Racial Guidelines

For those that are considering volunteering to write a races background, here is a copy of the 'Racial Guidelines' that should give an idea of what to plan for, and give those who may just be looking around an idea of what to submit.




Racial Guidelines
These are guidelines that should be, at best, roughly followed. These guidelines should allow the author to expand on points that otherwise may have been missed. In no way should this restrict an author from defining a race in a way they deem necessary. Remember; these are guidelines, not a template.
Also, it should be noted that this can be used for different types of groups. Organizations, races, and factions are just a few type of groups that these guidelines can be used to help define or ‘flesh out’.

Introduction
This introduces the race with a preface of the following materials. The introduction will usually be represented by a story. The stories can range from lone members of the race to a lively adventurous tale spun by an omniscient narrator.

Appearance
This section should explain the general look of the race. It should give a role-playing explanation that explains, without needing to explicitly state, why the race must costume accordingly to the rulebook. The appearance of age groups and genders should also be covered. General information on clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and any other physical trait or item should be covered. Lifestyle should be brought up only if they differ greatly.
Clothing styles should be generally avoided if based around anything other than the above, mostly because it would be better described beneath the ‘Society’ heading.

History
The historical section will contain the bulk of the writings for the race. It should cover things that are important, unusual, or interesting about the race. They should not cover other races or particular events in depth unless they pertain directly to the race in question. If at all possible, point the reader to another text (fictional or not) to read up on the particulars of the questionable material.
This section should cover:

• Chronological Events or Times of Importance
  
• Significant Ideas, Events or Acts that affected the development of the race
  
• Myths, Legends, or Folklore about the race
  
• Biographies or accounts of the lives of significant people

Society
Information on how this race organizes their lives, families, and social structures should be found here. Any structures that an individual places upon themselves based on where they live or the group they live with should be included, one large example being a monetary system. This should explain how the race is generally organized.
Information that should be found here would be:

• Societal Class Structure (Tribes, Classes, Clans, etc.)
  
• Coins and Commerce
  
• Politics and Government
  
• Military / Laws and Justice
  
• Customs and Traditions

Culture (Society and Culture are frequently combine when separating the two become difficult)
Weltanschauung may be a better title for this section. Any information on behaviors and beliefs of the race should be covered here. Attitude towards or from other races is appropriate for this section. Focus on cultural stigmas as well as general blasé attitudes towards specific subjects would be good topics.
Information found here would go into depth on:

• Ambitions
  
• Arts and Crafts
  
• Death
  
• Leisure
  
• Love and Marriage
  
• Magic
  
• Philosophy
  
• Psychology
  
• Relations
  
• Reputations
  
• Superstitions
  
• War

One interesting area to note would be gender roles. Depending on how strict the defined gender roles are, it may place it in the ‘Society’ section. If the roles are loosely defined, then it applies more to the ‘Culture’ section.
One area that should be covered is ‘Taboo’. Anything, from particular topics, items, or places that this particular race finds taboo should be covered here. Characters acting decidedly different from cultural norms would fall under this particular category.

Language
Details on the development of the language or lack thereof should be found here.
A few specific should exist, including but not limited to:

• An example of the language written out.
  
• Common phrases and idioms used by the race.
  
• Male and Female names and how they are formed.
  
• A copy of the ‘Language Guide’ if one exists.

Character Creation
The last section should not cover the mechanics of the race, but rather the bits and pieces that will make them unique from others. Things to include would be things that do not fit into another category, but are appropriate information for character creation.
General ideas of things to include in this section:

• Odd Virtues and Vices
  
• Occupations
  
• Stereotypes (both positive and negative)
  
• Basic builds to use as a starting block for racial development
  
• Specific kits of common or unique castes
  
• Description (or example) of a racial discipline

A section called ‘Quick Bits’ should be included here as well with essential “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for the race. The list should be fairly small including only the most vital bits of information.