves get along fine with gnomes, and passably with humans, half-elves, and halflings. Dwarves say, “The difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years.” Humans, with their short life spans, have a hard time forging truly strong bonds with dwarves. The best dwarf–human friendships are between a human and a dwarf who liked the human’s parents and grandparents. Dwarves fail to appreciate elves’ subtlety and art, regarding elves as unpredictable, fickle, and flighty. Still, elves and dwarves have, through the ages, found common cause in battles against orcs, goblins, and gnolls; and elves have earned the dwarves’ grudging respect. Dwarves mistrust half-orcs in general, and the feeling is mutual. Luckily, dwarves are fair-minded, and they grant individual half-orcs the opportunity to prove themselves.
Dwarven Lands: Dwarven kingdoms are usually deep beneath the stony faces of mountains, where the dwarves mine gems and precious metals and forge items of wonder. Trustworthy members of other races are welcome here, though some parts of these lands are off limits even to them. Whatever wealth the dwarves can’t find in their mountains they gain through trade. Dwarves dislike water travel, so enterprising humans frequently handle trade in dwarven goods when travel is along a water route.
Dwarves in human lands are typically mercenaries, weaponsmiths, armorsmiths, jewelers, and artisans. Dwarf bodyguards are renowned for their courage and loyalty, and they are well rewarded for their virtues.
Language: Dwarves speak Dwarven, which has its own runic script. Dwarven literature is marked by comprehensive histories of kingdoms and wars through the millennia. The Dwarven alphabet is also used (with minor variations) for the Gnome, Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Terran languages. Dwarves often speak the languages of their friends (humans and gnomes) and enemies. Some also learn Terran, the strange language of earth-based creatures such as xorn.
Adventurers: A dwarven adventurer may be motivated by crusading zeal, a love of excitement, or simple greed. As long as his accomplishments bring honor to his clan, his deeds earn him respect and status. Defeating giants and claiming powerful magic weapons are sure ways for a dwarf to earn the respect of other dwarves.

Elf Keyword
Occupations Available: Cavalry Soldier, Entertainer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Hunter, Petty Noble, Sailor (if sea elf), Scholar, Spirit-Talker, Thief
Native Abilities: Elven Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Elvish, Pass with out Trace, Inspire Awe, Quick, Elfbow, Quiet
Typical Personality: Amused, Curious, Aloof, Regal, Unfazed, Haughty
Typical Relationships: Nature, Family, Lord
Magic: Common, Animism
Common Names: When an elf declares herself an adult, usually some time after achieving her hundredth birthday, she also selects a name. Those who knew her as a youngster may or may not continue to call her by her “child name,” and she may or may not care. An elf’s adult name is a unique creation, though it may reflect the names of those she admires or the names of others in her family. In addition, she bears her family name. Family names are combinations of regular Elven words, and some elves traveling among humans translate their names into Common while others use the Elven version.
Male Names: Aramil, Aust, Enialis, Heian, Himo, Ivellios, Laucian, Quarion, Thamior, and Tharivol.
Female Names: Anastrianna, Antinua, Drusilia, Felosial, Ielenia, Lia, Qillathe, Silaqui, Valanthe, and Xanaphia.
Family Names: Amastacia (“Starflower”), Amakiir (“Gemflower”), Galanodel (“Moonwhisper”), Holimion (“Diamonddew”), Liadon (“Silverfrond”), Meliamne (“Oakenheel”), Naïlo (“Nightbreeze”), Siannodel (“Moonbrook”), Ilphukiir (“Gemblossom”), and Xiloscient (“Goldpetal”).


Elves mingle freely in human lands, always welcome yet never at home there. They are well known for their poetry, dance, song, lore, and magical arts. Elves favor things of natural and simple beauty. When danger threatens their woodland homes, however, elves reveal a more martial side, demonstrating skill with sword, bow, and battle strategy.
Personality: Elves are more often amused than excited, more likely to be curious than greedy. With such long lives, they tend to keep a broad perspective on events, remaining aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether an adventurous mission or learning a new skill or art, they can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance.
Physical Description: Elves are short and slim, standing about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet tall and typically weighing 85 to 135 pounds, with elven men the same height as and only marginally heavier than elven women. They are graceful but frail. They tend to be pale-skinned and dark-haired, with deep green eyes. Elves have no facial or body hair. They prefer simple, comfortable clothes, especially in pastel blues and greens, and they enjoy simple yet elegant jewelry. Elves possess unearthly grace and fine features. Many humans and members of other races find them hauntingly beautiful. An elf achieves majority at about 110 years in age and can live to be over 700 years old.
Elves do not sleep, as members of the other common races do. Instead, an elf meditates in a deep trance for 4 hours a day. An elf resting in this fashion gains the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep. While meditating, an elf dreams, though these dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. The Common word for an elf’s meditation is “trance,” as in “four hours of trance.”
Relations: Elves consider humans rather unrefined, halflings a bit staid, gnomes somewhat trivial, and dwarves not at all fun. They look on half-elves with some degree of pity, and they regard half-orcs with unrelenting suspicion. While haughty, elves are not particular the way halflings and dwarves can be, and they are generally pleasant and gracious even to those who fall short of elven standards (which, after all, consists of just about everybody who’s not an elf).
Elven Lands: Elves mostly live in woodland clans of less than two hundred souls. Their well-hidden villages blend into the trees, doing little harm to the forest. They hunt game, gather food, and grow vegetables, their skill and magic allowing them to support themselves amply without the need for clearing and plowing land. Their contact with outsiders is usually limited, though some few elves make a good living trading finely worked elven clothes and crafts for the metals that elves have no interest in mining.
Elves encountered in human lands are commonly wandering minstrels, favored artists, or sages. Human nobles compete for the services of elven instructors, who teach swordplay to their children.
Language: Elves speak a fluid language of subtle intonations and intricate grammar. While Elven literature is rich and varied, it is the language’s songs and poems that are most famous. Many bards learn Elven so they can add Elven ballads to their repertoires. Others simply memorize Elven songs by sound. The Elven script, as flowing as the spoken word, also serves as the script for Sylvan, the language of dryads and pixies.
Adventurers: Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust. Life among humans moves at a pace that elves dislike: regimented from day to day but changing from decade to decade. Elves among humans, therefore, find careers that allow them to wander freely and set their own pace. Elves also enjoy demonstrating their prowess with the sword and bow or gaining greater magical powers, and adventuring allows them to do so. Good elves may also be rebels or crusaders.

Gnome Keyword
Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Farmer, Foot Soldier, Healer, Merchant, Petty Noble, Thief
Native Abilities: Gnome Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Gnomish, Speak with Woodland Creatures, Get Away With It, Quick Wit, Darkvision, Prestidigitation
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Reckless, Inquisitive, Prankster
Typical Relationships: Worship Garl Glittergold, Community, Family
Magic: Common (illusion), Garl Glittergold
Common Names: Gnomes love names, and most have half a dozen or so. As a gnome grows up, his mother gives him a name, his father gives him a name, his clan elder gives him a name, his aunts and uncles give him names, and he gains nicknames from just about anyone. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with humans and others who are rather “stuffy” about names, gnomes learn to act as if they have no more than three names: a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname. When deciding which of his several names to use among humans, a gnome generally chooses the one that’s the most fun to say. Gnome clan names are combinations of common Gnome words, and gnomes almost always translate them into Common when in human lands (or into Elven when in elven lands, and so on).
Male Names: Boddynock, Dimble, Fonkin, Glim, Gerbo, Jebeddo, Namfoodle, Roondar, Seebo, and Zook.
Female Names: Bimpnottin, Caramip, Duvamil, Ellywick, Ellyjobell, Loopmottin, Mardnab, Roywyn, Shamil, and Waywocket.
Clan Names: Beren, Daergel, Folkor, Garrick, Nackle, Murnig, Ningel, Raulnor, Scheppen, and Turen.
Nicknames: “Aleslosh,” “Ashhearth,” “Badger,” “Cloak,” “Doublelock,” “Filchbatter,” “Fnipper,” “Oneshoe,” “Sparklegem,” and “Stumbleduck.”


Gnomes are welcome everywhere as technicians, alchemists, and inventors. Despite the demand for their skills, most gnomes prefer to remain among their own kind, living in comfortable burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills where animals abound but hunting is a very bad idea.
Personality: Gnomes adore animals, beautiful gems, and jokes of all kinds. Gnomes have a great sense of humor, and while they love puns, jokes, and games, they relish tricks—the more intricate the better. Fortunately, they apply the same dedication to more practical arts, such as engineering, as they do to their pranks.
Gnomes are inquisitive. They love to find things out by personal experience. At times they’re even reckless. Their curiosity makes them skilled engineers, since they are always trying new ways to build things. Sometimes a gnome pulls a prank just to see how the people involved will react.
Physical Description: Gnomes stand about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their skin ranges from dark tan to woody brown, their hair is fair, and their eyes can be any shade of blue. Gnome males prefer short, carefully trimmed beards. Gnomes generally wear leather or earth tones, and they decorate their clothes with intricate stitching or fine jewelry. Gnomes reach adulthood at about age 40, and they live about 350 years, though some can live almost 500 years.
Relations: Gnomes get along well with dwarves, who share their love of precious objects, their curiosity about mechanical devices, and their hatred of goblins and giants. They enjoy the company of halflings, especially those who are easygoing enough to put up with pranks and jests. Most gnomes are a little suspicious of the taller races—humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs—but they are rarely hostile or malicious.
Gnome Lands: Gnomes make their homes in hilly, wooded lands. They live underground but get more fresh air than dwarves do, enjoying the natural, living world on the surface whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden, by both clever construction and illusions. Those who come to visit and are welcome are ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome never find the burrows in the first place.
Gnomes who settle in human lands are commonly gemcutters, mechanics, sages, or tutors. Some human families retain gnome tutors. During his life, a gnome tutor can teach several generations of a single human family.
Language: The Gnome language, which uses the Dwarven script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge of the natural world. Human herbalists, naturalists, and engineers commonly learn Gnome in order to read the best books on their topics of study.
Adventurers: Gnomes are curious and impulsive. They may take up adventuring as a way to see the world or for the love of exploring. Lawful gnomes may adventure to set things right and to protect the innocent, demonstrating the same sense of duty toward society as a whole that gnomes generally exhibit toward their own enclaves. As lovers of gems and other fine items, some gnomes take to adventuring as a quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Depending on his relations to his home clan, an adventuring gnome may be seen as a vagabond or even something of a traitor (for abandoning clan responsibilities).

Halfling Keyword
Occupations Available: Clergyman, Entertainer, Farmer, Healer, Hunter, Merchant, Nomad, Thief
Native Abilities: Halfling Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Common, Cook, Eat & Drink Enormous Quantities, Appear Non-Threatening, Sneaky, Hearty, Ramble On and On, Resourceful
Native Flaws (not always present): Short
Typical Personality: Hedonist, Prefer trouble to boredom, Cleaver, Cunning
Typical Relationships: Family, Worship Yolanda, Food & Drink
Magic: Common, Yolanda
Common Names: A halfling has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. It would seem that family names are nothing more than nicknames that stuck so well they have been passed down through the generations.
Male Names: Alton, Beau, Cade, Eldon, Garret, Lyle, Milo, Osborn, Roscoe, and Wellby.
Female Names: Amaryllis, Charmaine, Cora, Euphemia, Jillian, Lavinia, Merla, Portia, Seraphina, and Verna.
Family Names: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, Highhill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage, Tosscobble, Underbough.


Halflings are clever, capable opportunists. Halfling individuals and clans find room for themselves wherever they can. Often they are strangers and wanderers, and others react to them with suspicion or curiosity. Depending on the clan, halflings might be reliable, hard-working (if clannish) citizens, or they might be thieves just waiting for the opportunity to make a big score and disappear in the dead of night. Regardless, halflings are cunning, resourceful survivors.
Personality: Halflings prefer trouble to boredom. They are notoriously curious. Relying on their ability to survive or escape danger, they demonstrate a daring that many larger people can’t match.
Halflings have ample appetites, both for food and for other pleasures. They like well-cooked meals, fine drink, good tobacco, and comfortable clothes. While they can be lured by the promise of wealth, they tend to spend the gold they gain rather than hoarding it.
Halflings are also famous collectors. While more orthodox halflings may collect teapots, books, or pressed flowers, some collect such objects as the hides of wild beasts—or even the beasts themselves. Wealthy halflings sometimes commission adventurers to retrieve exotic items to complete their collections.
Physical Description: Halflings stand about 3 feet tall and usually weigh between 30 and 35 pounds. Their skin is ruddy, their hair black and straight. They have brown or black eyes. Halfling men often have long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches almost unseen. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes. Unlike members of most races, they prefer actual comfort to shows of wealth. A halfling would rather wear a comfortable shirt than jewelry. A halfling reaches adulthood in her early twenties and generally lives into the middle of her second century.
Relations: Halflings try to get along with everyone else. They are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, elves, or gnomes and making themselves valuable and welcome. Since human society changes faster than the societies of the longer-lived races, it is human society that most frequently offers halflings opportunities to exploit, and halflings are most often found in or around human lands.
Halfling Lands: Halflings have no lands of their own. Instead, they live in the lands of other races, where they can benefit from whatever resources those lands have to offer. Halflings often form tight-knit communities in human or dwarven cities. While they work readily with others, they often make friends only among each other. Halflings also settle into secluded places where they set up self-reliant villages. Halfling communities, however, are known to pick up and move en masse to some place that offers a new opportunity, such as where a new mine has opened up or to a land where a devastating war has made skilled workers hard to find. If these opportunities are temporary, the community may pick up and move again once the opportunity is gone, or once a better one presents itself. If the opportunity is lasting, the halflings settle and form a new village. Some communities, on the other hand, take to traveling as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place, with no permanent home.
Language: Halflings speak their own language, which uses the Common script. They write very little in their own language so, unlike dwarves, elves, and gnomes, they don’t have a rich body of written work. The halfling oral tradition, however, is very strong. While the Halfling language isn’t secret, halflings are loath to share it with others. Almost all halflings speak Common, since they use it to deal with the people in whose land they are living or through which they are traveling.
Adventurers: Halflings often set out on their own to make their way in the world. Halfling adventurers are typically looking for a way to use their skills to gain wealth or status. The distinction between a halfling adventurer and a halfling out on her own looking for “a big score” can get blurry. For a halfling, adventuring is less of a career than an opportunity. While halfling opportunism can sometimes look like larceny or fraud to others, a halfling adventurer who learns to trust her fellows is worthy of trust in turn.

Half-Orc Keyword
Occupations Available: Cavalry Soldier, Clergyman, Foot Soldier, Hunter, Nomad, Spirit-Talker, Warrior
Native Abilities: [Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Local Dielect], Strong, Big, Wear Scars With Pride, Explosive Rage, Eat Anything
Native Flaws (not always present): Ugly, Not So Bright, Disliked
Typical Personality: Short-tempered, Sullen, Crass, Boastful, Violent, Brutal, Cruel, Simple Pleasures
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: Common, Grumsh
Common Names: A half-orc typically chooses a name that helps him make the impression that he wants to make. If he wants to fit in among humans, he chooses a human name. If he wants to intimidate others, he chooses a guttural orc name. A half-orc who has been raised entirely by humans has a human given name, but he may choose another name once he’s away from his hometown. Some half-orcs, of course, aren’t quite bright enough to choose a name this carefully.
Orc Male Names: Dench, Feng, Gell, Henk, Holg, Imsh, Keth, Ront, Shump, and Thokk.
Orc Female Names: Baggi, Emen, Engong, Myev, Neega, Ovak, Ownka, Shautha, Vola, and Volen.


In the wild frontiers, tribes of human and orc barbarians live in uneasy balance, fighting in times of war and trading in times of peace. The half-orcs who are born in the frontier may live with either human or orc parents, but they are nevertheless exposed to both cultures. Some, for whatever reason, leave their homeland and travel to civilized lands, bringing with them the tenacity, courage, and combat prowess that they developed in the wilds.
Personality: Half-orcs are short-tempered and sullen. They would rather act than ponder and would rather fight than argue. Those who are successful, however, are those with enough self-control to live in a civilized land, not the crazy ones.
Half-orcs love simple pleasures such as feasting, drinking, boasting, singing, wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing. Refined enjoyments such as poetry, courtly dancing, and philosophy are lost on them. At the right sort of party, a half-orc is an asset. At the duchess’s grand ball, he’s a liability.
Physical Description: Half-orcs are as tall as humans and
a little heavier, thanks to their muscle. A half-orc’s grayish pigmentation, sloping forehead, jutting jaw, prominent teeth, and coarse body hair make his lineage plain for all to see.
Orcs like scars. They regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of shame indicating servitude and identifying the half-orc’s former owner, or marks of pride recounting conquests and high status. Such a half-orc living among humans either displays or hides his scars, depending on his attitude toward them.
Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans and age noticeably faster. Few half-orcs live longer than 75 years.
Relations: Because orcs are the sworn enemies of dwarves and elves, half-orcs can have a rough time with members of these races. For that matter, orcs aren’t exactly on good terms with humans, halflings, or gnomes, either. Each half-orc finds a way to gain acceptance from those who hate or fear his orc cousins. Some are reserved, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Others demonstrate piety and good-heartedness as publicly as they can (whether or not such demonstrations are genuine). Others simply try to be so tough that others have no choice but to accept them.
Half-Orc Lands: Half-orcs have no lands of their own. They most often live among orcs. Of the other races, humans are the ones most likely to accept half-orcs, and half-orcs almost always live in human lands when not living among orc tribes.
Language: Orc, which has no alphabet of its own, uses Dwarven script on the rare occasions that someone writes something in Orc. Orc writing turns up most frequently in graffiti.
Adventurers: Half-orcs living among humans are drawn almost invariably toward violent careers in which they can put their strength to good use. Frequently shunned from polite company, half-orcs often find acceptance and friendship among adventurers, many of who are fellow wanderers and outsiders.

Human Keywords

Baklunish
Occupations Available: All
Native Abilities: Baklun Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak Baklunish, Speak Common, Astrology, Ride Horse, Sing and Dance
Typical Personality: Honorable, Generous, Pious
Typical Relationships: Family, Lord, Worship [Deity], Steed
Magic: Common, Pantheon
Common Names:

Flan Keyword
Occupations Available: All
Native Abilities: Flan Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Oeridian Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Rhennee Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

Suel Keyword
Occupations Available: The common occupations available to heroes from that homeland. Other occupations may be available, but they are unusual, and require narrator permission.
Native Abilities: Typical things that a person from this homeland can do. Note that this entry may have additional abilities available only to certain people, such as men or women. Most homeland keywords include at least the following abilities:
[Homeland] Customs, [Local Area] Geography, Speak [Language].
Native Flaws (not always present): Some homelands produce people inept at particular abilities, so some abilities will be lower than normal or recorded as flaws on the character sheet.
Typical Personality: Typical traits of a member of that homeland. A hero may take any, all, or none of these as abilities.
Typical Relationships: Regular communities or people that a hero is expected to maintain a connection with. A hero may have any, all, or none of these as abilities. Players are encouraged to give their heroes variations, so that a hero might have Distant from Family instead of Love Family as part of his keyword, if it is appropriate to his background.
Magic: The main kinds of magic practiced in the homeland, and the religions that provide it. (See "Common Religions" and "Specialized Religion" below.)
Common Names: A sampling of male and female names for heroes to choose from, or just to get a feel for the culture.

I think that you're combining the Racial/Cultural keywords inapropriately. I would either ignore the racial component altogether (humans being pretty similar after all) or break those differences out into a Species keyword. Then for cultures, you'd want to go by the countries, I think. For instance, but the cultures of even Furyondy and the Shield Lands should have different cultural keywords.

I'd even have different keywords for the widely separated elven realms. Basically, this is a real opporitunity to breathe some life into this classic old game world. I can only recommend doing more, not less. I think this will take care of the religion keyword problem that you're running into, too.

Also, note that the idea of wizards as a sorta "non-religious" concept has been discussed. There are a couple of ways to handle this. Possibly the simplest is to just say that these guys (wizards, sorcerers, illusionists; anybody who is according to D&D not associated with a religion) have a normal religion at the common worshipper level or so. Then they get a separate magic keyword that represents their particular class/school etc. In fact, to really represent how things work in the D&D world, this should probably replace the occupation keyword for starting characters (following the old idea that wizards are too busy to learn to do much of anything else).

Does that sound good, or did you have another idea of how to handle it?

Mike

Wow, that's a LOT of work done.

Mike Holmes wrote: I think that you're combining the Racial/Cultural keywords inapropriately. I would either ignore the racial component altogether (humans being pretty similar after all) or break those differences out into a Species keyword.

Mike Holmes wrote: I'd even have different keywords for the widely separated elven realms.

Mike Holmes wrote: Also, note that the idea of wizards as a sorta "non-religious" concept has been discussed. There are a couple of ways to handle this. Possibly the simplest is to just say that these guys (wizards, sorcerers, illusionists; anybody who is according to D&D not associated with a religion) have a normal religion at the common worshipper level or so. Then they get a separate magic keyword that represents their particular class/school etc. In fact, to really represent how things work in the D&D world, this should probably replace the occupation keyword for starting characters (following the old idea that wizards are too busy to learn to do much of anything else).

buserian wrote: For his players, combining the non-human species keyword and homeland keyword into a single one might be a good approach, however. A "species keyword" is pretty spurious, anyway, since it is primarily innate abilities that they have that make them different from humans, not a great leap to merging species and culture.

Mike Holmes wrote: I really don't think this is necessary -- just keep the time requirements and ignore any religious notions -- instead of venerative worship, they are spending time studying, meditating, and the like. We know that there are non-religious sorcerers in Glorantha, and I doubt that Heroquest will use a bunch of completely new rules to describe them.

2. Special spells -- illusionists would get one massive illusionism grimoire, or several smaller ones, that the sorcerers can know.

Thus, although there are probably hundreds of spells in the D&D lists, and you should keep those hundreds of names for flavors, don't try to keep the specific descriptions of each spell.

Mike, I totally see your point regarding the difference between culture and race. Funny part about it is, I had just finished reading some of the posts of yours and scripty’s where you talked about this very subject. I said to myself that it was important to remember when I began, and promptly forgot it.
SO… really it could be fixed by saying Dwarf Species has the abilities Tough and Resistant to Toxins, and all the other stuff would fall under a dwarf cultural keyword.
That’s easy enough and seems so much clearer. It also solves my want to separate out all the human sub-races. There's no need. I’ll rework the keywords to reflect this.

Hmmm. I just want to be clear here. There are two ways to do this in general that seem to work to me.

1. Agglomerate any species differences into the cultural keyword. This is actually the way that Scott first went. The only reason that I convinced him to change this is because he was already presenting the Species portions in bold type just in case a player wanted to play a species in other than their standard culture. That is, if it's very unlikely, or if you just want to make it a non-option, to have a cross like this, then the best way to handle this is just to smash the species traits into the cultural keyword. This has a couple of other advantages that I've discovered. First, if you do have more than one culture from the same species, you can include any slight differences in the species from culture to culture. Perhaps one culture of dwarves tends to have members that are Short 10, and another short 13. If you go with a centralized species keyword, then you can't represent that without making some note anyhow (in which case you might as well be doing the afflomerated format anyhow. Second, if you have multiple species in the same culture, not as exceptions learing an odd culture, but as a standard part of the culture, you're probably going to have to write up multiple cultural keywords for them anyhow.

2. The other method is to list them separately. This has the advantage that any combination can be created. Now that I think about it, I remember the Greyhawk Gazetteer having listings of the percentage of non-human races present in each country. The question is, do these species adopt the "human" culture of the country as a whole, or do they maintain some sort of cultural identity? If they do adopt (even if just a significant fraction of the time), then I think this is definitely the way to go. If, OTOH, they do not ever adopt, then agglomerating makes more sense with the caveat that they'll have to simply always take their country of origin for their Geography ability.

So it really depends on your vision. Are non-humans widely scattered? Do they adopt the cultures of the countries in which they live? The answers to these questions will determine which method makes more sense.

Mike