How are the new races coming along?

[johnsemlak]

To me so far, the addition of three new races into the core rules is the biggest departure from previous editions, at least in terms of feel. The dropping of the half orc and gnome is less so, since they're still playable races. All previous editions had had the same basic choice of core races pretty much.

Are people using the races? How are you fitting them into your campaigns or your worlds? Are they popular?

Do people think they're good additions to the game? Will they last? I'm wondering if they will fit into the 'metasetting' of D&D.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

My PC group consists of two Tieflings, an Eladrin, two Dragonborn and a human.

My players seem to be loving the new races, and they fit right in. Sure, flavor-wise, ret-conning them in was a little lame, but when you ignore the fact that they "Just appeared from nowhere" they take their place right along with everything else.

 

[Mercule]

I'd also be interested in seeing how many people are including the new races. I may or may not include dragonborn -- I've finally figured out a spot where they may have been in my home brew. I'll be dropping tieflings as a dedicated race, and reverting them back to an occasional (and less overblown) aberration in certain families.

I'm also wondering which the third new race is. I assume you mean eladrin, but IMO, elves are the new race and eladrin are just a renaming of the extant elves.

 

[Particle_Man]

My group has 3 dragonborn. Mind you, that could be as simple as "one race in the phb has a str bonus".

If my wizard bites the dust I will try a Tiefling Feylock, for similar reasons.

 

[exile]

If I had been a DM with a well-developed campaign world, the new races would have made my head swim; and I have not yet played a dragonborn, eladrin, or tiefling; further, I still prefer my halflings with big furry feet; but...

I've seen lots of players old and new running and loving them. My old DM who was initially staunchly anti-4E, but is becoming more and more pro-4E loves dragonborn.

Also, at Gen Con, I ran into a young (fairly cute) girl (probably about 15) who would absolutely not shut up about tieflings and warlocks (yeah, I know warlock is a class, not a race)...and that's a good thing for a whole new generation of geeks.

Chad

 

[Pseudopsyche]

I just started a new Eberron campaign, and I have two tieflings, a dragonborn, and two eladrin. The players seem content with knowing only that these races are all very rare in this setting, where some of the cities are quite cosmopolitan. In the smaller towns, I've tried to get across the fact that most commoners see them as a band of freaks.

What I don't know is to what extent the new races have been popular due only to novelty value or because they're intrinsically more appealing than the more mundane races.

 

[blargney the second]

We've got an eladrin, an elf, a drow, and a minotaur in our 4e game and we're all quite happy with the races. My DM let it fly that minotaurs sleep sitting up, and a typical mino prank is to tip your buddies over while they're asleep.

 

[Vael]

My party consists of a Dragonborn Warlord, a Human Wizard (myself), an Elf Ranger and a Minotaur Fighter, so it's not just the new races that are getting used, I'm a big fan of the MM race writeups too.

 

[Kzach]

Are people using the races? How are you fitting them into your campaigns or your worlds?

I have always viewed D&D as a set of guidelines, not hard and fast rules. My homebrew doesn't have tieflings or dragonborn in it but will have half-orcs. For me, I've already decided what the core races are, and I don't believe in having minor races scattered throughout a continent. It ruins the suspension of disbelief for me to have less than a few million of a species, unless it's dying out.

I will, however, probably use races like tieflings and dragonborn and whatever else comes out, as interesting NPC's or BBEG, explained by some sort of macguffin

 

[FunkBGR]

The races fit in easily in my world -

I had just finished up running Shackled City with one group. Hey, Tieflings are descended from the

Spoiler

Demodands and demons

that didn't get killed in that adventure.

Dragonborn? We have a number of Lizardfolk tribes that always appear "off the map" (Keep on the Borderlands, etc.) And I had just finished running Night Below, where the party kept up good relations with

Spoiler

Inzeldrin (the Queen of the Mire)

. I had to develop her more and had the lizardfolk of the area worship her. Hmm, she had some Half-dragon offspring - no more, they are Dragonborn!

Eladrin? Rename to Rockseer, and again, you have the results of Night Below. Cosmetic changes, and one small one (teleport only works on solid stone surfaces) and give them a small benefit elsewhere (+1 to Fort saves or something, don't recall atm).

Fit real easy-like, and the players love them as races.