Aasimar (pronounced AH-sih-mar) are mortals who carry a spark of the Upper Planes within their souls. Whether descended from an angelic being or infused with celestial power, they can fan that spark to bring light, healing, and heavenly fury.

Aasimar can arise among any population of mortals. They resemble their parents, but they live for up to 160 years and have features that hint at their celestial heritage, such as metallic freckles, luminous eyes, a halo, or the skin color of an angel (silver, opalescent green, or coppery red). These features start subtle and become obvious when the aasimar learns to reveal their full celestial nature.

The ancestors of dragonborn hatched from the eggs of chromatic and metallic dragons. One story holds that these eggs were blessed by the dragon gods Bahamut and Tiamat, who wanted to populate the multiverse with people created in their image. Another story claims that dragons created the first dragonborn without the gods' blessings. Whatever their origin, dragonborn have made homes for themselves on the Material Plane.

Dragonborn look like wingless, bipedal dragons- scaly, bright-eyed, and thick-boned with horns on their heads-and their coloration and other features are reminiscent of their draconic ancestors.

Dwarves were raised from the earth in the elderdays by a deity of the forge. Called by various names on different worlds-Morad in, Reorx, and others-that god gave dwarves an affinity for stone and metal and for living underground. The god also made them resilient like the mountains, with a life span of about 350 years.

Squat and often bearded, the original dwarves carved cities and strongholds into mountainsides and under the earth. Their oldest legends tell of conflicts with the monsters of mountaintops and the Underdark, whether those monsters were towering giants or subterranean horrors. Inspired by those tales, dwarves of any culture often sing of valorous deeds-especially of the little overcoming the mighty.

No longer able to shape-shift at will, the elves retreated to the Feywild, where their sorrow was deepened by that plane's influence. Over time, curiosity led many of them to explore other planes of existence, including worlds in the Material Plane.

Elves have pointed ears and lack facial and body hair. They live for around 750 years, and they don't sleep but instead enter a trance when they need to rest. In that state, they remain aware of their surroundings while immersing themselves in memories and meditations.

Gnomes are magical folk created by gods of inven-tion, illusions, and life underground. The earliest gnomes were seldom seen by other folk due to the gnomes' secretive nature and their propensity for living in forests and burrows. What they lacked in size, they made up for in cleverness. They con-founded predators with traps and labyrinthine tunnels. 

Gnomes are petite folk with big eyes and pointed ears, who live around 425 years. Many gnomes like the feeling of a roof over their head, even if that "roof" is nothing more than a hat. 

Towering over most folk, goliaths are distant de-scendants of giants. Each goliath bears the favors of the first giants-favors that manifest in various supernatural boons, including the ability to quickly grow and temporarily approach the height of goliaths' gigantic kin. 

Goliaths have physical characteristics that are reminiscent of the giants in their family lines. For example, some goliaths look like stone giants, while others resemble fire giants. Whatever giants they count as kin, goliaths have forged their own path in the multiverse-unencumbered by the internecine conflicts that have ravaged giantkind for ages-and seek heights above those reached by their ancestors. 

Cherished and guided by gods who value life, home, and hearth, halflings gravitate toward bucolic ha-vens where family and community help shape their lives. That said, many halflings possess a brave and adventurous spirit that leads them on journeys of discovery, affording them the chance to explore a bigger world and make new friends along the way. Their size- similar to that of a human child-helps them pass through crowds unnoticed and slip through tight spaces. 

Anyone who has spent time around halflings, par-ticularly halfling adventurers, has likely witnessed the storied "luck of the halflings" in action. When a halfling is in mortal danger, an unseen force seems to intervene on the halfling's behalf. Many halflings believe in the power of luck, and they attribute their unusual gift to one or more of their benevolent gods, including Yondalla, Brandobaris, and Charma-laine. The same gift might contribute to their robust life spans (about 150 years). 

Found throughout the multiverse, humans are as varied as they are numerous, and they endeavor to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Their ambition and resourcefulness are com-mended, respected, and feared on many worlds. 

Humans are as diverse in appearance as the people of Earth, and they have many gods. Schol-ars dispute the origin of humanity, but one of the earliest known human gatherings is said to have occurred in Sigil, the torus-shaped city at the center of the multi verse and the place where the Common language was born. From there, humans could have spread to every part of the multiverse, bringing the City of Doors' cosmopolitanism with them. 

Ores trace their creation to Gruumsh, a powerful god who roamed the wide open spaces of the Material Plane. Gruumsh equipped his children with gifts to help them wander great plains, vast caverns, and churning seas and to face the monsters that lurk there. Even when they turn their devotion to other gods, ores retain Gruumsh's gifts: endurance, deter-mination, and the ability to see in darkness. Ores are, on average, tall and broad. They have gray skin, ears that are sharply pointed, and prominent lower canines that resemble small tusks. Ore youths on some worlds are told about their ancestors' great travels and travails. Inspired by those tales, many of those ores wonder when Gruumsh will call on them to match the heroic deeds of old and if they will prove worthy of his favor. Other ores are happy to leave old tales in the past and find their own way.