Ok, I haven't been around in a while so please forgive me if no one remembers me.

Well, I have this idea for a fantasy race. Maybe not the most original idea, but let's see. They are a small race, standing around 3 to 4 feet tall; they tend to be tan-skinned--if not somewhat red--they have a long, slender tail that is hairless, save for the tip which is covered with a tuft of hair (resembling a lion).
They have pointed ears, and their hair ranges from black to red with little to no brown. They have slitted eyes (like a cat) that are normally red, yellow, or orange. Got me so far...? Good! Oh, they also have horns. *ducks behind boulder, waits a moment, then checks to see if the coast is clear* Yeah, I know, about all I need to make these guys look like demons is to slap some cloven hooves and a pair of bat wings onto 'em. But I can promise you that's not really my intention!

They are people of flame, so it's kind of how things worked out. Well, the fact that one of their keywords is "impish" may not have helped. To some degree I wanted to make them a bit like Tolkien's Hobbits, only desert folk instead of plains folk. They aren't demons; in fact, I wanted them to be a bit spiritual, if certainly quite mischievous. But mostly they are a docile people, with an appreciation for good food and a healthy helping of peace and quiet. Unlike the Hobbits, however, the idea was to give them an insatiable curiosity and a particular fondness for the written word. Books and scrolls to them are akin to gold and jewels, if not far more precious.

They also have a reputation as gluttons, albeit skinny ones. They possess an incredibly fast metabolism, requiring them to eat more often than other races. However despite requiring 7 square meals a day, they actually don't really need to eat much each time they do: An apple and a swig of water or wine can easily fill up the less active members of their kind.
However, they have been known to frequently eat till their bellies bulge and--much to the chagrin of others--remain as skinny as a rail.

As a race they also loathe tight clothing, preferring baggy clothes, if any. Don't get me wrong; they cover up and have a fondness for hooded cloaks (they are desert people), but as a whole most loathe the feeling of cloth constantly rubbing up against their skin or restricting their movement.

As you may have noticed, I don't really know what to name them. My two current ideas are Ifzir and Cinder. Which do you like? And should females have horns too or just males, or maybe smaller horns on females?

Oh, these are very interesting creatures! I like the word "Ifzir" for their name, personally. *nodnod*

I think it's perfectly fine for the females to have smaller horns than the males.

Since they live in the desert, how do they get apples and wine? Or do they feed on cacti and lizards, or is this a different type of desert entirely? Do they congregate near oases?

Apples were just an example. Wine, however, is actually a staple of their diet ,as clean water can be hard to come by. As far as their actual diet think along the lines of the Middle East and India. Their foods tend to be spicy.

Yes, they do mostly congregate around oases. It's hard to build a town in the desert without an oasis. But some do live in jungle areas.

I was thinking they would live in adobe-style buildings, or maybe carve their abodes out of mountainsides; probably a bit of both.

I have been leaning toward Ifzir myself; I think I was just waiting for a bit of agreement.

Are they proud of their horns and tails? Do the girls shine their horns and curl or dye the tufts on their tails? What happens if one of them gets a disease that slows their metabolism way down and they gain a lot of weight?

I like the name Ifzir.

I would think that they think of them as little more than another part of their body no different than arms or legs, though I could see the vainer of their kind polishing their horns, and They may dye the tufts of hair at the end of their tails for aesthetic or maybe even ritual reasoned.

I'm also going for the idea female Ifzer having smaller horns, not that male Ifzer horns are all that big realy.

Oh, and to answer their final question, they'd get fat. but thats an extremely rare case and hardly the norm.

Also I like the name Ifzer too, lol.

Would there be a huge social stigma against 'heavy' Ifzirs because most of them are twigs?

Probably not physical appearance isn't a big thing with the Ifzir, (not that they don't appreciate physical attractiveness), now a stupid ,unintelligent, or obnoxious Ifzir, certainly a social stigma there.

Ah, I see. So do they do much preening if they don't worry too much about physical appearance?

Its not that they don't care about physical appearance so much as, they do not alot but they care as much as anyone might. Its simply that their culture values other-things namely knowledge and, is civility the right word? Well its more like being as "not-annoying" as possible. That being said as a dessert people who value comfort a reasonable amount of body fat would likely be considered attractive or at least a sign of good fortune.

They're DESSERT people???!!! Wow, I think I'll have to come and visit sometime.

Btw, I like the Ifzir a lot. I've never done any humanoid/animalish races in my fantasy before, but these are admittedly pretty cool. I especially like the horns, because it gives them a lot more character that they otherwise wouldn't have.

(Hey, you know, they could play off of their semi-resemblance to demons by scaring other races at night, or dancing around big fires and howling Just a thought, since you mentioned that all they need is a forked tongue and pointy tail to look like demons. However, that doesn't seem to fit with their culture's values. Oh well, just an idea.)

Are their tails prehensile? Or more like a cats?

Areth,

Ka

Well their tails ARE meant to resemble a lion's, so I'm gonna go with cat. Though, technically, like their horns, they are vestigial. Not that they haven't found uses for them, but they aren't the most useful anatomic traits for a humanoid race.

I usually don't depict demons in the traditional form. My demons are usually abominable monstrosities; misshapen beings just as twisted on the outside as they are within. So it would be unlikely any other people might mistake them for demons.

That being said, the modern Ifzer are the nomadic remnants of a once great subterranean empire. Descending from the priest caste who where exiled to the surface by their more savage kin after attempting to prevent the use of the "God Head Seat" to ascend the Underking to "godhood" the attempt went as poorly as it did in the ancient human nation of Koss where the seat originated. Twisting the remainder of their race into hideous monsters resembling traditional demons cloven hooves and all. The Ifzir where only able to avoid this fate due to their presence on the surface, that and Invoking the protective power of Yah through prayer and fasting.

But even then I don't think they would want to be mistaken for their more savage kin.