Imagining Races
As humans are the only sentient species on Earth, generally the first fantasy we adopt when beginning a new fantasy roleplaying game is the idea that other sentient species, referred to as races exist. Generally, we tend to have varying opinions about we expect from our "races" as we call them. Though, the largest problem, we find, exists as we try to truly differentiate these races from one another. For the sake of our own sanity, we'll mostly be sticking to fantasy games for the time being.
(Thranduil, The Hobbit, Warner Bros.)
The Usual Suspects
We run into the usual five races in most fantasy games, thanks to a precedent set by writers like Tolkien and other writers that initially influenced the fantasy genre. Often times we see the same several tropes:
Humans- That's us! We're adaptable and we can be whatever!
Elves- Tall, mysterious, beautiful near-humans who are good at anything relying on precision and agility. Dwarves- Stout, gruff, beardy fellows, who like fighting and treasure.
Orcs- Mean, nasty, ugly guys, who as strong as they are evil.
Halflings- Small, cheery, folk who have big hearts. Did I mention they're small? That pretty much covers it. Oh, I forgot to mention, pretty much everyone looks human, and humans can hybridize with elves or orcs, but never dwarves or halflings, putting it nicely. In doing so, we get half-elves and half-orcs if we agree that is allowed. While we're at it, we'll include the three other Dungeons and Dragons 5e races: Tiefling- Devil-people, because yeah.
Dragonborn- Dragon people, because yeah. Gnomes-...I really have nothing to say about gnomes. They're tricky? Basically the elf version of halflings? It's generally pretty vague. Not as hairy as halflings?
(Race line up, Wizards of the Coast)
Have you stopped to think, really, what the difference among all of them really is? We aren't given one! We're told that this merry crew of phenotypes are different. Then, we the players and Game Masters argue about it, and scoff and grumble at other interpretations. Then some players get even more unhappy when you can't be a half-X, half-Y creature. I say if it makes sense, do what you'd like. My game is set in a setting that is not the same as even my best friend's setting. According to the usual logic, someone is doing something wrong? Right? Trick question, no. No one is doing anything wrong as long as it is not an established setting. What's the problem?
The Issue and the Solution
The problem is, when a creator establishes a setting with the reoccurring races, we aren't seeing much variation in these creatures. Not from version to version, and game to game, but when a game master sits down, and creates a setting, they aren't establishing a race. They are including the race as a concept without defining it. If your definition of an elf is the same as another person's that's fine, but if you do not define what being that race means in your setting, biologically, culturally, historically, then you are permitting anything anyone thinks they know about it. Andy (@DM_Starhelm) prefers a different imagining of elves than I do. I admit, his concept of elves are more unique than mine. Mine is the base fantasy, pointy-eared beautiful people who are good at magic. This bothered me, when he first defined them in his setting. Not because I didn't like it. His telling is his own. It bothered me, because I did not do that for my setting. It doesn't need to be different, but it irked me that my concept was the ambiguous "basic" concept.
Breaking the Mold
How do you really define a race? Start with their appearance. Then work your way down to their biology and their history. Take for instance, the Sylvari from Guild Wars:
(Sylvari, Guild Wars 2)
The Sylvari, are basically elves, born from a large tree, but they are colorful-plant like people. A lot of the same elvish mysticism is still there. If we were to imagine the Sylvari as wood elves, the minute details can be easily formulated. Just warn your players that this is what to expect. If you instead say, "I want to re-define elves," you might be picking the themes related to elves and change their appearance, history, or biology as you see fit. You may go so far to add additional rules or abilities available to that race based on the changes you make. Maybe, if you are making elves to be like the Guild Wars' Sylvari. Maybe by trancing in sunlight for those four hours also counts as a full day's meal via photosynthesis. Perhaps they can still eat normal food, or need to eat a different amount, or maybe they have to eat something richer in minerals? Either way, these small adjustments will help re-define your imagining of that race.
The Ol' Classics
(Height Differences= Diversity, The Fellowship of the Ring, Warner Bros. )
What if you like that the races are more simple, like what you're used to? How do you explain that? I do have a slight relief for those of you that prefer "classic" or the D&D iterations of these races. I have a theory that works as far as these iterations of humanoid races, based on the Forgotten Realms settings. In a nutshell, in the Forgotten Realms' history, the five creator races established the existence of a good majority of the races, minus elves and dwarves, which are thought to have come from other planes and worlds along with several other races. It doesn't offer the differences in physiology very well, however, it could also lend to the idea that perhaps that by chance, the newcomer races are similar to humans.
If we compare this analogy to space travel, which is generally the closest way we can understand interplanar travel. Our major hang up from moving to other planets is that within our reach, planets such as these are inhospitable. If Faerun was found to be similar to their worlds of origin, it would be considered hospitable to that immigrant race, meaning it could support that race and the demands of their physiology along side these other races. Of course, this doesn't mean they can't have different skin, hair, or eye colors. The Forgotten Realms accounts for this in its description of the varying races and sub-races.
Well, why can they interbreed then, in the case of half-elves and half-orcs? Well, there's no harm in saying they can't if you are adamantly against it, because it "doesn't make sense." If your reason is "it doesn't make sense" don't leave your reason at that. Actually verbalize that the physiology of the two species are incompatible. Perhaps physical relations (to put it scientifically) is still possible, but reproduction is out of the question. If you rule that hybridization is fine by you in your game, consider either of these possibilities, or create your own: 1. )The god of one or both races considered or counted on it in the history to come of those races and provided a "way" to make it happen at the time of creation. Scientifically speaking, the DNA of the two species is just compatible enough.
2.) Perhaps in the history of these races they come from a closely related ancestor. For example, maybe elves, humans, and dwarves came from a common ancestor and exposure to different outside sources, such as fey magic, etc, or evolution itself happened. If elves in your setting are still fey-descended, perhaps they are the off-spring of some fey and proto-human coupling, then, you know, Darwinism, and genetics and that whole ball game. If there was an outside force that developed orcs and distinguished them from humans, define it.
Whichever way you ultimately land on, just remember, it is your game. Unless you are playing a setting that is established like Faerun, Eberron, Greyhawk, then cater to those. If not, then you decide what you like and what you want to use or not use. That's the beauty of tabletop games. If anyone said it best, it is probably Pirate's of the Caribbean's Hector Barbossa:
Take the base game, and make it your own. Quick aside, Matthew Colville on Youtube just had a great video that touched on that aspect of Dungeons and Dragons. We'll be coming back to this theme more and more in coming articles. Just remember that as you make your decisions in and out of game.
Happy gaming and creating, everybody!