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Yora
2012-09-21, 09:15 AM
I am trying to give my setting a new jolt and I think maybe adding another race might do just that by providing new ideas for interactions between races and settlements.

Just for reference, what I have so far:
Lizardfolk - Existing both as a highly advanced city state and as tribal hunters and fishermen in small villages, somewhat inspired by South-East Asia and Polynesia. For the mentality, I use Jungle Trolls from Warcraft and Turians from Mass Effect as orientation. Tall, lean, strong, and clever. They are brutal fighters but careful and ruthless tacticians.
Wood Elves - These are the second primary race and of a slightly anarchistic streak. They apologize for nothing but don't deny that they rely heavily on unfair tactics and superior equiment. If they look down on other people, they do so because because they know they have a military and econmic advantage, but they don't define themselves by their race. They have no problems aiding non-elves against their elven enemies when it is politically opportune for them to do so.
Dark Elves - Mostly like wood elves but usually more reserved and keeping to themselves rather than seeking alliances and trade with other people. Somewhat based on less agressive Drow from Xen'drik and the Dunmer of The Elder Scrolls.
Gnomes - Beardless dwarves without the beer, heavy armor, and cursing if you will. Their underground communities are directly under the surface with gatehouses, watchtowers, and often windows visible to the outside, but storerooms and living spaces inside the mountain or in the massive basements of relatively tiny farm houses. Still have a quasi-monopoly on the metal industry. Not very numerous and rarely making major appearances in larger conflicts, but they have been around for a long time like lizardfolk and elves and benefit greatly from their superior equipment and fortifications.
Humans - Only one of the lesser races and migrated to the region just some centuries ago. Since then they have established a number of smaller duchies and chiefdoms that are prospering quite well. Still a far way from being one of the dominant races, but already having a seat at the grown ups table.
Kaas - The first truly original race. But only in so much that they have a unique name and appearance. They stand a head above humans and elves, have short brown fur, somewhat lion-like faces and manes, and short Ibex horns. In behavior they are modeled after mongol horde-style orcs, D&D goliaths, and the qunari from Dragon Age. Big, powerful, tight-lipped, and non-nonsense. They are about similar in numbers and influence as humans.
There's also a couple of intelligent monsters, but those don't trade with the other races or work as mercenaries, so they usually don't show up unless as dangerous savages or as villains for specific adventures.

Adding one or two more humanoid races might stirr things up a bit and offer new opportunities to make the setting richer and more clearly define the role of the existing ones.
- They shouldn't be too weird and still be able to integrate into mercenary bands and have merchants travel to the cities of the other races, so Thri-kreen or Nerubians would probably be a bit too much.
- I plan to have them be only of moderate importance, so they shouldn't be too much relying on sophisticated technology and education. Though if someone completely suprises me with an idea for a new race for the Big Three, this should not be a hinderance.
- It should not be mainstream, so halflings and orcs would be out as well. Something fresh is what I am looking for.
- Also mostly nonmagical. Having highly magical leaders or specialists is not a problem, but I'd rather stay away from dryads, oni, and tieflings.

Since most original ideas start out as a new interpretation of something old that develops a life and identity of its own as it gets more fleshed out and refined, suggestions do not have to be only completely unique and obscure things. Underused classics with an interesting twists are just as welcome.

Joe the Rat
2012-09-21, 10:10 AM
I'm thinking you could use something in the trickster category. Goblin/halfling sized, sneaky, tricky, heavy focus of skill over power. Not necessarily malicious.

The wood elves cover some of the same tactical ground here (technology and pragmatics), but I am picturing more tricks and traps and deceptions than ambushes. They'd rather point the hostiles in the wrong direction (away from their homes) rather than kill them and let someone know something is there. Since you don't have anything pegged for deep in/on the mountains, and might have some room in the woods, you've got room for the isolated hidden village motif. Overlapping with wood elves in territory as well as methods makes for an... interesting potential for conflict. Spies and Snipers.

So I'm throwing a bit of kobold and certain varieties of gnome in the pot here, along with tengu. Tengu is actually the core model I'm starting with here, as you don't have avians yet. Flight can be a game breaker for a race, but would be an interesting addition. You've got a lot of birds you could use here to define a look.

Another direction would be to go for the faerie aesthetic by way of plants - leaf-like hair, woody or viny features, but not necessarily "grow roots and eat sunlight". This one would work well in a heavy forest/jungle locale, with their native appearance letting them blend in to the surrounds. This could be just appearance, not biology. Make 'em monotremes.

HunterOfJello
2012-09-21, 10:28 AM
Here are two d&d 3.5 lists of generally non-standard races

+0 LA Non-Humanoids (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=12455)

Player Race List with LA +1 and LA +2 (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4886)

It's not super detailed, but it is expansive.

~

The Pathfinder List (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races) could help too.

NichG
2012-09-21, 10:41 AM
I like the various races from the game Dominions. They're each pretty detailed in terms of their own cultures and styles though all of them are based either on Earth cultures, mythologies, or more recent fiction (e.g. the R'lyeh nation). I'm trying to think which would in particular satisfy your constraints though.

Perhaps the Kailasans, which include various castes of basically uplifted apes, who are ruled over by various devas and asuras whom they believe are sent by the heavens to protect them and lead them (but could easily just be psions or something else more mundane).

Caelum are basically humanoids with wings who live in very cold mountaintop environments, and have hollow bones like birds.

There's the Jotun, who are basically sort of frost-troll creatures with a sort of persistent mirror image-like effect.

BowStreetRunner
2012-09-21, 10:41 AM
In my campaigns, I always prefer to add some races that offer a story angle that adds mystery and intrigue to the setting. Something ancient and forgotten, or xenophobic and secluded, or even stealthy and secretive.

Good races for this sort of thing would include Warforged, Shifters, or even a race of Undead.

Yora
2012-09-21, 10:48 AM
I'm thinking you could use something in the trickster category. Goblin/halfling sized, sneaky, tricky, heavy focus of skill over power. Not necessarily malicious.

The wood elves cover some of the same tactical ground here (technology and pragmatics), but I am picturing more tricks and traps and deceptions than ambushes. They'd rather point the hostiles in the wrong direction (away from their homes) rather than kill them and let someone know something is there. Since you don't have anything pegged for deep in/on the mountains, and might have some room in the woods, you've got room for the isolated hidden village motif. Overlapping with wood elves in territory as well as methods makes for an... interesting potential for conflict. Spies and Snipers.
It's a great idea. So good in fact that I incororated it with the gnomes half a year ago. :smallbiggrin:
When they are losing, they always retreat, always surrender, and agree to almost all conditions. And then just stay quite for some time while preparing their next traps and ambushes. It's a great idea, but I already have it, so making a new race based on it would be a duplicate.

An almost full list of D&D races is great, that should keep me occupied for the next hour or so.

Kol Korran
2012-09-21, 10:57 AM
I don't know enough of your campaign, but I'll offer a race that works quite nicely in my pirate campaign- The Venoc.

Basically they look like pure blooded Yuan Ti (humanoids with exotic serpent themed features), but that is where the resemblance ends. They are a race that has done some great transgression against the other major races in th world (you'll need to fit it to your history), and have been hunted down since, until they made a sort of a special pact: they will repay the debt by becoming servants (willing slaves) to most of the other races. this pact is for centuries to come (so great was the past transgresion).

In my campaign all Venoc posses a slight skill withmagic (capable of a few 0 and 1st level SLAs) and they were highly cultured and skilled as a culture which made the offer appealing to most, and so the Venoc were made into elite pact bound servents. They represent a touch of sophistication and knowledge, but due to their servitude status- not a mjor world moving force, but you may alter this of course.

Some Venoc didn't agree however to this servitude, and fled to remote regions, making a life on the outskirts. these Free Venoc are still hated, and often hunted by the others. A fact that may bring some tension to some groups.

The servitors cut their poison fangs as part of the pact, the free venoc do not.

A bit more (Still a work in progress it might be said) could be found On this page (http://witchlingisles.pbworks.com/w/page/53194785/Venoc) and on At the very bottom of this page. (http://witchlingisles.pbworks.com/w/page/50272824/the%20major%20island%20races)

I hope this helps. :smallwink:

Jay R
2012-09-21, 11:33 AM
I plan to set up a race called Mugwumps, which would be a splinter group off some race, composed of those that rejected the parent race's culture. I'm still trying to decide between dwarves who want to live in a forest, elves who want to live in a city, or goblinoids who aren't evil and don't want to raid settlements.

Yora
2012-09-21, 11:35 AM
Here is two ideas that are currently floating around in my head, still undefined. Fell free to throw in any ideas that might make them click:

#1: Chiss, Twi'lek (Star Wars), Breen, Andorians (Star Trek)

Very tall, advanced, sophisticated, and more than a bit bloodthirsty and sardonic. However, they are few in number.

Now that I think about it, the first one can almost entirely be folded into my variant of the Fair Folk. Good inspirations to keep in mind, but as a new race it would be a duplicate. Maybe making also a half-mortal variant?


#2: Selonians (Star Wars): 8 feet tall bipedal ferrets with huge claws! :smallcool:

Amnestic
2012-09-21, 11:38 AM
Some sort of Hengeyokai-like race might be a nice addition, with more focus on the animalistic/shapechange aspect. They'd shirk manufactured weaponry/armour as a general rule and only use the most rudimentary of clothes - preferring fur, tooth and claw. They'd be fairly low magic as a general rule because of that as well.

Possibly consider multiple tribes based on what animals they represent (Birds, four-legged beasts, reptiles, aquatic etc.). A caste system (Lion>All other beasts, Eagles>All other birds) could work too, and give a decent reason for some of them to leave their tribes and seek work - mercenary or otherwise - in the larger world.

The Kaas might be a distant racial relation and they'd likely have the closest relations with them, though they may maintain some limited trading with other races.

"Somewhat" based off of Laguz (http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Laguz) from Fire Emblem ;p

Yora
2012-09-21, 11:44 AM
Hengeyokai are great. But I think they work better as spiritworld beings than as "regular people".

#1: Chiss, Twi'lek (Star Wars), Breen, Andorians (Star Trek)

Very tall, advanced, sophisticated, and more than a bit bloodthirsty and sardonic. However, they are few in number.

Now that I think about it, the first one can almost entirely be folded into my variant of the Fair Folk. Good inspirations to keep in mind, but as a new race it would be a duplicate. Maybe making also a half-mortal variant?
I could also throw in Verrik (Arcana Evolved) and some pieces of Draenei (Warcraft). Ohh.... this is bubbling along nicely... :smallbiggrin:

BootStrapTommy
2012-09-21, 02:52 PM
Anyone here played the game Siege of Avalon?
Aside from being a fun little Diablo clone, it has the Sha'houl, who are a fun little variation on something like the modern orc.

The Sha'houl are a duel race, so to speak, consisting of the Ahoul and the Sha'men. The Ahoul are brutish orc-like pigmen, having snouts and tusks rather than noses (like a Warcraft orc). However, they are otherwise are just human-like, ever as far as to have human skin-tones (a few however have an ashen gray skin-tone). They are nomadic warriors, preferring to fight in very little armor and on horse back. They generally use bow, axes, and serrated swords. The Sha'men are different. They are effectively just humans, however, they usually have innate magical ability (as they are "shaman"). They are the spiritual leaders of the Sha'houl.

Their society is a nomadic, caste society (think the Mongols meet the Dwarves of Dragon Age). They have a warrior caste, a scout caste, a working caste and a craftsmen caste. And then, of course, a shaman caste. The shaman are the leadership caste, while the other castes are roughly equals (though the warrior caste is favored). However, since they are a compound race, your Ahoul and Sha'men blood matters. The more Sha'men you are, the "higher born" you are unless you earn it. Thus a pureblood Ahoul is at a societal disadvantage over a pureblood Sha'men. Since most people are a mix of the two, they use the name Sha'houl for both mixed bloods and the society as a whole.

The big appeal is their society. They are nomads, crossing the plains hunting game and raiding other Sha'houl clans. They have an "honor" based society (similar to feudal Japan) meaning members of their society are incredibly focused on their personal image (their image reflects their clan, which is sacred), going as far as the defeated committing ritual suicide. But more over, they believe permanent settlement and farming is an affront to their Goddess, and thus they have a sort of blood crusade against "civilization" of any kind. As a consequence they are uber religious and uber zealous, yet despite their tribal nature, they can also become easily organized under a strong leader.

Effectively the plot in Siege is that they are sieging Avalon to punish the civilized Seven Kingdoms for their non-nomadic ways.
I always thought they were cool, and with a little tweaking, you could make them your own.

Fayd
2012-09-21, 02:53 PM
Personally, I really have always loved the planetouched, of any kind. Though I did like what my DM did and made that a heritage feat instead of a race... that way you could apply them to anything. Earth Genasi dwarves... Air genasi Sahaguin, you name it!

Also, I like the visual appearance of the Tengu/Kenku.

Another idea would be to take the Deadly Dancers (Tome of Magic) and make a PC race out of them. A semi-alien race comprised almost entirely of swords? Why not?

AgentofHellfire
2012-09-21, 04:09 PM
So I have a thought...

What about an Outsider-typed slave race?

Also, possibly, some sort of savage race that acts like "pre-fallen humanity"...

I can expand on either at request, but...

Yora
2012-09-21, 04:54 PM
What is pre-fallen?

AgentofHellfire
2012-09-21, 05:07 PM
What is pre-fallen?

As in, pre-Adam-and-Eve-falling type of thing...very, very low tech, little sin, that sort of thing.

It can be somewhat cliche, but if it were to interact in more than one way with the other races...(i.e.: friendly relationships, taking advantage of the tech of other races, but their society is starting to fall apart because of that), than it gets interesting...

Mastikator
2012-09-21, 05:16 PM
Pre-Adam-and-Eve-fallen would be childlike in terms of personality and live forever, and never able to learn things. They would not be civilized in any meaningful way, they'd be more like animals.

AgentofHellfire
2012-09-21, 06:58 PM
Pre-Adam-and-Eve-fallen would be childlike in terms of personality and live forever, and never able to learn things. They would not be civilized in any meaningful way, they'd be more like animals.


A watered-down version can still be compared to the original.

Anyhow, the whole "childlike in personality" bit is mostly what I was thinking of...basically, they don't really think ahead much, and trust anyone. And that would be causing severe problems.

Urpriest
2012-09-21, 07:26 PM
Your setting seems to be missing any "lives among other races"-types. These are both the easiest to fit in the setting, and the easiest to fit in to diverse campaign concepts.

One race of this sort I put together awhile back are the Everchildren. They're basically exactly what they sound like: imagine that occasionally a child born into a normal race just...doesn't...grow...up. The child would still learn and gain experience, gaining the cynicism and maturity of adulthood, but physically would cease to grow or age. You'd have cynical, bitter individuals, forever resentful of their physical disadvantage while living long enough to see members of their foster race die while they continued unchanged. Able to pretend to be children, or to cause discomfort, confusion, or even pity when they reveal themselves not to be.

Yora
2012-09-23, 06:52 AM
Here is a rough concept I've been dragging along for years but I never managed to actually integrate with the other ones.

I guess the best descriptive name would be "Rat-Dog-People". Partly inspired by nezumi with the look of a "weredog-halfling", they are more on the primitive and savage side and behave similar to the more reckless and daring kinds of halflings. I think some inspiration can also be taken from the non-cannibalistic Dark Sun halflings. Shifters from Eberron also come to mind, or kobolds from Baldur's Gate. They are fast and clever, but don't have metal or writing.

Some images for the general visual style:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KTx4DwIwiUQ/TOcxaHJb2TI/AAAAAAAAAFg/hnX2JahDgyg/s1600/Shifter.jpghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061113140549/l5r/images/b/b0/Nezumi.jpghttp://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m79yjiZYuo1r2imako1_500.pnghttp://fc03.deviantart.net/fs44/f/2009/091/b/c/bcef598e1da6b0853bcb84a22f94537f.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wzU45AV_odo/S8nqJBiaHgI/AAAAAAAABCE/SntbqRjFqG4/s1600/Halfling_Warrior.jpg

But I have a really hard time comming up with a role for them and a way to integrate them with the rest of the setting. Just having forest goblins isn't doing it for me. I want them as a main PC race, not neutral aligned monsters.

Kol Korran
2012-09-24, 09:21 AM
How about the following: Make the rat-dog-people have a gypsy like culture. They can have no land of their own, but they have been given permission on the outskirts of society. Savage, primitive, but with several useful streaks, they are... tolerated by other races. Some core ideas:
- A deep if somewhat perverted or hard to understand spiritual culture focused on survival and twisting/ manipulating/ daring fate. They have several powerful shamans and fortune tellers, that other races sometime seek.
- They either don't know the secrets or have the facilities to work metal, or... metal is anathema to them- it may cause them pain, discomfort or the like. Due to this the other races don't consider them a real threat, and let them live by. They may have some other feature that compensate for this somehow, such as great luck (a free luck feat or 1 reroll/ day) or greater affinity with organic materials.
- They have a curious mix of fear and courage. Mostly they'll avoid fights in normal circumstances unless something important is dangered, when they fight like, well... cornered rats. Or they might go on great dares and dangers but might easily back down on lesser, less "inspiring" threats. This double edged behavior keeps the other races puzzled, dismissive and weary at the same time.
- The rat-dog-people brings several commodities/ trade/ benefits to whomever hire them: powerful shamans, usually secretive and often illegal goods (sometime even from the other cultures), lots of knowledge (They travel a lot), and potentially a band of courageous "will-go-to-any-length" mercenaries, though not always dependable.

How does that sound?

toapat
2012-09-24, 09:27 AM
Draenei (Warcraft)

besides being blueberry spacegoats with the religion of paladins, what could you really steal from them?

the male draenei joke seems pretty apropriet here: "I come to Azeroth, i see Cow and Chicken, and ride little Horsey. THIS PLANET HAS EVERYTHING!"

Blightedmarsh
2012-09-24, 12:07 PM
I second the Were rat/dog idea.

I think perhaps very hairy and savage halflings that can shape-shift into a humanoid or animal form. Perhaps they should each shift into a different form of animal according to his or her personal "spirit totem" and that this can effect (or is a reflection on) their personality and basic nature.

I also like the idea of basically decent people worshiping extremely nasty and incomprehensibly alien gods that are a cross between the acid trip that is Mayan mythology and Lovecraft on a bad day, not forgetting all of the blue/orange morality that arises. I just love the mental image of sitting down for tea with some kindly old grandmother whilst shes' got her prized devotional alter to her vomit inducing cosmic horror of a god/des (its next to impossible to tell and nauseating to speculate) pride of place on her mantlepiece.

Holocron Coder
2012-09-24, 12:17 PM
Here is a rough concept I've been dragging along for years but I never managed to actually integrate with the other ones.

I guess the best descriptive name would be "Rat-Dog-People". Partly inspired by nezumi with the look of a "weredog-halfling", they are more on the primitive and savage side and behave similar to the more reckless and daring kinds of halflings. I think some inspiration can also be taken from the non-cannibalistic Dark Sun halflings. Shifters from Eberron also come to mind, or kobolds from Baldur's Gate. They are fast and clever, but don't have metal or writing.

Some images for the general visual style:
...

But I have a really hard time comming up with a role for them and a way to integrate them with the rest of the setting. Just having forest goblins isn't doing it for me. I want them as a main PC race, not neutral aligned monsters.

With things like this, my first reaction is to toss a bit of Quarian at them. What if they're a largely nomadic or isolationist race (either one works, really). They use oral tradition and shamanism more than anything. Low-tech, lots of rumors about them abound, etc.

However, part of their tradition is to go see the wider world (for some purpose, can be to prove they should largely to keep to their own, to find out what's going on "out there", or anything. Fixed or individual). Some of these result in the traveler remaining out in the larger world, which would be the ones more likely to be played as PCs. Primitive but learning. A first level character would be illiterate and know only their racial language (most likely) and have a predilection for shaman and barbarian classes (with a race variant that works better with their smaller, "weaker" frame. Maybe flurry/dex based).

They would still be a part in the wider world since the other races have to take into account traveling through their territory or using them against other races strategically. On a more "personal" basis, perhaps their shamanism is relatively unique and provides different perspectives to outsiders (think gyspy fortune-tellers).

I might've cribbed together several other posters' thoughts along with my own :smallredface:

Yora
2012-09-24, 02:17 PM
Now that's a really intriguing idea. I had intended a quite wide range of lands where they are found and not having any major settlements themselves, instead living truly in the wilderness. Giving them a very good network of exchange between individual groups can become quite interesting because they would have contacts to places much further away than anyone else. Also, being more savage but clever, it's easy to assume that they would have a little better knowledge of what's going on in the world as a whole than most other people. They might lack the more finer details and the complex reasons behind it, but they can notice patterns on a much larger scale than the people who stick to just within two days travel of their main town and exchange information only with a small handful of nearby lords.

I don't really plan to have any global events that end up being about saving major parts of the world, but it's still an interesting idea. They could have knowledge of threatening plagues and droughts long before others do, or predict upheavals in the spiritworld that might have local effects.
Nice one, I really wonder what I can make of it.