Appearance variation for races

[disgai]

Some races don't say too much about their appearance in the help file. We obviously all know what humans should GENERALLY look like, but how far can we deviate from the norm? Like I'm not going to make a halfling whos description says he's as tall as a giant, but what about a human with red skin and horns that isn't a restring for a race? I don't seem to be seeing a clear line for how much we can deviate from what the race tends to look like in most's imagination. Like a storm giant for instance, I always pictured looking like the blue guy from The Watchmen, but others might have a different view. When we do detailed character creation it doesnt eliminate possibilities based on our race, so my question is: Is it our own interpretation based on what's given in the help file? And if so, what are the consequences, if any, for diverging from what others have done previously or the status quo?

[Magick]

I believe the help files were to be ambiguous intentionally.  Why stymie creativity?  Sure, there's guidelines like you've stated with no halfling is going to be giant sized, but then you have the ferals.  They were humans "mutated by the forces of Chaos."  Was it physical or just mental?  Both?  Are they actual humans that have just gone feral like Mogli from the Jungle Book or Tarzan, or are they more anthropomorphic cats?

 

Why can't they be both?  I've written descriptions for ferals as wild humans, anthropomorphic cats and a little in between.  Why can't your red skinned human have some long lost demonic ancestor and their bright skin is testament to that?  Or just have a massive birthmark that covers them from head to toe causing the exposed skin to be red?  Or some other reason that causes the skin to be an abnormal color?  RP covers many 'flaws'.

 

So long as you're within the general vicinity, you should be fine.  

[Unknown Criminal]

When creating your character take note of the hair, eyes, body type ect that you choose, find a cool picture on the internet and

recreate that guy, it doesnt all have to be left you your imagination

 

UC

[Volgathras]

We generally don't deny unique descriptions unless a.) something is entirely out of line with the race (i.e. A 3 meter halfling, a human with tentacles for arms, a drow with tusks and an aborted fetus growing from it's armpit, a slith with all the trappings of a dragon etc) or b.) something that can be misconstrued as a qrace (i.e. A red-skinned human with horns, a walking skeleton, and so on).

[Celerity]

It may help to understand the 'detailed' chargen chocies as deviating from the norms for the race. For example, 'light-skinned' drow may not actually be very light per se, but instead lighter than the average drow. That elven beard and mustache? Peach fuzz by human terms. That is the only way I can justify the ridiculous options available. On that note, I did submit a full list of detailed chargen options for each race already to the staff that would disallow impossible choices....(hairy slith, for instance)...but that was several years ago.

 

As for feral...they are actually physically mutated. Think of human + any mammal. How much? Depends on you. Could just be long toenails or they could run as a quadruped.

[Naruthiron]

When I read descriptions, I strictly adhere to what a race is supposed to look like, insofar as features. Avians do not have beaks or talons, for instance. As is read in the racial help file, they are similar to humans in appearance - except with wings. Drow do not have pale skin, dark hair, or green ears, also. Drow have red eyes (infra-vision) and their white hair and dark skin only have slight variance due to both genetics and a culture that despises deviation from a standard of beauty. Illithids do not have claws, their skin is always a shade of purple, and their face always reminds me of that first in a long line of terrible Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. 

That's not to say that I think descriptions that do deviate from the help-file are bad: just that they are generally restring material. Clawed/taloned half-bird variants are harpies, drow that look more like surface elves are Szarkai (I had to go look that one up in an old D&D book to make sure I got it right), and weird illithids (outside the normal weirdness) are things like aberrations or nightmares and the like. 

I like and encourage unique descriptions, please don't misunderstand. There is just, in my mind, a distinction to be made between unique description for a base race, and a wildly inaccurate (but interesting!) depiction of a race that should be a restring.


In line with the original post, I thought I would include how I tend to visualize the races:

Human: Like blades of grass caked in manure sprinkled with rainbow sprinkles and topped with play-dough spaghetti. Or regular people, either or.

Halfling: Hobbitses

Elf: Human-like, slender, seldom if ever have facial hair, and even when they get it its patchy and thin. Almond shaped eyes, fair skin, rounded shoulders. And pointy ears.

Drow: Similar to elves, but with white hair, pitch black skin and red eyes. The hair sometimes gets slight variance towards a platinum blond color, and the skin might take on a deep violet undertone.

Half-elf: Put a human and an elf in a blender. Make sure you seal the top, or you'll get minced organ meat all over the counter.

Slith: Bi-pedal komodo dragons. 

Feral: Humans with heavy animalistic features. Wirey build, slightly shorter, often hunched. More body hair, thicker hair in general, sharp eyes with a different iris/pupil shape.

Werebeast: Almost indistinguishable from humans. May have a slight change in features suitable for their spirit beast (longer, hawk-like noses for ravens, thicker, harder and sharper cuticles for tigers, elongated canine teeth for wolves, etc).

Ogre: Tall, fat, ugly mugs that look very simple-minded and clumsy. Their awkward shape more often like a raindrop with hands and legs.

Minotaur: MOOOOOOOOOO. It's dinner on two legs, dual wielding axes, and very very angry.

Ilithid: slightly shorter than humans, very slender, purple skin, black eyes, bulbous heads (think Roger from American Dad, all you yankees), with tentacles where a mouth should be. Long fingers, round fingertips, no cuticles, maybe 3 or 4 fingers instead of 5.

Storm:  Really, really big norsemen. More rounded facial features, bright eyes and typically lighter hair. 

Stone: Really, really big germanic tribesmen. Angled facial features, large foreheads, Thick brow, sunken eyes.

Fire: Dark skinned (think charring), red hair, maybe they have fire instead of hair. Stout facial features, appearing more gruff and savage than their counterparts.

Faerie: Tinkerbell. Very small (duh) winged (duh) creatures. Jovial faces, almost always rounded. Glowy aura. Similar to elves in features. Usually have antennae.  Translucent wings.

Dwarf: Gimli. Even the women have beards.

Duergar: Evil Gimli with gray skin. slightly smaller and thinner. No less percentage of creepy bearded women.

[disgai]

_{Thank you Naruthiron, that was a very detailed response.}

[Aulian]

In line with the original post, I thought I would include how I tend to visualize the races:

Human: Like blades of grass caked in manure sprinkled with rainbow sprinkles and topped with play-dough spaghetti. Or regular people, either or.

 

Prompt:Desc Show 

Your description is: 

Like blades of grass caked in manure sprinkled with rainbow sprinkles and topped with play-dough spaghetti; before you stands another human.

 

 

If I don't get at least 2rp points for this description I'm gunna be pissed.

[Anume]

Fire giant's shouldn't be aflame, stone giant not made of stone, etc. That's some kind of restring (fire elemental, stone golem, etc).