Opinions on the non-PHB races?

[Kobold Avenger]

I'm just wondering what's the opinion on all of the non-PHB races from WotC. There's been a lot of comments on how bad and boring Illumians are, and not much good is being said about the Magic of Incarnum races... Though others of them have a lot of people trying to come up with neat new stuff for them, and seem to be more well-liked.

So how do races from the following stack up? Whether in play or for flavor and story potential?
Races series: Goliaths, Illumians, Raptorrans
Eberron Campaign Setting: Changelings, Kalashtar, Shifters, Warforged (well I guess the question would be about outside of Eberron)
Expanded Psionics Handbook: Mainly interested about Dromites, Maenads, Elan and Xeph since they're completely new. The Duergar, Half-Giants, Githzerai, Githyanki and Thri-Kreen are old established races.
Magic of Incarnum: Skarn, Duskling, Rilkan, Azurins.
Environment Series: I'm drawing a blank here on what belongs in what, but I guess it would be the ones that aren't an environmentally adapted version of a PHB/MM race, or appeared in previous editions of D&D (ie not the Hadozee).

Which ones have the best story or role-playing potential, by different books or whatever?

 

[lgburton]

did the bhuka show up before sandstorm? i don't really think so, but i could be wrong.

anyhow, i think that, in an environmentally oriented game, they stand out as an interesting potential roleplay.

 

[Nightfall]

I've always like Githzerai...especially as paladins.

 

[JVisgaitis]

So how do races from the following stack up? Whether in play or for flavor and story potential?
Eberron Campaign Setting: Changelings, Kalashtar, Shifters, Warforged (well I guess the question would be about outside of Eberron)

I'm pretty damn picky when it comes to races. I want something that not only has unique mechanics, but has an interesting back story. Of all the ones you listed, I like the races in Eberron the best with my favorite probably being the changelings.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I love Changelings.

Though I try to find a place in my homebrew for pretty much every race(though Warforged were tough...), Changelings got priority when I first saw them. Love the doppleganger-esque race idea. Also has made for some very fun PCs.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I like Changelings.
I like Shifters.
I like the Maenads, as they had an interesting twist to them.
I like the Elans, and saw a friend play a pretty successful one.

I don't like the Goliaths, or pretty much anything I didn't list.

I hold a special loathing in my heart for the Warforged, because they were so horrifically ballanced that they call into question every +0 and +1-2 LA race in the game. Warforged are honestly the reason I won't run an Eberron game, as much as I'd like to. Flavor-wise they're very interesting, and they fit well with Eberron ... they just seriously pain me.

--fje

 

[Laman Stahros]

So how do races from the following stack up? Whether in play or for flavor and story potential?
Races series: Goliaths, Illumians, Raptorrans
Eberron Campaign Setting: Changelings, Kalashtar, Shifters, Warforged (well I guess the question would be about outside of Eberron)
Expanded Psionics Handbook: Mainly interested about Dromites, Maenads, Elan and Xeph since they're completely new. The Duergar, Half-Giants, Githzerai, Githyanki and Thri-Kreen are old established races.
Magic of Incarnum: Skarn, Duskling, Rilkan, Azurins.
Environment Series: I'm drawing a blank here on what belongs in what, but I guess it would be the ones that aren't an environmentally adapted version of a PHB/MM race, or appeared in previous editions of D&D (ie not the Hadozee).

Which ones have the best story or role-playing potential, by different books or whatever?

One of my players used a Shifter (outside of Eberron), very interesting.
Another is going to be using an Elan, should be fun.

I am modifying the fluff text for a number of races (Illumians, Skarn, Rilkan, Elan, Warforged, Kalashtar) to make them fit my homebrew. Interesting mechanics, the fluff just doesn't work for me.

 

[Caliban]

I dislike most of the new races. They seem to be there just to fill pages in the books. I haven't bought any of the Races books as a result (except for Races of Eberron).

I don't use most of the extra races from the products I do have. I do allow some of the human derived races that can plausibly show up in a human population (teifling, aasimar, genesai, etc.) I also allow the variant races from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, but not most of it's supplements.

 

[Jackelope King]

I dig most of the Eberron races (the warforged are the ones I'm ambivilent towards). I also like the goliaths from Races of Stone quite a bit, and have used the races from the Expanded Psionics Handbook as the mechanical basis for the races in my purely psionic homebrew.

 

[Psion]

I am a bit jaded by bog standard PHB demihuman races and thus have been pretty receptive to new races.

I like the psionics races (except half-giants) and the new races and subraces in the Races book. The illumians, whisper gnomes, goliaths, and so forth. Raptorians are the dullest of the bunch to me.

Didn't really care for the races of eberron. Kalashtar are decent; warforged are okay. I'm not a big fan of hybrid races and find the idea of "hybrid lycanthropes" counter to the concept, so the changelings and especially shifter don't do it for me.