I started out creating my world as a setting for pen and paper RPGs and then eventually started writing stories in it as something of an after though.
Apart from humans I've got elves and dwarves and hobbits (though I had to change the name of hobbits as it's trademark). There are also dragons and magic and mystical spirits of the land. The races are all bog standard fantasy races; elves are pretty with pointy ears, dwarves are short with bushy beards and the hobbits... sorry, anfylk have hairy feet and like a good meal. They're as dull and boring and non-inventive as can be - on the surface.
You can probably tell from the build-up that I'm rather proud of the under-the-surface twists I've put into the races.
The reason I'm using the standard definitions for the surface impression of the races is that it gives me a solid base to build my version of the race from. Rather than say I have this race of tall skinny immortal magicians with pointy ears I can just say there are elves and then go on to detailing how they're different to standard elves.
I'm expecting that that's what the average reader/player would do anyway. Instead of describing my race to their friend who's interested in the setting they'll just say "the <name of race> are pretty much elves, but..."
This works for me, because it's a theme that runs through the entire setting; "it's a regular fantasy world, but..."
It may not work for you, and I expect the concept (of taking existing races) to be frowned upon by some people. The important part is that it works for me and that I feel good about it.
Apart from humans I've got elves and dwarves and hobbits (though I had to change the name of hobbits as it's trademark). There are also dragons and magic and mystical spirits of the land. The races are all bog standard fantasy races; elves are pretty with pointy ears, dwarves are short with bushy beards and the hobbits... sorry, anfylk have hairy feet and like a good meal. They're as dull and boring and non-inventive as can be - on the surface.
You can probably tell from the build-up that I'm rather proud of the under-the-surface twists I've put into the races.
The reason I'm using the standard definitions for the surface impression of the races is that it gives me a solid base to build my version of the race from. Rather than say I have this race of tall skinny immortal magicians with pointy ears I can just say there are elves and then go on to detailing how they're different to standard elves.
I'm expecting that that's what the average reader/player would do anyway. Instead of describing my race to their friend who's interested in the setting they'll just say "the <name of race> are pretty much elves, but..."
This works for me, because it's a theme that runs through the entire setting; "it's a regular fantasy world, but..."
It may not work for you, and I expect the concept (of taking existing races) to be frowned upon by some people. The important part is that it works for me and that I feel good about it.
