D&D 5E Races and classes

[BookTenTiger]

It would be a fun exercise to take these lists and randomly generate a list of allowed subraces and subclasses, then build a campaign world around it.

 

[Undrave]

Not really. There is a lot of crap in 5E I don't want in my game. And WotC just keeps adding more and more of that crap IMO. If you don't agree, that's fine, but just respect that is how I feel instead of questioning it again? Thanks.

Not that I want to question your taste, I’m just wondering if you’re not making too much work for yourself.

What’s your process for reviewing stuff and how much do you involve the players? It’s them who want to use new stuff, they should be willing to do some of the work.

 

[TwoSix]

Options were always there, even in earlier editions, you just had to use this thing called an imagination.

Because of that, I (personally) see no need for all the options, etc. WotC keeps throwing at us. I mean, some of this stuff if getting quite silly IMO. If other people love it, have at it (you'll make WotC happy, anyway, by giving them your money LOL), you won't see such things at my games. shrug

I do actually somewhat agree with you. I would rather see characters get differentiated by events in play, rather than picking options right at character creation.

 

[Stormonu]

Minotaurs & Tritons are in the Theros book, don't see them listed.
<Edit> Centaur too.

There's a LOT of options, but the good news is you don't have to have it all to run a game. The game runs fine with just the base rules, and is always fun with an extra option or two - usually one or two books.

 

[see]

I think you will be very disappointed with how long this edition will last. The designers have basically told us from the beginning of 5e that they are no longer intending to do the quick edition cycle thing (that only started with 3e). Now, there have been changes in personnel, but in the past there was at least talk of not having a new edition again: just making backwards compatible material.

One thing to note is that new 5e books are apparently selling very well. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is now in its 3rd week of being on the USA Today list of the 150 best-selling books in the US, having debuted at #5.

By comparison, the best-selling book in all of 4e, the PHB, was on that list for a total of 4 weeks, topping out at #47. And the 3e PHB was on it for 3 weeks, topping out at #45. (An apparent database error on the USA Today site means the 3.5 data isn't available; I click on the 3.5 link and get sent to the 4e data.)

There may have been stronger hobby channel sales or other sources-of-data issues that meant USA Today missed more sales back then, but still it means Tasha's sales are in the same rough ballpark as previous editions' month-of-release PHB sales.

Throw in that WotC says 2018 sales were D&D's highest ever, until 2019 beat 'em, and it'd just be insane, business-wise, to attempt an edition change any time soon, particularly one that'd seriously break compatibility.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Not that I want to question your taste, I’m just wondering if you’re not making too much work for yourself.

Fair enough.

It isn't so much "work" as I find it annoying. I feel there are more than enough options in the PHB really, and throw in XGtE and you have a lot just there. It is even more annoying because I don't want to refuse something, but I have to look at things for balance, place in the game world, etc.

It’s them who want to use new stuff, they should be willing to do some of the work.

Most of them are still relatively new and don't get the nuances of balance. They basically ask for things, and I have to judge and discuss with them why or why not things might not fit.

 

[DND_Reborn]

One thing to note is that new 5e books are apparently selling very well.

The Internet and social acceptance of gaming (compared to 30-40 years ago) has changed things a lot, so I don't contribute that much to just WotC's efforts. But I agree with others that, sadly, my 6E is most likely a LONG way off.

 

[Weiley31]

Tortles were also in the Wildemount book as well.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

But each sub-race has different attribute bonuses and special powers than the other sub-races? And each sub-class has different mechanical rules than each of the other sub-classes?

So, in essence, D&D has near a hundred different playable races, and over a hundred different classes!

Or are all the sub-races and sub-classes just a matter of fluff?

Depends how granular you want to get: There can be more variation between variant humans with different feats than between two sub-classes of the same race. If you really wanted to count anything with different attribute bonuses and special powers.
Likewise you can probably mechanically vary two characters of the same subclass using in-class choices more than two different subclasses if you took a good shot at it.

Exploring eberron has ruinbound dwarf, aereni elf, seeker aasimar, court aasimar, & gnoll PC race options

I think that the list only included official content. Wayfarers is, but Exploring Eberron isn't technically IIRC.

 

[Weiley31]

Also if anybody is worried about things not mattering cuz of Tasha's, it's all optional.