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From the notes of Jevri Lancehold, noted Imperial explorer, discoverer of Tas-Nabrenor and recorder of the census for the Lands Outside:
- Tlaxu
These cat-men live on the borders of the Empire, and there are two species that have been identified. Since they are none too friendly to humans (I was told by one that they find our odour offensive) there may well be other races of Tlaxu as yet undiscovered by the Empire.
The Mountain Tlaxu, as we call them, are primitive and wild. They can be found in the Throne of Heaven and Three Sister Mountains, and are identified by their striped fur. They seem to be solitary, and wear little or no clothes.
The Plains Tlaxu are found north and west of the Empire, on the steppes that bear their name. These are more civilised than their mountain cousins, but a barbaric nonetheless. Powerful males rule small family clans and it would appear that the Tlaxu find it acceptable to mate with their sisters and daughters. Somehow this practice strengthens clan ties. These cat-men at least wear clothing and use a primitive array of weapons. They have tawny fur, and the males sport braided manes.
- Vugs
These strange creatures are not really sentient, but they appear to obey orders given to them (provided that those orders are simple). They can be found wild in the mountains, but no one knows how they reproduce. There are two varieties - orange and purple - but aside from colour there are no obvious differences. Vugs are small, broad hairless creatures, used for menial tasks throughout the Empire.
- Durdrn
These hapless creatures were created by a young and foolish god - Vorshee the Thumbless - who was punished by the Guide of Heaven for his presumption. His creations were saved from a similar punishment by the compassion of the Snow Princess. They live under her protection on the peninsula of Vorsheeva. They stand like humans, but have webbed feet and prehensile noses. Durdrn are shy and foolish, good for few things but for some reason they make excellent sailors. They are all Imperial citizens.
- Gloppies
This is the human term used to describe a race of aquatic people, based upon the sound that they make. Their actual name in their own language is too difficult to pronounce. Gloppies can be found throughout the seas, some friendly with surface dwellers, others not. They resemble a cross between a man and a fish. Some have legs and can walk on land, other have fishes tails and die if out of water.
- Shelled Ones
More aquatic creatures, the Shelled Ones are barely sentient crab-shelled beings who seem to delight in raiding and destroying human dwellings along the coasts, especially of Oksa. There has never been a peaceful encounter with a Shelled One.
- Shamblers
Legends tell of these giant creatures, formed from the land itself coming alive and walking. Forests grow upon them, and no-one knows where they go or why they decide to walk. Their reported size varies from the height of a house to a mile high.
- Rockmen
I would have thought these as legendary as the Shamblers had I not seen some on my travels. They are like a roughly carved human figure made of stone, but produce no intelligible language and do not behave in an understandable fashion. My guides told me that they seek and devour gems and minerals and seem to gain abilities from doing so.
 
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Designer's Notes
Where are the elves?
We chose not to use the usual array of fantasy races, for the simple reason that everyone else does. Why be the same as all the others?
Notes on the races:
Tlaxu
"Cat-men" races seem to be quite common amongst home-brew worlds but never with much detail to them beyond "+1 DEX". The Tlaxu are an attempt to provide a deeper culture for a feline-like race without, hopefully, falling into too many of the stereotypes of cat behaviour. The Tlaxu also serve to illustrate on of the Conclave's main aims in creating non-human races: that is, that there should be as many differences within the non-human races as there are within the human race. Here, two physically and culturally different Tlaxu races are described, but there are others. Rumour speaks of a nation of civilised Tlaxu on the far side of the world....
Vugs
The Vugs are designed as a mystery for players to solve - where do they come from and why do they exist? These mysterious servitors developed out of a variation on standard fantasy dwarves but turned into the hairless, barely sentient creatures that they now are.
Durdrn
The durdrn were created because so far all the non-human races were outsiders to the Empire. Since the Empire covered many human nations in its heartland, it seemed reasonable to include some non-humans too. They were made human-like to allow easy integration, but alien enough to make them interesting to play.
Gloppies
The name "Gloppies" is used by humans to cover any number of aquatic races, not necessarily related to one another. With such a vast expanse of sea it seems only natural to allow mer-races. At least three races of Gloppy are known to the Conclave; some are nomadic, others live along the shores and even trade with humans on occasion.
Shamblers
These giants could be earth-spirits or living beings with an unfathomable life cycle. They were conceived as something vast an unknowable, a symbol to the players that there are things in the world beyond their ken.
Rock-men
This idea developed from a few throw-away suggestions being merged together into a strange race whose motivation is to gain personality through devouring certain minerals. They are a good example of how the Conclave can build upon a simple concept.
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