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nanoboy · 05-27-2009, 07:56 AM

In the home-made fantasy setting I'm running right now, I have several races, some of them kind of cliche and others that I think are relatively neat.

I have humans. They're boring but make up the bulk of the metapopulation.

I have a race called the greymen. They're certainly in the intellectual camp, but they're not really like elves. They're herbivorous, so they are incompetent in dealing with animals, and they're cowardly. They do have an innate ability to see magic.

I have a race of cat people called the felinids. It's definitely cliche, but a lot of people like playing cat people. They're extra agile and such, as well as having mercantile talents. I drew inspiration from the katta in the Quest for Glory games by Sierra.

I have a race called the Bermians. They're carnivorous and generally nomadic. They're very hardy people with natural animal empathy abilities that let them tame many of the exotic beasts in the setting. I drew inspiration from the Simvan of the Rifts setting.

I have a slave-warrior race called the Jogari. They're extra big with magical resistance and a tendency to over-socialize. I suppose they're cliched, but it's fun, since one of the PCs in the campaign is a free Jogari, and often, he will meet other Jogari, and regardless of familiarity, it's like a family reunion.

I have a race of fairies who are tiny winged creatures. They're very bright, and they're all female (reproducing by parthenogenesis.) They also require wild spaces to survive, so they're never found in cities. They're very magical and can be understandably militant about protecting their wilderness. They're very cliched but with some fun twists.

I have a race of bat-like people called the skyfolk. They're smaller than people, but they can fly, have photographic memories, have innate artistic talents, and have echolocation. I drew some inspiration from Orson Scott Card's Homecoming series.

I have another flying race called the Avia. They're humanoid eagles who are extraordinarily xenophobic. They live in some mountains that they make inhospitable to others, as they can rain down lawn darts and other missiles on any who pass. I don't think that they are particularly cliched.

I have a race of dragons. PC's can be dragon hatchlings. Dragons are pretty similar to other treatments. They gradually gain in power and ability as they age, but adults are typically megalomaniacs and despise all other dragons. Fortunately, dragon hatchlings have the ability to detect adults.

I have a race called monkeyfolk. They're basically sentient monkeys with opposible thumbs. I guess they're mostly an anthropomorphic race, making them slightly cliched.

When making the races, I consciously decided to avoid the usual elf/dwarf/orc group of races. I tried to avoid absolute cliche, but I also didn't get too paranoid about it. In playing, it appears that the players like the races in the setting. Given that the setting itself is only one part of a large world, there could be other races from other places eventually.

05-27-2009, 07:56 AM	#6
nanoboy Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Edmond, OK	Re: fantasy races In the home-made fantasy setting I'm running right now, I have several races, some of them kind of cliche and others that I think are relatively neat. I have humans. They're boring but make up the bulk of the metapopulation. I have a race called the greymen. They're certainly in the intellectual camp, but they're not really like elves. They're herbivorous, so they are incompetent in dealing with animals, and they're cowardly. They do have an innate ability to see magic. I have a race of cat people called the felinids. It's definitely cliche, but a lot of people like playing cat people. They're extra agile and such, as well as having mercantile talents. I drew inspiration from the katta in the Quest for Glory games by Sierra. I have a race called the Bermians. They're carnivorous and generally nomadic. They're very hardy people with natural animal empathy abilities that let them tame many of the exotic beasts in the setting. I drew inspiration from the Simvan of the Rifts setting. I have a slave-warrior race called the Jogari. They're extra big with magical resistance and a tendency to over-socialize. I suppose they're cliched, but it's fun, since one of the PCs in the campaign is a free Jogari, and often, he will meet other Jogari, and regardless of familiarity, it's like a family reunion. I have a race of fairies who are tiny winged creatures. They're very bright, and they're all female (reproducing by parthenogenesis.) They also require wild spaces to survive, so they're never found in cities. They're very magical and can be understandably militant about protecting their wilderness. They're very cliched but with some fun twists. I have a race of bat-like people called the skyfolk. They're smaller than people, but they can fly, have photographic memories, have innate artistic talents, and have echolocation. I drew some inspiration from Orson Scott Card's Homecoming series. I have another flying race called the Avia. They're humanoid eagles who are extraordinarily xenophobic. They live in some mountains that they make inhospitable to others, as they can rain down lawn darts and other missiles on any who pass. I don't think that they are particularly cliched. I have a race of dragons. PC's can be dragon hatchlings. Dragons are pretty similar to other treatments. They gradually gain in power and ability as they age, but adults are typically megalomaniacs and despise all other dragons. Fortunately, dragon hatchlings have the ability to detect adults. I have a race called monkeyfolk. They're basically sentient monkeys with opposible thumbs. I guess they're mostly an anthropomorphic race, making them slightly cliched. When making the races, I consciously decided to avoid the usual elf/dwarf/orc group of races. I tried to avoid absolute cliche, but I also didn't get too paranoid about it. In playing, it appears that the players like the races in the setting. Given that the setting itself is only one part of a large world, there could be other races from other places eventually.