"Spirit folk- In the traditional way of D&D, humans mix with all kind of creatures, especially those who are common to an area. My main issues with them are the river and sea spiritfolk's water breathing and swim speed. This would make many difficult encounters very easy. The RP aspects are interesting, though half in the human world, half not. Perhaps a re-design?"
This could be expended in a variety of way. I think the templates for river, sea and bamboo were merely good outlines but can be substituted for any varying elements that is dominant in your setting. Small jungle spirits could have imbibed a pregnant woman at sleep every night till birth to make her unborn daughter part spirit/fey. This is turn could be a insidious means of making a fertile creature to bear their future generations that bore spirit-blood but tied closer to the physical realm to affect it.
Are those spirits elemental, prime? The OA Spirit-folk suggests that. But just as powerful, the concpet of the Moon Goddess and her servants or the ravaging spirits of the swamps and undead spirits of children looking for surrogates - could be powerful concepts to consider.
It is common knowledge that some are simply born under luckier circumstnaces that seem to give them gifts 'blssed' or unluckily' cursed' by the sprits of circumstance.
In mechanic terms - perhaps the movement rate given for river and sea-folk were a tradeoff (okay, it was obvious) but determine which trade-offs are worth exchanging them for. +2 affinity to spirits OR the ability to converse with the unseen (x times a day) could be nice trade off for 'basic human' skills or bonus feat.
"Vanara- Monkey people. Hmmm.... I can't really see my players taking them(or any anthro species) seriously, but a race like this kind of makes sense in this setting. If I include them, they would have the (spirit) subtype."
How involved would they be in human lives, society and civilization? How advanced?
"Raptorian- Following a suggestion from above, and with reference to above posts, considering Raptorians as a PC race. Since I am incuding the Yuan-ti(naga), it makes sense to include a Garuda reference too. I think this race is really cool, but a part of me wants them as a known, but mysterious other race. They have the (spirit) subtype."
Their haven could very well be something of a Shang-Grila status. Everyone's knows of it, but no one has truly seen it or confirm it. Tales about what and why they are among commonfolk could all be speculation at best. They may have a racial bonding that binds them as a people making them less likely to treat others outside as equals. It keeps them ... isolated nad mysterious. If you have the OA, perhaps a kinship like the 'Shinonen-Naga' but a societal hiearchy thats more ... garuda court-like
"Touched"- sounds icky, I know. These people have been affected by the yuan-ti, becoming more reptilian. Not too sre about this, as my treatment of the yuan-ti changes from day to day."
A generic names might be nice, but 'Defiled' could be coined by the humans, and the "enlightened scales" by those who embrace it. Perhaps something along the lines/reference of shedding skin as thei turn from mammalian to reptilian
?
"Classes
Scout, Ranger- Wilderness explorers= highly important. Ranger modified to have no spells, but more powerful animal companion."
Perhaps more details on these? It is not unusual to have the ranger or scout classes posses some innate knowledge of how to combat or deal with spirits on their level however minute or basic. On the other handm perhaps they deal with spirits through they're animal companions (a mixture of 'familiar' and c"ompanion). Wilderness classes in these settings might be more respectful to spirits and their realms/borders and might have means to communite with them on a basic level.
"Shaman- these spirit-talkers are highly respected and valued, though not always understood."
Perhaps some some expansion on their roles as well
?
"Wu-Jen- bind spirits to gain power. Most people either fear or are aed by them. Their strange habits often make them stay away fro contemporary society."
Most ... uhmm practitioners can be seen as ... corrupt or evil, sometimes because of their reclusive nature (for study?) or their association and dealings with more unaligned/known/respected spirits. They could carry the stigma that "Warlocks (CA)" have. It would be interesting to see how these develop.
"Templar- (Sohei) These are guardians who protect the Northerners' enclaves, and occasionally sent on missions for the church."
Much like how the zealots, i mean paladins and higher level clerics are sent out on missions for their place of worship/faith/temples?
"Monk- (base) They're monks. I may fiddle around with the class to make it more customizable. I'm considering making some fully different base versions as well, for different kinds of unarmed(or lightly armed) fighters."
Uhmm, I think a LOT of fiddling around with the class is required for them to carry a south east asian flavor. These were the elite 'fighters' of society with "DnD fighter' class being more of the enlisted government soldier.MPPOV of course.
"Swashbuckler- Part of me screams "wrong!" in reference to these, but I think there is a place for lightly armoured guys, especially on the waves."
Perhaps breaking down some of their class abilties to be available to the fighter template? (including rstictions for armor or encouraging lighter armor through class skills and abilities / stat based requirements). The term 'swashbucker'
might not fall in line with your thematic.
"Psionic classes- I love psionics a lot, but I'm really not sure about these. Qi-based powers learned from northerners?"
I'm not familiar with psionics in DnD terms, so I'll get back to you on this when its fleshed out
"Cleric- I'm quite iffy about having clerics here. If I do, they will be specific to one of the "visitor" cultures that are coming to the campaign area to trade. Paladins would be in this category too."
I don't really think clerics or paladins quite suit the roles in your setting (as visitors is definitely plausible
especially those on evangelistic goasl), but Mystics (DL) or Favored Souls (CD) might be more likely.
"Bard- Is there a tradition of this? I have no idea!"
_see another post I made
Have to think about some more. Yes, I'm tempted to just remove Clerics nd Paladins, although I could tweak Paladin a bit (perhaps they are blessed by their ancestors? I can see that suiting the Templar/Sohei as well.)
