Old races, new tricks.

[Shadowsoul]

Being a fan of unusual and interesting fantasy races I have been inspired by the monocultures thread to ask the Hero community - What weird races have you come across?

 

I'm hoping to gather together some interesting ideas which might inspire myself at least and hopefully others to rethink old races or come up with new characters.

 

So if you have created, played or encountered a unique race, strange subrace or a new twist on an old race such as the dinosaur riding halflings of Eberron, then please share with us. Even races that people have read about in sci-fi or fantasy fiction are acceptable. For that matter if you come up with a new twist on an old race on the spot then please post that as well.

 

I'll start the ball rolling with a few examples and then update the list as I get the time or recall something.

 

Elves

 

The Touel'alfar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_DemonWars_Saga

Called Elves but standing around the height of a dwarf and with wings like a pixy. They live in a small hidden kingdom since they lost around 4/5ths of their population fighting a great Demon bent on conquering the world. They practice an especially deadly martial art involving swordplay and acrobatics. They teach this art to a chosen few human rangers but are otherwise highly secretive and paranoid, for a ranger to teach the Elven sword dance to another carries a sentence of death.

 

Bone Elves

Another one of mine. Probably inspired by Warcraft's Blood Elves as well as a desire to have Elves who were 'good' but not 'nice'. A bit long I'm afraid but it all seemed shorter in my head.

 

Bone Elves are a people born of war and war is the eternal state of their lives. Centuries ago the free peoples of the world were menaced by the vile forces of the Ilkarrian Empire, these dark conquerors practiced all the Black Arts and increased their ranks with undead, demons and terrible war machines of bone and flesh. The High Elves were foremost in the battle against the invaders and one regiment broke through the enemy's defences and penetrated to the heart of the Empire, hoping to disrupt the enemies supply lines and perhaps raise a resistance amongst downtrodden inhabitants of this cursed land. They found only desolation, all but a few scavengers had been slain, inducted into the Empire's ranks or both. The Elves encountered many Ilkarrian soldiers and monsters however and they fought with desperate strength to survive and gain victory, yet every day seemed darker and hope itself began to fade from the hearts of these lost Elves.

 

At some point the armies of the free proved victorious and the broken remnants of the Empire's armies began to flee back into the devastated wasteland that had once been their home. The remnants of the lost Elven regiment either misinterpreted this influx of new foes or were now beyond caring. Sickened to their core by the horrors they had encountered and the destruction wrought on the earth they now lived only to destroy the dark hordes that assailed them. The Elves appeared little different from their foes by this point, blood spattered spectres with rusted and battered weapons who arose with the dawn to begin the killing once again.

 

Finally, as they fought their way through the Boneyards of Harak, the Elves gave in to despair and their last surviving mage enacted an ancient and terrible ritual. Harak was a place where the giant bones of ancient beings once slumbered peacefully but these relics had been torn from the earth by the Necromancers of Ilkarr to serve as raw materials for the Empire's mystical war machines. The High Elves, perhaps learning from their Wild Elf scouts, turned to a more ancient magic, cleaner than the powers of Ilkarr but every bit as vicious. The ritual drew upon the titanic remains scattered all about the Elves bound every surviving warrior to fight until his last breath and granted strength and ferocity such as few of the Sylvan race had ever known.

 

Renewed and affirmed the Elven warriors arose and all around them the ancient bones sang, acknowledging the purity and savagery of their purpose and granting them wisdom that was old and terrible. From these bones and those of their enemies the warriors fashioned new weapons, magically invested spears, daggers and arrows that hungered for the blood of evil doers and struck with murderous force. Thus armed the Bone Elves began their dark crusade and yet they had not foreseen an end to their enemies, they were not prepared to survive the consequences of their final desperate action.

 

The Iltkarrian Empire has long vanished into the mists of history and the wasteland its rulers created is being reclaimed by nature. But some monsters still roam this scarred land and the descendants of the original Bone Elves still hunt them. A curious side effect of the ritual has made these Elves far more fertile than their cousins and their population has grown considerably since their creation, this bounty is balanced by the brutal and often brief nature of a Bone Elf's life. Bound like their predecessors to the war against evil these Elves pursue their duty with an obsession that passes the threshold of madness, there is little pleasure in their lives other than the destruction of evil doers. Although some hints of culture remain, such as the haunting music of bone flutes and harps made of beast-gut, the Bone Elves are for the most part a tribe dedicated to killing, only their choice of target makes them one of the 'good' races. Utter savages the Bone Elves care little for hygiene and are happy to adorn themselves with grisly trophies of their hunts alongside powerful charms carved from their favoured element. Their Shaman have lost the ways of Elven Sorcery and instead practice primitive magics that utilise items of invested bone.

 

As the wasteland fades and its monsters grow weak many Bone Elves have begun to venture beyond it in search of more prey. They remember their pledge and do not attack those they judge to be good but their mad and murderous mien has won them few friends. Other Elves in particular fear this people as an example of how far they can fall, they see a people that have lost all joy except in killing and are doomed to a nightmarish existence until death releases them.

 

The Bone Elves do not care. They stalk the world in search of evil to destroy, their grinning, blood spattered faces made all the more disturbing by the immortal beauty that lies beneath the marks of war.

 

 

 

Orcs

 

Bodyguard of Lightning Orcs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcs:_First_Blood

Similar to the better known Warcraft Orcs but lacking any kind of demonic infection. They are large, well muscled and alien of feature but not especially ugly or deformed. They are a natural race coming from their own homeworld. Savage and ruthless in battle these Orcs are nonetheless honourable and capable of compassion and love. They do not seem to have much truck with magic and prize strength, wisdom and cunning. The main army of Orcs in this setting is made up of soldiers sold by the Orc clans to the evil Queen Jennesta

 

Dwarves

 

Dark Sun Dwarves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Sun

The Dwarves of Athas, a post apocalyptic fantasy setting in which most forms of magic drain life energy from the land. Completely hairless and with prominent, heavy bones they are especially strong and tough, even for a Dwarven race. They seem to have no interest in living underground but are instead defined by their need for a Focus. Each Dwarf must have a purpose in life, although it is possible to change it, this is their Focus. Failing a Focus causes great mental anguish and the souls of Dwarves who betrayed their focus are doomed to become undead banshees for all eternity.

 

Powries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_DemonWars_Saga

Enemies of the Touel'alfar and part of the evil hosts assembled by the Demon Dactyl. Based on the murderous red-caps of folklore rather than the miners and makers of Nordic myth. Not pleasant people, they wear brown leather caps that they stain red by dipping them in the blood of those they kill, (humans usually), veterans can thus be distinguished by the dark crimson colour of their headgear. While they do not seem to be as lethally well trained and wonderfully courageous as their goodly counterparts in other settings they are very tough and extremely difficult to kill with blunt force, (very high racial con and PD). I don't recall them living underground and they gather in great numbers unlike the usually dwindling Dwarves of standard settings.

 

Anthros

 

Ock-Ock

My attempt at cute lizardmen. Forest and jungle dwelling, warm blooded saurians. They have the size and mindset of halflings although with less interest in stealing. Experts with thrown weapons. All Ock-Ock possess telepathy and some manifest more powerful Psychic abilities such as telekinesis or the ability to become invisible by forcing people not to see them. Those who live in forests are culturally similar to Native Americans while the jungle dwellers are closer to Amazonian tribes. They are friendly and curious for the most part although not incapable of evil.

 

Aurian's Great Cat's. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/maggie-furey/Not actually anthropomorthic in shape, in fact they are big cats matching the size of a lion but more agile and with black coats. These cats possess human level intelligence and communicate through telepathic mindspeech. They are matriarchal and are usually ruled by the strongest and most ferocious female. The old or politically undesirable are traditionally outcast to become the desperate scavengers known as Chuevah. A savage and territorial race regarded as demons by the humanoid Xandim and hunted for their fur by the avian Skyfolk. By the end of the events of Artefacts of Power however they have been slightly civilised and are ruled by a cat chosen for her wisdom rather than her strength, there may also be some slight hope for male equality as well.

 

Shapechangers

 

Xandim. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/maggie-furey/Seemingly a normal enough race of southern horse nomads the Xandim have a strange secret. They possess the ability to transform into horses. They use this ability for travelling, warfare, (with some Xandim riding their transformed brethren), and ritual. The challenge for leadership of the clans is carried out in horse form. This race is not completely footloose, they have a great citadel carved out of living rock where supplies for the winter are stored, the old and infirm can rest and the entire people can take refuge in if some calamity threatens them. Like all the races in the Southern continent of Maggie Furey's 'Artifacts of Power' world they are somewhat xenophobic and distrustful of strangers. They are also superstitious and somewhat given to mob rule. Some individuals do defy these norms and befriend strangers however and the race as a whole is not evil, just insular, ignorant and justifiably nervous of the hostile races that surround them.

 

Unique

 

Lirin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_of_Ages

A humanoid race but longer lived, perhaps 200 years or so, they are distinguished by angular features and a slightly fatalistic attitude to life. The Symphony of the Ages setting links music and the 'science' of naming to elemental lore and magic. Lirin appear to have strong ties to song and to the associated magical art of Naming, (True Name Magic), in fact their Singers were apparently given the task of recording world history pretty much since the time when history first had meaning. Lirin come in various flavours, the most common being green skinned forest Lirin who form a large and unified kingdom called Tyrian. Other Lirin groups include the incredibly rare Liringlas or Skysingers; blue skinned wanderers who greet the day with song at dawn and use the same method to wish it farewell in the evening.

 

Flikkermen.

A race of slavers who live alongside humans in the world of The Red Wolf Conspiracy. Flikkerman have large ears and clammy frog-like skins. They're strangest feature however is the electrical charge that runs through their translucent bodies. Flikkermen can control this charge at will and use it to make themselves glow at varying intensities and with a touch they can channel enough electricity into a target to stun them, a kind of natural taser. I do not know at this point if Flikkermen can perform lethal attacks with this ability.

As a side note although Flikkermen are portrayed mostly as ruthless and greedy slavers who make their money from capturing and selling children there is one recorded instance of a Flikkerwoman dedicating her life to healing dying human children. So it would seem that they are not inherently evil although this could just be the 'Drizzt Effect'.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Anthros

 

Ock-Ock

My attempt at cute lizardmen. Forest and jungle dwelling, warm blooded saurians. They have the size and mindset of halflings although with less interest in stealing. Experts with thrown weapons. All Ock-Ock possess telepathy and some manifest more powerful Psychic abilities such as telekinesis or the ability to become invisible by forcing people not to see them. Those who live in forests are culturally similar to Native Americans while the jungle dwellers are closer to Amazonian tribes. They are friendly and curious for the most part although not incapable of evil.

Weird. This is remarkably similar to the Lss'rss and their cousin races that I use in my San'Dora setting. I went more desert -- Egyptian and jungle -- Mayan, but other than that pretty much spot on. They are also the only psionicists in the San'Dora setting, but can't use magic.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/Content/RacePackageDeals/lizardmanPackages.aspx

[mayapuppies]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

And here's mine, The Serpis

 

http://www.guildcompanion.com/scrolls/2000/mar/serpis.html

[Bygoneyrs]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Well you three guys are awesome

 

So your all Rep'd

 

Penn

[Curufea]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Hmm, I have lizardmen that grow up to be dragons, clone Orcs, Dwarfs that are hewn out of rock and fairies that evolved from plants - but that's about it.

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I had trolls that when they got really, really old... would walk into the forest and find a quiet place and wait for their joints to lock up. Eventually they would become indistinguishable from a tree. This is where treants came from.

 

On the negative side, you really didn't want to mess with a treant since it was a slow moving, 30 foot troll. On the positive side, being incredible old and sound sleepers, treants rarely awoken unless the entire forest was under some serious danger.

[Ocelot]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Hmm' date=' I have lizardmen that grow up to be dragons, clone Orcs, Dwarfs that are hewn out of rock and fairies that evolved from plants - but that's about it.[/quote']

 

 

What do you mean, "that's about it"? Do you have a link?

[runescience]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

ive always been facinated by the Runequest Dragonnewt, as a player character. Normally this creature a bi-pedal dragon/man, has a crested saurian mane. I believe he has a tail. This creature goes through 4 or 5 incarnations. If I recall correctly every after each form he returns to some sort of egg form and turns into the new one. The first form is a rather weak saurian. The second is a warrior and the third form is a hearty Saurian with some runequest cult affiliation and probably becomes a rune lord. The next form is larger and finally the last form is full dragon. FULL DRAGON... kills with a single thought etc... brrr.. scarey...but I thought the 2nd and 3rd form would be fun to play as a pc.

[Curufea]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

What do you mean' date=' "that's about it"? Do you have a [i']link[/i]?

 

Well yeah, but it's only descriptive - I haven't done the stats that much for Hero. It's all on the wiki in my signature in the campaign section for Fantasy Hero resources, and under the name of my campaign "Western Shores"

 

Here's a nice direct link though.

[Ocelot]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Thank you.

[Doc Democracy]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

ive always been facinated by the Runequest Dragonnewt' date=' as a player character. Normally this creature a bi-pedal dragon/man, has a crested saurian mane. I believe he has a tail. This creature goes through 4 or 5 incarnations. If I recall correctly every after each form he returns to some sort of egg form and turns into the new one. The first form is a rather weak saurian. The second is a warrior and the third form is a hearty Saurian with some runequest cult affiliation and probably becomes a rune lord. The next form is larger and finally the last form is full dragon. FULL DRAGON... kills with a single thought etc... brrr.. scarey...but I thought the 2nd and 3rd form would be fun to play as a pc.[/quote']

 

The idea of the dragonnewts is that they live in a continual cycle of death and rebirth until they achieve the perfect spiritual form that allows them to be reborn as a dragon.

 

The problem with playing a dragon newt is that the early forms are very restricted by instinct and the later forms restricted by dragon behaviour. The Dragon newt needs to act more and more dragonlike if it is to progress to its ultimate form.

 

Very interesting race - limited utility as a PC.

 

The route, if I remember, is:

 

Crested Dragon Newt

Beaked Warrior

Tailed Preist

Inhuman King

Dragon

 

 

There is something in my head that the Inhuman King is a Tailed Priest that has refused to be reborn as a dragon as it believes it has work to do before completing the cycle.

 

 

Doc

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Hmm' date=' I have lizardmen that grow up to be dragons, clone Orcs, Dwarfs that are hewn out of rock and fairies that evolved from plants - but that's about it.[/quote']

 

Interesting. I once had an idea for a race of Dwarves who had been ageless beings of living stone. For centuries they had laboured to shape the world to the Gods' will and to protect those places sacred to their masters. Finally, in return for one last great effort against the forces of evil they were granted their dearest wish, mortal bodies of flesh that could truly experience the world around them and also bear children. This new Dwarf society has existed for about 70 years or so and has split into two main factions. The Stone-bloods are disturbed by the new sensations that bombard them and seek refuge in the old traditions of duty, stonework, smithing, muted clothing and a slow and steady attitude to life, they resemble normal dwarves but without the sense of humour or carefree attitude to life. Everything comes back to stone as far as these Dwarves are concerned and excitement is akin to distress. The New-ways have embraced their new lives and revel in the myriad sensations, flavours and colours of the world; they dress flamboyantly, often in eyecatching combinations of bright and wildly clashing colours, they are adorned with all sorts of tattoos and jewelry and tend to indulge in excitable hairstyles. They also enjoy raucous music and festivals and are desperate for new experiences. The New-ways can best be described as punk or glam rock dwarves.

 

BTW. Have updated my list a bit. New races appear in italics and will stay that way until I update again.

[Nevenall]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I enjoy putting new twists on old races as well.

In my homebrew fantasy campaign elves and dwarves were born from spirits of water, trees, and stone so they can live forever and some can speak to their spirit ancestors.

 

Also, one on my players wanted to be a troll character so in this world trolls are things of living stone but each has a heart of gold and if you possess a troll's heart gold then you can command that troll. The troll in my campaign had an accomplice with a fake gold heart to show authorities who would otherwise be very nervous.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I'm trying to come up with a Saurus Sapiens racial template for a race of sentient dinosaurs of about human size. They are the sentient inhabitants of the "lost world" dimension or section of the world, and I'm trying to figure out how that affects their outlook and choice of abilities. Because there are big dinos running around their homeland, agriculture and civilization are difficult to maintain (it's hard keeping brontosaurs domesticated when T-Rex stops by for lunch every so often). Despite this, they are an unbelievably ancient people (though not individually long-lived) and tend to view humans as eccentric.

[Dr Divago]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Long time ago (for a ADnD campaign) i created an androgyne cat-folk

 

and for Chivalry and Sorcery i created some dwarf capable of turning in stone, and fish-like people, both heavily inspired to Goron and Zora from Legend of Zelda serie

 

nothing more :\

[Old Man]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I once flipped dwarves and elves around to get Wood Dwarves and Mountain Elves.

 

Wood Dwarves were woodsmen, a less-cartoony version of Snow White's gang. They were forest caretakers, cutting down this sick tree, planting a sapling there, keeping the forest wildlife in balance. They couldn't speak with animals per se, but such was their familiarity with the woods that they could attain an almost supernatural clairsentience with what was happening within a mile or so. Typically they operated in small groups of around, uh, seven, but many lived alone, and hidden Dwarven villages were scattered throughout the woods as well. Expert hunters, trappers, and woodworkers, the Dwarves were inherently somewhat magical; some could go on to join the ranks of the Druids.

 

By comparison, Mountain Elves were more feral, living brief lives of tribal warfare on the high peaks and in the deepest crevices. Not miners, they traverse sheer rock faces using their mountain goat-like agility, and navigate the narrowest crevices underground by dint of their slender limbs and extreme flexibility. These Elves are masters of concealment, able to fit into impossibly small spaces under boulders, or appear to vanish into a rock face simply by remaining immobile. Immune to the cold, they routinely travel the highest reaches of the mountains, but often visit the rocky foothills as well, all in their quest for valuable ores which they work not through smithing, but through outright magic. A Mountain Elf cannot be bothered to carry something as bulky as a bow and quiver, but Elven knives are the keenest in the land. Sadly, this knowledge of metalworking is one of the few talents remaining to the Elves, who are the last survivors of a once-mighty empire that spanned the continent.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I once flipped dwarves and elves around to get Wood Dwarves and Mountain Elves.

 

Wood Dwarves were woodsmen, a less-cartoony version of Snow White's gang. They were forest caretakers, cutting down this sick tree, planting a sapling there, keeping the forest wildlife in balance. They couldn't speak with animals per se, but such was their familiarity with the woods that they could attain an almost supernatural clairsentience with what was happening within a mile or so. Typically they operated in small groups of around, uh, seven, but many lived alone, and hidden Dwarven villages were scattered throughout the woods as well. Expert hunters, trappers, and woodworkers, the Dwarves were inherently somewhat magical; some could go on to join the ranks of the Druids.

 

By comparison, Mountain Elves were more feral, living brief lives of tribal warfare on the high peaks and in the deepest crevices. Not miners, they traverse sheer rock faces using their mountain goat-like agility, and navigate the narrowest crevices underground by dint of their slender limbs and extreme flexibility. These Elves are masters of concealment, able to fit into impossibly small spaces under boulders, or appear to vanish into a rock face simply by remaining immobile. Immune to the cold, they routinely travel the highest reaches of the mountains, but often visit the rocky foothills as well, all in their quest for valuable ores which they work not through smithing, but through outright magic. A Mountain Elf cannot be bothered to carry something as bulky as a bow and quiver, but Elven knives are the keenest in the land. Sadly, this knowledge of metalworking is one of the few talents remaining to the Elves, who are the last survivors of a once-mighty empire that spanned the continent.

Very nice

[Maur]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Long time ago (for a ADnD campaign) i created an androgyne cat-folk

 

Cat-folk that can't tell male from female?

[Old Man]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Cat-folk from the '80s. Big hair, eyeliner and lipstick, shoulder pads, skinny ties, and loafers, regardless of gender.

[Dr Divago]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

Cat-folk that can't tell male from female?

mmmhhhh something like...

in their culture tehre was no "male" nor "female"; all people was both, at different time. one month more "masculine" and one month more "femminine" (?).

people from culture where male and female are separated (like... human, elves, dwarves, etc.) kaijit (this the name, taken from a videogame) seems all cat-like tailed fur covered female, because they are mammals, they feed children with milk and they wear little-no top (neither shirt or like).

but kaijit got strong build, and body structure more similar to male (strong shoulder, strong legs etc.)

 

their "lack of genre" make other culture's people feel very "weird" when talking to kaijiit (kaijiit language has no genre too, of course)

in addition kaijiit are similar to people from amazonia forest (hunters, using blowgun and natural armors like claw or tail slap, wearing no vestments, mastering poison for blowgun, etc.) so they where very very strange

 

Edit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgyny

mmmmhhhhh ok "androgyne" is not correct word

hermaphrodite is more adequate

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=hermaphrodite&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[Maur]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

their "lack of genre"

 

I think you mean Gender, not Genre...

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

For the background of a fantasy world a long time ago, I had the ancient Halflings be a good bit more militant and aggressive, having dominated the local continent (the "Ling Empire" ) - back in the day few could stand against their combo of superior scouting, manueverability through rough terrain and devestating missile fire. Once in power, they gradually became much more sedentary and decadent, relying more and more on auxiliaries until the Empire ultimately crumbled, carved up by various human, demihuman and humanoid warlords. Some trace of the old fire remains, but most are content to be rural farmers and the like, still holding on to the desire for the finer things in life but letting go of the drive for dominance.

[Dr Divago]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

I think you mean Gender' date=' not Genre...[/quote']X-D

yep, lack of "gender"

[Curufea]

Re: Old races, new tricks.

 

mmmhhhh something like...

in their culture tehre was no "male" nor "female"; all people was both, at different time. one month more "masculine" and one month more "femminine" (?).

people from culture where male and female are separated (like... human, elves, dwarves, etc.) kaijit (this the name, taken from a videogame) seems all cat-like tailed fur covered female, because they are mammals, they feed children with milk and they wear little-no top (neither shirt or like).

but kaijit got strong build, and body structure more similar to male (strong shoulder, strong legs etc.)

 

To the east of the Western Shores setting - I've got a feline empire (there's about 5 subraces including leopard, panther, lion etc) . It's very Wu Shu and based on mythic China. It's also larger than China by a significant amount (not sure what multiple - could be 3 times) - mainly due to the fact that the dominant race are carnivores. Although, their slaves do actually outnumber them. Possibly it's a bit more "Mistress of the Empire"/Feistian than traditional mythic Chinese.

 

Two characters from my last campaign were from there. Non-felines (ie everyone in the Western Shores normal setting area) are unable to tell male from female felines - because they are externally very similar.

 

Oh yes, one other difference - the empire is matriarchal and matrilineal.

 

I did borrow a bit from Known Space as well - about the naming conventions for Kzinti. The more important a feline is in their society, the more names she has earned.