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Thread: Our ________s are different!
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2016-05-09, 03:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2013
Re: Our ________s are different!
Seems hard with dwarves, though I've ran elves as Lawful Neutral with Lawful Evil (or maybe vice versa) undertones plenty of times. It's horrifyingly easy. I mean by default they're haughty, arrogant, bound by customs which predate them by generations, have a tendency towards racism against everyone else. I mean even when I try to just go with elves straight as plain elves they come out more neutral or even lawful good than chaotic.
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2016-06-04, 08:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2016
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- Columbus,OH
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Re: Our ________s are different!
My world I'm in the process of making has incredibly militant gnomes prone to madness because they go against their nature, hyper-religious dragonborn and vulcan-esque wood elves
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2016-06-04, 10:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2012
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- USA
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Re: Our ________s are different!
In my Dartor setting that I'm running tomorrow for Pathfinder, dwarves invented a rocket powder that they used to launch hordes of arrows at orc armies (the real life equivalent is the hwatcha). The orcs then stole and reverse engineered the powder and made cannons. One hundred years later, the orcs and dwarves have called a cease-fire due to a rather horrific plague that wiped out 20-40% of racial populations.
These orcs are a modified version of the half-orc from the CR, gaining a bonus to Str and Int and a penalty to Wis, low-light vision instead of darkvision, and a bonus to Knowledge (engineering) instead of Intimidate.
In addition, there are two different subraces of dwarf: mountain and sea. Mountain dwarves are you standard CR dwarf while sea dwarves are reskinned and tweaked gnomes.Come check out my setting blog: Ruins of the Forbidden Elder
Inspired by LudicSavant, I am posting deities: Erebos, The Black Sun
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2016-06-14, 10:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2013
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- Sweden
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Re: Our ________s are different!
In my setting, Rakshasa are a mix of devils, kings and sorcerers. The only other way to get access to magic in this setting without prayer is to sacrifice something to a Rakshasa and let him or her imbue your next descendant with magic powers at his or her birth (so, if you already have a kid, tough luck you have to get another one to get any benefit). The best price of course is a living human since they still love to eat them alive in my setting.
The sorcerers are the movers and shakers in one of the regions, meaning that Rakshasa are nigh godlike to the people since they decide who will get the power and authority to rule a small corner.
Sorcerers outside this region are not very keen on showing off their powers for this reason. If one payed with another man's blood just to get more powerful, how in the hell can you trust that person? Never mind that it was the parents who made the deal in the first place, growing up in a family like that means that you might be equally evil.
This was done because I wanted magic to have a price. If you want to be a cleric, you better be prepared to offer sacrifices and prayers to your god. If you want to become a sorcerer, be prepared to not flaunt it around all the time.Last edited by nrg89; 2016-06-14 at 10:08 AM.
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2016-06-16, 09:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2016
Re: Our ________s are different!
Haven't actually run a game with this, but...
The ironically uniform appearance of the Slaadi is a representation of the idea that you can only be yourself when nobody else can tell who you are (which is also the premise of The Mask, V For Vendetta, 4Chan, and most Halloween and Mardi Gras parties)"If you want to understand biology don't think about vibrant throbbing gels and oozes, think about information technology" -Richard Dawkins
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2016-06-16, 02:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
Re: Our ________s are different!
One from my current WIP personal setting:
Currently, Dragons are the only long-lived creatures in my personal fantasy setting. They're functionally immortal but I still disliked the whole ancient being that's seen everything angle. So they aren't.
Dragons have poor memories, or rather minds just work a bit different than ours. A Dragon only retains clear memories of the last ~20 years, hazier ones for the last 40 or so but nothing of substance beyond that. If you meet a Dragon that met your Grandfather he wouldn't be able to tell you much about them. He might be able to recall that 10 years ago he recalled a man something like you described and he thinks perhaps things were cordial between them but he'd have no stories to share.
Routine facts of which they're constantly reminded stick around. A dragon is unlikely to forget how to fly, or the names of the surrounding kingdoms since these are concerns of daily importance reinforced and practiced all the time. However almost invariably if a dragon picks up a book and reads it even if it's his favorite story, 20 years later he can pick it up and be thoroughly and totally surprised by everything that happens again.
Since for a number of reasons they tend to interact with mortals quite a bit, they can be quite frustrating for older individuals to interact with. If you are an old man sure the dragon you've known since you were kid definitely recalls you, your name and where you live but if you try and share a fond childhood story the dragon was part of you'll get quizzical look and a "sorry, doesn't really ring a bell"Last edited by Mr.Moron; 2016-06-16 at 02:31 PM.
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2016-06-17, 10:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
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Re: Our ________s are different!
This is pretty much my modus operandi for worldbuilding: going, "How can I remix the classic races so that they are both recognizable and original."
One time I did wild elves, an immortal people who take a long time to mature, and in the meantime they are violent and brutal, such that most die before true maturity. When they do mature, however, they become isolated hermits, full of knowledge and quite peaceful, if dangerous. In that same setting I had Orcs as imperial conquerors and Halflings as semi-nomadic tribal people inspired by Native American ethos. I also had Dwarves as a nomadic desert people.
In my latest setting, I've got Humans as the clever, tough guys, and Gnomes as the everyman. The Gnomes are the remnant of the first civilization, now living mostly on airships since they flooded the world. Elves are the local superpower, every bit as arrogant and aloof to lower races as any elf can be. Halflings are rather xenophobic clanish types, disliking big cities because they don't trust people they don't know.
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2017-02-01, 10:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2011
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Re: Our ________s are different!
Well, in Aelsif, the different races more or less work out like this:
Humans:
Inhabitants of the second-largest continent, Marakiz. Humans originate in the grasslands between the great desert at the north of Marakiz and the rainforests along the south and south-east of the continent. Humans left the grasslands an indeterminate amount of time ago (claims range from 1500 to 2500 years) due to volcanic activity, which ceased 250 years ago. For the last fifty years, humans have been attempting to re-colonize the grasslands, but found that in their absence, the goblins moved out of the jungle and set up their own kingdoms. Insisting that the land is still theirs because it is their homeland, the two human kingdoms closest to the grasslands have invaded the goblin kingdoms to take the land back with muskets and steel.
Goblins:
The goblins of Marakiz originate in the north-western Marakiz jungle, the densest jungles on the planet. About 250 years ago, they moved out of the jungle into the abandoned grasslands and expanded up the western seaboard, establishing contact with the elves who traded them technology in exchange for slaves and natural resources. The goblin slave trade was abolished over a century ago, and is considered by goblins to be their people's greatest shame, but it got them what they needed to set up agriculture and defenses on a scale they never imagined possible. The goblin kingdoms cover most of the arable land on Marakiz, and they're making good use of land that was uninhabited when they arrived. Now, however, humans have returned to the grasslands and invaded the goblin kingdoms. The goblins refuse to give up the kingdoms their people have inhabited for centuries, especially considering how they shamed themselves to get it, the goblins are resisting. However, faced with wealthier nations with superior technology, it is unlikely they will be able to hold it. After all this time, their reward for their efforts seems to be land theft, occupation and genocide.
Elves:
Elves originate on the northern continent of Boreas, in the south-western temperate section of the continent. They have established a wealthy trade empire and the world's most powerful navy. Their main profits come from the trade of goods between continents. They are, hands down, the wealthiest civilization on the planet, and they go to great lengths to keep it that way. That includes spending massive amounts of money on their navy, owning more slaves than the rest of the world combined, screwing their business partners when they can get away with it and committing genocide to claim islands that they need to establish ports. For one example, they sold a human and a goblin kingdom the same 500x40 mile stretch of coastline, starting another human-goblin war and a genocide of the kobolds that actually own the land. Their principle enemies are also their primary threats to their business, as they see any threat to their trade as a threat to the prosperity of the master race, and that is unacceptable to them.
Dwarves:
One of the primary sources of competition to the elves are their neighbours to the north, the dwarves. Dwarves are an industrious people and capable of exporting massive amounts of raw materials and high-quality metal to the world. Disadvantaged by the elves' superior location and navy, the dwarves are fighting dirty to make up for it. Dwarven privateers prey on elven merchant vessels, the dwarven navy bombards elven island colonies, dwarven provocateurs incite slave rebellions and fund separatist movements, and dwarven agents arm natives or destroy natural resources to sabotage elven colonies. This has allowed dwarves to open trade relations with the western continent of Sohei and out-compete the elves despite their disadvantages.
Hobgoblins:
You see what the dwarves above are doing, and why? Well, hobgoblins are doing much the same for the same reasons. The difference is they're located to the east of the elves, and their disadvantages that force them to fight dirty are technology and naval power, rather than position and naval power. Their society is also doing far worse against the elves than the dwarves are, despite greater numbers. The problem is that they simply don't have the technology to make their own guns and have to steal them from the elves or purchase them from the gnomes, who are located in a position that is harder for them to reach than it is for the elves or dwarves. With fewer guns, their soldiers and especially their ships are at too large of a disadvantage. It hasn't stopped them from trying, though. And they're definitely a nuisance, enough that the elves feel the need to spread horrible propaganda about their neighbours to anybody who will listen.
Gnomes:
The Gnomelands are a large series of mountain valleys just north and east of the eastern elven territories and east of the dwarven territories. They've got extremely robust natural barriers, heavily fortified entrances, a heavily armed population and the most advanced technology in the world, so invasion attempts have proven fruitless and people have stopped trying. Gnomes are the principle manufacturers of the gatling gun, repeating rifle, revolver and other sophisticated firearms, as well as steam engines, steamboats and dirigibles. The gatling gun in particular (is a hand-cranked TPK) is produced by so few other companies it is almost an exclusively gnomish product, and while other dirigibles are manufactured elsewhere zeppelins are only produced by gnomes. They also have some exclusive weapons they refuse to sell to anybody else, like recoil-operated guns and the radio, both technologies less than a decade old that are already common across the Gnomelands. And since those very same technologies also defend the Gnomelands, trying to take this tech from them is foolhardy at best. (Though occasionally a pistol will find its way outside of the Gnomelands anyway. Sure, they're exotic and deal less damage, but more ammo, faster reloads and double effect from rapid shot is worth it.)
Kobolds:
These guys get the short end of the stick here. They're primitive and looked down on as tribal savages, which isn't entirely accurate. While island kobolds are tribals and live in small villages and get by off of hunting, the kobolds on the mainland have agriculture (to feed livestock, as kobolds are carnivores), cities, writing, standing armies, other things of that nature. Sure, they don't know how to make guns, or even crossbows for that matter, but the nations building settlements on their land are definitely invading a sovereign nation. The kobolds are a bit upset about that, but they're going out to battle with spears and they're more than a bit screwed. (I mean, how well do you really think a kobold, even one balanced for player use, is going to hold up to a musket ball?)
Orcs:
An even less tribal civilization derided as tribal savages, orcs inhabit islands to the west of Boreas and their previously isolated island civilization has great stone cities, temples, writing, religion, somehow no wheels, and strong agriculture with sophisticated irrigation. They've got archery and slinging down to an art, and conquered their entire island chain to create a single cohesive nation that is still not much of a threat to the elven warships that keep sailing into their territory, broadsiding their ships and occupying their cities.
Halflings:
Halflings inhabit the islands east of Marakiz, where the different islands are home to warring city-states and their satellite villages. Their warfare is limited and winners steal resources and take captives without annexing territory, assimilating the captives into their own tribes. This helps them maintain genetic diversity, and work out resource disputes at the same time. While every bit as primitive as the orcs, these small humans somehow escape being called savages most of the time, and are on good terms with human sailors who will gladly give them guns in exchange for slaves. While it may seem horrible to sell your own people for weapons, it is worth remembering that they don't see how slaves are treated, so they don't understand the difference between being assimilated into another tribe and being taken as a slave.
Lizardfolk:
Lizardfolk operate a primitive, isolated civilization in the southern jungles of Marakiz. They understand metallurgy and use weapons of copper, brass and bronze to compensate for the humidity. They are the best defended primitives on the planet and the only ones largely left along by the "civilized" races, if only because their great supply of metal is defended so well by mountains, swamps and jungles that make it too difficult to reach them just to get access to metal that would be cheaper to just buy from another nation.
Sahuagin:
Sahuagin live on and around the islands south of Marakiz, ranging from just south of Marakiz to just north of the antarctic continent called The White Unknown. They are isolationist and interact with lizardfolk, humans and goblins at arm's length, but are not especially hostile and will sometimes even allow civilized folk to land on their islands and camp... For one night. Then get the **** out, they don't like guests. However, the further south you go the more hostile they become, with the southern-most tribes attacking on site. And the non-existant gods help you if you land on The White Unknown itself and the sahuagin direct their full force to wiping you from existence. Something down there scares them, and they don't want anything going anywhere near it. As for their technology and culture, Sahuagin mostly feed themselves by hunting and fishing, but they actually operate fish farms in some regions. They don't have metal, but are surprisingly sophisticated for a species that doesn't.Last edited by Avianmosquito; 2017-02-01 at 10:10 PM.
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2017-02-02, 03:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2016
Re: Our ________s are different!
I put this on another thread, but here goes. The setting I'm making is a piratical-style system of islands and continents, with racial relations motivated primarily by trade routes--trains, airships, sailing ships, what have you-- and as such, these rules are not set in stone, as the culture of larger settlements are "melting pots":
Humans
Humans are, well, humans. Pretty much everywhere; tough, hardy, very diplomatic and entrepreneurial.
Dwarves
The're short, they have fabulous facial hair, and they live in the mountains...and that's when the mold is broken. Living in tribal societies, dwarves are nomadic animists, led by shamans, druids, and barbarians.
Elves
They're even less of your friend than usual. Hailing from the far western continent, elves are, almost to a man if raised by peers, crass, snobbish ne'er-do-wells, thieves and hedonists. Thankfully, they keep to themselves when they aren't pirates or "honest" traders. They also invented gunpowder.
Dark Elves
Hoo boy. Think of dark elves in this way; insult an elf, and he'll shoot you and rob you blind. Insult a dark elf, and they will turn the other cheek...than return with an army to raze your town and enslave your family. In a nutshell, they're spider-nazis.
Gnomes
Gnomes are native to the plane of the Fey. They have unrivaled appreciation for artistic endeavors... possibly because their races is one. Originally formless earth spirits, gnomes were given brass bodies by some creative fey courtier. They're more like Azers than Warforged, though, as they still need to sustain their spirits through food and other necessities.
Goblins
On the main continent, goblins live in the rain shadow behind the Barrier Mountain range. However, for the most part, they are quite xenophobic. Their society is very theocentric and theocratic; something of an Amish system of belief, and Puritan way of spreading it. Their abrasion and stubbornness have resulted in a lack of permanent colonies off of the main continent.
Hobgoblins
Hobgoblins are not, in fact a race of their own; they are a social strata. Hobgoblins are goblins that have abandoned the central religion of the goblin people. They are fairly rare.
Bugbears
To the southeast of the goblin land, the Bugbears eke out a living farming, ranching, and mining materials for railways and other industries. Being the main trade liaison between the surface world and the dark elves has made them tough, aggressive, and paranoid.
Halflings
Halflings primarily reside in the Southeastern islands. Similar to gnomes, they have a great connection to the plane of the Fey. They also have a rebellious streak a mile wide, which the Unseelie Court is not happy with. Repeated attempts to put them in their place has lent the Halflings a reputation for epic heroism, and a guide who knows the lay of the monster-infested Southeastern seas is almost necessary for sea travel to Halfling land.Last edited by NerdwithaPencil; 2017-02-03 at 05:18 PM.
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2017-02-09, 06:35 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2014
Re: Our ________s are different!
I have to read this whole thread, but for now I'll just pitch in a little bit:
I wanted my world to stick relatively closely to high-fantasy and I'm not a biologist so I didn't dig deep into any kind of natural processes. Most races have been "created" by some entity or another during some period in the universe's history or another(it varies). In general that tends to be a certain ancient conflict between some powerful things. I.e. the first age. (Borrowing heavily from Tolkiesque mythology here.)
The elves are descendants from the highly magical fey, who during ancient times gave up their magic to restore the lands ravaged by conflict. Hence the many subvarieties of elf - aquatic, forest, even the drow. Who are btw, a culture that was essentially "hijacked" by Lolth with promises of restoring them to their former glory. With their exception elves are in a slow decline, with low birthrates, declining magic, rigid traditions and isolationist attitudes. At least their most ancient culture. Waves of change are on the horizon though.
Humans, orcs and most other goblinoid races are relative newcomers to the world.
Historically and culturally orcs, ogres and humans are about on par. Humans tend to build cities and civilizations, while orcs tend to be nomadic. Neither are savages or even monoculture races. In fact, orcs tend to be one of the most honourable creatures in the world, while humans tend to be slimy and opportunistic. Can you picture samurai orcs? Ogres are basically half-orc/half-giants.
Speaking of which, the giants of today are descendants of the primordial giants who were elementally-linked and, as legend says, were once servants of the gods. They dwell in their cities, mourning their lost heritage. Most are prideful. They have no unified civilization and are frequently resentful of the spread of civilization of the lesser creatures. Their resemblance to humans is undeniable, but history is silent on the matter.
Dwarves... well they claim they were here first. Even before the elves. No one can say that for sure.
But they are in general very industrious and loyal folk. They are also very diverse, with pockets of neighbouring clans sharing very different cultures. For example one might consider any form of theater useless and crude, while the neighbouring clan might be full of artists and poets.
Gnomes dwell on a large archipelago of islands and are recent arrivals to this world(like about 2000 years ago). A cataclysm destroyed their world, but they're mum on the subject. They're consummate traders and inventors. In fact they invented the warforged.
Halflings are the underfoot race. They're everywhere. They have no place they call home.
Some time ago they did have thriving civilization on the other large continent of the world, but that got overrun by the savage raced that dwell there.
Goblinoids: Well, Hobgoblins have a large, thriving, if somewhat militaristic empire. Think height of the ottoman empire. Goblins proper, well they are spiteful little things, but who can blame them, being enslaved by their larger cousins since time immemorial. Presumably they were once hobgoblins, but were struck down(including in stature) by a curse or the wrath of a god or something. Hobgoblins maintain they are doing the little buggers a favour. And to be fair when left to their own devices they are pretty savage and uncivilized. Bugbears are an isolated offshoot of the other goblinoids, living mostly only on a single separate continent.
Lizardfolk have a mayan-like, sacrificial cult empire one continent over.
That's for the generic races.
The campaign itself is predicated on the idea of having every monstrous race playable, so many of the non-humanoid make a significant chunk. In fact the generic "good" races are, taken as a whole, a minority of the world's population. There are thriving, civilized communities of minotaurs, centaurs, harpies, trolls, gnolls, kobolds, catfolk, even werewolves, driders and lesser marilith(i.e. what I would normally call naga, but the term is used for other things in D&D). There's even a hidden enclave of benevolent rakshasa and several regions where undead are tolerated.
Basically most cities in the world are mixed or integrated. And the dominant race is only rarely human.
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2017-02-11, 08:53 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2016
Re: Our ________s are different!
I try not to give races hats, and have several different cultures for each race.
That being said, some of my cultures are definitely a bit odd, and most dwarves, for instance, have something to do with stone
The Dwarves of the Dustpresn- They don't actually have metal, use blood magic to make metal like substances, and are transhumanists. They also have an obsession with food and cleanliness.
All gnomes have an obsession with secrets of some sort- gossip, technology, magic, terrain, law, whatever. This compulsion stems from when they were spies for one of the Fae Queens
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2017-02-23, 05:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2010
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- In a field of starlight
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Re: Our ________s are different!
Love this idea. My elves also took a twist on Immortality. They live forever unless killed. They kinda own most of the world, and are by far the most advanced in magic. They don't own the whole world for two reasons: infighting that resulted in many deaths over thousands of years (and still isn't over), and incredibly low fertility rates, like, villages are lucky to get one kid in fifty years, and even cities are probably only going to have a kid a year, at most. Nice side effect, many elves are gay, like more than 50%, so that's fun for me to write.