Full roster of PHB3 races known yet?

[Dice4Hire]

An OBVIOUS choice would also be a Summoner wizard/conlock, though I'm not really sure what would be gained by it there's probably some sort of fun build hiding in there.

I really haven't looked into what would be possible with the primal classes. Several of them depend a good bit on CON so there are possible synergies with conlock or summoner wizards potentially. Shaman is very definitely known to go well with wizard, both being INT based primaries.

ehh... I couldn't hear anything you said after OBVIOUS.......

I think they heard that in China also.

 

[Jhaelen]

Shifters? Nah. Those things have been around forever in one form or another.

I beg to differ. Unless you're applying that 'in one form or another' in a VERY loose way (which would basically mean EVERYTHING has been around 'in one form or another' since OD&D), shifters made their original appearance in the 3e Eberron Campaign Setting.

Just like changelings and warforged, btw. (who both have pretty much become part of the core, too, and also have been around 'in one form or another' 'since forever' (being called doppelgangers or golems)).

It's also interesting that Thri-kreen will be in the Dark Sun campaign setting, since those really have been around 'since forever'

(...waiting for Echohawk to chime in...)

 

[Felon]

Shifters? Nah. Those things have been around forever in one form or another.

"In one form or another"? That's awfully equivocal. Yes, the shifters are a race that was previously considered setting-specific race, and they later showed up in a PHB. Sometimes it's OK to just say "oh yeah, right, you got me".

Uh, wizards can MC to a lot more than just swordmage. In fact its really better from what I can see to MC the other way from swordmage to wizard. Invokers are practically a perfect MC match with wizards, they share prime reqs AND their implement, how much better can it get? Its not at all hard to make a wand wizard that MC into rogue either. Orb wizards can do reasonably well as clerics too.

Warlocks CAN MC fine. Paladin is an excellent choice with full overlap of CHA between star/fey and CHA paladin. You can go either CHA/WIS, or CHA/INT depending on what you want to do. CHA/CON is possible as well but splits your prime stat, though it does give you access to more warlock stuff. A CHA/DEX warlock/rogue is also an interesting choice.

So yeah, there are really no other CON primary classes except conlock, which does limit them a good bit but with the right choice of race you can do something. Dwarves can definitely easily pull off a warlock/cleric or warlock fighter.

Looks like we need to cut to the chase here. If you want to multiclass into another class's attack powers, conventional wisdom dictates that you ideally want to be using the same primary ability score. If you're not, and you're using one of the standard arrays, there's a good chance you're staring down at least a -2 penalty. That's a non-starter for a lot of folks, myself included.

The damned shame of it all is that the tieflings were perfectly positioned from a thematic point of view to be +CON/+INT, but WotC screwed the pooch and made them +CHA instead. So, now we have a hellspawned race that make better fey pact clerics than infernal pact. Buh-rilliant.

 

[Mengu]

"In one form or another"? That's awfully equivocal. Yes, the shifters are a race that was previously considered setting-specific race, and they later showed up in a PHB. Sometimes it's OK to just say "oh yeah, right, you got me".

My first impression of Shifters was that they were basically playable (read weaker) lycanthropes. And player race werewolves *have* been around for a long time, in other rpg's if not in D&D. I don't think Eberron invented werewolves.

 

[Felon]

My first impression of Shifters was that they were basically playable (read weaker) lycanthropes. And player race werewolves *have* been around for a long time, in other rpg's if not in D&D. I don't think Eberron invented werewolves.

What's with all of the shuffling about? "There have been playable werewolves...well, maybe not in D&D, but in other RPG's...and shifters may not be werewolves, but that was my impression...Eberron didn't invent werewolves, therefore they don't get credit for shifters" The term "shifter" and their "weretouched" origins aren't drawn from some nebulous cloud of sources. They were pulled from the Eberron line-up.

To catch you up to speed. Abdul submitted the premise that "D&D doesn't put setting-specific races into the PHB's", then someone points out that they have indeed done that very thing. The response that the race "has been around forever in various forms" is dodgy. Obviously they have precedents; if any race doesn't, they're certainly in the minority. Drow were released as part of the FR-setting, yet they're pretty generic D&D monsters, and "dark elves" are part of Norse mythology.

 

[Regicide]

No not sahuagin, they're a traditionally evil race, like the githyanki. Locathah would be where it's at.

Evil like drow, which is pretty much the most evil race you can get short of devils and demons?

 

[Jhaelen]

My first impression of Shifters was that they were basically playable (read weaker) lycanthropes. And player race werewolves *have* been around for a long time, in other rpg's if not in D&D. I don't think Eberron invented werewolves.

No, but as you noted Eberron introduced _playable_ lycanthropes, doppelgangers, and golems (read: without requiring LA) for 3e.

Why are you so reluctant to give credit where it is due?

I'd even go so far as saying that Eberron's invention paved the way for the way races are implemented in 4e. Imho, Eberron was clearly a major influence on the development of 4e. I'd also like to note that their inclusion in the 3e MM3 was basically how they became part of the core game.

This is nothing new: setting-specific monsters and races have become part of the core since like forever. It's a function of their popularity.

If something is simply too cool to be limited to a single setting it becomes core.

 

[renau1g]

I'm sure by now most people have seen it, but 4 confirmed races and 6 classes

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (January and Beyond)

 

[Camelot]

Well, it's still cool enough to be worth it. Plus, don't forget the hybrid character rules, and whatever else they're planning on putting in their! Cutting down on a few races and classes is fine, I suppose.

But we still don't know what the fourth race is!

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

"In one form or another"? That's awfully equivocal. Yes, the shifters are a race that was previously considered setting-specific race, and they later showed up in a PHB. Sometimes it's OK to just say "oh yeah, right, you got me".

Or its just as easy for you to admit that all a shifter is is a lycanthrope. Big deal. Its been around since before 1e and people have been using them as PCs since the 70's. If Eberron didn't exist shifters would STILL be in PHB2.

Looks like we need to cut to the chase here. If you want to multiclass into another class's attack powers, conventional wisdom dictates that you ideally want to be using the same primary ability score. If you're not, and you're using one of the standard arrays, there's a good chance you're staring down at least a -2 penalty. That's a non-starter for a lot of folks, myself included.

The damned shame of it all is that the tieflings were perfectly positioned from a thematic point of view to be +CON/+INT, but WotC screwed the pooch and made them +CHA instead. So, now we have a hellspawned race that make better fey pact clerics than infernal pact. Buh-rilliant.

Actually maybe you think its necessary to share a prime req, but actually you'd be incorrect in that. There are plenty of builds that don't require a shared prime req. Usually they have each other's secondaries as primaries like conlock and summoner or fighter and any wis, dex, or con primary class. A 16 starting post-racial PR in any class is fine too. You just have to know what to do with that build.