Oriental Races??

[Summer-Knight925]

I am about to begin campaign creation of an Oriental Setting, using Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and Middle Eastern Myths and legends (genies and Oni until your characters forget what demons and devils are anyone?)

I am going to keep all the "core races" found in D&D/Pathfinder (I should state it is pre-4e D&D, however, a few of the races from core 4e will appear)

My question is how can I go about mixing the following races into the setting?

Dwarves (going to use Tolkien's intent and say Dwarfs from henceforth)
Elves (also using Tolkien intent for Elfs), including Drow
Halflings (my table has always called them hobbits, but the shire will not appear in this realm)
Gnomes (using pathfinder makes it easier, gnomes are fey-ish and that makes it run a bit smoother I guess)

And any of the 'outsider' races.
Tieflings, Aasimar, the elemental races (depends on your setting/ruleset), and others.

Orcs and goblins and what I call "Horde-lings" are pretty much set, especially kobolds.
After all, kobolds in a society that sees dragons as beings of wisdom and greatness can have some differences than those of a european-esc setting

So, if you would be ever so helpful, how would you wish to and/or go about the races in an "eastern" setting.
take note of the mixing mythologies will make a few 'regions', thus a seemingly Indian area will be located at X, a japanese area around Y, and so on.
You can bring up other cultures and societies, in fact, it would be awesome if you could.

 

[sabrinathecat]

Don't forget Djin: they are servants of any diety (even the christian one, which calls them angels).
Brush up on your mythology. Also check out a novel called "When Gravity Fails." It may help provide an interesting perspective.
Work out your stories as best you can.
Good luck.

 

[Tonguez]

Elves - Orang bunion
Halflings - make the hairy and call them Vanara (Monkeys)
Gnomes -fey
Orcs and goblins the Gana were the personal retinue of Shiva and consisted of goblins and ghouls and other 'spooks'. Their leader was Ganesha (Gana-isa). They dwelt in cemeteries and were dangerous to all but the greatest heroes.

 

[Voadam]

I am about to begin campaign creation of an Oriental Setting, using Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and Middle Eastern Myths and legends (genies and Oni until your characters forget what demons and devils are anyone?)
. . .

Tieflings, Aasimar, the elemental races (depends on your setting/ruleset), and others.

The Hero System Asian Bestiary is supposed to be very good on monster concepts and legends for China, India, Cambodia, Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Volume II covers Japan (referencing Volume I for those based on Chinese monsters), Philipines, Malaysia, Tibet, Korea, and Burma.

Tieflings can be oni-spawn. Pathfinder has a bunch on this already including a variant power and stat suite for them.

Genasi can be genie touched. Fire go with efreet, air with djinn, earth with dao, water with marid.

 

[the Jester]

There are already OA dwarves- korobokoru or whatever they're called.

Personally, I'd make gnomes akin to Tibetans- hidden away in the snowy peaks. I'd use jerren for halflings (they're from the 3e Book of Vile Darkness), make them Dark Sun-esque cannibals (well, make 'em eat non-halflings, anyhow) who dwell in the jungles.

Elves... have you see Record of Lodoss War? I'd just make the elves have really long ears.

 

[gamerprinter]

Rite Publishing has 3 race supplements (so far) for the Kaidan, Japanese horror setting (PFRPG) with one for Hengeyokai, Kappa and Tengu. Though plans to do ones for Kitsune and Korobokuru are on the schedule, they aren't out yet. These books include fluff, traits, feats, class archetypes and racial paragon classes.

Other than being a diminuitive race, dwarves are no comparison to korobokuru. Korobokuru by folklore have no beards, are a woodland based stone age culture, no alcoholic drinks, no smithing, no mines and a close affinity to the Ainu culture. How one gets dwarf = korobokuru, other than size, I have no idea.

While goblinoids, orcs, gnolls, etc fit the Mongol horde concept well, the traditional races - elf, dwarf, halfling, etc. don't really belong in an Asian setting without a forced refluff. Developers do it, but really has no place, other than being lazy or uncreative. Only a little research is necessary to see that.

Besides the Djinn, consider the various Rakshasa from the PF Bestiaries for your India analog.

While not a race thing, more classes and culture, consider getting Rite Publishing's Way of the Samurai and Way of the Yakuza for detailed fluff, traits, class archetypes, prestige classes, stat block rules and sample gang/clans with map, legend, NPCs, magic items and more. We plan to create more "Way of..." series with one for divine classes/shrines/temples, one for Shinobi (ninja) and one for Shogun support - inquisitors and other special support classes.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

Well, the plan to use Orcs, Goblins, and the other "horde-lings" is to refluff them.

Just about everything will need refluffing, even wizards. (Using the Pathfinder Archetypes of the Elemental Wizards, and including the Wood and Metal elements, you could create an interesting magic-fluff for the world)

Orcs and Goblins 'originate' from the southern jungles, the ones so full of nasty monsters that you can't travel past, this explains the barbarism about them (mostly orcs), but many have been enculturated into the rest of the land. Many orcs find work as mercenaries or guards, in fact, there is a Shogun in the land of Nagashi who's main guardian is an orc, granted a very powerful and skilled swordsman.
Goblins have to be refluffed, creating a problematic race mixed in with the others, goblins are treated akin to how the negro populace was treated after slavery (I would have said African American to be more current, but it is a historical reflection and it seemed like the best word). The goblins have something to prove, and personally, I LOVE goblins, another main reason why I would keep them as this shunned race.

Kobolds are well treated, commonly seen as the men among dragons, and dragons are commonly worshiped.

Monsters are easy, especially with Bestiary 3, it sort of sparked the idea of this entire campaign, so I know how to use the oni and the rakshasa and the genies

As for gnomes, they are more fey than in the Inner Sea, most still living in the wild like their fey brethren.

Dwarfs have their "Skyforge Mountains", full of their warring clans, so they can remain much the same.
Elves are fairly unchanged, although more mixed in with humans (half-elfs are no big deal)

So...I've started to paint things out a little bit.

As for the 'human-like' races (the elemental humans and shadow humans and all of that stuff) they too are taken into perspective.
The first age of humans spanned the planes, but ended with a cataclysm that shut many of the portals, thus stranding many of the humans on other planes (like the elemental plains or the plane of shadow). Thousands of years later, the 2nd age of humans came to be (the current time for characters) and many of these portals have reopened, allowing the elemental humans to return.

The Dhampires were caused from a vampire war (part of the history)

 

[gamerprinter]

While not a race thing, more classes and culture, consider getting Rite Publishing's Way of the Samurai and Way of the Yakuza for detailed fluff, traits, class archetypes, prestige classes, stat block rules and sample gang/clans with map, legend, NPCs, magic items and more. We plan to create more "Way of..." series with one for divine classes/shrines/temples, one for Shinobi (ninja) and one for Shogun support - inquisitors and other special support classes.

Just about everything will need refluffing, even wizards. (Using the Pathfinder Archetypes of the Elemental Wizards, and including the Wood and Metal elements, you could create an interesting magic-fluff for the world)

Way of the Samurai features Onmyoji (origami wizard archetype) and Way of the Yakuza features Horimyo (tattoo wizard archetype), both are found on d20pfsrd.com as well. So there are published resources for Asian style classes for PF, by Rite Publishing. You don't have to refluff everything - some of it's already built for you. Use it.

Way of the Samurai describes the Buke (samurai) caste, not just Samurai class archetypes. This supplement also includes a gunslinger, a paladin, a ranger, in addition to the mentioned wizard, and 4 samurai archetypes.

Way of the Yakuza describes gang support classes included 2 types of rogues, a yakuza fighter, a blind bard and the tattoo wizard.

There are 3 cool Japan-based prestige classes as well (also at d20pfsrd.com): Machi-Yakko - a crime boss with enchanted tattoos, special diplomacy skills, SA progression and gang related benefits; Bugyo - an aristocratic samurai lord with overwhelming diplomacy skills; Moso - a samurai tank.

Plus the 3 race supplements mentioned in my previous post each have 3 to 5 race based class archetypes for clerics, druids, sorcerer, fighter, magus, cavalier and the unique racial paragon classes. (The race supplements are not on d20pfsrd.com, however.)