I've got a question about the purpose of this thread. I wonder what you're proving with your effort, Max. I don't think people doubt that original fantasy races can be made, at least based on your criteria... I don't think people around here doubt that you're a creative person, either. So do you intend to open the whole world's eyes with a fantasy novel about these creatures after that? You know a good mythos doesn't make a good novel, right? Like Shoku said, you need a plot with personalities to drive it, not races. Making a good plot to go with the mythos might prove a bit harder, that I would call a challenge worth of speculating about at any level.
Well lets see...
To win a bet, and some money with it.
To work a little on my creative writing skills.
To make some pixel art.
To bring enjoyment to anybody that enjoys reading this.
To maybe inspire another from one of these races, so they may further the idea.
To win a bet! And some money with it.
To bring some lesser known mythological races into light as inspirations.
To provide groundwork for any projects I want to do in the future like a game or something, but I'm too lazy to design races then.
Ohgod, Max, you've racified hobos 
On a serious note, I'm also questioning this way of going about. So far we've had one generic anthropomorphised animal and a people-of-hats race. I don't think hurrying through the creative process to match this one-race-a-day formula is really the way to write "original" races. You see, both of your peoples have the potential of being breaking out of genericness, but to do that, you have to spend time on them an go indepth. I think this is probably the greatest cause of unoriginality in fantasy, lack of depth and consequencal thinking. Of those who managed to create something "original" or unusual, nobody ever thought it up in one day. The basic concept, perhaps, but it's the flesh and not the skeleton that makes something stand out. It's a process, and you have to let it take it's time.
You may be right,
BUT I'LL BE DAMMED IF THAT WILL STOP ME!No art work today, I'm working on animating something unrelated, and it is eating some time. Still...
The gigas.
The gigas are a race of large, hairless and muscular humanoids, with three fingers and toes at the end of their limbs. They have no eyes, ears, or noses, but do have a rather large mouth over where other creatures of similar proportions would have their abs. Standing at about two to three meters tall, their skin can be a washed out stone grey to a dark blue. Because of their lack of naturally occurring facial features that would be critical for the survival of many other races, they instead susrive by forming a symbiotic relationship with the krat.
Krats are large molluscs, most being about the size of a dinner plate, that survive by attaching themselves to a living host, and digging tendrils into its victim, and absorbing organic matter. Because of the size of this parasite, few species bar the largest can support a krat for longer then a few days. Despite this, to those that can survive, the krat can be useful, especially to a gigas, as in the process of attaching themselves to their host, they will attach to the hosts nerve system, allowing for some level of primitive communication between the two. This is most beneficial as several types of krat have the gift of vision, or hearing, or smell, and can aid the host by providing a source of these senses. The process of a krat tapping into the hosts nerve system, and the host being able to make sense of the senses it has been given, is said to be extremely painful, and takes several weeks, during which most hosts become overwhelmed with pain, and are unable to eat or sleep, so most will die without a caretaker to look after them during this time. It is possible to remove a krat, however, the longer a krat has been attached to a host, the more likely removing it will result in nerve damage, causing permanent numbness, or paralysis.
Because of the risks involved with the krat, few gigas will ever play host to more then one. Different species of krat are farmed by differing tribes of gigas, and each species will hold different traits, such as having multiple eyes allowing for depth perception, having more or less sensitive hearing, or even growing wide and think, as to provide a form of natural armour. Some of the best krat farmers are able to breed species with more desirable properties, with a less parasitic toll, so the strengh of a gigas tribe is often measured by the skill of its breeders.
Gigas themselves perfer to live in natural caves, although as tribes grow larger and larger, in some isolated cases into the tens of thousands, then tunnel further and further below ground, building on their cave network. It isn't known exactly if gigas have the ability to feel rage or anger, however, if they do then they certainly do not feel an adrenalin rush from it, and will act with a level head. Due to there terrifying size, but natural clumsiness from lack of perception, they will use large, heavy weapons that require little skill for maximum force, and as such range weapons are rare for them to use, but they will sometimes employ throwing weapons such as javelins or small axes. In war they are very organised, and their march is said to shatter mountains before them, although this is without a doubt another dwarven exaggeration. For them, war is seen as an effective problem solving method, and thus they often find themselves in conflict with trog colonies for mining rights.
There is mixed controversy about the origin of the gigas. Some say that a biomancer sought to make a 'perfect race' that could be customised to what ever need was troubling him at the time, but hes creation out lived him. While there have been spell casters powerful enough to preform such a feat, it still seems some what doubtful, and is sometimes dismissed as dwarven fantasy. A more popular myth is that they were created with the other minor races by the gods, blind and deaf, but a veran traveller thought to offer them the gift of the krat, and with the ability to see the world in a new light, they began to forge civilisations.
The gigas are completely non magical themselves, but there are few species of krat that have manipulations over simple magics, allowing for gigas to use these elements for themselves. The most widespread of these krat is common called the 'krat infanus', a species that allows for basic manipulation of fire.
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Topic: White Mythos: Max's war on cliché. (Read 5922 times)