Races

Alright, Races. Whatever. I like to have the option to characterize my settings with the many different intelligent races and my problem with race as class is that first, every dwarf feels mechanically samey, I mean yeah races shouldn't be just different humans, but I don't care okay. And second, like I said I want to make my setting dependant on the people living in it. If I have a setting were only albino bat-like drow and dark dwarves and maybe some other whacky shit exists, I really don't want to stat them up from level 1 to 14 just that people may or may not play them.
But I don't like the heavy mechanical implementations of races from never games.
What I observed is that the crucial element of races, which defines every aspect of how they are played by the player, is the name.
Yes, that's right. If you give the option to players to play Elves, but they don't differ mechanically from Humans, they still will play them very, very different.
So that's how I use my races. I have a table in which I discibe a very mechanically minor, if even mechanical at all, advantage and disadvantage and a stat which the players can reroll with a 2d6+6 and thats it.
I'm not sure if I like the rerolling, though. Maybe I'll switch to ability prerequisites for races at some point, we'll see.

Down below you'll see the races for my setting Dies Irae, a doomed world.

1d10	Race	Reroll	Advantage	Disadvantage
1	Human	-	Is a cool race.	No, really Humans are pretty cool.
2	High Elf	INT	+1 save against Mindcontrol.	very fussy.
3	Wood Elf	DEX	Natural survival ability in forests	Likes cannibalism and really doesn't get the problem with it.
4	Dwarf	CON	are very familiar with mining and stone processing.	Is pretty moody when drinking too little alcohol
5	Halfling	DEX	Are really lucky. Reroll one shitty roll per session.	Is pretty moody when eating only one ration a day.
6	Tiefling (Chaos)	CHA	Very sexy.	Very feisty.
7	Tiefling (Law)	INT	uncannily skilled in bureaucracy, law, etc	stands by their word.
8	Kroakling (Frog/Toad people)	WIS	Thick Skin, +1 AC	tend to binge on alcohol or drugs.
9	Lizard People	STR	Can eat raw meat and other food of lower quality just fine	really dislike the cold.
10	Dog People	CON	Very good nose.	very bribable with sausages.

Humans, being special snowflakes, can reroll an ability of their liking and have no advantage or disadvantage.

source: smalllebowsky