Racial thoughts

[Valendros]

I just started playing (well finished installing, still updating LOL) EQ2 until HJ comes out. My bosses play it and it might be golf for IT professionals LOL.

At any rate, they have 19 races. But a lot of them are very similar (the ones that are similar are usually very different looking). So that beggs the question.

Would you rather have a LOT of choice in races that are very similar to eachother, and probably with a bit less of history and lore behind them? Or have a few choices in races that are very different to eachother, and filled with lore and history?

 

[HJ-Onilink]

Personally, I'd like to see a few races with a solid amount of lore and history. Within the few racial choices, physical structures should be different to choose from.

 

[Gate]

I've always liked having just a few well thought out races with some significant physical/cultural/systematic differences. Four-ish seems to be stereotypical and that can be enough depending on the world. However, some games like WoW and the Elder Scrolls series have done very well with 10-ish. I think anything more than that would be extraneous.

 

[Silverblade]

I never liked the idea of numerous races. In addition, I personally don't like races that are not andromorphic. Maybe it's because I started RP gaming with DnD and you really didn't have cat-people, lizard people or any other animalistic races to choose from at character creation.

I have no issues with just using the traditional four races or so to represent the player population. History and lore can be untraditional to add a fresh twist.

 

[Wilwarin]

The interesting thing about HJ is that the character creation is going to be so dynamic that you could almost make your own race if you so desire. For example, within the elven race I was actually thinking about making a ranger/necromancer elf with very pale skin and dark hair, which for all intents and purposes is going to be a "dark" elf. What's more, with the family system, who's to stop you from having other such elves of a similar nature getting together to form a family for which you could then write their history and lineage? Suddenly you've created your own sub-race which can be traced back to one of the original races, but which shares a unique blend of characteristics that sets them apart from the rest.

 

[Silverblade]

The interesting thing about HJ is that the character creation is going to be so dynamic that you could almost make your own race if you so desire. For example, within the elven race I was actually thinking about making a ranger/necromancer elf with very pale skin and dark hair, which for all intents and purposes is going to be a "dark" elf. What's more, with the family system, who's to stop you from having other such elves of a similar nature getting together to form a family for which you could then write their history and lineage? Suddenly you've created your own sub-race which can be traced back to one of the original races, but which shares a unique blend of characteristics that sets them apart from the rest.

This is official? Because this is news to me.

 

[Anaham]

I like a smaller number of very different races. This is for a couple of reasons. Too many races and (it has already been stated) you get a lot of "repeats" - that is really pointless to me. 3-4 different kinds of elves?

Also, too many races just feels forced. I mean 15-16 dominant races in one world? This is particularly the case in a fantasy setting, it just doesn't seem to work. In science fiction, I could be a little more understanding.

Four-Six very distinct races with a lot of lore and background and their own large geographical mass to call their own within the game world feels realistic and believable. I also like to see completely different architectural concepts within each race, so that you actually feel like a foreigner when in another races hometown. But that's for another thread I guess.

Less is More!

 

[HJ-Pinnelipe]

Fewer with deeper, but enough races that I am not going wanting because I want a character that looks a specific way.

 

[Lethe5683]

I kind of prefer when they have a lot because then I'm more likely to find one I like (I'm very picky).

 

[Performer]

Theoretically i prefer Diversity, especially when it comes to Bodyshapes - Vanguards 18 Races with just different Heads is such Rubbish.
In practice though, any Raceselection that features Catfolk is great in my Book.

 

[Kuzzle]

I kind of prefer when they have a lot because then I'm more likely to find one I like (I'm very picky).

That's pretty much what my response would be, word for word.

 

[Wilwarin]

This is official? Because this is news to me.

HEROSHALL.COM

This is where I read about it. Whether it's official I'm not really sure.

 

[Lethe5683]

In practice though, any Raceselection that features Catfolk is great in my Book.

Kind of the same for me however I don't really like the ones that are based of big cats (Oblivion: Khajiit, EQ2: Kerra, etc), although unfortunately pretty much all of them are.

 

[Silverblade]

HEROSHALL.COM

This is where I read about it. Whether it's official I'm not really sure.

Not saying that isn't true but the info is really really old. Things may have changed dramatically since that's been announced.

And it's discussing more about guilds than actual character creation. The customization is referring to last names and special clothing, like tabards in WoW.

 

[HJ-Pinnelipe]

Honestly, with how he described it, he doesn't need mechanics to accomplish that. A similar genetic look with blood ties and...done.

 

[Wilwarin]

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of a roleplaying aspect. You could get a group of people together who decide that they want their characters to have similar physical features upon creation, then have them all be part of the same family with their own history. In a sense this could be like making your own "race" (such as my dark elf example). Anyways, what I was mainly getting at is that the character creation is going to have so many options that the idea of a set number of races isn't really going to limit you in any significant way, unless you wanted something totally different (like a human-chicken halfbreed, for example).~:-

 

[Raccoon]

...unless you wanted something totally different (like a human-chicken halfbreed, for example).~:-

Oooh, a humanoid raccoon. Might be able to pull it off with a fat-faced Suwari, if they have tail stripes and a mask.

 

[squirrelyb]

I'd definately say (even though it's been mentioned here before) the number of races HJ will offer is pretty much moot because of the immense amount of character customization involved in the process. I've always been one to pick a race because of stats and abilities over looks.

That being said, I play an erudite wizard in EQ2. As far as EQ2 goes, though, racial stats and abilities are kind of moot because most of your stats come from your gear and not your race. So really you're picking a race for racial abilities, and in EQ2, most of the races have similar racial traits.

Anyway, back to HJ, I do like that they're putting in a catlike race that doesn't look retarded. I'm sure my wife will pick a Suwari. Personally, it doesn't really matter to me how many races there are, as long as everybody doesn't look the same.

 

[Nefermore]

You dont need a lot of races to have diversity. The race sets need to have some simetry and balance between them. Within each race also, a lot of character diversity goes a long way.

 

[Aen]

as long as they give me a rat to play! Or something small and has fur. So a gnome that had a bad hair experiment would work also.