Originally Posted by RatPackGamer
Or they are representations of different facets of ideology and the human condition, and some folks like to explore those ideas.

I get attracted to exotic races for similar reasons. Many exotic races live in communities and have ideals that are quite different from the "normal" human, and this can be interesting when you want to try and play a character like that in a campaign, your character may have a very different outlook in a certain situation than the rest of their party members.

Look at the Githyanki or the Yuan-ti, their familial practices are very different from humans, and they have very different attitudes towards relationships and intimacy, distinctly non-human attitudes. This could come up in a game and create an interesting juxtaposition in your party. The issue of fantasy prejudice against traditionally "evil" races is also a thing that groups may or may not get into (depends on the group and the campaign).

This may not be a thing for some exotic races, but it is for some of them. I personally love the planetouched races, even though most people consider them to be just humans with extra bits. My longest running characters in actual table games have been an Aasimar and an Air Genasi, and I have had great fun playing them, and unless your the type of person that leads every damn conversation with "I am Xcharacternamex and I am EXOTIC! Look at how UNUSUAL and STRANGE I am!" their otherness really doesn't come up as often as people think it might (although this may change by campaign).