Cool Custom Races

[King of Casuals]

A while back I created a custom race called the Charsk. They were a tribal race who were pretty much genetically blank until they complete a rite of passage. In this rite they were thrown out into the wilderness with nothing but a loincloth and a stone knife, and had to hunt, kill, and skin some ferocious animal, then wear its pelt as it walked back to the tribe. After a few days they would take on the characteristics of the slain animal (Lion-kin gained teeth and claws as well as becoming very prideful, Eagle-kin gained talons and sharp eyes). Among the Charsk only the strong survived, and the weak were sent to oblivion (they had no afterlife, their souls were scattered across the astral plane, making ressurection impossible).

Im interested in hearing other people's cool races that they or someone they know created, and maybe even some stories from playing them. Thank you for sharing!

[GorinichSerpant]

I was thinking it would be cool to have an aquatic race that uses a lot of husbandry and magical genetic engineering. While the humans in the setting would have advanced metallurgy and mechanics, this aquatic race would use organic tools that look at least somewhat disturbing to the land dwellers. Like a parasitic fish that has been modified to become a sort of graft for those who want extra limbs, or giant snails that grow shells meant to become houses.

Most of our advances in technology can't really be developed under water, this would allow the aquatic people not to be primitive in culture.

[Solaris]

I was thinking it would be cool to have an aquatic race that uses a lot of husbandry and magical genetic engineering. While the humans in the setting would have advanced metallurgy and mechanics, this aquatic race would use organic tools that look at least somewhat disturbing to the land dwellers. Like a parasitic fish that has been modified to become a sort of graft for those who want extra limbs, or giant snails that grow shells meant to become houses.

Most of our advances in technology can't really be developed under water, this would allow the aquatic people not to be primitive in culture.

I did something similar with the merfolk in one of my settings. They focused on metamorphosing their body, but magically altered other critters too.

[Gnome Alone]

I turned halflings into anthropomorphic rabbits and gave them 30 ft. speed, a bonus to Jump and a tribe-based regional feat. Oh sorry, you said cool custom races.

[TheCountAlucard]

There's a people in my seafaring Exalted game who've lived for centuries on an island where the energies pool and suffuse the land itself; though structures have been built to tap into this energy, it's still present enough to physically warp the people there. Among other things, it's bestowed them with increased longevity and keen night vision, at the cost of making them require drastically more food. The Guild's presence there has provided them with the food to expand their numbers enough to turn their island community into a city, but the prices of their imported food has made a sharp increase over the years, leaving the poorer of the natives putting themselves into debt just to keep eating.

[(Un)Inspired]

These always reverse centaurs. They're probably too majestic for most games though.

[SixWingedAsura]

So, this might not be a completely unique custom race, but I invented what I called "Synths," a race of humanoids who were created to function like humans in every way (such as having a muscle system, organ-like structures, ect) but everything was synthetic, so they didn't age, require food or sleep. As long as they had an energy source, they could keep functioning.

[YossarianLives]

In my campaign world there is a race of giant, psychic, extremely intelligent, snakes called the Psinerix. They are the oldest race on the planet and usually live for about 2000 years. They can burrow at incredible speeds and often attack travelers or even villages.

[Amaril]

I had an idea a little while back for a race of sapient whale-people called Cetins (that name's probably already in use and not very original anyway, but it's just what I'm using for the moment). They're much more cetacean than humanoid in body structure; they look more or less like smaller versions of orcas with their front flippers morphed into grasping hands, an extra pair of hind legs with a similar structure, and smaller tail fins than actual whales. They build their cities partially submerged in shallow ocean water, and have a warlike culture that holds personal strength in high esteem--the greatest source of prestige for their warriors is diving into the deep ocean and hunting the giant sea monsters that live there (an idea I got from sperm whales going down to hunt giant squid).

[MKV]

I have always preferred to see what I can do to existing races rather than make up new ones. For instance kobolds in my game are called Szalls (bonus points to anyone who can tell me what that's from). They live almost exclusively in the desert, are nomads, and in certain cases have been known to live with humans peacefully. I find that giving humanoids a culture outside of "warlike" really adds a lot to the game and makes the characters question, at least for a moment, why these kobolds are killing human children rather than rushing in and trying to take their stuff without a second thought.

[Inevitability]

For instance kobolds in my game are called Szalls (bonus points to anyone who can tell me what that's from).

Lone Wolf?
Yay for Google!

[Ravens_cry]

I made a half harpy race after my paladin ended up marrying the harpy he had been courting throughout the previous campaign.
It tends to squick some people, but I think it's rather neat.

[Grinner]

I turned halflings into anthropomorphic rabbits and gave them 30 ft. speed, a bonus to Jump and a tribe-based regional feat. Oh sorry, you said cool custom races.

That's....well, it's not dark and edgy as is popular, but it's not exactly a bad idea either...

[MKV]

Lone Wolf?
Yay for Google!

You sir have just received a reasonably large amount of whatever imaginary and ultimately useless reward you want

[Argo]

These always reverse centaurs. They're probably too majestic for most games though.

Ah yes... The majestic Taursen.

[(Un)Inspired]

[/SPOILER]

Ah yes... The majestic Taursen.

So majestic.

Spoiler

Show

[Solaris]

I made a half harpy race after my paladin ended up marrying the harpy he had been courting throughout the previous campaign.
It tends to squick some people, but I think it's rather neat.

That squicks some people out? What's remotely squicky about that in a setting with tentacle monsters and dragons being inter-fertile with everything (and willing to prove it empirically)?

[Kane0]

I made the Theg for a competition a while back and since then they have made very successful appearances in a few of my games.

[Ravens_cry]

That squicks some people out? What's remotely squicky about that in a setting with tentacle monsters and dragons being inter-fertile with everything (and willing to prove it empirically)?

I don't know, It's just the reaction some fellow players I know in real life have had.

[Lord Torath]

Ah yes... The majestic Taursen.

So majestic.

Spoiler

Show

Huh. I was picturing a Minotaur but with horse parts instead of bull parts. I agree, this is much more majestic.

I created the Sis'Thok, a race of desert-dwelling lizard men that were faster and more dexterous than their swamp-dwelling cousins. They also had riding lizards that were as fast as a horse. Then I got the Basic D&D Creature catalog and discovered they'd stolen* my idea and named their desert lizard men the Sis'Thik and gave their riding lizards the ability to breath fire.


*stolen in this case means either they broke into my house and implausibly deciphered my illegible chicken scratching, or just happened to come up with the same idea at about the same time.