in a different thread, it came up that defining the fantasy peoples of DND seems to be hard thus making certain what an elf is difficult let alone the less common options.
so I decided that we should discuss what each of the next blocks of phb handbook options as soon as someone tells me them as the internet is nothing but shovel articles and I need proper data.
no humans as we know what we all are.
elf
dwartves
halfling
gnomes
dragonborn
teifling
???
if you're asking about the title I am trying to be funny I know I am not funny hence the try.
In this post, I'll define these peoples for the purposes of my own games which is all I think anyone is doing or could possibly do in this thread.
Elves, together with humans, form the peoples for whom the Material Plane was originally created in its ideal state to be their home — something like the Garden of Eden — an earthly paradise. They are the elder branch of what we would call
Homo sapiens sapiens but with spirits destined to dwell within the bounds of the created Multiverse (the Inner and Outer Planes) for its duration, a fate they share with the outsiders, spirits from the Positive Plane who entered the created Multiverse at the beginning of time, whereas human spirits may depart in death to the Positive or Negative Planes, or maybe elsewhere. Having come into being at the appointed time and place in a less than ideal world corrupted by evil, the elves came under the tutelage of the Archfey from whom they derived much of their culture which we would call magic and which they used to preserve themselves in as close to an ideal state as possible, given the fallen state of the world, in order to better fulfil the destiny of their spirits to be the life of the created world until its end.
Dwarves are somewhat of an antithesis to elves. Having been created
in response to the fallen state of the world, they are hardier and better equipped to physically endure its challenges, such as extremes of heat or cold. This preserves the lengths of their physical lives, although not indefinitely. The destiny of their spirits is a mystery known only to them or perhaps to be resolved in play.
Halflings are a type of diminutive human. Their chief characteristics are they favor comfort over adventure but are fiercer and tougher than they look when push comes to shove.
Gnomes are the diminutive cousins of dwarves, created not only to endure the fallen state of the world but also as protectors and healers of the natural world -- the earth, plants, animals, etc.
Dragonborn are (similarly to gnomes) created as representatives and protectors of dragons and draconic creatures in particular -- whether those corrupted by evil, defenders of good, or in their natural state as beasts of the world.
Tieflings are humans or perhaps members of other peoples whose lineage has been influenced by or derives from fiends, corrupted outsiders deriving much of their power from the Negative Plane and necromancy, so evil, darkness, undeath, and punishment are themes associated with them.
??? - Treants would be an important people to mention here. They're like dragonborn, except they represent and protect the trees and forests. Aarakocra and tabaxi could serve the same purpose for birds and felids respectively, as I suppose gnolls could for hyenas. Orcs, goblinoids, and kobolds are another important group of peoples. They are humans and/or elves who have been corrupted through breeding (in some cases with breeding stock derived from outside the species) and the influence of goblinoid Archfey whom they resemble. Ogres, trolls, and other giant-type peoples ultimately derive from primordial beings and are closely related to treants, but there seems to have been corruption through breeding of ogres and trolls in particular.