D&D 5E What Nonstandard/Untraditional Races do you wish would return?

[GlassJaw]

Yeah, some kind of fairy/pixie.

I had started working on a homebrew "fairy" with subraces that included pixie, sprite, quickling, etc. I definitely liked how it was coming along.

 

[Yunru]

Thri-Kreen (to the point where I homebrewed them) and Warforged.
Because on has four arms and the other's a robot.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Half-ogre.

Yes!! It'd especially be awesome with 2nd Ed.'s stat rolling, which I think were:

Str: 1d6+13 (I think a 19 counted as an 18(00) instead.)
Dex: 3d4
Con: 1d6+13 (Maybe with a max of 18.)
Int: 3d4
Wis: 2d6
Cha: 2d4

My half-ogre fighter, Ominous Ogrethorpe, from my ridiculous high school days was such great fun.

And pixie, as somebody above mentioned.

Unfortunately, 5e's emphasis on balance probably wouldn't support doing justice to either option.

Did you ever see the 4E pixie? It limited it's flight for balance and only had two spellcasting abilities (which granted temporary flight or shrunk objects), so wasn't a match for the MM pixies. But it had a unique identity and at least for me would have scratched the Tiny character itch.

 

[Yunru]

I had a Pixie once. She mostly hid inside the Warforged.

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

 

[Aldarc]

Mostly setting specific races: e.g., Eberron (Warforged, Shifters, Kalashtar), Dark Sun (Mul, Thri-Kreen), etc.

I do wish that Mearls & Co. had decided to properly balance the oddball monster races in Volo's Guide, as those include some of my favorite untraditional races.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I wouldn’t mind the Warforged, Changelings, Shardminds, or Wilden coming back. Something really strange and out-there. But at the same time, I’m willing to go without – having too many races doesn’t help the game.

 

[steeldragons]

(Continuously Editing for Inclusion)
(Note for Exclusion : Setting specific races belong in setting specific manuals)

STANDARD RACES
Common -- Uncommon -- Rare ------ Very Rare or Unique
Humans -- Elves
---------- Dwarves
---------- Halflings

ADVANCED RACES
Common -- Uncommon -- Rare ---- Very Rare/Unique
-------------- Gnomes ---- Half-Elf ------ Dragonborn
--------------------------- Half-Orc ------ Tiefling

UNUSUAL RACES: Bestial
Common -- Uncommon -- Rare ----- Very Rare/Unique
Goblin ---- Hobgoblin --- Bugbear ------ Goliath
Orc ------- Kobold ------- Gnoll --------- Half-Ogre
------------ Lizardman --- Yuan-ti ------- Minotaur
----------- Tabaxi/Rakasta - Aarakocra --- Wemic

UNUSUAL RACES: Sylvan
Common -- Uncommon -- Rare ----- Very Rare/Unique
----------- Centaur ---- Pixie/Fairy ----- Werebear
----------- Satyr ------- Brownie --------- Avariel
---------------------------Treant -------- Swanmae
----------------------------------------- Plant People (Wilden, Vegepygmies, et al.)

UNUSUAL RACES: Extraplanar
Common -- Uncommon -- Rare -- Very Rare/Unique
------------------------------------------- Aasimar
------------------------------------------- Eladrin
------------------------------------------- Genasi
------------------------------------------- Cambion
------------------------------------------- "Deva" [not the real angel ones, those bogus PC ones]

UNUSUAL RACES: Underdark
Common --- Uncommon --- Rare ----------- Very Rare/Unique
Dwarves ---- Derro -------- Duergar -------- Svirfs
Orcs --------- Troglodytes - Drow ----------- Driders
Goblins ------Myconids ---- Mindflayers ---- Shardminds
Kobolds ----- Norkers ----- Kuo-Toa ------- Dark Creepers/Stalkers
--------------------------------------------------- Pechs

I think D&D needs to take a step back from the "subterranean worlds" trope, otherwise known colloquially as "The Underdark." It's a bloody overpopulated mess! Downright congested.

UNUSUAL RACES: Aquatic
Common --- Uncommon --- Rare ------- Very Rare/Unique
----------------------------- Elf, Aquatic --- Triton
----------------------------- Merfolk -------- Half-Elf, Aquatic
----------------------------- Locatha ------- Genasi, Water
----------------------------------------------- Other Water Elemental beings

I don't really know well (or actively dislike) most of these settings, so if I put things in the wrong places, let me know...or just take the gist and go with it:

STANDARD RACES: Eberron
Common --- Uncommon --- Rare --- Very Rare/Unique
Humans ---- Gnomes ------- Warforged --- Kalashtar
Elves -------- Half-Elves -----Changelings -- Other Explanar
Dwarves ---- Half-Orcs ----- Tieflings
Halflings ---- Drow ---------- Dragonborn

STANDARD RACES: Dark Sun
Common --- Uncommon --- Rare --- Very Rare/Unique
Human ----- Dwarf ---------- Halfling -- Dray (Dragonborn)
--------------- Mul ------------ Half-Elf --- Tieflings
--------------- Elf ------------- Half-Giant -Aarakocra
---------------------------------Thri-Keen

STANDARD RACES: Planescape
Common -- Uncommon --Rare -- Very Rare/Unique
Not even gonna try it -- Anything and Everybody

...wait...what was the question?

 

[epithet]

I agree about the warforged, but Kieth Baker home brewed a 5e version that I like. Having a Large or Tiny race would be an interesting expansion to the ruleset; I don’t find Medium minotaurs or firbolg very satisfying.

Sometimes you have to say “screw balance, let’s get weird with it.”

 

[Lidgar]

Sorry, I can't help it.

"That's the way it's always been in D&D."

"Always?"

"Yes, always. Always, except 2e."

"Except 2e?"

"Yes, except 2e. And 4e."

"2e and 4e?"

"Well, yes. Except 2e and 4e. And 5e."

"2e AND 4e AND 5e?"

"Yes! Except 2e and 4e and 5e. And OD&D."

"2e AND 4e AND 5e AND OD&D? That's it, right?"

"Totally. Like I said, that's the way it's always been, except 2e, and 4e, and 5e, and OD&D. And, um BECMI."

"........."

WITCH: They dressed me up like this.
CROWD: No, we didn't... no.
WITCH: And this isn't my nose, it's a false one.
BEDEMIR: Well?
VILLAGER #1: Well, we did do the nose.
BEDEMIR: The nose?
VILLAGER #1: And the hat -- but she is a witch!
CROWD: Burn her! Witch! Witch! Burn her!
BEDEMIR: Did you dress her up like this?
CROWD: No, no... no ... yes. Yes, yes, a bit, a bit.
VILLAGER #1: She has got a wart.

 

[QuietBrowser]

I really should have made my own answer, but I didn't want to clutter up the opening post...

From 4th Edition:
Deva: Because these reincarnating, willfully-fallen angels and their risk of transforming into rakshasa just has so much more to it than the aasimar do.

Gnoll: I refer to these as a "4e race" because, whilst they've been playable in every edition of D&D (Basic, Advanced, 3rd, 4th) until 5th, it was 4e's Playing Gnolls that really gave them unique fluff and a culture you could actually draw from.

Minotaur: As with gnolls, whom they actually have less of a PC history than, minotaurs had their best fluff in 4e.

Shardmind: Because this was a unique race, hands down one of the best entries in the MM3 for 4e.

Bladeling: Whilst technically a PC race in 3e's Monster Manual 2, it was 4e that really made them stand out as an interesting, PC-friendly race.

Dhampyr/Vryloka: I don't particularly care which one, at this point, but I want a "vampire-lite" PC race. It's ridiculous how untouched this racial concept is, even with Ravenloft being a setting in 2nd and 3rd edition.

Eladrin: I really liked the 4e depiction of this race, especially with the sadly once-off "Winterkin" subrace. I really don't like the seasonal shifting mechanic proposed in their latest UA article, but make them an indepedent race with subrace based on factions of the Court of Stars - Summer Fey, Green Fey, Winter Fey, Gloaming Fey and Sea Lords - and you've got a winner.

Forgeborn Dwarf Subrace: This is, admittedly, tied into the Nentir Vale fluff, as it revolves around that setting's lore that dwarves were enslaved by the elemental titans and forgeborn are those that got away almost too late, resulting in elemental contamination, but still, this was awesome fluff and it's a solid racial idea that something can be done with.


Others:
Aranea: They're shapeshifting spiders with an affinity for arcane magic, but they're not evil, they just want to live in peace. I just wish they'd come back, they're too good to languish in Mystara.

Lupin: I admit, I was introduced to these guys by their article in Dragon for 3rd edition, but still, I really hope to see them as a subrace - the civilized "Renardie" lupins, the tribal lupins and the nomadic lupins all together again.

Diaboli: Because these guys are basically the prototypes for 4e tieflings and/or draenei; devilish-loooking beings who are actually goodly anarchists who think humans look scary. It's a unique idea that deserves support.

Phanaton: Because they're so strange - raccoon/monkey/flying squirrel folk - that they really need love.

New Genasi Branches: With the Elemental Chaos still hanging around in 5e, and the fact we had Paraelemental Genasi in 3e, I really want "non-classic" subraces for the genasi to return. Hells, they've never existed before, but Wood & Metal Genasi would be awesome!

Kitsune & Tanuki: Truthfully, I would just love to have all of the actual hengeyokai to get PC writeups for D&D, but I want each race to be actually based on/inspired by its mythology, not restricted to being defined by a single damn trick! Seriously, *HONK* the damn OA depiction of hengeyokai! It's a shoddy excuse for a race, and when I would rather play the Pathfinder kitsune than the 4e fox hengeyokai, you've messed up somewhere along the line!

Oni: Ogre Magi, who have finally been given the name "Oni", were playable in both AD&D and in 3e. This race would need to be "cut down" for balance, but hey, it's not as if AD&D didn't just lock specific racial abilities behind PC level for THEIR oni, so surely 5e can use the same mechanic.

Vanara: Bad-ass kung fu monkey folk. What's not to love?

Nezumi: To be honest, I just really, really want official ratfolk, and this is my best chance of getting them; they did show up in Kamigawa, so a Plane Shift for that plane would justify them. I'd also love a rabbitfolk race, but that's never existed in D&D before.

Bariaur: To be honest, I'm not that interested in bariaur, I think they're kind of boring, but I'd like to see if 5e can fix that.

Githyanki & Githzerai: These are the most iconic "planar humanoid" races that aren't actually planetouched. That said, I really, really don't think they should be handled as a subrace, as they have never had ANY abilities in common - the whole point of them is that they are two people with a single shared history.

Duthka'Gith: Crazy, I know, but if we get the gith race, I'd really like to try and bring in the githyanki's fiendish red dragon-blooded subrace, as it really reinforces the githyanki's fluff-prominent alliance with their fiendish red dragon allies.

Fey'ri: I know they're literally "elven tieflings", but I'd like to see if they could make this unique.

Thri-Kreen: Super crazy, I know, but I'd love if they tried to make Kreen into a "racial group" and let us have PC versions of all six kreen races from AD&D - not just the Jeral and To'ksa, but also the J'hol, J'ez, Tondi and T'keech.

Xixchil: If we're having thri-kreen, why not xixchil as well? Maybe they can make them seem less psycho-individualist than 2e did.

Caliban: Because this was the one decent race idea to come out of Ravenloft. That said, I'd prefer it if they tried using the "Brutes & Banshees" article as inspiration, rather than just make them reflavored half-orcs.