Marvin's Marvelous Field Guide to Nonhuman People

What you hold in your hands is a guide written by myself, the marvelous wizard Marvin. In it we will explore the different nonhuman peoples of our great planet Terra. Which I have made my life’s journey to find and learn about. This is the smaller field guide, to gain a more in-depth look at these people look for my encyclopedias in which each group will have their own book.

But first, we must distinguish what separates the people from the monsters.

Now, you might think that it is their intelligence, or lack thereof, that distinguishes the two. But while it is true that most monsters are not as smart as people, there are a handful that other wizards have argued may even be smarter than men. And yet they are still considered monsters.

Is it their form then? Not really. Yes, various people follow the same standard body plan as humans; bipedal locomotion, two arms with grasping hands, and an upright torso with a head. There are a few notable exceptions amongst the different nonhuman people, and there are a few monsters that follow this body plan.

How about their ability to interbreed? It is true that all people can in some fashion interbreed with each other. This trait is also shared by all of the descendants of Caelus and Tera, of which many of the monsters can be counted amongst.

To be a people you must have two very important traits and lack another important trait.

The people must breed true. Whether that be breeding with another of their own kind, or always producing their own kind with someone of another species does not matter. If they are able to produce more of their own kind, that is a point toward personhood. Even in the case of dryads, known to reproduce in a rather odd fashion. As long as it is reproducible, and they can grow and expand without divine intervention.

They must be capable of speaking the god’s own language. It is the language that the gods have gifted to all people, and it is what allows us to commune with our gods. Without it we are but monsters. Even those who speak it in a strange way, so long as it does not take more than a bit of puzzling out to understand them, they are still speaking the god’s tongue. Such lingual ability is thus another point in favor of being considered a person.

If they have one of these traits but not the other, then they are instead a monster.

If however they are able to enter any of the god’s realms freely then they are not a people or a monster, but instead they are a deific being of some sort. This is true regardless of their ability to speak or breed.