Races

[sammyp03]

In my homebrew campaign setting, the "gods" introduced the creatures of the mortal realm to magic, particularly shape-shifting to divide them. The creatures tried to emulate the divine. The ones who achieved the transformation perfectly were humans.
Would it make sense to have exotic creature races then in my setting? Something like the khajit from the elder scrolls, ravenfolk, or arakocra from elemental evil?

[Balyano]

Would it make sense to have exotic creature races then in my setting? Something like the khajit from the elder scrolls, ravenfolk, or arakocra from elemental evil?

Definately, and add in the lizard folk and thri-kreen, and the minotaur race they released in unearthed arcana, through in the grippli or bullywugs and gnolls. Avoid the traditional races like elves and dwarves as being to close to being human. Though you could re-fluff some of them as needed to fit a race that isn't stated out yet.

[gtwucla]

Definately, and add in the lizard folk and thri-kreen, and the minotaur race they released in unearthed arcana, through in the grippli or bullywugs and gnolls. Avoid the traditional races like elves and dwarves as being to close to being human. Though you could re-fluff some of them as needed to fit a race that isn't stated out yet.

It could be fun to include elves and/or dwarves as well, but don't call them that. Instead you could go for a 'cast aside' or 'forsaken' flavor, as they could not master magic, so the gods forgot them. Then you could add twisted elements to them, like make them morlock like, or something like that.

[Xuc Xac]

Just change the name and appearance to use standard races. Badger people use dwarf stats: hardy burrowers who don't give a crap. Cat people use elf stats: dextrous, vain, and arrogant.

[Falcon X]

Your description hasn't given me anything for pros or cons of whether to use exotic races or not. In my opinion, ALWAYS go with an exotic race or two in your game. They are so much more interesting. If you want nuanced differences, just have people from different countries.

What kind of a feel do you want from the various races?

My homebrew setting has these primary races:

Spoiler

Show

Drow - Major Race, moved to overworld
T'kel (Dragon 317) - Major Race, moved to overworld
Ghost Elves - Invaders from Astral
Golmoid (Dragon 317) - Small enclaves
Adu'jas (Dragon 317) - Spiritual leaders of T'kel
Grippli (Dragon 262) - Major hidden race
Chaos Gnomes (Races of Stone) - Nomadic race (think gypsies)
Kobolds - Hidden race

Slave Races:
Humans
Tieflings
Mongrelfolk (Races of Destiny)
Goblinoids

Adu'jas might move shapeshifting into the realm of plants. Kobolds just beg to be the crafty race that starts using it for evil purposes.

For animalesque races:
- Kuo Toa look like fish.
- T'kel are basically lizardmen, only more flavorful.
- Rakshasa beg to be major villains. They are otherworldly evils that shapeshift and naturally have animal-like forms.
- There was a Dragon magazine that pulled from China Mieville's Bas-Lag. It gave us cactus people. You could also convert khepri from the same setting and mythos or the mosquito people

[TripleD]

In my homebrew campaign setting, the "gods" introduced the creatures of the mortal realm to magic, particularly shape-shifting to divide them. The creatures tried to emulate the divine. The ones who achieved the transformation perfectly were humans.
Would it make sense to have exotic creature races then in my setting? Something like the khajit from the elder scrolls, ravenfolk, or arakocra from elemental evil?

I think it'd be especially interesting if each race thought they were the ones that achieved the transformation perfectly, and it was everyone else who screwed it up.

[sammyp03]

Your description hasn't given me anything for pros or cons of whether to use exotic races or not. In my opinion, ALWAYS go with an exotic race or two in your game. They are so much more interesting. If you want nuanced differences, just have people from different countries.

What kind of a feel do you want from the various races?

Im not sure if there would be a pro or con. My question is with the mortals trying to mimic the gods, would it make more sense to have humanoid type races (humans,elves, halfings) or animal type races (Lizardfolk, Raven folk, etc..)

[Dusk Raven]

Im not sure if there would be a pro or con. My question is with the mortals trying to mimic the gods, would it make more sense to have humanoid type races (humans,elves, halfings) or animal type races (Lizardfolk, Raven folk, etc..)

Well, that depends. Basically, you said that humans were the ones that mimicked the gods perfectly? It would be best to explain what exactly that involves. Are humans better than the other races inherently? Or do they merely think they are? Either way, there may be tensions between humans and the more exotic race, as the humans perceive the "lesser" races to be further from the gods or even closer to some form of demonic or devilish being(s)? That could make for an interesting story.

Spoiler: Pendantics - Tolkein's Work

Show

Funny enough, that reminds me that, if I recall correctly, Tolkein actually had a scale of godliness of each of the races. Elves were above dwarves who were above humans, etc. In a twist, that scale isn't the final say on morality or even value to the world, as hobbit were lower than humans on that list. It was really just a matter of how close you were to God, basically, and Tolkein subverted that trope often.