# Do you create other humanoids/races?



## Nomadica (May 15, 2016)

I'm in the process of creating races for my world. This is my favorite part, making races that are different then the traditional elvs or dwarfs. This is one I scetched up today. Would love to hear what other creations people like to make when worldbuilding.


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## Nomadica (May 15, 2016)

By the way, if anyone wants to help me think of a name for this species shout one out. I'm just calling them tree rats for now.


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## Ireth (May 15, 2016)

Arborants? Verdenes?


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## Queshire (May 15, 2016)

Heh, this sort of topic holds a special place for me and the answer is a loud and resounding *"NOPE!"* The only time I ever make custom races is in a Sci-fi setting. I have nothing against custom races. I do have a problem with people that just scoff at the classic races and act as if they have nothing to add. That's why I make a point to take the classic races, and while still keeping what keeps them them, put my own twist on them.

For example...

Elves: Transhumanists with a habit of utilizing organic technology or genetically engineered creatures thanks to their mastery of Life Magic, after the destruction of their homeland and ruling caste they've become divided up into various tribes each of which naturally thinks that THEY should be the ones to become the new ruling caste.

Dwarves: Due to their numbers being cut dangerously low thanks to an engineered plague unleashed during the war with the elves they've been forced to rely on cloning to supplant their numbers (because Our Dwarves Are All The Same) and wear enchanted armor nearly their entire life which serves as an environmental suit.

Orcs: ... Basically magically created super soldiers

Edit: And since I'm an ass like that, for a name suggestion for those guys how about Elves?


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## Nomadica (May 15, 2016)

Don't worry Queshire, I'm not a fantasy racist. They are all good. But still fun to creat something fron scratch or close to it.


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## valiant12 (May 16, 2016)

Do you consider customizing an already existing race as making a new one.
Honestly none of the races that I have "created"  are 100 %  my creation.


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## Svrtnsse (May 16, 2016)

I haven't really created any sentient races for my setting, but I've made up plenty of animals that I haven't really encountered anywhere else (windbear, night-squirrel, etc).

Apart from humans I've got elves, dwarves, and hobbits (except they're called anfylk due to trademark restrictions). Visually they look pretty much like you'd expect. The main exception there would be that the anfylk have fur all the way up to their knees (and let's not get into the winter fylk at all). Also, the average height of a full grown elf is higher for earlier generation elves than for more recent ones.

The differences that set my races apart from the "standard" versions are mainly below the surface.

The anfylk come in a number of different varieties relating to the season during which their goddess created them (spring, summer, etc...) and their appearance and disposition vary a little depending on this. There are other differences as well, but they're things that you'll learn as read the stories.
The key point is that a reader should recognize where the inspiration for the race comes from, but that the race has its own quirks and features that sets it apart from the original source of inspiration.

The same thing goes for the elves and dwarves.

Humans I've copied straight off from the real world.


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## KC Trae Becker (May 16, 2016)

Nomadica, I really like your sketch. Do all of them have the same markings or are those tattoos? Is the hair truly green or is it algae growing in it like sloths?

I also have e tree focused race so I'm curious about the details of your race? Do they live in the trees exclusively or just primarily? The jewelry would imply they are civilized, do they have a written language? What are their relationships to the races around them? What is their philosophy about the trees they live in?

I love making up races and species. The trick is getting them complex enough to feel real, then hiding most of the information either in your story in little snippets or in notebook somewhere so your story doesn't read like a field guide.


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## AJ Stevens (May 16, 2016)

Yes I do. I have a number of vaguely humanoid races in my current WIP.

- A race that is human, but with varying degrees of animal physiology. This might range from someone having gills that allow them to breathe underwater, to someone who is more animal than human, which may involve shapeshifting. I haven't decided on that one yet. Perhaps the more interesting aspect of this is that this race is treated with suspicion and fear by humans, so they tend to live in small pockets out in the wild, and they've been hunted down so that they're few and far between.

- A race which is plant-based. Humanoid in form, but they function as plants would. I need to flesh this out to some degree and put some backstory against it.

The underlying premise is that the gods of the world had various attempts at creating life forms in their own image, and some of the other races are the prototypes to humans.

EDIT: I really like your drawing. Oh, how I wish I could draw. Even just a little bit!


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## Devor (May 16, 2016)

I've found that I've largely moved away from humanoid races.  At some point I've realized that I'll never be all that prolific, and I've focused on places where I can make a bigger mark with my writing.

That said, I have a few.  The Traelu are a race of sprites that just about annihilated the shapeshifting-addicted Gorgit, but could never find the source of a magical curse they left behind.  The Keskua are a race of birdmen based on the skua, birds that eat other birds and sometimes steal fish right out of another birds' beak.  I have half-dwarves in a Nordic setting who look like old men by day and young warriors by night (since pure dwarves in Norse myths turn to stone and die in the sunlight (or transform into animals)).

My favorite is tied up with the spirit world.  The spirits of the dead in the setting can sometimes empower an animal when enough spiritual energy builds up.  Each type of animal represents a different personality type.  There's a place where every member of a certain animal species has been elevated in this way, forming a community of happy magical reincarnated animal monks.

I am also trying to develop a humanoid race for a setting that has some RPG / gaming undertones.  I want to develop a magic system that's on par with - well, I tend to use "Nature/Druids" as a reference.  And a race is one of the ways I want to tie it off.  It hasn't been a priority, and I'll probably flush it out the next time I get obsessive-brained on the project.  But I have a chart, based loosely on elves in Warcraft, outlining how the race may have developed over time or for different purposes along with the magic in the setting.  In their rawest form, they're only semi-conscious spirits of the mist; but they've sort of merged with a group of humans and evolved them into a unique magical race.  I haven't nailed the details yet,.


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## Nomadica (May 16, 2016)

KC Trae Becker, The markings on the face are tattoos but the markings on the ears are natural stripes. They also have a teal like a kangaroo rat or a Jerboa ( just peach fuzz type fur for most of the length of the tail and then a tuft at the end) which will have stripes also. Their hair is natural and comes in shades of greenish ranging from a greenish blond to a greenish blue. Primarily they live in trees in something hanging from them like giant hanging lanterns connected by rope bridges. I'm thinking the hanging houses will be made of some kind of giant seed pod. They also live on these pods floating on the water of shallow lakes connected by wooden docs. I'm thinking I'll make these pods semi translucent so at night they glow with the inner light of whatever they use to light their home.

And thanks


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## Nomadica (May 16, 2016)

AJ Stevens, I like the plant-based idea. I'd like to hear more when you have the fleshed out


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## skip.knox (May 16, 2016)

Nomadica said:


> By the way, if anyone wants to help me think of a name for this species shout one out. I'm just calling them tree rats for now.



FWIW I really like that name, at least as an insult thrown by other races.


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## Nomadica (May 16, 2016)

Thanks  Yep that is what it's going to be, an insult lol.


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## Lunaairis (May 16, 2016)

Making races up is my favorite thing to do. Usually they end up being based on a mythical creature that already exists, but I always try to put a twist on them. I also like thinking of the kind of cultures they would have. Things they would believe to be true. How they would eat, family life etc. There is already so much versatility with humans, imagine if we had extra arms or something. What kind of sayings would we have? Would we keep three hands off the table when eating? Would it be custom to have a fork in each hand? So many possibilities!

  I have these naga-like people who are visually based off of slavic cultures. They inherently are born able to control fire which leaves them with no fear of the cold climates. So even though they are reptile-like people they don't usually live in deserts or jungles.  They are also story tellers and find tattoos to be a great way to record an individuals life story. When they die they don't bury a body. Instead their body is skinned and their skin is tanned to hang in their traditional skin halls. The rest of their body is turned to ash to feed a family burial 'hearth' in the center of these halls. Keeping with how important fire is to their existence.


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## Nomadica (May 17, 2016)

Wow thats great. I really love the ideas you have for their culture. The story tattoos and then skining after death is really interesting.


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## Drakevarg (May 18, 2016)

My setting began as just another DnD campaign world, complete with elves and dwarves and so forth. But after writing on it for a while I realized that having these different cultures be different species entirely added absolutely nothing to them, so I simply wrote that bit out. All of them became different (totally fictional) human ethnic groups.

That said, I still like having nonhuman cultures running around, but I have a rule for that, based on the same reasoning that made me give elves and such the boot: if I'm going to make a nonhuman race, they need to be _really_ not human. Now, there's a limit to what I can do with that and still make them relatable, but at minimum my standard is "no forehead-makeup aliens." Pointy ears or bad teeth do not a new race make.


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## Nomadica (May 19, 2016)

Drakevarg said:


> But after writing on it for a while I realized that having these different cultures be different species entirely added absolutely nothing to them, so I simply wrote that bit out. All of them became different (totally fictional) human ethnic groups.



You may find it more fitting when a races looks match thier abilities. Better night vission= bigger eyes, better hearing = bigger ears, better jumpers= bigger glutes and quads, mayby they live in a cave and have an organ to sense heat like a snake but lake good eye sight. These abilities could add to a stoy to make a formidable foe.


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## Drakevarg (May 19, 2016)

Nomadica said:


> You may find it more fitting when a races looks match thier abilities. Better night vission= bigger eyes, better hearing = bigger ears, better jumpers= bigger glutes and quads, mayby they live in a cave and have an organ to sense heat like a snake but lake good eye sight. These abilities could add to a stoy to make a formidable foe.



That might work for some, but I would never write a race in just to be a "foe." If any sort of group is going to be added to my world they need to be fully realized, living breathing people within the world. And "they'd be mildly more impressive in certain specific fight scenes" is not enough of a reason to make an organization a different species.


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## Miskatonic (May 19, 2016)

I may have lizard people but I'm not sure yet.


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## Nomadica (May 19, 2016)

Drakevarg said:


> That might work for some, but I would never write a race in just to be a "foe." If any sort of group is going to be added to my world they need to be fully realized, living breathing people within the world. And "they'd be mildly more impressive in certain specific fight scenes" is not enough of a reason to make an organization a different species.



I don't mean just to creat a foe. its just an example of one way they cane be interesting. When I think of my favorit fictitious species, klingon on star trek, I just can't imagine Worf being the same if he was human. Klingons really enriched the stories for me. Though I know I am looking nerdy now   Sometimes part of it is about creating ambiance. The world I'm building is on another planet so it seems fitting to make it a little strange, though thats not the only reason I like creating othe humanoids.


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## Entrisen (May 24, 2016)

For my world I've created a race called the Chucua. They mainly inhabit islands and like to keep to themselves, though the people in my story have enslaved a large number of them. They are very large and monkey like people, with huge ears, natural warriors, and very religious. I kinda liken them to ancient native Americans in a way. I still have a lot to flesh out on them but they're always fun for me to write about.


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## Creed (May 24, 2016)

I often find that the Tolkeinian races are boring, but that applies mainly to the authors who don't try to break the mould a little or to use these races to make commentary on the modern world. Dragon Age uses elves and dwarves to portray parallels to real historical groups, as well as to discuss such themes as the importance of heritage, and some issues with political isolationism. R. Scott Bakker replaced conventional elves with Greco-Roman extraterrestrials with powerful sorceries and incredibly dark histories, and made the orcs/trolls/dragons horrifying genetic abominations.

The conventional races of Tolkeinian fantasy simply do not fit in my Universe (or at least in the plot).

One of the contemporary races (Lethos) is the result of gorillas following the same evolutionary path as Humans on another planet.
Another is a race of hive-mind aquatic snake-people (Namagae/Water folk) who do not really interact with Human/Lethos civilization.
I can go back further two million years to the Elder races who are humanoids with different metaphysical wiring and such, and the Cred'an could be seen to parallel Elves in some ways, but that comparison is superficial. I also just find it's more fun to make your own races than to start with an overused template. BUT, of course, I am more than willing to read a new take on Elves and Orcs et al. as long as it's compelling.

Edit: I found the Kossith/Qunari in Dragon Age to be the most compelling race of Thedas. Partly because of their religion, partly because of their mysterious past, and partly because they were something new.


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## LafayetW (May 27, 2016)

For my story I've conceptualized 5 different races and I'm currently further developing one of them:

-Urakhyns, earth people who are also known as 'halffleshmen' since their bodies are half earth and half flesh. They believe in Elementals who shape the earth, when an Urakhyn dies, his/her body will petrify in a span of 24 hours and they will become earth once again.

-Othraks, distant relatives from Urakhyns who wander around the world. They're bulky, hairy giants with enormous antlers. 

-Valkans, winged weather worshippers who are descendants of an ancient race of Avian men. They have an advanced culture and are 6 to 7 ft tall. They worship many gods and believe that in time of peril, one of the gods reincarnate in order to guide the Valkan race.

-Fienras, ancient centaur-ish race of celestial worshippers, they are explorers with the most advanced culture and civilization in the world, they even invented the compass.

-Arolghans, they are descendants of the apex predators in the Giant Age(similar to our Carboniferous period). And the Giant Age ended when the apocalyptic creature Akhava(I might change the name) started consuming the world, it's hunger caused worldwide havoc and doomed many types of plants and creatures. The Arolghans were a crossbred between the apex predators and giants. And ever since the end of the Giant Age they're rebuilding what has been destroyed by Akhava. They are a tribe of fire dancers and can withstand extreme heat(like Death Valley).


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## AveryPierce (Jun 4, 2016)

I mostly have different ethnic races based on who their founding fathers were. I only have one "humanoid" race, inspired by elves and vampires hahaha. They can't really be considered humanoid but they are different enough from the average human to warrant the air of semi-human. Brains like computer processors, agility and random super strength, perpetual paleness, intense eyes, no matter the color, and an in depth understanding of their brand of magic. Funny thing is how fragile they are; skin and flesh is super easy to injure.


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## BrainMatter (Jun 4, 2016)

I have created my book starting with the universe, to the solar system, to the planets, to the planet, to the continents, all the way down to the tiniest of animals/monsters. Each region starts with 50 different animals/monsters, and as the book progress it increases, by the end I have around 750 monster/animals this includes races, and sub-races as well. so 6 gods, 6 races total, 60 subraces, so around 660-680 other types of monsters/animals, and with those they are evenly broken in to friendly, aggressive, defensive. :/ hehe I had issues of trying to create in a world that was open, so I made a controlled world and found it easier to create the story I want to tell.


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## WazpByte (Jun 4, 2016)

For some reason I instantly thought Nebakari and I don't know why.


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## jm.milks (Jun 5, 2016)

I do make humanoid races, but most of the time, they evolved from humans. For instance, the first sapiens to venture to my world was denisovans (which died out around the same time as neanderthals), who migrated to the world 30+ thousand years ago, and evolved separately and appear less human than stereotypical races.

There are other humanoid races, but i try to make them unique by choosing abstract environments I would picture them evolving from. 

I believe that a good number of the theoretical civilizations in the universe will be humanoid in one way or another. This is because of all of the evolutionary advantages of being humanoid, from long distance running to opposable thumbs, and predatory build. 
We're not the only conscious life on earth, there's dolphins, elephants, certain birds that can recognize themselves in a mirror, but they're not building cities and passing down their knowledge because only humanoid races are equipped with the abilities evolve further, such as chimps and bonobos, who are currently in a stone age and using tools, but don't share other traits like our running abilities.


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## ChasingSuns (Jun 14, 2016)

A lot of times I tend to take a traditional fantasy race and bend it to fit the world. For example, there is a race called the Ilythraani who are heavily inspired by Elves. They are tall, beautiful, and live considerably longer than humans (not as long as traditional elves do though). They lack the pointy elf ears, and not all of them have long hair. They're basically humans with naturally very healthy bodies (although comparing them to humans would probably get you thrown in a cell or worse). They control a vast empire, and their government is super corrupt and led by xenophobic slavers who are greedy and power-hungry.

There are also times that I just create an entirely new race, such as the Queura. They are a subterranean race that operate in packs. Each pack works like a mini hive mind. They are hairless and skinny, with long arms, rabbit-esque legs, and protruding spines. They don't see well, but their other senses are very heightened. They wear centipede-like armor to cover their torsos. They also smell like bog water. I created them because I wanted some kind of grunt for my villains to use in their army, and well... orcs are kind of overdone.


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## BrainMatter (Jun 14, 2016)

It all depends on the story you are making sometimes the normal "humans, elfs and dwarves" just don't work. I myself don't care much for writing about humans, since I see them daily, but elves, drow, and dwarves can be fun. Creating your own world allows you to control all aspects of the readers imagination. I know when i talk about one of my races Siahmin depending on what i have said is what you imagine, and that power is amazing to me! 
So do what you feel is right for your story and if you do create a world, don't forget about the small daily nuances in the life we live!


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## vaiyt (Jun 15, 2016)

Depends a lot. I have two main settings I work with: one that has over a dozen different sentient species, and one where everyone is basically humans with funny colored skin and pointy ears.

I'm going to echo Drakevarg in that whenever I think of adding any new species to the first one, I stop and think how they would work as part of a protagonist ensemble.


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## GwenhwyfarRaven (Jun 20, 2016)

Like some of the other members here, I've taken semi-traditional fantasy races and put my own little spin on them.  There are no humans in my WIP, but there are variations of elves, sprites, and merfolk.  All the races come in two variations, "sister species," so to speak, and they have various skin colors.

Nightelves are purple, Dayelves are yellow.  All sentient creatures are born with a natural "Gift," and for elves, it's either some form of terramancy or something mind-related (mind-reading, telekinesis, etc.).  They have a variation of the "glamour" from Celtic mythology; among vegetation, they can shift their visibility at will.  It happens involuntarily when they sleep, though, as a natural defense mechanism.

Moonnixen are blue, Sunnixen are orange.  Their Gifts can be either some form of aquamancy or emotion-related (empathy, emotion transference, etc.).  They have both lungs and gills, and their extremities are covered in smooth scales for better swimming.  They can also web their legs together and extend webs in their feet.  They started off as mermaids but slowly became more and more amphibious.

Dusksprites are green, Dawnsprites are red.  Their Gifts can be either some form of aeromancy or physical-matter-related (density shifting, superstrength, etc.).  They have wings, so obviously they can fly.

There are some other differences, but that's quick rundown.  I tend to start off with something traditional and recognizable and develop it according to the world or the story.  They usually end up pretty different from where they started for me.  I do the same thing with mythical creatures and whatnot.  My favorite in this WIP is the quester, which was based on the questing beast from Arthurian legend.

The name for this species really depends on the world setting.  In a world like Game of Thrones, for instance, everything is "the thing of nouns," so something like "tree rat" or "greenfolk" or something would be appropriate.  In a world like Tolkein's, where everything is a mix of tradition and logical extensions of traditional creatures, you might want to have them related to draiads or some other kind of nymph (the sketch reminds me of a maenad/draiad hybrid!).  But in a world like one I can't think of at the moment (haha ^^;; ), a totally new name might fit better (I liked Verdenes, as suggested before, or maybe Verdantes?).  These things were named by some group of people in this world, so who would that be?  Are they an ancient race who had contact with natives who named them?  Are they a newly discovered race because they kept themselves in isolation?

Sorry if that's a lot of info, that's just what I think about when I'm trying to name a new creature


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## spectre (Jun 20, 2016)

Bowers comes to mind name wise. Bough? No? 

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk


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## Nomadica (Jun 22, 2016)

GwenhwyfarRaven said:


> The name for this species really depends on the world setting.  In a world like Game of Thrones, for instance, everything is "the thing of nouns," so something like "tree rat" or "greenfolk" or something would be appropriate.  In a world like Tolkein's, where everything is a mix of tradition and logical extensions of traditional creatures, you might want to have them related to draiads or some other kind of nymph (the sketch reminds me of a maenad/draiad hybrid!).  But in a world like one I can't think of at the moment (haha ^^;; ), a totally new name might fit better (I liked Verdenes, as suggested before, or maybe Verdantes?).  These things were named by some group of people in this world, so who would that be?  Are they an ancient race who had contact with natives who named them?  Are they a newly discovered race because they kept themselves in isolation?
> 
> Sorry if that's a lot of info, that's just what I think about when I'm trying to name a new creature



I do like Verdenes too but I'm hoping for something a little shorter. but I've been keeping it in mind. All good things to think about, not too much info 

@ spectre Well they do use bows but so do a lot of other people so I wouldn't name them that really. But thanks


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## scribbler (Jun 23, 2016)

I think the sketch is great and you've obviously given this race a lot of thought.  Be careful though because the living in trees and sleeping in pods sounds very similar to what James Cameron did in Avatar.


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## Nomadica (Jun 23, 2016)

scribbler said:


> I think the sketch is great and you've obviously given this race a lot of thought.  Be careful though because the living in trees and sleeping in pods sounds very similar to what James Cameron did in Avatar.


It's not like that at all. They don't sleep in little pods. They are like huge hanging lanterns that whole families live in.


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## Cichol's Folly (Jun 24, 2016)

As my story is set in an Urban Fantasy/Alternate History Timeline, the majority of my races are humanoid and fairly standard to Fantasy. (Fae, Human, Changeling, Orc, and Pixie) However, I did create two of my own.

Genhorten/Infernals - Anybody familiar with the Krampus legend? This is them. They are a race that others have come to know as Infernals, or simply "demons". They look exactly like you would think. However, they do not act they way you think. Genhorten (as they call themselves) are educated. Cultured. They have loving families, a rich history of art and they are skilled warriors. But because of the way they look, and the role they played in The War, they are reviled. Humans and Fae alike use them as an easy whipping boy when they need to distract from their own unsavory actions. Though some are able to see past the stereotypes and find a common bond. Even love.

Constructs - So these are...something similar to golems. Constructs are spirits of those who die with unfinished business. In my story, they were all just chilling in the spirit plane...purgatory if you'd like...when certain events happened and gave them the chance to come back. Those that chose to do so formed new bodies out of the remnant of the world around them (stone, concrete, even metal and glass). In fact, the human name for them is "Tech Golems". There is only one in my story so far, and he is humanoid in shape, though I suppose they could look like whatever they wanted. The one shared characteristic is smooth white eyes that glow intensely bright when magic is being brought to bear. I am being careful not to make them overpowered or too prolific. They are therefore something of a rarity in the world. 

As to what they look like, it's largely dependent on where they first descend to our plane and the materials available. Eidolon is a councilor and spiritual leader. He chose to descend into the bombed out shell of an old church, as he felt he could do the most good there. As such, his body is largely composed of stone, marble, and shards of colored glass with veins of lead running throughout. One can even make out the faint imprint of a cross running along his back.


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## ALB2012 (Jul 8, 2016)

I have elves - but mine are basically slaves. Their culture was decimated by a combination of war, a strange plague which fed on magic users, then spread to all, and martial law imposed by the humans. Now the elves either live in fragmented groups deep in the forest or in ghettos in the city - they are, at best, servants. They cannot officially own anything - they are property - they have no rights in law. 

My trolls large, horned humanoids who inhabit the fringes of the world. Mainly residing in the mountains and lonely valleys. Theirs is a matriarchal society - the Shaman is always female and she rules her tribe. They are very cultured and religious -generally trolls are literate and intelligent. 
The men who have magic are Hirik - shapeshifting warriors who defend the tribe, and go to war. The magical females are seers, past seers, priestesses and shaman/shamania.

They don't like the humans much.


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## Steel Dragon (Jul 8, 2016)

I have a race called the Tygrin. They're basically humanoid cat people, based on tigers. Hell, they're basically the Kilrathi from Wing Commander (good artists borrow, great artists steal, after all). Hell the main Tygrin character is called *Kil*go*rath* as a lampshade. They are just one such race in my world. There are also the Leonine, whose appearance comes more from lions. I may base other races on other breeds of large cat, but I have not yet decided.

I also have dwarves and elves, and I don't re-invent the wheel with them. But they aren't in my story that much. My orcs, who are also not much of a factor til the third book, are based more on the "noble savage" Warcraft orcs, than Tolkien and Warhammer's concepts.


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## DragonOfTheAerie (Jul 8, 2016)

Steel Dragon said:


> I have a race called the Tygrin. They're basically humanoid cat people, based on tigers. Hell, they're basically the Kilrathi from Wing Commander (good artists borrow, great artists steal, after all). Hell the main Tygrin character is called *Kil*go*rath* as a lampshade. They are just one such race in my world. There are also the Leonine, whose appearance comes more from lions. I may base other races on other breeds of large cat, but I have not yet decided.
> 
> I also have dwarves and elves, and I don't re-invent the wheel with them. But they aren't in my story that much. My orcs, who are also not much of a factor til the third book, are based more on the "noble savage" Warcraft orcs, than Tolkien and Warhammer's concepts.



I really love the idea of feline races. I like furries in general if done well, but cats are especially cool. P. S. Please don't make the lions warriors defined by their courage and nobility.


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## DragonOfTheAerie (Jul 8, 2016)

I can't stand elves, dwarves and orcs personally. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with them, there is just no reason to use them when there are infinite other possibilities for humanoid races. I don't like using creatures from mythology in general--I prefer to invent my own, it's much more fun. I have dragons, but there is so much room for interpretation with dragons that I can still have fun. 

As for what kind of races I invent--My work in progress has several, not sure how many yet. There is an underground dwelling race (they are nothing like dwarves though), a winged race that lives in cities in the sky, a semi-aquatic race that lives in lakes, rivers and other freshwater environments and cannot survive for more than a few hours outside water, and a forest-dwelling race able to derive nourishment from the sun through photosynthesis. Also a couple others I'm not yet finished developing. I'm not even sure I will have humans, but the fact that I picture all my main characters as human presents a problem. 

A good question: why are there always humans in fantasy stories? In my work in progress literally no other animal is the same as one on earth. why then are there humans?


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## Steel Dragon (Jul 9, 2016)

DragonOfTheAerie said:


> I really love the idea of feline races. I like furries in general if done well, but cats are especially cool. P. S. Please don't make the lions warriors defined by their courage and nobility.



No, but one of them wields the Sword of Omens and yells "HOOOOOOOOOOO" a lot.

Only kidding.

Actually the Tygrin are kind alike that, being based off the Jaffa from Stargate. Kilgorath is a lot like Teal'c crossed with Krunch Bloodrage from LFG. The Lions would be more of a nomadic horde "keep what you kill" type of people. Brutal and conquering like the Mongols or the Dothraki.


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## shangrila (Jul 9, 2016)

I've got several floating around in various unfinished projects, some wholly original while others are variations on the classics.

Personally though I tend to side with the idea that humanity is mutually exclusive. I think we're bound to find conflict with others that are different. So when I start out creating a race I look through that lens. Empires of other creatures exist to create large scale tension, while any co-existence generally falls into 3 categories; extreme isolationism, dead or dying civilizations and something akin to forces of nature.


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## adalenia (Jul 9, 2016)

I have two original humanoid races: the Ark'ari and the (for lack of a better term) Immortals.

The Ark'ari are a dark-skinned, shorter race almost reminiscent of goblins (see my avatar); and the Immortals are tall humanoids (with animal-esque heads) that tend to have magical abilities unlike that of the other races of their world.


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## Laurence (Jul 9, 2016)

I love our world in that ethnic groups mingle and are intelligent enough to discard natural selection. For this reason, I rather keep my races similar, other than a race who predominantly live underground far from the usual gang so are slightly more Golum-y.

I save new creations for fancy beasts!


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