Races - Don't stick to Tolkien

[Mikey_205]

Please, please don't stick with stock races from fantasy games by which I mean Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings etc... These races have been done to death and lack any feeling of discovery. Elves feel like elves and dwarves feel like dwarves no matter what spin is put on them. No matter how anyone tries to redfine them, they always carry the stereotypes.

 

I'd really like to see Obsidian put effort into crafting interesting and original races than rehash tired old tropes which we've all seen dozens of times from Tolkien. For me this was a big letdown in DA:O compared to Mass Effect. Seriously when you think Mass Effect you think about the interesting and different races such as the Asari, the Turians and the Krogans and that sense of discovery. Same with Planescape Torment as a setting which introduced Tieflings, Succubi, Automatons, Githzerai, Githyanki etc... all really different from standard Tolkien. When you're launching a new IP like this don't you want to be remembered for your unique creations?

[Ausir]

I'm afraid that at least elves and dwarves are already part of the setting, as can be glimpsed in the Kickstarter video and updates.

[SirthOsiris]

Well, we might have barbarian dwarves. Or woodland dwarves.

[Kilroy_Was_Here]

There can still be a lot of variety within a standard fantasy setting. I've been reading the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide and there is a lot of interesting concepts there.

 

Plus, existence of guns in a fantasy setting implies steampunk. Steampunk implies magical clockwork mechanisms. Magical clockwork mechanisms implies some kind of (semi-)intelligent mechanical creature. Since guns are rare these would have to be even more rare: possible companion?

[Piccolo]

I'm fine with Elves and Dwarves being in the game, as long as there are other more original races as well.

 

There's really no reason why fantasy games can't be just as original and imaginative as sci-fi games when it comes to races. Alien-looking races can fit into a fantasy setting without automatically turning it into futuristic sci-fi.

[C2B]

The traditional fantasy races in it are kinda the point in a way. They are going to put their own twists on all of them/subvert them.

[Kilroy_Was_Here]

The traditional fantasy races in it are kinda the point in a way. They are going to put their own twists on all of them/subvert them.

 

Maybe dwarven women will have long beards and men will be clean shaven?

[Wintersong]

Guns <> Steampunk

How many times must that be repeated?

 

So... no Tolkien races because they are overused? What about using always the same types of weapons in the games like longswords, daggers or shotbows? What about always having to play in the surface instead of focusing in the underground? Why (almost) always mammals? Why (almost?) always carbon-based lifeforms?

 

[Piccolo]

Elves and Dwarves can be done in a very unique, un-Tolkien-esque way anyway. Just look at the Dunmer and Dwemer in the Elder Scrolls series.

[Crosmando]

Tolkien didn't invent Elves or Dwarves.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6kk%C3%A1lfar_and_Lj%C3%B3s%C3%A1lfar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_dwarves

[Sarog]

The traditional fantasy races in it are kinda the point in a way. They are going to put their own twists on all of them/subvert them.

 

Everyone does that now, though. Witcher did it. Dragon Age did it. Warhammer and Warcraft both did it in their quirky ways before that. And just about every different D&D setting has a half dozen categories of elves and dwarves anyway.

 

We've reached a point where I think that continuing to innovate something that everyone has been innovating for a long time is rather silly. Because everyone is doing something different with elves and dwarves, you either have to outdo other franchises and be more different (which, if you take it far enough, runs the inevitable risk of people complaining that their elves aren't elfish enough, ala Dragon Age forum community) or you stick to tradition (which is utterly bland). There's just so much baggage attached to these races, and I'm not sure the reward of being instantly able to recognize a race as something familiar is worth it.

 

That said, P:E is going to be a majorly satisfying nostalgia trip, and for nostalgia's sake I can overlook more insipid elves and dwarves.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Sarog

[draft1983]

Personally i like dwarves and elves. soem of us don't play every single game released. it's been awhile since i experienced these races and i like what they bring to the table. if you read what the devs have said about the game thus far, then you would have grasped the knowledge that they are having the normal races and some others which they are designing. They already know what is goign to be in the game... this isnt a clear canvas which they are only just designing the world and lore etc.... i saw one early post askign for it not to be an isometric game, which it was actually stated it would be?? i think they should make it into a football game or a racer because i think so...

[draft1983]

well if we want originality, why don't we just ask them to scrap the usual humaniod forms, lets have gas clouds instead? thats new, we can change our colour in the char creation, mayeb i can be a methane cloud,,, and i can move but not speak... whenever i click to move i make a fart sound. let's scrap trees too because every rpg has trees, and rocks and houses are boring too.. so 2006..

[havok45]

I would love to see a fully or partial elemental race.

[Lady Evenstar]

well if we want originality, why don't we just ask them to scrap the usual humaniod forms, lets have gas clouds instead? thats new, we can change our colour in the char creation, mayeb i can be a methane cloud,,, and i can move but not speak... whenever i click to move i make a fart sound. let's scrap trees too because every rpg has trees, and rocks and houses are boring too.. so 2006..

 

<laughs> You remind me of my first trip to Europe and how let down I was to see ground made of dirt with green grass and ordinary-looking trees. Somehow my teenage self was expecting something more different.

 

Also, I fine with dwarves and elves. How many novels have been written about humans, yet writers keep producing new ones?

[Sarog]

How many novels have been written about humans, yet writers keep producing new ones?

 

Not quite the same thing

[Kage Tempest]

Elemental Races are done a lot, Tolkien Races are done a lot, Godly Assimar type beings which are pretty much depicted in idealized human like forms, are done frequently.

 

Anthropomorphic races are done the least amongst the more common groups. Just putting it all out there.... Not to mention Insectoids >.>

[SirthOsiris]

Actually, with the whole elves saying 'chillax' thing, either it's a reference I'm not getting or we're getting stoner elves.

[Ausir]

Tolkien didn't invent Elves or Dwarves.

 

http://en.wikipedia....r_and_Ljósálfar

http://en.wikipedia....i/Norse_dwarves

 

No, but the version of dwarves and elves used in almost every fantasy game is derived from Tolkien, not directly from mythology.

 

Actually, with the whole elves saying 'chillax' thing, either it's a reference I'm not getting or we're getting stoner elves.

 

Or... just a joke?

Edited September 19, 2012 by Ausir

[thracian]

elves, dwarves and dragons etc are product of a thousands of years' folklore. it is better to keep them.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Seriously when you think Mass Effect you think about the interesting and different races such as the Asari, the Turians and the Krogans and that sense of discovery.

 

When I think of Mass Effect, I'm really not that amazed by the originality of having hot tentacled lesbian blue elves (long lifespan, advanced culturally, strong in magic), Generic Honorable Lifeform and Generic Warlike Lifeform.

 

All they did was creating unique look for known tropes. I say, better to have a spin on familiar races, then we'll at least have our expectations turned upside down.

Edited September 19, 2012 by aluminiumtrioxid

[havok45]

As long as the races are interesting and fit really well in the story of the world I don't think it matters if they are more standard. Since it is their own IP maybe they can include reasons for non-standard races, but if doesn't fit I would rather not have them. Having them for the sake of them being non-standard isn't a good reason.

[eimatshya]

I'm not a huge fan of the traditional fantasy races, but they can be interesting if they are given the same range of ethno-linguistic diversity as humans (that is, Dwarves shouldn't all speak dwarvish and have a unified, dwarven culture). I can't think of any instance where I've found this to any significant degree outside of my own pen and paper campaigns (although I'm sure it must have been done somewhere). From what little we've heard about the game, however, it sounds like the races will be subdivided into distinct cultures, which actually has me pretty excited about the game (although, I'm ready to be disappointed in this area; I was pretty excited about Dragon Age back in the day when they announced that they had hired a linguist to create languages for the setting, but not only were they almost completely unused in the final product, they ended up sharing vocabulary with existing european languages, which just felt strange; it's not like it's hard to make up a new lexicon for your fictional language).

[Metabot]

Firearms in a fantasy setting does not [necessarily] imply steampunk. That being said I'd really like to see at least 2 unique races.

[Lysen]

I am not sure that traditional "Tolkien" races are that overused. You can not play as a goblin or troll for example. I'd love to. Imagine the possibilities of role-playing a troll.