Orc appearance

Alpha-2 Ren'Kai Fighter 3D render.^[1]

Vek character model concept art.^[2]

Ren'Kai are large and 'buff' in appearance.^[3]^[4]

They are the tallest race in Ashes of Creation.^[3]^[5]
They are considerably taller than their human counterparts.^[5]
Red or green skin tone is selectable via the character creator.^[5]

Vek are "goblinesque" in appearance and have a somewhat "contorted" stature.^[2]^[4]

The Vek are taller than the Dünir but appear shorter than the Kaelar and Vaelune due to their stature.^[2]^[6]

Kaivek

Kaivek Orcs are split into two races: Ren'Kai and Vek.^[7]

The Kaivek have always adhered to a strict code of tribal loyalty... Roughly thirteen centuries [before the fall], a leader named Ran'Kal united the clans into a nation called the Kaivek Protectorate. Kal taught that all Orcs answer to the protection of the divine order. This teaching expressed the belief that it was the will of the gods that all Orc kind should have superiority over the nations of Verra. For it was only through the unity of the clans that the people of Verra would be lead to enlightenment. It was the teachings of Kal that lead the Kaivek to pursue campaigns of conquest across the lands of Verra. Where the Orcs were once nomadic and divided before Kal, through his leadership they became a powerful nation united in conquest. Trophies of each city conquered is found in the capital city of Ren. [Just before the fall] the Kaivek Protectorate have adopted a policy of peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. Having endured centuries of conflict, leaders rose among them echoing the teachings of peace. These recent reformations have once again begun to lead to a fracturing of the Protectorate. Some unrest among the clans have called for a culling of those who are unworthy of the protection from the divine order.^[8] – Steven Sharif

Ren'Kai

Alpha-2 Ren'Kai Fighter screenshot.^[9]

Ren'Kai updated character concept art by Emanuel Gonzalez.^[10]

I like the influence, almost what appears to be somewhat scaly on the arms and the back and the skin: A little bit- I mean it looks like he may have some type of influences of Dragonborn in his lineage or something?^[11] – Steven Sharif

Ren'Kai (pronounced Ren-k'eye^[12]^[13]) are a playable Kaivek Orc race in Ashes of Creation.^[7]

Honor. Power. Tranquility. Through staying centered their power only grows. The Ren'Kai believe in ultimate focus and controlling their immense power. When a Ren'Kai becomes enraged though, there aren't many men or beasts who can live and tell the tale.

The developers have alluded to Ren'Kai or their parent race, the Kaivek, possibly having a Dragonborn lineage.^[11]

Vek

Vek female character model 3D render.^[14]

They're a very suspicious culture. The division between the Ren'Kai and the Vek was not a very happy and peaceful one.^[15] – Steven Sharif

Vek male in the Alpha-2 character creator (first pass).^[16]

Vek (pronounced Veck^[12]^[13]) are a playable Kaivek Orc race in Ashes of Creation.^[7]

Celestial. Purpose. Fate. When one stargazes they find beauty lies beyond our world, when The Vek stargaze they find fate lies beyond our time. Star maps, numerology and prophecy are integral parts of each Vek's life. Great leaders read the heavens for how wars will go, which empires will rise and fall, and the Vek often ask themselves "are we too late?"

The Vek are astrologers.^[17]

Racial benefits may include navigation on the open seas.^[18]

Artistic influence

The Vek have a Mesoamerican influence.^[19]

Character appearance

Facial adjustments in the Alpha-2 character creator (first pass).^[20]

There is a great variation that's going to be available from a character standpoint when creating your character, especially around the face. Whether it be the shape of the jawline, the cheeks, the ears, the nose, the lips. You know we want to provide a lot of options and an agency to the player to customize their character appearance.^[21] – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 Py'rai female and male character models.^[22]

Character appearance can be customized in the character creator (CC)^[23] and via in-game salons/barbershops.^[24]^[25]

We want there to be a lot of room for people to manifest their own identity, to role play how they want to from an appearance standpoint. There's going to be parameters within which you will be able to customize a character. We want the culture and the identity of the races to exist in a range that makes them easily identifiable from other players and other cultures. So, because of that, we have to have a spectrum you can exist on. There will be a lot of hair variants you can do, body art tattoos that you can apply. You'll be able to play with the scales of the facial structure, the bones, the height, width, the body fat percentage. You'll be able to add body hair on different parts of the body. If you want to have hair on your feet, you can dial that up.^[26] – Steven Sharif

Character models are focused on realism.^[27]
A player will see a generic character before customization.^[28]
Character designs will have influences from a wide range of cultures, such as European, African and Asian.^[29]
Lolis will not be in the game.^[30]^[31]
Sliders and other controls, such as color palettes, will offer flexibility in customization but there will be limits based on race, gender, and the artistic style guidelines that the developers are adhering to.^[32]^[33]^[30]^[34]^[35]

There's going to be constraints to the sliders, so that was one of those big questions as work began on the character creator: How much agency do you want to allow pulling like the lower lip all the way down in this weird deformed look, or having like [an] offset cheek that's just asymmetrical to the side of the face. There's not going to be the ability or agency to create those types of weird character things. However you will have the ability to move, slide, change, grow, decrease all those components, but they'll be kept in a more reasonable and presented way in the same sense you won't be able to change the appearance of the dwarven, nor the Dünir or the Niküan races to, in my opinion, create what would be traditionally considered a Loli character.^[30] – Steven Sharif