I listed inspirations for ancestry-specific abilities and decided on setting theme - it will be Legend of Zelda climate fantasy, no humans but other fantasy races instead - Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Ogres and Halflings. I want to make it about reclaiming the world after it was taken or after some catastrophe - kind of like Earthdawn.
And now I listed six cultures - Courts, Clans, Tribes, Moots, Hideouts and Townships. First five come from the times ancestries lived separately during the undescribed catastrophe and have different characteristics. Sixth is the new, cosmopolitan way legendary "Humans" organised their civilizations.
I'm wondering about most common enemies of the Peoples. Trollkin - weird and alien species of brutal genderless fungi. They mutate a lot during development. No one was able to spot how they are born - it seems some small creatures similar to animals crawl from mothercelium and start to eat, fight and grow.
So smallest an earliest observed stage of trollkin life is a Goblin. These are small humanoids, described as twisted version of a gnome or a halfling. They are light, fast and crafty, the only actual crafters in entirety of a species. Goblins are also cowardly and frail, which means they fight dirty - ranged weapons, ambushes, poisons and traps, never striking if not outnumbering enemy. There were instances of people trying to adopt goblins into society though it inevitably leads to violence and aggression - which seems to be connected with trollkin growth and development.
Next stage is an orc. Orcs are compared to dwarves and elves, yet they're taller than former and more muscular than latter. Almost hairless, with animal claws and short snouty noses, orcs are very strong and violent. They lose goblinish craftiness and more peoples features, instead being more couragous, strong and intimidating, more animalistic features with growth. They start to show trollish regeneration at times. Orcs are usually warlords and chieftains of trollkin warbands, lacking more civilized features of goblins but with enough brute strength and drive to rule.
Last known stage of trollkin is a troll. These are very varied in size, ranging from an ogre to small hill in size. They also lose characteristics of civilised humanoids, start to resemble beasts or mindless monsters more and more. They have unimaginable ability to heal and regenerate, sometimes turning against them in form of weird mutation and overgrowth. Trolls spend large portions of their time in meditative slumber, waken up by hunger and urge to destroy after which they hide back in their caves. It is assumed at some point troll's mind dissolves and it becomes new, fully grown mothercelium, which starts new, mutated and better fitted line of trollkin.
Notable mutations:
Hobgoblins - some groups of trollkin stop growing when they reach a stage between goblin and orc. These species are called hobgoblins, their nature is quite different than regular cousins. They keep goblinish craftiness and dexterity while also gain orcish strength and courage. It creates perfect environment for their hordes to fuel industry of war. They are usually biggest force in terms of local armies. Motherceliums is suspected to grow on battlefields after two hobgoblin groups battle each other.
Deep Kin - some kinds of trollkin living in deep underground caverns became better suited for such environment. Sharp senses, pale skin, more hunt-based than warfare lifestyle and greater deal of individualism from early stages of growth. They can be really resilient enemy yet underground in not most fertile place for motherceliums. Their lonely hunts rarely let them grow a lot, assumption is they bring leftovers to nests.
Rust Orcs - there is noted separate line of trollkin which produced rust-tinted orcs. These are very beastial and brutal and specifically set on finding other kinds of trollkin. They evolved into predator of their own cousins, often spoiling other motherceliums with their dead bodies to overtake them. They look like regular trollkin to non-rust ones - also goblin and troll stages don't carry rust characteristics which additionally complicates the spread. Gossip says some crafty wizard created them.
And some more general info about trollkin:
Civilizational dangers of trollkin are not to be underestimated. Their bodies contain inactive mothercelium roots and enough of them in one place can actually start new nest. They are very resourceful, always taking over enemy equipment, learning new tactics and finding ways of destruction. They are restless in their efforts, and since their growth is fast and plenty, they tend to win over their enemies with numbers and morale alike during prolonged wars.
Grandest weakness of all trollkin is heat and fire. Troll's famous regeneration stalls when treated with fire, trollkin bodies no longer can spread mothercelium once burned. It looks like their numbers also grow slower in hotter climates. Another thing is infighting - it seems as different lines of trollkin - supposedly coming from different motherceliums - do not work like united species and more like different nations. We can only guess it's a matter of time until some of them develop heat resistance.
I was thinking of like three common enemy types. Excluding undead which I hope to make really dangerous and scary. Next one:
Hornfolk - there are legends of creation of the hornfolk. Some say the evil wizard cursed humans to combine them with their farm animals. Some say angry god wanted to mock people and mixed them with their "slaves". Some even assume farm animal somehow caught some magic and used it to be similar to human in order not to be eaten. Whatever really happened now there are crowds of hornfolk in the wild - with human bodies, but animal legs and hooves, horns and heads of either cow, goat or sheep. And insatiable need to kill peoples wherever they find them.
actually coming up with those made me realize more about where Warhammer came from, at least in the beginning. Beastfolk were reflection of Chaos mockery of humans. I really struggled to make them work here, I don't have the metaphysical Chaos/Void or anything like this. And I recalled the witchers and the concept of them being mutated by wizard to create an army. So yeah, farm animal-human hybrids.
Capros - most numerous goat-hornfolk. They are smallest but fastest of them. They can sustain themselves on almost anything, eating any plant and animal matter they can find. They are very agile, able to jump in ways which seem impossible, pioneering in places you wouldn't suspect them to survive. They have very varied types of horns - from small barely visible through the fur to long, sharp, deadly tools. Prefer small weapons like knives and sharpened stones or long ones in type of spears or even sharpened sticks. In the wild they don't seem to be very industrious - no one found any tools they would made and any shelter is usually simplest caves and burrows.
Ovisos - better built cousin sheep-hornfolk. Ovisos are higher and tougher than capros. They can be problematic for environment, as they're eating grass and leaves but by ripping them off instead cutting. It can be very destructive for plants around their camping areas. As for weapons they prefer heavy things, maces, axes and swords. Their horns are curled, like two shields protecting head, which serve them sometimes as a means of attack. Ovisos tend to be very stubborn in their ways and rarely change course of action. In the wild they tend to be nomadic, wandering from place to place.
Tauros - cow-headed hornfolk. They are largerst kind, with huge wide horns and raging apetite. Known for their liking or fresh grass and calm they become unstoppable killing machines when seeing any of the peoples - and other sentient creatures, like trollkin or saurians. In order to kill and destroy they tend to use short weapons in order to support strikes with their horns. Out of hornfolk kinds they are both hardest to provoke and most difficult to stop - once they turned violent.