D&D 5E The Fall Of The Dwarves: What Races Do People Actually Play?

What races are people actually playing, and how much of it is Tolkien fantasy as against other stuff?

Fortunately D&D Beyond provides a better source of data than we've ever had. The most recent data from less than a week ago in December 2020 alas does not provide percentages.

1. Human
2. Half-Elf
3. Dragonborn
4. Tiefling
5. Half-Orc

In February 2019, using stats found via this very site:

1. Human
2. Variant Human
3. Half Elf
4. Tiefling
5. Dragonborn
6. Wood Elf
7. High Elf
8. Half-Orc
9. Goliath
10. Mountain Dwarf
11. Lightfoot Halfling
12. Hill Dwarf

Which is a bit of a change from what people were creating in launch month for D&D Beyond (mid 2017)

1. Human
2. Elf
3. Half-Elf
4. Dwarf
5. Tiefling
6. Dragonborn
7. Genasi
8. Halfling
9. Half-Orc
10. Gnome
11. Goliath

The percentages are presented in different ways in 2019 and the launch month, with launch month merging the various subraces. So to compare like with like:

• Wood elves and high elves taken together in the 2019 data are more popular than half-elves (or variant humans)
• Meanwhile if we split the wood elves and high elves from 2017 they are probably both behind tieflings and dragonborn
• Dwarves taken together in 2019 are only just behind dragonborn. They've still fallen from ahead of tieflings and dragonborn to behind them
• Halflings combined in 2019 are neck and neck with half-orcs and ahead of goliaths
• Genasi combined in 2019 are a little behind goliaths and slightly ahead of combined gnomes

Interesting that dwarves have fallen so heavily out of favour - and half orcs have climbed so strongly into favour; I guess there's been a lot of talk here. The thematics of tieflings and dragonborn (entirely unsurprisingly IMO) have made them core races and even the dwarfs are disappearing in favour of half-orcs (which IMO is a surprise).

 

[wicked cool]

I feel 90% of Dwarves' issue comes from worldbuilders and DMs.

Many see dwarves as part of the D&D experience but don't feel care too much for them. So they force dwarves in the setting and do nothing with them.

This is why dwarves are more interesting in video games like Warcraft and Dragon Age. Game designers are forced to design interesting dwarves characters, lore, item, and styles because the player can go there.

Whereas a DM can keep the dwarves same old same old, toss a dwarves stereotype in somewhere, and never have to expand on the dwarves as the players won't want to go to boring dwarf lands.

I made my Dwarves based on Native North Americans and Arctic.

Friend: You made the Dwarves into Northern Water Tribe.

No, Friend. Technically my world of Arctic Native American Dwarves with ice powers existed first. That's why they fight giants and not fake Imperial China/Japan.

Friend: What about your Swamp Dwarves?

Coincidence, friend.

Tads Williams dwarves are for you! technically not called dwarves but probably are

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Isn't that the whole problem?

Few want to play a straight up normal dwarf except those who want to be a "goofy grumpy angry Scottish axe-drunk mason"?

That's the thing, if it's not an angry drunkard with an axe and a bad Scottish/Oirish/Welsh accent it's just a short human.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Do you remember the dwarves from Maztica?

Maybe the dwarves would be more popular if they can build a eco-friendly "vertical-forest" arcology ( = super skycraper) with solarpunk magiktec. If they can craft helicopters in Warhammer then also they can build with reinforced concrete.

 

[Blue Orange]

I'm a grognard, so I'm not up on what the kids are doing. But looking at the list:

Human
Half-Elf
Dragonborn
Tiefling
Half-Orc

Apart from 'human', which is easy, because all players are human (as far as we know!), all of these seem to have some sort of 'hybrid' nature (dragonborn are part-dragon and tieflings part-fiend) and may relate to feelings of being between two worlds and/or being an outsider.

FWIW, while some of this may be due to demographics as people have said, who were the most popular characters of the 80s and 90s? Right, Raistlin and Drizzt. So it may be a case of the same impulse expressing itself in different ways.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm a grognard, so I'm not up on what the kids are doing. But looking at the list:

Human
Half-Elf
Dragonborn
Tiefling
Half-Orc

Apart from 'human', which is easy, because all players are human (as far as we know!), all of these seem to have some sort of 'hybrid' nature (dragonborn are part-dragon and tieflings part-fiend) and may relate to feelings of being between two worlds and/or being an outsider.

FWIW, while some of this may be due to demographics as people have said, who were the most popular characters of the 80s and 90s? Right, Raistlin and Drizzt. So it may be a case of the same impulse expressing itself in different ways.

I think it's less about being a hybrid and more about creative freedom and being able to play a different type of being.

Look at Half elf, Half orc, Dragonborn, and Tieflings. They are races big enough in their settings to be know but not major powers bogged down by tradition and history. And they let you be the monster without being the monster.

Basically that you can play them straight and not be a monster nor an overexposed stereotype.

 

[Ancalagon]

Tads Williams dwarves are for you! technically not called dwarves but probably are

uh? Binabik never read dwarven to me...

 

[Ancalagon]

I will be playing a dwarf again in a few weeks, our pathfinder kingmaker is coming back online. I play an alchemist.

based on my records, I played about 10 dwarven PCs over 30 years Of Slugs and Silver : 30 years of gaming characters

 

[Blue Orange]

Writing specifically about dwarves, I always wondered if nobody wants to play a short person now? There's a lot of negative views of short men in particular (look at all the dating profiles saying 'must be six feet'), and dwarves are usually coded as 'male' (with even the females having beards...)

 

[Oofta]

Writing specifically about dwarves, I always wondered if nobody wants to play a short person now? There's a lot of negative views of short men in particular (look at all the dating profiles saying 'must be six feet'), and dwarves are usually coded as 'male' (with even the females having beards...)

I think there is something to that, I know I've seen the prejudice myself. People have flat out refused to play short races. It seems to be worse for dwarves because, as you state, they are explicitly masculine - although the female beard thing is pretty rare to the point of being a joke with a few exceptions.

 

[embee]

That's the thing, if it's not an angry drunkard with an axe and a bad Scottish/Oirish/Welsh accent it's just a short human.

As a 5'3" angry drunkard with a collection of axes and a Brooklyn accent, I say you can go to hell.

Even if you are correct in your assessment of me as a short human.