Editing Magical Realm Cyoa/Diaspora/System (section)

== '''Races''' ==
Every Character has a Race.  For humans, this race is generally ''human'', though occasionally they come up as ''novan'', ''elite human'', ''elite novan'', or for those who are not native to Diaspora, ''outsider''.  Demihumans and monsters also have races, with a far more diverse set of names, qualifiers and accompanying differences.

A person cannot change their race - at least, not directly.  They may use permanent transmutation magic or advanced scientific means to change themselves into something different, which will change their race, but they cannot alter who and what they are simply by changing something in their Character's status screen (unlike Class, below).

Every race has a description, a few passive or active abilities, and a few attribute modifiers.  For example, humans get the Adaptable quality, and a +5 to Luck.  Elite Humans get Adaptable, Fast Learner, and +5 to all physical attributes (Strength, Vitality and Agility).  Novans and Elite Novans are similar, except they have the Fast Learner quality instead of Adaptable, and get an additional +5 to Intelligence and Wisdom on top of the normal human bonuses.

Note that not all races are equal or balanced.  Some races are simply better than others - chimera are as intelligent and wise as humans but also breath fire, have poison stingers, and are stronger, tougher and more agile than even elite humans.  This does not make humans any less capable, and chimera have not replaced humans as the dominant race of Diaspora, so obviously there are balancing factors at work - but they are not mechanical, nor are they part of Diaspora's theme.

There is no definitive list of races in Diaspora - there are hundreds of different demihuman races (possibly one for each of the realms, since it seems that particular demihuman races are much more common on certain minor realms).  Their classifications are listed on the main page.  There are also hundreds (if not thousands) of monster races.  If you want a good overview of those, pick up the 3.5 set of monster manuals (volumes 1-5) for a good starting point.