# Fantasy Races...Help!



## chell192 (Apr 29, 2017)

I am currently writing a story I have had in my head for years and i finally have the plot i want. Only problem...I have different races and need help building up on them. My story revolves around something like Sword Art Online only in my story the players are transported into the game, kind of like their actual bodies (so if they die their dead)..yea haven't quite figured out how i want that to go yet, I'm taking one step at a time...

a lot of my races are general:
Mage
Elf
Summoners
Demons (I don't think I'll add angels...that feels a little cliche'?)

This is all i've been able to think of...i need to get info on really good races with descriptions..i've been researching for two days now and haven't been too satisfied with what exactly i want. 

Basically i want the races to be able to have different abilities but i really want to focus on the main 20 something characters. i don't mind some of them being the same.

In the story the main character is a sweet girl, her appearance is that of a elf but she doesn't necessarily belong to the elf tribe(or however i end up naming them) i want this character to be a mystery to herself. She doesn't exactly know her race, or she is a very rare race....haven't decided that either. Eventually during a battle she dies..unknown to the players they get another chance and are sent to an underworld and have to achieve a certain criteria before the game lets them return, she ends up seeing her killer in the underworld and achieves that criteria during their fight. During this time she ends up being a controller of dark magic, her character turns from the sweet smiling personality to being more mature and realizing how others are using the game for ill intentions, creating a darker character. I've thought of her actually being a rare demon half-breed race maybe? With that is how her character is able to use dark magic. This character is the hardest one for me to figure out and be happy with.

I have about 6-8 characters i want to be completely different and i'm having difficulty in deciding these races, and naming them.

I apologize for poor grammar or being ridiculously out of order this is a fast type up lol
Please any feed back would be helpful!


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## ThinkerX (Apr 29, 2017)

Since this is a 'game' story, have you tried digging up the old AD&D 'Monster Manual?'  If my somewhat hazy memory serves, AD&D is now 'Pathfinder.'

From a writing standpoint, I would strongly recommend against more than three or four races. More than that and they can get confusing, plus a certain 'sameness' settles in.

Also, one persons 'demon' can be another's 'angel.'  A question of perspective.


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## elemtilas (Apr 29, 2017)

chell192 said:


> I am currently writing a story I have had in my head for years and i finally have the plot i want. Only problem...I have different races and need help building up on them. My story revolves around something like Sword Art Online only in my story the players are transported into the game, kind of like their actual bodies (so if they die their dead)..yea haven't quite figured out how i want that to go yet, I'm taking one step at a time...
> 
> a lot of my races are general:
> Mage
> ...



Well, to be frank, angels are no more cliche than demons or elves or any other race we put in our stories!

Angels I think are actually pretty cool. It's not all harps and lutes. There's loads of warrior angels, too. I mean, you've got Michael who kicked Satan's ass up and down the field, and he's got probably the most vorpal of all swords. Uriel has a fiery sword that slashes in all directions and Raphael kicked Azazel's ass, threw open the earth and tossed his sorry self down deep and covered him up with sharp jagged rocks.

Pretty tough, your average angel. Get things done kind of people.




> In the story the main character is a sweet girl, her appearance is that of a elf but she doesn't necessarily belong to the elf tribe(or however i end up naming them) i want this character to be a mystery to herself. She doesn't exactly know her race, or she is a very rare race....haven't decided that either. Eventually during a battle she dies..unknown to the players they get another chance and are sent to an underworld and have to achieve a certain criteria before the game lets them return, she ends up seeing her killer in the underworld and achieves that criteria during their fight. During this time she ends up being a controller of dark magic, her character turns from the sweet smiling personality to being more mature and realizing how others are using the game for ill intentions, creating a darker character. I've thought of her actually being a rare demon half-breed race maybe? With that is how her character is able to use dark magic. This character is the hardest one for me to figure out and be happy with.



She could be a *Daine* girl. 

As far as the races you've got so far, what makes them uniquely yours? Typically, when I see the word "mage", I don't think of a race so much as a 'profession' or 'avocation' the person of which could be a human or elf or whatever. Same with "summoner". So, what makes those races rather than avocations?

What are your Elves like? How are they similar to or differ from the run of the mill fantasy type Elf?

What other races do you have in this story setting / world?

By the way, I do agree with ThinkerX re too many races in the story. Things can become confusing if you're not careful!


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## RedAngel (Apr 29, 2017)

It really depends on how far you want to go with it really.

Humans
Half-bloods (any other race mixed with a human)
Elves (wood, high, night, etc)
Dwarves
gnomes
halflings
Barbarians
Wildmen
Faefolk
Trolls
Ogres
Orcs
Goblins
Hobgoblins
Giants
Bugbears
Gorgons
Kobolds
Nymphs

Those are pretty much the standard cut/paste races youll most likely see in most stories. There are also the beast men furry varieties as well.

Dog-men (Gnolls)
Cat-men
Monkey-men
Bull-men (Minotaur)
Snake-men
Insect-men
Lizard-men
Horse-men (Centaur)
Fish-men (mermaids)
Bird-men
Bear-men
Bat-men
(Insert animal - men)


Beyond that you have were creatures potential of the same varieties.

Then there are the undead varieties of all those races as well as

Ghosts
Ghouls
Weights
Wrathes
Zombies
Mummies
Revanants

There are plenty more to choose from but those are just the basic ones I can remember off the top of my head. If you need any clarifications or help either pm or ask. It should be enough to get you rolling with ideas.


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## K.S. Crooks (Apr 30, 2017)

You can try this site for some ideas.Mythical Creatures, read about and see your favorite mystic creature.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Thanks ThinkerX. I completely understand what you mean about more than one race and will decide with a minimum of 3 and a max of 4. Maybe use the forth one as the rare race that isn't discussed much, maybe? Or something like a mystery race?

Also, one persons 'demon' can be another's 'angel', I feel like describes the main character that I have imagined. Eventually in the story she ends up being a target by the 'bad guys' but she is generally a nice person. Am I understanding that metaphor correctly?
With the AD&D i have never heard of that honestly.
I will continue to research and think what will fit my characters best though! Thank you!


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

When i was talking about Angel's being cliche i was referring more of...I dont know if I want my characters to have wings. 
I see what you mean with Mage's. It should be more on a "magic" term bases. So those with higher magical abilities/spells would be a mage.

When saying "run of the mill elves" what are you referring to? The basics of archery or something? At this point I feel like I should be watching documentaries on fantasy haha!

And as I replied to ThinkerX, I will stick to probably three races with a fourth mystery/rare race.
Thank you! I will keep researching!


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

This has given me many things to think of now haha! Thank you!


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Thank you K.S. Crooks! I will try it out!


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## Mythopoet (May 1, 2017)

chell192 said:


> a lot of my races are general:
> Mage
> Elf
> Summoners
> Demons (I don't think I'll add angels...that feels a little cliche'?)



Hmmm... to me it seems that only two of these are "races": Elves and Demons. The other two are more like classes/professions. Race is generally tied to a character's ethnicity/species and/or place of origin. What they actually DO is something else. So generally you could have a Human Mage, and Elf Mage, a Dwarf Mage, etc. Not that you couldn't do it differently, but it would be very strange to anyone familiar with RPGs to see both "Elf" and "Mage" considered types of race. You'd probably need to have a good reason for it. 

That said, if this is literally an MMORPG setting, it would make more sense to me to have more races rather than fewer. And tbh, I think the advice that you shouldn't have more than 3 or 4 races is very flawed advice. It assumes too much. Really, how many races you have depends entirely on the kind of story you want to tell and who your target audience is. In your case, the advice doesn't fit. I've never played an MMORPG with less than four playable races. Having several races is natural to this kind of world and anyone familiar with an MMORPG world will almost expect it. Unless you REALLY mess it up (the advice seems to assume that the writer can't handle writing multiple races) it should only serve to add depth and flavor to your world. 

Also, if you're looking for inspiration, since you've said this is similar to SAO, I would also advise watching the anime Log Horizon which is a story about people literally being transported into a game world and needing to figure out how to navigate and survive in a game world turned real. I've watched both and several other similar anime if you ever want to chat about it.


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## Queshire (May 1, 2017)

To counter the others, you could most certainly have a Mage race Witch Species - TV Tropes

For a story based off of an MMO I do think that more than four races would be better. Probably not more than 12 for PC races and even that might be pushing it, but with three or four races I would expect the different races to be basically different factions like Horde vs Alliance in WoW or how the six races are treated in the Alfheim arc of SAO.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Mythopoet said:


> Hmmm... to me it seems that only two of these are "races": Elves and Demons. The other two are more like classes/professions. Race is generally tied to a character's ethnicity/species and/or place of origin. What they actually DO is something else. So generally you could have a Human Mage, and Elf Mage, a Dwarf Mage, etc. Not that you couldn't do it differently, but it would be very strange to anyone familiar with RPGs to see both "Elf" and "Mage" considered types of race. You'd probably need to have a good reason for it.
> 
> That said, if this is literally an MMORPG setting, it would make more sense to me to have more races rather than fewer. And tbh, I think the advice that you shouldn't have more than 3 or 4 races is very flawed advice. It assumes too much. Really, how many races you have depends entirely on the kind of story you want to tell and who your target audience is. In your case, the advice doesn't fit. I've never played an MMORPG with less than four playable races. Having several races is natural to this kind of world and anyone familiar with an MMORPG world will almost expect it. Unless you REALLY mess it up (the advice seems to assume that the writer can't handle writing multiple races) it should only serve to add depth and flavor to your world.
> 
> Also, if you're looking for inspiration, since you've said this is similar to SAO, I would also advise watching the anime Log Horizon which is a story about people literally being transported into a game world and needing to figure out how to navigate and survive in a game world turned real. I've watched both and several other similar anime if you ever want to chat about it.



I tried to watch Log Horizon but its been hard for me to enjoy it lol. I see where your coming from as well and have seriously been thinking on how exactly i want to use each race and i do think i will need more than just the four. So far what i have come up with are; elves, humans, hybrids, and then dark elves which are very rare. In the game world they each have their own territory with neutral land in between. And each race is known for specific talents. Elves and higher magic user, humans are weapon experts, hybrids are beast masters, and the dark elves practice dark magic and are known for being collectors of rare items.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Queshire said:


> To counter the others, you could most certainly have a Mage race Witch Species - TV Tropes
> 
> For a story based off of an MMO I do think that more than four races would be better. Probably not more than 12 for PC races and even that might be pushing it, but with three or four races I would expect the different races to be basically different factions like Horde vs Alliance in WoW or how the six races are treated in the Alfheim arc of SAO.



I am using the Alfheim arc of SAO to determine how the races act against each other, but there are neutral territories where some alliances form with different races.


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## Queshire (May 1, 2017)

Question: How are there rare races? Are they just not popular with players, do players not get to choose their race or that if you get a lucky roll you get a rare race as an additional option that other players wouldn't have?

Side note: I'm a big fan of Log Horizon personally. I see it as a good example of a setting where social fu and politicking is more important that kicking boss monster butt.


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## Mythopoet (May 1, 2017)

You need to have a race of little people. Doesn't matter what they're based on. There's a million versions of little people. But you've got to have one in a game setting. Sorry, I don't make the rules. 

But seriously. Little people are fun. They make every game setting better.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Queshire said:


> Question: How are there rare races? Are they just not popular with players, do players not get to choose their race or that if you get a lucky roll you get a rare race as an additional option that other players wouldn't have?



The game decides the race and their 'special move'. I wanted to create a rare race to add some extra mystery to the story.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

Mythopoet said:


> You need to have a race of little people. Doesn't matter what they're based on. There's a million versions of little people. But you've got to have one in a game setting. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
> 
> But seriously. Little people are fun. They make every game setting better.



Like midgets? (Not trying to be mean lol)


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## pmmg (May 1, 2017)

I think you might benefit from looking into Dungeon's and Dragon's material (heck, you might even turn into a gamer). They have a lot of stuff on a lot of this stuff. Player's handbook and Monster Manual come quickly to mind.

If you want to go a more classical route, then visit a book store (do they still have those?) and look up some books of mythology.

All though, if its true, that you have really not heard of many of these things, maybe it would be a better exercise to see what you can create before these other things steer you in more tried and true directions. Make up your own races.


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## chell192 (May 1, 2017)

pmmg said:


> I think you might benefit from looking into Dungeon's and Dragon's material (heck, you might even turn into a gamer). They have a lot of stuff on a lot of this stuff. Player's handbook and Monster Manual come quickly to mind.
> 
> If you want to go a more classical route, then visit a book store (do they still have those?) and look up some books of mythology.
> 
> All though, if its true, that you have really not heard of many of these things, maybe it would be a better exercise to see what you can create before these other things steer you in more tried and true directions. Make up your own races.



I think im set with the four i have so far. i do want one more though...
What i have now are elves, beast master (most are part animal), warriors (human) and then the rare dark elves. im seriously considering Mythopoet's idea on the little people though lol


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## Queshire (May 1, 2017)

Huh so is it sort of a fighter, mage, thief set up with the elves for the mages and beast masters for the thieves? Maybe a race to fill the cleric / priest role?


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## Mythopoet (May 2, 2017)

chell192 said:


> Like midgets? (Not trying to be mean lol)



lol Like Hobbits, Halflings, Gnomes, Dwarves (though I prefer something cuter than the average Dwarf) etc. Most fantasy MMORPGs will have a race of "little people" if they have multiple races. WoW has Gnomes and Goblins. GW2 has Asura. FFXIV has Lalafell (who are cute as HECK). ArcheAge has the generic Dwarf males but the females are super cute. Usually inspired by some variant of "little people" from mythology. You find the concept all over the world. Little people (mythology) - Wikipedia


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## RedAngel (May 2, 2017)

I caught myself starting to go on a rant last night so I decided to wait until the morning.

Even though shows like SAO are good story telling with a good plot premise, I really feel like it does not even remotely resemble an mmo outside of the nifty matrixy head gear. It had a few elements in the beginning that were MMO-like but beyond the start of each plot arc that was it. Don't get me wrong they are now turning it into a VRMMO now that looks incredibly fun. The thing is that the hundreds of mmo's that exist now are nearly nothing like that at all.

If you want to dig into the premise behind SAO's Aelheim arc, just watch the Thor movies, or watch a docuumentary on Norse Mythology. Then follow it up with checking out the MMO Aeon. It is basically the same exact game as Aelfheim.


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## Mythopoet (May 2, 2017)

RedAngel said:


> I caught myself starting to go on a rant last night so I decided to wait until the morning.
> 
> Even though shows like SAO are good story telling with a good plot premise, I really feel like it does not even remotely resemble an mmo outside of the nifty matrixy head gear. It had a few elements in the beginning that were MMO-like but beyond the start of each plot arc that was it. Don't get me wrong they are now turning it into a VRMMO now that looks incredibly fun. The thing is that the hundreds of mmo's that exist now are nearly nothing like that at all.



Well, there are a couple things to consider. SAO takes place in the near _future_. Also it's an MMO made specifically for a Japanese audience. We don't know what MMOs are going to be like in near future Japan. We do know that just a handful of years is enough to lead to big changes in what MMOs are like. 

Furthermore, it's an MMO made specifically for use with the nerve gear. There's no reason to think that an MMO made to be experienced as a virtual reality would be anything like MMOs today. 

So maybe try to suspend your disbelief a bit?



RedAngel said:


> If you want to dig into the premise behind SAO's Aelheim arc, just watch the Thor movies, or watch a docuumentary on Norse Mythology. Then follow it up with checking out the MMO Aeon. It is basically the same exact game as Aelfheim.



No, don't watch the Thor movies to get an idea of what Norse Mythology is like. Reading the wikipedia entry on Norse Mythology would be better than that.


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## RedAngel (May 2, 2017)

Lol the Thor movie was a joke. But seriously Aelfheim is pretty much Aeon. If anything look at some pk fights on youtube and youll see fairly right away.

Don't get me wrong I thouroughly enjoyed the anime in the various arcs and hoped that it was a real thing. Lo and behold IBM is going to do just that and I really hope it is as close to the show as possible. With using watson and cloud computing amongst body scanning and omni directional treadmills it is looking good. Even if it is more external that mental. Things like neural sky and other EEG things are making their way into the market and they are learning more and more about brainwaves every day and the advent of quantum computing slowly reaching the hands of companies. Most importantly though IBM is going to release SAO on the time frame of the game and I hope one day it comes to the US.I have enough saved up for everything it would need if it did. So trust me my belief is not suspended. It is an eventuality.


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