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IMO the best place to start is by doing research on the race in question. Try to understand the race's history/culture and build from that. The danger of having a guide that talks about how to RP a particular race is that you could end up stereotyping the race (like giving all dwarves Scottish accents).,
Places like PathfinderWiki and Pathfinder Wiki aren't bad places to start. If you're looking for physical books then the top two in my mind are the The Inner Sea World Guide and Bastards of Golarion.
Its always better to not be a stereotype and if you really want to make your character "feel" like they are their race then knowing about that race's history and culture will allow you to touch upon and use something unique to them.
For example, the last gnome I played was driven to experience new things because she was trying to avoid "The Bleaching". She absolutely came across as being a gnome without me turning her into a stereotype.
I'm not aware of any website or guide that specifically gives roleplaying tips. Something important to note, though, is that not every member of a race is going to RP the same. Race can certainly inform who they are, but just as two humans can be wildly different in manner and temperament, so too can two halflings or two tieflings.
Imitation can really be a valuable place to start when it comes to beginning RP. Pick a character you like from a movie/TV show/etc., build a Pathfinder character that reminds you of them somewhat, then use that character as a starting point for your roleplaying.
Another good way to start can be to make a short list of two or three defining character qualities that you want to focus on. For example, if you were describing Sam Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings, you might say loyalty and lack of education/travel experience were his defining qualities. Then, whenever a situation arises, think about how those few qualities would inform the character's response.
I feel like the core rulebook actually did a pretty decent job laying the foundation for the different cultures of the original races.
The best thing I've found for acting (which is what most people erroneously call "role-playing", but I digress) is to find that character's voice; the syntax, rhythm and structure of their speech, as well as actual timbre and body language/facial expressions.
Initially, I'll make an extremely short list of traits. Quiet and grim. Haughty, verbose, well-meaning. Lonely, desperate and fierce. --three is about as high as I go at the start; enough to give me options and the appearance of depth but little enough that I don't need to focus on it. After a bit, when I'm comfortable enough in that character's skin, I'll add new elements or different shades and hues of existing ones.
In long-running games with recurring characters, my players can almost always tell who they're interacting with without me actually announcing it--the set of my shoulders, choice of words or tone is enough.
(like giving all dwarves Scottish accents)
Never understood this one. Almost all fantasy dwarves are based on Tolkien's, and those guys seemed to have more of a germanic and norse feel to them, with maybe a *little* celtic thrown in.
(like giving all dwarves Scottish accents)Never understood this one. Almost all fantasy dwarves are based on Tolkien's, and those guys seemed to have more of a germanic and norse feel to them, with maybe a *little* celtic thrown in.
Original intention was actually somewhat Arabic, interestingly enough.
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This depends entirely on the setting. If it's for Paizo's Golorion, then they have all sorts of information in their inner sea world guide, inner sea races (this one specifically has rp notes for each of their races), and various player companions on different peoples and cultures.
If it's for a different setting, then look to the source material from that setting.
If you look at Humans, which is just one race... you will find hundreds/thousands of unique cultures, languages, tones, hues, ideals, beliefs, governments, etc.
And, that's keeping the aperture open as far as possible, to capture the broadest picture with the least amount of detail.
If you narrow your focus even the slightest, you will find thousands/millions of different perspectives and personalities and fads and fashions and concepts...
Look a little harder and you find millions/billions of individuals, each with their own struggles and histories.
It is the same for Half-Orcs, and Tieflings, and Dwarves, and Tengu, and Halflings...
There is no box.
Build individuals with individual personalities.
Yep. Half-Orcs can get a racial bonus to Intimidate, but what if THIS ONE is funny and whimsical?
To an extent, I almost feel like settings require stereotyping various races, otherwise I end up with every race just feeling like rubber forehead aliens.
It's like oh...look at these other humans that look somewhat different but have the wide myriad of personalty, goals, etc just like humanity does.
But it is just like humanity does...
You can be talking to a Half-Orc that has been discriminated against by society for being too Orcish.
The same Half-Orc could have been enslaved by Orcs for being too Human.
A Halfling might be timid because they are small and the world is big. The one right next to that one might be fearless and charge headfirst into adventure with reckless abandon.
A Halfling from Pitax will probably speak completely differently than a Halfling from Absalom.
A Gnome that has dedicated his life to adventure for fear of the Bleaching could meet a Gnome twice his age that hasn't even heard of the Bleaching... their outlooks on life, philosophies, and motivations are probably completely different.
The Tengu that is Swordtrained is probably a completely different bird than the one that has a bite and claws...
There is no box.
If it's for Paizo's Golorion, then they have all sorts of information in their inner sea world guide, inner sea races (this one specifically has rp notes for each of their races), and various player companions on different peoples and cultures.
Yup, Inner Sea Races' RP notes give you a jump start, like this:
IF YOU’RE A DWARF, YOU LIKELY:
Take pride in your job, be it as an adventurer, a brewer, a priest, or a smith.
Have a splendid and well-groomed beard or head full of braided hair.
(...)
OTHERS PROBABLY:
Think you’d rather be drinking than doing whatever it is you’re doing now.
See your people as stubborn and slow to provide aid, yet know that when you help, you’re in for the long haul.
(...)
And there are a lot of details afterwards. IMO the character choices in this book suffer from being underpowered (especially the many teamwork feats) and the writing is only mediocre for Paizo standards, but there are at least some redeeming qualities, like the RP guidance.
(like giving all dwarves Scottish accents)Never understood this one. Almost all fantasy dwarves are based on Tolkien's, and those guys seemed to have more of a germanic and norse feel to them, with maybe a *little* celtic thrown in.
I think it's from Warhammer, like orcs all having green skin. As to why Warhammer did it - there's Brit stereotypes about Scots (heavy drinking, aggressive, a strange language) which kind of match dwarves and WH is a British game.
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Original intention was actually somewhat Arabic, interestingly enough.
I never saw elements of this at all. But maybe I'm just not as familiar with Arabic culture.
I think it's from Warhammer, like orcs all having green skin.
I suppose some of their design choices are sort of Scottish. Though I still see more of Norway or something.
And even then, they took a lot of their cues from Tolkien like everyone else.To an extent, I almost feel like settings require stereotyping various races...
There is no box
I mean, culture should be determined by geographic position, not race. If there are places in a setting that feel sort of Russian or Japanese or Mayan, I doubt the elves and dwarves there have the same customs and traditions as the elves and dwarves who live in the Germanic or English or African places.
But then, it's hard to convey all of this as a GM, all by yourself. Relying on pre-established assumptions about these fantasy peoples can help fill in a lot of blanks. And deliberately breaking from those stereotypes can lead to confusion. "Wait, here the elves are great miners and dwarves are smooth faced traveling performers?"
And then you get into the questions about racial coding and prejudice and things get muddy and sticky fast. Don't even get me started on orcs and half-orcs. What a mess.
And deliberately breaking from those stereotypes can lead to confusion. "Wait, here the elves are great miners and dwarves are smooth faced traveling performers?"
And then you get into the questions about racial coding and prejudice and things get muddy and sticky fast. Don't even get me started on orcs and half-orcs. What a mess.
It can be jarring when you run into it. Normally you think elves are all about protecting nature. Even if they're just a fighter you kind of assume that they don't just go around cutting down trees. I mean they live in trees right?
Then in warcraft ii you run into this thing I mean, WTH?!!
That's why it's always good to understand the campaign setting. But unless you're intentionally trying to create culture shock the players should have some idea of what their characters expect the various races to look and act like. The inner sea world guide spends as much time talking about places as it does races. Even a "normal" human from the mwangi expanse is going to have a slightly different feel then one who comes from the shackles. Both of which are likely to be quite different than the human that grew up in Hermea and then got kicked out.