General Thoughts on Fantasy Races

[liamhernandezlucas]

Oh, another fun example of someone using alternate races is @Hexigate's Aegis!
The other races start out as catlike people and lizardlike people, but at some point the author decides to give them a big overhaul with new designs, and they end up looking really cool. Especially the cat people, who changed into these oddly alien looking creatures with vertical mouths and long antennas.They stray away from hats too. Each member feels like a person, but they do have cultural differences. It just seems a bit more region bound than race bound, from what I can tell.

Aegis | Tapas

[aqua03]

What even is Kobold, anyway? I mean, it seems that the East and West have two entirely different versions of said species. Like, the Japanese and Asians have the dog-type Kobold, whereas we seem to have the Lizard-type Kobolds. Any reason why that is?

[NickRowler]

I don’t have an issue with people who want to use fantasy races, however I just wish people would write them in more interesting ways instead of reinforcing weird tropes. I am a bit sick and tired of skinny pale elves being framed as smart, civil, and the ultimate beauty while other creatures, mostly trolls, who are not the standards of beauty are framed as uncivilized and stupid.

[DukeOfOool]

From what I've seen Kobolds are always outsiders, each culture gives them some inhuman aspect just to drive home that they're not like us. They're some weirdo/outcast living away or hidden from their civilisation. This was done in order to portray other cultures/strangers.
Also I believe the lizard-type kobolds are a DnD creation in order to tie them to dragons. Wester Kobolds are also dogpeople: For example the germanic kobolds are spirits that could materialize into child sized animal-people, mostly with dog-like attributes.

In fantasy I mostly assume that Kobold is a human word used to describe these animal-people, ignoring the difference between them. Similar to saying all asians are chinese.

[aqua03]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining that to me.

[DukeOfOool]

The worst thing about elves is that their power and beauty is never something their race worked for. It's just inherent to them.
It would be way easier to their snobbish and arrogant behavior if they acctually worked for it. For example one idea for "elves" in my story is that they're basically the offspring of a supremacist group, that geneticaly enhanced and breed themself and succeeded in becoming actually superior. But because their constant racism they started many wars and lost. Driving them to near extinction. The surviving elves now have to learn not to be nazis and share their science with other races.

For trolls I have to say as long they're not used as charcters, but monsters, their stereotype is okay. If the author uses them as person the chaos ensues. The author has to create an actually working society for the trolls.
Again in my setting trolls, would be described as big reptilian-mamal hybrids (think of a furless gorilla), which live in caves and inside mountains, because they fear the cold. In their homeworld/land trolls quiet civilized and similar to dwarfs genious architect and miners, but outside of these protected bubbles their culture deteriorated though constant wars. Most trolls seen have been hunted for their entire life, thus never learnt anything beyond how to kill those pesky humans that keep showing up.

[Berserker]

The "High Elves" in the Elder Scrolls series are like that. They've been using magic for millennia to try to give themselves eternal life. I tend to like all the Mer types in the Elder scrolls. And I like their take on the orcs too, loners, but with ties to the empire as well-respected legionaries and smiths.

[GesuGesu]

Dungeon Meshi! It's a manga.

[GesuGesu]

I'm actually not too sure. The only kobolds I've ever seen were dog-types like the ones from Ragnarok Online.

Dogs are cuter in my opinion. The lizard-type tends to sometimes get their own species names like Lizardmen, Salamanders, Dragonnewts, Drsgonblood, etc. I'm not super into specific fantasy naming tropes and I'm happy to consume anything.

[GesuGesu]

Ah yes, Intrrspecies Reviewers. You are a person of culture.

[aqua03]

I honestly like both designs, to be honest. I love dog,s and i love reptiles. Best of both worlds!

[nathanKmcwilliams]

In D&D the Kobolds are draconic little dudes. Basically Dragon hobbits.

[aqua03]

Dragon hobbits.

I love that description of them for some reason and i have no idea why... XD

[nathanKmcwilliams]

@aqua03 a dragon hobbit for reference xD (in D&d 5e they're classified as small humanoids, which is the same size class as halflings.)

[aqua03]

I'll take twenty, please.

[DiegoPalacios]

This reminded me of a villain i made when i was gming in a solo D&D campaign with a cousin. His name was "Sir Koba Kobington" (the title sir is self asigned) It was a refined kobold sorcerer, chief of a small wild kobold tribe and with big plans. He wasnt too poweful at first (only level 3 sorcerer), but after blackmailing the party into retrieving an artifact called "the chalice of Tiamat", he gained a lot of power. (whoever drank from the chalice becomes a half dragon, but the drinker must endure 10 rounds of elemental damage and survive (the element depends of the dragon of choice).
Sadly the campaign ended too early to reveal most of his machinations.

[aqua03]

That sounds neat. Shame it fell through.

[DiegoPalacios]

Campaigns may die, but ideas live. Maybe i may make a new version of him in a future story. (may not be a kobold depending of the world the story goes on)

[aqua03]

That'd be cool to see. Let me know if you ever do.

[Ryukami]

I have a query. The races for my fantasy world are divided into 7 categories.
Fae- nymphs, pixies, dryads, etc.
Beast- beast people, centaurs, merfolk, etc.
Clayborn- trolls, orcs, goblins, etc.
Drake- dragon related (haven't delved too far yet)
Elemental- gargoyles, pure element beings
Sapien- humans, elves, yeti, etc.
Magikin- jinn, golems, homunculi, etc.

What I am trying to figure out is where do I put the sentient plant races? Like treants, fungal folk, etc. Should they go with Fae, Elemental, or Magikin? Or should I just create a separate category entirely?