Tiefling, Dragonborn : have they gained traction ?

Aloïsius · May 2, 2009

We have 4e since last year. Have you the feeling that the new races, tiefling and dragonborn, have gained the same "traction" than the good old standard D&D races (dwarf, elf, halfling...) ? Or are they rather the 4e equivalent of the half-dragons or half-outsider of 3e : popular for min-max build but rather bland inside ?

I'm still not convinced with their graphic design, especially the horn and tail stuff of the tiefling. We have been accustomed to it since at least Age of Worms from Paizo, I still don't like it.

So, do you use them in your campaign ? Do you like to play them as a PC ? Do your DM allow them in his/her game ? Do you think they will disappear in the next edition ?

ferratus · May 2, 2009

I'm discouraging Dragonborn myself, but given that there were 3 half-dragons in my 8 years of playing 3e, and 3 dragonborn in the first 8 months of playing 4e, it seems my dislike of them is not universal.

I haven't seen any Tieflings yet, but then I haven't seen any drow either and we all know how popular they are. I also have only seen one elf, while I have seen 4 eladrin. Of the PHB2 classes, only the Deva has been adopted, because someone wanted to play an Avenger (not having much fun with the defender role of the dragonborn paladin he was playing earlier). I'm playing a half-orc, but I was playing a homebrew half-orc before then. Otherwise, people are still too busy playing their PHB1 races and classes to adopt the new ones.

Humans have taken a huge hit in popularity now that they aren't quite as obvious a choice as they were in 3e, but are still more popular than they were 2e. Dwarves and halflings seem to be about the same for popularity as they were in 3e.

Fallen Seraph · May 2, 2009

Well Tieflings have always been popular with my group. For myself and one other player the vast majority of our characters are Tieflings. They in general too have been a popular race since 2e.

I have seen a increasing number of Dragonborn on the forums so I think they are growing in popularity.

I can't really see either dissappearing in the next edition, especially not the Tiefling.

Jürgen Hubert · May 2, 2009

Both dragonborn and tieflings have appeared as PCs in my campaign.

Shemeska · May 2, 2009

Tieflings didn't have to try very hard, because they've been around and popular since 2e.

I -adore- tieflings. But, I cannot stand the appearance and homogeneity of appearance that 4e forced onto tieflings. Gone are the grab-bag of random fiendish traits, mixed bloodlines, and unique individual appearances, all in favor a default origin story for all tieflings and a set of gigantic horns, a thick brow-ridge, and overly large tail. They've lost some of their hallmarks of the last twenty years in the process of WotC including them as a core race, and IMO too much was forcibly sacrificed in the process.

Suffice to say, tieflings won't be going anywhere come next edition, though I suspect we might see them return to having more of their original variety back versus the 4e monolithic default. Same thing with genasi who look radically different in 4e to the point of being almost different creatures.

Dragonborn... I honestly can't say. I'd be fine using them as characters as they are or even as alternate half-dragon PCs in a 3.x game. I can't really speak on their traction come next edition though. They'll probably still be around, but perhaps less prominance, especially if any putative 5e decides to take a different route than 4e style-wise and try to reclaim all the players that dropped out (kinda like 3e with 2e).

Maggan · May 2, 2009

Aloïsius said:
So, do you use them in your campaign ? Do you like to play them as a PC ? Do your DM allow them in his/her game ? Do you think they will disappear in the next edition ?

1. Yepp, we use them a lot. They are very popular among the players, as exciting new races to complement the old and, to us, stale dwarfs, elfs and humans.

2. Sure do. My current PC is a dragonborn fighter.

3. Again, yes. We allow all playable races.

4. Hmmm, will they disappear in the next edition? No, I don't think so. They might be retooled and reprioritised, but I don't think they'll disappear wholesale.

/M

jdcash · May 2, 2009

I play a dragonborn and love it. Have not had experience with tiefling. A little too dark in origin for my tastes, but I see no reason why others would not like/use them.

Piratecat · May 2, 2009

Out of 13 characters we have 4 humans, 3 half-elves, 2 warforged, 1 elf, 1 dragonborn, 1 doppelganger, and 1 wilden. I've played a dragonborn myself (and loved it), and I have some tiefling NPCs waiting around in the wings. No one in my group seems worried or put off by the new races.

I have changed some tieflings' appearance, however. I'm happy letting some of them appear albino, and the size of tails and horns varies quite a bit.

Wormwood · May 2, 2009

We've had tiefling and dragonborn characters since we played our first game of 4e.

The races fit just fine.

Runestar · May 2, 2009

Considering that I grew bored of sundry races many years back, and cannot picture myself ever playing any of them save human, I don't see how the new races can be any worse for me.