I don't like Dragonborn: Please come and bring friends.

[Dausuul]

So, I'm not a fan of dragonborn, never have been. And while I have no hesitation in banning stuff I don't like from my game, I do feel there is a little truth to the idea that players see material in the PHB1 as more "legitimate" than material from other books; there's a certain expectation that it will be available for use.

Therefore, I have a solution. Dragonborn should be included in the PHB1. So should aasimar, dryads, vampires, werewolves, revenants, bariaurs, and a half dozen other curious beasties.

Why? Because I'm also not a fan of elves, dwarves, or halflings. I'm sick to death of lame Tolkien retreads. I'm not real fond of gnomes either. What I want is a wide array of choices, enough that I can pick out a full complement that fits the theme of whatever setting I create, without being shoehorned into Middle-Earth. And if there are plenty of races, it won't feel so limiting from the player's perspective when I give two-thirds of them the axe.

I realize there are space constraints, of course. But race writeups don't take up much room. My copy of the 3E Player's Handbook covers seven races in the space of nine pages. If those seven were expanded to twenty and the writeups compressed a bit, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Thoughts?

 

[CleverNickName]

I would love to see Dragonborn in the core. In the monster manual.

Seriously though. Wouldn't it make a lot more people happy if they created a chapter in the Monster Manual titled "Playable Monster Races" or something, and included a few dozen races that the DM can include if desired? That way, things like minotaurs, aasimars, tieflings, warforged, and dragonborn could all still be "in the core," but they wouldn't become default assumptions.

Maybe I've just been out in the sun for too long, but it seems like that would be a fair compromise.

 

[Serendipity]

I love your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. Seriously, you had me at 'sick of the same Tolkien retreads.'

 

[Doug McCrae]

And if there are plenty of races, it won't feel so limiting from the player's perspective when I give two-thirds of them the axe.

Well, now I don't know what to think!

Interesting point, btw. If a ruleset is clearly a toolbox, like HERO or GURPS, then players expect options to be limited. Imho, D&D has never been a toolbox, though this is a controversial view. But if it was then I can see how that would make it easier to wield the banhammer.

 

[underfoot007ct]

I would love to see Dragonborn in the core. In the monster manual.

Seriously though. Wouldn't it make a lot more people happy if they created a chapter in the Monster Manual titled "Playable Monster Races" or something, and included a few dozen races that the DM can include if desired? That way, things like minotaurs, aasimars, tieflings, warforged, and dragonborn could all still be "in the core," but they wouldn't become default assumptions.

Maybe I've just been out in the sun for too long, but it seems like that would be a fair compromise.

Sun or no sun, I really like your idea for monster races.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

I'm quite happy with human, dwarf, elf, and halfing, with a sprinkling of extras such as gnomes. Nonetheless, I agree with you on the usefulness of having a list large enough to cull by campaign. In the event that happens, I would like for the race listings to be well thought out and relatively free of boilerplate.

Also thanks for the thread title.

 

[Sunseeker]

I certainly hope the core books provide more than a simple "this is what was in LOTR!" list. There's more to fantasy than LOTR, a lot more.

There's also more to $39.99 than 250 pages.

 

[BobTheNob]

Actually, that is a very elegant solution.

At the end of the day, races are very strongly tied to campaign. Look at darksun. Halfling were wild cannibal race, elves were a dishonored race distrusted throughout the land, dwarves were focus obsessed, and then they threw in races that were no-where else (at the time) including the half giant, thrikreen and mul.

To say some races shouldnt be in core is farcical because core is rules, not campaign, and races are more about campaign to me. By including all races in core you say "This is the menagerie we came up with. Feel free to remove certain races and come up with your own (as by including the most diverse set we have given enough clues as to how to balance the races) as your campaign demands".

My position : I oppose no race at all for core. As a designer of the campaign world, I will decide which will be used.

 

[slobster]

Very interesting. I like where your head's at.

 

[Wulfgar76]

Including every possible PC race in the PHB1 would not only be a waste of time, it would be a bad marketing decision.

Players expect the "Classic 4" races to appear in the first PHB. Including 20 Races in the core rulebook means many of them would be rushed in without adequate testing or fleshing out.

As a publisher, D&D must extend the life of its brand as long as possible. To sell future books it's best to release races, classes, monsters, and campaign settings in logical product "chunks" that players will buy as they are released.

That said, I like dragonborn and think their popularity speaks for itself. However I don't know that I'd like to see them in the first Player's Handbook, for the reasons stated.