D&D 5E criteria for new races to be added to the PHB

[Tallifer]

If they cut down the paragraphs by writing less wordy and fluffy prose, you could easily fit each race on one page including a nice picture. That would triple the number of potential races as far as page count. WotC has enough useful material for play to obviate any need for padding.

 

[Arnwolf666]

I kinda hate the Goliath. I would much rather see firbolg’s and ogres. I just hate the art for the firbolg in 5E.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I kinda hate the Goliath. I would much rather see firbolg’s and ogres. I just hate the art for the firbolg in 5E.

Goliaths are great.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Goliaths are great.

To make it work for me I just told my players Goliath is another name for ogre and you are playing an ogre. That worked for them. They kept their cool abilities and race features and that worked for everyone.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

To make it work for me I just told my players Goliath is another name for ogre and you are playing an ogre. That worked for them. They kept their cool abilities and race features and that worked for everyone.

I’m so confused, though. What is wrong with the Goliath, as is?

Edit: also, do ogres fill the role of “really big people, not especially evil or despised, just rarely seen and usually reclusive”?

 

[Arnwolf666]

I’m so confused, though. What is wrong with the Goliath, as is?

I like races to fit in mythological paradigms. I want them to pull from the mythologies that already exist for the game I run. If I’m playing in someone else’s game that’s fine. They just don’t work in the setting i play. If I’m running a published setting and adventure it’s okay. I hope they play and have fun.


but I think they killed the perfect opportunity to introduce ogres or firbolg’s as a playable race in the PHB. I don’t persecute players for playing them. Put it that way.

 

[GreyLord]

The basic question that should be answered is if the race is a fantasy trope.

Second, is it a fantasy trope where players normally can play it as a good character or at least a main character of a story?

If the answer is no move on to the next basis...

Is it found traditionally in the core books of older D&D books and was it ever the basis of a very popular main character of D&D fiction?

If it does not fall into one of those two, I do not feel it belongs in the PHB.

The reason is that if you include non-heroic races or races that players see more as enemies and foes rather than things the Players see as heroes...it is a turn off.

Turn your players off and you end up with Pathfinder 2e where you can play goblins. Sure, some will say it's awesome...but PF2e is distinctly NOT overcoming D&D in my opinion in sales...and possibly is doing worse than it 1e was overall. Great for Paizo players...not good for D&D where the intent is to appeal to as great a market as possible.

 

[Arnwolf666]

I would not expect to see a goblin or orc in waterdeep anymore than a vampire, beholder, or lich. Or maybe less. Pretty much kill them on sight.

 

[the Jester]

If you keep reprinting a playing race or subrace or they keep popping up in multiple settings in a playable context, it's a sign that they should have been put into the PHB in the first place. I mean why are their races like humans, Dwarves, ect..., in the PHB? because its more effient to put them in the core player book instead of reprinting the core races and core subraces endlessly.

Nah. If you keep reprinting a race in multiple settings or what not, it's because they fit those settings. That doesn't mean that they fit all, or even most, settings. Nor is it a sign that they should be in the PH. Goblins, to choose one example you point at, are traditionally monsters, not pcs. Using them as pcs is a niche thing. Putting them into the PH essentially pressures a bunch of DMs into allowing them, when they might not be suitable for those campaigns.

Also, the iconic status of the races in the PH is pretty well established, with each of them going back to at least one edition's previous PH (if not most or all editions' PH). Tradition and precedent really matter in D&D.

 

[the Jester]

Your confusing the purpose of a Beginner Box with the PHB, a core book whose function at least in part is containing elements that are common to many settings, to reduce the need for duplication, as well as acting as a starting point.

So far it's only Aasimar, Shifters, Genasai, Goblins, and Gith, and isn't a huge increase, it's what 10 pages maybe, 12 at most. Peanuts.

I don't want any of those except aasimar as an option. Put them in a PH and that's a bunch of wasted space that could be better spent on other material. Remember, every page spent on stuff a given group isn't going to use also costs a page of stuff they will.