ludemons are the offspring of a female demon who has mated with a male of the mortal world, typically a drow. Birthed in the Abyss, some few choose to dwell among mortals, invariably in the Underdark, which is most suitable to their nature and temperament. There, they are given healthy respect—if not outright fear—regardless of whether their mortal heritage was drow, orc, or human.

Aludemons are always female, and appear at first glance to be beautiful women of indeterminate race—a bit of human, a bit of elf, a bit of something darker and primeval, with black, leathery, bat-like wings betraying their diabolic origin. Instances of small, vestigial horns or partial scaling of the skin are not unknown, and skin and hair color can be quite exotic on occasion, but their physical beauty is undiminished even in these cases.

Aludemons inherit a measure of the magical abilities of their mothers as well, possessing supernatural vision and a natural ability with the mystic arts that is unmatched even by the drow. Most aludemons study some branch of magic as a result, whether standard wizardry or the more stealthy shadowmagic. Some few aludemons with a martial bent have been known to become antipaladins in the pursuit of spreading evil and chaos. All aludemons, however, seem to possess a single-minded devotion towards their chosen path, and are unable to multi-class.

Almost all aludemons are despicably evil creatures. Very rarely, one might be neutral or even good, if the father was a particularly moral being corrupted by the mother. Such demons are forever exiles from the Abyss, typically caught and slain before they can escape, and are unwelcome almost anywhere else—among evil folk for their betrayal of their dark race and masters, and among goodly folk for their demonic visage.

ugbears are very large, very hairy, and very aggressive. Their acute senses, especially their sense of smell, allow them to take good advantage of situations where the senses of others will be hampered. Most bugbears dwell in the Underdark, where they are used as elite slave soldiers or as overseers watching over slaves of other races: being large, strong, and very durable, as well as slightly stupid and easily amused by the thought of slaughter and looting, they are easily usable for such duties. Bugbears who transgress against their drow masters are relegated to slave status themselves, forced to work alongside the beings they once supervised.

Bugbears fear fire more than anything, their fur being surprisingly flammable. They tend to be evil, though neutral bugbears and even a few good ones have been known to exist. Bugbears' most common interracial relationship is with trolls, whom they respect for their superior size and strength, and whose language they speak.

hen a demon mates with a mortal female, the result is a cambion. The mother of a cambion never survives the birth, and the father has normally returned to his plane of origin long before; it is thus fortunate—or perhaps not—that cambions are immediately able to fend for themselves. The typical young cambion's diet of refuse and tunnel rats leaves him with a very bitter and hateful outlook, even by demonic standards.

Cambions, who are always male, have dark skin, ranging from midnight blue to deep maroon to inky black. Their hair is stiff and wiry; their mouths are filled with misshapen fangs; their fingers are topped with razor-sharp claws. Usually standing at least six feet tall at maturity, the typical cambion's supernatural hardiness is belied by his gaunt frame.

he drow, or dark elves, are a race of evil schemers who dominate the Underdark and wage raids against the Surface realm. Once denizens of the Surface themselves in ages past, they fled to the depths of the world below after wars with the high elves and dwarves, whom they bitterly hate to this day. Within the Underdark, their city-states are divided against each other, some as political rivals for power and influence, and others by religion, for drow society is caught between two powerful and evil goddesses: Suryn the Malevolent, who rules over Aluhryn, and Lloth, who reigns supreme in Naes'zan Thablar.

Drow consider themselves the supreme race and the natural rulers of the Underdark, viewing other races as inferior. They grudgingly accept the duergar who visit their cities to trade, as the grey dwarves are too powerful to risk outright hostilities with—yet. They are more favorably inclined toward the half-demons—aludemons and cambions—who dwell in their cities, since their diabolic progenitors are fellow servants of the dark goddesses who rule drowkind. All others are slaves at best; vermin to be exterminated at worst.

Drow are somewhat similar in form to Surface elves. Their physical extremities are somewhat stretched in comparison, and their longer limbs and fingers gives them a ghostly, wraith-like appearance; overall, however, they have a smaller frame than their Surface-dwelling ancestors. Their eyes are sharply slanted, and usually purple, blue, or black; more rarely, green- and red-eyed drow are found. Their hair is coarse and usually light in color, whether pale blond, ivory, or pure white. Their skin is ebony black; rumors of albino drow with translucent white skin are questionable, since the deformed are killed at birth. Male drow are generally faster and more agile than the larger females, but weaker in musculature.

Female drow are indisputably the dominant sex. The deities of the drow are both female; the clergies of both goddesses are exclusively female; the cities of the drow are ruled by councils of Matron Mothers. Nobles' daughters are valued as potential priestesses and seen as evidence of divine favor; their brothers can serve their House only by learning the arts of battle or magic. Most female drow, noble and base-born alike, look down on males of their own station as beneath them. But male drow are still drow, and treated as members of the ruling caste, even if lesser ones.

he duergar are similar to their Surface cousins, the dwarves, both being generally short, stocky, and durable. Known as grey dwarves for their stone-like coloring, duergar possess even greater stamina than Surface dwarves, and, while not as intelligent as their cousins, have a far greater ability with magic, though few become actual spell-casters. What dark magics they do possess are very potent and they best love using them against defenseless opponents. Like the dwarves, their nimble fingers and strong limbs make them master craftsmen in metals and stone.

Sages theorize that the decline in duergar intellectual capability may be a result of the eldritch radiations given off by the rock of the deeps, absorbed either directly or through their food supply. It is noted, and may be related, that duergar as a rule are impatient, short-tempered, and quick to anger.

Duergar keep an uneasy alliance with the drow, neither trusting the other, but both wary of starting a battle for the depths that might unduly weaken their race.

rcs are unusually fecund and able to interbreed with almost anything. The offspring, whether orc-dwarf, orc-kobold, or orc-human, almost invariably favors the orcish parent; it is generally impossible to determine the specific ancestry of a half-orc from physical appearance alone. While not quite as tough as orcs, half-orcs are also usually not quite as stupid.

Half-orcs are green- or grey-skinned, although a lighter shade than pure orcs, and their protruding jaws are less pronounced than those of their fully orcish parents, although jutting out further forward than the jaws of most other humanoids. Their eyes may be red, orange or yellow. They are not quite as muscular as full orcs, usually displaying a wiry physique.

alf-trolls are a fusion of troll and either orcish or human stock, bred by powerful evil masters to serve as slaves. Most are found in the Underdark, especially in the drow city-state of Aluhryn, although some are bred and dwell on the Surface in evil places such as Mordor. They are not a natural race by any means: trolls are not naturally cross-fertile with other species, and thus foul sorcery must be involved in half-troll breeding.

In strength and stamina, half-trolls are surpassed within the Underdark only by their fully trollish kin. Their mixed blood dilutes the troll stupidity and ferocity somewhat, making them a little smarter and more amenable to control, although they are still stupid, foolish, and clumsy by any other standard.

Half-trolls are taller and broader than most species, though not as much so as trolls, and usually have greenish or greyish skin and red, orange, or yellow eyes. Rare half-trolls may have black skin. Their regenerative abilities are less pronounced than those of trolls.

hysically the smallest of the slave races of the Underdark, kobolds are lacking in strength and endurance and so are often abused or bullied by other slaves, particularly orcs and trolls, as well as by their drow and duergar masters. However, due to their small size, they are particularly dextrous and agile, matching the hairy hobbits of the Surface in fluidity of movement. Kobolds thus make good archers and assassins—styles of combat where they do not have to fight a larger enemy face-to-face.

Kobolds have sharply pointed ears and long snouts, lending them a somewhat canine visage despite their uniform hairlessness. They usually have a rusty red-brown skin tone, and unusually large, staring, golden or green eyes. Their feet are padded and claw-tipped like those of a cat, assisting in stealthy movements. They stand no more than three and a half feet tall, and are often smaller.

rcs are strong, endurant and very stupid, which makes them good slave soldiers or workers for the drow and duergar who rule the cities of the Underdark. More disciplined than most of the other slave races, orcs are less likely to rebel against their masters than kobolds or trolls, and often form the front line in the drow's ongoing fight against the svirfnebli, as well as in conflicts between drow cities and between drow and duergar. Orcs are found throughout the world of Mozart Mud, Surface and Underdark alike.

Physically, orcs are slightly larger than human-sized, with protruding jaws, large teeth and leathery, grey to green skin, which is usually quite dark but occasionally a somewhat lighter shade. Their eyes are almost always red and they have very pronounced musculature.

Orcs are a violent race by nature. In their own free communities, survival of the fittest is the rule, and weak orcs are dominated or killed by their stronger brethren. In the drow and duergar cities, orc slaves are thoroughly disciplined, often with magic, to control their bloodthirsty natures and channel them for their masters' benefit.

rolls are the biggest, strongest, and toughest of all the Underdark races, but also the most mentally deficient, seriously lacking in both intelligence and wisdom. They are slaves of the drow, usually used as heavy laborers or as elite soldiers or guards. They are less disciplined than orcs, and can cause mayhem if they rebel against their masters, who usually have to use magic to keep them under control.

Physically, trolls are large, hulking creatures, capable of great feats of strength and endurance, but slow and clumsy. They have a thick, rubbery hide, usually green or grey in hue. Trolls have amazing regenerative properties, enabling them to recover quickly from most injuries, but are especially vulnerable to fire and acid. They are completely hairless and have large, saucer-shaped eyes, usually red or yellow. They have a powerful digestive system that enables them to eat almost anything.

he svirfneblin race greatly resembles that of their close cousins, the gnomes. As the ancestral race from which the Surface gnomes separated, svirfnebli are taller (four feet) and heavier than their relatives, who adapted be able to better hide amongst bushes and other ground cover on the Surface of the world. Svirfnebli have a skin color which ranges from gray to brown, with hair of a brown, gray, or white (for those svirfnebli in advanced old age) color. It is quite common for the most aged members of the community to be bald. Their eyes are most commonly colored gray or gold, with only the occasional green or blue.

As a whole, svirfnebli are inclined to be good-natured and kind to their fellows. As the Underdark around them has slowly filled with evil races, they have withdrawn from the world, their only contact with beings of another race the occasional emissary to or from dwarves or gnomes. They view all other Surface races with suspicion, and loathe all other races that dwell in the Underdark for the countless atrocities which they have inflicted upon the svirfnebli people.

Because of their constant dealings with rock, svirfnebli are a strong and hardy people who excel at the mining they so love. They do not covet the metals and gems that they mine, rather preferring to display them where many can enjoy their beauty. Most svirfnebli display some affinity for magic, with even the least sensitive among them possessing an ability to create small illusions and see through those created by others.

Svirfnebli possess a deeply spiritual nature, with quite a large percentage of their population spending some time in the service of their gods, whether as holy warriors or clerics in a temple. Because of their natural talent at illusion, svirfnebli make excellent shadowmages, skillfully creating and sculpting the shadows. Many other svirfnebli train as warriors, to assist in the defense of their homeland from the depredations of their evil neighbors, while others go forth as scouts to safeguard and discover new places to mine.