New RPG races
- Thread starter Ken_J
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I think that in order to really break the mould of the "standard fantasy setting" and the "traditional" fantasy RPG races you need to first, break down the idea that a character needs to be bipedal to work. Break down the idea that armor, and weapons are necessity for character development. This isn't the greatest example, but look at Okami. You play as a quadrupedal character and it works well enough.
People are too easily pleased with a model swap. Sure, you may be playing as a green-dude with point ears and tentacles for hair, or you may have goat legs instead of standard homonid fare, but in the end, you have the same concept. You're a bipedal character, you're going to wield a weapon, armor and various other tools. Even the cultural identities that fantasy settings have attached to their 'unique' races have been rehashed ideas from other races. Take, for example, the Dragonborn race from D&D 4e. On a base level the books describe their culture as a proud ancestral culture in a way which mimics the theoretical Dwarven culture to a tee. You've pointed out an issue, but it points to something bigger than that. The fantasy setting is just getting stale, and I don't think that replacing elves with bipedal insects that are called X and having them have a slightly different cultural identity is the way to solve the problem.
Hell I've seen RPGs and fantasy novels that do perfectly well with just humans. No mention of other races, just humans. It's worked before, and it can work again if they choose not to rehash ideas. It's not about swapping in a 'new race', it's about revising writing to accommodate a more creative setting.
On an ending note, as much as I love dragons, dragon people have never worked as a race, in my opinion. Part of the reason is that it becomes the race that everyone chooses, partially because they have a breath weapon or wings (where other races do not), and partially because they generally just look cooler than other races. They tend to just be overplayed. Remember when the D&D 3.5e monster manual came out and had the templates to create half-dragons right there in the book? Remember how everyone started playing half-dragons, regardless of the level adjustment? I know I do, and it was fucking annoying.
People are too easily pleased with a model swap. Sure, you may be playing as a green-dude with point ears and tentacles for hair, or you may have goat legs instead of standard homonid fare, but in the end, you have the same concept. You're a bipedal character, you're going to wield a weapon, armor and various other tools. Even the cultural identities that fantasy settings have attached to their 'unique' races have been rehashed ideas from other races. Take, for example, the Dragonborn race from D&D 4e. On a base level the books describe their culture as a proud ancestral culture in a way which mimics the theoretical Dwarven culture to a tee. You've pointed out an issue, but it points to something bigger than that. The fantasy setting is just getting stale, and I don't think that replacing elves with bipedal insects that are called X and having them have a slightly different cultural identity is the way to solve the problem.
Hell I've seen RPGs and fantasy novels that do perfectly well with just humans. No mention of other races, just humans. It's worked before, and it can work again if they choose not to rehash ideas. It's not about swapping in a 'new race', it's about revising writing to accommodate a more creative setting.
On an ending note, as much as I love dragons, dragon people have never worked as a race, in my opinion. Part of the reason is that it becomes the race that everyone chooses, partially because they have a breath weapon or wings (where other races do not), and partially because they generally just look cooler than other races. They tend to just be overplayed. Remember when the D&D 3.5e monster manual came out and had the templates to create half-dragons right there in the book? Remember how everyone started playing half-dragons, regardless of the level adjustment? I know I do, and it was fucking annoying.
hmmm, new race. A species of more like shadow people.
Super low health, very high evasiveness, super sneaky and medium attack.
could be good, for more like a spec. ops race.
That or the dragon idea works too.
EDIT:
they would be a 1-2 class race. One assassins, the other like a scorer/mage/magic user.
Very little amount of armor. Just some knives and light leather.
Super low health, very high evasiveness, super sneaky and medium attack.
could be good, for more like a spec. ops race.
That or the dragon idea works too.
EDIT:
they would be a 1-2 class race. One assassins, the other like a scorer/mage/magic user.
Very little amount of armor. Just some knives and light leather.