Nonhuman Races for a Dark Fantasy Setting

>>53631590
None.
Everything a nonhuman race can do you can do just as well with mutated or magically altered humans, with none of the snowflakiness.
Humans encourage players to create a compelling character, nonhumans encourage them to be a stereotype.

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>>53631686
>mutated or magically altered humans
>none of the snowflakiness

>>53631686
I partially disagree.

Sure, you should mostly just have humans running around. No orc tribes raiding or dwarven smiths in towns or shit like that. But there is still one thing that a nonhuman being can do, and that's the feeling of "otherness": stick some elves into the deep woods from where they rarely come out, and orcs to the very darkest depths of the mine tunnels where man occasionally sights them in the shadows, and you'll get a good effect out of them.

Them just being mutated humans or something is also not a good idea, because it directly states their origin and how they came to be, as well as that they're in fact humans after all, directly marring the feeling of otherness we're trying to create here.

>>53631686
>with none of the snowflakiness
Lol no. If anything, I've noticed human characters actually help to intensify the snowflakiness, by virtue of people trying way too hard to make their bog standard human character not boring.

Whenever you fluff out a new kingdom or nation, settlement or even a single character, leave their race as the very last consideration. Instead think of their history, their skills and personality, and their role in the campaign.

Then ask yourself the essential question: "Can I possibly make them human without losing anything I could not afford to lose?" Most of the time, the answer will be yes - so make them human.

Humanity is the standard. Anything not being human is an anomaly.

>>53631590
Lich

>>53631590
>I've always thought that a "Frankenstein's Monster" type race was perfect for a Dark Fantasy setting. I don't know if these guys would be a Warforged reskin or something new, though.
I can see you're going off D&D already, so try using something like the Blaspheme. They were intended to be closer to a Frankenstein.

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>>53631590
Pic-related didn't write THE book on this, but he certainly added to the collection in some... unusual ways. Definitely worth a look if you need a little fresh inspiration.

In no particular order, you've got:
- standard humans
- humans with robot parts grafted on
- robots with human parts grafted on
- humans with animal parts grafted on
- animals with human parts grafted on
- combinations of the above
- humans with bugs for heads (unrelated to the above)
- cactus people
- jellyfish people
- disembodied-flying-hand people
- mosquito people
- lobster people
- hedgehog people (who ride roosters)
- bird people
- scab people (don't ask)
- frog people
- photophobic haemophages (lol)
- flatulent imps
- pan-dimensional psychic terror spiders

>>53632840
I even had with my lich controlled theocratic kingdom, even with sentient undead existing they are not the norm, humans are, and any non human races are either exotic eastiners or former slaves that dwell in the woods and stick together for survival.

>>53633504
Everything I've heard about Mieville sounds fucking awful.

>>53631686
I would like to point out that all the races mentioned, besides the spiderfolk, we're either once human, descended from humans, of as you said yourself, mutated humans.

>>53634655
>we're

I'M A FUCKWIT