Alright... this is my first major draft of races, they've all been percolating about in my head - names are my Kryptonite, so please remember that any name surrounded in quotation marks is a placeholder used because "hey, you!" gets confusing.
Also... I'm really struggling with deciding about whether or not to include religion/divine magic in this setting. I'm not very adept at theological developments and clerics have never really interested me as a class, which is a big reason why my post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, Malebolge (which I'm declaring is a planet in this setting's 'verse, ala Toril, Krynn and Oerth in Spelljammer), is a godless world. I could seriously use help with that.
Humans: ...I really have no solid ideas for these guys. I know they're everywhere, and fractious, but nothing more than beyond that. I'm not certain if I should explicitly tie them to Eden (Malebolge before it blew up) or if their origins are a mystery; maybe they evolved on many different worlds and spread out across the stars.
Aelfar: Space-faring elves whose world, Aelfheim, was ultimately destroyed by the very planar convergence that had given it life. Their people set forth on great living ships through the stars, spreading in different colony-fleets across the universe. Proud, haughty, cold and cruel, the aelfar are an arrogant people who believe in the utter superiority of their race over others. Their "science", such as it is, is founded on the principles of flesh-warping and necromancy; breeding living tools and enslaving the dead to create the backbone for a life of indolence and luxury. Plants, animals and fungi are shaped through magic into forms useful to Aelfar civilization, whilst even the bodies of the dead can be made to work until the Aelfar see fit to release them. Creepy as this is, aelfar are not inherently warlike or evil, and so they are content to live and let life - if left alone. Aelfar adventurers are often explorers, seeking other colonies founded since their people scattered across the galaxy, or else exiles as a result of the political intrigues that dominate their culture.
(Crunch-wise, these are Mul Daya Elves, although I might consider playing around and homebrewing stats.)
"Traggen": Hotheaded, aggressive, predatory humanoids who have a notably limited ability to sense pain, the traggen are a warlike and savage race of arcano-barbarians who respect only two things: strength, and the will to use it. Scattered and fractious, although they have no true empires or presence on the galactic stage, the traggen have long earned some level of grudging respect for their might and their aptitude as mercenaries, pirates and, on rare occasions, planet-crushing hordes.
(Thematically, these are the setting's Orcs; crunch-wise, use Half-Orc stats. This setting's equivalent of a half-orc would probably best be represented by the Goliath.)
"Dworg": When the last great traggen war ended, centuries ago, something unforseen happened. From amongst the winnowed ranks of the survivors, traggen of unusual intelligence and ambition arose. These traggen had learned the hard way that mere muscle and brutish rage could not prosper in a galaxy dominated by magic and order, and swore to take that power for themselves. Naming themselves the Dworg, "Heirs of Victory", they seek to create their own culture, one still giving strength and will its due respect, but realizing and embracing the fact that strength is not the providence of body alone. Their numbers are growing comparatively slowly, as they selectively breed and educate themselves and suitable "uplifted" members of their traggen progenitors, but the race is growing, and someday may be presenting a nasty surprise to a galaxy complacent about the true threat of the traggen.
(These are the setting's Scro; uplifted, intelligent, superior orcs, and would use my homebrew Scro crunch.)
"Xixixians": Mantis-like humanoids who evolved on a deadly, hostile jungle world, the xixixians grew to dominate their world not through physical might, but through superior intelligence, using teamwork and self-improvement to modify their bodies and improve their minds until they could outwit and outfight the predators and other dangers of their homeworld. Body modification is a religion to the xixixians, with each believing that their body is a temple of the soul and must be refined, honed and customized to better suit their true nature. This makes them about the only race with close ties or respect for the Aelfar, fellow masters of flesh-warping. Indeed, so ingrained is this belief in literal bodily refinement that not only is it used for ornamentation, but they have literally engineered themselves into different sub-species, based upon different philosophies about how much they should integrate into the greater galactic society.
(Essentially, Xixchil without the "stupidly individualistic" aspects of the fluff, and further inspiration taken from this pic here, which is basically a thri-kreen version of the infamous "furry meter": https://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Buggy_chart.jpg "Purists" would be the 90% model, balancers the 70% model, and the most integration-focused/diplomatic corps caste would be the 50% model. Would need to homebrew racial stats for this.)
Vassals of the Glorious Celestial Lotus Empire: An array of many different races that are united under the leadership of the Celestial Lotus Emperor - basically, god-king oriental dragons. Really need a better name here, as this sounds less "pulp" and more "yellow peril".
"Ryujin": The most honored and respected of the Celestial Vassals, the glorious Ryujin were magically engineered directly from the Emperors themselves to serve as the soldiers and police who keep the peace in the Empire and fight against invaders from beyond - or seek to fuel the empire's expansion. Slender, agile, reptilian beings who combine strength and innate mystical adeptness. Propaganda claims that they were literally born of the Emperors, but it's unknown if this is true; they may be magically modified and enslaved humans instead. Adventurers are either stranded soldiers, scouts, or exiled ronin.
(Basically Dragonborn with an Oriental/Lung/Imperial Dragon basis and a dash of the Nagaji from PF. Maybe should discuss actually basing them off of PF's Imperial Dragons directly to figure out both crunch and fluff?)
"Ki'rinii": Elegant, graceful, wise and courteous, the ki'rinii were also created from the Emperors, like the Ryujin, but were made to be sages and scholars, strong in magic and wise enough to support the celestial bureaucracy that keeps the empire running.
(Ki-rin people... really not sure what else to do with them, but I know there's potential here.)
Hengeyokai: The vassal-races of the empire, assorted humanoid beasts with many strange and magical abilities of their own.
(Weak, I know; I basically want to use the various hengeyokai races - kitsunes, tanuki, jorogumo, itachi, bakeneko, mujina and kawauso - and give them all unique roles, because they were individual cultures before the Empire claimed them as its own, but I'm not sure where to start.)
Oni: Descendants of traggen who tried to conquer the empire, but who were conquered in turn. The Emperors took pity and sought to remake them into useful members of the Empire, but the process was... flawed. Too much traggen mentality remains, making them far more independent than the Empire likes. When the ryujin were created, the empire discarded them, and now they are outcasts without a true home or culture.
"Gyokutoans": The newest people to be brought into the Empire proper, the gyokutoans are a rabbit-like people still accepting their place in the great chain. Proud and fierce, but also passionate and fond of pleasures, the stereotypical gyokutoan is either a touchy yet disciplined warrior or a deceptively intelligent and sensual courtesan.
(Without a doubt the weakest of my "oriental space fantasy" races, these guys are inspired by the Japanese legend of the moon rabbit, but I'm not sure how to develop them from here.)
"Quetzalii": It is said that, in an age long gone, beautiful dragon-like beings called Couatl roamed the stars. Luminescent figures resembling winged serpents draped in feathers all the colors of the stars, they were staunch enemies of darkness and evil, who sought to bring light to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The Couatl are gone, now. But their children remain; proud and honorable warrior-mystics who seek to carry on that legacy, bold explorers and dashing adventurer-archaeologists who seek to write their names in the stars.
(Essentially a couatl version of Dragonborn, but taking inspiration from 4e's depiction of the Couatl as a race whose "goodness" was born more of coincidence than the vanilla "they're just made of good" of previous editions.)
"Lotusians": One of the most ancient races still holding a presence in the galaxy today, the lotusians are a flower-draped and androgynous race of humanoid plants who have been peacemakers, diplomats and explorers since the galaxy was young. Never imperially minded, the lotusians fell into decline during the Dark Times, their numbers winnowed by wars and strife. Now, only a handful of the sacred grove-worlds, where the most ancient of their kind have taken root as immobile masses of vegetation that produce new generations from womb-pods in their bulk, remain to provide a slow trickle of new generations. Some lotusians have succumbed to despair, but others still keep up the good fight, adventuring to continue their ancestral mission of bring peace to all other races.
"Snapperjaws": During the Dark Times, some lotusians succumbed to rage, hostility or despair. Determined to protect themselves, they employed forbidden magics to make themselves more warlike, more suited for what they felt was needed: the ability to match the barbarism of the young races on their own terms. That experiment went hideously right. The snapperjaws are a savage and barbaric breed, which even traggen and felinoids regard with some disdain. Though far more fecund and adaptable than the lotusians, these savage plant-like beings have lost the keen minds of their ancestral stock. The stereotypical snapperjaw is little better than a beast, with only their weird, instinctive knack for salvaging arcanotechnology and strange plant-based bio-tech allowing them to spread across the stars. The best of them are mercenaries and thugs, the worst are little more than flesh-eating monsters that consider everything else mere prey. They are the one race that lotusians evidence true fear or even hatred for, but some of their ancient kin still hope that, even if they will never be part of the great groves again, they can still be brought into the light.
"Felinoids:" Proud, warlike and almost stubbornly savage, the felinoids are a race of all-female barbarians renowned across the galaxy as mercenaries, thugs, pirates, raiders and adventurers. On their home-worlds they organize in great clans, each centered around the Clan-Mother; these strange "cat-dragon" alien beings are all that remains of a long-lost race, although what brought them so low remains unknown. All female themselves, the Clan-Mothers use their mastery of sorcery and science to asexually spawn offspring, creating new generations of felinoids. As such, all felinoids revere and love their progenitors as literal mother-gods. In felinoid culture, their purpose is to love, serve and entertain their creators, who gave them the "First Great Gift" (life) and who will reward them with status and treasure in exchange for proving their worth. Indeed, the mightiest of all felinoids may be granted a supreme honor: transformation into a new Clan-Mother. This, then, fuels their drive to travel to the stars, to amass treasures and stories that will prove their love for the Clan-Mothers.
"Scavvers": Traveling the known stars in great colony-fleets, the Scavvers are an enigmatic race who never remove their protective enviro-armor suits save in the most intimate of positions. They are renowned and respected as master smiths, miners and, especially, lords of the mysterious sorcery-science of arcanotechnology: mining asteroids and moons, they trade valuable crafted goods across the worlds, commanding high prices and great respect - for their potent defense of their own lives if nothing else. Their homeworld was destroyed by some great apocalypse long ago; although welcome to settle anywhere, the truth is that they have developed a cultural fear to the very idea, believing their nomadic existence actually keeps their race safe from seeing it happen again.
"Voidstalkers": Mysterious and feared four-armed psionic warriors who draw upon the cold darkness between the stars through their mental arts. Ruthless, they have crafted a reputation as assassins without peer, bloody warrior-sages who believe that suffering and struggle are the keys to enlightenment. It's unknown if they have a home-world, but they are renowned travelers, popping up wherever they please. They gravitate towards the most lawless of regions, serving as mercenaries and killers for hire. But they do have their own strange codes of honor, and can make surprisingly loyal adventuring companions. Admittedly, the presence of a voidstalker tends to convey an impression that this party is disreputable at best, for it is well known they care more for bloodshed than for coin.
