For the new races, my question is, do we want to decide how many new ones we want to take, and go from there? I feel like having a target number at least would help whittle things down. But others may want to take a different approach.
While I understand the idea of trying to limit the expansion, a target number feels a bit arbitrary to me. I'm not sure that adding X races is a good measuring stick, and part of me wonders if that might not push us to accept more than we should (if we're 'under the limit'), though I could certainly be wrong. YMMV, of course, but I think when we get to the point of starting to consider new races, we might be better off agreeing on a good standard on what makes a race 'playable' in LPF.
I'm probably being a little redundant, since I think I talked about this in the Wayang proposal, but I figure it doesn't hurt to toss it into the general thread so it's part and parcel of the archive. So:
***The uniqueness continuum***
* A new race that doesn't really bring a lot of new flavor to the table doesn't seem worth the time to me. There's already a lot of choices to make when creating a character, so if we can avoid too many options that are 'just a little different,' I think we should.
* Some races may also be TOO oddball, however, or have a flavor which is decidedly at odds with LPF for any of a number of imaginable reasons. If we can't come up with a reasonable place to fit culturally, that's a solid strike against it.
* Then, too, a race--oddball or not--may fit best as a rare species. I think we need to make approvals with the assumption that any new race will suddenly become the only race people choose. If it strains credibility to have the Dunn Wright packed with X species looking for work, I think we should be especially careful about giving it a thumbs up.
* It's entirely possible that, despite not having a readily available 'place' in E'n as it exists, a race might spark the imagination. If it doesn't have a place, but the flavor (from the book or modified by whomever is championing it) is especially inspirational from a character / adventure hook angle, that strikes me as a plus.
***Power Scale***
* Flavor aside, a fair amount of racial decision will be based on the mechanics of an intended build. Races whose statistics and racial alts make them decidedly more or less powerful than existing races come with a big red warning sign (see above for my 'assume everyone will take the new race' suggestion). I have less to say in this regard because I'm definitely not as confident in my math skills on this one, but obviously I think it has to come into play.
* Modification - Power level seems to me an easier thing to adjust. If a race 'feels' right for players / regular adventurers, but one or more elements of its math are just plain wrong, nixing those seems a fairly straightforward solution.