D&D 5E Why does no one play Goliath?

[hawkeyefan]

I'm surprised they didn't just resurrect the Firbolg as a player race. They could have simply ported over everything thematic about the Goliath without having them awkwardly named after a Hebrew villain.

A creature named after Celtic villains would somehow be better?

 

[Eltab]

I blame that David guy for the bad PR Goliaths are saddled with.

As a matter of fact, I have played THE Goliath.

Testament is a 3e supplement which uses Biblical background materials. For my son's church camp, I wrote up a mini-scenario, to be prepared in case it rained. The kids were in grade school at the time.

I crafted a half-dozen L1 characters of different classes and varying character themes. "Goliath" (me) was an L4 Fighter with the half-Nephilim template added.
I had a dart-throwing Spy, a well-equipped Barbarian, a Levite priest (cleric), a Psalmist (bard), a basic Fighter, and a rogue dual-wielding slingshots.
I wrote up a suitably King James Version sounding intro paragraph, and used the exercise as a cover to explain How to Play Basic D&D.

The kids enjoyed it; one (a recent college graduate) still remembers the result of his Critical Fumble roll.

 

[Illithidbix]

(The Goliath can be found in the Elemental Evil Player' Companion PDF here: http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/EE_PlayersCompanionv2.pdf )

I don't massively dislike Goliath's and have considered playing them but...

Mechanically they're not astounding

Powerful Build and Mountain Born feel a little bit irrelevant

+2 STR and +1 CON = Not bad, but Half Orcs provide that and Mountain Dwarfs do better with +2 STR, +2 CON.

Proficiency in Athletics, definitely useful, but mostly to be thought of as "an extra skill" since if you're picking Goliath as a race, chances are you'd take Athletics anyhow.

You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

So in terms of pure mechanical benefit I think I'd rather go for Darkvision, Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks from Half Orc instead.... or Mountain Dwarf.



In terms of background, character and theme...

Most D&D races are fundamentally "humans in prosthetic and funny hats" with cultures that aren't really very alien at all.
Now this actually mostly serves to make roleplaying a lot easier rather than working out what an levitating jellyfish without a conception of an individual would be thinking in any given moment.

... But Goliaths do seem particularly indistinct from a human tribe who lives at the top of mountains and value physical competence and competition.
Arguably this isn't a awful thing, as I tend to prefer playing humans so I don't feel like I have to adopt or consciously discard that culture baggage that comes with the race.

 

[psychophipps]

Our Goliath Battle Master Fighter is a complete Death Machine(tm). GWM + Sentinel plus Trip Attack. Let's see here...no disengage, 10ft reach, a hit means your move is zero feet (meaning you can't take a half-move to get up if the trip attack is successful), and the party Rogue is running towards you while swapping from his crossbow to his shortsword...

We call him "Our Stop Sign"

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Their main racial ability just doesn't make any sense. The ability to shrug off a hit is already factored into Hit Points. That is what your Con score does. Turning it into a weird daily ability is just gamism for the sake of gamism.

 

[Zardnaar]

I don't think most people know they exist. They were not in AD&D, they have no strong D&D pedigree, they have hardly been in any novels AFAIK, and I do not know of any group that used Races of Stone or played 4E. I have seen one once in 5E with new players using the PotA printout.

 

[LapBandit]

I really have to question why they introduced it then, no lore and mechanically inferior does not a PC race make.

 

[MechaPilot]

I don't play Goliaths because a Goliath is basically just an oversized human. If I'm going to play a non-human, I want it to be more monstrous, and less of a Conan and Shaq lovechild.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Their main racial ability just doesn't make any sense. The ability to shrug off a hit is already factored into Hit Points. That is what your Con score does. Turning it into a weird daily ability is just gamism for the sake of gamism.

First of all it is not daily but per short rest so it increases your hp by a lot. They are more or less on par with half-orcs.
The half orc ability is usually more reliable, but especially at low levels the goliath ability does not set you up for instant death.
It may also prevent the damage completely. which could be fine for a mage.
I rate goliath about as good as a variant human taking heavy armor mastery at level 1. Athletics is a little more useful as the half orc's intimidate. Mountain dwarves don't bring too much to the table compared to goliath, especially when using standard arrays, because both start with +3 both in constitution and strength if they want.
I am not remembering if goliath are proficient in two handed weapons but i think it was in 4e.

So while the mechanics are just fine, if goliaths would be cimmerians they would be picked a lot more.

 

[Radaceus]

On an aside,
Back in Dragon Issue #29 (and again in Best of Dragon Vol II where I got ahold of the idea) Gary's Sorcerer's Scroll article "Humans & Hybrids" introduced the Half-Ogre. I played one way back then (1983ish) and his name was Goliath....

therefore, I played a Goliath