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

[Yaarel]

For me.

Make the Halfling a nickname for a Human ethnicity, a pygmy community who tend to be Small. Note the playtest Human includes Small Humans. The endonym is Hin, but they tend to not mind the exonym "Halfling".

Halflings are a group of Humans.

Gnome is the core Small species − and better yet Fey.

 

[Hussar]

Absolute nonsense.

Look at the dryad stats in the 5e monster manual. That is completely viable as a playable race without any loss of distinctiveness or power. That's like a level 3 character or something. Like...What are you even talking about? No more unfit for playable race than any of the PHB races.

The only argument I can see is that the entire CR 1 statblock would be OP as a race writeup, but like...it's an intelligent creature that learns stuff, it wasn't born with all of that, any more than the elf statblocks in the MM are what an elf is born with.

But therein lies the issue.

What are you willing to lose to get dryads (in whatever form) in the PHB? If they are going with the 12 race idea, then probably you’re fine.

But which is more important to you? Half orcs or dryads? Half elves? Gnomes? What would you cut, presuming that something needs to be cut for space, from the phb to get a dryad race in core?

 

[Lanefan]

Absolute nonsense.

Look at the dryad stats in the 5e monster manual. That is completely viable as a playable race without any loss of distinctiveness or power. That's like a level 3 character or something. Like...What are you even talking about? No more unfit for playable race than any of the PHB races.

The only argument I can see is that the entire CR 1 statblock would be OP as a race writeup, but like...it's an intelligent creature that learns stuff, it wasn't born with all of that, any more than the elf statblocks in the MM are what an elf is born with.

I guess 5e Dryads must be somewhat watered down from the Dryads I'm used to, who can all charm/dominate on a whim and are natively as tough as the trees they live in but who risk dropping dead if they go farther than (100 yards?) from their home tree. Oh, and what often happens with those they charm/dominate is most certainly NSFW.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Being tied to an immobile tree would seem to be a major downer for a potential player character. But you could simply allow a player to use a Tasha's Custom Lineage with the plant creature type.

I'm inclined to agree with those who suggested a toolkit approach is the way forwards.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

For me.

Make the Halfling a nickname for a Human ethnicity, a pygmy community who tend to be Small. Note the playtest Human includes Small Humans. The endonym is Hin, but they tend to not mind the exonym "Halfling".

Halflings are a group of Humans.

Gnome is the core Small species − and better yet Fey.

I think "pigmy" is considered an offensive term these days. But sure, "humans can be small or medium, small humans as known as halflings" would work fine, and is consistent with what Tolkien said about hobbits.

And no-special-powers-guy is the main shtick of Tolkienesque hobbits.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Imagine where the dragonborn would be if they species was what people want them to be both mechanically and flavor wise.

Imagine where Aasimar would be if anyone actually tried with them.

what are the dragonborn supposed to be?

aasimar have few good hooks hence the lack of trying them.

 

[Yaarel]

what are the dragonborn supposed to be?

One trope of Dragonborn is subversive. The fairytales have the knight in shining armor questing to slay the dragon. The Dragonborn is both this dragon and this knight at the same time. The tropes blend and remix.

 

[Hussar]

what are the dragonborn supposed to be?

aasimar have few good hooks hence the lack of trying them.

I think, although I'm not sure, is that dragonborn are mechanically pretty weak. I'm not sure I agree to be honest. I certainly haven't found it to be a problem. Energy resistance can be a big deal (although it tends to be very campaign dependent - our last tiefling went 17 levels without once being subjected to a fire effect) and the breath weapon attack is fairly anemic. OTOH, I think Fizban's went a LONG way to making dragonborn better. One rather hopes that a lot of the race changes over the years will make a new home in the new PHB.

 

[Parmandur]

But therein lies the issue.

What are you willing to lose to get dryads (in whatever form) in the PHB? If they are going with the 12 race idea, then probably you’re fine.

But which is more important to you? Half orcs or dryads? Half elves? Gnomes? What would you cut, presuming that something needs to be cut for space, from the phb to get a dryad race in core?

Nothing.

Addition is groovy, but subtraction is unacceptable.

 

[Vaalingrade]

what are the dragonborn supposed to be?

Mechanically sound and flavor-wise a dragon.

No wings, not tail, no dragon.

aasimar have few good hooks hence the lack of trying them.

Not players trying them, designers trying to make them interesting. They're a victim of alignment box checking. Tieflings exist and people like them. Here is Good Tiefling. Our work here is done.