D&D 5E What races do you expect to see in the core books?

[TrippyHippy]

I think the recent notice that WotC do not intend to publish multiple Player's Handbooks (as with 4e) means (to my mind at least) that they will want to make the list of Races as all encompassing as possible. They included a load in the most recent play tests, and it's reasonable to argue that they should include races from all previous editions. I'm quite ambivalent about the ones being mentioned here (Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Half Orc, Half Elf, Gnome, Teifling, Dragonborn), for the most part (even if I wouldn't want to use them all in my games).

My only hope for limitations, really, was for the non-inclusion of setting-specific races like Warforged and Kender. The latter one, especially, as they….um…suck.

 

[gyor]

Anyone who gets cranky because they included a race that person doesn't like, is probably someone I don't want to game with. Or at least, someone who needs to chill.

I'd prefer they simply over-include, if possible. Label things advanced, or setting-specific, or whatever, but give people enough races to convert from any edition's core races.

I think we have to divide the question into PHB core races and MM core races.

PHB core races I'm thinking Elves, Tieflings (I''d prefer planedtouched as a race), Dwarves, Half-Orcs, Halflings, Gnomes, and Dragonborn, Half-Elves, Humans, maybe Aasmir, but unlikely.

For the MM I'm guessing Drow, Doppelgangers/Changelings, Minotaurs, Warforged, Shadar-Kai, Planetouched, various Gobliniod races. Also remember that I think that they're planning on giving you everything you need to play the playable races in the MM, it won't be bare bones barely playable not really meant to be played playable races like you had in the 4e MM or previous MMs. The Playable verisons in the MM are meant to be playable, not just technically playable like the ones in 4e which really were meant for NPCs with class levels.

All FR has to do for example is to say the Drow and Planetouched found in the MM are playable for FR games for example, along with other races in the MM they want to allow.

 

[gyor]

This not to say I think they'll be stuff like racial feats, I don't know if they'll have racial feats or racial backgrounds in the PHB nevermind in the MM, that stuff maybe reserved for setting books.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Looking over the play test document, it appears that 5e may be the first edition to feature world-specific races in the PHB.

Kender and warforged, oh my!

I'd like to just see the Tolkien races. Anything else gets some people cranky.

Yes, and we mustn't do anything to upset the crankypants people.

 

[Umbran]

Anyone who gets cranky because they included a race that person doesn't like, is probably someone I don't want to game with.

Which is fine, Mistwell. Nobody is asking you to game with them. It isn't like they'd *want* to game with you anyway, is it?

How about we try to avoid statements of the form, "Anyone who doesn't agree with me..." It isn't like everyone who disagrees with you is the same.

 

[Sunseeker]

I'm really hoping that we get to see "elf" as more of category of sub-races than as it's own race, with each variant (sun, moon, drow/dark, wood, eladrin, grey, half, etc...) as essentially a template that modifies and profides the specifis to the base.

I'm expecting the "Core 4" of course, Humans, Elves, Dwarves and halflings.

I would like to see Tieflings (I agree with the previous comment that like Elves, a "planetouched" with some sub-races like Tiefling, Aasimir, Genasi, etc... would be nice), Half-Orcs, Half-Elves as well.

I can only hope to see Drow*, halflings, aasimir(Deva can be their own deal, I want my good-aligned halfbreed back!) dragonborn make it in.


*It keeps seeming like they're going with an FR styled core, so I would find it unusual for Drow not​ to show up right away.

 

[Ichneumon]

Looking over the play test document, it appears that 5e may be the first edition to feature world-specific races in the PHB.

Kender and warforged, oh my!

Actually, I very much doubt that kender or warforged will be seen outside their respective settings - barring home games where the DM has imported them, of course. Kender are an alternative halfling, and don't really fit in the same game as that race. Warforged are Eberron's flagship race, and offer an option to contribute to that setting's flavor which would be lost if warforged were offered wholesale.

Also, whatever the PHB's race set is, it should make sense to include all of them in a homebrew world.

 

[tuxgeo]

As a fan of "Heroes of the Feywild," I'm hoping they find a place for playable Hamadryads, Pixies, and Satyrs in one or another of the books. (The MM would be fine.)

However, having playable Treants, Shambling Mounds, Hags, and Greengage Plums would be a book too far for me. (Damson Plums are alright, of course, because they're purple.)

 

[Yaarel]

4E Eladrin would also be a PHB race. Have they been addressed in 5E yet? I actually liked the split done to Elves in 4E because I always felt that D&D Elves (prior to 4E) were trying to cover too many archetypes within one race. I also liked getting away from the apparent need to have a new Elven subrace every time a new D&D book came out.

The 4e Eladrin are awesome. Otherworldly, magical, teleporting, charismatic and intelligent, they are a separate archetype from the D&D Elves.

The term ‘Elf’ makes more sense as a family of races, similar to the terms ‘Dragon’, ‘Goblinoid’, or ‘Giant’.

 

[Shemeska]

The 4e Eladrin are awesome. Otherworldly, magical, teleporting, charismatic and intelligent, they are a separate archetype from the D&D Elves.

They also usurped the name of the Eladrin that had been in the game in 2e and 3e, which is problematic both for player confusion and in-setting continuity.

I wouldn't be averse to keeping the 4e "eladrin" in 5e, but it needs a different name altogether, especially if they're seemingly going back to the Great Wheel cosmology.