D&D General My Problem(s) With Halflings, and How To Create Engaging/Interesting Fantasy Races

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I suspect the data is accurate for players today in 2021.

You believe that there are more people playing rock gnomes than drow?

I love gnomes, but even I don't believe that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Drow in my experience are a thing almost exclusively used by older players. Tieflings cover almost all the thematics that don't directly involve running away from Menzobarranzan or other deep D&D lore - and a lot of people find the "Dark Elves" to be embarrassing (and Menzobarranzan to be embarrassing in a different way). A lack of drow presence doesn't surprise me at all.

I can buy them being less popular nowadays. I don't think I buy them being invisible on that chart.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Also keep in mind that not all racial options are available by default on D&D Beyond. For whatever reason Deep Gnomes and Rock Gnomes are presented as racial options, but not Forest Gnomes.

 

[Yaarel]

You believe that there are more people playing rock gnomes than drow?

I love gnomes, but even I don't believe that.

I am surprised. Yes.

I believe it. Yes.

 

[Yaarel]

Drow in my experience are a thing almost exclusively used by older players. Tieflings cover almost all the thematics that don't directly involve running away from Menzobarranzan or other deep D&D lore - and a lot of people find the "Dark Elves" to be embarrassing (and Menzobarranzan to be embarrassing in a different way). A lack of drow presence doesn't surprise me at all.

I see you use the phrase "embarrass" at least twice.

In what way, exactly, do you find the Drow embarrassing?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also keep in mind that not all racial options are available by default on D&D Beyond. For whatever reason Deep Gnomes and Rock Gnomes are presented as racial options, but not Forest Gnomes.

Rock Gnomes are in the free Basic D&D rules, while Forest Gnomes are not. No idea which book unlocks Deep Gnomes.

D&D Beyond is weird: I've never purchased Acquisitions, Inc., but it's decided that I have, so I spent part of last night reading through the entire book.

 

[Yaarel]

I suspect that part of the popular appeal of Tiefling, is that via anime like Inuyasha, the Japanese "demon" is nothing like a European "demon".

 

[Hexmage-EN]

There's also the question of how many players make characters on D&D Beyond when they could just borrow somebody else's books to make a character without having to buy a bunch of add-on packs.

I personally have made a lot of characters without ever once using D&D Beyond to do it or having purchased anything on the service.

 

[Oofta]

Just because DndBeyond numbers from 4 years ago are supposed to be the best numbers that we have, it doesn't mean they're very good.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I see you use the phrase "embarrass" at least twice.

In what way, exactly, do you find the Drow embarrassing?

Where to begin? The two big ones are:

1. The evil subrace of elves just happens to have black skin. This is made more cringeworthy by the fact that the normal consequences for living underground would be going extremely pale.
2. Menzobarranzan reads like it was written by a mix of a man only typing with their left hand and a man going through a messy divorce