Humanoids in D&D

These are the humanoid creatures you might encounter in my world. There are no elves, dwarfs, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnomes, drow, ogres, trolls, minotaurs, lizard men, hobbits/halflings, gnolls, mermen, bugbears, flinds, ogrillions, or any other of the thousands of intelligent humanoids added to the game over the years. Just these. They do not include magical humanoids like fairies, vampires, and such, just races of basic intelligent humanoids. Many of these are modified races from mythology, but not all. Some are my own creation, and some draw heavily from some established D&D races.

I felt like there were way too many humanoids, and not enough interesting variety between them, just the same race over and over again. This trims the fat.




Taurians – These tall bullmen are 6-7 feet tall, weigh around 300 lbs, and have the head, horns, and feet of bulls. They were raiders to the extreme, and around 150 years ago their society was at its apex with successful raids as far as Chance. On their island nation of Hithtris, Taurians attacked any sea vessel, village, city or fortress they wanted and they were almost always successful. Their wealth came, not by hunting or fishing or growing, but by plunder. Pushed to the point of breaking, many cities, nations and merchants combined to fund a navy to arrive at, and break the Taurian might. It was successful, but many of the Taurians fled to an unnamed island in the south and tried to reestablish their power. Within 50 years, they became a nuisance, and the governments, determined to stamp out the Taurian might once and for all, sent in an even large fleet to eradicate the Taurian presence. If there was one thing a Taurian would not stand, it was slavery, so despite their raving of the coasts and seas, they also stamped out slavery. In the 100 years since, slavery has become problem again with the southern isles outside the jurisdiction of the nations being used as trading posts. Today, the remaining Taurians are either sympathizers to the old ways, and allied with bandits, pirates, or even slaver; or they are people who have moved on and joined the rest of society on the east coast There was always a contingent of Taurians that was not aligned with the raiding and pillaging, and they have now become the dominant numbers. They average 70-80 years of life if not in a violent occupation.

Guzaks – About 4 feet tall, slender and lithe, with catlike look, and a calico coloration. The guzaks typically have a subsistence lifestyle, with camps, hunters, and fishers. In some places they have become more civilized and can be found farming and shepherding with cheese and wine of particularly delightful tastes. The more subsistence ones can be both welcoming of others or suspicious of others, it just depends on the tribe. Rarely will humanoids get attacked by guzaks, unless they have turned feral. Due to their catlike nature, guzaks have an affinity for all feline creatures, and often train and use various cats as steeds and pets and hunters. It is not unusual for guzaks to have panthers, tigers, lions or even a sabretooth as their main hunters and guards. They average 30-50 years of life if not in a violent occupation, and depending on whether they are settled or not.

Sis’sharr – These lizard-like humanoids inhabit the more hospitable desert on Thorasia. With a matriarchal society, males are looked down upon. Because of these, they are used as traders and diplomats to nearby areas, and thus most encounter males, not females. They have born or tan colorations and stand about the same height as humans, but are lithe, and compact with muscle. The sis’sharr are able to go without food or water or sleep for some time as a part of their desert life. They have transparent membranes that cover their lizard-like eyes, and protect them from the light, sandstorms, from dying out, and from gaze attacks of medusa and basilisks that roam around their home. They wear clothes of fiber, woven together, and are semi-nomadic, with regular trips to oases and temples at various times of the year, and a three month stay at a cliff side laden with caves that they use as a hatchery for three months. They can claw and bite in combat, but prefer to use scimitars or other weapons, and shields, with their thick hide giving them a good protection against weapons. They can expect to live 30-50 years in the desert.

Qwith – This creatures are only a few inches shorter than humans, but are significantly lighter. Their lithe and slender bodies betray a sylvan quality that can be seen in their faces. Their eyes are decidedly faerie and their skin has a bit of a green tinge to in, and looks a bit like human skin that is sickly. Their fingers are much longer and more flexible than humans and their middle three fingers each have an extra joint. They keep to themselves in only certain forests and woods. Not every forest has qwith. While they will associate occasionally with other races, they generally prefer not to. They look down on other races as not advanced or sophisticated. There is one exception to these – the Svartálfar. The Svartálfar, in those places where they live close to qwith, are very friendly with each other. They average 200 years of life if not in a violent occupation.

Dvergr – The Dvergr are a race of creatures that largely live underground, but they can live in hills, mountains, or even plains, just with caves and such leading down. There are not many dvergr around. They are long lived, aging very little and can expect to see 400 years before dying. However, they bear young infrequently. Dvergr are about human height, with a hairless body and tough, grey, wrinkled skin and red eyes with a black pupil in the middle and no irises at all. They do not have a nose, just nostrils that end at their face with a small membrane covering them. They are gifted crafters of magic items, and their goods are known far and wide. They regularly send trade caravans to trade mushrooms, magic items, and cave lizard meat and skins for other goods that cannot be acquired in their underground homes. While it is certainly uncommon to see a dvergr, they are not so rare to be completely unseen. There are dvergr working in stores and with various goods and services.


Svartálfar – These are another underground race, and very rare. Some sages speculate there are less than 1000 left. They live in tribes of around 30-50, in out of the way places in small hill and mountain dwellings. They carve very beautiful and unique homes for themselves. They are roughly four feet tall, and of human dimensions, with a magical blue luster to their skin in certain lights, with a bit of shimmering in darkness. Their heads are typically bigger than a human’s, and that being the only part of them that is outside human dimensions except for height. They will happily associate with those around them, but if people start to get too curious, they will leave and create a new home somewhere else. Svartálfar are arguably among the most liked of the humanoid races, and most people will happily visit with and associate with them. They tend to expect to see 100-120 years on average.

Døkkálfar – Another underground race, these dark grey skinned humanoids tend to live in deep underground passages. Where the previous two races live underground and prefer contact with the above world, the Døkkálfar prefer to delve deep underground. They are usually thought of as an evil race, and are involved in many things such as slave trade. They are a powerful race, magically and in arms, and their society is ruled by a might makes right set of rules. They have innate magical abilities to certain spells, and those they have increase in power and experience. They can see 500 years easily outside of violence, but that violence can cut their life to 10% of that unless they are really good or really lucky. They typically associate with the darker elements above ground, and cannot function in full light, until they grow accustomed to it, which takes a hour usually.

Trow – The trow are a large number of sub-races grouped together for purposes of cataloging. There are many trow, from roving bands of raiders and bandits to individual wild berserker trow to city and high trow with good and evil in equal proportions and living in cities and villages. Ranging from between 5 feet to 8 and a half feet based on subrace, the trow are definitely many. They have a thick skin that varies between leather-like and a sturdy, hard yet flexible skin that is as tough as mail armor. Trow can form raiding parties and be bandits, or can just live as hunters and gatherers, or can farm and watch goats, and so forth. They can be found anywhere from sailors to mages, savages to scribes. There are many subraces of trow, and it would take too long to list them here. Based on subrace, they have a life expectancy of 40-90 years, assuming they are not killed early due to violence.

Tritons – This underwater humanoid race has white-blue skin, is a bit larger than humans in size, have webbed hands and feet. Underwater, they wear just the basic clothing required for modesty, but out of water, they typically wear gloves, shoes, and the normal range of clothing needed above. They live to 90-110 years. Tritons are usually found in schools of 20-100 and are semi-nomadic, moving throughout the seas, but with a few central homes built under the sea out of coral. They are traders of undersea goods for things like weapons and magic items. They will defend their homes mercilessly if endangered, but otherwise are peaceful outside of the hunt, when they will fight and kill undersea animals for food. They are often flighty. They can breathe in water and out, and will send people outside of water to talk with, trade with, and share stories with Those Above. It is rare to see Tritons too far away from water. They find freshwater uncomfortable. Tritons have a connection to the water, and once every hour or so they can part water, lower water, purify water and shape water. They only place underwater they do not claim as their home is the Sea of Hills.


Jengu – The other underwater humanoid, these people live in freshwater lakes and rivers. They are quiet and often keep to themselves. They have a dark brown skin and amber eyes, with long matted hair and a texture similar to sheep’s wool. Unlike the tritons, they are more friendly, and when they come out, they usually try to help other humanoids if possible. Their language is not very detailed, and they only have a basic idea of concepts. They can Cure Disease, Neutralize Poison, and Cure Serious Wounds with a touch to another. They often associate with snakes and alligators, and will have them as friends and pets. Normally hostile river reptiles will be peaceful in their presence. They live around 40-60 years. They prefer flight to fight, have no weapons, and attack with dazzling lights that deals 1d6 damage to creatures with eyes, if forced to fight. They eat a strictly vegetarian diet. They do not have any special physical adaptations for living underwater, beyond gills, and are about 4 and a half feet tall, with women and men of equal height. They do not care for brackish water at all, and cannot live long in sea water.


Abatwa – The tiny Abatwa are no taller than a blade of grass, and have life expectancies for just 10-14 years. They have a tribal society, and are known to use insects as steeds, such as beetles. The Abatwa have a ruddy, almost russet look to their skin and have angular bones and skin line. They are very sensitive about their size, and any comment that can be construed as mentioned their height or size will result in a hostile encounter. They fight with small poisoned javelins that cam kill a human adult due to their lethality. They have a hunter-gather society and often use holes in tree roots as houses.

Basajaun – These builders and farmers and hunters live in balmy forests and are quite strong, but not as bright as humans. The Basajuan is a hairy humanoid that stands around 7 feet tall. They were the allies and teachers of men in the old days, and now hide in forests away from humans, who have passed them by. They wield bows and staffs and other natural weapons with deadly force and hunt and farm as needed. They are known to stand by water and grab a fish like a bear. The Basajuan have their own language, and can live to be around 100 years. They have a fondness for humans and other friendly humanoids. They can get very angry and lose their temper and go berserk.