The next three posts are going to be various sets of fantasy races from various settings of mine, but before going into that, I want to talk about fantasy races.
Beware, this is rather rambling, and probably not at all necessary. Also probably not why you are reading this blog, dear reader, so I can understand if you skip past to go look at more delicious Content.
But, well, if you want to understand where I am coming from in the other Fantasy Races Reimagined posts, you have that option:
(Be aware I am hardly a scholar on this subject - if you know better, let me know.)
Tolkien left a legacy upon the fantasy genre, and part of that legacy involves a setting with multiple sentient races.
For Tolkien, I think that races were races, in the late 19th / early 20th century understanding of the idea. Elves and humans and hobbits and orcs were all different, with dwarves being a bit more different. There were physical and mental differences between them, but, well, that was understood to be true between the IRL races.
If you want to delve deeper, you'll find a hierarchy among the races of elves between those lousy elves who never followed the call of the gods (dark elves); those who did, but faltered at some point (Forest Elves); and the best elves, those who went to live with the gods in heaven (Noldor). There are definite differences between them, and I can't help but wonder to what extent this was an analogy to the races of mankind, and who was closest to the Christian god. Does this make Galadriel a Jew?
Since then, racist ideas have fallen out of favor, and we start to see fantasy settings still retaining the physical/mental diversity between races, but with those races starting to be portrayed more like different species, probably helped along by the portrayal of alien species in science fiction.
We still call them races, probably because "species" feels too anachronistic, and partly out of deference to Tolkien. Unfortunate, in my opinion, but if I had the power to change norms, the world would be a very different place. (Superhero idea: Norm-man. Thinly veiled secret identity name: Norman.)
The Tolkien lineage continued in RPGs, particularly the rather influential Dungeons and Dragons game. Why does DnD have Elves, Half-Elves, Humans, Halflings, Orcs, Dwarves? Probably the Tolkien heritage. The DnD Elves aren't as Humans-But-Better as the elves in Middle Earth, and they pull slightness of frame from non-Tolkien myth, but it's important to remember that in most myth, elves and goblins are just about the same thing, just multiple names.
(You can generally trace Tolkien lineage by looking at the elves. If the elves aren't inscrutable alien fey, playing with humans for their own amusement, you're probably seeing Tolkienesque elves. [If you are familiar with the Exalted setting, they are a rich and unique setting largely divorced of Tolkien's legacy.] )
Tolkien's legacy continues onwards, and has become so prevalent that a certain kind of utility has appeared - it is much easier to get "elf but different" into a reader's head than it is to get "totally new species you have never seen" into a reader's head. This is because human brains work by using "[X] but different" - in fact, we got to elves, halflings, dwarves, orcs, etc. via 'human but different'.
But now that fantasy readers can be expected to be familiar with all these different archetypes, we can do another step of '[X] but different', and that is... really cool. While in previous times, everything had to be one step away from humans to get that advantage, now we can explore areas two steps away from humans, while still having that advantage.
...Which, I suppose, is a bit frustrating for fans of starfish aliens.
I am a person who likes logic, particularly in-setting logic. I often find it jarring when things exist a certain way because of outside-of-setting reasons. To use dwarves as an example: Dwarves are associated with using axes to fight, and are also noted for being underground. This troubles me, as axes are swung, and swinging is something you'd rather not do underground. It would make more sense for them to fight with stabbing swords like roman legionaries (who fought in packed formations), or to fight with spears and pikes (since tunnels limit the ability to get past a spear).
I don't mind outside inspirations as a jumping off point--the minimal 'why' that overcomes a non-existent 'why not'--but once there exists a reason for things to be a certain way, outside inspiration becomes secondary, as everything else can be derived from the rest of the setting, and fit together much better by that method.
And yet... there is often reason to conform--at least to some extent--to people's expectations, and save on words and confusion.
Having multiple fantasy races is interesting to me on the basis of diversity. There is a lot of diversity among humans, but that is like saying there is plenty of diversity among integer (whole) numbers - sure, there are an infinite amount of integers, but that's still missing an infinite realm of possibility.
This mirrors my interest in fantasy in general - there is a near infinite amount you can do in non-speculative fiction, but again, the amount you can do in speculative fiction is just so much more.
There are plenty of stories where only humans exist. There are plenty of stories where only humans are relatable, while other intelligences lurk as the other. But stories where non-humans are characters much as humans hold a particular place in my heart.
I suppose I will add more rambling sections here if I find I need to while writing the other Fantasy Races Reimagined posts.
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