1- the races are just the classic ones (elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, etc.), with very small adaptations to the lore...

>1- the races are just the classic ones (elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, etc.), with very small adaptations to the lore, if any.

>2- the races are just the classic ones but with a TWIST! (tree hugging shamanistc forest dwarves, evil dark elves, peaceful orcs, etc.). The changes are more severe, and are meant to purposefully subvert players expectations.

>3- the races are just furry races (catmen, dogmen, micemen, lizardmen, birdmen, etc.), with personality/societal traits that mimic the behavior of the animals that inspired them.

It's literally impossible to have a decent amount of races in a cohesive setting without falling into at least one of the three tropes listed.

Prove me wrong Veeky Forums.

Play all three tropes at once, plus:
>4. Humans have subraces/subcultures that more or less mimic the classic races, plus not!Mongols, not! Polynesians, etc. etc.
>5. Throw in aliens from one or more of your favorite sci-fi franchises.

Kitchen sink fantasy FTW.

Should have saved yourself the time and just typed:

>It's impossible to make races that aren't humanoid. Sentient, mammal, or reptilian, or alive, or undead, or exist

Because you don't care, you aren't asking for examples, no matter how many I could name. You just want to whine.

I'm explicitly asking for examples of settings where those things don't happen, or are very minor.

Isn't your own image evidence against that?

I ran a campaign once where the races were based off Pliny's Natural History.
So there were cannibalistic, slaving Blemmyes, ascetic Sciapods, prophetic Cyclopes and savage Cynocephali.

None of those are really anything like the standard fantasy races, and only one is an anthropomorphic animal (The Cynocephali have dog heads).

A setting where, as in your image, all the playable races are various types of giant. Your mission is to defend civilization and decency from the invading manlet swarm.

The reason why it is like this, OP, is because of player and society standards on 'fantasy'.

'Fantasy' must be all human or have elves/dwarves/and the typical ones, or else it isn't fantasy. This is further compounded by edgy contrarians on Veeky Forums who think anything that isn't classic fantasy is shit.

As for number two, this is people being creative but forced within the confines of the system. It's a huge straw man though because nobody 'actually' makes tree hugging dwarves or "lol aztec octopus elves lmao". As the strawman goes.

Number 3 is a lazy, but not bad at all solution. When it comes to certain games or worlds, it can be really great. Personally I'm using it for an urban fantasy/diselpunky world because it is very easy to have cultural traits and groups based on those cultures to make the world seem bigger then it really is; goes great for any mega-city filled with diverse races thing.

>How to fix it
The correct way to do fantasy races is not to indulge in conformity without being obnoxious about it either. I recommend using races that are common in fantasy but are typical not playable or not expanded upon; example would be having playable trolls, playable hobgoblins, etc. These races are not too unique or strange to be considered pretentious but can be added in creatively by a skilled world builder and given interesting, believable traits and cultures.

>Prove me wrong Veeky Forums.

Make me.

"'Fantasy' must be all human or have elves/dwarves/and the typical ones"
They're standard building stones. If you have then in your game, player already have some firm points about lore and your wold, they can rely on.

If you have players willing to do some research before game, you can create more different and weird worlds. If your players are unrelieable, came late and dont even know rules, sticking to somethingknown is pretty good idea.

>elder scrolls. a mix of 2 and 3
Checkmate, OP.