OSR [Old School Essentials] Advanced Fantasy Races?


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Added a few from Black Knife Media. They released them as both a race-class and a race, which is IMO the right way to do it when you put Old-School Essentials on the cover.
 

Added a few from Black Knife Media. They released them as both a race-class and a race, which is IMO the right way to do it when you put Old-School Essentials on the cover.
Hey there! This is Chris from Black Knife Media and just happened to see you post. Thank you for spreading the word! We are working on more stuff to be released soon (Charlie, who designed the Kobold is working on a few right now that will be on DriveThruRPG, and I have the Moonbound (natural lycanthropes) and the Soulless (undead) that will be in upcoming issues of our Illuminations of the Baleful Lantern).
What are some races/classes that you would like to see? We have a bunch in the works but would definitely love to know what is most wanted. I'm always looking for feedback, so I can make things better. You can message me here or email admin@blackknifemedia.com. Also, if you like what we've done, please do leave reviews/ratings on DriveThruRPG! That would be a huge help on getting other people to see our stuff.
 

I like interesting options. For instance, elves have been done to death. To Death, sir! On the other hand, I liked the Ghost Elves from some old Dragon magazine article (IIRC) -- they were a subtype (which I don't like in general) but had an interesting backstory (exiled to the Ethereal Plane) that impacted their powers in a meaningful way that made them feel actually distinct from the other elf subraces.

And I generally don't care for subraces -- being "an Elf" should be enough of a description of your character's ancestry. "Oh, I'm a City Elf." "Oh, what's that?" "It's basically the same thing, but I do stealth in urban environments instead of woodlands! I also learn to drive a cart instead of riding a horse! And instead of longswords, we use shivs! Totally distinct!" Like, it waters down the flavor of "Elf." Also, I would never describe myself as an "Urban Human" -- I'm Urban and I'm a Human, but those are not related items, and it feels weird to link one to another that way.

I don't know if I'm explaining myself very well, and I'm definitely not being helpful. What about race-clases and race-not-as-classes for the historical weird creatures: Acephali, Cynocephaly, Monopod, etc.? I don't think those have been done as serious entries.
 

I like interesting options. For instance, elves have been done to death. To Death, sir! On the other hand, I liked the Ghost Elves from some old Dragon magazine article (IIRC) -- they were a subtype (which I don't like in general) but had an interesting backstory (exiled to the Ethereal Plane) that impacted their powers in a meaningful way that made them feel actually distinct from the other elf subraces.

And I generally don't care for subraces -- being "an Elf" should be enough of a description of your character's ancestry. "Oh, I'm a City Elf." "Oh, what's that?" "It's basically the same thing, but I do stealth in urban environments instead of woodlands! I also learn to drive a cart instead of riding a horse! And instead of longswords, we use shivs! Totally distinct!" Like, it waters down the flavor of "Elf." Also, I would never describe myself as an "Urban Human" -- I'm Urban and I'm a Human, but those are not related items, and it feels weird to link one to another that way.

I don't know if I'm explaining myself very well, and I'm definitely not being helpful. What about race-clases and race-not-as-classes for the historical weird creatures: Acephali, Cynocephaly, Monopod, etc.? I don't think those have been done as serious entries.
I think you are pretty clear there and I agree 100%. That being said, Charlie (the guy who did the Kobold for us) wants to release the Forest Gnome next. He likes gnomes for some reason and it is something to do with his home campaign which is largely centered around gnome/goblin conflict. He actually has a goblin race/class that he did as well since he was not satisfied with the one in the first issue of Carcass Crawler.
I have a fungus type one that I'm still puttering around with, though I'm going more the route of the dralesite from the original Star Frontiers for my inspiration instead of myconids. The ones you mentioned (monopod, etc.) was totally not on my radar though. I'll have to do a deep dive and see what Charlie or I can come up with.
 


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