Author: xaosgod (---.mn.us)
Date: 10-29-2001 20:09
this is my first post outside of the LOTR _not fantasy gamer's bible thread, so bear with me. . .
a while ago, jared a sorenson spoke about the retcons he gave to various races in his african setting--this brought to my mind some ideas that i had been kicking around for years, that i would like to share with you about fantasy races, mainly for a fantasy setting that a friend of mine and i were putting together a while back (fell through).
elves--this is the big correlation, because, as it seems to me, elves are very cat like--aloof, pretty with high cheek-bones, independent from men, etc. in my vision, the elves believed that the souls of their ancestors (they were not immortal, and probably not even as long lived as ad&d elves are) came back in the forms of cats. each caste had their own totem cat--the nobles revered the lion, soldiers the tiger, etc--but every household had at least a few common house cats running through it, and if they were killed--well, the egyptians shaved their whole bodies when their cats died. . .as you can imagine, part of the reason that humans in this world thought that elven cities were paradisical was the absence of rodents which plaque human cities--the cats literally roamed free, and there would be more than enough to dispatch the little rodents. i had not thought about giving elves the characteristics of cats, but i think its a great idea, now--get rid of the whole no facial hair thing--elves in this world cultivate long moutaches to match the whiskers of knowledge that their ancestors now where. they are already lean and agile, so that is not a problem, and making them faster goes hand in hand. get rid of their affinity for the bow and make them masters of weapons like the iron-clawed cestus, with pouncing tactics that have been perfected over centuries. give them keen night vision (_not_ infravision) and hearing, and possibly sharp teeth (much like humans who've had their teeth filed) designed solely for the rending of meat. possibly a long tail, just to add the air that they might be right about the whole thing.
dwarves--ok, had not thought about this one at all, but i really like the idea of dwarves being like moles. either hairless or covered in fur. i am really enjoying the idea of giving the different races actual physical characteristics of teh animals they are related to, so lets give the dwarves slightly over-sized hands with large burrowing claws, the likes of which many moles have. if they wish to build things, they have to cut their claws--something which is ridiculed by other dwarves as it removes their only natural weapon, and their ability to burrow effectively, however, they are world-acclaimed smiths and inventors, so many never allow their claws to grow back, instead becoming enraptured with the surface world (although they only travel out at night, as the sunlight still bothers their eyes). humans, who see the differences between teh surface dwarves and the burrowers and dont realize they are self imposed, call those who cut their claws gnomes, thinking them to be a separate race.
hmmm--i like monkey halflings, too, but let me move on to the other races.
goblins--related to bats (i believe there were/are winged goblins in ad&d, weren't there?), they have a tendency to sleep in large communes in caves during the day, making them natural enemies of the dwarves, especially since they are slightly vampiristic (not full hemovores, but do require some blood ingested to survive). when not preying on the dwarves, they also eat insects, small mammals and lizards, and delight in fruit. while they are not evil, per-se, they are a non-altruistic people--they believe in the welfare of the tribe first and foremost, and they occasionally are united by certain other traditioanlly goblinoid races, or by powerful humans, usually under threat of annhiliation, and they are courageous warriors, willing to go to any extreme in the defense of their tribes. they typically attack with rocks or spears rained down from above when their enemies are asleep, and are also known to carry of members of smaller races and dash them against cliffs or drop them from great heights. for all this, they are magnificent artisans, fashioning armor out of wicker grown along the subterranean streams of their caves, as well as producing some of the sturdiest clay pots known to any sentient race--they can frequently be dropped from above the height of a human head and not break. some sad few goblins are born with normal arms instead of the wings with thumb and two fingers that the majority display. these are cared for until maturity, but are then forced to leave the tribe, so that they will not breed more of the wingless types. these wingless goblins often live in the woods as small hunters, and ally themselves with the more powerful denizens of the forest, whether it be the elves, or. ..
ogres, who appear as large, hulking man-bears, often wearing feathers plaited through their thick fur and a set of antlers or horns on their heads. the ogres are a shamanistic people who are, by and large gentle giants who hold many secrets of the herbs of the land--however, a select few in ages past were very vicious and attacked the cities of mankind. because of this, man is quick to blame any attack on their persons on the ogres and their "allies" the goblins, or by creatures of the wood enraptured by ogre sorcery. ogres are, while gentle, are known for being irrationally territorial--they only meet at a few select times and places. when the salmon run the rivers and the bear are feeding, the ogres will sometimes meet and "talk shop" as it were, discussing matter of importance to the woods and each other, also getting reacquainted with old friends. otherwise, they only come together in mating season, and once the young are ready to leave their mother, they very rarely have any contact with her for the rest of their lives. ogres are, of all the races, the most individualistic, and although they maintain contact with the elves in order to protect their realms and the wingless goblins living inside their territories, they rarely actually speak to those people, instead relying on a breed of special messenger squirells which they have magically bred to be able to speak in any language--a sort of telepathy, perhaps.
well, i still want to cover the orcs and find something perhaps more suited for the halflings (since its looking like a more temperate climate), but what do you guys think so far?
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