Character Generation

[Dungeon Master]

Ive always taken a relatively light touch with the rules and will do so again. Im not a rules lawyer and loathe arguing over small points, in either the background or in the rules. Most of the rules are 3rd edition, with some smattering of 3.5.

The basic premise of the Campaign is that the players will come together in the Southern land of Calimshan. Its a land of intrigue and magic; politics and assanation. Basically think of north african countries and the middle east

It will also be magic lite (much like my main campaign on my board), with characters of 4th level having 1 or 2 magic items of any power. Also I do write all magic items as unique, so a +1 sword is never called a +1 sword. It will be called Darder's Sword and was used to kill Trolls in the Spine of the world mountains. Dont expect much more in the way of what powers things have. You also only see your character sheet, when you go up a level. Beyond that I dont send them out.

Im not one for restricting ideas or backgrounds, just use your imagination and see what you come up with. The more I do this the more I realise that game mechanics take second place to story. So what follows is a rough guide to character creation


1. History & Description
Brief history of your character and what hes been doing up till the point he started the adventure with this group. Things to bear in mind are :
Hometown - Im starting the campaign in Memnon forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Memnon which is a port and is close to the desert so we can have options for the campaign. Or you can come from further afield, my players from my other game may have some ideas. Im not bothered, but remember the further you have to travel, the more you may have done. Doesn't give you more levels, but may give you more contacts,etc. which is always good roleplay value.
Family - Are you a noble or poor. What did your parents do? What have you done till the start of the campaign?

Just a basic description of your character qill do.eg Hair colour, clothes, scars and any other distinguishing marks. Also a piece about his personality and how that links into their alignment would be a great help too.

And that brings me to race, some races have advantages and disadvantages.

1a. Races:
The races are all described below.

1c. Stats
32 points to spend, Ill post this method of rolling stats when I find a decent description. Remember that there are only 6 stats
Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma (all should be self explanatory)

2. Character Classes:
Again as Standard as possible to start, as explained above, Ive dropped sorcerer in favour of warlock. The others are self explanatory, if you've played before. If not the links should explain in basic terms.
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Rogue,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Warlock,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sorcerer,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Cleric,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/fighter,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ranger,
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Paladin
forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Druid.
.

3. Prestige Classes:
Prestige classes are additional character classes, that players will have to meet certain criteria for entry into. The list here is not exhaustive and if your interested in one, then we will need to have a chat.
Arcane Archer
Arcane Devotee
Arcane Trickster
Archmage
Assassin
Blackguard
Divine Champion
Divine Disciple
Divine Seeker
Dragon Disciple
Duelist
Dwarven Defender
Eldritch Knight
Guild Thief
Harper Scout
Hathran
Hierophant
Horizon Walker
Loremaster
Mystic Theurge
Purple Dragon Knight
Red Wizard
Runecaster
Shadow Adept
Shadowdancer
Thaumaturgist

I'm open to the use of others, but remember that I'm not one for power gaming so prefer, flavoured prestige classes rather than over powered ones.
Full list of Realms PrC's is found here.
www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/prc.htm

Again, Im just looking for people to put together the most interesting and diverse group that will work together.
That's about it, everything else well do the same way we do on the other boards, wing it . Oh and there are plenty of Realms resources on the web, so use it as much as you can within reason.

[Dungeon Master]

Since the fall of the great genie empires that once ruled south of the Marching Mountains, humans descended from the slaves of the genie lords have ruled the successive empires of Calimshan. From the shores of the Shining Sea, Calishites have migrated northwards in large numbers as far as the Fields of the Dead and the Nelanther Isles, and eastward into the Lake of Steam, the Border Kingdoms, Lapaliiya, and the Shaar. Some fled disasters in their homeland or sought new economic opportunities, but most came as conquerors under the banner of the Shoon Empire. Outside their homeland, Calishites form the primary racial stock of the Border Kingdoms, the Lake of Steam cities, and the Nelanther Isles. Calishites also comprise a large fraction of the population of Amn and Tethyr. Calishite ancestry, language, and culture have influenced all the lands nearby.
Calishites regard themselves as the rightful rulers of all lands south and west of the Sea of Fallen Stars, a birthright passed down to them by the genies who once ruled the lands between the Marching Mountains and the Shining Sea. Calishites point with pride to the unbroken line of Calishite empires dating back thousands of years. With the notable exception of the Mulan, whom they consider their equals, Calishites consider themselves culturally superior to the hordes of "unwashed barbarians" that dwell beyond their lands.
Although often perceived by other cultures as avaricious, lazy, and corrupt, in truth most Calishites seek nothing more than a lifestyle of comfort and the respect of their peers. Calishites hold the circumstances of an individual's birth as equal in importance to his or her achievements. The class system is strongly ingrained in most Calishites, as is the ideal of a life of pampered luxury. Money is simply the means by which one achieves idleness. Calishites place great stock in pride - in one's own achievements, family, city, and culture. Family and the role as host are likewise held in great esteem. Magic use is ubiquitous, rivaled only by the natives of Halruaa, and genies are both highly respected and feared.
Although all natives of Calimshan are known as Calishites, only those whose ancestry dates back to the slaves brought from other worlds thousands of years ago are considered members of this ethnic group. Calishites are a bit shorter and of slighter build than other humans. Their skin is dusky brown, and their hair and eyes are most commonly of that shade as well.
Calishites make skilled rogues, fighters, and wizards, and the legacy of ancient genie bloodlines ensures that many are powerful sorcerers as well. Religious fervor and monastic devotion are largely absent among most Calishites, except among the clerics of Ilmatar who minister to the poor, and the Tyrrans who uphold justice.

History

Calimshan has long been the dominant power of southwest Faerûn, with a tumultuous recorded history spanning nine thousand years. It has always been a hot, damp, verdant land, suitable for growing olives and dates and grazing by huge herds of livestock. Its forests are filled with fragrant carving-woods, and its sandbars and coastal shoals bristle with oysters, crabs, edible fish, and rocks harboring both gems and metals. In short, Calimshan has always been a land worth fighting for - and so there has been much fighting for it
In ancient times, the great forest Keltormir cloaked the region and was home to warring giants and elves. Humans also lurked in hiding among the trees, and the dwarves founded Deep Shanatar and flourished beneath the earth.
Then came the mighty djinn from "otherwhere," geniekin and their halfling and human slaves led by the djinni Calim. They founded the Calim Empire, clearing trees from the lands south and west of the Marching Mountains, slaughtering or driving out dragons, and establishing a domain whose borders correspond with the Calimshan of today.
The djinni ruled over humans in the Calim Caliphates for a thousand years before an efreeti of great power, Memnon, arrived from another "otherwhere" and established the realm of Memnonnar. The two empires broke into all-out war in the Era of Skyfire, a protracted struggle that so damaged the land that the elves used a form of great high magic to bind the spirits of Calim and Memnon into the ground and air, leaving them to struggle to this day in the sandy waste of their endless battle: the Calim Desert.
Humans and dwarves overthrew the few remaining geniekin in mere decades. Coram the Warrior founded the realm of Coramshan over the ruins of the genie empire. Riddled by intrigues and dynastic strife, it soon fell under the sway of evil human priests, but arose again as the reunited realm of Calimshan.
Ylveraasahlisar the Rose Dragon conquered Calimshan and ruled for over a century before being slain - whereupon beholders seized power. Humans drove the beholders out and established colonies across western Faerûn, but plagues weakened their empire. Tethyr and the Vilhon Reach shook off Calimshan's rule and became independent.
Human power in Calimshan peaked under the Shoon dynasty of a thousand years past. In more recent times, Calimshan has seen a Rage of Dragons (1018 DR), a Black Horde of orcs that slew its ruling Syl-Pasha (1235 DR), and the Time of Troubles (1358 DR), when the criminal underworld of Calimport was rocked by the death of all Bhaal-worshiping assassins.
The current ruler of Calimshan, Syl-Pasha Persakhal, has made an alliance with Tethyr. He hopes to study its ways - and then annex the land.

Outlook
Calishites believe their culture is the only bastion of civilization on the Sword Coast and Shining Sea, if not the entire surface of Faerûn. To the descendants of a 7,000-year-old empire, the shortlived "barbarian" cultures of the northern lands are barely worthy of notice. Calishite arrogance is nurtured and codified in the class and gender divisions within their society, with a person's station at birth playing an important role in how he or she is measured. Although few speak of the class system in Calimshan or the lesser status of women, most Calishites live out their lives according to their station, risking death or enslavement if they do not. Calishites dwelling in the old Imperial lands view themselves as superior to non-Calishites and often act as if the Shoon Imperium had never fallen. Likewise, Calishites dwelling within the borders of Calimshan view themselves as superior to their provincial cousins.
Calishites are typically drawn to adventuring in hopes of quickly amassing a great fortune that will allow them to retire to a life of idle luxury. Those of lower birth often see the life of an adventurer as a way to escape the strictures of their station in distant lands where the status of their birth is unknown. A few Calishite adventurers see themselves as guardians of an ancient culture and commit themselves to recovering ancient Calishite treasures that have been lost amid the unwashed hordes of the northern realms.

Calishite Society

Traditional Calishite culture varies little across Faerûn, even among Calishites who dwell outside the borders of Calimshan. Although exceptions exist, Calishites strictly adhere to the traditional roles of their social class. In ascending order, those classes are the slaves, the labor class, the skilled labor class, the merchant class, the military, the advisor class, and the ruling class. From birth, Calishites are raised to recognize such class distinctions and treat others accordingly, even though many class distinctions are lost upon outsiders. Hard work and thriftiness are not held up as ideals, although many successful Calishites got that way through such "vices." Instead, luxury and pampered idleness are seen as the ideal, and many Calishites will do whatever it takes to acquire such a lifestyle. Calishite culture has long harbored a fascination with food and magic, particularly magic that reduces the need for labor, so meals and frivolous magic items play a large role in Calishite daily life.
Calishites revere their immediate family and show more loyalty to their kin than they do to their deities or employers. Men are expected to enter into business and support their family's standard of living. Women are expected to maintain the home, raise the children, and manage the funds. Children are always educated in the home unless they have a strong aptitude for magical schooling. Those parents who can afford them employ tutors and wizards. Upon reaching the age of majority (15 years), children are expected to marry and establish themselves within five years. Only women may marry above their social class. Those who fail to marry are disgraced and must either live with their parents in shameful charity or be ejected from the household (many Calishite adventurers active in other lands once fell into the latter category). Children are also expected to care for their elderly relatives and to give them an opulent funeral upon death.
Social moves are particularly scrutinized within Calishite culture, engendering an emphasis on maintaining one's personal and familial pride. Saving face demands that a Calishite treat others as they present themselves, regardless of whether such facades bear any resemblance to the truth. Once a person or family loses face, they also lose status and may be relegated to a lower class. Privacy is a most precious commodity, for it allows an individual to act as he or she wishes without needing to save face. Calishites also place great stock in hospitality, with strictly defined responsibilities for both guest and host. Guests cannot inflict harm on their host while receiving his or her hospitality. Likewise, hosts must display as much generosity as they can afford and protect their guests from harm, for to do otherwise is to lose face.

Language and Literacy

The native tongue of Calishites is Alzhedo, a language derived millennia ago from Midani (the language of Zakhara) and Auran. Alzhedo is one of the two major root tongues of both Thorass ("Old Common") and Common. Alzhedo employs the Thorass alphabet, a set of characters used to represent the trade tongue that came into use thousands of years ago along the shores of the Lake of Steam. Most Calishites also speak Common, particularly the singsong Calant dialect. Those who trade with or live in the Realms Below prefer Undercommon, the trade language of the Underdark.
Given their extensive contacts with geniekind, Calishites often learn Auran or Ignan. Other common second languages include Chultan, Halfling, Lantanese, Shaaran, or Tashalan, languages spoken by many who dwell along the shores of the Shining Sea. Few Calishites learn other nonhuman tongues.
All Calishite characters are literate except for barbarians and commoners.

[Dungeon Master]

Appearances
Air Genasi look Human except for one or two distinguishing features related to their elemental ancestor. Some examples of these features are:

* light blue skin
* pale white skin
* white hair
* light blue hair
* a constant slight breeze in their presence
* flesh that is cool to the touch
* voice that can be heard over any nonmagical wind
* any sudden movement is accompanied by whistling wind

Air genasi revel in their unusual nature, although few ever try to locate the being who founded their bloodline, since most are long dead or banished back to the Elemental Plane of Air. Because the Calimshan djinn bloodlines are so old and have suffered many crossbreedings, it is almost impossible to tell by normal means if two air genasi are from the same bloodline. As a result, all air genasi treat each other as "cousins," although in an arrogant and competitive way.

History
With only a few exceptions, air genasi native to Faerun are descended from the djinn who once ruled Calimshan. The djinn and djinn nobles often had Human concubines, and from these unions were born half-elementals. The half-elementals gained status by serving in the djinn's armies, and their own children inherited some of their elemental nature. When the djinn masters were overthrown, many djinn, half-djinn, and air genasi were slain, driven to another plane, or bound in magic items such as iron flasks. The surviving air genasi went into hiding or fled to nearby lands. Now air genasi are most common in the Lands of Intrigue, Sword Coast, and the Western Heartlands. They have intermixed enough with the local populations that at least half of them do not resemble the people of Calimshan.

Outlook
Air genasi, like all the elemental planetouched, are proud of their heritage, regardless of others' opinion of them. They know they are descended from powerful beings, even nobles of their kind. Outside Calimshan most people look upon such things with awe instead of fear, so the air genasi are used to being flamboyant with their abilities and expect a certain amount of deference from normal folk. Because they consider themselves children of the sky, air genasi move about a lot over the course of their lives. Air genasi want to see and taste the air in radically different places and consider settling in one place for any length of time to be confining. Air genasi view air elementals as dumb brutes but see djinn and other intelligent air-outsiders as potential rivals for attention and power.

Although rarely is more than one air genasi born to any particular couple, these planetouched see each other as members in an extended family, and their tendency to wander means that they are more likely than not to find another of their kind at some point in their travels. Air genasi use these times to exchange news of other air genasi, usually in the form of bragging about their own deeds compared to others. Unlike the bonds that Aasimar share, air genasi feel no need to defend other air genasi, and in fact see another air genasi's weakness as an affirmation of their own strength.

In a few rare cases, particularly charismatic air genasi have gathered a few dozen of their own kind to form a mercenary company, cabal of mages, or mercantile group. These individuals sometimes take air genasi children away from Human parents so they may be raised by their own kind. However, air genasi rarely stay together for longer than a year, so these fosterlings usually end up being raised by one or teo air genasi who stick together after the group dissolves. Still, these young genasi gain some sense of community and often go on to start their own temporary groups.

[Dungeon Master]

Fire genasi are usually thought of as hot-blooded and quick to anger, and they have earned that reputation. Mercurial, proud, and often fearless, they are not content to sit and watch the world pass them by. Fire genasi have obvious physical traits that mark them as different from Humans, and they are often the target of mistrust and persecution. Some fire genasi are able to use their quick wits to turn the tables on their tormentors, while others find that their barbed words only make their foes more angry. Many fire genasi are destroyed as infant by their own parents, who fear that they are demonspawn.

Most fire genasi in Faerun are descended from the efreet that once ruled Calimshan. Planetouched of this derivation live all over the Lands of Intrigue, and some have traveled away from their ancestral homeland to escape the fear and prejudice that sugar cookie bear for genies. Chult, the Lake of Steam, and Unther also have a small number of fire genasi, for those lands bear volcanoes that sometimes act as natural portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire, allowing efreet and other fiery outsiders to make contact with Humans. A large family of fire genasi like halflings was known to live in Unther, but the way with Mulhorand has displaced them and their current whereabouts are unknown.

Appearances
Fire genasi are obviously not fully Human, having mostly Human features except for one or two exceptional traits related to their elemental ancestor. Some examples of these features are:

* charcoal gray skin
* deep red skin
* red or orange hair that waves like flames
* eyes that glow when the genasi is angry
* unusually warm skin
* large red teeth
* always smells like smoke

Fire genasi are proud of their ancestry and consider themselves superior to normal Humans, although the smarter ones don't make an issue of it. Because the efreet-descended genasi of Calimshan have almost no chance of finding their original elemental ancestor (who have long since been slain, banished, or imprisoned when their empire was overthrown), they make no effort to do so and enjoy the gifts that the ancestor's blood has granted them. Fire genasi enjoy the company of their own kind and have been known to form elite groups of mages or fighters that hire themselves out of the basis of their skill and heritage. They have been known to adopt fire genasi children of Human parents as well.

History
Most fire genasi in Faerun are the result of Human-efreeti unions that occurred thousands of years ago in Calimshan. These efreet rules took Human lovers, and their half-elemental offspring served their outsider parents as guards, advisors, diplomats, and eventually having children of their own, which as often as not were fire genasi. The overthrow of the genies resulted in a great slaughter and scattering of all the planetouched in that land, and since that time those people carrying the bloodline of efreet have mixed with Humans in other lands. Now fire genasi of these bloodlines might be of any Human race, and many do not resemble the people of Calimshan at all.

Fire genasi who originate in other lands have no common history, as their bloodlines are rare and unassociated occurrences.

Outlook
The fire genasi are a proud people, known that they are born of great genies. They prefer to dress elegantly and flamboyantly, reveling in their differences and advertising their superior taste and abilities. Fire genasi respect their pure elemental kin, and most treat efreet and other large fire outsiders with a great deal of courtesy and respect, bother out of a sense of the creature's power and as a subtle gratitude for their own bloodline-granted talents. Because of their high opinions of themselves, fire genasi often elect themselves the leader and spokesperson of a group, even if they have no particular talents in those areas.

Fire genasi are impatient and don't take well to pursuits that require alot of time and study. They like to travel, if only to escape the presence of their enemies or people who frustrate them. Fire genasi enjoy collecting trasure, preferring jewelry to bags of coins.
edit Society

Fire genasi are competitive among their kind, but their rivalry rarely lethal. Even two fire genasi of radically different alignments or philosophies are capable of putting down their swords for a talk on elemental nature and comparative histories, and should they come to blows they are more likely to ask for and grant mercy than slay each other outright. Although they have hot tempers, arguments between fire genasi quickly burn out, although their allies or minions might suffer the smoldering aftereffects.

Other than this friendly banter, fire genasi often go for years without seeing one of their own kind. Descended from beings who have a strong and close (if argumentive) society, fire genasi still have a tendency to collect in groups when circumstances allow. Children raised by two fire genasi parents see a wide range of emotions in their parents, from phenomenal passion and epic poetry to screaming matches and thrown furniture. This is accepted as normal, and they are taught that a life not lived vigorously is not worth living.

[Dungeon Master]

The most prominent of the races of mixed heritage, half-elves can be found throughout Faerun, but have few lands to call of their own. They feel at home both in the sprawling human empires and the secretive elven retreats, standing between elf and human culture but truly belonging to neither. They are a handsome and even-tempered race who handle the challenges of their mixed heritage with grace and reserve.

The common half-elves are those whose elven parents hail from the moon elf, sun elf, wild elf, and wood elf peoples. When someone refers to a half-elf, they are almost certainly referring to a half-elf of this descent.

No true half-elven realms exist in Faerun, but half-elves are far more prevalent in some lands than others. In the Unapproachable East, in the Yuirwood of distant Aglarond, a culture of common half-elves descended from wild evels, moon elves, and Damaran human settlers thrives beneath the Yuirwood's green boughs. Half-elves are also common in places where humans and elves have lived alongside each other peacefully, such as the domain on Silverymoon in the North or some of the southerly Dales.

Half-elves have at least one elven grandparent, or two half-elven parents. To put it another way, the child of a half-elf and a human will be human, unless the half-elf parent was the child of a full-blooded elf. Unless a half-elven line marries into other elven or half-elven families, their elf characteristics fade in a generation or two. On occasion elven traits can reappear in otherwise human children born several generations later, but half-elves of such remote descent are very rare.

Appearance
They blend human (including ethnicity) and elven (including subrace) features. Half-elves are paler, fairer, and smoother-skinned than their human parents, but their actual skin tone, hair colour, and other details vary just as human features do.

Traits often passed from elven side:

* Moon half-elves: pale skin tinged bluish around the ears and chin
* Sun half-elves: bronze skin and hair of gold
* Wild half-elves: brown skin
* Wood half-elves: coppery skin tinged with green highlights


Adulthood: 20 years

They live to be over 180 years old.
Common half-elves are descended from humans and moon elves, sun elves, wild elves, or wood elves. Common half-elves blend human and elven features, influenced by the subrace of their elven parent and the ethnicity of their human parent. Moon half-elves have pal skin tinged bluish around the ears and chin, framing their lower faces. Sun half-elves have bronzed skin, and hair of gold. Wild half-elves have brown skin. Wood half-elves have coppery skin tinged with green highlights.

Half-elves are more slender than humans, and more heavily built than elves. Since the elves of Faerun are taller and more sturdily built than the elves of other worlds, Faeruian half-elves are very close to human size and weight.

Outlook
While elves and half-elves are respected and admired in many parts of Faerun, humans in lands where elves are not commonly encountered can be resentful of elven blood. Elves are graceful, attractive, long-lived, mysterious, and skilled with mighty magic, and humans who do not know them well can easily come to regard elves – and, by extension, half-elves – with envy and fear. In places such as Silverymoon or the Dalelands, a half-elf's race is nothing remarkable, and she faces little or no bigotry. In lands where there is a long history of elven-human conflict, such as Tehtyr or Sembia, her elven blood marks her as different and dangerous, with all the fears and suspicions one might expect.

Many half-elves respond to the suspicion and slights of their human neighbors by staying well away from human civilization, preferring a solitary life in the wildernesses of Faerun. Others instead take up a life of travel, never staying in one spot long enough for racial prejudices to distance them from the folk around them.

Society
Half-elves are loners and often keep to themselves. Some treasure the camaraderie and the sense of family when traveling with a group of adventurers.
edit Deities

Common half-elves can choose any human or elven deity as a patron. Many favor Sune for the love that brought their parents together. The worship of Eilistraee has spread beyond those with drow blood in their veins, and many common half-elves who enjoy midnight revelries – mostly bards, it has to be said – choose Eilistraee as a patron.

[Dungeon Master]

Half-orcs are humanoids born of both human and orc ancestry by a multitude of means. Combining the physical power of their orcish ancestors with the agility of their humans ones, half-orcs can be formidable individuals. Though often shunned in both human and orcish society, though for different reasons, half-orcs have proven themselves from time to time as worthy heroes and dangerous villains.

Appearance
A typical male half-orc.

Half-orcs are, on average, somewhere between 5'9 and 6'4 in height and usually weigh between 155 and 225 pounds making them a little taller and stronger than humans on average. Most half-orcs have grayish skin, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, a sloping forehead, and coarse body hair, which causes them to stand out from their human brethren, though their canines are noticeably smaller than a full-blooded orc’s tusks. Half-orcs as such appear bestial to humans, though amongst orcs they are considered human-like physically. Half-orc hair is most often black, though it grays very quickly with age. In general, half-orcs do not live as long as humans, maturing by their sixteenth year and often dying before their sixtieth.

Half-orcs that have lived amongst orcs might pick up a common orcish tradition, that of ritual scarring. Half-orcs with such a background do not look upon scars as marks of shame or as unattractive blemishes, but rather as marks of pride that demonstrate their skill and bravery in battle. On occasion, however, scars are used for a darker purpose, with orcs marking half-orc slaves with scars in the same manner a rancher might brand cattle.

Half-orcs have shorter lifespans than humans, reaching maturity slightly earlier and rarely living longer than seventy-five years.

Half-orcs have a strength uncommon to most humans, though comparable with orcs. Half-orcs are less durable than their full-blooded kin, however, though they tend to be more dexterous and indeed, moreso than most other humanoids. Half-orcs also have a resilience unique to them and when gravely injured, simply seem all the more determined to win, as though the blows had, in fact, empowered them.

Half-orcs are also agile, charging swiftly when their rage is aroused. For some half-orcs the conflict of their two heritages develops into something more, becoming the very essence of their being. Other half-orcs gain a thirst for battle that enables them to weather through battle longer than most find themselves capable of, making them both more resilient and more deadly.

It is sometimes said that half-orcs can see perfectly in the pitch black of underground caverns or the darkest nights, like a drow. Whether this is true for some, is unsure, although it is not a quality most half-orcs exhibit, who instead merely have an elf-like ability to see well in low-light conditions. Half-orcs are also reputed to be unintelligent and though this is not true for the entire race, it is a definite trend in some populations.

Outlook
Like other half-breeds, half-orcs combine the natures of both their lineages into a unique whole, a trait which extends into their mentality as well as their physical qualities. Like humans, half-orcs are quick to action, tenacious, and bold, with an adaptability that is unusual amongst most races. This is useful to the race, given that they are considered outsiders just about everywhere and so the ability to thrive in unwelcome or unusual locations is a necessity for a half-orc’s welfare.

From their orcish blood, half-orcs take less desirable qualities typically, which adds to the discomfort others often feel around them. Few half-orcs have the patience for the etiquette or protocol that civilization often imposes and are far from quiet about their opinions on the subject. As a result, half-orcs are often perceived as uncouth savages, a reputation perhaps accentuated by the half-orcish love of physical pleasures such as eating, drinking, or dancing. Impatient and ill-tempered are stereotypes that are not too far off the mark for most half-orcs, but these qualities are not necessarily negative. Sometimes, a brash and straight to business attitude is precisely what is required.

The half-orc personality tends to be short tempered and sullen, though half-orc mental capabilities are often underestimated and members of the race are often significantly more cunning than full-blooded orcs. More often than not, half-orcs prefer simple pleasures such as feasting, singing, wrestling, or wild dancing to refined pursuits such as poetry or philosophy. Most half-orcs are free-spirited like their orcish brethren, though they have fewer of the evil tendencies that blemish the reputation of orcs and are as likely good as they are evil, at least when raised amongst humans.

Society [/u]
Half-orcs have no home to truly call their own, with the possible exception of Many-Arrows, an orcish kingdom whose borders lies along several human nations, and as such have no truly common culture. Most half-orcs grow up amongst either humans or orcs, either in urban environments or, more often, along the outskirts of civilization, taking on many of the qualities of their home culture. The majority of half-orcs born since the Spellplague have half-orc parents, rather than being first generation half-orcs although it is still not wholly uncommon for a half-orc to be born from a half-orc and human coupling, either by consent or rape.

In most culture, half-orcs are prejudiced against. Within the lands of their human ancestors, half-orcs are commonly seen as savage thugs and looked down upon. As a result, most half-orcs in human society are forced into menial labor or violence for a career. Some choose to take on the life of an adventurer, perhaps merely as another acceptable means to wealth and power or sometimes as a way to throw off the shackles of other people’s perceptions.

Within orc society, half-orcs are sometimes still looked down upon as weaker and inferior creatures, but overall they tend to fare better. Most orcs grudgingly acknowledge the superiority of the half-orc’s intellect as well as their comparable strength. As a result, it is not entirely unusual for a half-orc raised amongst orcs to rise to a position of power within his or her tribe.

Half-orcs who live amongst humans are frequently drawn to adventure simply because few opportunities are presented to them for less than violent occupations. Pressured into martial lifestyles and rejected by polite society, half-orcs often only find acceptance amongst other races by proving their worth as adventurers. Likewise, the only friends a half-orc is likely to make are other adventurers, who are often also outcasts of a sort.

[Dungeon Master]

"Contrary to the barbarians of the North, we of Calimshan take great pride in our families, our names and our clan. A person is worthless without the identity gained his name and that of his family. We of Calimshan atr not so lax as to allow folk to name themselves or hide from their fate or that of their family." - Pasha Amid yn Bhalar wl Mjoal of Manshaka

Calashite names follow a fairly rigid format in general.
1st comes a persons title
2nd comes their personal name
3rd comes their parents name
4th comes their house

Daughters are identified by the word yr linking their and their mothers names. Sons are identified in relation to their fathers unless their mothers are more well known or notable. Similarly the words el or al links the persons personal and parents name to the the family name.

Slaves are allowed to keep their personal names but have the name of the family or the person who owns them with the word adh.

Example: Ariana yr Tora el Bakran is the daughter of Tora in the Bakran family
Example: Chawal Kalil yn Ner el Jibril is leuitenant (Chawqal) int the military first and foremost, after which he is the son of Nur of house Jibril.
Example:Targar the Wanderer from Westgate is captured and taken to Calimport, sold to Chawal Kalil, above. His name in Calimshan becomes Tagar adh Kalil (if kept as a personal slave) or Targar adh Jibril )if used as a house slave to the family).

Many examples exist outside these rules, mostly in part to the "innate addled-pated nature of the barbarian scribes of the North", whihc mean sthat they cant accurately recall a name of more than two syllables. Another main reason could be those traveling incognito or those who have fallen out of favour with their families.

Many devout priests change their surnames to that of their gods, this causes no losss of honour. Their families accepting the change readily.

Common Calishite Names (Female): Abiya, Advia, Amber, Ara. Asfora, Baraja, Bitisib, Catahra, Fadila, Farijta, Hala, Iamar, KAdila, Mariam, Melek, Merial, Munaa, Nada, Nureh, Oma, Rabi, Sabira, Saida, Samar. Sarosoa, Shunnari,Tarub, Thuravya, Zahrah, Zenobia
Common Caliwshite Names (male): Aban, Abbakar, Abbas, Abon, Amun, Asraf, Bollus, Butrys, Daud, Fahd, FAruk, Hakiim, Harun, Hassan, jabal, Jafar, Kadar, Kalil. Kharyi, Malik. Marynn. Muham, Nadim, Nur, Rahimar, Saibh, Sarsor, Tahyr, Tasyn and Yusuf.