Ysterra is home to a remarkable diversity of intelligent peoples. Across its continents and city-states, cultures have risen from the traditions of dozens of different ancestries. While nearly every lineage can be found somewhere in the world, their populations are not evenly distributed.
Scholars commonly divide the peoples of Ysterra into three broad demographic categories: Dominant Peoples, Minority Peoples, and Rare Peoples. These distinctions describe overall population presence across the world rather than cultural influence or importance.
In cosmopolitan cities, trade hubs, and centers of scholarship, it is not uncommon to encounter individuals from many different lineages. In rural regions, however, local populations are often far more homogeneous.
The dominant peoples of Ysterra account for the majority of the world’s population. Their civilizations form the backbone of most large nations, and their societies are the most geographically widespread.
While each possesses countless distinct cultures and traditions, these three peoples together form the largest demographic presence across the world.
Dominant Peoples
Dwarves
Half-Elves
Humans
Humans are the most geographically widespread, establishing settlements across nearly every continent. Dwarven societies tend to concentrate around mountain ranges and deep stoneworks, yet their influence spreads far beyond those strongholds through trade and craftsmanship. Half-elves, born of the long interaction between human and elven cultures, now form a significant and widely integrated population in many regions.
Minority peoples exist in substantial numbers across Ysterra, but their populations are often concentrated in specific regions or cultural homelands. Outside of those areas, they may be encountered less frequently.
In some nations, these peoples may form the majority population, yet across the world as a whole they represent smaller demographic groups.
Minority Peoples
Bugbears
Dragonborn
Elves
Forged
Genasi
Gnomes
Goblins
Goliaths
Half-Orcs
Halflings
Hobgoblins
Kobolds
Orcs
Tabaxi
Many of these peoples maintain distinct cultural homelands or tightly connected diasporas. Others are widely dispersed due to migration, trade, conquest, or shifting political landscapes.
The elves, once among the most numerous peoples of the world, were particularly affected by the cataclysm known as the Aluvance, which devastated entire elven civilizations and dramatically reduced their global population.
Some peoples are known throughout Ysterra but are rarely encountered by most of its inhabitants. Individuals from these lineages often live in small cultural enclaves, isolated societies, or distant regions far from the centers of civilization.
In major metropolitan centers, it is sometimes possible to encounter individuals from these groups, though many people may live their entire lives without meeting one.
Rare Peoples
Aarakocra
Aasimar
Centaur
Changeling
Firbolg
Gith
Kalashtar
Kenku
Lizardfolk
Loxodon
Minotaur
Shifter
Simic Hybrid
Tiefling
Tortle
Triton
Vedalken
Yuan-ti Pureblood
In many cases, these peoples are not truly rare in their homelands, but rather geographically isolated or culturally insular, limiting their presence in the broader world.
Large cities, particularly trade centers and scholarly hubs, often display far greater diversity than the surrounding countryside.
Ports, arcane academies, industrial centers, and expeditionary cities frequently attract travelers, adventurers, and migrants from many different peoples. In such places, individuals from otherwise rare ancestries may be encountered far more frequently than demographic averages would suggest.
Cities such as Ehmana, which rose to prominence after the Aluvance and now draws historians, treasure hunters, scholars, and refugees from across the world, exemplify this kind of cultural convergence.
While the dominant peoples make up the largest share of the general population, adventuring groups rarely reflect this balance.
Exploration, mercenary work, magical research, and frontier life attract individuals from every lineage. As a result, rare ancestries are often disproportionately represented among explorers and heroes, whose lives take them far beyond the boundaries of their native cultures.