New Playable Races?

[Istar]

This image... where did it come from?

Kobolds Weekly, I subscribe cause I have a thing for Kobolds :

Na you just google Kobold images and its about a page over

 

[Istar]

The race I want to see is the Kobold with a slightly nerfed Shifty. Orcs, gobs, and hobgobs would also be nice as they are such perennials. But other than the Large Paragon Path (again, we have obvious races here - no need for the half-ogres), most of the rest seem to either be Bladeling Mark Threes or redundant.

I agree with all you say but mostly the last comment.
Why they introduced all these "Created Races" to facalatate all their fantasy creations aspirations, that have never been a part of the traditional fantasy genre, before doing something with the basic core creatures of the sci fi world, I cant quite see it.

 

[KahnyaGnorc]

And no large PCs in 4e please. At least not without it being the level 16 feature of a racial paragon path.

4th Ed is one of the only places where you can have medium without it being an option in the middle. "No, you can't have a large drink (or some other thing), only small and medium." (Actually, I remember the same type of joke, only in reverse, on Animaniacs)

Waiting until the campaign is essentially half over to really play your character's race (that it should already reach upon physical maturity) is a terrible option. That's like keeping humans child-sized until level 16.

Goliaths are, quite frankly, a poor attempt to give players a big race without actually giving them a big race. Mechanically, all medium races are the same size, so goliaths are a fake big race. You could play a tall human or half-orc and have all the RP benefits/penalties that goliaths have, so they aren't that much of a rp/fluff big race, either.

btw, I am not targeting your statement in particular, but I've been thinking of this whenever someone brings up the "No Large Races" thing. I just came across yours at the point that I decided to post about it.

 

[Ryujin]

I agree with all you say but mostly the last comment.
Why they introduced all these "Created Races" to facalatate all their fantasy creations aspirations, that have never been a part of the traditional fantasy genre, before doing something with the basic core creatures of the sci fi world, I cant quite see it.

Seems like some writers are shooting for that brass ring. You don't get much recognition for detailing Elves, Humans, Teiflings, et al. CREATING the next Dragonborn? Yeah, people might remember you.

 

[Paramombi]

PHB 3 gave us the option of playing rocks and bushes . That was just silly. How can anyone have a problem with kobolds or hobgoblins after these?
And don't get me started on bladelings. Sheesh.

 

[Aegeri]

Also, Bugbears were initially a Large weapon using race when they were first offered as a PC race in Dragon. That didn't too long when they realized the imbalance it created. Would never expect to see a Large PC race in 4e, ever.

You're thinking of Minotaurs, Bugbears have only got an "NPC" write up in the original MM that is now horribly out of date. They are still the best general theoretical race for anything with a big enough weapon due to that. But it was not really intended to be used for PCs, hence why I think most of the newer monster books have refrained from publishing more races in that format.

 

[Droogie128]

Haven't read the entire thread, so I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it or not.

I don't see large ever happening, as it would be completely and totally broken. Defenders and anyone with close burst/blast powers would become off the wall. Think about a large fighter, for instance. Now you have that much extra area threatened with combat superiority alone. Not gonna happen.

 

[the Jester]

I have tabaxi and merellin (essentially dolphinweres) in my campaign.

While I don't feel a real need for more races imc- in fact, I prefer a more limited palette for the players to draw from- if a PH4 comes out with another round of races in it, I'd like to see:

Kobolds
Selkies (or something else aquatic)
Centaurs
Tharks

 

[Paramombi]

Have WOTC really said that they will not consider publishing "monstrous " races for Player Characters ? And this is because they are "usually evil" and their playing would distract from the heroic tone of 4E ?
Hmmm. The brutal militarism of the goblin races is nothing compared with the demoniac cruelty of the drow. But drow have good cheekbones,so they're okay.
That said ,my wife enjoys her drow cavalier . Though she did play her "Bribe GM with sex" card for me to allow her into a part full of elves .

 

[Dausuul]

Haven't read the entire thread, so I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it or not.

I don't see large ever happening, as it would be completely and totally broken. Defenders and anyone with close burst/blast powers would become off the wall. Think about a large fighter, for instance. Now you have that much extra area threatened with combat superiority alone. Not gonna happen.

I have run a game with a Large character--either a fighter or a barbarian, don't remember which. (The player made a minotaur and the only minotaur mini I had was large-sized.) On balance it seemed to be an advantage, but not gamebreaking. The minotaur could hit more squares, didn't have to move as much, and could block more spaces. On the flip side, he could be hit from more squares, was much easier to flank, and was more likely to get in the other PCs' way in tight spaces.