Shadowrun Races

Dwarf, Troll, Human, Ork, Elf

Metahumanity

Humans are no longer alone—they are just one of the five major subspecies of Homo sapiens. Known collectively as metahumanity, each of the five metatypes—dwarf, elf, human, ork, and troll—are more or less evenly distributed ethnically, though populations tend to congregate geographically across the globe for various reasons. Though humans retain the majority, each of the others comprises a significant percentage of the worldwide population.

The first metatypes to appear were dwarfs and elves born during the first wave of UGE (Unexpected Genetic Expression) in 2011. Orks and trolls appeared ten years later, during the period of “Goblinization,” when many humans suddenly transformed. Now a half century past the Awakening, goblinization is exceedingly rare, occurring only to humans, usually during puberty.

In 2072, most metahumans are born to parents of the same metatype. In the case of mixed parents, the child has a roughly even chance of being born as the metatype of either the father or the mother. There are no “half-breeds” in the Sixth World—no elf-orks or dwarf-trolls, no matter how amusing the concept may be.

Many first and second generation orks and trolls—especially those who goblinized—died young, indicating the relatively low lifespan of these metatypes. The early dwarfs and elves are still around, however, many of them showing little sign of aging. Lifespans for all metatypes are on the rise, which scientists partially ascribe to gene therapy and leonization (anti-aging treatments) and partially to improvements in social acceptance—leading to better medical treatment, living situations, and other quality of life measures. Few countries, however, factor the SINless into their average lifespan statistics—after all, how could they?—and thus official figures may be especially misleading, as orks and trolls are statistically more likely to be SINless than the other metatypes.

Dwarf
Elf
Human
Ork
Troll