D&D General Pick your PHB (Ancestries)

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I didn't struggle. 5.5 cut nothing (just upsets ppl) bring back half elf. Gith or Yuan Ti are the most D&D races left.

Warforged and Gobbos good candidates as well but Warforged might be to niche/controversial.

I think the niches of "artificial being" or "mechanical lifeform" or "android" and also "outside observer on humanoid foibles" or "trying to learn to be human" or "made for a war that is long over" is not that small, or controversial. The Warforged can cover quite a lot of interesting aspects here.

 

[Zardnaar]

i really feel people need to get past the one Very Specific Origin warforged have in ebberon because the artificial being archetype is otherwise very popular.

In ENworld probably not that popular overall.

Magitechs a bit to specific for a phb option imho.

 

[cwallach]

The core :
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Halfling
Goliath

Other ancestries in setting specific books.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I think the niches of "artificial being" or "mechanical lifeform" or "android" and also "outside observer on humanoid foibles" or "trying to learn to be human" or "made for a war that is long over" is not that small, or controversial. The Warforged can cover quite a lot of interesting aspects here.

I knew i forgot someone....

 

[DragonLancer]

I'm fairly generic.

1. Human.
2. Elf - Includes Wood, High, Sea and half elves.
3. Dwarf - Includes Mountain and Hill.
4. Gnome - Includes Forest and Rock.
5. Halfling.
6. Aasimar.
7. Tiefling.
8. Half Orc.
9. Goliath - All subgroups.
10. Tabaxi.
11. Dragonborn - Metallic, Chromatic and Gemstone.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Okay for an actual edition of dnd, i end up with some different answers. Mostly, including humans and normal elfs and lame Tolkien style dwarfs.

Lets see...

Human
- Not generic, they would have specific abilities like ignoring exhaustion, or minor things like not taking exhaustion from running or from travelling at faster pace, or something.

Gnomes
- 4e style but even more "weird creepy little guy" coded. Make them a little scary.

Dwarfs

• One Tolkien style lineage
• One based on troll-like mythical dwarves
• One based on the wise dwarves in some heroic tales where the dwarf king or whatever isnt gross and afraid of the sun

Elfs

• Wood Elves would be a little more fey than 5e ones, but not in a bright magic way like eladrin.
• Eladrin replace high elves again

Shadar-Kai

• not elfs
• Raven Queen is the primary death deity like in 4e

Halflings
4e style travelers with luck and fearlessness and stealth

Firbolgs

• lineages include goliaths who are not half giants but a separate species,
• firbolgs formated more like goliaths, can cast enlarge/reduce 1/day

Tieflings

Aasimar

Genasi
- 4e lore
-

Pixie

• can fly but only while tiny
• can be tiny or small, switch as a bonus action

Orcs
- Primal spirits blessed people, though many live in caravans or cities

Goblinoids

• more fey
• Weirder

I might totally break goblinoids open and remake them. Hobs become the little guys and have fey magic, goblins are medium and have enchantment magic, and bugbears are basically the same but since i wiuld increase what species can do overall theyd get even more stealth and "get into places you dont belong" ability. Maybe make it so they can squeeze through any space larger than their head, like a cat.

The setting would be Nentir Vale but Feywild and Shadowfell become Faerie, and the fey have a bigger presence. Id like to be able to add a primal type critter similar to genasi and teiflings and aasimar, but it wiuld require combining more species together to make room...

Okay, tiefling and aasimar can be one species with more divergent lineages, and we can add in

Forgeborn

• At least 3 lineages
• Warforged based
• Autognome based (with some integrated tools feature or other)
• UA Warforge Scout based (small, fast, quiet, maybe bigger jumps, darkvision, maybe some kind of "you can see and hear at greater distance than others" feature

ETA: Aasimar lineages can be more planar based, or more directly based on types of angels, or types of celestials.
Maybe add 2 linages that are "angel got sent to material plane to live a mortal life until redeemed" Deva based lineage