@Malinghi: I know of at least two RPGs, The Everlasting (modern paranormal game about various immortal/undead/extremely-long-lived/reincarnating beings (including fairies, elves, dragons, vampires, angels, revenants, ghuls, questing knights, demigods, gargoyles, totem spirits, nightmares, and Egyptian wizards) who live alongside humans or in extradimensional realms, such as the dream plane, the spirit world, the land of the dead, Heaven, Hell, Faerieland, etc, and how they interact with each other over the centuries of their long lives) and Fortune's Fool, a renaissance game with elves, dwarves, and goblins living openly among humans. Each of them uses the tarot deck in different ways. There are other roleplaying games (such as Castle Falkenstein or Deliria) which use playing cards to determine fate and chance as well.
Keep in mind, when we design merfolk types, they don't have to be species-based. Ethnicity and inherited traits are but one aspect of a person's character, and it should be the same with mers. Keep in mind that differences could be political, religious (which brings up the questions of God/gods/philosophies that different merfolk groups might follow), cultural, genetic, training/education, occupation, temperamental, economic, or talents/flaws. Obviously, not every one of these traits needs to be considered when creating a character (in the same way that there are plenty of people who don't care about religion or politics, are orphaned/adopted or otherwise unfamiliar with their birth heritage, etc) but some of them might help us get a better idea of what we're looking for. The new World of Darkness games usually feature a faction (some group chosen by the character because it appeals to her, with its own activities or methods distinct from other factions), and a selection of "sub-races" within the family of creatures (different bloodlines of vampires, werewolves originally transformed under different phases of the moon, mages who draw their powers from different magical realms, changelings whose fae bodies have been changed in particular ways, etc), often with another, deeper level of high achievement and greater power for one or both of the previous categories, such as specific mystic orders mages can join, or rare bloodlines for vampires, or noble titles and duties and powers for changelings. The current version of dungeons and dragons features races (human, elf, eladrin, dragonborn, dwarf, tiefling, etc) and classes (fighter, mage, druid, cleric, paladin, warlock, warlord, ranger, rogue, shaman, psion, monk, sorcerer, barbarian, etc) as well as backgrounds (such as talents granted from having a particular family type or growing up in a certain environment) and additional qualities and roles added at higher levels. Deliria features modern character roles (such as child, detective, reporter, parent, police officer, etc) and fairytale archetypes that define the character's style and personality (Beast, Godmother, Muse, Princess, Knight, Waif, etc). Fireborn (a game about ancient dragons reincarnated in the modern world, and regaining their powers and memories as magic slowly returns) features two separate characters (the "Scion" in the modern world, who has an occupation that offers skills and talents and money, and a legendary "sire" - a dragon whose life forms a philosophy for this character (scions of Quetzalcoatl are often creative, while scions of Hydra are dangerous and volatile, for instance) and the Dragon character in the ancient world, who has a "role" based on his actions or attitude towards magic, conquest, treasure, and humans... hoarder, guardian, mystic, warrior, explorer, sage, etc... as well as a "breed" based on a mix of the dragon's body type (serpentine, hulking and bestial, or the the human/avian bodies of "drakes") with the habitat and qualities of the creature (such as a chimerical dragon, exotic dragon, noble dragon, many-headed dragon, sea dragon, spirit dragon, cthonic dragon, dire dragon, fire dragon, ice dragon, forest dragon, etc).
@Princess Kae-Leah: I am somewhat loathe to make stark definitions and tribal divisions for mers based on eating preferences, sexuality, politics, or other similar divisions, preferring to leave those up to individual mers and their characters (and not promoting stereotypes such as haughty vegetarians/vegans and warlike/cannibalistic carnivores) rather than suggesting that everyone in a particular group possess such traits (though religious sects/temples are perhaps an exception to this personal rule, and ones which can be interesting to explore). Not everyone has a strong stance on the issues of vegetarianism and eating meat, and so such a division might not appeal to everyone. It could, however, be part of your character's particular backstory... maybe she was part of a meat-eating clan in a distant realm, but came to empathize with the animals her family ate, and has come seeking friends and a new family to let her pursue vegetarianism as a way of life. Also, for all we know, human characters (especially, say, pirates) might be favored roles for some of the players, and therefore while suspicion and conflict between the people of the land and the sea might prove interesting story hooks, it probably wouldn't make for appealing characters... at least, not more than one or two people with such decided conflicts with each other.
On another note, communing with sea life might not be the best way to pursue vegetarianism, as a large number of sea creatures, including dolphins, bony fish, sharks, molluscs, cephalopods, sea stars and jellyfish eat meat/fish/other creatures in some fashion. Ensuring peace and harmony in the cycle of life, however, might very well lead one to follow a vegetarian diet, so as to limit the effect of their own needs on the environment and lifeforms around them... though, again, that has a ring of religion or philosophy (like Buddhism) to it, more than cultural distinction.
@ everyone:
I think, if we go this route, we should focus on...
1. tribes/clans/families (social status, groups and backgrounds)
2. homewaters (did they grow up in the untamed wilds, a vent, kelp forest, a trench, a reef, a cosmopolitan undersea metropolis, among humans, etc)
3. species/race (i.e. what type of fish/marine-life tail? or other distinguishing genetic features of merfolk, such as fin-ears, webbed fingers, dorsal fins, camouflage, venom, electric shocks, wing fins, tentacles, etc)
4. religions/gods (maybe construct a pantheon to encompass different beliefs about the sea, including atheism/agnosticism)
5. occupations/classes (what the mer learns to do with his life/skills/training, perhaps with some extra examples of focus and talents (a magic-using mermaid, for instance, could be a shipwreck necromancer or a pearl oracle or an water elementalist or a reef druid).
On the other hand, in order to keep characters as characters, we might want to focus more on their story. The Dresden Files rpg features this character-building series of questions:
What is your character's High Concept, a brief (generally 2-4 words) summary of what your character is and does, such as "Wizard Private Eye"
What is your character's Trouble, the thing in her life that causes her to struggle the most, such as "Can't say No" or "Stalked by Mermaid Hunters"
What is your character's Background, their parents and family, and how does it affect them today, such as "I always carry my mother's necklace" or "Heir to the throne of the Mediterranean Sea"?
What is your Rising Conflict, the part of your life where things start turning out unusual, such as "You killed my father, prepare to die!" or "My true love was taken by sirens and I want him back" or "I'm turning into a mermaid"?
What was your first adventure, such as "Rescued a prince who fell overboard in a storm" or "Fell in Love with Odysseus as he sailed past and heard my song, and vowed to leave my sisters to find him"?
Whose path have you crossed?
Who else's path have you crossed? (these last two are very good for giving your character history with the other players, especially if you work together to come up with interesting stories about how you met on adventures and helped/hindered each other).
In the Dresden Files RPG, the different questions (usually the high concept) must reveal what kind of character template (wizard, werewolf, white court vampire, changeling, pure mortal, etc) the character is, but actual abilities and powers and talents and skills are "paid for" from a pool of 9 points per character (at the most magical game settings, at least... less overtly magical settings provide fewer points), with more powerful abilities costing more points, and additional points gained through experience, but I thought it would be helpful to show you guys some more story-focused means of character creation as well.
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