User:Azya/Sandbox1/Races
Races are a little bit weird. I certainly don't want it to be a human-centric campaign setting, but most if not all of the standard D&D races don't show up in Indian folklore. For now, here's a list of non-human races in Hindu mythology and how they could be created, or if they already exist under a different name. The biggest problem is that a lot of these terms are fairly ambiguous...I'll have to narrow some of them down later.
Contents
Apsara and Gandharva[edit]
Apsara are female spirits of the clouds or waters, and gandharva are their male counterparts, who are often skilled musicians. Could be represented by air or water Genasi, Aasimar, dryad, or fey-touched.
Garuda[edit]
A race that combines human and avian characteristics. Potentially use the raptorans, or the Mythic Beast race. Either way, they have a legendary hatred of all things serpentine, including the naga.
Guhyaka[edit]
A race that loves to live in mountain caves and amass riches. They are supposed to look like gnomes, so the gnome race works out fine for them.
Naga[edit]
The depiction and description of naga varies, but they are always some form of snake-human hybrid. Sometimes they are shapechangers, other times they aren't. The Shinomen Naga of Oriental Adventures are...out of date, and the "nagas" of the Monster Manual don't reflect their essential characteristics at all. Yuan-ti Purebloods would probably be the best way to represent them (or perhaps re-flavor the entire Yuan-ti race).
Preta[edit]
Described as "hungry ghosts," this race of people are actually what befalls extremely greedy individuals. They are best represented by ghouls or carib. If I make a race for playable preta, it will probably be based on the carib anyway. Sorials also work, since the insatiable hunger pretas suffer can be for anything, from flesh to emotions.
Vanara[edit]
The famed race of intelligent, human sized monkeys. Both the WotC and Pathfinder versions of this race aren't very good, so I'll have to make it myself...
Vidyadhara[edit]
Air spirits famed for their wisdom. Air Genasi probably work best for these.
Other Races[edit]
The races above are all directly from Hindu folklore. However, there are other races that, while not drawn directly from Indian folklore, fit into it pretty well. Here they are.
Animals![edit]
There are several different race entries on the wiki designed to let you play an animal. In a world where reincarnation is a fact of life, sometimes a spirit will retain its intelligence (though probably not its memories) when it is reborn as an animal.
Candothist[edit]
Both regular Candothists and Terroci fit pretty well into a setting where reincarnation happens. They just happen to be able to directly affect how they come back. I might make a race that uses the candothist as a chassis.
