Amusingly, the SJW DCSS devs have created an exquisitely racist game. Which is why my fork will be called DCRW – Dungeon Crawl: Race War. What agony they will feel, to have their labors turned to blasphemy!
The lore in my character guides wasn't holding together well on questions of range, habitat, and geopolitics, so I was forced to sit down and figure it out.
Taxonomy
DCSS divides species into three difficulty tiers which are outdated if they were ever accurate. I rectify this by creating a meaningful species taxonomy.
Aquatic
Feliform
Stonekin
- Deep Dwarf
- Formicid
- Gargoyle
Suidae
Hominini
Plantae
Planespawn
Scaly
- Draconian
- Kobold
- Naga
- Tengu
Tauren
Undead
Range and habitat
Taxonomic classification complete, I now match DCSS species to their corresponding real-world races and ranges. Remember, the guiding principle is Eurocentric mythic resonance.
Americas:
- Elves: North America
- Dark Elves: South America
Eurasia and Australasia, minus Africa's vector:
- Halfling: Ireland, north-western Europe – contamination
- Humans: Europe
- Tauren steppes
- Naga: India
- Draconians: China, Korea
- Tengu: Japan
- Kobolds: Aboveground in Southeast Asia and Oceania; mostly subterranean elsewhere
- Trolls: Oceania – jungle and swamp
Africa and Middle East into central Asia:
- Ogres: North Africa, Middle East, Asia Minor, Caucasus – mountains
- Gnolls: Africa, Middle East, Asia Minor, Caucasus – arid
- Orcs: sub-Saharan Africa – snowless
Subterranean:
- Dwarves: Americas and Eurasia – mountains, subterranean, cold
- Formicid: South Asia, Americas – jungle, subterranean, warm
Aquatic:
- Barachi: Wetlands
- Merfolk: Littoral
- Octopode: Oceanic
Fallen Atlantis:
there doesn't seem to be anything here