JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Cambion
Not very different than the old teiflling but different enough.
Not very different than the old teiflling but different enough.
What "classic" races are left? -- Forked Thread: PH3 Playtest Race: Wilden
- Thread starter Klaus
- Start date
Here are some races I considered good enough to promote to PC status.
The Kenku - We don't really have a race that is both sneaky and magical, and as sneaky and mysterious wizard/thieves, these guys fill the bill. With a +2 Dex, and +2 Int these guys could be even greater tricksters than the gnomes, without all the fey baggage.
The Dromites - You don't need psionics to find these guys interesting. They are distinctly insectoid enough that they serve very well as a small race on their own. I prefer them to the Thri-keen because the Thri-keen are too alien to encompass all play styles, or fully interact with humans in a civilized world.
The Mongrelmen - I thought this would be a good way to have a race whose speciality is stealing the racial features and feats of others. A hybrid race if you will.
The Satyr - Somewhat overshadowed by the minotaur, but I currently use them as elven replacements in my campaign. They combine the loud, drunken and violent features of the half-orc with the fey features of elves or gnomes, making excellent melee rangers.
The Kenku - We don't really have a race that is both sneaky and magical, and as sneaky and mysterious wizard/thieves, these guys fill the bill. With a +2 Dex, and +2 Int these guys could be even greater tricksters than the gnomes, without all the fey baggage.
The Dromites - You don't need psionics to find these guys interesting. They are distinctly insectoid enough that they serve very well as a small race on their own. I prefer them to the Thri-keen because the Thri-keen are too alien to encompass all play styles, or fully interact with humans in a civilized world.
The Mongrelmen - I thought this would be a good way to have a race whose speciality is stealing the racial features and feats of others. A hybrid race if you will.
The Satyr - Somewhat overshadowed by the minotaur, but I currently use them as elven replacements in my campaign. They combine the loud, drunken and violent features of the half-orc with the fey features of elves or gnomes, making excellent melee rangers.
You came close but didn't quite touch on with your Half-Breeds and personifications:
Nephilim- the "biblical" name for the offspring of angels and mortals, called by various names in various mythologies and legends. In D&D, you could say that the "Planetouched" and certain templated creatures that are the result of mixing mortals and outsiders are Nephilim in this sense, as might a more historical reading of what a half-elf should be- the melding of man and true fey. Possibly ditto the half-dragons as well, depending on how you look at them.
There are some (like the Tiefling), but most of the ones from earlier editions and legend simply aren't there.
Because of their semi-divine (or in D&D terms, semi-outsider) nature, they're a bit different from the usual half-breeds. Not merely monsters, they can personify or defy a certain ethos. They often represent a crucial part of a prophecy, or are important pieces in the games of the gods.
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Herobizkit
Adventurer
Props for mentioning Mongrelmen... but no love for the Grippli?
And Yuan-Ti. I don't recall if they were added, but wouldn't it be interesting to have a Yuan-Ti as a PC?
And yes, I completely agree that 4e is due for a "Humanoids' Handbook". 3e tried with Savage Species, but all it gave us (as is the wont of 3e) was list after list of statistics and abilities and feats...
Heck, why not base an entire campaign around "furries", and have the hairless ape-men as the monsters?
I'd play it. And you would too. Don't even pretend you wouldn't.
And Yuan-Ti. I don't recall if they were added, but wouldn't it be interesting to have a Yuan-Ti as a PC?
And yes, I completely agree that 4e is due for a "Humanoids' Handbook". 3e tried with Savage Species, but all it gave us (as is the wont of 3e) was list after list of statistics and abilities and feats...
Heck, why not base an entire campaign around "furries", and have the hairless ape-men as the monsters?
I'd play it. And you would too. Don't even pretend you wouldn't.
Life After People meets FRPGs? I'd go for that.
Glyfair
Explorer
Maybe we'll see them when WotC starts tapping into the racial splatbooks.
TwinBahamut
First Post
To take this a step further (and a bit more into the realm of 4E lingo)...
"Unarmed" is a weapon group.
There is no reason an animal's claws and teeth can't count as a weapon of the unarmed weapon group. There really is nothing in terms of game mechanics that stops natural weapons from working within the 4E powers system. In fact, the claws of a giant cat probably count as both unarmed and as a light blade...
There are a few things that need to be worked out (providing fair weapon choices, adding magical enhancements, etc), but there are no overwhelming mechanical obstacles. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the PHB3 solves most of these, since it is going to need to provide support for the Monk class, which shares most of the same problems (no one would be happy with a monk that can't effectively fight unarmed past level 3).
Aasimar.
No, Devas do not count. After some massive re-fluffing, perhaps, but as-is? No, they don't fill the role of 'Otherwise normal person descended from a good-aligned outsider/someone whose ancestors made a bargain with the forces of good'.
I really hope for no more bizzare races in 'core' books, since every time I ban something in 3.5 because it doesn't work with my world/I don't want to deal with it, people whine to high heavens even when they weren't planning on playing that race/class anyway. I expect enough crying if I ever run 4e when I ban Dragonborn and re-fluff tieflings to look like something that wouldn't be murdered in the middle of the street by angry villagers, I dearly hope for no more weird stuff I have to get rid of because I don't want to run a campaign full of bizzare furry monsters. Some of it's OK as some remote settlement of NPCs, other stuff, no, that's not going to be comfortably walking around like it's in any way normal.
No, Devas do not count. After some massive re-fluffing, perhaps, but as-is? No, they don't fill the role of 'Otherwise normal person descended from a good-aligned outsider/someone whose ancestors made a bargain with the forces of good'.
I really hope for no more bizzare races in 'core' books, since every time I ban something in 3.5 because it doesn't work with my world/I don't want to deal with it, people whine to high heavens even when they weren't planning on playing that race/class anyway. I expect enough crying if I ever run 4e when I ban Dragonborn and re-fluff tieflings to look like something that wouldn't be murdered in the middle of the street by angry villagers, I dearly hope for no more weird stuff I have to get rid of because I don't want to run a campaign full of bizzare furry monsters. Some of it's OK as some remote settlement of NPCs, other stuff, no, that's not going to be comfortably walking around like it's in any way normal.
DreadPirateMurphy
Explorer
Hmmm...
Touched by an Angel: Nephilim, Chaos Marines, Jedi...all of these are infused with something else. More willful than pure personifications, and more flavorful than half-breeds, they imply a purpose that may be flouted or flaunted. Genasi might count under the 4E Elemental Chaos concept.
I think these need to be very special to avoid just being rubber-forehead guys, but I can see it...
Yeah- the standard half-breeds are still mortal...well...still made out of all the same parts as most native/natural inhabitants of the Prime Material.
Nephilim? There is something "other" about them that sets them apart. The stench of the pit? A whiff of the grave? A calming radiance?
(Admittedly, though, that something "other" is harder to define in a fantasy setting, when even normal critters may be able to see in total darkness or have an innate connection to some supernatural power source...)
Nephilim? There is something "other" about them that sets them apart. The stench of the pit? A whiff of the grave? A calming radiance?
(Admittedly, though, that something "other" is harder to define in a fantasy setting, when even normal critters may be able to see in total darkness or have an innate connection to some supernatural power source...)
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