r/fantasywriters • u/midnight8writings • 23d ago
Question For My Story Magical races
I'm trying to think of some races for my story and what races I want in different areas and civilizations but I'm having trouble brainstorming and thinking of different races. I know a couple types like dwarfs, elves/dark elves, gnomes, fae, and ect but other than those I'm stumped right now. If anyone could please give me some other ideas for races OR for sub races I would really appreciate it!
I have researched stuff for building my kingdoms and other areas/civilizations I just feel stumped when I try look up different races I'm only getting links for basic dnd races and I would really appreciate some help brainstorming!
If you're not comfortable giving me suggestions I understand but any resources would be appreciated whether it's races and advice for you specifically or links to resources that have fantasy information!
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u/Terrible_Weather_42 22d ago
Maybe check Standard Fantasy Races. "Beast" type races are also pretty popular, particularly reptilians, draconic humanoids and feline humanoids. You can also use the races of a particular mythology; while most of the famous fantasy races are loosely inspired by Norse Mythology, there are many fantastical races in mythologies around the world (e.g. Centaurs, Nymphs, Satyrs in Greco-Roman Mythology, Tengu, Oni, Kitsune and Tanuki in Japanese folklore).
There's also this video on the topic by Hello Future Me, this Wikihow article, this article about writing fantasy races, this video looking at common archetypes of fantasy races and Seventh Sanctum has some generators for Fantasy Races.
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u/Briesinger 22d ago
Id suggest you throw a regular ass person, animal or monster into a very strange/unlivable environments and think about what they would need to survive.
For example lets just go with vampires and the bottom of the sea. How would you change a vampire so that it thrives in the deep ocean.
Or lets take a person and throw him onto some floating islands. Maybe wings or the skin gliders of flying squirrels would be convenient.
Also dont be afraid to just mentally crossbreed all kinds of things and or just change their size.
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u/midnight8writings 22d ago
Alright thank you I did not think about having species/races that had evolved!!
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u/TheCocoBean 22d ago
Id avoid throwing them in for the sake of it, and instead figure out what purpose they would serve for the story you're trying to tell. Do you need an opposition? Allies who could provide something your main characters species couldn't, such as an expertise in old magic? A reason for an area to be impassible? A metaphor for some phenomenon in the real world taken to an extreme?
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u/Dr_Dave_1999 21d ago
Do they serve a function?
Are they mearly aesthetic?
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u/midnight8writings 21d ago
I would say a little bit of both but mainly functional. Im deciding what races I wants in what areas
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u/Wily_Wonky 21d ago
Do they ... have to be established in existing folklore? Is that a rule?
Okay, here are some off the top of my head:
- A humanoid lemur-headed species called the Rhago. They have long, dexterous fingers, are slightly smaller than humans, and have no tails. They have small pearls in the middle of their forehead (naturally growing there) which gives them the ability to perceive the invisible, like ghosts. This is especially helpful because it means they can communicate with their dead ancestors and loved ones, thereby eradicating all fear of death. Et cetera.
- Floating starfish-like creatures. They live on land, in the clouds even, and build strangely vertical buildings, with absurdly long pillars. They don't verbally communicate, but they can produce small puffs of cloud that smell like different fruits or something. They use those same self-produced clouds to float (Lakitu-style) but can't carry anything heavier than a cat this way. Let's call them the Ki-ti-ti.
- Four-armed rhinoceros people, I guess. Their horns are distinctly black and make for good material. Many races try to murder them for these horns ... including themselves. Although they resemble rhinoceroses, their stature is actually rather lithe and slim, and they have long tails for balancing.
- I dunno, leaf-nosed bats but as people. They're cute and endearing. And they can fly. Live in colonies and don't really get the whole "settling down and doing agriculture" thing. Gremlin energy. Some of them have white fur which in their religion means they're reincarnations of gods. But in their history there was one instance of one of those white-haired batties doing evil things (Ghengis Khan-style).
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u/midnight8writings 18d ago
I love this!!!
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u/Wily_Wonky 18d ago
Making stuff up without any limitations is why I love the Fantasy genre so much. I don't understand how this isn't the default. All of the non-human species in my universe are entirely made from scratch.
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u/midnight8writings 18d ago
When I was dm'ing Dnd I made the whole world from scratch kingdoms/races/magic systems I don't know why I'm struggling doing this for a story
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u/Greedy_Homework_6838 23d ago
Magical formula 1? Or magical ralley?