>>714605602
I think fantasy races feeling generally boring in dull in modern fantasy games has less to do with using stock DnD races vs making OC donut steel and more to do with how much the races actually add to the game.
For example, in unicorn overlord each race had:
>their own quadrant of the map
>towns, shops, clothes, etc completely different for each race
>their own little mini plot line about their internal politics
>all classes are race specific and have some underlying quirk thats common across all members of that race
Even though its all things that've been done before (elves, dark skinned elves, angels, and furries) it feels like a meaningful part of the world and the game. I think a lot of fantasy authors just slap a bunch of races into their wold because they just view it as a boilerplate part of worldbuilding.
Contrast my unicorn overlord example with one of the countless shitty MMOs where all the races are OC races but the differences mean fuckall and everyone just lives in the same cities, wears the same shit, talks the same way, only gameplay difference is a few stat bonuses, etc.