A diverse assortment of peoples dwell among the island continents of Mote. This section presents information about the modern inhabitants of Esterfell, describes several species originating from Mote, and contextualizes the species from the SRD within the world of Mote.
Note that species found in modern Esterfell are not monocultures; though similar physical traits are shared within a species, and some species can be found in tight-knit clusters based on familial relations or comfort within a given biome, Esterfell societies are largely melting pots composed of members of multiple species. For more information on species distribution in specific regions across Mote, see People of Mote and Societies of Esterfell in Chapter 2.
Descriptions of the most common species on Mote are found below. Species originating on Mote are marked with an asterisk*, and species with new options not found in the SRD are marked with a dagger†.
Brakko* are carnivorous predators built for stealth hunting in murky waters. They reside mainly in the deepest trenches of the oceans surrounding Esterfell, but many groups will commonly make grand claims that all the waters of Mote are their domain. While some have integrated with the Xiahuli, others form loose familial bands that hunt the depths for prey and aggressively defend their territories. These depth-born societies have successfully prevented Xiahulia from staking claims beyond their continental shelf to the north.
Ceteans* are nomadic whalefolk whose pods flew amongst the stars of Fellspace in ancient times. Though many ceteans have remained in space, some groups eventually settled in the oceans of Mote and aided in founding the underwater nation of Xiahulia. These oceanic ceteans maintain a distant connection to their stellar kin through a great whalesong that permates Fellspace and the Astral Plane, allowing all ceteans to share their life experiences in a shared living memory and regular discourse.
Dragonborn are humanoid descendants of ancient dragons. Their scales reflect this ancestry, presenting a wide variety of coloration based on which dragons led to their modern lineages. A few prominent dragonborn families were among the earliest investors in the Atæron Mining Consortium back in the old world, sailing from Atæros to look for future investments. Their descendants have largely forgotten this business association after several generations, but on the books they are still considered AMC stockholders.
Dwarves† are stout folk with hearty constitutions, an abundance of facial hair, and an innate affinity for digging. Their connection to earth and stone leads to many dwarves being found on and within the mountains of Mote, mining precious gems and metals to bring topside for trade. Atæron dwarven miners were sent out on merchant ships to help set up shop elsewhere and expand their imperial reach, but those who arrived in Esterfell were captivated by the new land's bounty of natural resources and opted to sever ties while they settled on the new continent.
Elves are people of fey ancestry with long pointed ears. They are the longest-lived people of Mote; individuals can live for nearly a millennium, giving them broad individual perspectives further aided by a collective consciousness shared by all with elven ancestry during nightly trances. Elves first came to Mote through Feywild waypoints, drawn by curiosity and eventually reshaped by the Material Plane to the forms seen today. They are as diverse as the planes of existence, taking on unique appearances and personalities in every realm they are found in, while retaining their wise demeanor.
Gnomes† are a diminutive people with pointed ears and large eyes, whose curiosity and inventiveness helped them create the art of tinkering. They live for many centuries, allowing many generations of gnomes to grow together and share their life experiences, thus maintaining a strong cultural memory through oral tradition. Gnomes were among the first of Mote to deliberately explore other planes of existence through naturally occurring waypoints, and they drew intricate maps of the cosmos that are still referenced in modern times. Esterfell gnomes largely originated from Dormina.
Goliaths are tall folk descended from the giants of ancient times. This ancestry manifests through varying skin colors and markings depending on what type of giant sat atop their family trees. Whatever their lineage, goliaths exist peacefully among many groups, and their innate strength and large builds have been utilized to build many societies to their greatest heights. Goliaths historically branched out to different regions best-suited to their elemental or natural affinities, and those who settled in Esterfell similarly spread to find comfortable environments, or to waypoints aligned with similar planar energies.
Halflings, so called for their short statures, were created by gods of the hearth. This instilled a desire to maintain strong community ties, leading them to build networks of warrens spanning Oji. Despite vast stretches of land and an inclination toward homebody lifestyles, many halflings are born with unslakable wanderlust, and it was primarily those lightest of foot that first boarded ships to Esterfell. Most Accord halflings descended from the Ojir; some have claimed to be descended from Oji's royal family, and the Accord's lack of access to Ojir genealogy records makes these claims difficult to counter.
Humans on Mote are similar to those found on other worlds: determined, diverse, and filled with a perpetual desire to explore the lands and seas. Humans have tended to find comfortable niches to occupy wherever they land, often adding diversity to early historical monocultures when they settled down and had children within these societies. In this manner, humans helped bridge many ancient societies, and were some of the strongest proponents for ratifying the Esterfell Accord. Humans can be found in practically every settlement in every society and nation on Esterfell.
Orcs are hardy wanderers with gray skin, pointed ears, and tusks as lower canine teeth. Their creator god compelled them to never settle down and to always look to the horizon for the next challenge, and even those who integrate with other societies never fully shake this desire. As a result, orcs often act as scouts within search parties. The early ships that sailed to Esterfell often had orcs at the helm or compass, and many orcs helped explore the new continent, acting as cartographers and charting the wild lands.
Pescans* are aquatic people with piscine features found in waters across Mote. They originated in the Elemental Plane of Water, and Mote's vast oceans were quickly embraced as a new home. Though their amphibious nature allows some access to the land, pescans are more comfortable when submerged in liquid, allowing them to quickly dart through the water and avoid drying out. This leads to few individual pescans being found on the land of Esterfell beyond brief encounters along its coasts, but the aquatic nation of Xiahulia counts most pescans as citizens.
Selkie* are therianthropes who regularly shift between humanoid and seal forms. Early selkie arrived on Esterfell via ship, hitching rides in the guise of humans and settling initially along the northern and eastern coasts of Esterfell, but their equal comfort in the domains of land and sea means that selkie can now be found scattered across the continent. They will sometimes conceal their true nature from the terrestrial societies they occupy, leading to them going completely unnoticed amidst the humanoids of coastal towns.
Sparks* are artificial beings, born of Accord mages and tinkerers who channeled starstuff energy to create new souls tethered to mechanical bodies. As recent creations, sparks are a young and small populace with no cultural history, but this blank slate grants them a future full of potential as they discover their place in the world. Despite their uncertain destinies and constructed nature, as starstuff-born beings, sparks are as much a part of Mote as any other living creatures found there.
Tieflings are fiend-touched people, with prominent horns acting as marks of their ancestry. Most Mote tieflings were descended from beings of the Lower Planes who arrived through unstable waypoints. When these waypoints collapsed, the newly trapped fiends came to settle the lands and produce offspring with locals. Their descendants are drawn to places shaped by violent natural forces, and many settled the volcanic island of Yshun. This connection to upheaval made them acutely aware of Esterfell's reshaping by starstuff impact, and Yshuni tieflings arranged the earliest ships to explore that continent.
Many other species can be found on Mote. Some might exist in smaller pockets hidden from the outside world, while others could be visitors from other worlds, such as the Feywild. As a general rule, a species that has been designated as being setting-agnostic or "of the multiverse", such that it can be found on many worlds, also exists on Mote as a playable option. How that character fits into a campaign or adventure set in Esterfell should be discussed with the Game Master.