Like the pulps, science fiction and fantasy from which I took my inspiration, the world of Geis is peopled by many races. There are seven 'hero' races, those whom the reader will most likely identify, and two 'select' races that aren't evil per se, but whose motivations are so far beyond human experience that they are unlikely to engender sympathy from the reader. Or me for that matter.
I created the seven races based on a sliding scale. On either end lie magical and psychic ability, for the two abilities are somewhat contrary to each other and a race with greater disposition for one has an equally decreased disposition for the other. Each race has three sub-races, some of which are more varied than others.
Starting with the magical side of the scale, we find the Ancilene. These are bird people. They have no hair, being covered with fine feathers like the fine hairs covering a Human. They have wings and are capable of flight, bearing hollow bones. They have no teeth, but a sort of sharp beak beneath the lips. Their eyes are birdlike, being more rounded than a mammal's. Originally, I depicted them in my drawings (yes, I draw quite well thank you) with bird-like taloned feet but I decided I didn't like it. Now they have human like feet. Both hands and feet have short non-retractable claws on them. All Ancilene have some talent with magic. The three sub-races are the Bubo or owl-like people, the Bueto or hawk-like people and the Aquila or eagle-like people. The segregation of sub-races relates more to very generic size and coloration. There is no appreciable difference between them, but those knowledgeable enough will be able to identify them.
Next is the Sroloc, the lizard people. They have scaled skin, short muzzles, sharp teeth, non-retractable claws and no hair. There is quite a bit of variation between the sub-races. The Drakus are dragon-folk and they have four 'ranks'. The nobility come in three forms; the winged Aveus, the fire-breathing Phoreus and the Royal line which has both. The rank and file have neither. They are far more intelligent than their kin and all bear some magical ability. They can be found anywhere on Geis. The Chamus are able to change the color of their scales at will and climb vertical and inverse surfaces. They are generally faster than their kin and are found anywhere. The Crocus are amphibious, equally at home on land or sea. They are by far the strongest of their kin, being the physically strongest race on Geis but lacking in intellectual might. Their communities are found in moist, water-filled areas but individuals will travel anywhere except the most arid of places without some sort of protection. Chamus and Crocus both have frequent magical ability and some rare individuals have psychic ability, while the savage Crocus rarely develop them.
Grenis are the dog people. They look identical to humans, a little leaner in build with pronounced canines and reduced sclera. They are all comfortable in low-light conditions, have an excellent sense of smell and a pronounced sense of family. They all have the Howl, which is a disconcerting howl that puts their opponents on edge. When a group of Grenis all Howl together, especially from in hiding, their opponents can be unnerved to the point of entering fight or flight. Psychic and magical talents are prevalent but magic runs stronger than psychic in their veins. There is little variation in the sub-races, mostly coloring and habits, which are the Lupo or wolf-people, the Vulpes or fox-people and the Aureus or jackal-people. Lupo tend to have more psychic ability than magical, but that is really the only variation between the sub-races.
Humanity is, like in many fantasy settings, right in the middle. We all know what we look like. On Geis, there is equal chance of magical or psychic ability. They are the most prevalent race, being found virtually everywhere. The sub-races are Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid. With so many other intelligent beings around, there is no racial tension between the various Human races. We've all got to stick together, a lesson I think we could all learn from.
Malacore are cat-people. They also look identical to humans, a little bulkier in build with pronounced canines, reduced sclera and slit pupils. They are comfortable in low-light conditions and mingle freely with other races, to the extent that there are few all Malacore communities. While there are plenty of magic-wielding Malacore, there are more psychics among them. The sub-races differ slightly in build and coloring, but other than that there is little variation. There are the Lionine, the Tigris and the Pantherus lines.
Next are the Helguar, or half-people, and they have by far the most variation between sub-races. First we'll address the Centaur. They look like standard Centaurs, with human torsos atop horse bodies. Their ears are pointed but otherwise human in appearance and they have no hair on the sides of their heads, instead it grows down their human-like spines not unlike a mane. Next are the Vipak, which resemble the nagas of Hindu myth; a human torso with a long snake-tail instead of legs. They have hair, with skin on their human torso and scales on their lower snake tail. They have no noses or ears, instead small slits replace those organs and slit-pupil eyes. While the Centaur live in forested hills or open plains, the Vipak sleep underground in tunnels but otherwise spend much of their time on the surface. Many races are uncomfortable around Vipak, while they have little concern for others. Instead they keep to themselves, preferring to live in remote areas. The third sub-race is the Merfolk. They look like standard Merfolk commonly found in fantasy settings except their tails resemble dolphins instead of fish, with skin instead of scales and horizontal flippers instead of a vertical fin. They do have gills. Merfolk have the closest relations with the Crocus Sroloc, mainly due to their overlapping areas.
Of course, there are Minotaur. Since the legendary monster in the famous labyrinth on Crete, these half-man, half-bull creatures have been a part of modern fantasy settings either as monsters or a race (Dragonlance). I had to put them in Geis, but I added a twist. The three subraces of the Minotaur are Ram, Stag and the classic Bull. Personality varies greatly between them, and all have a resistance to magic although they do have frequent psychic traits, mostly untrained. The Bull Minotaur are the least intelligent, having no formal educational training, the live mostly in herds ruled by the strongest brutes. Note that they are not unintelligent, mostly ignorant and happily so. Theirs is a savage culture, driven by their warlike nature. For them, might makes right. The Stag and Ram Minotaur are more intelligent, with more developed cultures. All three are distrustful of strangers, but where the Ram are more prone to mindless rages, the Stag tend to be more vindictive while the Bull are distrustful, vindictive and prone to berserker rages. All Minotaur possess human torsos, thick necks and animal-like heads, and furry, animal-like legs and cloven hooves. The Bull have steer-like faces including the long, pointed horns while the Ram have sheep heads with curling blunt horns and the Stag have deer heads with massive antlers.
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