Sell me on the Races books

[Dannyalcatraz]

I just bought Races of Destiny at Half Price Books...mainly because it was at Half Price Books.

I'll give WotC some points for the good stuff: there are some race-specific PrCls, some new feats, and spells- all useful.

Pages 5-50 were about Humans, Half-Orcs and Half-Elves...100% roleplay material.

Considering all of the other info out there about the "Halfs" and the fact that most RPG players are human, that means that 23% of the book was UNNECCESSARY!

The way I see it, I'm glad I only payed $15. Are the other Races books this bad?

 

[Greylock]

That's pretty much my main gripe about the books, so you have my sympathy.

I play Elves. A lot. So I bought that, but found that some third party publishers have done far better justice to the topic. The only other Race book I bought was Races of the Dragon. I figured it would cover a lot of new ground, and it does.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I really liked Races of Stone, but then, I really like dwarves and gnomes (although I'm not completely sold on the fluff for either of them in the book, although the dwarves' creation myth was pretty swell, as are the gods). I actually found the PrCs, spells and magic items pretty weak.

Races of the Dragon I got for kobolds, and I like all of the non-new race stuff, which is most of it.

Every time I pick up Races of the Wild and Races of Destiny, I realize I only want about 10 pages, at most, out of each, and resolve to wait until I can get it priced more accordingly.

 

[prosfilaes]

I liked some of the prestige classes in the Races of Stone. All of them annoyed me in that they have new racial variants and new species (goliath, raptorian, etc.) instead of using the pages to update existing material from second edition. The worst concept in the entire set was adding a new "secret" Halfling deity, which took about 25 minutes to be discovered in the campaign we were playing in, and it wasn't even the main point. A major deity is not going to stay hidden in the world at large, so it was a pretty lousy patch to the problem of having Yondalla as the main halfling god.

I liked illumians, and didn't mind goliaths or raptorians.

 

[Nightfall]

*hated Illumians* Anyway that being said, I thought Races of Destiny was the weakest of the races books. Wild was alright, Stone was the best, dragon was decent.

 

[Drowbane]

...Are the other Races books this bad?

I consider Races of Destiny to be the worst of the "Races of" series.

Races of

1) Eberron: This book got me hooked on E, before that I was just another E-Hater. I've noticed alot of mistakes in this book, but its still worth the coverprice.

2) Faerun: the original Races of for 3.x Has alot of great Realms info. I still think the Avariels are overpriced at +3 LA... are wings more powerful than spellresistance? I think not. I love the Planetouched related feats!

3) Dragon: Could have done without the spellscales... but I used adapted them to the Kobold race. (IMC: Spellscale Kobolds are abit closer to thier Dragon heritage and are more likely to manifest as sorcerers.)

4&5 - tie) Stone & Wild (Not too bad... but neither have interested me enough to buy them. I've had plenty of Elf and Dwarf (gnome, etc) info from 2e alone to last me the rest of my life.)

*Edit* I gotta rank Wild above Stone... I hate how Stone invented crappy new Dwarven gods... wtf? Between those for GH and FR, we have more than enough of a Dwarven Pantheon!

6) Destiny: I dislike 1/2 Elves and 1/2 Orcs as standard PC Races... so a book that focuses heavily on these races and creates stuff like the Illumiens... blech.

All six (I didn't miss any... did I?) of the Races of books have spiffy feats, spells, and racial concepts... so I guess in the end I wouldn't mind owning the other half too.

 

[Sejs]

Races of Stone was good, Races of the Wild wasn't bad. Races of Destiny and Races of the Dragon were both kinda ...bleh... in my opinion.

Sorry, man. Not much of a sell to be had. More of a warning than anything.

 

[Jdvn1]

The way I see it, I'm glad I only payed $15. Are the other Races books this bad?

Most people don't need the Races books. There's a lot of fluff in them and you don't need to be told how to play your races. The most useful stuff in there is the PrCs, and you shouldn't buy a $30 book for 4 or 5 PrCs.

But for new players, the books are packed with great ideas. It'll teach them how to play a variety of races, get different ideas on how to build a race out of stereotype, and just overall get a lot of use.

But, new players are also less likely to buy a bunch of books. I have these books so that new players can use them.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

I have to agree with what has been said so far. Races of Destiny was the worst of the Races books.

I liked both Stone and Wild myself (and Eberron, but then I like Eberron and I don't know if the OP does or not). I think part of the reason that Destiny was weak is that it gives fluff space to humans that basically says "humans are whatever they want to be". Races of Stone tells you what it is like to be a Dwarf or Gnome. Races of the Wild helps you get inside the head of an Elf or Halfling. Even if you playing in a homebrew where the Drawf or Elf culture is completely different these books at least give you a starting point. Races of Destiny basically says "you know what it's like to be a human already".

I would give the Races series one more chance. At least flip through another one to see if it looks like it will interest you more than Destiny. Which one to look at is really up to you. If you like Dwarves and Gnomes then pick up Races of Stone for the second chance. If you like Eberron then Races of Eberron is a great book. Races of Faerun is a little different since it's a much older book and it doesn't follow the same format as the current series. I don't have Races of the Dragon so I can't comment on that one; but so far it seems to have gotten a decent reception (I'm not on the "Kobolds Rule!!!" bandwagon myself which is why I don't have it).

 

[Huw]

My opinion:

Races of Stone:
Good: Goliaths, Gnome subraces, Dwarf holidays
Bad: Generic fluff

Races of the Wild:
Good: Killoren
Bad: Elves, Halflings and Raptorans (given that they're half the book, Races of the Wild is IMHO the worst I have)

Races of Destiny:
Good: Illumians, Prestige classes
Bad: Abyssmal fluff

All have a decent selections of spells, feats and other crunch. Races of Stone is the best. Your opinion of Races of Destiny will depend on how much you like Illumians.

I Don't have Races of Eberron or Races of the Dragon