FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
Aasimar
What I love
They have the basics. A way to see in the dark (light cantrip and darkvision, though a bit of redundancy here). They have a really cool daily ability that has some nice built in versatility, from flight to aoe damage to aoe fear, while also providing a damage buff.
What I hate
Their really cool ability is once per day and only lasts 1 minute. They do get a healing ability but it heals so little, is an action and is also once per day - which is pretty bad when things like bonus action potions and healing word exists.
Conclusion
Outside their big once per day ability Aasimar are pretty underwhleming. Many of their abilities will lead to you being near enemies, which makes them much more suited to front line than back line characters. Unless you just really like the flavor or regularly have 1 combat adventuring days I'd skip Aasimar I'd probably skip Aasimar. The ability to fly initially seemed great, but the restriction of once per day for 1 minute really cut into the utility and tactical benefits a flight ability would have otherwise had, still a good option for front line characters, which is what I'd predict most Aasimar will be.
Dragonborn
What I love
They now have Darkvision which is a huge improvement over 2014. They can also use their breath PB times per day (though recharging one use on a short rest would have been a nice addition). You can still attack if you get extra attack while using the breath as it only replaces one (but not more than one per attack action). Presumably with Action Surge a fighter could get 2 Breaths off on the same turn, which makes for really nice AOE damage. Flight for Dragonborn is really cool
What I hate
Thematically the wings are energy based which is not at all how I've ever pictured Dragonborn. There's still an issue with once per day flight being a big limitation, but 10 mins will make it alot more useful than the Aasimar's 1 minute version. There's not alot to love here for full casters.
Conclusion
Dragonborn make solid melee combatants, providing the always essential way of dealing with darkness, a solid AOE attack and the ability to fly (so you can easily fight the occasional flying enemy). There's probably better overall, but they at least have a couple of clear niches, AOE and best Species flight.
Dwarf
What I love
120 ft. Darkvision. That's it.
What I hate
Everything else. The worst offender is the highly restricted tremorsense ability. You seriously can only use it when touching a stone surface. The extra +1 hp is nice, but other races/species offer much better survivability boosts. It and resistance to poison just don't do enough to make up for the bad tremorsense ability.
Conclusion
Unless you just want to roleplay a dwarf or a bearded lady, then you probably should avoid 2024 Dwarves. Though if you were one to houserule, removing the stone restriction from the tremorsense ability would probably be enough to salvage dwarves.
Elf
Goliath
Gnomes
Halfling
Human
Orc
What I love
Orcs are the perfect combination of mobility, survivability and still manage to get stellar darkvision. They will make a great choice for any character. Back line / full caster can use the mobility to kite. Front line / martial can use it to close gaps. You can bonus action dash PB times per short rest.
What I hate
To get the full benefits of the race you need a character that doesn't already have a steady stream of bonus actions, because each adrenaline rush also provides PB temp hp per use in addition to the dash, providing a decent total temp hp, but not enough to justify using the bonus action as many times as you would need to just for the temp hp if you have almost any other bonus action.
Conclusion
Orcs are an amazing race for most any character. Especially in combat. It's tempting to say they lack out of combat abilities, but 120 ft darkvision is dang useful for exploration as well as combat, and the bonus action dash might come in handy on occasion. Out running the classic Indiana Jones boulder trap comes to mind as an example.
Tiefling
***This is a work in progress more to come later
What I love
They have the basics. A way to see in the dark (light cantrip and darkvision, though a bit of redundancy here). They have a really cool daily ability that has some nice built in versatility, from flight to aoe damage to aoe fear, while also providing a damage buff.
What I hate
Their really cool ability is once per day and only lasts 1 minute. They do get a healing ability but it heals so little, is an action and is also once per day - which is pretty bad when things like bonus action potions and healing word exists.
Conclusion
Outside their big once per day ability Aasimar are pretty underwhleming. Many of their abilities will lead to you being near enemies, which makes them much more suited to front line than back line characters. Unless you just really like the flavor or regularly have 1 combat adventuring days I'd skip Aasimar I'd probably skip Aasimar. The ability to fly initially seemed great, but the restriction of once per day for 1 minute really cut into the utility and tactical benefits a flight ability would have otherwise had, still a good option for front line characters, which is what I'd predict most Aasimar will be.
Dragonborn
What I love
They now have Darkvision which is a huge improvement over 2014. They can also use their breath PB times per day (though recharging one use on a short rest would have been a nice addition). You can still attack if you get extra attack while using the breath as it only replaces one (but not more than one per attack action). Presumably with Action Surge a fighter could get 2 Breaths off on the same turn, which makes for really nice AOE damage. Flight for Dragonborn is really cool
What I hate
Thematically the wings are energy based which is not at all how I've ever pictured Dragonborn. There's still an issue with once per day flight being a big limitation, but 10 mins will make it alot more useful than the Aasimar's 1 minute version. There's not alot to love here for full casters.
Conclusion
Dragonborn make solid melee combatants, providing the always essential way of dealing with darkness, a solid AOE attack and the ability to fly (so you can easily fight the occasional flying enemy). There's probably better overall, but they at least have a couple of clear niches, AOE and best Species flight.
Dwarf
What I love
120 ft. Darkvision. That's it.
What I hate
Everything else. The worst offender is the highly restricted tremorsense ability. You seriously can only use it when touching a stone surface. The extra +1 hp is nice, but other races/species offer much better survivability boosts. It and resistance to poison just don't do enough to make up for the bad tremorsense ability.
Conclusion
Unless you just want to roleplay a dwarf or a bearded lady, then you probably should avoid 2024 Dwarves. Though if you were one to houserule, removing the stone restriction from the tremorsense ability would probably be enough to salvage dwarves.
Elf
Goliath
Gnomes
Halfling
Human
Orc
What I love
Orcs are the perfect combination of mobility, survivability and still manage to get stellar darkvision. They will make a great choice for any character. Back line / full caster can use the mobility to kite. Front line / martial can use it to close gaps. You can bonus action dash PB times per short rest.
What I hate
To get the full benefits of the race you need a character that doesn't already have a steady stream of bonus actions, because each adrenaline rush also provides PB temp hp per use in addition to the dash, providing a decent total temp hp, but not enough to justify using the bonus action as many times as you would need to just for the temp hp if you have almost any other bonus action.
Conclusion
Orcs are an amazing race for most any character. Especially in combat. It's tempting to say they lack out of combat abilities, but 120 ft darkvision is dang useful for exploration as well as combat, and the bonus action dash might come in handy on occasion. Out running the classic Indiana Jones boulder trap comes to mind as an example.
Tiefling
***This is a work in progress more to come later
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