Asura



The Asura are a subterranean race which originally dwelled in the Depths of Tyria, but were forced into the Tarnished Coast by the forces of the Great Destroyer.

They are a diminutive, intelligent, ambitious and arrogant. They have a large subterranean empire, and are magically and technically adept

There is also a miniature Asura officially released by ArenaNet as a promotional offer available through various gaming magazines.

The "full size" creature corresponding to the miniature cannot be found anywhere in the game yet. There will be Asura in Guild Wars Eye of the North, and the Asura will be a playable race in Guild Wars 2.

The Asura were described as similar to goblins in the Kotaku article on Eye of the North.

Trivia

 * Asura architecture includes sculptures similar to those in Kurzick and Altrumm architecture.
 * Asura are semi-divine creatures in Hinduism and Buddhism. See the Wikipedia articles about Asuras in Hinduism and Asuras in Buddhism. The Guild Wars Asura may or may not be inspired by these. In Buddhism, one of the six realms is the realm of the Asuras, who are constantly fighting. Curiously enough, Asura loosely translates roughly to titan, demigod or giant in the Buddhist context. In Hinduism, it translates to demon.