About Teremo

Races of Teremo

KOOPAS

Magic: Magical potential and type depends on parental heritage, but all Koopa magic must be honed through study. Hammer Bros excel at conjuring inanimate objects. Lakitus conjure small animals. Magikoopas are primarily transmuters. Most practical Koopa magic is neutral in nature, although Magikoopas are often very well-versed in the dark arts.
Physical description: Usually very tall, muscular. Have pointed teeth and scales on bony landmarks (shoulders etc). Yellowish skin is common, they also get cold easily, because of their reptilian nature. Hair and eye colors can be widely varied, as they depend on magical ability.
Relations: Koopas and humans have been at war longer than anyone can remember, for a cause long forgotten. The Koopas have subdued both the Masked People and the Goombas, and force taxes, goods, and military service out of both kingdoms. They are also at odds with the Toads, who are close allies of the Humans.
Hierarchy: Koopa social hierarchy is based on magical type/potential. The magikoopas/aristocracy are the upper crust and the Ankoopas are at the bottom (laborers, fishermen, etc) but the middle classes mix freely.
Ankoopas/Parakoopas are the peasants and soldiers, they have little magic to speak of and what they do have is pretty generic.
Hammer Bros are one of the middle classes. They tend to be officers in times of war. Can conjure inanimate objects; throwing hammers are usual.
Lakitus are a sort of middle-upper class. Can control weather to a degree (use clouds as transportation) and conjure small lifeforms (spiny beetles are the usual).
Magikoopas are snobby nabob elites. They wear robes and have a complex system involving apprenticeships and wands and books and stuff.
Religion: As a race, have very low-profile beliefs. Law is the guiding principle rather than personal ethics. Commonly accepted belief is that all Koopas have the same afterlife regardless of behavior in life. Concepts like karma and reincarnation are lost on them.
Territory: Koopas control large areas of land by proxy (see the Masked People, Goombas below), but the actual Koopa lands are often warm, volcanically active mountainous regions.

MASKED PEOPLE

The actual name of the race is kamenbito, but to most of Teremo, they are "The Masked," "Masked People," or "Those Who Wear Masks." The name "kamenbito" is for the kamenbito only.
Magic: Masked magic comes in many 'flavors', which their society is structured around. While magical types differ from class to class, magical strength forms a strong gradient from the lower classes to the powerfully magical royalty. All Masked People also have a mask, which is bound to their soul through dark magic, which only the aristocracy can perform.
Physical description: Masked People are small, compared to humans, although similar in most ways. Notable deviations are their fangs, claws, and overall lack of facial or body hair. Like Koopas, their hair and eyes can be strange colors, and for the same reasons.
Relations: Most meetings between humans and the Masked, while not open war, are filled with animosity. Most Masked People are not fond of Koopas either, but accept that they are under the control of a superior force and simply deal as best they can.
Hierarchy: Like the Koopas, Masked People have a stratified society. Unlike the Koopas however, the seperate castes do not often mingle. Within each caste there is a more defined hierarchy, which is shown by robe colors. However, social caste is much less prevalent in ordinary day-to-day living than one might expect; technically, any Masked Person can have any occupation, although the lower classes tend to be poor and the upper classes tend to not.
Maskless--kamennai--are outcasts and outlaws, stripped of their magic and their masks. They are usually killed on sight and regarded with abject fear and hostility. They are marked with a deep scar when banished, always across the face from the left temple to the right jawbone. Most Masked People view them as something like monsters or no-longer-livings.
Shy Guys are the working poor of the the Masked. They have no magic, and are commonly farmers.
Green Gloves and Sluggers have just enough magic to be practical. They are often soldiers, but can be found in almost any occupation.
Bandits and Snifits are magically apt, and both classes often deal with upholding Masked law. Bandits usually deal with finding or killing the Maskless, while Snifits are more often responsible for finding those who deserve to become Maskless in the first place.
Zeus Guys are an elite warrior caste, well-trained in the martial arts and with the ability to control electricity and use it offensively. They are very often lords and ladies, nobility but not quite royalty.
Masked royalty has powerful magic, but they are a very reclusive group of people. Most Masked People have never seen a member of the ruling class, despite their influence in every level of society.
Religion: The Masked People tend to worship spirits and minor deities. The use of small charms and bells in an attempt to win the favor of the wind gods is very common. Those who please the gods throughout their life are allowed to live with the gods and are happy for eternity. Those that do not are tortured by angry deities and sent out to do their work as a Boo.
Territory: Masked lands are covered with trees and criss-crossed by rivers. Their towns and cities, while not really located in forests, always have large tracts of woodlands nearby. The largest of their cities is Celestheria, the City of Bells. Masked lands are seperated from human and Koopa lands by large mountains.

GOOMBAS

Magic: Goombas have no magic worth mentioning.
Physical description: Goombas are short, even shorter than the Masked People. They have only three fingers, and fangs on their bottom jaw.
Relations: Goomba tribes are often coerced into working for the Koopas, against the humans. This puts them on the same side as the the Masked People, and also pits them against the Toads, who they already have a long-standing rivalry with.
Hierarchy: Goombas are organized into small groups of one hundred or less, with one or more leaders. They lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle, and live in small villages in crude buildings until such time comes for them to move on.
Religion: Like the the Masked People, Goombas believe in a variety of spirits and small gods. They also have similar superstitions and beliefs about the afterlife.
Territory: Goombas can be said to control huge tracts of forested, rugged terrain to the north. However, they have few permanent establishments and no central government.

HUMANS

Magic: Humans are able to practice some white magic, but only with the assistance of wands or other magical items.
Physical description: Shorter than Koopas but taller than the Masked, humans are hairier than the other races, with the males commonly sporting mustaches or beards. They have rounded ears, no fangs, thin useless claws, and their hair and eye colors have a much smaller range than the other races.
Relations: Humans have always been at war with the Koopas. This conflict extends towards the Masked People and Goombas as well. Toads are very common in human civilization however, and are considered close allies.
Hierarchy: Having no magic, humans have no clear-cut lines to divide their society up with. Because of this, almost all humans mingle freely. The exception is human royalty, which is still dictated by heritage.
Territory: Humans control almost an entire continent of wildly various terrain, including deserts, inland seas, forests, grasslands, swamps, and offshore islands. The main front against the Koopas and their allies is confined to a large mountain range far from the center of their kingdom.

TOADS

Magic: Toads have powerful light magic, to the point where it has corrupted their very being into something akin to fungus. All Toads can use magic with a high degree of skill, with only a few exceptions.
Physical description: Toads are short, about the same height as Goombas. They all have a mushroom-like cap on their heads, are somewhat weak, and have no discernable gender.
Relations: Toads live and work alongside humans, usually as advisors, diplomats, scholars, or other non-physical jobs. They are allied with the humans in their fight against the Koopas and their allies, although they have a special dislike for Goombas.
Hierarchy: Socially, Toads are almost all equal. Younger Toads will often defer to older ones out of respect, but sometimes not even then.
Territory: Toads have little territory of their own, but are well-integrated within human lands.

YOSHIES

Magic: Yoshies have very powerful white and neutral magic, mainly due to their corruption by the fruit of the Super Happy Tree.
Physical description: Yoshies are humanoid with a short tail, slightly taller than humans, with their average height ranging between six and seven feet. Their skin tones cover all colors of the spectrum, although green is almost never seen. Yoshi 'hair' is a reddish orange color, and grows in a strip down the middle of the head. Their bodies appear to be covered in strange tattoos, but they are natural markings, which appear a few years after birth.
Relations: Yoshies almost never leave their island, and so are for the most part unfamiliar with the other races.
Hierarchy: Yoshies have no social hierarchy. They operate as a sort of small, isolated commune, dependent only on the magical Super Happy Tree for food.
Territory: Yoshies are confined to a single small island off the coast of the human lands. However that one island has, strangely, many diverse biomes and microclimates, ranging from tropical jungle all the way to snow-covered mountains.