Chapter I · Races

Races of Eldriloch

Humans fill the cities, run the railways and fight most of the wars, but they share the continent with older and stranger peoples. The runekar remember the world before the Sunder. The malumtene are what became of the runekar who went too far. The ashen carry passengers from a dead reality, and the souldriven walk on pistons with a light behind their eyes that nobody can quite explain.

Playable Races

Each race below has its own entry with its history, culture and place in the world. All five races have complete rules. The other entries carry an In the Forge note where their racial traits will go.

Table: Races of Eldriloch
Race	In Brief	Rules Status
Human	The most numerous people, and the only one the gods are said to grant flux.	Core rules
Runekar	Proud, long-lived engineers born able to see the aether web.	Complete (LA +0)
Malumtene	Runekar twisted by dark aetheric rituals, feared across the continent.	Complete (LA +0)
Ashen	Hosts who let an exspiratis into their bodies in exchange for power.	Complete (LA +2)
Souldriven	Thinking machines of steel and fibrolite with a captured soul. Five variants. Available from 5th level.	Complete (LA +0)

Humans

Sovereigni and Sullied, soldiers and smugglers. The only people who wield flux.

Runekar

Engineers, wardens and scholars of the aether, haunted by the Sunder they caused.

Malumtene

Shunned runekar, remade by the destructive rituals they practiced.

Ashen

Bound to a voice that wants your body. Bargains kept, lies never told.

Souldriven

Steel bodies with a mind inside them, and a debate about where that mind came from.

Other Beings

Some of Eldriloch's inhabitants aren't suitable as player characters, but every adventurer should know them on sight. The exspiratis, mechanoids, skitz and nibs are described in Other Beings.

Humans and the Gift of Flux

The Celestial Covenant teaches that the gods chose humans alone to receive flux, and that this is the one thing that lets humanity stand against the other peoples of Eldriloch. In practice, a runekar, malumtene, ashen or souldriven character cannot use divine magic. See Flux.