Opinions on the non-PHB races?

[wingsandsword]

I hold a special loathing in my heart for the Warforged, because they were so horrifically ballanced that they call into question every +0 and +1-2 LA race in the game.

Ditto. Warforged are my special, most hated of new races in 3.x edition. The marketing-level decision to make the Eberron races all LA +0 so they could be played at 1st level meant taking races that by all rights should be LA +1 or +2 and just shaving off the LA number.

For seeing what's broken, follow the munchkins, and for some odd reason most munchkin melee builds I see (for Eberron or anything-goes campaigns) always are Warforged.

That and fantasy robots is just something I don't want to see in D&D in general.

 

[smootrk]

I feel like I am one of the few who actively dislikes nearly all of the newer races...
Raptorians, Illumians, Goliaths, Changelings, Shifters, etc...
with one noteable exception. I am one who really likes the concept of Warforged, but it took a while (I disliked them at first, but they grew on me over time).

IMO, all these races feel like they were just made up on the fly to fill certain niches.

However, strangely I like most of the races in the Forgotten Realms books & supplements with a few exceptions. Most of the races there are races that are familiar monsters, simply adjusted to be viable PC races. Maybe because I am an Old School gamer from long ago, most of these races feel a little more comfortable.

 

[Tonguez]

Goblins rock

 

[Immak Antunel]

Recently I've been itching to play a kobold or full-blood orc character, and I'd allow them without hesitation (actually, with much encouragement). Most of the others I haven't really seen, but goliaths seem a bit powerful... unless I miss my guess, that "large frame" or whatever could tip the balance past their listed LA. Cool flavor/background though.

 

[Xombie Master]

Ok here goes: (for books I own or have read)

Races Series:
I pretty much dislike all of them becuase they seem extraneous, I suppose if I was hand crafting a campaign world I might use one maybe two, but probably not.

Eberron:
Being an Eberron fan I like all four races (especially changelings) if played well. Kalashtar might be a little unnecessary but hey, there still ok, and I'm playing one.

Expanded Psionics:
Except for Droamites I find all of them pretty bland. I've actually used Droamites before and think they'd make an excellent replacement for Gnomes in a Sci Fi/Fantasy world. Or any world where psionics is the only form of magic.
On a side note, even though Half-Giants aren't new I still think they really don't need psionic talent.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I really like the Neanderthals- I think they are very well done, and (I hadn't noticed this until the other day)- they aren't just a Frostburn sort of race. With their environmental adaptation, they are perfectly suited for just about every climate, even extreme ones (they could be used very easily in a Sandstorm type setting, for instance).

 

[William Ronald]

I really like the Neanderthals- I think they are very well done, and (I hadn't noticed this until the other day)- they aren't just a Frostburn sort of race. With their environmental adaptation, they are perfectly suited for just about every climate, even extreme ones (they could be used very easily in a Sandstorm type setting, for instance).

Historically, some Neanderthals lived in the Middle East. A few fossils have been found at Mount Carmel and some other sites.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Races series: Goliaths, Illumians, Raptorrans

I hate all of these-- and there's already far too many humanoids in D&D.

Eberron Campaign Setting: Changelings, Kalashtar, Shifters, Warforged (well I guess the question would be about outside of Eberron)

I really like Changelings and Warforged for non-Eberron settings, and I think the Kalashtar are a perfect example of what a setting-specific race should be.

Eberron doesn't suffer as much from species bloat, it seems-- probably because the whole "subrace" concept is played down or nonexistent.

Expanded Psionics Handbook: Mainly interested about Dromites, Maenads, Elan and Xeph since they're completely new. The Duergar, Half-Giants, Githzerai, Githyanki and Thri-Kreen are old established races.

Dromites and Elan are incredibly cool, but they need more fluff and racial-specific crunch-- PrCs and feats.

Maenads and Xeph... I get no feeling from them whatsoever. I have no idea how to fit them into a campaign world, no idea how to make stories revolve around them, and no idea how to portray them as PCs.

Duergar are a subrace. Half-Giants are just godawful-- weaker than Half-Ogres? Weaker than full-blooded Orcs?

Githzerai, Githyanki, and Thri-Kreen may be classics, but they're classics that have been updated very gracefully. I'd love to see all three of them covered in a Races style book-- either with Dromites and Elan, or in some other combination.

Magic of Incarnum: Skarn, Duskling, Rilkan, Azurins.

I haven't seen them yet, but nothing I've heard has impressed me. I could be surprised later-- or I could simply write them off as more species bloat.

Environment Series: I'm drawing a blank here on what belongs in what, but I guess it would be the ones that aren't an environmentally adapted version of a PHB/MM race, or appeared in previous editions of D&D (ie not the Hadozee).

Glad to see the Hadozee updated-- not because I like them or ever liked them, but because it's a hopeful sign for more "stealth Spelljammer" material. Spelljammer had the worst species bloat of any 2e campaign setting, but it also had some really good ideas, like the Neogi, Giff and Xixchil.

As for the rest of the Environment races, they're probably okay if you're running a campaign solely in that environment type-- though there's already more than enough races for that purpose-- but they're not very useful if you're just using some extreme environments in a normal campaign.

Neanderthal is a good addition, though-- something that hints that Humans are somehow different from the other race. It's also neat having a non-evil primitive race, especially when you can put them into direct conflict with the more civilized Orcs.

Which ones have the best story or role-playing potential, by different books or whatever?

Races of Eberron, hands down. Expanded Psionics Handbook also has a lot of potential. The others... there was a lot of good material in those other books, including the other Races books, but I don't have much use for any of the new races.

On the other hand, the expansions and new options the Races books provide for the old races are excellent.

 

[Aaron L]

I like Elans and Kalashtar. That may just be my psionic bias showing through, however. As for the others, meh. Warforged are ok, I guess.

Then again, I dont even like gnomes or halflings and consider them nothing but filler. My home setting has humans, elves, and dwarves, and Ill be including elans and kalashtar now.

(Not a big fan of hundreds of humanoid races. For me personally, I mean. I hope they keep making them, though, because someone out there will find one and love it to death!)

 

[Corsair]

I heart changelings and shifters, though it saddens me how limited the shifting abilities were, especially the non-combat ones.