[Lost]

I've got a question for everyone!
I'm going to be starting a book and I want multiple races in it, but I want something that isn't done a lot.
So I'm looking for rarely used races. I'll also be adding some of the more common ones too.

I'm in the outline stages of the book so I'm trying to get everything to come together.

So;

What races do you enjoy reading about in books?
Please Include:
-Race name;
-A little about the race;
(strengths/weakness/where they prefer to live etc.) //just encase I don't know

[Sadrain]

If you want something that isn't overdone, create your own. ;D
It can sound as very intimidating task, but you don't have to certainly create them from hair to toe, they can be combined of something already existing, especially since you're most probably creating your own history and all that for the world and races within there.

[johnny]

By races you mean fantasy races, yes?

If so, I just recommend digging through old myths and seeing what strikes your fancy. Find something, put your own spin on it, and there you go. There's nothing new under the sun; It's all about making it your own.

[Tarrek]

You can always create your own race, but think of this 1st. You frequently see other races in books who all act and feel like they are human. So rather than creating a new or rarly used race you could take a frequently used race and try to put a more alien feeling to them. Make them seem like a different and unique race rather than just a different colored human. This is probably more diffucult than it sounds, but theres something to think on.

[Lost]

Honestly; Not what I asked but thanks.
I know it would be better to create my own races... but I don't have the time or energy to do that right now.
I just wanted to know some races that are rarely used that would be interesting in a story.

[johnny]

I think you should probably elaborate on what you want, Lost.

"Races" can mean a number of things. Be more specific, and you'll get better responses.

[Lost]

Well, Different fantasy races.
I really don't know how to be more specific...
I don't want to write a story about the overdone things. Like Vampire, Werewolves, Shape-shifters...
I mean I might include those, but I don't want the story to revolve around them... So I wanted other races to involve in my story. I'm not sure what setting I'm going to have, but felt that didn't matter.

I was just looking for "Uncommon Races"....
Not something I had to make myself, and not something overly used....

[johnny]

Like I said: do research. You'd be better off doing research yourself and getting inspired by delving deep into the mythos of a certain creature or species than you would simply taking notes and a few little bits of information from us on here.

Think about what sort of mythologies you like. Norse? African? Egyptian? Asian? Everything has its own stories to tell.

For example, I personally love Celtic mythology, so I spent a long while looking up information on what are vaguely described as "faeries" and found that there's a significant level of depth to the legends of faeries that is rarely found in modern writings. Faeries are not an uncommon race, but a spin on the stories of faeries using the research I did makes them new and interesting.

[Lost]

Which is all well and good;
And I would do that normally, but I work 40-70 hours a week.
When I'm not at work or sleeping
I'm trying to get my new apartment in order.
Cleaning/unpacking
and when I'm not doing any of that I'm posting here or spending time with my honey.

I was hoping that people would post races they like so I could just do research on those races. It would make it faster and easier. As well as save me time. I wouldn't use them all I'm sure of that. Yet, "make your own" and "do research" isn't exactly what I was hoping for. Even if it is good advice
^.^;

[johnny]

Okay, then we're once again faced with the issue of "not enough information".

There are animalistic races, ritualistic races, evil races, good races, neutral races. What are you looking for? Something that looks more human? Something that shapeshifts? Something that's small, something that tall, something that's steeped in lots of detail, or something that you could flesh out without stepping on too many toes?

There are thousands of cultures out there and possibly millions of mythological species. I'd really like to help you, but if you don't want the common things like vampires and werewolves, you'll have to try to be a bit more specific so I can narrow it down for you. I like doing research on mythical creatures and I'd be happy to give you some links on whatever you decide.

[Lost]

Well, Where do you normally go for your research?
I'm not really sure what I want.
I want a good balance of races. (on the god to evil scale)
But I don't want to many people to get mad at me if I change things about the races either. Just encase I post it somewhere or try to get it published.

I'm basically looking for something I could use the outline of the species, but change things to suit whatever storyline I choose to go for.
If its just a few sites that you research on I could go through and do it myself. (Like no more than 15-20 sites I read fast, and skim faster. I'll know what I'm looking for when I find it type thing.)
My problem is if I go through without really knowing what I want I'll hit the wall I'm hitting with you now.

/hence the whole tell me your favorite race type thing/

I know none of this is helpful, and I'm sorry.
x.x;

[johnny]

Alright, well, I always like faeries. They're my favorite go-to race. They are an "extreme neutral" race for the most part, but they have been known to be helpful or harmful to humans on different occasions. Faeries can be indescribably beautiful or feral and repulsive. There are an incredible number of "sub-species" with fae: everything from elves to pixies to kelpies to goblins are considered "fae". You can do pretty much anything with them without really offending people, as long as you're careful with specific terms like "Tuatha de Danann" and "Tir na nOg" which mean specific things.

For research, there's the good-old Wikipedia, which you can use as a "jumping off" point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy

There's a list of different creatures considered "fae" with other links to more detailed pages: http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Fae

We've got an archive of myths and legends of different cultures that might strike your fancy: http://www.myths.com/pub/myths/myth.html

Some specific faery/Tuatha de Danann myths and legends: http://www.shee-eire.com/magic&mytho...nann/page1.htm

A "Classification of Faeries" page from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classifications_of_fairies

I think if you read through those, you're likely to get some sort of Hopefully if you read through some of those, you'll get a bit of inspiration. If not, I can look up something different.

[Lost]

Thanks;
I'll look through them now
^.^

[Lost]

I'll probably use some of the Fae;
I'll need to look into them a little more.
Do you know any interesting animalistic races and ritualistic races?

[johnny]

Hm... Animalistic or ritualistic ones...

Naga/Nagini are snake-people of Indian culture that you might be able to find some interesting stuff on.

Kelpies are a type of fae, but they're shapeshifters that frequently take the shape of a horse. Common stories have them luring humans into riding them and then drowning them in rivers and lakes, then eating them. They've also taken human form - usually beautiful. It all ends with someone getting eaten, though.

Manticores are these bizarre lion creatures with human faces.

There are a lot of fae creatures that can be considered "animalistic", of course. And a lot of "animalistic" creatures could also be spun into "ritualistic" - all it really takes to make one from the other is an addition of "beliefs" - killing due to tradition or culture rather than desire to kill. That's where you can put your own creativity into the creatures, making them your own.

[Archaical]

forest nymphs? :D