New Takes On Common Fantasy Races

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Was writing this for a zine and decided I'd share it here. They are typical fantasy races, and can use the usual stats, but they have some lore changes I have used in prior campaigns.

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Beastkin

Beastkin are humanoid, but during gestation they supernaturally adopt traits from one or two of their environment’s wild beasts. A child’s “aspect” can make them appear radically different from their parents.
Many tribes use adventuring as a rite of passage. Youths travel as far as they can, then return home with trophies as proof of their strength and skill.

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Dwarf

Born from stone, dwarves are at home in the earth. They toil for generations to build underground fortress-cities and dig up wealth from below.
Juveniles are indebted to the clan that shaped them from the rock. Adventuring can repay that debt quickly.

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Elf

The ancient elves built a civilization of arcane marvels and wonders. A brutal civil war ground it to dust. Those who survive today are short, wizened elders. They cannot age further, and are cursed with infertility.
Elves change professions a couple times each century to avoid succumbing to boredom or despair. Eventually an elf will turn their hand to adventuring.

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Faerie

Insectile humanoids known for artistry and music. Their queens are powerful telepaths who preside over incredibly coordinated hive mind societies.
Adventuring faeries are either scouts gathering information for their hive mind, or exiles who rejected their queen’s embrace.

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Goblin

Prone to obsession and hyperfixation, goblins are known for making masterworks of unparalleled skill. It is rumored goblins in the depths of the world build clockwork fire-breathing dragons to guard their cities.
Goblins can become violent when anything gets in the way of their obsession. Many take up adventuring as a convenient escape from enemies they have made.

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Merfolk

Fish-like humanoids with bright, colorful scales. Those who venture onto land often resemble sea snakes, and have little trouble learning to “walk” without legs. They are even known to climb trees to hunt. Most commerce travels on water, making them a common sight in markets and trading posts.
Merfolk adventurers often guard caravans and seek out rare materials to sell to merchants.

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Orc

Muscular tough-skinned humanoids. Branching, fibrous horns protrude from their jaw, scalp, and shoulders. Orc juveniles are planted in dirt or mud as larva, and grow until they dig themselves out as 5 foot tall juveniles. They never stop growing during their lifetime. Elders can be up to 25 feet tall. After dying their corpses sprout roots and branches.
Orcs find adventuring to be a lucrative profession due to their prodigious strength.

[Millstone85]

The only thing I dislike here is the "dying race" trope, which feels like writing oneself into a corner.

As an alternative, elves could be spirits of the land who, ought of curiosity for human life, incarnate into newborn children. Pointy ears betray their nature and some are abandoned as changelings, while others are on the contrary treated like royalty. Elves do not sleep but instead enter a trance during which they commune with their environment. Many end up gathering into small communities hidden within the type of land they were originally part of as spirits, such as mountain peaks (high elves), forests (wood elves), watery depths (sea elves) or caves (dark elves).

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

The only thing I dislike here is the "dying race" trope, which feels like writing oneself into a corner.

What do you mean? They're not dying very fast. Can't die of old age and all that.

It worked out pretty well in the campaign I tried it in. One of the PCs was a young elf whose parents got divine intervention. They ran into an enclave of half-elves whose advisors were some elves trying to leave a legacy.


As an alternative, elves could be spirits of the land who, ought of curiosity for human life, incarnate into newborn children. Pointy ears betray their nature and some are abandoned as changelings, while others are on the contrary treated like royalty. Elves do not sleep but instead enter a trance during which they commune with their environment. Many end up gathering into small communities hidden within the type of land they were originally part of as spirits, such as mountain peaks (high elves), forests (wood elves), watery depths (sea elves) or caves (dark elves).

That's an interesting one! Could have a fun lore point about there being a finite number of these souls, and if they don't have their usual species to incarnate as they'll pop into similar ones.

[Metastachydium]

Orc

Muscular tough-skinned humanoids. Branching, fibrous horns protrude from their jaw, scalp, and shoulders. Orc juveniles are planted in dirt or mud as larva, and grow until they dig themselves out as 5 foot tall juveniles. They never stop growing during their lifetime. Elders can be up to 25 feet tall. After dying their corpses sprout roots and branches.
Orcs find adventuring to be a lucrative profession due to their prodigious strength.

Hah! At some point I became convinced that D&D Trolls are actually plants (they are green, they can regrow lost bits of their body, no matter the size and they'd really rather not be on fire is (okay, that's not strictly a plant thing, but it is generally perceived as a major plant vulnerability)), but I'll take the giant Plant Orcs in a pinch! My only comment would be that if and when they sprout roots and branches, they can't possibly be dead. At any rate, that's not something any self-respecting plant would do after dying.


the type of land they were originally part of as spirits, such as mountain peaks (high elves)

Heh. "No, you're not superior, buddy; you just live at higher altitudes" in your face high elves! I like that interpretation.

[Millstone85]

What do you mean? They're not dying very fast. Can't die of old age and all that.They are still dying and perhaps not so slowly if many take up adventuring.

I happen to be rewatching a series I loved as a kid, Stargate SG-1. In this, the Tok'ra are a group of nice aliens within a species that is otherwise evil (through a combination of inheriting parental memories and becoming addicted to a compassion-draining technology). They are ageless but the species's reproduction depends on queens and the Tok'ra one is dead. So every time we see a Tok'ra die, which is almost guaranteed whenever they appear in an episode, that is one step closer to their complete extinction.

Alright, it didn't stop the series from being oh so awesome, but damn is that part depressing!


It worked out pretty well in the campaign I tried it in. One of the PCs was a young elf whose parents got divine intervention. They ran into an enclave of half-elves whose advisors were some elves trying to leave a legacy.No offense but it sounds more like escaping the premise than making it work.


That's an interesting one! Could have a fun lore point about there being a finite number of these souls, and if they don't have their usual species to incarnate as they'll pop into similar ones.Thank you and yes indeed.


Heh. "No, you're not superior, buddy; you just live at higher altitudes" in your face high elves! I like that interpretation.And then there is space elves who live even higher. :smallsmile:

[MetroAlien]

from the description, it doesn't sound like beastkin exclude scalies, or fish, etc...

I chuckled at the image of sea-dwelling beastkin parents in a panic as they give birth to land-dwelling offspring

are merfolk a sub-type of beastkin perchance?

[Millstone85]

I chuckled at the image of sea-dwelling beastkin parents in a panic as they give birth to land-dwelling offspringI find that horrifying. :smalleek:

At least it could be prevented by remaining in the sea during the whole gestation, assuming sex ed and circumstances allow for such precaution.


are merfolk a sub-type of beastkin perchance?Merfolk could also belong to the family of centauroids, characterized by being half legless-humanoid and half headless-beast. Other examples would include arachnes* (spider), cecaelias (octopus), lamias (snake), tlincallis (scorpion), urmahlullu (lion) and of course regular horse-based centaurs.

* Driders if elvenized.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

My only comment would be that if and when they sprout roots and branches, they can't possibly be dead. At any rate, that's not something any self-respecting plant would do after dying.

The "horns" grow very slowly until the circulatory system shuts down and stops delivering nutrients to them, that's why they have to go to root. Maybe they're some kind of symbiotic organism?


Alright, it didn't stop the series from being oh so awesome, but damn is that part depressing!

Aye! Every elf NPC and PC is going to have to decide what they plan to do about that fate. Perhaps your party might want to try to figure out how to revitalize the elvish race.


from the description, it doesn't sound like beastkin exclude scalies, or fish, etc... I chuckled at the image of sea-dwelling beastkin parents in a panic as they give birth to land-dwelling offspring. are merfolk a sub-type of beastkin perchance?

For the sake of coherence, I would say legged merfolk could be, but legless merfolk are not.

This also means bird-people are possible beastkin aspects.

I actually made traditional D&D dwarves fall into this category. They had a really solid understanding of the nature of beastkin, so they carefully built their mountainhomes to manipulate the genetics of their offspring. When their mountainhomes were destroyed and they were scattered across the continent, every fuzzy tabaxi child was a reminder that their culture was disintegrating.


At least it could be prevented by remaining in the sea during the whole gestation, assuming sex ed and circumstances allow for such precaution.

Yeah, it's all about what species are in the environment. There may be some metaphysical aspects to it (such as what traits the parents value), but the process is so indirect and mysterious nobody knows for sure.


Merfolk could also belong to the family of centauroids, characterized by being half legless-humanoid and half headless-beast. Other examples would include arachnes* (spider), cecaelias (octopus), lamias (snake), tlincallis (scorpion), urmahlullu (lion) and of course regular horse-based centaurs.

Not sure what to do about those. I would say that beastkin are strictly humanoid, so less-humanoid body plans are indeed different species.

Also, there are SO MANY problems with centaur-like anatomy. It makes more sense to just say a wizard did it or the gods did it.

[LibraryOgre]

Elf

The ancient elves built a civilization of arcane marvels and wonders. A brutal civil war ground it to dust. Those who survive today are short, wizened elders. They cannot age further, and are cursed with infertility.
Elves change professions a couple times each century to avoid succumbing to boredom or despair. Eventually an elf will turn their hand to adventuring.


What you might do with elves cribs a bit from Tolkien... Elves don't die, elves are infertile (or extremely low-fertility)... but they can can have kids with mortals. So, you've got "elves" who are thousands of years old... and the occasional half-elf who is more mortal.


Hah! At some point I became convinced that D&D Trolls are actually plants (they are green, they can regrow lost bits of their body, no matter the size and they'd really rather not be on fire is (okay, that's not strictly a plant thing, but it is generally perceived as a major plant vulnerability)

Instead of plants, we went with mushrooms. :smallsmile:

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

What you might do with elves cribs a bit from Tolkien... Elves don't die, elves are infertile (or extremely low-fertility)... but they can can have kids with mortals. So, you've got "elves" who are thousands of years old... and the occasional half-elf who is more mortal.

The setup I went with was that there were some half-elven bloodlines before the curse, but now full-blooded elves are 100% infertile. Some elves who wanted a legacy went and tracked down all the half-elves they could find and put a fair bit of effort into producing proper genealogical records for them so they knew their heritage. This project eventually culminated in city ruled by half-elves whose advisors were mostly elves trying to make a cultural revival of their old empire. This gives half-elves a much stronger cultural identity (something I really like about Eberron).


Instead of plants, we went with mushrooms. :smallsmile:

No they're spuds.

[LibraryOgre]

No they're spuds.

Nonsense. If they were spuds, Weird Al would be addicted to them, and they would've had something to talk about on VH-1.

[DammitVictor]

So... is this thread just for talking about the OP's fresh new takes, or are we here to compare notes?

[Millstone85]

So... is this thread just for talking about the OP's fresh new takes, or are we here to compare notes?I would assume mainly the former, which yeah I have done a really bad job at. Let me try to fix that.

So what I like the most about OP's races is how he took three new-school-ish concepts, playing as a construct, plant or insect, and merged those with the more traditional races that are dwarves, orcs and fairies. Good fits too. D&D dwarves already believe they came into existence between the hammer and anvil of Moradin the Soul Forger, so it feels right to have their earthly bodies be constructs as well. It also gives them a clearer connection to azers, which in 5e have become dwarf-like beings of fire-infused bronze. Meanwhile, orcs get a nice callback to how they were "born" in Lord of the Rings (the movies at least, not sure if it was in the books). As for fairies, they typically have the wings and sometimes the antennas of an insect, so let's go even further in that direction. Terry Pratchett certainly did.

I am okay with goblins becoming more gnome-like in their pursuits. That has been done before and to great effect. Too bad for the gnomes although, if I may again bring an idea of my own, gnomes could be half-goblin half-elves.

Merfolk are mostly equal to themselves, just with an elegant solution to how one would venture on land without growing legs.

I am less enthusiastic with the idea of an unified furry/scaly/avian/fishy anthro race. Many beast-people have mythologies of their own, both inside and outside of D&D. A minotaur hatching from a lizardfolk's egg is a funny picture but could be detrimental to worldbuilding in the long run.

I have already said how I found OP's elves to be just plain depressing, but that appears to have been the goal.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Meanwhile, orcs get a nice callback to how they were "born" in Lord of the Rings (the movies at least, not sure if it was in the books).

This was a movie thing, not in the books. It was a depiction of Saruman's experiments to breed uruk-hai, orc hybrids that lacked sunlight sensitivity. They claim they found some early notes of Tolkien's that said orcs "worm their way out of the ground like maggots".


I am okay with goblins becoming more gnome-like in their pursuits. That has been done before and to great effect. Too bad for the gnomes although, if I may again bring an idea of my own, gnomes could be half-goblin half-elves.

If you have orcs be the evil mirror of elves, goblins are the evil mirror of gnomes (this is how Warcraft handles it with its Alliance/Horde system). But if you make them playable races, they immediately overlap in their "clockwork/steampunk inventor" niche. And gnomes were already overlapping the elves' "magical woodland sage" niche. It's really crowded.

So merging goblins and gnomes to give them a distinct niche to occupy made sense.


I am less enthusiastic with the idea of an unified furry/scaly/avian/fishy anthro race. Many beast-people have mythologies of their own, both inside and outside of D&D. A minotaur hatching from a lizardfolk's egg is a funny picture but could be detrimental to worldbuilding in the long run.

My main concern there was figuring out what to do with the buckets and buckets of additional races from splatbooks. If a player wants to play something I wasn't expecting, I can easily say "they're a beastfolk who came from a tribe in the eastern reaches or grew up in a city on the west coast," and they fit into the setting without issue.


I have already said how I found OP's elves to be just plain depressing, but that appears to have been the goal.

It informs how they interact with other races, and explains why elves don't rule the continent with their wisdom and magic. It also makes them stand out quite a bit whenever you encounter one, which makes sense for a really ancient individual that has seen the rise and fall of empires and has forgotten more skills than you have ever learned.