Yes
There will be vampires, werewolves and lichs, there might be more things like that but for the most part its just humans.
An addition to what Zynlli said, there will be vampires, liches, and while not likely werewolves - perhaps shapeshifers, but all of these will be very rare and you would have to be very lucky to get them.
That being said, I would just say yes to it being humans, as you can't choose to play a different race, but there will be differences depending on where your human race character was raised.
Welcome to the community, Raventhal!
In contrast to what most High Fantasy games have lead you to believe, Elves, halflings, etc... aren't different races. "Race" implies they are different types of the same species, for example, human.
In fact, they are different species.
To answer your original question, Chronicles of Elyria does have different races of human, but only one playable species.
The different races of human evolved differently depending on which region they're from, have different inherent strengths and weaknesses, and different physical characteristics. But they are in fact, all different races of the same species - Mann.
Since all humanoids in high fantasy can interbreed and produce viable offspring, wouldn't they technically have to be the same species?
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"Since all humanoids in high fantasy can interbreed and produce viable offspring, wouldn't they technically have to be the same species?"
I am not sure these words belong together :)
Species are different from race. Take the dog example, a pug ( race ) can have fertile descendents with an pit bull ( other race ). Both are dogs, they are from the same species. However, the race it gives origin to isn't classified, it's an hybrid. I think the same thing applys to different human races aswell as the system in CoE.
I do like this as well as a game with Elves and such.
But now I have a question about these Vamps and Liches. Is the goal (not necessarily at release) to have Vampirism as a "disease"? To allow powerful mages to turn themselves into Liches for immortality?
Liches for immortality... Now you're thinking ;-)
I think many MMO's introduce races (species, if you wish) in order to offer a variation in "build"; games that are very statistics-oriented allow for one race to have a higher CON than another, or STR, DEX, what have you.
A game that is less statistics-oriented and more skill-oriented does not benefit from such variation.
It's still nice to have for RP purposes; so, how about allowances on the character design screen allow pointed ears or short stature, and use your imagination.
Or to tie back into El Presidente's comments, maybe Mann who dwelleth in caverns evolve into shorter, stockier forms. Where the girls got beards from, though, is anyone's guess ;-)
I know that depending on the place you hail from (desert, forest, tundra, etc), you will naturally be better at things that fit the environment.
Seeing how indepth this game is with genetics I'm pretty sure the different "races" in Elyria will all look a bit different. Maybe someone else will know if this is confirmed or not.
And yes, if you somehow be able to become a lich you will be kinda immortal.
