Here are the playable races for the Bolermos campaign setting. If you have any questions or anything to add, just let me know!

AMdG

EDIT 1/30/2009: I've separated each of the "Race" sections into "Archipelago" and "Mainland," as some races have different back-stories depending on what part of the world they come from.

DRAGONBORN
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 100

ARCHIPELAGO

Dragonborn are now the most numerous intelligent race in Boler's Archipelago. They were created over a thousand years ago by the God of Lost Music, Jeyld, son of Belradontius the Sapphire Dragon God. The dragonborn people live almost exclusively in the City of No Names (which was built for them by Jeyld after the Galdrian Cataclysm that reshaped the face of Bolermos) and the city of Belra.

Dragonborn come in several different colors, with each individual color having their own specific traits:

-Blacks: Black dragonborn are natural leaders who take control and are often found in charge. They are shrewd and sneaky, often doing anything it takes to maintain their control.
-Blues: Blue dragonborn are the Chosen of Jeyld, and as such are the only dragonborn who can become paladins. They are the most honor-bound and respected of the dragonborn.
-Reds: Red dragonborn are very similar to blacks, and as such the two often work together. Reds, though, are not as shrewd as their black brethren, and are also much more prone to anger and outbursts of rage. Many reds also choose the life of a warrior, and they constantly strive to find stronger adversaries.
-Whites: White dragonborn are the rarest of the race. A dragonborn typically isn't born white; rather, when any dragonborn is exposed to a tremendous amount of magical energy, sometimes that raw power will bleach a dragonborn's scales completely white, as well as turning their eyes a pale shade of icy blue. Often, dragonborn mages are the only whites, as they are almost constantly exposed to magical power.
-Greens, yellows, etc.: Most other colors of dragonborn are quite average (common folk), and can show traits of any of the other colors, though to a lesser degree.

MAINLAND

Dragonborn are not native to the mainland, nor would they really travel there by choice. If a dragonborn is found on the mainland, chances are it was abducted during the demon's raids on the archipelago.

DWARVES
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 500

ARCHIPELAGO


Dwarves have always dwelt in Boler's Archipelago for as long as any of the races remember. They once lived on the island of Tokma, but were scattered after Tokma's destruction by a Balor a thousand years ago. After the ocean levels dropped due to the Galdrian Cataclysm, the dwarves turned their gaze to the newly-raised island to the north of Tokma, where the receding ocean had revealed a fantastic mountain filled with natural caverns and tunnels that had once been deep below the sea. Naming this mountain Kreden, the dwarves have settled there and are thriving, though they shun most outsiders and keep to themselves.

MAINLAND

Dwarves once possessed a flourishing kingdom on the mainland, but during a series of devastating wars hundreds of years ago against the Black Dragon Cult of kobolds and goblins, the dwarves have long since died out there. Some believe that, somewhere deep within secret caverns unknown to the other races, a few dwarves may yet live on the mainland.

DROW (GALDRIAN ELVES)
(Monster Manual / Forgotten Realms Player's Guide)
Average life expectancy: 800

ARCHIPELAGO

Drow are the twisted descendants of those elves and eladrin who were caught in the violent discharge of magical energy that leveled Galdria nearly twelve-hundred years ago. They lived in the shadowy ruins of Galdria for over a hundred years until the Cataclysm forced them to escape, making their home on a newly-raised island to the north, which they call "Mordamar." Now, a thousand years later, the drow have become less savage and more organized, uniting under a Queen of the old royal bloodline. They despise all races, though they particularly hate eladrin, claiming that they abandoned Galdria when the kingdom needed them most. They refer to themselves as "Galdrian elves," shunning the name "drow" that was placed on them by the other races. Drow live almost exclusively on Mordamar (both in the islands cavernous underworld AND in several villages scattered across the surface), rarely leaving for any reason.

MAINLAND

Drow are not native to the mainland, and typically wouldn't leave Mordamar to travel to so far away a land. As the demon army was crushed on the shores of the drow homeland, it is also highly improbable that any captured drow would have been taken to the demon slave camps on the mainland.

ELADRIN
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 800

ARCHIPELAGO

Eladrin are a rare sight in Boler's Archipelago since the destruction of their kingdom, Galdria, by the evil warlock Tempest and his army nearly twelve-hundred years ago, as well as an on-and-off conflict with the genasi. Those few remaining eladrin keep to themselves, often living as small familial groups that wander as nomads, searching for a place to settle and live out their lives. Still others, though, have become disenchanted with the world and have forsaken Bolermos, choosing instead to journey into the wild and unpredictable beauty of the Feywild. Those that leave are seen rarely, if ever again...

MAINLAND

The eladrin on the mainland hold a powerful and ancient kingdom, from which the ancestors of the archipelago eladrin came from long ago. Since the increased demonic activity in both the Feywild and the natural world, the eladrin have withdrawn into their capital city, cutting themselves off from the outside world by erecting a massive, impenetrable shell of magical power. Few leave the protection of their city, and none enter unbidden.

ELVES
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 800

ARCHIPELAGO

Elves, like their eladrin cousins, are scarce throughout the archipelago. Elves, though, have managed to integrate themselves into Bolermos society, often living side by side with the more prominent races, or establishing small yet stable communities scattered throughout the dark and forbidding forests of the archipelago, particularly in the southern reaches of the Barbanic Lands. The elves, like the eladrin, are seen as commodities by the genasi of the Barbanic Lands, which has led to brutal conflicts in the past.

MAINLAND

Besides maybe humans, elves are the most numerous race on the mainland. They range the sprawling, untamed wilderness in roving groups, aiding those they can against the demonic army to the south that continuously threatens their freedom and way of life. The elves of the mainland are biding their time, simply waiting for the opportune moment to unite and strike their enemies once and for all.

GENASI
(Forgotten Realms Player's Guide)
Average life expectancy: 80

ARCHIPELAGO

The genasi are descended from those unfortunate humans who were caught and twisted by the magical fallout at the City of All Names a thousand years ago. Imbued with the savage and raw power of the elements, those forefathers of the genasi were driven mad, and in this madness they waged war on the few remaining elves and eladrin, whose beauty and grace they envied. Many elves and eladrin were taken prisoner during this war, and used as slaves for the genasi, who took from them their ancient Swordmage art and corrupted it to their own style and use. Now, hundreds of years later, the genasi are much more civilized and organized, though they still keep elves and eladrin as slaves, capturing and enslaving any that they come upon. the genasi own the northern most parts of the Barbanic Lands, where they are constantly at war with the feral, nomadic tribes there, as well as the shifters and lycanthropes.

The genasi are still considered unstable and mad by most of the other intelligent races.

MAINLAND

Like the dragonborn and drow, genasi are not native to the mainland. If one is encountered there, it is most likely for one of two reasons: either they were captured by the invading demons, or (more likely) they have joined the demonic force in hopes of gaining the power to destroy their numerous enemies.

GNOMES
(Monster Manual)
Average life expectancy: 400

ARCHIPELAGO

Most of the gnomish race has fallen into shadows during the last thousand years since the magical fallout at the ancient City of All Names and the Galdrian Cataclysm. Those gnomes who tried to utilize the destructive mixture of magic, cursed energy, and divine ki that leveled much of the City of All Names eventually were driven mad, and soon after the city fell into forgotten ruin as its people fled blindly into the wilderness. Now tribes of violent, nearly feral and mad gnomes roam the Barbanic Lands, and some have even moved far enough south to inhabit the forests between Belra and the City of No Names.

A smaller part of the race was able to escape the fallout's madness, and these are the noble gnomes who dwell within the inner part of the City of No Names. They rule there behind the scenes, content to let the dragonborn run things publicly.

MAINLAND

Though rarely seen, gnomes do exist on the mainland. Unlike their cousins in the archipelago, mainland gnomes have no real social structure, preferring to live alone in the wilderness, though they do sometimes live in small family groups. The elves sometimes have dealings with them, but most of the other races are ignorant to their existence.

HALF-ELVES
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 150

ARCHIPELAGO

If elves and eladrin are rare in the archipelago, then half-elves are nearly non-existent. After the Galdrian Cataclysm of a thousand years ago, half-elves were hunted down and destroyed in an act of genocide that has left a bloody stain on the archipelago's history. This genocide is the result of a grave betrayal, when the half-elf sorcerer Brude, a companion of the Heroes of Legend, attempted to destroy them in their final battle against the forces of evil. No one has seen a half-elf in the archipelago for centuries, and the scarcity of elves or eladrin in general makes it difficult to even consider a resurgence of half-elves as a possibility.

MAINLAND

Half-elves are actually quite common on the mainland, for elves and humans live side by side (for the most part) and unions between the two are certainly not unheard of. Also, legend says that a thousand years ago, a ship full of half-elves arrived on the mainland from the archipelago, for they had fled to escape the persecution of their race.

HALFLINGS
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 200

ARCHIPELAGO

Halflings are as prominent and prosperous as they ever were. The more civilized members of the race have made themselves at home in the great cities alongside the "tall folk," while the smaller, more feral contingent of halflings call the wilderness of Galdria and the Barbanic Lands home. Most halflings look up to and revere Jaden, the halfling paladin who fought along side the Heroes of Legend.

MAINLAND ("Shire Halflings," as found in the "Advanced Player's Guide 4th Edition")

Mainland halflings aren't nearly as outgoing as their archipelago counterparts. Most tend to be homebodies, and many never journey more than a few miles from their birthplace in their lives. They also lean more towards the "portly" type build than their quick and clever cousins, though they can still manage to be fierce in a pinch.

HUMANS
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 80

ARCHIPELAGO

Other than the dragonborn, humans are the most numerous of the archipelago's intelligent races. They live side by side with all of the other races in the City of No Names' Foreign Quarter and Belra, as well as dwelling on the island of Hai-Lan, to the northwest of Boler's Archipelago. Also, humans have established a loose confederacy of small, squabbling city-states on the island of Geriguu in the north-east. Some human mercs have even settled in the southern Barbanic Lands, where they take advantage of the constant battle to ply their trade.

MAINLAND

Perhaps unsurprisingly, humans thrive on the mainland. They have villages and small cities, which are open to all races (except, perhaps, goblins) and they maintain friendly relationships with their neighbors, the elves, who dwell all throughout the encompassing wilderness.

ORCS
(Monster Manual)
Average life expectancy: 100

ARCHIPELAGO

Orcs are still violent and stupid, but as a race they have matured greatly over the centuries. Orcunda, the orcish nation to the north of Belra, has grown to include not only the orcs themselves, but their former enemies the goblins as well. In the last five years, an elite order of orcish warriors has arisen, calling themselves "The Knights of the Golden Road" in honor of the now-legendary corn-bringing heroes who saved their nation from the nightmares of the murderous white horse that had plagued them for years. Orcunda is allied with Lord Jareth of Belra, and they keep the northern parts of the island patrolled and protected.

MAINLAND

Orcs, for whatever reason, don't seem to exist on the mainland, leading some to believe that they were the only truly native race of the archipelago, and that all others simply migrated there from the mainland. In no culture on the mainland are orcs even mentioned, save maybe those descendants of the half-elves who journeyed there during the persecution. If an orc is seen on the mainland at all, he must have been taken from his homeland by the demon army.

SHIFTERS
(Monster Manual)
Average life expectancy: 150

ARCHIPELAGO

The shifter race originated from the offspring of humans and lycanthropes before becoming their own species. This combination makes them powerful warriors, capable of assuming a primal, bestial form in battle. They are native to the Barbanic Lands, and are one of that land's two main factions along with the genasi. They are loyal allies to those who prove their worth in battle, and though they rarely leave the Barbanic Lands, they can sometimes be found living alongside humans and the other races of Belra, or living in the Foreign Quarter of the City of No Names. A large concentration of shifters and lycanthropes dwell in a settlement in the southern Barbanic Lands called "Ilmendor." The shifters are sworn allies of Lord Jareth of Belra, and they stalwartly defend the southern Barbanic Lands, preventing their numerous enemies from crossing the sea to attack Orcunda and Belra.

MAINLAND

Like many of the other races, shifters aren't native to the mainland. If they're seen there at all, it is more than likely because they were abducted during the demons' raids on the Barbanic Lands.

TIEFLINGS
(Player's Handbook)
Average life expectancy: 150

ARCHIPELAGO

Though once feared as demonic monsters, tieflings now live alongside the other races thanks to the racial tolerance of the people of Belra. They still tend to illicit unconscious fears in those around them at times due to their demon-like appearance and somewhat questionable origins, but there are none better to ask when it comes to matters both magical and ominious.

MAINLAND

Though rarely seen, tieflings are believed to exist on the mainland. Due to their appearance, though, and the other races' reasonable fear and discomfort regarding anything remotely demonic, tieflings typically choose to live amongst their dark brethren, on the western side of the continent. As such, a "good" teifling is an extreme rarity and oddity, though not necessarily unheard of in times past.

Any of the other races in the Monster Manual, Player's Handbook, or any other supplemental book are also playable, though you'll have to speak with a DM about your intentions. If you see something else that you like, but it isn't included on this list, don't be afraid to ask one of us, and we'll see about working it in somewhere!

AMdG