The local Dwarven Empire survived on trade with the mountain kingdoms five hundred kilometers to the south where they have access to the great plateau and it's farms. Tthat is a long way to bring produce, so they made use of the Humans and the Elves in the lands adjacent to their empire.  The free city on the mountain made an ideal trading post.  The city was large and wealthy.  There were a permanent population of Empire Dwarves, about ten thousand, they mined and smithed the interior of extinct volcano into great cathedrals and halls.  A population of Grey Elves fashioned the exterior and interior so that the beauty of the city became renowned throughout the many lands as a place of wonder and wealth.  The Empire Dwarves brought their goods here to be sold and the money from that sale was used to purchase food stuffs.  Everyone made money and the goods purchased there went half way across the continent, thanks to the Great River.  

That changed when the dragon arrived.  It came quickly and remorselessly.  It came on a night with no moons and it was strategic.  It burnt the gates shut, their ornate metal welded in place.  It feasted for ten days upon the inhabitants and then all was silent.  About ten percent of the populous escaped, scattered to the towns and cities nearby.  They escaped through sewers and hidden doors and magic.  Reliable eye witnesses claimed that the beast was between one hundred and one hundred fifty meters long.  A giant among dragons, and thought to be a gross exaggeration at that. 

Everything has been quiet for a generation now.  Humans with short memories farm the fields near the city walls—not too near, but close by.  Last year this changed.  There were quakes and tremors and the peak of the mountain began to smoke.  Springs close by became hot.  A dormant volcano that was dormant longer than the memory of elves has started to come to life.

There are two human nations in the area.  To the South a heretical monarchy  of sorts that lays claim to the plains south of the Free City to the Elven wood and to the Great River.  The Earldom of Causnought.  Before the fall of the Free City of Dhewtudum, it mainly traded the foodstuffs and used its position to as an intermediary.  In the past twenty years, the Gwendyl river HS been a minor route to acquire food directly from the Earldom and the cities wealth has increased.  

To the North of the Free City of Dhewtudum, was an Oligarchy of merchants.  The city of Trandle's Stand, before the fall it handled the majority of trade with  Dhewtudum, as it was closest to the the city and was on the Bright river.  Since the loss of the Free City, it has taken over the majority of the trade with the Empire.  The oligarchs have become powerful gaining greater influence on the lands surrounding the city and much of the wealth flows into their hands.  The river was always the easier way to bring goods of the Empire into the world, but the Free City, gave them the better position.  There is not much that e Empire can do about the situation now, as it has many mouths to feed.

Gwendyl Wose is the Elven kingdom between the Empire and its Mountains and the Earldom.  It has never depended upon the Free City for its prosperity, except for the occasional trading.  The increase in trade along the Gwendyl river has caused much strife with its people, but they recognize at the Empire might starve, and starvation would bring war, so they permit it.  The population is mostly High elves, but there is about 30% wood elves too.

The Empire is of course the giant that sleeps next to everyone else invisible in their mountain halls, over a million Dwarves live and work in its halls, for now they are trading for the food that they can get.  They are on the verge of starvation for the last twenty years.  Something that if the Oligarchs of Trandle's Stand really knew they might be more lenient on their trade policies, but perhaps not.  The dwarves are proud people and would rather tighten their belts than admit their vulnerabilities.  

The plains in between.  The plains are claimed by the Oligarchs and by the Earl, but in reality they are mostly free.  There are many isolated communities of Hobbits and gnomes out making their living.  There are towns of humans living and paying their taxes to the nations that pass trough them. There are five nomadic tribes of Yellow Elves that move thought the area at will, going where ever they wish traveling a thousand km in a year.  

Each of the cities in the two nations have a small population of Lowlander Dwarves.  Particularly in the docks area of the cities.  About ten percent of the merchant marines are Lowlander dwarves.  

There is another region that the Oligarchs and the Earl lay claim. The flood plains of the Great River.  The lands are often flooded for months at a time, but they are the most fertile lands anywhere.  They routinely produce bumper crops of rice during the floods and wheat when they are dry, but the area does not lend itself to permanent structures and the longest that a community can expect last is a generation but frequently no more than five years.  The communities are built upon stilts that are high and dry up to three meters in the air when the land is dry.  When the floods are greater or when the river moves, they get swept away.  The people at farm this land are a mix of Humans and River Elves.  The latter pretend that the river that is their home does not support more than all the human lands on its edge.  Many of their people go on Swimabout as part of their roaming lives, there are no cities in the river, because the river moves so often and is so murky.  

The far bank of the river has tributaries that reach deep into the Plains of Caranus there is one empire on the other side.  It is said to cover a millions of square kilometers and its prime city sits off of the Great River.  Gutral Mastekeena.  There are many nations of people in its control.  

South of that Empire there are the great plains that it is said a thousand tribes of Yellow Elves roam.

The Races:

The Elves:  +2 Dex

• speed 30

• Darkvision 60'

• free Proficiency Perception

• advantage on saving throws to be charmed and immune to sleep

• do not sleep, meditate 4 hours a night

Languages one common tongue and Elvish 

High Elves +1 int

• proficient in Longswords, Shortswords, and bows

• free cantrip

• extra Language

Wood Elves +1 wis

• proficient in Longswords, Shortswords, and bows

• speed 35

• can attempt to hide when lightly obscured

Mountain Elves. Where Mountain Dwarves prefer to mine and construct magnificent large halls in side the mountains, the Grey Elves nurture the rock and prune it to their desired shapes.  The sculpt the mountain to their desired form and chisel the rock perfection.  The mountain dwarf uses a pick where the Grey Elf uses a fine chisel.  Instead of +2 dexterity, they get +2 intelligence and +1 dexterity.  They all have proficiency in stone Masonry and a free cantrip.  Additionally they are able to work stone with their barehanded with a a free cantrip that softens the stone just under their hands until they release the stone.  They are exceptionally long lived and do not consider an elf an adult until after 200, when they are expected to have built a house that suits their taste from the mountain of their home.  Grey elves live on the surface of the mountain, another difference from their Dwarven neighbours.

• Dex -1 from 2 to 1

• Int +2

• proficient in Stone masonry

• two free cantrips, one player's choice, one stone related

Yellow Elves do not build permanent structures.  Anything that they build, they can take apart and move it when they leave the area.  They breed animals as their lasting legacy, but not for food, these elves are vegetarian gatherers and range widely with their herds.  They receive the standard elf improvements, but additionally a movement of 40 and natural stealth in grasslands.  They receive animal husbandry for free and they can use all elf weapons while mounted, longbow, scimitar and lance.  Lastly they add their proficiency bonus to their AC, when wearing light armour, while mounted.  

• proficient in Animal Husbandry

• speed 40

• proficient in mounted combat bows, scimitars, and Lances

• add Proficency bonus, when in light armour, to AC

River Elves +1 cha.  They are born in the Great River and its tributaries.  They are related to aquatic and land dwelling elves and may spend up to a year out of the water before needing to submerge themselves. The habitat of the Great River is very specialized, it is very deep in places and in any case very murky meaning it is impossible to see more than 5' in places, as such they have honed a number of senses that allow them to have Truesight underwater out to 30'.  They have water weapons training in Nets, Short swords, and harpoons.  These elves spend a lot of time dealing with the people along the banks of their home and those that sail upon it, as such they get a bonus proficiency in Persuasion rather than Perception.  Being at home on the river means that they spend a lot of time on water craft and have developed an affinity with them and know how to use them intuitively

• Cha +1

• water breathing

• Truesight 30' underwater

• proficient nets, Shortswords, and harpoons

• replace Perception with Pursuation 

The Dwarves: +2 con

• lawful alignment

• speed 25'

• Darkvision 60'

• Dwarven resilience advantage on saving throws vs Poison, and resistance to poison damage

• proficient in Axes, and hammers

• proficient in one of, (smith's tools, brewers, or stone masonry)

• Stonecunning, can make a history check to know age of stonework

• Languages, Empire Common and one other language, but not River Common.

Hill Dwarves +1 wis

• Dwarven toughness, +1 hp per level

Mountain Dwarf extremely rare, replaced by Empire Dwarves

Empire Dwarves add +1 intelligence and can learn any artisan trade.  And they add double the proficiency bonus in that trade, due to the excellent schools in the empire.  They are also know for the shrewdness in trade and have advantage on persuasion rolls when dealing with their trade.  Many guilds in cities near the mountains do well when they have an Empire Dwarf in control.  

• +1 Int

• Empire schooling, substitute Dwarven career with any artisan tools and gain expertise in that trade (2x proficiency bonus) and gain advantage in Persuasion checks dealing with that trade. 

Lowlander Dwarves are the second class citizens of the Dwarven world.  Often called a Half Dwarf, they are true dwarves, but they often wear their beards short.  Lowlander do not get the standard ability bonuses of other dwarves, and instead receive +1 in constitution, dexterity and wisdom.  As a bonus proficiency they can chose any trade and they double their proficiency bonus in background skills and trade.  They still are able to recognize the age of stonework and are trained with dwarf weapons

• no standard racial bonuses, get +1 in three abilities.

• Gain expertise in Background skills

Hobbit/halfling: +2 Dex

• most Lawful Good

• small 3'

•Speed 25'

• lucky re-roll 1s once

• brave, advantage on fear saving throws

• nimble may move through spaces with larger people in it

• language Halfling and a common tongue

Hairfoot

• +1 cha

• may hide behind larger creatures

Stout

• +1 con

• resilience to Poison, advantage on saving throws and resistance to poison

Urban hobbits are creatures unlike their fellows, most of the others insist that they are not hobbits at all.  They live in any city, almost every city has a presence.  The believe they are more sophisticated than their rural brethren.  Living can be harder in a city than in the country, since they are not farmers and ranchers.  They survive picking up the crumbs of society.  In this they are spectacularly successful

• free feat-Scrounger, advantage on sleight of hand checks, 50% chance of having basic item on person (string, chalk, candle, feather, purse or nobleman from over there etc,)

• free proficency sleight of hand;

• free cantrip Vicious Mockery without the damage, if they ever get the cantrip, they are especially potent d6 damage.

Human

• +1 in every stat or in two stats and a free feat

• speed 30'

Languages a common tongue and one other, Empire Common and River Common

Gnome +2int

• good

• small 3-4' tall

• advantage on all saves vs magic Cha, Int, Wis

• Darkvision 60'

Languages Gnomish and a common tongue

Forest

• +1dex

• free cantrip minor illusion

• speak with small animals

Rock

•+1con

• artificers Lore, expertise in checking magical items, mechanical and alchemical

• tinkers 

Half elves

• Cha +2 and +1 in any two others

• speed 30'

• Darkvision 60'

• fey ancestry, advantage on charm saves, can't be put to sleep

• two proficiencies for free

Language Elvish, A trade tongue and one other language

Half Orcs:

• +2 Str, +1 con

• chaotic

• speed 30'

• Darkvision 60'

• menacing free Proficency in Intimidation

• relentless endurance, once per long rest if you die, you are instead reduced to 1 hp

• savage attacks +1 die for all critical attacks

Languages Orcish and a Trade tongue