Instead of these race slots being handed out by sheer luck, what would the staff think of having descriptions and roles submitted through the website for approval? The idea is that the folks who would best RP the new race would be selected to fill those slots.

The new race could be announced a week or two in advance of rollout, giving the playerbase a few days to come up with their ideas for the first wave.

I think this could really inspire some genuine roleplay and push us (the players) to come up with unique and thorough concepts for the characters.

I know this would be a time investment for the imms, though, so that may be a no-go right out of the gate.