[Merged] The races of the world, Please something other then Elves/Dwarves/Orcs/Humans?

[The Sharmat]

You can have characters with moral codes they strongly believe in while in a truly grey setting without objective morality.

 

Y'know. Like the real world.

[vattghern]

dwarves and elves are pretty boring and overused but how about drow and their equivalent duargar dwarf counterpart? obviously they cant use these names as they belong to AD&D but they could use the same concepts

 

drow are very underused in rpgs. they featured prominently only in NWN underdark expansion and had some minor appearenes in other games so there is a vast potential there

 

and it would fit the mature tone that obsidian said they are aiming for

[Domigorgon]

Or, instead of elves and dwarves who are slightly different, let's have...

 

Orks. Dark-skinned and red-eyed. A race bred for war by human mages. Masters of weapons and tactics.

Trolls. Big, hulking, and stupid. Think super-mutants from Fallout. Walking tanks with short fuses.

Tieflings. Tainted bloodlines and pawns to higher powers. Infiltrators and spies, lurkers in the shadows.

 

It doesn't take that much to get used to a new race.

[Amentep]

While I think it'd be neat to not have the traditional races, I'm not sure it'd ultimately "break" me if I saw Elves and Dwarves and Halflings women with beards because of a lack of resources (heheh IWD2, I

[HarTstaRx]

I think it would bring fresh air to the game if the common races are not the common one in the game. And would be great if a race or two are completely new. I don't mind having traditional races as long as there are new ones.

[Cryticus]

I try to say it simply , and short, On my list, of what I think would be good is:

1.Classic race but with a spin, for example, being a tribal wild race, orc that are race of imperialistic, conqueres roman or german style, (or dial up to eleven and make them in vein of 40k orks, Waagh

if not this then

2.As Shadenuat said, make them truly classical, I loved Khadgar in NWN2 because he was simply sterotipical dwarf, he liked to drink ,fight but overall was still good guy, if not this then

3.Make complytly new races

I know that this may sound a little stupid and silly, but if this game is supposed to bring back feel of Baldurs Gate than I would in some way prefer big evil who you need to destory and on the way help with your party every person in the world, rather than making from this a dark grim fantasy, or a new game of thrones.

ps:sorry for my violeicion of english langege

Edited September 17, 2012 by Cryticus

[MNOne]

I'm fine with old fantasy staples, but I'd like to see something different done with them.

 

 

- Orcs who have a degree of civilisation. Maybe they could take over the 'good with machines' role from the dwarfs/dwarves. Brutish-looking, mistrusted, treated as slaves for manual work by many - in essence, the perennial 'Other' - but keenly intelligent.

 

- Elves based along the lines of Pratchett's Lords and Ladies (added bonus: that version comes with two different nations built-in - hedonistic sadists (queen's court) and sybaritic-but-jaded party animals (king's court)). Poorly remembered quote: 'Elves are magical: they are creatures of magic. Elves are wonderful: they evoke wonder. Elves are marvellous: they create marvels. Elves are terrific: they bring terror.'

Or just militaristic and sadistic bastards.

 

 

Different nations amongst non-humans would also be a majour plus. Most settings go for a variety of human or human-dominated kingdoms, but other races are very often (not universally, admittedly) treated as all alike.

 

 

 

A degree of separation between species would be interesting too, but for me not really a necessity. It could be implemented (and should be, if it is) in a variety of different ways, from Athenian (everyone who isn't Greek is a barbarian) to geographical separation such as massive mountain ranges with treacherous crossings that prevent frequent contanct between mankind and elves.

[Merin]

Tropes are tropes for a reason, and I'm sure if Obsidian uses them then they'll do a fine job with those well-worn tools.

 

If I were asked, I'd prefer to see them create something original - something they make and are passionate about...

 

but whatever they are doing, I'm excited to see it, whichever way they go.

 

I'm waiting to see what they ask the crowd's opinions on - I think that'll be very telling!

[PhroX]

As long as the other races aren't "planet of hats" style, where effectively all members of the race fit the same stereotype - each race should be as varied as humans are - I don't really mind what the races are. I just get so tired of "all elves are tree-huggers" and "all dwarves are miners" with the obligatory one or two members of each race who that buck the trend and are thus the exception that proves the rule. If you can sum up 90% of a race with one word or phrase, it's a badly designed race.

[Badmojo]

dwarves and elves are pretty boring and overused but how about drow and their equivalent duargar dwarf counterpart? obviously they cant use these names as they belong to AD&D but they could use the same concepts

 

drow are very underused in rpgs. they featured prominently only in NWN underdark expansion and had some minor appearenes in other games so there is a vast potential there

 

and it would fit the mature tone that obsidian said they are aiming for

 

There is a lake called 'lake of drow tombs'. so drow might be in If they are in, I hope they do not coun't as seperate race from elves in race selection or else that is another slot taken up by another oldie fantasy race.

[Stiler]

dwarves and elves are pretty boring and overused but how about drow and their equivalent duargar dwarf counterpart? obviously they cant use these names as they belong to AD&D but they could use the same concepts

 

drow are very underused in rpgs. they featured prominently only in NWN underdark expansion and had some minor appearenes in other games so there is a vast potential there

 

and it would fit the mature tone that obsidian said they are aiming for

 

There is a lake called 'lake of drow tombs'. so drow might be in If they are in, I hope they do not coun't as seperate race from elves in race selection or else that is another slot taken up by another oldie fantasy race.

 

Actually that lake is "Lake of drowned tombs" it was posted on twitter that was the name, it was just shortened.

[Badmojo]

dwarves and elves are pretty boring and overused but how about drow and their equivalent duargar dwarf counterpart? obviously they cant use these names as they belong to AD&D but they could use the same concepts

 

drow are very underused in rpgs. they featured prominently only in NWN underdark expansion and had some minor appearenes in other games so there is a vast potential there

 

and it would fit the mature tone that obsidian said they are aiming for

 

There is a lake called 'lake of drow tombs'. so drow might be in If they are in, I hope they do not coun't as seperate race from elves in race selection or else that is another slot taken up by another oldie fantasy race.

 

Actually that lake is "Lake of drowned tombs" it was posted on twitter that was the name, it was just shortened.

 

oh, that is good then

[Foefaller]

After Andrzej Sapkowski, black/white settings are pretty boring. By the way, Keldorn is interesting because of his personal conflicts and quest, not his outlook on life. It's the conflict that's interesting, not the naive paladin thinking.

 

Really? Cause while his personal quest was great, to me it was because of he was a guy with a strong, moral standand without being an arrogant ass, something right out of Tolkien's black and white books. He was a well-written paladin who was an honestly good guy, something that even then had been deconstucted so many times that seeing the genuine article again was refreshing.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Foefaller

[Akratus]

dwarves and elves are pretty boring and overused but how about drow and their equivalent duargar dwarf counterpart? obviously they cant use these names as they belong to AD&D but they could use the same concepts

 

drow are very underused in rpgs. they featured prominently only in NWN underdark expansion and had some minor appearenes in other games so there is a vast potential there

 

and it would fit the mature tone that obsidian said they are aiming for

Or, instead of elves and dwarves who are slightly different, let's have...

 

Orks. Dark-skinned and red-eyed. A race bred for war by human mages. Masters of weapons and tactics.

Trolls. Big, hulking, and stupid. Think super-mutants from Fallout. Walking tanks with short fuses.

Tieflings. Tainted bloodlines and pawns to higher powers. Infiltrators and spies, lurkers in the shadows.

 

It doesn't take that much to get used to a new race.

 

Those aren't new. Orcs, Orks, Goblins and even trolls, tieflings, gnomes, demons, ugh. . most races in most fantasy games I've seen yet have been mostly very boring. Not necessarily the characters themselves but the race and it's history has always been pretty dull.

 

It has never come close to being as crazy, diverse and interesting as our real world history. Just take a look at this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mkVSasZIM

 

Like in that blog post Sawyer made about that Black Hound game: http://twofoldsilenc...s-deal-was.html in this he talks about how interesting factions and peoples can be. I would LOVE to see original or even not at all original races (elves for ex.) to have such a diverse history. I don't want it to be: Elves are immortal and wise. I want it to be: There are many different groups of elves around the globe, they generally live longer than humans but not by much. Some have established high societies in advanced empires, and some have lived more natively. Relations between them and humans differ between regions, but racism between elves and humans is not uncommon.

 

I don't just want races to be grey instead of black and white, but to have a diverse history and factions.

Edited September 18, 2012 by ArealLechOmit

[Sordel]

I had enough dwarves in WoW, with their beards, beer and throaty Scottish laughter. They were just one reason why it was always more fun to play Horde in that game.

 

Obviously it's still possible to reinvent the classic Tolkienesque races as something more interesting, but the easiest approach would be start again with a world of men and divide them along cultural lines. Nords, Redguards and Imperials all feel completely different to me in Elder Scrolls games, yet they are all essentially humans.

[Akratus]

I had enough dwarves in WoW, with their beards, beer and throaty Scottish laughter. They were just one reason why it was always more fun to play Horde in that game.

 

Obviously it's still possible to reinvent the classic Tolkienesque races as something more interesting, but the easiest approach would be start again with a world of men and divide them along cultural lines. Nords, Redguards and Imperials all feel completely different to me in Elder Scrolls games, yet they are all essentially humans.

 

Like the dwemer. Babylonian humanoid steampunk elves mistakenly called dwarves, ho!

[Domigorgon]

Also, let's see some FAT elves at least! Fat bald elves!

[mikayel]

So... do you guys want NEW non-human species or just the same crap as before? Because so far nothing particularly new has been suggested. Possibly for good reason. China Mieville style beetle-headed women and cactus people is pretty... stupid.

 

You want what... sentient constructs? Things that are basically human but with different skin and teeth and persecuted? You want insect people with 4 arms? How about abberations, changelings, and naga? Cuz all those things have been done, and all those things exist in the most typical of fantasy settings: Forgotten Realms D&D.

 

How about they just focus on making what they have work well, and we skip the palette swaps and cosmetic arms, nyeah? Mask of the Betrayer is a great example of taking an only moderately unique setting and making it a great game by expanding on the relationships, ties, connections, and themes that permeate throughout the setting and characters that are all... well... basically "typical fantasy".

 

Also, let's see some FAT elves at least! Fat bald elves!

 

Those are called Dwarves. Elves, as Tolkien conceived them, are specifically meant to be ubermenschen as based on Norse and old English mythos.

 

Sidenote: Elves were mostly mischeivous, evil, or otherwise "bad". Dwarves were "good". I am, however, reminded of a half-elf in Divine Divinity who had a beard. The character can even question him about it and is given a somewhat aloof response about people doing what they were basically built to: fornicating.

Edited September 27, 2012 by mikayel

[BasaltineBadger]

I really hope that races will be more different from each other than giving +1 to one stat and -1 to another. For example, in the Bloodlines different clans had special advantages and disadvantages other races couldn't gain and different sets of powers, in ADnD rogues of different races got bonuses to different skills depending on their race. Dwarves for example should get some special stances for fighters and spells no other races could get. I also hope that everything else than standard DnD starting race will be included. It doesn't matter if it will be orc, werecat or pixie.

 

 

You want what... sentient constructs? Things that are basically human but with different skin and teeth and persecuted? You want insect people with 4 arms? How about abberations, changelings, and naga? Cuz all those things have been done, and all those things exist in the most typical of fantasy settings: Forgotten Realms D&D.

 

But they are rarely playable and integrated into society. There is great difference between Vampires in Bloodlines and their counterparts in DnD, same goes for Orcs in TES, half-ogres in Arcanum and minotaurs (Tauren) in WoW.

Edited September 27, 2012 by BasaltineBadger

[Tale]

So... do you guys want NEW non-human species or just the same crap as before? Because so far nothing particularly new has been suggested. Possibly for good reason. China Mieville style beetle-headed women and cactus people is pretty... stupid.

 

You want what... sentient constructs? Things that are basically human but with different skin and teeth and persecuted? You want insect people with 4 arms? How about abberations, changelings, and naga? Cuz all those things have been done, and all those things exist in the most typical of fantasy settings: Forgotten Realms D&D.

 

How about they just focus on making what they have work well, and we skip the palette swaps and cosmetic arms, nyeah? Mask of the Betrayer is a great example of taking an only moderately unique setting and making it a great game by expanding on the relationships, ties, connections, and themes already hinted at in the core setting.

I like the Thri-Keen suggestion. :/

 

Someone whose physiology differs from the default humanoid assumption enough that we can expect significant combat changes. And I don't mean elves with wings. 4 arms! No arms, an entire race that fights using their feet or mouths! Quadrapeds! Sapient blobs! Extra-dimensional energy beings that occupy multiple locations at once!

[mikayel]

But they are rarely playable and integrated into society. There is great difference between Vampires in Bloodlines and their counterparts in DnD, same goes for Orcs in TES, half-ogres in Arcanum and minotaurs (Tauren) in WoW.

 

Vampires are easily playable in D&D if you are with a competent group who is willing to use the rules placed before them. There is clearly a difference in "vampires" when you compare a whole game setting/system that revolves around vampires to a game setting/system that only includes them as a PC or NPC. Regardless, vampires can be played just as any other PC in D&D games. As can Minotaurs, Frost Giants, Bearded Devils, and Ropers. The question is, would you enjoy playing as them? Would your group? And what would the cost be to your game in general?

 

I would prefer a setting that excludes annoying creatures that are included for the sake of novelty like Cactus-people and instead uses creatures in an interesting manner that, above all else, fit the setting. I'm thinking of quick-witted debates with war deserting Black Abishai and exchanges with incorporeal hive-mind like beings (ghosts). Pretty much the whole of Arcanum is a great example of ecosystems, species, histories, cultures, and all subsequent connections of those things done well.

 

I'll pass on Drow that are oh so bothered by society's expectations of them and what their gut tells them.

 

Desires of being half shark-alligator and half man or some kind of double-hobbit are more for ridiculous games that do not take themselves seriously. It would seem, based on as little as we know about Eternity, that the setting is attempting to be serious and as such any humor would need to be subtle.

Edited September 27, 2012 by mikayel

[Jasede]

I'd like there being non-humanoid races but only if having them in your party leads to repercussions from NPCs for memorable encounters, complete with significant dialogue/quest/story changes.

 

Edit: For a crude example, if you are a certain race, you can't take certain quests- because the quest-givers would kill you on sight. Or if you are, say, a dwarf, certain quest rewards may be lower because the NPC has certain prejudices.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Jasede

[mikayel]

All quest rewards should scale by height. **** those short ornery bastards.

[TrashMan]

Meh.....humans, elves, dwarves and orcs are fine by me. They are a staple, recongnizable, relatable..and make more sense than other races anyway.

 

Originality? LOL.

Like a <insteranimalhere>-human hybrid is original. Like picking parts of animals and gluing them on a human is original.

Dranei? Pffft.

Pandareans? Pffft.

Quanri? Pffft.

It's just an illusion that these "new" races are new at all, or any better than the standard ones. It just seems that way.

 

 

 

Frankly mixing extreemly humanoid (human, elf, dwarf - they are basicly anatomicly the same) with some really weird stuff jsut comes across as weird.

[calabi]

How about Sentient Virus's or Bacteria.