PLOT TWIST: The elves/dwarves are just genetically refined humans

Not even something new. Shannara did it first, or at least it was already there as an idea.

>stocky
>industrious
>redoutable
>don't apparently need fresh vegetables to live well
>technically minded
>intelligent and tight-knit
>balanced reproduction strategy
>adapted to living underground

Dorfs are the ultimate race when the world ends in a nuclear holocaust.

>but amusingly enough so would be deep-ocean races, like sahuagins

This but with catgirls

Welcome to Earthdawn/Shadowrun and if the twist is Halfings are the progenitor race, welcome to Dark Sun.

There is a web comic where elves always look young because they die when they are 25ish,

OK, yes, I am onboard with this.

Humans are elf/dwarf hybrids

Halflings, elves, dwarves and gnomes are actually distinct stages of a single species: halflings are children, elves are adolescents, dwarves are grown-ups, gnomes are elders.

They also molt like insects: at the end of a stage, the individual enter a cocoon phase, and emerges as the following stage, having lost most memories from its previous stage.

Basically did that in another campaign. The races had been created by the stereotypical 'old ones' that had died out. They were originally bio weapon they used against each other, humans were the base model. The rest of the races were more specialized follow on designs.

>The beast-folk are just genetically refined humans living in a post-apocalyptic setting

Not any different from just being pointy-eared-long-lived humans and short-grumpy-alcoholic-humans. They all think and act like humans, can reproduce with humans so why not just make them humans.

Transhuman Space player detected. The Felicia series bioroid is exactly this. Pulverized is a famous weeb with a penchant for sexy cat girls. In this case, short lived enslaved combat oriented sexy cat girls.

It's established though little known lore in my games.

Basically the ancient long-fallen magical empire advanced magic so far that they reached a transhuman level. People bought enhancements to their bloodlines (genetics), whatever they could afford. Immortal beautiful graceful descendents with magic talent are a no brainier, right? If you can afford the expensive rituals. If not, dwarves are a sweet deal: long lived, very tough, magic resistant, adapted to bunker life.

That's for the hoi polloi. The slaves got a rawer deal, their kids turned into what their masters needed, condemned to an eternity of genetic servitude.

Just before the collapse, the most powerful and daring wizards gave themselves and their bloodlines even greater powers, hence the powerful magical niche races. Post collapse, they weren't very numerous and now millennia later they are hopelessly inbred.

In the turmoil of the collapse, many desperate wizard-warlords created servitor creatures to fight for them. A few cursed whole bloodlines to use against their rivals. Hence the more numerous monster races.

Millennia later, this is all almost entirely forgotten.

Sounds like Terry Brooks Elfstones saga. MTV did a TV show on it.

Why else would you make them?

PLOT TWIST: The humans are just half-elf-half-dwarfs.

Firstly, fuck you for mentioning that piece of shit series, books and TV.
Secondly, elves existed aside from humans but dwarves and trolls and all that were human mutants.
Thirdly, fuck me for knowing that.

>PLOT TWIST: The humans are just genetically refined Trolls

>PLOT TWIST: Humans are just defects without the strengths of any of the other races.

I see you, Terry Brooks. No, I am not gonna buy the next Shannara book.

Because they sucked and kept sucking harder after Voyage of the Jerle Shannara.