Metatypes

Racial Modifiers

Metatype	Priority	Body	Strength	Quickness	Intelligence	Willpower	Charisma	Running Multiplier	Other	Origin
Human	E	-	-	-	-	-	-	×3	1:10 Karma Pool accumulation	anywhere
Dwarf	D	+1	+2	-	-	+1	-	×2	Thermographic vision, Resistance (+2 Body) to any disease or toxin	anywhere
Gnome	D	+1	+1	-	-	+2	-	×2	Thermographic vision	Central Europe, Asia Minor
Koborokuru	C	+1	+2	-	-	+1	-	×3	Thermographic vision, Resistance (+2 Body) to any disease or toxin, Natural Immunity Edge (1 point and 3 point), ×3 running multiplier	Japan
Menehune	D	+2	+1	-	-	+1	-	×2	Thermographic vision, Resistance (+2 Body) to any disease or toxin	Pacific Islands
Elf	C	-	-	+1	-	-	+2	×3	Low-Light Vision	anywhere
Night One	C	-	-	+2	-	-	+2	×3	Mild allergy (Sunlight), Low-Light Vision	Central Europe
Wakyambi	C	-	-	-	-	+1	+2	×3	Low-Light Vision	Sub-Saharan Africa
Ork	D	+3	+2	-	-1	-	-1	×3	Low-Light Vision	anywhere
Hobgoblin	D	+2	+1	-	-	-	-1	×3	Low-Light Vision	Middle East
Ogre	D	+3	+2	-	-1	-	-	×3	-	Continental Europe
Oni	D	+2	+2	-	-1	+1	-1	×3	Low-Light Vision	Japan
Satyr	D	+3	+2	-1	-1	+1	-1	×4	Low-Light Vision, ×4 running multiplier	Mediterranean
Troll	C	+5	+4	-1	-2	-	-2	×3	Thermographic Vision, +1 Reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat, Dermal Armor (+1 Body)	anywhere
Cyclops	C	+5	+6	-1	-2	-	-2	×3	+1 Reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat, +2 TN for melee attacks	Mediterranean
Fomori	C	+4	+3	-1	-2	-	-	×3	Thermographic Vision, +1 Reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat	British Isles
Giant	C	+5	+5	-1	-2	-	-	×3	Thermographic Vision, +1 Reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat	Scandinavia, British Isles, Iceland
Minotaur	C	+4	+3	-1	-1	-	-1	×3	Thermographic Vision, +1 Reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat, Dermal Armor (+1 Body)	Mediterranean

Vital Statistics

Left to right: Ork, 1.9m; Human, 1.7m; Elf, 1.9m; Dwarf, 1.2m; Troll, 2.8m

Vital Statistics

Metatype	Average*		Range*		Typical Adolescence	Life Expectancy†	% Population
	Height	Mass	Height	Mass
Human	170 cm	70 kg	130 cm – 221 cm	31 kg – 153 kg		55 years	81%
(female)	163 cm	62 kg	130 cm – 204 cm	31 kg – 121 kg	12–16
(male)	176 cm	78 kg	141 cm – 221 cm	40 kg – 153 kg	13–18
Dwarf	120 cm	44 kg	95 cm – 151 cm	22 kg – 89 kg		estimated at 120–150 years‡	3%
(female)	118 cm	43 kg	95 cm – 148 cm	22 kg – 84 kg	12–17
(male)	121 cm	45 kg	96 cm – 151 cm	23 kg – 89 kg	12–16
Elf	190 cm	78 kg	146 cm – 247 cm	35 kg – 171 kg		estimated at 300–500 years‡	5%
(female)	182 cm	69 kg	146 cm – 228 cm	35 kg – 135 kg	15–21
(male)	197 cm	87 kg	158 cm – 247 cm	45 kg – 171 kg	16–22
Ork	190 cm	125 kg	147 cm – 244 cm	58 kg – 266 kg		38 years§	9%
(female)	184 cm	114 kg	147 cm – 230 cm	58 kg – 223 kg	10–14
(male)	195 cm	136 kg	156 cm – 244 cm	69 kg – 266 kg	11–15
Troll	280 cm	491 kg	219 cm – 357 cm	236 kg – 1017 kg		50 years§	2%
(female)	274 cm	462 kg	219 cm – 343 cm	236 kg – 903 kg	11–17
(male)	285 cm	521 kg	228 cm – 357 cm	266 kg – 1017 kg	12–20

* These numbers are based on the standard metatypes. Some metavariants can vary significantly outside the standard range. Giants, for example, are significantly taller than standard trolls, but, due to slimmer build, not much heavier, while gnomes are both significantly shorter and significantly lighter than standard dwarves.

† Note that these numbers are not the age at which a metahuman will typically die of "old age", but rather the statistical average age of death, including death by violence, disease, or mischance. Maximum ages in the Sixth World are significantly higher than in the Fifth World due to technological and magical improvements in medical care, but average life expectancy has dropped radically due to more limited availability of high-end care and increased rates of death by violence and disease, with the worldwide average human life expectancy down around what Somalia's was at the end of the 20th century. Orks in particular can live much longer than the life expectancy numbers might lead one to believe, as their infant and child mortality rates are horrific, due to their tendency towards multiple births and that a disproportionately large number of them live in poverty.

‡ Diminishingly few elves or dwarves are older than 50; none are older than 60. Estimates of their natural lifespans are guesswork based on developmental studies, not statistical information.

§ Any orks or trolls older than 39, and some of those younger, were born human and goblinized into orks or trolls on or after the 20th of June, 2020. There are some indications that orks and trolls that were born human have longer natural lifespans than the goblin-born.

Expression and Crossbreeding

All metahumans have one, and only one, metatype. There are no half-elves or half-orks or dwelves. Metahumans seem to carry only one copy of the metagenetic structures that determine metatype, inherited from one of their parents. These structures don't mix, combine, or hybridize.

Sometimes the metagenes aren't expressed, because mana levels are too low, or for other reasons not fully understood, and the metahuman expresses as human, but still carries the metagenes for another metatype, which they can pass on to their offspring, who may then express those metagenes. In the early years of the Awakening, all metahumans were the offspring of humans carrying unexpressed metagenes for other metatypes, but by the 2050s, it's rare for the children of apparently human couples to express other metatypes. By this point, anyone who is going to express has already done so, and the remaining humans are fully human, not unexpressed metas who might pass the metagenes on to their children.

It is also possible for non-human couples to produce human children. Except for giants, who, for some unexplained reason, produce human daughters fairly frequently, these reversions are rare.

Except in those two rare cases, children will always match the metatype of one of their parents.

Metavariants are more complicated, and not fully understood. Expressing as a metavariant rather than a base metatype seems to require not only the correct variant metagenetic structures, but also a geographical or possibly even cultural factor. The leading theory is that it involves the aspecting of mana in the area of the metahuman's gestation in combination with an inherited factor.

For example, despite the large population of African descent in some areas of North America, no wakyambi have been born in North America; African-American elves express as baseline elves. On the flip side, elves of non-African descent born in Africa do not express as wakyambi, either, and even among elves of African descent born in Africa, wakyambi are a small minority.

On the other hand, while giants are only found among trolls of Scandinavian descent, they appear not only in their native Scandinavia, but in the British Isles, Iceland, in small numbers throughout northern Europe, and even, in one confirmed case, Minnesota.

Crossbreeding

	Human	Dwarf	Elf	Ork	Troll
Human	Human	Dwarf	Elf	Ork	Troll
Dwarf	Dwarf	Dwarf	50% chance Elf or Dwarf	Usually Ork, rarely Dwarf	Usually Troll, rarely Dwarf
Elf	Elf	50% chance Elf or Dwarf	Elf	Usually Ork, rarely Elf	Usually Troll, rarely Elf
Ork	Ork	Usually Ork, rarely Dwarf	Usually Ork, rarely Elf	Ork	50% chance Ork or Troll
Troll	Troll	Usually Troll, rarely Dwarf	Usually Troll, rarely Elf	50% chance either Troll or Ork	Troll