The species currently allowed to be played are these:

Gnomes

Dwarves

Humans

Elves

Exceptions to this may be made.

Players are encouraged to play Dwarves and Gnomes because most of the population of the known world is currently Dwarves and Gnomes. This may change, especially if new lands are discovered. The reason for this is that Dwarves and Gnomes survived the destruction of the world of the Elder Gods, but others did not. When the world was created from the fragments of the world of the Elder Gods, there were already Dwarves and Gnomes living in it. Humans and Elves are believed to have been extinct when the world was recreated from the fragments. They have recently been brought back by the new gods, but humans are few in numbers and elves are quite rare. There are no human or elf cities, settlements or realms though there used to be in the Time of the Elder Gods. There are no exclusively gnome cities or realms. Gnomes live in Port Town, but their role there is disputed by the Dwarves who claim Port Town has always been a Dwarf city.

Another reason it is good to play a gnome character is that gnome characters have more character customization options than any other playable species.