DDM Rant: Dwarves...Aaaarrrgghhh!

[Sammael]

This one was released in archfiends. The succubus is the missing one.

Nope. Erinyes was released in Archfiends. Marilith is the large, six-armed, snake-bodied female demon, and it hasn't been released yet.

 

[Belen]

Nope. Erinyes was released in Archfiends. Marilith is the large, six-armed, snake-bodied female demon, and it hasn't been released yet.

D'oh! I always get the darn names confused.

 

[rounser]

In the ~20 years I've been gaming, I've never once seen a half-orc PC, other than one I made myself and never got to play.

That's interesting. Since 3E came out, every party I've played with has had one, usually either a fighter or barbarian. I played one as a high level wizard once.

Dwarves: 0. Constitution not sexy enough except for the occasional wizard or sorceror, perhaps?

 

[kenobi65]

Trust me. You can have enough dwarves. Heck, they are one of the least played character races IMO.

IME, dwarves are the second-most-often played race, after humans.

In most of the home games I've played in, we've always had at least one dwarf PC. Then again, that's at least in part driven by one or two players who play a lot of dwarves...but quite a few other players have taken up dwarves at least once.

And, in my Living Greyhawk play, I almost always wind up with a dwarf at my table (and it's not me...I play a human paladin).

 

[Belen]

That's interesting. Since 3E came out, every party I've played with has had one, usually either a fighter or barbarian. I played one as a high level wizard once.

Dwarves: 0. Constitution not sexy enough except for the occasional wizard or sorceror, perhaps?

It is the speed. Movement is king in 3.5. Yes, a heavily armored human and a heavily armored dwarf move at the same speed, but I have noticed that a lot of people will play two-handed great sword fighters and skimp on armor because of the need for more speed. Quick and massive damage will usually work in D&D.

Speed is king and people just do not like playing slow races...or short races. No one throws sexy dwarven barmaids into the tavern seens.

 

[kenobi65]

It is the speed. Movement is king in 3.5. Yes, a heavily armored human and a heavily armored dwarf move at the same speed, but I have noticed that a lot of people will play two-handed great sword fighters and skimp on armor because of the need for more speed. Quick and massive damage will usually work in D&D.

I'll grant you that one...but it's why I've seen more than one dwarf PC actively seek out boots of striding and springing.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I have seen them several times in my 3e games, usually played by people who want to be strong, anti-social fighters with a reason to have charisma as a dump stat. Negatives to intelligence and charisma really stink. This is why I redesigned the races so that none of them take negatives to mental stats.

I am currently playing Gregor, the half orc Barbarian (level 8), he's got an intel and charisma of 6, but he is quite social. Sometimes a bit too social.
He's not bright, that's true, but I work around it with Foesmasher. Foesmasher is the intelligent hammer that Gregor's foster father made him to keep him out of trouble. Foesmasher can easily dominate Gregor when he is going too far, and has intel and charisma of 13, IIRC. Foesmasher is CG, so doesn't do it unless needed.

Sometimes, it's fun to play the smash-em up guy (Gregor is All Power Attack, All The Time), but also sometimes it's good to be smart and have an articulate opinion. This setup lets me do what I want.

Of course, I also banned half-orcs and created a bear folk race to replace them.

I liked the Ravenloft (by White Wolf) style of a race that were cursed during gestation, so they're stronger but mishapen and such. (same stats as Half Orcs)

I've seen very few dwarves in my games. Myself and one other use gnomes a lot, otherwise it's mostly Human/Half elf/ elf.