Do you create other humanoids/races?

[Nomadica]

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.

 

[Entrisen]

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.

 

[Creed]

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.

 

[LafayetW]

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).

 

[AveryPierce]

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.

 

[BrainMatter]

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.

 

[WazpByte]

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

 

[jm.milks]

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.

 

[ChasingSuns]

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.

 

[BrainMatter]

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!

 

[vaiyt]

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.

 

[GwenhwyfarRaven]

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

 

[spectre]

Bowers comes to mind name wise. Bough? No?

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

 

[Nomadica]

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

 

[scribbler]

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.

 

[Nomadica]

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.

 

[Cichol's Folly]

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.

 

[ALB2012]

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.

 

[Steel Dragon]

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 Kilgorath 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.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

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 Kilgorath 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.