I think Orcs are the mystery race...

[am181d]

I'm currently running a campaign with an Orc player and plenty of Orc baddies. Hasn't caused me any problems.

For 4e, I'd much rather have Orcs as a default PC option than Half-Orcs. I don't run games in commerical campaign worlds, so I don't care what fluff is included with the core books.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

This would be a good replacment of the half orc. If wotc redoes the concept of the ogre and comes up with reasons the new ogres are bred with humans (or the other phb races) (like the half giants in dark sun, maybe through magic long ago and now they breed true?)

Or you could have ogres as having split from humanity ages ago, with half-ogres (called half-humans by ogres) being occasionally born into either race, as throwbacks to the ancient form of the race...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A lot of good suggestions...esp. the Hamsters & Giff!

I'd love to see Minotaurs- I used to play one in 2Ed- or some Size L race, but I'd really like it if they brought in something completely new, something from a non-D&D WotC source (Seshayans or Wendio?) or an old race re-statted to resemble its origins more closely (Trolls that turn to stone in the light of day? Fey/Seelie like the ones you read about in European legends & myth?).

 

[Najo]

Or you could have ogres as having split from humanity ages ago, with half-ogres (called half-humans by ogres) being occasionally born into either race, as throwbacks to the ancient form of the race...

How about the ogres were a off shoot from humans who gave themselves over to an evil god or some sort of dark ritual where they sacrificed their humanity for power and the sacrifice corrupted their minds as well.

As another option, they could be cursed by a god and forced to worship it.

The half ogres are born from ogres from time to time, and cast out or kept as slaves/ runts of the litter. There was a revolt at one point and the half ogres turned on the ogres. The half ogres breed true now and live in their own communities. Humans are slowly growning to trust them them. The half ogres born to ogres now are kept oppressed or killed so it doesn't happen again.

I don't think humans should give birth to half ogres. It seperates D&D humans from us to much. I know some fantasy settings have similar themes (like chaos in Warhammer) but to make it core and specifically with humans and ogres is not quite the right feel the humans should have IMO. Though I think it is very cool for a specific setting.

 

[Najo]

Mul. Half-dwarves, ala Dark Sun. That's my, straight outta left field, call. Whether that name stays the same or not, I think that the concept is perfect and would fit into an enormous number of campaigns without much tweaking.

+4 Con, -2 Cha, -2 Wis. +2 Fort save. Racial ability of "survival" (unaffected by extreme temps, can last for up to 3 times as long as a human without sustenance, etc...). Medium sized. Sapient, rather than bestial, appearance so they "fit" into more situations without feeling entirely alien.

Just a strange thought.

My gut is telling me it's going to be Orcs.

I am a huge dark sun fan and I really like the mul. Although the half-dwarf makes sense if you have half elves, there are a couple of issues that arise with the mul.

1) The mul should remain hairless. On Athas they lack hair because the Dwarves lack hair. Dwarves in another setting have lots of hair, hence muls would have hair. This doesn't feel right.

2) The mul is sterile. You could change this, but it is part of their character and what makes them grim and harden. So you can't easily have muls as a race. The other issue, in Dark Sun they are breed in slavery by owners who purposely breed the dwarves and humans together. This feels weird in a standard fantasy setting.

3) The mul is very much part of what makes Athas what it is. It would be like taking the warforge out of Ebberon and putting it in the PHB (which they shouldn't do either). When the Dark Sun campaign setting releases I expect to see the mul there and not in a PHB 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Anyrate, the feel of the mul is good. The half ogre being bounced around can easily go there. The half giant in the expanded psionic handbook or the goliath from the races of destiny would both work as well.

 

[Shadeydm]

Since no one is expecting it, the mystery race must be the Spanish Inquisition.

I must confess, I never expected the Spanish Inquisition!

 

[SkidAce]

Or you could have ogres as having split from humanity ages ago, with half-ogres (called half-humans by ogres) being occasionally born into either race, as throwbacks to the ancient form of the race...

/derail

Wow, that's what I've done for half elves for years. It's why they had so many multiclass options in 1st and 2nd edition, the blood of the ancestor race was stronger.

Boy were some of the elves pissed when proof that they shared ancestry with humans came out. Talk about changing alignment to keep a secret...hehe...almost.

 

[BadMojo]

Er... five words?

Yeah. Um, nothing to see here. Move along.