what races in your fantasy?

[Galethorn]

Yaaros and Dying Light

Well, lately, my fantasy games have been human-only, but with a fair amount of variation between the different cultural/racial groups. I'll list the major ones from the campaign I just finished, and those from the new setting I've been working on for about a week.

YAAROS
Vercians
Vercians are, you might guess, from Vercia. They have physical characteristics not unlike the inhabitants of medieval France and England; average height, and blonde-to-brown hair. They stick firmly to their monotheistic worship of the Allfather, the One True God in the Cyran church.

Beorrans
Beorrans are the descendants of a sea-faring people from the glacier-covered island of Beorra, who have settled on the mainland. They are tall and powerful of build, and tend towards fair skin and hair. They worship their own pantheon, which is somewhat based on the Germanic/Norse pantheon.

Anorians
The inhabitants of Anoria, the last remnant of an empire sort of in between Rome and Gondor, conceptually. They tend towards fairly light complexions, but not as light as Beorrans, and towards predominantly dark hair. They have their own religion which is heavily rooted in astronomy and astrology.

Jangovans
Jangova is the largest single nation in the known world, covering vast tracts of uninhabitable desert with a huge life-giving river running down its heart. The Jangovan people are notably darker of skin than Vercians and Anorians, with predominantly black and brown hair. They have their own 'philisophical' religion relying on self-perfection to achieve enlightenment, though many Jangovans follow the Anorian religion, and a significant minority are Cyrans.

Chandaki
'Chandaki' is a catch-all term refering to the ebony-skinned people who live in the city-states of the jungles of New Chandakh, or on the mountainous island of Old Chandakh. They are consumate explorers and traders, with some of the finest ship-building technology in the world. There are a plethora of Chandaki gods, which individuals choose a small number of to worship at local shrines.

In the long campaign I finished in Yaaros not too long ago, the PCs were all Vercians--a knight-errant, a rogue who slowly turned to more of a warrior, and an amnesiac ice-mage--but they were in the South, often dealing with Jangovans and Anorians.


DYING LIGHT
Vyrs
The Vyrs are the result of the invading Solisian legionnaires, Laeran rulers, and Grenning underclass intermarrying for the last seven hundred years. They are average in height, and have a wide range of hair colors, and tend towards somewhat fair skin. Vyrs make up about half of the population, and nearly all are adherents to the Solist Church.

Grénnings
These are the people that have lived on the island for thousands of years, bringing bronze and the Green Gods with them. They are tall, powerfully built, and proud, and have never been content under the rule of foreigners, be they Solisian legions and their Sun-God, or before them, the Laeran Sorcerer-Kings with their iron. Grénnings tend towards very fair skin and fair hair, with a large number of red-heads. They represent a solid quarter of Vyrland's population.

Laermen
These are the descendants of the Sorcerer-Kings who ruled Vyrland until the arrival of the Solisian Empire; they brought iron and cold justice to the island, along with their runes. are somewhat taller than Grénnings on average, with a generally light build, and tend towards a golden complexion and dark blonde to platinum hair. They are a minority in the population, no more than ten percent, though they often fill positions of power. As 'public officials,' Laermen usually worship at the Solist church, but many secretly follow the old Iron Gods of their ancestors.

Solisian
Solisians are the descendants of the legionnaires and colonists who came to Vyrland when it was once a province in the Solisian Empire. They brought the Solist religion to the island, as well as their advanced engineering. They are olive-skinned, short, and wiry, with dark hair. Though they are only somewhat more prevalent than Laermen, they have a solid hold on the island's middle class of merchants and craftsmen. Not surprisingly, they are almost entirely Solists.

Hærns
Hærns are the people who have raided Vyrland from the continent, by sea, for hundred of years. They are known for cowardice, greed, and violence, and while some break the mould, there are enough ‘bad eggs’ to ensure that they’ll never gain wide acceptance from the other inhabitants of Vyrland. They are typically short, only a bit taller than Solisians, but powerful of build. Those that live on land usually adopt the Solist faith, but those at sea worship the Hærn Storm Gods.

So far, the only prospective PC I know of is going to be a Hærn, one of the 'bad eggs' specifically.

 

[lukelightning]

I, too, run an AE game. In addition to the main races (Giant, human, litorian, faen, sibbecai, verrik, mojh, and the yet-to-be-encountered dracha) there are a bunch of "NPC races"; goblins, alabasts (albino elfish people), chorrim (militaristic giants), grimlocks, rhodin (beastmen), etc.

 

[Corinth]

The default options for PCs are: Dwarves, Elves, Halflings and Men. Others I rotate into the mix if specific ideas require them to be available as PCs.

 

[SWBaxter]

When I play D&D, I generally go with Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings from the core races. Nobody has ever been much interested in Gnomes so I usually drop them, and I like the Bloodline idea (from Unearthed Arcana) better than the various half-types. I'm OK with civilized humanoids as PC races, too. Sometimes I mess around with different subspecies of each race, depedning on campaign focus.

In AU, I use all the races from the book. I generally don't have any humanoid races beyond the PC choices (so no Chorrim and such).

In my most ambitious homebrew with all its own races, I went with four: humans, Brokki (vaguely based on Neanderthals), Pygmies, and Sidhe (kind of a Tolkien/Celtic take on elves). Again there are no civilized humanoids beyond the PC choices.

I also kinda like the Iron Heroes take on backgrounds, where PCs grab a couple of special abilities in place of preset racial modifiers. I've been thinking of using that system in D&D.

 

[Afrodyte]

I have detailed notes on the various human, elven, and dwarven cultures and ethnicities.

Ditto.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Here's an example of how I do it:

Alderhald

The Alderhald dwell in the cold northern lands, where summers are short and winters are long and cold. They are a tall people, with pale skin and hair, and eyes of blue, green, or grey. Many Alderhald verge upon albinism, and true albinos are not rare among them. Even non-albino Alderhald tend to have hair that is blond nearly to whiteness, their hair can be as dark as a sandy brown.

Sometimes called the Bonemen or Icemen, the Alderhald are a primitive people considered barbarians by most other human groups. Living so far to the north, the Alderhald have a closer tie to Aulshaka, also known as the Winter Spirit, the Old Bone Man, and the Lord of the Icy Waste. They are known for their stone dolmens and tombs, which dot much of northern Faerthalos, for the Alderhald also worship their dead ancestors, and take great pains to safeguard their remains. In some places, bone cities hold the tombs of many Alderhald ancestors. There are few permanent Alderhald dwellings – they are nomadic, dwelling in small tribes that follow the herds of great elk. In some places, contingents of tomb guardians live off the donations of other Alderhald. All Alderhald groups have domesticated dogs; some few also make use of the great northern mammoths.

The Alderhald speak their own language, Aultheos, and use their own runic script, the Uthark. They do not make books or scrolls, but store spells on rune-wands, rune-rods, and rune-staves, using the Craft Runic Rod feat. Like the Titanborn, they have the ability to understand True Runes, and legends claim that giantish blood runs through their veins.

Common Alderhald names are taken from the Finnish tradition. These names include (male) Aatos, Ari-Pekka, Eerik, Einojuhani, Kaarle, Markku, Paavo, and Valterri, and (female) Aamu, Anni, Emma, Hanna, Marja, Oona, Sisko, Vilma, and Virpi.

Alderhald have the following racial traits:

• Location: Northern Faerthalos.
• Technological Level: II (Bronze Age).
• Outcast Rating: 4.
• Automatic Language: Aultheos.
• Bonus Languages: Beast Tongues (Bear Tongue, Canine Tongue, Raven Tongue, and Seal Tongue), the Common Tongue, and the Dark Tongue.
• Favoured Class: Fighter.
• Other Core Classes Allowed: Ranger, Rogue, Shaman, Totem Warrior (Bear or Wolf), and Witch (Sea, Wind, Winter, or Wood).
• Racial Feats: Cold Endurance, Elephant Warrior, Endurance, Snowrunner, and Toughness.
• Effective Character Level: +0.

Alderhald or Ska can take up to three levels in “Alderhald” at any time. Admixed humans and demi-humans with Alderhald ancestry can take up to two levels in “Alderhald” at any time. Not all Alderhald, however, take racial levels (or all three of them).

Hit Dice: 1d8

Skill Points at 1st Character Level: (4 + Intelligence bonus) x 4.

Skill Points at Higher Levels: 4 + Intelligence bonus.

“Class” Skills: Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge ([Ancestors] Int) Swim (Str), and Wilderness Lore (Wis).

“Class” Weapon Skills: Archery, Axe Fighting, Axe Throwing, Exotic Weapon (Bola), Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing, Quarterstaff, Sling, Spear Fighting, Spear Throwing, and Sword Fighting.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Alderhald with levels only in Alderhald (no actual class levels) are proficient in the use of all simple weapons and light armours and shields.

1st level Ability: Call on Ancestors (Ri): By successfully completing a ritual, you can call upon an ancestral spirit to cast a spell on your behalf. Using this power requires a ceremony that takes 10 minutes, plus 5 minutes/level of the spell the ancestral spirit is asked to cast. At the end of the ceremony, you must make a Knowledge (Ancestors) skill check at a DC of 10 plus the level of the spell to be cast. If the check succeeds, an ancestral spirit casts the spell on your behalf, allowing you to choose the variables.

Normally, the ancestral spirit casts the spell at the minimum level that the spell can be cast, plus one level for every full five points of the value of your successful skill check. For saving throws, you normally assume that the ancestral spirit gains a +2 bonus to DC due to ability score. However, if you have a specific, deceased player character ancestor who could cast a desired spell, you may request it of that ancestor, who casts the spell at the same level, and with the same ability score bonuses, that she would have if she were alive. Such an ancestor cannot now, nor have ever been, an undead creature.

The ancestral spirit may be requested to cast one of the following spells:

0-Level (minimum 1st level caster): Detect Poison, Know Direction, Message, Purify Food and Drink, and Resistance.

1st Level (minimum 1st level caster): Comprehend Languages, Endure Elements, Hide From Undead, Sanctuary, and Unseen Servant.

2nd Level (minimum 2nd level caster): Augury, Consecrate, Cure Minor Wounds, Desecrate, and Gentle Repose.

3rd Level (minimum 5th level caster): Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Cure Light Wounds, Dispel Magic, and Remove Curse.​

You may use this ability no more than once per day per character level, and the skill check DC increases by 1 for each use after the first.

3rd Level Ability: Runecasting (Ex): You gain Runecasting as a free feat. At this level, and at every third character level thereafter, you learn one Lesser Rune of your choice. The Lesser Runes are: Animal Call Rune, Animal Speech Rune, Battle Rune, Craft Rune, Earth Rune, Faerie Rune, Fear Rune, Hale Rune, Holy Rune, Love Rune, Luck Rune, Opening Rune, Poison Rune, Rune of Augury, Rune of Pain, Rune of Preservation, Sealing Rune, Shield Rune, and Unholy Rune.


The Ska & The Court of the Winter Queen (Variant Alderhald)

Far to the north lies the Alderhald city of Skaagart, where dwell a race of Alderhald known as the Ska. These seafaring raiders are more technologically advanced than their southerly kin, having Iron Age technology (Tech Level III). During the summer months, they raid the coastline along the Ringold Ocean, pillaging and burning as they go. These raids are important measures of adulthood for male (and some few female) Ska, and contribute much to the wealth of their families. On the way down the coast, raids mean loot and food, for the raiding ships are not heavily provisioned. When returning to Skaagart, raiders will also capture slaves to work on their farms. The Ska must have some means of traversing the cold waters to the north, beyond the northmost bounds of Faerthalos, for they have also been encountered in the Midworld Sea.

Ska in the Midworld Sea are most often involved in trade, but raiding parties are not unknown. In addition to raiding and farming, the Ska hunt whales. They trade pelts, whalebone, ambergris, and northern ivory with cities too large or well fortified to sack.

Even farther to the north is the Court of the Winter Queen, where Aulshaka’s Mistress holds sway in Her fell god’s name. It is said that the Winter Queen and Her chiefest servants were once Alderhald, now much changed by centuries spent undying. The Northern Lights are sometimes said to be light from the palace of the Winter Queen.

The Ska have an Outcast Rating of 8. Their favoured class is Witch (Winter), but they are also allowed to become Fighters, Rangers, Rogues, or Totem Warriors.

 

[Herobizkit]

Presently, I have humans (common and savage), wild elves (which are hengeyokai clones), Dwarves (all Norsed up sailors/raiders), reptile-men (Large-sized desert-dwelling lizardfolk), wemics (proud plains-dwelling "native americans"), grippli (psionic rainforest dwellers), Goblins and their Blue cousins, Gnolls, and Ogre Magi.

 

[Afrodyte]

to woodelf

Sure, that can be cool. My complaint is precisely that the races in the PH aren't particularly different from one another, and don't have any internal variation. But if you give them some variety, and actually play them differently, then, yeah, that'd be cool.

Indeed. That's precisely the approach I wish to take with all peoples in a campaign setting. It doesn't matter if it's human or non-human. I want variety within the defined groups as well as between them. In fact, a little internal inconsistency would be fascinating in this regard.

One thing i'm doing for my next fantasy campaign, is playing with the concept of race a bit. (snip) And, to emphasize the point that 'race' isn't a neat set of boxes, i'm deviating a bit from the typical assumptions of what is genetic and what is learned. Frex, elven improved sight i'm sticking in the heritage trait. I'll be curious to see how it plays out in the actual game, and what people will decide are the defining characteristics of each race.

This is the angle I used when I did rewrites of the PHB races. I was explicit about the variations within the races as well as between them. However, I linked each to a common idea or a common theme, which served as the glue that made each race what it is.

 

[fusangite]

Well, let me enter from left field to describe my medieval Mormon-Algonkian-Iroquoian-Nahua campaign world. I have the following races:

1. The Children of Jipjakimak: 3' tall snake-bodied amphibians who are generally evil. They live in small coastal villages, normally completely out of sight of human beings.

2. The Little Turtle People: Just as you might imagine. They are both little turtle people and the followers of a powerful demigod called the Little Turtle. Generally good, they are sworn to constant war on behalf of the followers of the good twin.

3. The Witch Buffaloes: Large humanoid buffaloes, these creatures are very rare and workers of powerful magic for which they use magical flint drums.

4. The Stone Giants: Evil giants with stone skins, also exceedingly rare and, like the Witch Buffaloes, sworn enemies of the Little Turtle People.

Anyway, until episode #25 of the campaign, these races have mostly been rumoured or at the very periphery of the action. Because they are ancient powerful races that have mostly faded from the mortal world, like Tolkien's elves, they have not emerged until the world has been plunged thoroughly into crisis.

 

[fusangite]

Sure, that can be cool. My complaint is precisely that the races in the PH aren't particularly different from one another, and don't have any internal variation. But if you give them some variety, and actually play them differently, then, yeah, that'd be cool.

I'll buy that for a dollar.