"unusual" racial templates

[Running Wolf]

I'm trying to look at some templates for non-Tolkien type fantasy races. Two easy example of what I am talking about would be the Surface Dwarves and City Elves from Dragon Age. They don't tend to fit the normal races in high fantasy settings.

[the_matrix_walker]

You could update some of the templates from GURPS Fantasy Folk 3E...

[vicky_molokh]

Check out these (ignore the Islanders and Jiera - those are humans; I also see the Oceanspawn description is lacking; check out the rest) or these or these.

[chandley]

I have a few posted here that might suit. Snake People, Hag, and Arakun differ from the norm pretty strongly.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

You could update some of the templates from GURPS Fantasy Folk 3E...

I've found that to be a fairly good starting point for a similar idea myself. A good idea would to focus on making a racial template truly just about inborn characteristics and put the more social aspects as lenses... to the point that it really will matter if you're a human half-elf versus an elven half-human.

[ericthered]

Look for the vote up a fantasy racial submission thread. It has well over a dozen good examples.

[Running Wolf]

Trying for the whole "not your grandfather's Dwarf" but that in itself has also been done to death.

[sir_pudding]

My last Fantasy game had hexapodal weaseloids, giant snail-oids, tiny monitor-lizard-oids with human-sized clockpunk mecha, giant neotonous silkworm larva cyclopses, and crystalline androids that grow on trees.

[ericthered]

Neccessity is the mother of invention. We can give you all sorts of wild races, but without a better idea of what you want you'll get things from elves who turn into starlight to hexapod weaseloids to floating balls that live forever but must be bound to a master. Do you want to keep them humanoid? based on existing animals? can they use fantastic elements as part of their life cycle? Do humans with a radically different cultures count?

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by Running Wolf

Trying for the whole "not your grandfather's Dwarf".

I've seen some of those on these forums, but I don't know where to direct you.

Sometimes going back the source can bring a sense of "freshness" for example I remember reading about dwarves in folklore who have duck feet that they constantly hide under long skirts or robes.

Another idea I've seen is dwarves whose bones are made of stone. You could treat them as a sort of psuedo-elemental.

Of course if you really want to get away from Tolkein, I'd recommend scrapping the dwarves and elves entirely.