Dumastorians are a primary set of a humanoid species characterized as dwelling underground, their digestive processes (sugar and fungus processing, selective/limited in bacteria), carriage (squat, dense, powerful), sight (ultraviolet spectrum, typically near sighted), and tunneling/digging capability (claws which heal fast, and can tear through earth and/or stone). Sexual characteristics are not stressed and both male and female are difficult to distinguish unless you are next to them. Their skin is rough, scaled even to some degree.
The most common of the genus, these tunnelers are the apex of all the species kin. They form tight (often caste/job based) social structures, and organize around extended family – a clan.
Ducateon are found in the following settings:
The name “Dwarf” is a pejorative term to most, and most often refers to an evolutionary branch which have interbred with humans, and have given up their natural characteristics for tools and technology. Their claws are vestigial, sight slightly better, and they often dwell only in shallow fortresses right beneath the surface – making forays into the deep dark for gems, metal, and such to craft and sell to their surface neighbors. Their digestion is evolved too to tolerate much more of the foods other humanoid races feed on. Their skin is smooth and appearance is more human than Dumastorian.
The largest of the Dumastorians, commonly called “Trolls”, are a mix in blood between giants and Ducateon. These are massive brutes of limited intelligence and possessing claws string enough to cut all but the most dense stone. They are massive and have armored skin which prevents tunnel collapses and debris from harming them. They are literally afraid of nothing – even things 2-3 times their own size. They form no social structures and are single-minded in their predatory drive. They will hunt at night or in dark places outside of their tunnels if the prey is easy.
Survivors by nature, the smallest of the Earth-Kin. This is a mix of dragon-kin and Ducateon.
Also one of the oldest and far spread advanced races of the multiverse, the Ducateon became extremely rigid in culture and outlook. The Ducateon race was nearly wiped out from a decaying culture with runaway factionalism, pandemics, resource depletion, and climate change on multiple worlds. Early in their cosmological development, they were frantic, driven, and hyper-industrious. To assist in the survival of their culture collapse, they changed their own genetic make up and merged with other species to ensure the diversity of their species in some form. They merged with the giant-kin, and thus were born the trolls. With draconic blood, and so the kobolds came to be. And even with the Faelen (human) blood, and so the Dwarves were born. All of these, known to the Ducateon as Dumastorian (children-kin), are considered wayward kin. Long ago they found their own way, and the Ducateon survived. The Ducateon diaspora took with it these children-kin, and so invariably they tend to appear where Ducateon appear. They appear more frequently as they are more fertile, less rigid, and in the case of Dwarves, much more independent. The diaspora drew upon science and faith, and a calling upon “the one” – acosmic spirit they manifested through the resonance of millions of their kind in ceremonial focus. No other gods answered, no other anima rose, no spirit offered aid. And so, the Ducateon became bound to and dependent on this entity to aid them in bringing the Ducateon race back from the brink of ruin. Like seeds in a field, Ducateon were cast throughout the cosmos. Some took only their faith, others science, and a few nothing but their bodies. Many of these “scatterings” had the members raised in isolation and placed in deep sleep on many worlds, to awaken and begin the Ducateon experiment again without knowledge of their origins. They were programmed to value the collective of their own kind above all else. Much more focused, rigid, and bent on survival, the Ducateons slowly climbed back from near extinction.
The Dumastorian kin have spread far and wide throughout the cosmos. They are an extremely physically resilient genus. The Ducateon tend to bring the others with them, creating communities in-balance with their larger or diminutive cousins that can be used for the greater benefit – Kobolds often working smaller materials easier with their smaller appendages, and the larger trolls carving out the passages and underground cities faster. This controlled breeding often ends in the Trolls growing angry once the major digging is done and fighting for their freedom as opposed to being bred out of existence. Kobolds typically continue to work in harmony (to some degree) with their smarter cousins, but also often break free of their breeding programs and are more likely to dwell on the surface, seeking the patronage of gods and entities, and are drawn to their ancient blood ties to dragons where they can be found.