Inspired by Max's thread - I've long felt, myself, that fantasy races, especially playable ones, tend to be generic and uninspired (of course there are exceptions!). But that's okay, because I almost always make my own races. Now, though, I'm going to go a step beyond - I'm going to give myself a challenge similar to his. Come up with seven original races, with backgrounds and appearances (art included!), though without the time limit. Instead, I've got the following limitation: None of these races can use the basic humanoid body plan, and if some component is obviously human derived, it can be used in no more than one race. Three races will be favorites from my homebrew RPGs, while the last four will be created solely for this thread.
Advice and suggestions (and better pictures
) welcome!
My first race is the Hruntar:
Image (Sections blocked by color, to make it easier to distinguish between them, this is NOT the actual color, which varies from individual to individual. I'll maybe get around to doing a properly colored one later):
Physiology: Standing around four feet from their feet to the top of their shell, Hruntar are often described as "giant beetles". They do, at first glance, seem to be related - a hardened, split shell, six legs, and what look like antennae and mandibles. A closer look, however, will reveal that such relations are superficial - Hruntar are warm, and covered in light fur beneath their shells and on their heads and legs. They actually have eight limbs, not six - the front two limbs, their manipulator limbs, are far smaller and weaker, and are mainly used for working and manipulating small objects, though they are not amazingly dexterous. Their mandibles are closer to an elephants snout, being composed almost completely of muscle and cartilage, than they are to an insects mandibles, and their "antennae" are not sensory tools - rather, they are the famed "Hruntar Nubs", and the source of their unique telekinetic powers. Hruntar are capable of most tasks a human can accomplish, but even with the coordination of both their mandibles and both their support arms, a Hruntar's lifting and working strength is still less than half that of a single arm of normal human. Rather, they use their nubs to generate a potent telekinetic force to support objects, allowing their mandibles and arms to manipulate them more effectively. Their telekinetic power does not come easily, however - adding more than a few pounds of force can easily take years of refinement and practice, and many Hruntar go through life using it for nothing more than a nudge here and a push there to help them along. Still, a Hruntar that has dedicated the time to developing this skill will often be able to use to to accomplish feats of strength on par with the strongest of humans, although they can not manage the consistency or sustained endurance of a race that uses physical muscles.
Hruntar give live birth, but their underdeveloped young actually shelter beneath their shells for almost four months as they grow, similiar to a kangaroo. A Hruntar can give birth to as many as twelve children at a time, though five or six is more common.
Hruntar are less durable than most other races, and have relatively short lifespans - some Hruntar live to be fifty years old, but such examples are the exception - they are considered elderly at thirty, and few live past forty. They are difficult to knock over and very stable, though their lack of both strength and endurance makes them poor climbers. They cannot swim well, but can float fairly effectively on their backs. Hruntar can not jump to save their lives, and lack the ability to look up.
Sociology: Hruntar are found around the world, and wherever they travel they are quick to make both friends and enemies. When among their own kind, they tend to form large colonies composed of a few families of Hruntar. They are known for being a lively, loyal, and extremely social species. They have a wonderful memory for names and faces, and a tradition of telling engaging stories. They are most comfortable in crowds, even crowds of strangers, as Hruntar are quick to make friends in any situation - or at least to try. They are also fairly diligent workers, but are not terribly bright and are often quite trusting, and are thus often easily taken advantage of by others more skilled in deceit and manipulation. They are not by nature cautious or selfish, nor particularly creative.
At the age of seven, most Hruntar are affected by what their race refers to as The Wanderlust - a burning desire to leave their home colony and go out and travel the world. Despite this, they never forget familial loyalties, and will often seek fortune in the world at large to send it back to support their parent colonies, and they will always be overjoyed to encounter another traveler from their old home. As a Hruntar ages, they eventually settle down, and begin to prefer the preference of their own species. Some few Hruntar will return to their original homes, while most will meet up with others of their kind and journey to found a new colony of their own.
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