D&D 5E Halflings are the 7th most popular 5e race

[Paul Farquhar]

I do think the PHB needs some basic info to explain what an elf, halfling, orc, etc., etc. is all about though.

I think the "our elves are different" trope has become so all-pervasive that there isn't much point in providing lore for races, since it's going to get changed anyway.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

In the top ten of all official races has always equaled popular, no matter how you try to spin it.

Yeah they've always been pretty easy to fit in small spaces. You could walk right through a town and not even notice!

No in this case it equals being in the PHB, you can't compare PHB races to none PHB races in terms of popularity because being in the PHB confers a level of status/respectiblity/access/allowablity etc..., that none PHB races don't get.

So you can only really compare the Halfling to other PHB races.

Right now the Aasimar is more popular then the Goliath, but if the Goliath ends up in the RD&D PHB and the Aasimar doesn't watch the popularity and use of Goliaths explode, not only escipsing the Aasimar, but possibly some PHB races like Half Orc/Orcs, Halflings, and Gnomes.

A race hasn't really made it until its in the PHB, its why I keep pushing for Aasimar and Genasi to be included and to a lesser extent Changelings.

 

[Hussar]

Hang on, aren't there 9 races in the PHB? So, if gnome is 9th, and halfling is 7th, which one is in 8th place? Or am I miscounting? 'Cos, that's always been my thing - the bottom two races should get shunted into another book to make room for two new races that have a chance of gaining better traction than gnomes and whoever is in 8th place.

 

[Mind of tempest]

on the dwarves do we know if any popular dwarven media has come out more recently as presence in media makes things more popular?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

on the dwarves do we know if any popular dwarven media has come out more recently as presence in media makes things more popular?

That depends. Elwin in Willow. Our small people are different.

There are actual dwarves and halflings in The Rings of Power.

 

[Oofta]

Hi, I'm the creator of the dataset. I think you are absolutely correct that people create characters without playing them. I'm not sure how much of an impact this has since free accounts only get a limited number of slots. I'm not sure how to filter them out though.
Levels don't work because you can just create characters at higher levels. I will think about it some more. Do you have any ideas?

I'm not sure it really matters. Unless you pay to get more you only have 6 total PCs, even if you're getting the source material from someone else's account because they have a paid subscription.

I have a paid subscription, I create a few characters as NPCs but the vast majority are PCs I'd at least like to play. Even creating something I'd like to play but don't get an opportunity to do so is a sign that I find the race interesting. The absolute best measure would likely be hours a specific race was played and we'll never have those numbers.

 

[Remathilis]

Well there’s the rub isn’t it? I don’t think that something that has never gained any real traction in the game despite 50 years of trying qualifies as “popular enough”.

Obviously opinions differ.

It really didn't help that the 5e halfling art is of melonheads and absolutely makes them look freakish. You can't undersell how bad that art probably turned off new players to that race.

 

[Hussar]

Been noodling around on the table and something that I think is far more interesting is when you start looking across races rather than between them. For example, if you ignore the tops and bottoms of some of the races, they seem to be spread fairly evenly (more or less) across the classes. Humans (ignoring fighters which is a huge bump at the top) are more or less even across the other classes - as expected. Tieflings are another good example, ignore Tiefling Warlock at the top and the spread across the other classes isn't all that huge.

This might be a good measure of how successful a race is in the game. Goliath, for example, is basically Barbarian, then everything else. It's very much a one trick pony. I mean, about 50% (ish) of goliath characters are barbarians. Tag on fighters, and you've got a bit less than 2/3rd of all characters. Probably not a great candidate for elevation into the PHB. Too one dimensional.

Conversely, Dragonborn have a really nice, smooth curve. Yeah, Dragonborn Paladin is at the top, but, if we remove top and bottom, the spread of classes is 75% of Dragonborn characters. That's a race that has a very broad appeal. And, this is a really good reason to keep half-elves as a separate entry in the game. Again, a race that has such a broad appeal, drop of bard from the top and barbarian from the bottom and that's barely even a curve. That's a pretty flat line across all the classes.

And, to be perfectly fair, halfing, once you drop off rogue from the top and paladin at the bottom, is actually pretty evenly spread. And the rogue bump at the top isn't all that huge. 1/3 of halflings are rogues (give or take) and the other 2/3rds are something else. Which, to me means that the race is actually pretty well rounded. Certainly better than goliaths in that respect.

It's just another way of looking at the data.

 

[bedir than]

Hang on, aren't there 9 races in the PHB? So, if gnome is 9th, and halfling is 7th, which one is in 8th place? Or am I miscounting? 'Cos, that's always been my thing - the bottom two races should get shunted into another book to make room for two new races that have a chance of gaining better traction than gnomes and whoever is in 8th place.

The chart exists. The data exists.

It's just that hating on halflings has consumed a few people so much that they refuse to recognize data, only emotions.

Halflings beat out the half orc.

They also beat out the free races from the Elemental expansion, which on DnD Beyond are given the same access as the PHB. They aren't hidden or hard to find. You don't need to click an extra button even.

 

[Remathilis]

This might be a good measure of how successful a race is in the game. Goliath, for example, is basically Barbarian, then everything else. It's very much a one trick pony. I mean, about 50% (ish) of goliath characters are barbarians. Tag on fighters, and you've got a bit less than 2/3rd of all characters. Probably not a great candidate for elevation into the PHB. Too one dimensional.

Thats the problem I think with designing races with an eye towards certain classes.

Goliath was absolutely designed to synergize with barbarian or other melee builds: Str/Con, Athletics, 1/rest damage resistance, powerful build, etc. All of that screams "be in melee" and "sink your highest score in Str". There isn't much for other classes, despite the fact I could see goliaths as druids, rangers, monks, or sorcerers.

Luckily, the new UA goliath is far better (even moreso than the MotM one). Picking your giant origin opens up better design space. You are still rewarded for being big, but it's not all focused into melee. Three origins deal elemental damage on an attack roll (either melee or spell), one gives classic DR, one gives a teleport, and one is best for classic melee. Additionally, detaching ASI to species should allow for more interesting builds.