CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
In the previous Survivor thread, we put all of the subclasses up against each other to determine an all-time champion. And while it wasn't always awesome, and plenty of rotten apples ended up in the barrel, we did get some pretty good discussions out of it (and a cool new Warlock!). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed with this thread as well. So let's see what kind of discussion and creativity happens with Species!
Here's a comprehensive list of all of therace ancestries lineages species in 5th Edition D&D. As you can see, there are more than a hundred of them...114 119 to be exact. So buckle up! We've got a long road ahead of us.
You all know the rules by now, but I'll post them here anyway just in case.
HOW TO PLAY
THE MOST IMPORTANT BITS
Three important points that you must read before voting--
Ultimately, the whole point of this thread is to have fun discussing the differences and similarities of the individual species in D&D. (I can't be the only one who flinches every time they read that word in this context.) Some people really want this to be a "Best In Show" contest, and they get really worked up when (not 'if') popular favorites get eliminated. But hopefully we have all figured out how this works by now. For the newly-initiated, remember that this is not an election, nor is it a survey or a job evaluation. And it is certainly not scientific in any way, no matter how often we bring the word 'species' into this. This is just a weird and wildly unpredictable internet game that I hope will be a springboard for creativity and discussion.
AND A FOND FAREWELL
This is also going to be my last Survivor thread. I've had fun for the last couple of years, but I feel like now would be a good time to pass the torch along to someone else. If you're interested in carrying that torch for a little while, send me a private message.
LIST OF SPECIES IN 5E D&D
(as of December 10, 2022)
Aarakocra (MMotM)
Aasimar (MMotM)
Autognome (S:AiS)
Bugbear (MMotM)
Centaur (MMotM)
Changeling (MMotM)
Custom Lineage (TCoE)
Dhamphir (VRGtR)
Dragonborn (PHB)
Dragonborn, Draconblood (EGtW)
Dragonborn, Ravenite (EGtW)
Dragonborn, Chromatic (FToD)
Dragonborn, Gem (FToD)
Dragonborn, Metallic (FToD)
Dwarf, Duergar (MMotM)
Dwarf, Hill (PHB)
Dwarf, Mark of Warding (E:RftLW)
Dwarf, Mountain (PHB)
Elf, Astral (S:AiS)
Elf, Dark (PHB)
Elf, Eladrin (MToF)
Elf, High (PHB)
Elf, Mark of Shadow (E:RftLW)
Elf, Pallid (EGtW)
Elf, Sea (MMotM)
Elf, Shadar-Kai (MMotM)
Elf, Wood (PHB)
Fairy (MMotM)
Firbolg (MMotM)
Genasi, Air (MMotM)
Genasi, Earth (MMotM)
Genasi, Fire (MMotM)
Genasi, Water (MMotM)
Giff (S:AiS)
Gith, Githyanki (MMotM)
Gith Githzerai (MMotM)
Gnome, Deep (MMotM)
Gnome, Forest (PHB)
Gnome, Mark of Scribing (E:RftLW)
Gnome, Rock (PHB)
Goblin (MMotM)
Goliath (MMotM)
Half-Elf (PHB)
Half-Elf, Mark of Detection (E:RftLW)
Half-Elf, Mark of Storm (E:RftLW)
Half-Orc (PHB)
Half-Orc, Mark of Finding (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Ghostwise (SCAG)
Halfling, Lightfoot (PHB)
Halfling, Lotusden (EGtW)
Halfling, Mark of Healing (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Mark of Hospitality (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Stout (PHB)
Harengon (MMotM)
Hexblood (VRGtR)
Hobgoblin (MMotM)
Hodozee (S:AiS)
Human (PHB)
Human, Mark of Finding (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Handling (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Making (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Passage (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Sentinel (E:RftLW)
Human, Variant (PHB)
Kalashtar (E:RftLW)
Kender (DL:SotDQ)
Kenku (MMotM)
Kobold (MMotM)
Leonin (MOoT)
Lizardfolk (MMotM)
Loxodon (GGtR)
Minotaur (MMotM)
Orc (MMotM)
Owlkin (S:CoC)
Plasmoid (S:AiS)
Reborn (VRGtR)
Satyr (MMotM)
Shifter (MMotM)
Shifter, Beasthide (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Longtooth (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Swiftstride (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Wildhunt (E:RftLW)
Simic Hybrid (GGtR)
Tabaxi (MMotM)
Thri-kreen (S:AiS)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Asmodeus (PHB)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Baalzebul (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Dispater (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Fierna (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Glasya (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Levistus (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Mammon (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Mephistopheles (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Zariel (MToF)
Tiefling, Variant (SCAG)
Tortle (MMotM)
Triton (VGtM)
Vedalkin (GGtR)
Verdan (AI)
Yuan-ti (VGtM)
Warforged (E:RftLW)
Legend:
AI - Acquisitions, Inc.
DL:SotDQ - Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
EGtW - Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
E:RftLW - Eberron: Rising from the Last War
FtoD - Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
GGtR - Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica
MMotM - Mordenkainen's Manual of the Planes
MOoT - Mythic Oddessy of Theros
MToF - Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
PHB - Player's Handbook
S:AiS - Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
S:CoC - Strixhaven: Cirriculum of Chaos
SCAG - Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
TCoE - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
VGtM - Volo's Guide to Monsters
VRGtR - Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
Here's a comprehensive list of all of the
You all know the rules by now, but I'll post them here anyway just in case.
HOW TO PLAY
- Only the species that were published in print by Wizards of the Coast are included. Third-party publishers, or materials that were only released electronically, are not included.
- Only the most recent version is included in the list. If a particular species was updated later in a new book, only that updated version is included. Nobody wants to juggle multiple versions of the same entry.
- Each entry starts with 10 points, because this is an incredibly long list even with the above caveats and exclusions.
- Every day, you vote for one species that you like, which gains 1 point. And then you vote for a different species, which loses 2 points. It is intentional that a negative vote is worth more than a positive vote - first, because it takes something extra to whittle these guys down to size. Second, because.
- Mark your upvotes in green, and downvotes in red. Or just show them in bold text and use "+1" and "-2" to mark them, if colored text is too difficult on your browsing device.
- It's easier if you just copy and paste the previous poster’s vote and change the numbers; the Quote function isn't the best for this.
- You may vote only once per day. This is an honor system, and we are all honorable gamers; please do not abuse it. If this means you vote once at night one day, and once the next morning - that's fine, but don't vote again until the following day. Rule of thumb: if your most recent vote post says "yesterday" in the time stamp, you can vote again.
- This is just another Internet popularity contest and you do not have to explain an upvote or downvote, but feel free to do so...those explanations are where the fun is! And the more outlandish, petty, or nitpicky your reasons for voting, the better!
- When downvotes reach 0 the subclass is removed from the list.
- Finally, if an entry has one point left, then you have to make the choice to use all of your downvotes to eliminate it; there is no vote splitting. In addition, you can't upvote and downvote the same entry (no "see" votes). And you have to use BOTH YOUR UPVOTE AND DOWNVOTE if you vote.
THE MOST IMPORTANT BITS
Three important points that you must read before voting--
- This is just a popularity contest, and it's supposed to be fun. You can cast your votes for whatever reason you want; presence or absence of wings, malice, elf-hate, beard envy, and personal preference are all perfectly acceptable. But this is for enjoyment only. If you experience anger, hostility, or other evidence of Not Having Fun, you're doing it wrong.
- This list includes only the most-recent versions of published species, written and published by Wizards of the Coast. If your favorite is missing, this is probably why.
- As always, the list is the list. If you have a complaint about the list, please direct it to //dev/null.
As you know, the term "race" is being phased out by Wizards of the Coast, and will not be used in future publications. Instead, they have decided they will use the word "species." Which is weirdly scientific and specific for a fantasy game in my opinion, but they didn't ask me. So even though I prefer 'ancestry,' or 'lineage,' or literally any other term than 'race,' I'll still follow their lead. I'm not gonna be That Guy.
This list only includes the species (ugh) that were released in print by Wizards of the Coast. The Plane Shift series is amazing, and I love Unearthed Arcana, and the web-released Extra Life fundraisers were incredibly popular and successful...but I had to draw the line somewhere. This list is already HUGE, and I struggled to find a fair way to whittle it down. If I had included every species (aak) that was ever published by Wizards of the Coast, the list would be almost 200 entries long and nobody has time for that.
You might be asking, "Hey where are all of the Aasimar options?" And that's a fair question. To answer that, I have to give a little bit of history. The Aasimar species (ugh) was introduced in Volo's Guide to Monsters, and included three variants (Fallen, Protector, and Scourge.) Then the Aasimar was revised earlier this year in Mordenkainen's Manual of the Mulitverse, and those variants were replaced by a single customizable ability instead. Since this survey only includes the most recent versions of these species, and that most recent version didn't have any variants, they were removed.
For what it's worth, I don't like this. I think it makes the list uneven and unfair (we have like a dozen entries for Tiefling and only a single entry for Aasimar, so I bet you can guess which one will be eliminated first). Alas, the Most Recent Version rule must stand. (Can you imagine? "The Mordenkaininen's goblin is clearly better than both the Unearthed Arcana one and the Wildemount version, but I prefer the old Volo's goblin instead..." Yikes.)
For what it's worth, I don't like this. I think it makes the list uneven and unfair (we have like a dozen entries for Tiefling and only a single entry for Aasimar, so I bet you can guess which one will be eliminated first). Alas, the Most Recent Version rule must stand. (Can you imagine? "The Mordenkaininen's goblin is clearly better than both the Unearthed Arcana one and the Wildemount version, but I prefer the old Volo's goblin instead..." Yikes.)
Simple answer: because the list is too uneven. The round-by-round elimination format works well if the categories are all roughly the same size (Deities), or if the categories all have at least 5 or more entries apiece (Subclasses), but otherwise it just doesn't work. (And I'd argue that even the Subclasses thread didn't work very well.)
Many of these species only have a single entry, while there are like a dozen elves and tieflings. Separating them by book doesn't work either, for the same reason...most books have only one or two species; Mordenkainen's Manual of the Multiverse has thirty.
Ultimately I decided to go with a single, long list.
Many of these species only have a single entry, while there are like a dozen elves and tieflings. Separating them by book doesn't work either, for the same reason...most books have only one or two species; Mordenkainen's Manual of the Multiverse has thirty.
Ultimately I decided to go with a single, long list.
I feel like I'm repeating myself, but this list is over a hundred entries long, folks. I want to finish it sometime in Year 2023, which means I need to reduce the starting points, so I cut them in half. I know that this puts certain options at even more of a disadvantage, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Ultimately, the whole point of this thread is to have fun discussing the differences and similarities of the individual species in D&D. (I can't be the only one who flinches every time they read that word in this context.) Some people really want this to be a "Best In Show" contest, and they get really worked up when (not 'if') popular favorites get eliminated. But hopefully we have all figured out how this works by now. For the newly-initiated, remember that this is not an election, nor is it a survey or a job evaluation. And it is certainly not scientific in any way, no matter how often we bring the word 'species' into this. This is just a weird and wildly unpredictable internet game that I hope will be a springboard for creativity and discussion.
AND A FOND FAREWELL
This is also going to be my last Survivor thread. I've had fun for the last couple of years, but I feel like now would be a good time to pass the torch along to someone else. If you're interested in carrying that torch for a little while, send me a private message.
LIST OF SPECIES IN 5E D&D
(as of December 10, 2022)
Aasimar (MMotM)
Autognome (S:AiS)
Bugbear (MMotM)
Centaur (MMotM)
Changeling (MMotM)
Custom Lineage (TCoE)
Dhamphir (VRGtR)
Dragonborn (PHB)
Dragonborn, Draconblood (EGtW)
Dragonborn, Ravenite (EGtW)
Dragonborn, Chromatic (FToD)
Dragonborn, Gem (FToD)
Dragonborn, Metallic (FToD)
Dwarf, Duergar (MMotM)
Dwarf, Hill (PHB)
Dwarf, Mark of Warding (E:RftLW)
Dwarf, Mountain (PHB)
Elf, Astral (S:AiS)
Elf, Dark (PHB)
Elf, Eladrin (MToF)
Elf, High (PHB)
Elf, Mark of Shadow (E:RftLW)
Elf, Pallid (EGtW)
Elf, Sea (MMotM)
Elf, Shadar-Kai (MMotM)
Elf, Wood (PHB)
Fairy (MMotM)
Firbolg (MMotM)
Genasi, Air (MMotM)
Genasi, Earth (MMotM)
Genasi, Fire (MMotM)
Genasi, Water (MMotM)
Giff (S:AiS)
Gith, Githyanki (MMotM)
Gith Githzerai (MMotM)
Gnome, Deep (MMotM)
Gnome, Forest (PHB)
Gnome, Mark of Scribing (E:RftLW)
Gnome, Rock (PHB)
Goblin (MMotM)
Goliath (MMotM)
Half-Elf (PHB)
Half-Elf, Mark of Detection (E:RftLW)
Half-Elf, Mark of Storm (E:RftLW)
Half-Orc (PHB)
Half-Orc, Mark of Finding (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Ghostwise (SCAG)
Halfling, Lightfoot (PHB)
Halfling, Mark of Healing (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Mark of Hospitality (E:RftLW)
Halfling, Stout (PHB)
Harengon (MMotM)
Hexblood (VRGtR)
Hobgoblin (MMotM)
Hodozee (S:AiS)
Human (PHB)
Human, Mark of Finding (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Handling (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Making (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Passage (E:RftLW)
Human, Mark of Sentinel (E:RftLW)
Human, Variant (PHB)
Kalashtar (E:RftLW)
Kender (DL:SotDQ)
Kenku (MMotM)
Kobold (MMotM)
Leonin (MOoT)
Lizardfolk (MMotM)
Loxodon (GGtR)
Minotaur (MMotM)
Orc (MMotM)
Owlkin (S:CoC)
Plasmoid (S:AiS)
Reborn (VRGtR)
Satyr (MMotM)
Shifter (MMotM)
Shifter, Beasthide (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Longtooth (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Swiftstride (E:RftLW)
Shifter, Wildhunt (E:RftLW)
Simic Hybrid (GGtR)
Tabaxi (MMotM)
Thri-kreen (S:AiS)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Asmodeus (PHB)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Baalzebul (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Dispater (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Fierna (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Glasya (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Levistus (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Mammon (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Mephistopheles (MToF)
Tiefling, Bloodline of Zariel (MToF)
Tiefling, Variant (SCAG)
Tortle (MMotM)
Triton (VGtM)
Vedalkin (GGtR)
Verdan (AI)
Yuan-ti (VGtM)
Warforged (E:RftLW)
Legend:
AI - Acquisitions, Inc.
DL:SotDQ - Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
EGtW - Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
E:RftLW - Eberron: Rising from the Last War
FtoD - Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
GGtR - Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica
MMotM - Mordenkainen's Manual of the Planes
MOoT - Mythic Oddessy of Theros
MToF - Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
PHB - Player's Handbook
S:AiS - Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
S:CoC - Strixhaven: Cirriculum of Chaos
SCAG - Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
TCoE - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
VGtM - Volo's Guide to Monsters
VRGtR - Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
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