The Mhun of Achaea

The mhun are Achaea’s underground race, distant cousins of humanity who carved their lives out of the deep places south-west of the Mhojave desert. Wiry, clever, and agile, they are the survivors of Sapience. They see in the dark, move faster than most, and never quite forgot the glory they once held.

Mhun lore and origin

The mhun are distant cousins of humanity, descended along a separate branch and shaped by a different environment. Their ancestral home, Moghedu, lies south-west of the great Mhojave desert. Life underground in a harsh environment forced the mhun to become survivors. The race carries this through into modern Achaea: wily, clever, and resilient even when not particularly respected by other races.

There is also something the lore notes specifically: it is said by some that the mhun as a race seek to enter back into the glory in which they once resided. The mhun were not always the underground race. Their history holds a fall, and many mhun carry that knowledge as part of their identity. A character with this in mind plays differently than one who treats their race as simple background.

Mhun rarely hold leadership positions in cities or Houses. The reason given in the lore is that their first loyalty is generally to their race rather than to their political affiliations. This does not make them outsiders. Mhun are common in every city. It does mean that a mhun character has a built-in tension between civic duty and racial loyalty that can be a useful roleplay engine.

If you want a race that reads as scrappy, intelligent, and quietly working toward something larger than their current station, mhun fits.

Mhun appearance

Mhun are roughly human-sized but a bit weaker and more agile. Most have lithe, wiry, or skinny frames, though heavily muscled mhun do exist. They are seldom overweight. Skin is naturally pale or wan but tans easily. Features tend to be sharp and angular.

Those of pure Moghedu ancestry have slanted, opaque eyes and wide, thin-lipped mouths, but these features are not definitive. Some mhun are nearly indistinguishable from their human cousins. Hair and eye colour are overwhelmingly black or dark brown; light or red hair and pale eyes are very uncommon.

Mhun racial abilities

Mhun have one racial trait, shaped by countless generations of underground life.

Trait: Mine Dweller

• Can see in low light conditions.
• Have extra movement.

Low-light vision is more useful than it sounds. Sections of Achaea (caves, mines, certain dungeons) are darker than the surface world, and a mhun can move and act there without the penalties other races face. The extra movement is a flat advantage everywhere: more efficient exploration, faster repositioning in combat, less time spent travelling.

Mhun base statistics

Mhun are dexterity-leaning, trading constitution for agility.

Stat	Value
Strength	12
Dexterity	13
Constitution	11
Intelligence	12

The dexterity advantage suits classes that benefit from quick movement, dodge, or ranged precision. The constitution dip means a mhun is less hardy than average, so positioning and defensive play matter more.

Mhun specialisations

At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four mhun specialisations.

Specialisation	Str	Dex	Con	Int	Stat shift
Unspecialised	12	13	11	12	(baseline)
Keeper	14	13	11	11	+2 Str / -1 Int
Scout	12	15	10	12	+2 Dex / -1 Con
Bodyguard	12	12	13	12	+2 Con / -1 Dex
Conjurer	11	13	11	14	+2 Int / -1 Str

Keeper leans into physical combat at the cost of magical study. Scout doubles down on dexterity, taking it to 15: the maximum agility available to mhun. Bodyguard sacrifices speed for durability, useful for protective melee roles. Conjurer pushes intellect, well-suited for magical and scholarly classes.

In-game: RACE SPECIALISATION LIST to view, RACE SPECIALISE AS to commit.

What a Mhun might look like

Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Mhun looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.

How to roleplay a Mhun in Achaea

Mhun carry a particular weight that humans do not: a history of glory lost. A few things worth knowing if you pick mhun:

Race-first loyalty. The lore explicitly notes that mhun loyalty runs to their race before their city or House. You can lean into this or play against it, but other players who know the lore will read it into your character whether you intend it or not. A mhun who is fully devoted to their adopted city is a deliberate choice that other characters will notice.

Moghedu as a touchstone. The ancestral home is named and located. Your mhun character either grew up there, has family ties to it, or has reason to know about it. Even mhun who have never visited Moghedu typically have an opinion about it. This gives you a constant reference point for backstory and roleplay.

The wily survivor archetype. Mhun lore frames them as “wily, clever opponents” who survive when others would not. This reads especially well for rogue-archetype classes (Serpent, Jester, Depthswalker) but works for any class where intelligence and patience are valued. A mhun mage who plays the long game writes naturally.

They are not respected by default. The lore notes that mhun command less respect than other races. This is a roleplay hook, not a mechanical disadvantage. Your character can spend their playtime earning respect, ignoring the snub, or quietly using the underestimation to their advantage.

If you want a race with built-in tension and an unfinished story, mhun gives you both.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other races to consider

Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:

Humans

The most adaptable race in Achaea. Balanced across all four stats. The cleanest baseline if you want the human form without the racial backstory weight that comes with mhun.

Dwarves

Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Stocky, hardy, and resistant to four damage types. The other “lives in the highlands and underground” race, but built for durability instead of speed.

Tsol’aa

The first race ever created. Lithe, intelligence-leaning, with deep cultural memory. If you like the “race with a long history” angle of mhun but want the established-elder flavour instead of the fallen-survivor flavour, tsol’aa is the alternative.

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