forum Help with fantasy races?

Started January 09, 2018 by @HumCat

tune

I'm making a story that has many races, but i don't want them to be generic. Mind giving me some help?
races I plan on using:
mermaids
werewolves
harpies
kitsunes
elves
Thank you in advance

So… are you looking for names for these races? Traditions? Can you be a little bit more specific?

Korean?

I have a list of almost every type of mythical creature out there (that's worth writing about). Do you want it? It's pretty long

Instead of making our races super stereotypical, you could make them completely unlike any other versions. For instance, super grumpy elves that live in caves, dwarves that love to garden and have great singing voices, dragons that are super polite and love to chat over tea, etc.

Mermaids that abandon the sea and hate water are always super interesting to me! I write mine in wheelchairs and have them interact with other species like a normal human, just with fish tails.

Also, werewolves that are looked up to or romanticized are really interesting as well! it provides a sense of connection to the real world, sort of relating to how smoking, being a rebellious teenager, or having depression, mental health issues, or an eating disorder are often romanticized by society and/or the internet in this world. I think it also sort of provides motivation for some characters that stand up for the rights of people like this. It also gives the universe they are in (if it is a modern one) a reason to have disputes or problems within society.

It also might be fun to consider physical variants as dominants. For example, maybe your mermaids don't have fishtails at all…but instead have jellyfish tendrils, or are long and sinuous like eels.

Thank you you all, you've given me a lot of great ideas that i'll definitely use in my story. I'm glad that a lot of my ideas were along the same lines as the examples you mentioned (i.e. my Incubi/Succubi aren't sex demons but biological creatures and are feathery rather than leathery). Again, thank you so much and I'll definitely consider all of you all's suggestions.