Building a Universe

Race

In this article, I use race to include mythical creatures, such as elves, dwarves, trolls, and others, as well as the races that people think in terms of. This article does not aim to offend anyone. It simply means to bring to mind aspects of your world that you will have to think about when you introduce differences in appearance into the people that populate that world.

Whether we want to admit or not, race plays a role in how we relate to each other. Wars are fought because of race. Race determines geopolitical boundaries. It can also determine linguistic boundaries. Finally, it can determine ethnic and cultural variations. All of this is especially useful when you are creating mythical races, such as elves and dwarves. Introducing racial biases, prejudices, and other not-so-savory elements should provide a better sense of realism, if used in the appropriate way.

When you are creating a world with multiple races, you should think about the following:

Are there different political boundaries or alliances between different races?
Are there linguistic differences between the races?
Is there a common language that the races use to communicate with each other?
Are there physical characteristics attributed to races? (For example, Dwarves are squat and tough while Elves are lanky.)
Are there magical, technological, physical, intellectual, etc. differences attributed to each of the races? If so, what are they? (For example, Elves are magically adept while Dwarves are not.)
What differences do each of the races perceive about the other races? How close are these perceptions to reality?
Do people from the different races ever intermarry? If so, what is the result (half elves for example.)? What does society think of the offspring from interracial marriages?
What opinions does each race hold about the other races? Is one race more likely to befriend another, or are they more likely to fight?
Are there cultural or ethnic differences between the races. What are those differences?
What are the social and cultural traditions of each race? What are the subcultures of these races?
How do members of one race behave towards members of their own race from a different culture?

These are just a few of the things you'll want to think about when you introduce race into your world.