Swirve Blog

As requested, some information on races within Utopia Kingdoms. Roisin put this together from some of the in-game text. There will be nine races to choose from. Some of the character artwork is floating around at the moment (on the main UK website and occasionally on our twitter page).

Though many creatures live amongst the forests and in the seas of the world, only a few have developed sufficiently to form societies and communities which you can lead. There are nine Utopian races to choose from:

Gnomes

The most mysterious of races, Gnomes are intelligent, kindly, short legged individuals who live in the wilder areas of the world, caring for the creatures around them. Their close affinity with this natural habitat has led to greatly improved methods of agricultural cultivation and animal husbandry over the years, giving them bonuses to crop growth and food production. Naturally hardy creatures, the unique Gnomish physiology can efficiently sustain prolonged periods of activity - as a result, Gnomish armies require less resources to raise and maintain.

Humans

Humans are the most scholarly of the races, and have always taken a great interest in learning about their world. They are adept at developing better tools and skills to make their lives easier. In particular, Humans have a great knowledge of the medicinal arts and are excellent physicians. Due to their dispersion over the land and their love of fine goods, Humans are often considered a greedy and selfish race. True to this creed, they and are renowned for hoarding and amassing wealth, and generating worth and value where other races cannot. They do not always see eye to eye with the other races, and are known to be at hot-tempered at times.

Orcs

Orcs, not traditionally considered the most intelligent of races, are renowned for their brutality on and off the battlefield. Cruel, callous, and savage, the Orchish warrior is a formidable foe and a deadly ally. Lovers of destruction and chaos, an Orcish army in motion is a wonder to behold, a force of nature, cutting a swathe of desolation in its path. It has been said that Orcish children are born with a sword in one hand, and an axe in the other - a testament to the devastating efficiency of the Orcish war machine in harvesting lumber for its endeavours. Surprisingly, a few Orcs have mastered the arts of trading. Certain Orcs, having seen the value in trade, travel the land offloading their spoils of war for more useful equipment and weaponry.

Trolls

Trolls live amongst the frozen swamps and wildernesses of the North and - while not a particularly secretive race - are seldom seen in the glorious civilisations of the world. It was said that the Trolls once belonged to an ancient branch of Humans but that over time, living in the dank dark places twisted their form and features into strange unrecognisable shapes. Troll dwellings are typically subterranean caverns, far from the surface light. Trolls are experts at extracting and forging iron ore from the rocks in which they live. The Trolls often provide trade caravans with menacing guards of Troll warriors, and in return, the Trolls are granted free and steady access to trade goods to and from the Northern regions.

Dwarves

Dwarves are a friendly but powerful race of individuals, generally living in vast hollowed out caverns and hallways beneath the mountains and the earth. These structures are naturally easy to defend, allowing Dwarves to store much more resources than other races, for a comparable quantity of defence. Dwarves are skilled craftsmen and engineers, and expert miners - greatly improving the yields of iron the Dwarvish race are able to extract from their land. The Dwarvish people pride themselves on their ability to bend, twist, and manipulate metal and stone to their will. Dwarves are fortunate in that raising a Dwarvish army is made much cheaper by having a similar army of skilled smiths to equip them. The Dwarves also harbour the ancient secrets of construct creation, which they use to their advantage in battle.

Avians

The Avians are a winged race, and spend much of their daily life in the air - though it is not wholly unusual to find them in the cities, mingling with other races. Avians are highly social creatures, though can often perceived as aloof by the other races. Avians follow a shamanistic belief system, and hold a great reverence for the elements - in particular, their guardian element of air. Avians are also skilled woodsmen - a flock of Avians are able to deconstruct a tree from the top down in an incredibly short period of time. Avians traditionally live in the wild highlands and forests of the world, and are expert hunters and archers. Unusually, Avians have the ability to use all four limbs with equal skill, when firing a bow - making Avian archers a highly sought after mercenary force. All Avians are naturally gifted in this way, giving Avian armies an abundance of skilled archers. Avians are also extremely fleet of wing, and are able to get aid to their wounded on the battlefield much more quickly than the other races.

Elves

A noble and intelligent group of individuals, Elves have always been known for their innate magical abilities, and grant a high priority to the research and cultivation of arcane powers. The Elvish race is the second most numerous in the world, following the race of Humans. Elvish society and culture, however, is far advanced to that of the Humans’ - a fact not particularly surprising, considering the Elvish lifespan is tenfold greater. The Elvish are a wealthy people, and not known for squandering their resources, giving them bonuses to monetary gains. Elvish storage facilities are magically enhanced, allowing greater quantities of goods to be kept at less expense.

Centaurs

The Centaur are a powerful race of quadrupedal beings, living on the rolling plains, and in the lush forests of the world. A Centaur’s speed and grace when galloping across the land, is second to none. Tough but gentle and kind, these often mischievous creatures can often be found in the capitals of the world, hiring out their services as guards, or mercenaries. All Centaur are natural warriors, meaning Centaur armies have an abundance of infantry candidates to select from. While not unfriendly, the Centaur do not truly trust any of the other races who can not match them step for step, in a saddle. The Centaur are also skilled agriculturalists, and have developed superior methods of preserving food and increasing crop yield.

Dark Elves

Once Elves, the ancestors of the Dark Elves, consumed by a hunger for greater magical power descended into the great subterranean caverns of the world, in an attempt to get closer to the core arcane energies of the earth. Over time, with such proximity to this immense force, their features changed and distorted, bringing about the birth of a new race. Dark Elves are unusual in appearance, with dusk ebony skin and long, pale, ethereal hair, delicate features framing their magically tinted, blood-red eyes. The Dark Elves have an aversion to natural light, and tend to venture out only in the darkness if necessity arises, ghostly figures roaming the lands at night. The Dark Elves are the most powerful wizards of the world, and have incredible magical abilities, reaching far beyond those of the Elves. All Dark Elves are born with an affinity for magic, and they have a great number of wizards to populate their ranks, should the need arise. Dark Elves employ their magics to great ability, efficiently harvesting lumber from the massive underground forests of tree roots and limbs, dangling from the cavern roofs above. Dark Elves also have the ability to store more resources than usual, their underground storage systems are naturally easy to defend, and can be larger than those of other races.

Please feel free to comment on this post here on the forums.

dc