I don't like Dragonborn: Please come and bring friends.

[Minigiant]

Minigiant want play a miniotaur wizard name Krownos. Or maybe weremonkey. Or were-something. Minigiant like play internally conflicted characters. Minigiant want play the official supported version too.

Minigiant not want be forced to play elf wizard and come from treetop elf village. Or dwarf fighter and come from mountain kingdom. Minigiant hate elf and dwarf. Wait hundred years to adventure. Make no sense.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Seriously though. Wouldn't it make a lot more people happy if they created a chapter in the Monster Manual titled "Playable Monster Races" or something, and included a few dozen races that the DM can include if desired? That way, things like minotaurs, aasimars, tieflings, warforged, and dragonborn could all still be "in the core," but they wouldn't become default assumptions.

That would be ok if they were consistent. In your scheme, no half-orcs or other such niche races in the PHB, either. Just wait until you hear the screaming on that one. Because the problem is not that people want access to the material (though some do want it, of course). There are 20 different ways to accomplish that, most of them even workable. No, the problem is that some people want their preferences "validated" by placement in a book. And some of those aren't even willing to admit it.

I'd be fine with all racial information, even humans, in the MM. I'd be fine with a brief bit of player character-related information in the PHB for a broad selection of races (maybe all PC playable races from the MM) in the PHB, and then reference to the MM for more details. That'd be cool. I'd be fine with a handful of the most severely traditional choices in the PHB and then a note at the end of that section referring people to other great choices in the MM, not available here due to space. Or do the same thing with only humans in the PHB. There are other consistent schemes where you might draw the line in slightly different places.

In short, your idea is fine until the moment that you make the list of what makes the cut. Then watch the sparks fly.

 

[ferratus]

Seriously though. Wouldn't it make a lot more people happy if they created a chapter in the Monster Manual titled "Playable Monster Races" or something, and included a few dozen races that the DM can include if desired? That way, things like minotaurs, aasimars, tieflings, warforged, and dragonborn could all still be "in the core," but they wouldn't become default assumptions.

I like this idea so much, I'm wondering why we don't put elves, gnomes, dwarves and half-orcs in there as well.

Seriously, because they're monsters too aren't they?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Races are very strongly tied to campaign. Look at darksun. ...
To say some races shouldnt be in core is farcical because core is rules, not campaign, and races are more about campaign to me.

In almost the same way, having a race be 'core' is a bit farcical. I wouldn't be at all disappointed if the PH1 had only humans, and other races were an option, either presented in various campaign supplements, or in a voluminous 'Fantasy Races' supplement or MM 'Playable Monsters' section.

 

[grimslade]

Can't xp you for it, but right on!

If we are going to have elven sub-races, we should be able to have some more divergent races represented in the rules.

The core rules should be able to support Tolkien as well as Pulp Fantasy. There is more to fantasy than elves and dwarves. The Premier Fantasy Role Playing Game should not be trapped into a narrow niche. Inclusion is the new mauve.

Now let me create my Furious Five of Illithid Shaolin. The slurping sound means they're working.

 

[CleverNickName]

I like this idea so much, I'm wondering why we don't put elves, gnomes, dwarves and half-orcs in there as well.

Seriously, because they're monsters too aren't they?

I like the cut of your jib, sir.

Even if they can't get away with leaving elves, gnomes, dwarves, and half-orcs out of the Player's Handbook, it would at least be a great way to organize the dozens and dozens of racial variants. Elves in PHB...drow, eladrin, etc. in the MM.

 

[Minigiant]

I like this idea so much, I'm wondering why we don't put elves, gnomes, dwarves and half-orcs in there as well.

Seriously, because they're monsters too aren't they?

But humans are the worst monster of them all.

We're Number 1!
We're Number 1!
Suck on that dwarves!

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Why don't we just have the handful of non-playable races in the DMG, and then the MM can be a player book?





I almost didn't type that in fear that some WotC sales guy might see it.

 

[Falling Icicle]

I don't really like the Dragonborn. It's not that I have anything against half-dragon type characters, I just don't like the way they look. They'd be alot cooler if they had wings, but they just couldn't give flight to a core race (though why not a slow fall or gliding ability?). I don't know, maybe if they are redesigned to look more dragon-like and less like bipedal monitor lizards, I'll like them better. The same goes for tieflings. I liked tieflings in the past, but the 4e ones went a bit overboard with the huge demon horns and 6 ft. long tails.

I'm all for putting the non-traditional races (dragonborn, tiefling, aasimar, drow, warforged, etc.) in the Monster Manual. That said, I'm not going to nerdrage if there are dragonborn or tieflings in the PHB. It really isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Kinak]

If we are going to have elven sub-races, we should be able to have some more divergent races represented in the rules.

So true. If we have room for two versions of the same race, we have room for unique ideas.

Heck, put in thri-kreen, keep the elf population down

That said, I'd much rather have a the usual double-handful of races, then use the extra room to discuss what roles they play in different settings.

You could even let that be the litmus test. If the developers can't come up with two or three different roles that race could play in campaigns, it's probably not worth the space.

Cheers!
Kinak