I look arround on manuals, and core books, and many stories of fantasy and sci fi, and constantly just find these races that are just "Human re-skins" or "Elves in Space" and stuff like that.
I am not asking for ideas to races, but more like guidelines on how to make up a race. How do you create a race that is neither elf/orc/tiefling/dwarf/human, or a re-skin of them?
How do you avoid the tropes of the already super popular races?
First, look for a creature from mythology and base it on them.
Second, pick a random animal and make a race with societal norms or biological/magical quirks based on that animal.
Third, just make up a culture, and attach a nonhuman skin to them.
First of, does it need to be humanoid?
After that, I would start by thinking of what kind of culture I'd like to have for my race, but just the outline of that culture for now
What kind of creature would fit that general culture the best?
How would that affect said general culture?
Just go for something that you feel comfortable with and feels new
If you have the race and general culture done as you want it, fill in the culture, give it a real touch to it, mix and match cultures as you see fit
Morrowind is actually a good example of how you can do something really alien, foreign and rather original with even something as standard as elves
>keep your genre in mind
>are you trying to fill a archetype niche?
>are you trying to fulfill a narrative function?
>is the species meant to be played?
>keep an eye on complexity, your budget varies with genre and archetype
>don't cut down on needs, as needs equal motivation and motivation equals action
>mix and match singular traits, don't feel obligated to stick to a theme in every aspect or copy an animal wholesale
>don't be restricted from traits because someone else did it first
>establish and preserve logical connections in physiology, what specializations are needed for which tasks?
>keep room for individual character variance
>keep sexual dimorphism reasonable (or go extreme, genre permitting)
>mind the uncanny valley
>what associations can be leveraged
>are there target audience concerns?
>Horn not rooted to skull
So, it wobbles around like an erect dong? Also, that means there's a gap between the horn and skull that leaves the brain vulnerable.
I'd post that picture of Twilight Sparkle with erectile dysfunction if I had it.
Yeah it seems like ramming someone with the horn would send it through the hole and into the brain. What the fuck?
>When your race is so bad you've evolved a suicide button.
I'm working on a setting of dinosaur people that are around the mid to late 1800s in terms of social and technological advancement, but for the life of me I can't think of any names for their people, places or things. Should I go for dinosaur puns or just come up with bullshit names that sound like they would be derived from roars and grunts?
First call them species, unless they can reproduce with other especies in which case they are subspecies not races, and even then have into account that there can be problems with offspring(check Haldane rule).
Second, ask yourself: Whats their main environment? The environment will tell you their main traits, so for example we know that Neanderthalensis had problems with throwing weapons but could stab you with a half-sharpened rock with only his force, as a rule of thumb; cold environment, short limbs, heavy structure and high metabolism, warm environment the oposite.
Third, Why should they be intelligent? This can come from a species so social that intelligence is essential for survival(see maquavelic theory for intelligence) or species that are alone but have very versatile traits(for example: An octopus can do a lot of things with its soft body and those who used it better where chosen over those who didn't)
Third, why should they have a civilization? Civilization requires social interaction and tool usage to happen as we know it, so what traits are they suposed to have that allow them to develop civilized behaviour?
Fourth: Accept that you are an idiot and you are not going to reinvent the wheel, your races/species are going to be human-like because you are human and can't scape that, what you can do is read a shit ton of books and add material consistency to your creations, .
Fith: Seriously, read books, your imagination is limited by your experience and originality doesn't fall from the trees, as some entreperneur said: "all it takes to become an expert on a subject is to read 3 books about it" thats more than 90% of the people does, just look at OPheinmer, as he said he was even lucky to find that position and he did it with a shit ton of book reading rahter than just having a university degree or simply waiting for it.
Reminds me of that manga where that gyaru girl rapes the shota unicorn boy since she was mad about him spurning her for not being pure.
A personal thing that I like to do is make every race to come from humans, either by some kind of alternative evolution or through genetic engineering shenanigans or through magics.
It just kinda makes more sense and makes people less likely to make them into stereotypes as well as make classic humans less of a center of the universe.
In other words, if every race is "human" then there is no default race.
You don't.
There is a reason why tropes exist, because they work. You use it so nobody has to spend fucking hours to get accustomed to your snowflake race.
WHEN WILL THEY LEARN
>Reminds me of that manga where that gyaru girl rapes the shota unicorn boy since she was mad about him spurning her for not being pure.
HAS JAPAN GONE TOO FAR?
This is a cute idea, but pretty unrealistic. What kind of spacefaring humans are able to travel to another inhabitable world but then need to use their own bodies to move through the environment for so many generations that evolution causes them to adapt to the planet?
That's like saying the descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims should have developed extra-long legs for jumping over the Grand Canyon.
Yeah, I just found the image on google.
In reality of course, humans are kinda done with evolution, in it's original meaning. Even if our society collapses and climate changes and we will have to adapt to something, we will do so by creating instruments and tools, and so not changing much.
That's why I included genetic and magic experiment as a more likely culprit as far as building a setting goes.
>that image
>horn isn't fused to skull
>Is still DIRECTLY connected to the brain
ayy lmao, slap that snowflake mutant in the face with a pillow and watch it suffer catastrophic brain damage.
I'm a bit short on time but the quick rundown is a race of large sentient snakes that live inside mountains with alien/Atlantis from Tomb Raider 1 architecture.
So they are all large sentient snakes that are born as conjoined Quadruplets with one regular creature and the rest as vestigial twins serving as arm or arms, these arms are sub sentient but can think a little.
And through this mutation they get their religious zeal because they see that no other live has this occurring naturally so they know they have a God and creator, to which the large central atrium or hall is always dedicated.
those who's limb-siblings are larger and less deeply rooted in them sometimes have an eye or even a mouth poking out are held in a higher regard and seen as blessed( have higher skill)
when lose twins are born they are killed on the spot because they have chosen their individuality over the good of the hive because the limb-siblings have given up everything and without their sacrifice the race would be nothing but worms.
Might type this out in a more coherent way when I have the time
>Implying a new race wont use tropes.
Go above and beyond on the weirdness scale.
For example pic related. It could have been a normal fish-man. However the creator choose to make it terrifying and alien. Make it weird.
>terrifying and alien
I can see the beret too!
>it's just /ss/ with a horn
>doesn't even have a horse dick
Better yet: make it wyrd.
Why would the ice age one be bigger? Bigger means it needs more food, and in an ice age that's hard to get.
Larger body means lower surface area to volume ratio. Bigger animals lose less heat relatively then smaller ones.
Its the same reason wooly mammoths and polar bears got huge.
We are not "done" with evolution. And in fact it is theorized that if we ever build generation ships to colonize other planets, there is a significant risk that the crew's intelligence will devolve over the generations so that the generation that arrives at wherever mentally are going to be little more than chimps.
Isn't there something about big marine animals living in cold waters as well?
Yes! Its the same principle. Also larger animals require relatively fewer calories/day compared to small ones.
Remember Veeky Forums when designing arctic races they should be big!
I don't have a formula or secrets, just spent hours and hours and hours with my setting partner developing, erasing and redeveloping the "uncommon races". No magic, just time and effort.
One of the results was pic related. Despite the look, they're amphibians* with fish and reptile traits, meant to avoid the "frogfolk" look we don't like. Their tail is equally suited to land and sea, based on austronesian cultures (the clothing is based on Kamehameha's) and have several kinds of possible mouth-related abilities. Adventurers and pirates by the natural strong aversion to boredom, exploring the seas, looting stuff and settling tribes.
*Legless amphibians exist BTW.
bump for interest
can I habba link please?
> larger animals require relatively fewer calories/day compared to small ones.
Only pound for pound, you still need a higher caloric intake for a larger animal.
Compare a sperm whale to a blue whale and realize that the more efficient feeding method allows the greatest size.
>desperately trying to get out of shota/loli shit and stop being filthy by fapping to 'purer' fetishes
>you motherfuckers keep posting shit like this and out of abyss
Literally give bipedal Pokemon society lore based on their Pokedex entries and then make less obviously Pokemon.
That's how I came up with how my cyclops society works. They're essentially hyper intelligent electabuzz who have figured out how to use their electrical powers to craft machinery. They run off other races for fear that them accidentally getting electrocuted will start unnecessary wars. Wars that the cyclopes always win because you can slaughter tons of people when you weapons and armour turn you into walking Tesla coils.
When I made mine? I read an article actually a long time ago, and some of the stuff it said really stuck with me.
>Your making this for your world not someone else's
Anytime you take something from another setting, stop yourself. This is yours, not theirs, don't use traits of THEIR race otherwise it is just 'X but with other stuff'
>Everything exists for a reason
Give it horns? Why?
What purpose does it have for horns?
Does it have a specific shape? Why?
Everything you give it should have some reason for its existence. If there is anything about your race that you answer with 'Just because' or 'I dunno' go back and find a reason.
>How do they fit in the environment?
Really keep this in mind. Any race you make will be shaped by the environment, and you should take that to the nth degree.
What's the usual temperatures they face? - This can determine their behavior and what they are comfortable with
What do they do during each season? - This can be grounds for traditions that shape their culture
Do they hunt, or are they hunted? - Depending on the answer this can shape how they respond to other races.
Yes we are done.
How many generations do you believe are required to even have a trait change? Because you need around 20.000 thousand generations or 400.000 years to even start thinking about it.
Add the fact that humanity no longer has evolutive pressures and has slowed down the whole evolutive process and it becomes something that you can safely ignore.
Slap an animal head on a human body, that's super original and unique.
Start with a weird concept, and work from there. Amphibious creatures with opposable hands that live off the coast and fight with their fresh water counter parts. Metal tools are hard to make for them because mining is next to impossible and working a bellows is extremely taxing and dangerous, so they stick to coral, rock, and wooden equipment. With metal being reserved for professionals and the highest warriors. Using fire is taboo in warfare, and three dimensional infantry tactics are a thing. Also, farming, hunting, hunting are all underwater as well... Most of the time. How do they see the surface world, those who work outside of the water? Land dweller relations? Etc.
This is just one idea. Use similar brainstorming techniques to come up with other bizzare shit. Just remember, one question leads to another and another. Many of them interesting, most of them aren't. The more interesting, the better.
This is simply not true. The number of generations depend on the strength of evolutive pressure and the size of the population.
And of course we have evolutive pressures.
Your last sentence is completely pants on head retarded. You can always "safely ignore" evolution since it does not affect the individual.
I'm just going to further point out that the Evolution Theory is referred to as such because some of its principle mechanics aren't fully understood. Where the "need" for actual organ development begins, how change is enacted beyond just natural selection and chance, how the organism further transmits data down to future generations, etc. If there's more to it than what I just just mentioned.
>tfw extraterrestrial here to steal all the lanklet bitches
That sounds really pretentious.
Each and every one of our iconic mythological species or creatures is "just an X with an Y".
Elves are humans with long ears. Dwarves are humans with growth impairment. Orcs are humans with tusks. Greek creatures are humans with animal parts. Most mythological creatures are animal hybrids. Dragons are lizards with wings and extra legs.
Not only that, but most of them have bits and pieces stuck on "just because", and that never stopped them from becoming popular. And magic doesn't need a reason. Frankly, I'd rather have an interesting race than a logically evolved one.
The rest are valid points but given way too much importance. Like worldbuilding wankery, you're going to spend hours simulating logical development of your race which is either completely bland as a result of trying to avoid any popular stereotypes and traits and signature marks of popular races; or something so alien as a result of an attempt to completely distinguish it from everything else that it transcends logic, or at least your capacity of understanding it's physical, mental and cultural development... and then noone is going to give a shit and just pick a damn orc, because orcs are simply cool.
Go over those points once, think if your race has physical or cultural quality that really stands out as wrong, and be done with it.
Maybe try it the Star-Trek way.
Choose a topic, an ideal, or a concept and make a species whose centric 'concept' is that ideal, the trick being making them inhuman like.
>Evolution Theory is referred to as such because some of its principle mechanics aren't fully understood.
Oh look another moron who doesn't understand the difference between colloquial use of theory (to mean a possibly educated guess) and scientific theory which is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can be repeatedly tested, in accordance with the scientific method, by using a predefined protocol of observations and experiments. Established scientific theories have withstood rigorous scrutiny and are a comprehensive form of scientific knowledge.
Germ Theory is a big example of the difference between colloquial and scientific usage because a lot of morons who rail against evolutionary theory will suddenly get confused when you say that germs are a theory.
This doesn't mean we know everything about a subject, all that's left is the finer details and detailing all the little steps within mechanisms.
(and don't get me started on the nonsense shit about laws)
I just try to home in on a specific idea or concept. For example, recently the thought of a race being created as fully functioning adults rather than born struck me. Not constructs, mind you, but actual people.
From there I try to flesh it out. Okay, so how are they made? Are they manufactured, do they grow off plants, do they just kind of walk out of some portal? Personally, I went with that they just kind of appear from a cave so deep nobody has entered it and returned. It may or may not be a gateway to some kind of divine realm or whatnot.
And you just ask more questions. If they’re created, it’s probably for a purpose. So what purpose? Also, if they don’t reproduce themselves, how does that impact their society? And they’re probably pretty goddamn religious considering they are the direct result of some type of creator even if they don’t know who or what it is. They might even have a strict caste system based around the skill sets they were “born” with.
And from there it just kind of snowballs. You accumulate ideas, tweak them until they feel right, and there you have it. Hell, one thing I often do is steal core concepts from books, movies, tv shows, video games and comics that I thought were awesome in theory but not executed very well and work from there.
First, what does this race "do"? What is their simple hat?
Second, is this race something that can be simplified to a PC, or is it something unique and complex? If the latter, go fucking nuts. If the former, keep going.
Third, decide on Humanoid, Furry, Ayylmao, or Abstract. You aren't necessarily sticking to this wholesale, just pick your base point. If you pick furry, try to narrow it down to one broad category. If you pick abstract, take a random collection of objects, pile them together semi-randomly, throw a cloth over it, then draw whatever pops out at you. Maybe its a profile, maybe its one of 'em in a fetal ball, maybe it's two of them doing jumping jacks while cooking eggs, I don't fucking know, pulling the organism out of the shape is your job.
Fourth, go into a physiological breakdown. What does this thing need to do what it does? This is where we get shit like claws/nails, teeth/fangs, hair/fur, and so on. Keep a few loose ecological principles in mind, but also remember that you can break the rules if you explain it.
Fifth, go into archetypal breakdown. What does this thing need to look right in the role it has been assigned? This is where you decide if the thing's horns look like buffalo horns, devil horns, or stubby dragon antlers.
Fifth, add random shit. Not "random", actually calculate it with regard to both points 3 and 4, but go for something jarring. Think the Rhonso from FF X. A completely vanilla and boring race of blue cat men was made interesting by sticking a horn on their head.
Sixth, don't shit the bed with sexual metamorphism, unless things are deliberately taking a turn for the strange here. A race of 9-foot, horned, musclemound ogremen and blue loli waifus is creepy, unless the loli waifus are the first stage of life before the female grows into a tumorous growth on the male that eventually bursts open, spilling young into the world.
>sexual metamorphism
Should be dimorphism, I don't even fucking know what happened.
>I'd rather have an interesting race than a logically evolved one
not very flavorful if the puzzle pieces don't fit neatly together
boiling down a people to a physical or cultural trait sounds like the quickest way to make the least interesting setting ever
why do we like fantasy races? because we can see how they fit in the world, shape it and are being shaped by it
why do we like elves, dwarves and orcs? because they're easy and not every setting needs that much thought into it, if it's just going to be a backdrop for dungeoncrawling. Orcs are the anti-thesis to worldbuilding.
That's... pretty shit advice. Like 90% of the creative process is taking ideas you've seen somewhere else and making them yours. Sure, you shouldn't just lift Klingons out of Star Trek and insert them into your setting, but if you took their general concept and tweaked it and called them Luxans or something you could make a pretty interesting world yourself.
Also, making sense is good. Most of your stuff should make sense. With the caveat that this is an RPG, not a science book so it needs to make narrative sense, not actual scientific sense. Dwarves are horribly stupid from a scientific point of view. But we've been culturally conditioned to the point where we associate tiny bearded dudes with mines and axes. For this same reason it kind of annoys me when people just go "OUR X IS DIFFERENT". By all means, tweak races. Maybe your elves are a bit more on the feral side to represent nature as a scary fucking thing full of predators and shit. Maybe they eat people? Maybe they hunt intruders down in packs at night? Be creative and interesting. But when your elves live in mines, grow beards and live for alcohol and precious stones maybe you've gone too far.
If you have an idea, go for it. If you like race X but always thought it would be cool if they were like this, or like that, do it. Nobody is going to be very invested in a world inhabited by five-armed sponge-people who communicate through a series of colored gases emitted from their foreheads. Be different because you have a different idea or interpretation of something, don't be different just to be different.
Maybe your setting doesn't actually need new races? Maybe you just need to change the dwarves slightly to fit it better? Or maybe you just need that one race to populate that cool area of the map you came up with? I find the worst way to handle something creatively in an RPG is to go "Okay, I need six new non-Tolkien races" because that's painting yourself in a corner.
> The number of generations depend on the strength of evolutive pressure and the size of the population.
And whats the best case scenario for human, 15 years for generation? It still is a fuckload of time.
>And of course we have evolutive pressures.
Name them.
> Anonymous 10/05/17(Thu)08:43:30
>This is simply not true. The number of generations depend on the strength of evolutive pressure and the size of the population.
Whats the best case scenario for humans then? 15 years? You know how much ostriches needed tor creating a new species 1 million years and they have much shorter generation and hare much less polygenic, do you really expect humans to lower their IQ in just a century or two through evolution? That's the real part that is not true and pants on retarded.
>And of course we have evolutive pressures.
Name them, and I will tell you how we have adapted to them to the point where they are meaningless, or do you expect selection on a population where cardiac disease merely kills a few thousands every year?
>Your last sentence is completely pants on head retarded. You can always "safely ignore" evolution since it does not affect the individual.
And your reading comprehension seems to be much worse, I never talked about who affects the evolution, I was talking about how much fucking time you require in evolution to get the results you are talking about.
>to as such because some of its principle mechanics aren't fully understood
We know enough to know that the only direction it takes is the one selective presures forces it to take.
It's not very interesting and fun if you're spending more time obsessing over pieces fitting together neatly, than the overall picture. That's the kind of approach that'll make your players leave the table saying "You can shove your fucking special snowflake race up your autistic ass".
You know, like you can do with that strawman of yours, since there is quite a big spectrum from "onedimensional single-trait people" to "don't be a pretentious, pedantic autist".
But to get back on topic - go on, name me one widely recognizable and popular fantasy race that fulfills all of those points requirements.
And you're (again) either misinterpreting me or misquoting, because I never said you should use elves, dwarves, etc., nor just copy-paste them from whatever source. Use them or dont, or make up a new race. Giving them interesting culture (even if it's just a different angle on existing culture) will make them more attractive than simulating evolution. Same with interesting body bits and possibly game mechanics.
Evolution will still happen regardless of pressures, due to genetic drift of neutral traits.
Hell, start out with an orc. Then change what you don't like about an orc for your setting. Eventually you may find that what you have is not an orc anymore.
BAM! New race!
>We know enough to know that the only direction it takes is the one selective pressures forces it to take.
No, we don't. We have no idea why humans are, or what they are, for what reasons. We have educated guesses, theories and such, but we don't actually know. We don't know where man came from or how old our culture currently is. New discoveries of tools at camping sights in South America have already pushed back our "established historical timelines" by hundreds of thousands of years. Scientists refer to 98 percent of our DNA as "junk." Because they don't know what the fuck it does, so they assume it does nothing. They're fucking morons, and all of the holes in their theories are routinely ignored or dismissed. Just like with the current shit wits that call themselves climate scientists and base all their "evidence" off computer projections.
>Oh look another moron who doesn't understand the difference between colloquial use of theory (to mean a possibly educated guess) and scientific theory which is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can be repeatedly tested, in accordance with the scientific method, by using a predefined protocol of observations and experiments. Established scientific theories have withstood rigorous scrutiny and are a comprehensive form of scientific knowledge.
I know the difference shit wit, and no. The theory of Evolution isn't "colloquial." It's a fucking hot mess of assertion and assumptions that are only vaguely understood. Nothing explains the origin of organ development. You can't have "natural selection" produce wings when the fucking animal doesn't have even the basis for them in its genetic code. So where do they come from? Mutation, some unknown process of observation and recording on the part of the creature? God? How does primordial muck develop into a higher life form. All the present explanations demand that somethings exist before it presently do so.
That's exactly what I did. Started with an idea of an orc, tried out how it'd feel like with different cultures and environs, and got to something I thought interesting and fresh (though not necessarily original, just "original enough").
One problem I have is that it's so hard to come up with a visual design that's going to be cool and attractive to players, without reaching toward beast hybrids.
You know Orcs were created based on European views of black Tribes, right? Just make whatever stupid shit up from your perspective that you want, and don't be afraid of your inner racist! It's where all the good ideas come from!
AKHCYUALLY
Tolkien based his Orcs on the bodies of those soldiers in Ypres, where he was stationed in. Where the mud's so deep that a man could drown. That, mixed with what Tolkien thought of the soldiers that glorifies war for war's sake, become combined into his version of Orcs.
Thus, if the theory that DnD Orcs were based on Tolkien's Orcs, then what you're saying is wrong.
This. So much this.
That article sounds like it was meant for book writers, which is quite different from RPGs.
I get where you're coming from - I like to do the same in my head in spare time when I worldbuild. I get into detail that I find interesting and important, but I know my players will never care about. That's ok. It might even end up with a slightly better world, even if the players don't notice it. But don't think it's -necessary- for a proper worldbuilding or racecrafting. Likely your players wont' care and you'll be dissapointed.
On the other hand, if your players like that kind of thing, then by all means! And even then, try to have rule of cool a bit in your mind too.
I don't know where you heard that, but somebody is feeding you a line of shit. Tolkien's orcs are referenced as having black skin and coming from the south and east. The guy also was a massive eugenicist and talked extensively about the superiority of white people and their society vs the black parts of the world.
Weren't Tolkien's orcs based on his view of an industrial-age man?
Even if what you were saying was true, it makes absolutely no sense. If I were using Tolkien's orcs verbatim, then maybe. But they're not even based on Tolkien's orc, but in current example have been changed into something culturally and even aesthetically different to the point where they're not orcs anymore.
Frankly, you're starting to sound like a very desperate troll or mentally handicapped SJW. I think I'm going to go with the former.
It’s also worth noting that starting out with “I don’t want to do this” is often a stupid thing. It’s better to start out with what you do want. An idea, a concept. Starting out with the different bits usually means you end up with dumb shit just for the sake of being different. If you start with a concept or an idea you want to do, it’s usually easier to go from there and flesh it out in a way that is cohesive.
>Weren't Tolkien's orcs based on his view of an industrial-age man?
No, they were primitive brutes compared to the free peoples of middle earth. The only industrial vibe they had was from their portrayals in the movies. Dwarfs were very industrial, however.
>Even if what you were saying was true, it makes absolutely no sense. If I were using Tolkien's orcs verbatim, then maybe. But they're not even based on Tolkien's orc, but in current example have been changed into something culturally and even aesthetically different to the point where they're not orcs anymore.
Shadowrun uses them for black people as well, but has a more positive portrayal of them. The point is you can literally use your perspective and imagination of anything or anyone. All I'm saying is don't be afraid of being controversial or racist. As unmolested ideas are the best ones.
>Frankly, you're starting to sound like a very desperate troll or mentally handicapped SJW. I think I'm going to go with the former.
No need to be an asshole to somebody trying to help you. I'm under no obligation to share anything with you and this kind of attitude will sink any future threads of this nature like a ten ton weight.
>The guy also was a massive eugenicist and talked extensively about the superiority of white people and their society vs the black parts of the world
post proofs
No, it's just stupid to make shit different for the sake of being different.
There's nothing stopping you from starting with something you like and seeing how it fits with other stuff you like... and during the process you may try various stuff and find out something completely different that you like.
Do you comprehend the difference between the two? No? Wanna make some more strawmans instead? Yes?
You're going to accept my "FUCKING NOTHING," and take it at face value. I'm not digging through a mountain of bullshit to source what I'm saying. The work is self evident. They're black, they were black, they come from the south and east with deadlocks. As far as the other bullshit I posted, I'm not sourcing that, either. No sources. Just shit I'm saying based off vague memories of old articles that may have been filthy, dirty lies.
I believe that theory went their skin color was representative of soot and smog, their stooped composure and sickly image representative of an industrial worker, and their ugliness a contrast of the unnatural machines towards nature.
Aside from that, white and beautiful is traditionally associated with good and black and ugly with evil, regardless of IRL races.
As for Shadowrun, what the FUCK do I care about Shadowrun? First of all, I hate that shit, and second of all, are you fucking calling me a racist, because I use something that someone ELSE might have used in a racist way? How mentally fucked up are you?
>No need to be an asshole to somebody trying to help you.
Buddy, the only asshole here is you. And you're not trying to help anybody.
Couldn't even be bothered to read any of his books, even.
Was this really necessary? Did you really have to shit up the thread with... not even trolling, just stupid randumb derailment.
I mean, if you were a troll, at least you'd have gotten some satisfaction out of it, but this is just a waste of everyone's time.
>inb4 "no YOU'RE the one wasting everyone's time!"
You're aware that you could say the same thing about the human nose right? Or temples for that matter.
Just because it isn't fused to the skull doesn't mean it's free floating. It would make sense for it to be connected by muscle and nerve like an eye, and further supported by cartilage like a nose.
I'm sorry I didn't notice that with the text book sized discussion talking about evolution vs the massive bullshit referencing Tolkien, or the piles of shitty advice telling OP to rip off other people's works. Something he specifically said that he didn't want to do. I mean, this wonderful thread just couldn't survive the stress of a single comment derailing it. Oh no, it couldn't!
Oh, the content police.
I don't think he'd get into the academy.
depends, star trek used aliens as stand ins for real life races, focusing on making it a parallel to real life social issues, so them being very human like was justified from a meta perspective, to help underscore that people arent so different and allowing you to discuss real life poltics without the bias we normally would have
a truly alien alien, like the inscrutable tripods from rendezvous with rama, would have the aliens differences from people take forefront and so spend a good time discussing how and why they are different
neither is bad or good, merely different ways to play
if your focus is on the society and politics, then go ahead and make them human like, so you can focus more on stopping the war instead of focusing too much on minor details
yes they are "humans with pointy ears", but this isnt necessarily a bad thing
this isnt always true, but having radically different races curbs oppurtunity for inter species interaction, since with a stunted ability to communicate will greatly reduce possibility of diplomacy
if you want to focus on stories of how civilisations with nearly no common ground interact, then go ahead and make them bizzare
heck, put both in the same setting, so you can pick and choose at leisure
the problem mostly seems to be offering one type,when people want another
use the one appropriate to the narrative you want to tell, and dont force people to use one when they want another
A cursory reading on wikipedia and similar sites yield me that not all Tolkien orcs are black-skinned. Sure they have black blood, but their appearance are more mongoloid than African, if you're insinuating it that way. Only the Uruk-Hai Orcs are blacker and meaner, essentially being the super-soldiers of the Orcs - while the Snaga Orcs/Goblins, the ones with lighter skin, are the lesser ones.
Overall, the question of whether Tolkien was racist in his depiction of Orcs is still that of academic dispute. I personally think that it is racist, racist towards Orcs that is.
BUT
the original argument was that of overall Orcs depicted of being a racist stereotype/caricature. Some of it may well be, but yet a significant amount of the depictions are rather unlike the supposed stereotype/caricature. Like how Tolkien's orcs are an industrial warmachine instead of the ooga booga where the elf wimmen at spearchuckers.
tl;dr: make your Orcs however you like, as long as they're a militaristic culture with tusks, because that's what ties together the concept of an 'Orc'.
Yes, evolution is not something that you can stop, but it is something that can slow down enough to don't tell the difference.
Also you will probably see drift in phyiscal traits much faster than any neural traits, just look at how easy is to find metabolic diseases.
>No, we don't
Yes we do.
>We have educated guesses, theories and such
And here we go again with the "just a theory" dude a theory in science is much difference from the idea people have of being just "knowledge that hasn't been proven " on the contrary, a theory has been proven to a point where it cannot be anything else.
Take for example, the radicular theory and transpiration theory. The first says that the force that moves water through the plant is the osmotic pressure in the roots, the second says that its the difference in water potential between the plant and the atmosphere, would they seem oposite to each other? Yes, but in reality both are true, the first one with the plant is young and the second when it reaches maturity.
> "established historical timelines"
Stop reading scientific news from sensationalist media, these are the same guys that spend their days screaming that GMOs are bad and that "natural is better"
> Scientists refer to 98 percent of our DNA as "junk."
Another myth, is not "junk" its related to regulatory metabolic processes that are not directly related with the transcription of genes and the formation of tRNA. Although yes, you can find "junk" DNA in the sense that is made of leftovers of viruses and other pseudogenes, the number is not so high at all.
>They're fucking morons,
They have spent centuries investigating and finding knowledge under a "publish or die" culture, I'm pretty sure that they are very close to the truth since they also spent a hughe chunck of their time trying to find those holes or corolaries to theories.
> "evidence" off computer projections.
Ever heard of in silico techniques?
Would it be safe to replace the multiple races of the usual Fantasy Games with One Race with many customization options?
Yes its called "polygenic species"