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The races of Valhalla
Every character is born to one of eleven races, and the race shapes everything after: how easily you learn magic or the divine arts, how strong or quick or hardy you are, how much a teacher charges you to practice, and how fast you recover. There is no wrong choice, but a dwarf will never be a brownie's equal at sorcery, and a brownie should not pick fights with ogres.
Humans
The most common and youngest race. Sheer numbers let them control most of the world. Their one gift is adaptability: no strengths, no weaknesses, and leaders in any walk of life.
Best at: The best prospect for multiclassing.
Magic average, Divine average, Strength average, Dexterity average, Constitution average, Charisma average, Brain average, Hit points average,
Elves
The second-oldest mortal race; only dragons are older. Closest to nature, smart and magical, dextrous for their size and less robust than humans. They keep the forests with gentle spell-weaving while the brownies guard them with sorcery, and they despise all goblin-kind.
Best at: Excellent mages. Dual class well as mage/fighter or mage/thief.
Magic easy, Divine hard, Strength average, Dexterity average, Constitution somewhat hard, Charisma somewhat easy, Brain average, Hit points average,
Dwarves
Dwarves and gnomes share the third-oldest place. Often mistaken for earth-dwellers, which is only where they work. They love rare metals, forge superb weapons and armour, and carry an inborn hatred of giants and their kin. Dwarven mages are rare; a few dwarven healers travel the world.
Best at: Excellent fighters and barbarians; multiclass well as clerics, rangers, paladins and dark knights.
Magic very hard, Divine average, Strength very easy, Dexterity somewhat hard, Constitution somewhat easy, Charisma hard, Brain average, Hit points easy,
Halflings
Small, quick and notoriously witty; few can stay angry at a halfling for long, unless one of their thieves has robbed you blind. Most farm contentedly in the shire, but the bored ones go adventuring and become the thieves their race is famous for. Their food and wine are legendary, their magic utilitarian and amusing, and their mortal enemies are the trolls.
Best at: Excellent thieves; dual class well as thief/mage.
Magic average, Divine somewhat hard, Strength average, Dexterity very easy, Constitution average, Charisma average, Brain somewhat hard, Hit points somewhat hard,
Gnomes
Cousins of the dwarves with a love of gems; King Welmar’s crown was gnomish work. Their mages and sorcerers study their spells with near fanaticism, their healing magic suffers a little, and they share the dwarven constitution. They hate the kobolds and goblin-kin that raid their mines.
Best at: Very powerful mages; dual class well as mage/thief.
Magic very easy, Divine very hard, Strength somewhat hard, Dexterity average, Constitution average, Charisma somewhat easy, Brain easy, Hit points hard,
Half-orcs
The offspring of humans and orcs. Most follow human customs; the shunned return to the orcs, where their human intelligence is prized. Strength and constitution from the orcish side, wits from the human, and little gift for magic. They distrust dwarves, gnomes, elves, brownies and halflings, and are drawn to the dark elves.
Best at: Good clerics; dual class well as cleric/fighter.
Magic somewhat hard, Divine somewhat easy, Strength average, Dexterity hard, Constitution easy, Charisma average, Brain average, Hit points average,
Half-ogres
A proud halfbreed with a story about a human knight, a magic well and a beautiful ogress; the sages say they are simply small, slightly brighter ogres. Exceedingly strong and a little clumsy, with magic left to the shamans who keep the lore. They value their friends to the death and hate their enemies past all caution.
Best at: Excellent warriors. They do not multiclass well into cleric, mage or thief.
Magic very hard, Divine hard, Strength very easy, Dexterity somewhat hard, Constitution somewhat easy, Charisma average, Brain average, Hit points easy,
Half-elves
Humans and elves interbred. Free to live with either people, and keeping the human potential to excel in many fields. Particularly connected to the divine powers.
Best at: Excellent clerics; multiclass well as cleric/thief, or cleric/warrior.
Magic hard, Divine very easy, Strength average, Dexterity somewhat easy, Constitution very hard, Charisma easy, Brain average, Hit points somewhat hard,
Brownies
Protectors of the forest, smaller than halflings, living in hidden villages in a ring through the elven woods. Nobody knows where they came from; some say a halfling explorer and a pixie. They are the fairy folk’s ambassadors to the world. Their conjuring and sorcery is among the strongest on the world: summoned armies and rains of lightning. Natural hiders and sneaks.
Best at: Amazing mages; multiclass as mage/thief.
Magic easiest, Divine hard, Strength somewhat hard, Dexterity easy, Constitution somewhat hard, Charisma average, Brain somewhat easy, Hit points very hard,
Grolls
A dark-elf necromancer’s experiment to breed a regenerating super-soldier: a cross of ogre and troll. Wild, cunning, hateful of anything alive, and prone to flee, regenerate and come back. Their magic is nearly nothing, though a few learned tricks from their masters. Recyclable cannon fodder, and proud of it.
Best at: Amazing warriors; multiclass as warrior/thief.
Magic very hard, Divine hard, Strength easiest, Dexterity average, Constitution somewhat easy, Charisma somewhat hard, Brain somewhat hard, Hit points easy,
Dark elves
Elves who turned from the light of nature. Unsatisfied with Frey’s humble gifts, they went underground to the rituals of dark gods and necromancy, keeping their skill as fighters and thieves but losing their divine ties. Over centuries they built labyrinths of caverns and cities, bent goblin-kind to their will, and twisted nature itself to create the trolls.
Best at: Good priests; multiclass well as priest/warrior or priest/thief.
Magic somewhat hard, Divine easy, Strength average, Dexterity somewhat easy, Constitution average, Charisma hard, Brain average, Hit points average,
Reading the numbers
The modifiers run from −3 (very hard to improve) through 0 (average) to +3 (very easy), with brownies' magic and grolls' strength an exceptional +4. Your race and your profession together set what a teacher charges in practice points: a +3 costs 7 points a session, a −3 costs 19. In the game, help races and help <race> have the full tables.