Why should elves, dwarves, orcs and other humanoid races be a race of their own? Why not just variations* of humans?

Why should elves, dwarves, orcs and other humanoid races be a race of their own? Why not just variations* of humans?

*I forgot the correct term for it.

I think it depends on the setting.

Does it make any inherent difference?

If we go by biology, two things are the same species if they can make fertile offspring. So their babies got to be able to make babies or else we get ligers or mules. (Though I heard there are fertile mules.)

Consider this: they are.

You've got two legs, two arms, use tools and language, wear clothing, reproduce sexually, organise into complex social structures?

You're a goddam human. Whatever world your from just has slightly different parameters for the range of human skin colours or lifespans.

I thought ligers were actually fertile

Both are usually unfertile, though in some rare case, like 1/20 a female hybrid can get pregnant by a horse or donkey

If they're all variations of humans, why have just plain humans in your setting at all?

>God uses D20
No surprise there.

Kek, in truth I didn't remember the actual chance, so I went for one that could be close (or not too distant)

I prefer this idea, alongside all sentient races (save for like dragons or giant sentient animals), and conflict is more about culture than race, it’s just people are racist and try to make it about race.

The word you want is sapient.

Because fuck you I do what I want.

>*I forgot the correct term for it.
The correct term is race.

Shadowrun does this. Everyone is technically a human, but with the explosion of magic came the emergence of new metatypes, the most famous being dwarves, elves, orcs and trolls.

No. That is not a strict definition of species, there is no strict definition. Species are defined arbitrarily, by consensus. The thing you're talking about is an important guideline for defining species in sexually reproducing organisms, but it does not always work.

Because the alternative would be "racist" these days.
Most races in fantasy seem already like stereotypes to me.
Elves are blonde japs.
Dwarves are functional scottish alcoholics.
Gnomes are jews.
Humans are europeans.
Orcs are nignogs.
Goblins are chinese.
Can't place hobbits though.

>Can't place hobbits though.

Rural england

>Elves are blonde japs.
What?

In D&D I think a whole whack of the races would count as one species if you were applying scientific standards to them.

Humans can interbreed with Elves and Orcs for example, in both cases yielding fertile offspring that breed true.

So, logically what you get when an Orc and an Elf do the horizontal mambo is a Human.

It makes them less interesting IMO, you might as well just call them mutants like Shadowrun does

They aren't. Ask a Dragon or an Outsider; we are the same for them.

Subspecies? A bit more distant than our real-life races, but not so different as to be considered different species?

The most common.
I kinda like the idea of all man-like races to just be different types of men, all having men and women as words to describe their sexes, but the ones closest to actual humans being called humes, or something.

>Dwarves are functioning scottish alcoholics.

No you idiot. Toliken-esque D&D Dwarves are modeled after Jews.

Giving a legit answer. It's actually entirely possible to have variations of humans instead of the different fantasy races. You should only really want to have the fantasy races when you want to preserve a certain fictional shorthand for your players. Everyone knows what those fantasy races are if they're familiar with the fantasy genre, so that's what you use them largely for. The worldbuilding then becomes how the themes of that shorthand are reinterpreted.

They're fictional races in fictional world with very loose definitions, you can do whatever you want with them in your setting.
Also, it's worth noting that most settings refer to it as race, not species, kinda implying they are of the same basic genetic family.

>spics again forgotten
it sucks to be a spic desu, in every setting south america is just "oh yea, they exist, lots of jungles"

Why should bats, dogs, whales, and other mammals be a species of their own? Why not just variations of humans?

I'm glad you can ask questions, but honestly, you should learn to not be retarded before you post.

I made mine so there are only a few species or "Elf".

Blessed Elves: Descendants and prophets of the god, they have Avatar-esque power lines.

Half-Elfs: The "humans" of the setting, with facial hair and slightly enhanced lifetimes.

Nymphs: Descendants of the ancient Nympos, defended the ocean from Orduht's hordes as a sort of 'Aqua-Nun' order.

Sun-Elves: Tan, desert dwelling elves with ears akin to a fennec fox in size, who dye their skin with white tattoos to become "holy".

Drow are either pale or black, live in jungles, and worship an ancient snake hydra titan, and my Orcs are cannibalistic sufferers of an ancient plague. Sorry for long bullshit lore post.

>You're a goddam elf
FTFY

meant for

>Angular features
>Strict Society
>Xenophobic

eh, usually you guys are lumped in with the europeans in that guy's example, just of the more southern variety. Doesn't that make sense?

Metatypes is the shadowrun term

>There is only one race: the human race

>not an ant society where an individual doesn't matter
>not a martial society whose idea of diplomacy is sword to the face

Tolkien didn't have gnomes.
Times change, stereotypes too.

An excellent example of why not to take most people's opinions on race seriously.

Variations of humans are called races. In a fantasy world, the word "race" refers to races, subraces, and species.
Biologically, If they can produce fertile offsprings, they are the same species.
So, if two "races" cannot produce children, or all their children are sterile, they are in fact different species. If they look vastly different, but their offsprings can reproduce, they are different sub-species, breeds, or races.

P.S. And if they don't really look all that different, they are subraces.

Do you realize that it's you who stereotypes them?

People who make those races just humans but with X feature are doing it wrong.

Races is just another word for subspecies.

Since fantasy races often are able to have fertile offspring with each other, in most fictions. This means they all belong to the same species, so they are all a variation of a species.

Ooga booga!