Townsfolk- Different player races? I'm two minds on this.

[chronoplasm]

In Townsfolk, you play as a tradesman protecting your town against monsters by weaponizing your tools and perfecting your skills into a unique fighting style.
You choose your profession and you choose your lifepath via 'milestones' in your character's life (marriage, parenthood, fought a war, etc.)

One thing I'm trying to decide on is whether to have different playable races or to keep it human focused.
Either way, I don't plan to have elves or dwarves playable. My idea is that magic-folk would be NPCs that grant you mechanical benefits when you can get their friendship (this would count as milestones. Friendly with Dwarves milestone lets you open doors and treasure chests with dwarven markings, Friendly with Elves lets you find elven gifts hidden under bushes, Friendly with a Demon gives you a pair of unseen hands that helps you out.)

I'm wondering though whether I should allow players to play as non-magical non-humans though. Like hobbits, or like...
Plainsfolk
Seafolk
Cavefolk
Treefolk
Starfolk

I dunno. What do you think?

[Vulpinoid]

What benefits and drawbacks do you see as coming from the other races?

Are they purely cultural differences? Or would the different races fundamentally play with baseline statistics and character options?

I think the different types of "X"-folk is a nice way to go, because it doesn't get people caught up in pre-conceived notions of what a certain race should or shouldn't be...you're basically working off a blank slate, with a bit of colour thrown in purely based on the type of "folk" being played.

But that goes back to my first questions...are these folk simply the same race with different cultures (perhaps granting different potential milestones based on each culture), or do they change the game in more dramatic ways and therefore warrant their own racial types?

Just some questions to get you thinking...

V

[chronoplasm]

I'm thinking there would be some kind of mechanical benefit for each race that would be beneficial for surviving in their region.
Seafolk would be people who could breath underwater.
Treefolk would live in trees and would be very good at climbing.
Cavefolk would be very strong and resistant to poisonous fumes from the mines.
Plainfolk would be well balanced and adaptable.
Starfolk would be incredibly intelligent.

I imagine that there would be cultural aspects to these as well. Starfolk would be very scholarly and possess some remnants of higher technology whereas Cavefolk would be practically neolithic.

[Vulpinoid]

Second query...

This sort of ties in to the cultural/racial aspect.

Are the races genetically compatible? Is there a chance for half-breeds?

Personally, I'd suggest not.

If there is, then I'd suggest each of the groups having two specific racial advantages, and a half breed would then have to pick one from their mother and one from their father. I'd probably also suggest a third bonus advantage only available to pure bred members of a race (this is to offset the mix-n-match versatility that half breeds might offer). The third bonus might be something simple like +1 status when dealing with other pure-bred members of the same race (because there's a general distrust of half breeds), it might include access to some specific racial milestone benefits, or it might be something more profound like a specific attribute boost.

Again...just ideas.

V

[chronoplasm]

I think half-breeds would add needless complexity to the game, so I'd say that they are not genetically compatible.

I am thinking that your choice of race would affect your starting terrain.
If you are playing as a Cavefolk, then you must have mountains nearby. If you are playing as a Seafolk, then there must be an ocean nearby.
So...

Cavefolk = mountain
Treefolk = forest
Seafolk = coast
Starfolk = ruins
Plainfolk = grassland

I'm also thinking that your choice of race would have an effect on the group's starting tools.

Starfolk = physically fragile, but more advanced tools.
Cavefolk = physically stronger, but less advanced tools.

Seafolk = scavenged tools from the bottom of the sea. Highly advanced, but poorly maintained..
Treefolk = rustic tools, but exceptionally well maintained.

Plainfolk = physically average with average tools. Average maintenance, average advancement.

[EdEdEd]

Instead of making these actually different races, what about making them different origins for the humans? Someone who grew up in a forest is certainly going to be better at climbing than someone who didn't, genetics or not, right? And except for seafolk breathing underwater there's nothing particularly inhuman about the different folk, so why make them non-human at all? Instead, what if the first milestone that all the characters get is something like "came of age in my home town in the [mountains/forest/grassland/coast/ruins]"? The benefits and drawbacks to your tools would still make sense, as those are what you brought from home, it avoids the issues of genetics and halfbreeds entirely (you either grew up in the mountains or you didn't; the setting isn't one where folks are likely to move around a lot, especially with children in tow), and the racial benefits are instead the natural result of having grown up in a certain environment.

[dindenver]

Kevin,
  I would say no. One race to rule them all and in the darkness bind them...
  Seriously though, the game is about community, and if you introduce "cavefolk don't like sea folk and vice versa," you are shattering the team work the players need to survive, no?
  Or, maybe have a rule that sets each village to be a unified race (I mean places with multiple races are cities, not villages, no?). But even then, you run the risk of someone annoying the GM until they can bring a star folk to the Cave folk campaign...
  I get what you are thinking, but I think that one, if the people work better in their own environment, it will discourage team work (they might be able to survive on their bonuses). Plus, it will make it harder to balance the mechanics (one more variable).
  Either way, good luck man!

[Vulpinoid]

Instead of making these actually different races, what about making them different origins for the humans?

Hence my questions, and hence my ideas on whether the differences are cultural or genetic.

Kevin,
Or, maybe have a rule that sets each village to be a unified race (I mean places with multiple races are cities, not villages, no?). But even then, you run the risk of someone annoying the GM until they can bring a star folk to the Cave folk campaign...

I've played with plenty of these guys.

But that was another direction I was trying to stab toward from my "one trait from the mother/one from the father idea". Where I live in the real world (Sydney, Australia), it's incredibly multicultural, but there are some very insular communities in various parts of the city. There are assorted european communities, asian communities, middle-eastern and some scattered african, south-american and native aboriginal groups. Most of the people I know are of mixed descent and virtually all of them have picked up a few traits from each of their parents. I'm from almost purely Scottish ancestry (coincidentally, so is my wife), and that makes us a bit of an anomaly amongst most of our friends.

As an example of this, most of my friends speak dual languages, I never got that chance but I probably picked up more detail about my own culture than my friends picked up about their dual backgrounds simply because my background wasn't spread across two cultures.

If the differences in "races" are cultural rather than genetic then this sort of thing can show a character's descent and can link into their place in society.

She is a seafolk, and both of her parents are seafolk. How did she get that forestfolk ability?
Her great-grandmother was a forestfolk and it's been passed down the line as a valuable family secret.

If the differences in races are genetic and the genetic strains are incompatible then you don't need to worry about this at all. The characters are more clearly defined and you can focus the characterisation through other means...

...sorry if I seem to be detracting from your ideas, I'm just trying to explore options.

V

[chronoplasm]

I think I've decided not to do different player races. It creates the wrong kind of feel for the setting and I'm afraid that players might focus on their race too much when the focus is supposed to be their trade.

Races might be something to consider for a supplemental book, but I want to focus on the core right now.

Thanks for the help guys!

[Vulpinoid]

After re-reading the earlier threads about this game...I think you've made the right call on this.

V