So…while trying to work some of my own races through my original Intense Race-Fractalling System, I discovered some major issues with it that I’ve mentioned before. That coupled with comments from some of you who’ve been brave enough to try and use this yourselves prompted me to go back to the drawing board and re-work IRFS into a more functional, user-friendly form.
Looking back at the original IRFS, I noticed something I totally missed, my six major stages were caught in a kind of tug-o-war between two very different angles of looking at race creation. The first two were concerned largely with the spiritual side of your races (why God made them, His plan for them, how the Fall impacted those plans, etc.), while the rest all look at them from more a more practical angle. So I decided to use that realization to its fullest advantage and split this system into three major perspectives of looking at your races:
- The Theological Perspective - God’s plan for your race, the Fallen state of your race, and the impact of redemption on members of your race.
- The Global Perspective - Your race’s place in the social, historical, and geographical grand scheme of your world.
- The Biological Perspective - What your race looks like, what they can do, how long they live, etc.
- The Cobhaic Perspective - Your race's unique traits and abilities that would be impossible in our world.
Theological Perspective
First we’re going to look at your race from the theological perspective. This could just as easily be called the spiritual perspective, but I went with theological because I’m weird like that.
Admittedly this area was the main reason that the original IRFS was a mess. So a major reclaimer is needed that this perspective applies most directly to those of you whose worlds are more allegorical in nature, following the same basic Creation-Fall-Redemption pattern as our world with a God figure and a Christ figure. If your world doesn’t follow that pattern as closely, then this perspective may not be of much use to you. Feel free to skip it if that’s the case.However, regardless of how allegorical your world is or isn’t; it’s pretty universal among Christian authors that their worlds were created by God and are Fallen, regardless of whether that ever comes into their stories or not. So the basic idea of this perspective of looking at how your race is meant to be versus how it should be of some help to you, even if you’re not writing the next Pilgrim’s Progress.
- God’s Purpose
Here we look at God’s plan for the races of your world, and specifically for the race currently being fractalled. Now this was one of the bigger flaws of the original IRFS, it presupposes that each race in your world was at creation assigned an individual purpose. This may not be the case. For instance, when God created all the diverse plants, birds, fish, and animals they all had basically the same mission statement, “be fruitful and multiply”. Only the human race was given different instructions. So it’s not wholly inconceivable that God might make various individual sentient races and give them all the same basic purpose. So maybe all your races were created with the same basic purpose, or maybe each had a unique role to fill. This is where you can play with that idea.- So first off, do all the races share a common purpose given by God?
- What is that common purpose?
- Is it a common purpose that all the races were meant to fulfill together with each race playing a specific role?
- If so, what role was the race in question meant to play?
- Or was it a purpose that each race was meant to fulfill in its own way?
- Do any/all of the races have individual purposes to fulfill and if so, what is your race’s purpose?
- What specific attributes of God does your race uniquely reflect and how?All of creation reflects his nature according to Romans 1, and according to Genesis the human race was actually made in his image. One race made in his image. So if there are various races in your world, a fun option is to imagine that while they all reflect his image equally, each race reflects different attributes of God differently from the other races. So are there any of God’s qualities that your race reflects uniquely from the other races, and if so what are they and how are they reflected?
- What kind of relationship did God envision for the races (and your race specifically) to have with the other living creatures in this world?
- What kind of relationship were the races of your world (and your race in particular) meant to have with the environment?
- What kind of relationships were the races in your world meant to have? We touched briefly on this earlier with the idea of a mutual purpose that all the races work together to fulfill. But even if you choose not to take that route, this is a good point to consider. What relationship was your race meant to share with the other races?
- So first off, do all the races share a common purpose given by God?
- The Fall’s Impact
Ok, so we have a working picture of how things should be with your race. Now we’re gonna look at how things actually are with your race. Regardlessly of how theological/”allegorical” you get with your worldbuilding, it’s pretty much a given that your writing about a fallen world. So we’re gonna look at some of the major impacts the Fallen state of your world has on your race(s). This is another place I went a little overboard with in the original IRFS, so I hope to restrain myself this go-around and only delve as far as is useful. For instance, the first few questions in the old system asked about the circumstances of the Fall, but as fun as those can be, you can actually have a functioning world without knowing those details.- What physical afflictions does your race deal with as a result of the Fall? I mean, death and decay are the obvious ones for mankind and most races, but were there any unique physical imperfections your race is plagued by?
- Are there any genetic disorders common/unique to your race?
- Are there any birth complications/disorders common/unique to your race?
- Are there any diseases(think viruses & bacteria) that your race is more susceptible to than other races? Are there any that only your race are vulnerable to?
- Similarly, are there any diseases/injuries that are fatal only to your race, or more so to your race than to other races?
- Are there any types of injuries your race is especially prone to?
- Are there any physical disabilities common/unique to your race?
- Are there any signs of aging common/unique to your race?
- What role does your race play in the world? This will be further explored by other perspectives, but for now look at the role that your race was made to play and determine the role they actually play. For example, we were told to multiply and to rule over the earth and all its creatures, and look at how we’re doing at that.
- What are your race’s relationships with the other races in your world like? Again, we’ll dig deep down into this one later on and this step is meant as a comparison. What should relationships among your races be like? And What are they like in actuality?
- Aside from the obvious separation from God and spiritual deadness and so on, are there any spiritual problems/ailments/defects unique to your race? In a related manner, how did the Fall impact the "likeness of God" that your race was made in?
- Are there any temptations unique to your race or any that your race is more susceptible than other races?
- What are emotional problems common/unique to your race? For example, anger, depression, anxiety, hedonism, and apathy are pretty common to the human race.
- Similarly, are there any psycho-emotional illnesses/disorders common among/unique to your race?
- Are there any mental/emotional handicaps common among/unique to your race?
- Are there any Cobhaic problems unique to your race? If your race has any special abilities unique to them apart from the other races (or simply unique from our race), think about how those abilities were meant to work and how they actually work. Or from another angle, are there any effects of the Fall on your race (or your world for that matter) that would be physically/scientifically impossible in our world?
- What is your race’s relationship with the rest of creation like? In Genesis 3 we see God curse the ground so that Adam (and all mankind) would now have to work for their food. But in Genesis 9 when God gives man permission to eat meat, we see a further rend in mankind's relationship with creation as God places a fear of man in the hearts of the animals. So are there any nature-related problems unique to your race? Are there nature-related problems common to all the races of your world? This step may overlap some with the cobhaic effects. But remember, look at what life in the created world is supposed to be for your race and compare it to what it’s actually like.
- Similarly, what kinds of relationships does your race have with the other living creatures of the world?
- What physical afflictions does your race deal with as a result of the Fall? I mean, death and decay are the obvious ones for mankind and most races, but were there any unique physical imperfections your race is plagued by?
- Redemption’s Work
So we’ve seen God’s plan for your race and Sin’s corruption of your race, now we’re gonna look at how His redemptive plan set things back on track. I’ll throw in the disclaimer here that this step will mean more to those whose worlds are more allegorical and mimic ours in terms of spiritual history, with a clear-cut Fall and clear-cut Redemption. But with creativity, it should be able to be adapted to less allegorical worlds. I think one of the biggest things to remember on this step is that in our world the largest signs of redemption are spiritual and in a sense behavioral. The best results are yet to come, and I suspect that in your worlds God would probably follow the same principle. That’s part of the reason why this step is so brief in comparison to the others. But hey! It’s fantasy, so feel free to be imaginative!- Are there any notable physical differences for redeemed members of your race? Keep in mind, that on a whole, there really aren’t that many for us human Christians (exceptions being miraculous healings and such, but that’s a different discussion altogether). I have a feeling that for many of you any physical signs of redemption will be closely tied to the Cobha of your race and we’ll get to that in a moment.
- Does redemption impact the unique cobha of your race?Think back to the previous step where we asked about the effects of the Fall on your race’s cobha and think about how redemption undoes that harm. Also, does redemption impact your race in a manner that would be impossible in our world?
- Does redemption impact your race’s relationship with the creation or its creatures in any unique ways?
- Are there any physical or cobhaic abilities/traits that will be rendered unnecessary in the Final Redemption?
Global Perspective
Now we're going to look at where your race fits in the big picture of your world. I know a lot of us when we make a race paint a little section on our maps for the race to inhabit, but in this step we're going to go out beyond it's geographical location (though that will certainly be taken into account) and look at the puzzle of your world and how this race fits in it. The most efficient way to do that to me seemed to subdivide this phase into four major viewpoints from which we can look at your race: the Geographical Viewpoint, the Historical Viewpoint, the Social Viewpoint, and the Narrative Viewpoint.
- Geographical Viewpoint
To start off things off, we’re gonna look at your race from the Geographic Viewpoint. This looks at where your race is in your world. Where they live and where they came from. This is a biggie for when we start looking at it from the biological perspective because the environment that a race emerges from really shapes that race. I mean, there are people of African descent living in Alaska today whose skin tone still reflects the environment of their ancestors thousands of years ago. And in its simplest form that’s what the word “race” originally talked about, a group of humans who (because of shared descent) shared a few major physical similarities (skin tone, height, facial features, hair, etc.)So let’s get to it!- Where did your race begin in your world? If you’re like me, you probably know where your race currently is in your world; but where did it get its start? Grab your handy dandy world map and look for the birthplace of your race.
- Similarly, what type of climate/environment did your race emerge from? Like I said above, in our world the climate that a race gets its start in will dictate a lot of major traits of that race for generations to come. But admittedly, the cobha of your race may be different, they might not adapt in the same ways as humans. We’ll leave those thoughts for the biological perspective. For right now, let’s just get you thinking about the climate/environment that defined your race.
- How wide-spread is your race in the world? Now at the risk of totally repeating my [url]Let’s Run With Races[/url] post, I feel like on this step I must beg you to remember that with a handful of exceptions, that each of the major ethnicities(races) in our world occupy entire continents. And the only continent that was originally home to multiple races was Asia, which is the biggest. Ok…Europe too…to a minor extent…but not really. So if your race never spread beyond a single forest or mountain range, ask yourself why. We’ll come back to this shortly.
- Similarly, where does your race have the strongest presence in your world? Think mainly population on this one, we'll get to political/economic presence in the next step. Where does your race have most of its people? Where has your race thrived best in your world?
- Where does your race have little or no presence? Are there any regions or parts of your world where your race has never been to? Where has your race not thrived or maybe even died out or been wiped out?
- How many geographically separate cultural identities are there within your race? For instance, in our world Black is a race, but there are a plethora of distinct cultural groups within that race that identify themselves as separate from other groups within the same race and physically live apart. And then there are tribal cultures which share cultural identity but have separate tribes that live apart from one another. So how many distinct societies are there within your race and how many geographically separate societies are there? Are there any at all?
- What impact has your race had on the environment in all the places that it is found? What naturally occurring plants have been domesticated by your race? What animals have been tamed and bred by your race? Remember if you race is spread out or scattered in several places, different societies would have had different effects on their different environments.
- Historical Viewpoint
Now that we’ve seen where your race is and where it came from, we’re gonna look at how it got there and what happened along the way. Admittedly this step will bleed a little into the next one, but I’m ok with that if you are.
This is the part where you get to tell your race’s story.- What role has your race played in the history of the world? We’re jumping right into the big picture, how your race has impacted your world as a whole. And don’t necessarily think that it has to be a big role. Think about the Pacific Islanders, in the large-scale picture of things, they really didn’t play any kind of major role in human history until around the 1400’s or so. Rough guess on that one, but you get my point.
- What major events/turning points in your world’s history has your race lived through?
- What major historical events was it involved in/responsible for?
- What wars (if any) has it played a major role in?
- What major movements (think the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, etc.) has your race contributed to or been influenced by, if any?
- What major historical figures have come from your race? What roles did they play in history?
- What major contributions has your race made to the world?
- What is your race’s history with the other races in your world?This is what I meant by this step bleeding into the next one.
- Which races has your race historically had the most interactions with?
- What have those interactions looked like?
- Which races has your race gotten along with in the past?
- Which races has your race not gotten along with in the past?
- Has your race ever been under the rule of other races?
- Has your race ever been oppressed by other races?
- Has your race ever ruled over/oppressed any of the other races?
- What is your race’s history?
- What are the major events in your race’s past that have shaped your race?
- What forces were responsible for either spreading your race or keeping them in place? Small population, conquest, captivity, trade, geographical boundaries (like being on an island in the middle of the ocean or giant mountain ranges)are just some possible ideas you could use.
- Who are the notable historical figures from your race?
- What disasters/catastrophes have significantly impacted your race in the past?
- What triumphs or achievements are celebrated by members of your race all around the world, regardless of location or culture?
- What role has your race played in the history of the world? We’re jumping right into the big picture, how your race has impacted your world as a whole. And don’t necessarily think that it has to be a big role. Think about the Pacific Islanders, in the large-scale picture of things, they really didn’t play any kind of major role in human history until around the 1400’s or so. Rough guess on that one, but you get my point.
- Social Viewpoint
Now we’re gonna look at your race from the social viewpoint and consider where your race fits in with the other races around it in the world. Some of the groundwork was laid in the last step by looking how your race fit in with other races in the past, and now it’s time to bring it all together and look at how your race treats and is treated by the other races in your world and how history influences it.- Which races does your race have the most interaction with currently?
- Which races are peaceful towards your race?
- Which races are hostile towards your race?
- Is there anywhere where your race is ruled over or oppressed by other races?
- Is there anywhere where your race rules over or oppresses other races?
- Is your race looked down on by other races?
- Do members of your race look down on any other races?
- Is your race admired or envied by members of other races?
- Do members of your race admire or envy other races? This will vary some with culture, but still a handy question.
- Is your race reviled or feared by other races?
- Do members of your race revile or fear other races?
- Is your race at war with any other races?
- Narrative Viewpoint
The narrative viewpoint looks at how your race fits into the grand scheme of whatever stories you are currently writing about the world they live in.- What is the status of your race at the time that your story begins?
- What role does your race play in the overall scheme of the world during the course of your story?
- Are any members of your race major characters in your story?
- Are any members of your race minor characters in your story?
- How do events/people from your race’s history impact your story?
- What role does your race as a whole play in your story?
- What is the status of your race by the end of your story?
Biological Perspective
At long last we now come to the part that most people like to start with, what the members of your race look like and what they can do. Originally this stage was going to also look at how your race acts/lives, but that falls under the umbrella of culture, which is a horse of a different color entirely. This was actually the part of the old system that needed the least revisions. Which worked out great, because by this point, it was starting to get old.
- Anatomy
First we’re going to look at the bodies God gave your race. Honestly, it’s written with more anthropomorphic races in mind, but there are still points that should be useful for developing less humanoid races. And when I give this system its sci-fi makeover, it will definitely be more compatible with non-humanoid races. But for now here it is. This would be a good time to integrate some of the theological perspective and think about God’s plans for your race and how their bodies might reflect that. I think we did a good enough job touching on physical imperfections and the like in the first perspective so I won’t bother restating it here. Anywho, let’s do this thing!- What is the typical skeletal shape of your race? Tall or short? Broad-framed or narrow-framed? Are there any skeletal differences between the males and females of your race?
- Similarly, what is the average height for members of your race? How do the averages differ between males and females of your race?
- How many limbs does your race have?
- Does your race have any anatomical features that humans don’t and would be genetically impossible for humans to manifest? Wings? Gills? Tails? Feathers? Horns?
- What is the typical muscular make-up of your race? Wiry or bulging muscles? More upper-body strength than lower body strength or vice versa? Which muscles are made for strength and which are made for endurance? How does musculature differ between the males and females of your race?
- What is the typical cardio-vascular composition of your race? Is your race made for endurance or for shorter bursts of intense force? Do members of your race have more than one heart? Are their hearts bigger or smaller than ours or about the same size?
- What is the basic respiratory structure of your race? Do they have lungs or alternative means of obtaining oxygen? Do they even breathe oxygen?
- Are there any hormones or hormonal functions unique to members of your race? Are there any hormones which work differently in members of your race than they do in our bodies? How do the endocrine (glands & hormones) systems of males and females in your race differ?
- Are there any pheromones unique to your race? What purposes do those pheromones serve?
- Are there any unique facets of your races nervous systems?
- What senses does your race rely primarily on? Do they have any senses that other races (including ours) do not? Are there any of their senses which surpass the same senses of other races (i.e. keener vision, better sense of smell, etc.)? Which parts of your race's body are the anchor-points for which sense (i.e. eyes for sight, ears for hearing, etc.)? How do the facial features of your race reflect their sensory mix? Are there any differences between the sensory capacities of males and females of your race?
- What are your race's distinguishing facial features? Jaw line? Cheek-bones? Eye color/shape/number? Size/shape of noses? Teeth? Ear size/shape?
- What is your race's typical skin color range? How oily/dry is your race's skin generally? How rough/smooth?
- What about body hair? How much body hair does your race typically have? What color is it usually? What texture is it? Where is it more densely concentrated? How does this differ between males and females?
- Does your race have fur covering their bodies? If so, what color? Does it shed a lot? Is it thick or thin? Coarse or soft? Flat or shiny? Do males have different colored fur than females?
- How does your race's hair behave? Does it grow quickly or slowly? Is it naturally coarse or smooth? Thick or thin? Straight? Curly? Wavy? Kinky/nappy? What color (s)? Does the men's hair of your race behave differently than the women's hair? When you start working with culture, then you'll ask about actual hairstyles.
- What is the average weight for members of your race? How do weight averages differ between males and females of your race? How does fat content differ between males and females?
- How does your race physically express emotions? Do they use pheromones or unique facial expressions? Or are they more a gesture or physical contact race?
- Do mothers of your race give birth like humans or are there differences? Don’t get over-imaginative. Basically the idea is whether they give live birth or do they lay eggs or some other unique way of giving birth?
- Do the other races of your world typically see your race as fair or foul?
- How well can your race's bodies adapt to their environment? How many generations does it take for these adaptations to take? How quickly do they set in?
- Chronology
Here we’re going to look at the basic biological chronology of your race. What happens when for them. We would look at rites-of-passage and all that, but those differ between cultures, so we’re leaving that for the culture fractalling system.- How long do pregnancies typically last for your race?
- When do members of your race reach physical maturity (i.e. - adult size, strength, and fertility)? Is this preceded by a period of rapidly increased physical development similar to puberty in humans? Do males and females of your race physically mature at different rates in any areas?
- When do members of your race reach intellectual/cognitive maturity? When do they mature emotionally? Does this rate differ between males and females of your race?
- Do members of your race experience a slowing-down of the metabolism after reaching physical maturity? If so, when does this usually happen? Does it differ between males and females of your race?
- When are the common childbearing years for the men and women of your race? What I mean is this, if a woman had a child at age eighty-three, would that shock people or is that common place?
- When do members of your race typically start showing signs of aging? What age is considered "old" by your race?
- What is the average lifespan for your race?
- Physical Abilities
Now we’re gonna look at what your race is physically capable of doing based on their anatomical make-up. This is not really the part where we talk about their special abilities that are impossible in our world, that comes later. Even if something special about their anatomical make-up gives them special abilities, we’re gonna save them for the next step, except for the obvious ones like gills enabling breathing underwater or wings allowing flight. Anywho, that’s what this step is: looking at what your race can do in terms of physical abilities. Remember when working on this to think about how these abilities differ between the males and females of your race.- How far on average can members of your race walk in one day?
- What is the farthest distance that members of your race can run at a sustained pace?
- Similarly, what is the fastest average speed that members of your race can run for long distances?
- What is the fastest average speed members of your race can run at a dead sprint? What is the farthest difference on average that they can maintain this pace?
- What is the greatest average weight members of your race can lift? I’m talking about lifting and carrying, not like bench-pressing or the like…like practical lifting.
- On average, how high can members of your race jump from a flat-footed stance?
- How far on average can members of your race jump?
- How long on average can members of your race hold their breath?
- How far can the average member of your race swim in one stretch?
- How far on average can members of your race see?
- How keen is your race’s sense of hearing?
Cobhaic Perspective
If you didn’t know already (and most HWers do by now) Cobha is word invented by Tsahraf Chahsid Mimetes that refers to all the laws of nature in your fantasy world that are different from those in our world. Or in other words, Cobha is anything that would be impossible in our world that is naturally possible in your fantasy world. This includes abilities your races have that are impossible in our world. So basically, looking at your races from the cobhaic perspective means looking at any abilities or traits of your race that would be impossible in our world. Admittedly, not all fantasy authors give their races special traits or abilities, and even those who do rarely give them to all their races. And that’s fine. But I figure in order to make this system as helpful as possible to everyone, I’d include this perspective and those who don’t need it can just skip it.
- Traits
While not all fantasy authors choose to give their races flashy abilities like conjuring fire balls and talking to animals, I find that most authors like to give even their non-magical races more subtle traits that would still be close to the impossible in our world. My favorite example is the time-slowing type effect in elven realms in Tolkien’s Middle Earth such as Lothlorien and Rivendell. Time moved differently for the elves than the other races and those in their realms experienced time in the same manner. Technically those were effects of the Elven rings preserving the realms, but it’s still the best example I have. So first we’re going to look at any interesting traits your race may possess.- Is there anything that your race shares a deep, ontological bond with? NOTE: Ontological = “of or relating to essence or the nature of being”. So basically this question is asking if there is anything that the very nature of your race is linked to. If so:
- What is it they are bonded to? Is your race an elemental race, bonded to one of the four elements? Are they bonded to a special tree or maybe a type of tree? Are they bonded to a place? An animal? A type of animal?
- What is the nature of the bond? How does it affect your race? Does it give them any special strengths? Any special weaknesses? Does it affect their psyches? Does it have any physiological effects? Is it a two-way street, does your race affect it as well?
- What is the story of the bond? What are its origins? Has it been with your race from the start or it did it come later in some way? How has it impacted your race in the past? Is it permanent or temporary? Can the bond be broken? If so, how? Would there ever be a reason to break it? What would be the consequences of breaking it?/
- How strong is the bond? Is it present in all members of the race or only some? Is it stronger in some people than others? Is it stronger in one gender than in the other? Is it stronger for certain generations? Is it stronger in certain ages?
- Does the nature of the bond change during the course of a person’s life?
- Does the bond have an impact on your race’s surroundings?
- Does your race have any qualities that “rub off” so to speak on their surroundings? Obviously, I’m thinking of my earlier example here, but it’s a broader concept than this. Does your race knowingly or unknowingly shape their world in ways that we cannot or maybe just ways that we do not?
- If your race is an elemental race or bonded to a certain aspect of nature, does this bond impact their environment at all? *sees a lot of untapped potential here* Just imagine a town where it’s never cold because it’s residents are all fire elemental and their fiery essence warps the weather patterns, or a grassy plain turned forest by an immigration of a race bonded to trees. Lots of fun to be had here, methinks.
- Similarly, if your race or members are bonded to a certain type of animal, how does that impact the ecosystem they live in? Is that animal attracted to them or does maybe it’s population thrive more because of the presence of your race? How do other creatures react to your race. I can’t imagine prey animals that humans managed to domesticate being easily tamed by a race that gives off a wolfish essence.
- Are certain virtues or characteristics of your race reflected in their homelands or in their handiworks? Think of the Elvish cloaks, rope, and boats gifted to the Fellowship as they left Lothlorien, they weren’t enchanted or spelled, they simply more the marks of their makers in a manner of speaking.
- How much exposure do these effects usually require? In other words, how many of your race does it usually take and how long does it usually take for these effects to set in?
- Are there any changes in the growth rate or effects of time in areas where your race has a strong (numerical) presence?
- And lastly are there any other possible “effects” your race has on the world/their environment that haven’t already been covered?
- To repeat and further explore a question from the biological perspective, does your race have any anatomical features that would be considered impossible for humanoids in our world to have?
- Does your race have wings or any other features for flying? Are they flappers or soar-ers? Where are their wings attached? Bird-like or Bat-like? How far can they fly in one day on average? How fast can they fly on average?
- Does your race have gills or other means of breathing underwater?
- What about fins, webbing, or other features for traveling well underwater? How fast can they swim because of these? How far can they swim in one day?
- Claws? Are they retractable? How long? For climbing, for fighting, or mixed/other purposes?
- Horns? Horns or antlers (there’s a difference)? Long or short? Straight, curved, or curly? How fast do they grow? What uses?
- Tail? Long or short? Prehensile? Furred or scaled?
- Any other unique anatomical features not heretofore discussed?
- Are there things that are impossible for your race that are possible for us? Consider it reverse-cobha. For instance, maybe your race is incapable of counting beyond the number thirteen or something.
- Does your race have any other special traits we haven’t covered already?
- Is there anything that your race shares a deep, ontological bond with? NOTE: Ontological = “of or relating to essence or the nature of being”. So basically this question is asking if there is anything that the very nature of your race is linked to. If so:
- Abilities
Now at last we come to one of the top-two most popular places to start when making fantasy races. The other is appearance, but I find that often appearance follows at least a rough impression of a cool ability. Now we’re going to try and be as broad as possible here since there’s an infinite realm of possible abilities you could give your races. To clarify, this portion addresses abilities which are largely under voluntary control and to-some-extent limited in versatility. Abilities that parallel magic in other fantasy stories will be addressed after we’re done here. Some of these thoughts I’ve recycled from my “Race Abilities” post. And if you’re fractalling a race of shape-shifters, I recommend my “Shapeshifting Races” as a good supplement to this step.- What abilities does your race have that are impossible in our world?
- Are any “universal”/common to all the races in your world?
What are they? - Are any unique to your race?
What are they?
- Are any “universal”/common to all the races in your world?
- How common are your races abilities?
- Are the “universal” abilities more common in some races than in others?
Are there any races without these abilities?
Are they unique to certain bloodlines in various races?
Are they more common among one gender than another? - Are your race’s unique abilities common throughout the race or only specific
Are they more common among members of one gender than another?
Are there any abilities that are unique to males or females of your race?
Are they more common among certain generations than others?
Are they more common during certain ages?
- Are the “universal” abilities more common in some races than in others?
- Do any of your races’ abilities have a specific origin or source?
- How many in your world know about it?
- Can this source be exhausted?
- What is the nature of each of your race’s abilities?
- Does your race have any abilities that have to be trained and maitained?Think here of the ability to run a marathon; in theory anyone can train their bodies to develop this ability, but without constant training and practice, they fall out of shape and lose the ability to run a marathon. Not necessarily permanently, but you get the idea.
How long do members of your race generally have to train to achieve these abilities?
How much effort is generally required to maintain them?
How easy is it to fall out of practice and “lose” the abilities?
How hard is it to regain the abilities if you “lose” them?
Can talent with these abilities be passed on genetically like athletic ability in the human race? - What toll do your races’ abilities take?Think about it, even if it’s an ability that comes to them as naturally to them as walking, walking uses muscles and burns energy. Walking long distances can wear through our energy reserves and wear on our muscles and joints. The same with mental abilities. Studying or other activities requiring mental concentration and energy burn energy as well and if overdone can leave their marks on our brains (confusion, exhaustion,etc.) If it’s an essence/spirit ability, then it would probably still tax their energy levels in some way if nothing else, just like intense spiritual experiences can leave us feeling emotionally drained.
Do any of your races take a physical toll on them?
Do any of their abilities take a mental/emotional toll on them?Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series has the male source of magic tainted so that every time a male draws on that power he risks insanity.
Do any of their abilities take a spiritual toll on them?
Do any of their abilities have a consequence that would be impossible in our world?Like they’re unable to say a certain word after throwing a fireball?
How mild/severe a toll does each ability take?
How long does it usually take to recover from overexertion? - How do your race's abilities progress over time?
Are they something like the ability to see that begins at birth and is fully developed within a few weeks?
Are they like walking which is mastered anywhere from within a few months to a year or two?
Are they like talking which for many is begun around two years or so and is fairly under hand by four but continues to improve over the following years?
Do they manifest during adolescence?This is pretty popular among fantasy authors that I’ve read. I think it would be cool to have those abilities manifest more naturally rather than just popping up out of nowhere during puberty. If you think about it *ponders how to word this delicately* that isn't how puberty works for us. We don't suddenly sprout longer arms, legs and new muscles. Rather our existing organs are further developed and matured. Wouldn't it make sense for a race's abilities to work that same way, they might have those abilities in a weaker form for most of their life but during puberty they begin to rapidly develop and mature over the course of a few years. It makes more sense then, "Wow! I'm a teenager and now I can suddenly throw people through rooms with my mind!"
Do any of your races abilities continue to improve throughout adulthood?
Do any of them decline with age?
- Does your race have any abilities that have to be trained and maitained?Think here of the ability to run a marathon; in theory anyone can train their bodies to develop this ability, but without constant training and practice, they fall out of shape and lose the ability to run a marathon. Not necessarily permanently, but you get the idea.
- How does your race's abilities make their lives different than ours? Obviously, various cultures would adapt to the same abilities differently-but-similarly. And there’s so much room for creativity here that I’ll just leave it to your imaginations. Just remember that if throwing fireballs is a common ability among your race, they would probably live a bit differently than we would in their situation,
- How does your race view their special abilities? This will vary per culture, to be sure, but it’s a good thing to consider at this point anyways. Another good thought is to flip the question and ask how the other races in your world view your race’s abilities.
- Assuming your world is more allegorically similar to ours, are there any abilities that the members of your race currently have that they will not need/have in the “New Heavens and New Earth”? Another way to think about it is to ask if there are any abilities that your race won’t need in Heaven.
- What abilities does your race have that are impossible in our world?
- “Magic”
This portion of the system looks at the part of cobha that works similar to magic systems in secular fantasy writing. The easiest way to summarize it is an ability to access an energy source, either external or internal (or some combination of the two) which can be harnessed to perform a fairly broad variety of tasks depending on your skill and your training. In many fantasy worlds, all races have this ability to some degree or another. Even though in some worlds each race may be accessing a different source, or the same source in a different manner, or what have you, often they still have some sort of versatile ability to accomplish tasks in a manner naturally impossible for us. From here out, I’ll be referring to this ability as “magic”, because it’s easier to type. Now this step is not to work out the entire system for whole world, but just to look at how it works for your race. If your race has no such ability, that’s fine, you can just skip it.- Is the “magic” your race has access to, equally accessible to all the races in your world?
- Is there a “magic” open to all/most races?
Does your race have access to it?
Is it a natural energy force that members from all races can harness?
Is it an inborn power that some have and some don’t regardless of race?
Is it merely a skill that can be learned regardless of race? - Is there a “magic” possessed only by your race?
How does it differ from other “magic” in the world(if there are any others)?
How is it similar?
Is it esteemed by your race more than other “magic”?
- Is there a “magic” open to all/most races?
- Who in your race has access to “magic”?
- Is it equally available to all members of your race?
If so, do all use it?
If not, why? - Is it only available to certain members of your race?
Which members?
Is it specific groups or just “some have it, some don’t”?
Is it hereditary? - Are there certain people who excel more in “magic” than others in your race?
Is one gender better at “magic” than the other?
Are there certain bloodlines that are more naturally gifted at “magic”
Is giftedness with “magic” semi-hereditary like athletic abilities or musical talent?
- Is it equally available to all members of your race?
- How does magic work for your race?
- Where do members of your race draw their energy for “magic” from?
Is it some all-pervasive energy that flows through nature?
Is it a special object of power?
Does the power come from within?
Do they channel they like directly channel the power of God or something like that? - What do the members of your race need in order to work “magic”?
Are there any special tools or objects of power required?
Do they go through some sort of initiation to bond with the source of “magic”?
Do they learn a special language?
Do they have to train their minds in special ways to visualize the desired results?
Do they merely have to memorize formulas/”spells”?
Do they draw special runes or symbols?
Are there certain places they have to be?
Do they have to learn/perform certain movements?
Are there certain colors they use?
Do members of your race need anything to work “magic” that other races don’t?
Conversely, is there anything other races need to work “magic” that members of your race don’t need? - What does it cost members of your race to do something with “magic”?This step is similar to the last, but there is a subtle difference.The last step looked at what is needed to work magic, this step looks more at how much “magic” it takes to do tasks and the toll it takes on members of your race.
What factors determine how easy/difficult it is to perform a task with “magic”?Example: In the Inheritance Cycle, doing something with magic used just as much energy as it would take to do it without magic. Other factors might be the amount of concentration/memorization required or stuff like that.
How does exerting great amounts of “magic” affect members of your race?
Does it tire them out mentally, physically, or a combination of the two?
Does using “magic” take a greater/lesser toll on members of your race than it does other races?
- Where do members of your race draw their energy for “magic” from?
- How handy is your race with “magic”?
- How easily does “magic” come to members of your race?
Does it come very easily or take a lot of effort and training?
Does it come more easily to them than it does other races, or less easily, or about the same?
How much time on average does it take members of your race to learn “magic”?
How much effort do members of your race have to use to use “magic”?
Are there any aspects of using “magic” that come especially easy to your race?
Are there any aspects of using “magic” that members of your race master more easily than other races?
Are there any aspects of using “magic” that take members of your race more effort to master than it does other races? - What can members of your race do with “magic”?
What is the greatest feat on average that a member of your race can perform with “magic”?
What is the simplest task members of your race can do with “magic”?
Are there things they can do with “magic” that members of other races can’t?
Conversely, are there things that other races can do with “magic” that your race can’t?
To rephrase an earlier question, what tasks are easiest for your race to do with “magic”?
What tasks are hardest for your race to do with “magic”?
- How easily does “magic” come to members of your race?
- What effects does using “magic” have on members of your race?
- Are they affected in ways that members of other races aren’t?
- What immediate effects does it have?
- Does it have any long-term physical effects?
Does it affect the way they age?
Does it affect their ability to have children?
Does it affect their mobility?
Does it affect their appearance?
Does it affect their children in some way? - Does it have any long-term mental effects?
Are their memories affected?
Is their sanity affected?
Are their emotions affected in any ways?
- Is the “magic” your race has access to, equally accessible to all the races in your world?
And so, there, we have it. The IRFS 2.1 I really do believe that this will be a lot easier for all of you lovely ladies and gentlemen to use. At least, I certainly hope it will be. And if not, who knows; I might have to go back and whip up a version 2.2
Eventually I will be circling back and revising this to a format more suitable to writers of sci-fi, but that won’t be for some time. In the meantime here’s this. I hope you find it helpful. 
Oh! And loads of credit and thanks goes to Lycanis Mimetes and Jessie Quill whose questions and feedback helped point out the need for this revision and subtly encouraged me to make it happen. Without them, I'm not sure this would've happened. So heaping huge thanks to them
I will read it when I have time. 
*Ponders*
).