A pale, dark-haired people, have lived here for thousands of years. Energetic, romantic, artistic and superstitious; they are descendants of the Traldar. The Traladarans are ruled by a conquering class of Thyatians brought here about thirty years ago by Duke Stefan Karameikos.
Thyatians
Most of the nobles in Karameikos are of Thyatian descent, and a sizeable proportion of the commoner population is of Thyatian descent.Thyatians tend to be physically larger than Traladarans, men averaging around 5’11” and women about 5’5”. The Thyatians have had centuries to interbreed with other nations, and so there is no one Thyatian look; hair ranges from dark blonde to dark brown, with occasional redheads (including the Duke); eye color ranges from blues to browns and blacks. The Thyatians tan more easily in the sun than the paler Traladarans, who tend to sunburn easily. Upper-class Karameikan families have a custom where their children go out into the world to survive on their own without family support for a while when they come of age.
The Empire of Thyatis is a large, flourishing empire with powerful armies, strong trade relations with the great nations of the world, lavish arts and entertainments, and a cultural standard equaled in few places in the world. So it’s natural that many of Thyatian descent tend to feel superior to the native Traladarans, although this attitude has begun to fade over the last decade, thanks to the Grand Duke and the Traladarian people proving themselves. Among a few of the Thyatians, there is a sentiment that Traladarans are superstitious and ignorant, and even feel that Thyatian spoken with a Traladaran accent denotes lack of mental ability. (Again, this is a prejudice which you don’t have to foist on your own character if you don’t wish to).
There are many frictions between the Thyatians and Traladarans, but increasingly they are coming to think of themselves as a single nation. Despite the exploitative nature of many Thyatian nobles, who see the Traladarans as a work resource to be used for maximum profit, Stefan has enforced many laws to ensure Traladaran equality.
There are also two elven clans here: the vigorous Callarii in the central parts and the Vyalia in the northern parts of the eastern forests.
Callarii Tribe Elves
A merry and hardworking tribe proficient in riverboating, riding, horse-trading, hunting and foresting.Callarii elves are robust and healthy, with very pale hair (blonde to white) and blue eyes. They tend to wear tunics or robes of green with leaf-patterns embroidered upon them.The elves are neutral toward humans in general. They become fast friends with humans who demonstrate honor and humor; they do not cooperate with humans who are pretentious, dishonorable or rude. Duke Stefan has a guard unit entirely composed of Callarii elves, the Elvenguard, which has given many elves the chance to meet him, and the Callarii are favorably disposed toward the Duke.
They tend to live in tree houses in Radlebb village (deep within the Radlebb Wood and not to be confused with the human settlement of the same name). They form a clan hierarchy. They practice various forms of elf magic. They have learned the ways of horsemanship and river boating. Radlebb village has about 20,000 Callarii. When the Callarii make a new village (something not done in a thousand years) they begin by learning about the new area through physical and magical scouting, then they receive a leaf from the Tree of Life and a Treekeeper consecrates the location of the new Tree of Life and they plant the leaf there. Over time this will grow (in a few years) to a sapling, at which point the village may begin.
Vyalia Tribe Elves
The Vyalia Elves also live in Radlebb Wood, they live in tree homes. They wear traditional elven garb. They are an official demihuman clan with a Tree of Life. They have the traditional elf magic. They use horses for transport. There are around 50,000 Vyalia elves in Karameikos. When the Vyalia make a new village they begin by learning about the new area through physical and magical scouting, then they receive a leaf from the tree of life and a treekeeper consecrates the location of the new tree of life and they plant the leaf. Over time this will grow (in a few years) to a sapling, at which point the village may begin
Dwarves
The dwarves living in the Grand Duchy are either members of the Stronghollow clan up in the gnome community, or are dwarven professionals who have immigrated into Karameikos-often acting as professional soldiers in the service of the Duke or one of his barons.There are about 20,000 dwarves in Karameikos. When they do express a preference between Traladarans and Thyatians, the dwarves tend to prefer the company of Thyatians, who are practical people, and not superstitious-ridden like the Traladarans.
They wear normal dwarven garb. They are an official demihuman clan with a Great Forge. They have learned to make magic with their craftsmanship and have adopted the worship of Kagyar. They use wagons for transportation. The Stronghollow clan is content to stay in Highforge, but they do explore caves and make mines.
Halflings
There are around 10,000 Hin (as they call themselves) scattered around Karameikos, increasing in density as you go west, approaching The Five Shires.That number rises to as much as 20,000 during spring and summer, the busiest trading seasons, but aren't usually included in population figures because they return home for the fall and winter in The Five Shires.
Some Karameikan halflings are long term natives, i.e. living in Traladara since the Orc Wars, therefore having a distinct culture, influenced by traladarans, quite different from the one of the Shires.
Karameikos also has mediated treaties between The Five Shires and The Empire of Thyatis during their war, boosting halfling opinion of Karameikos and its citizens.