D&D 5E What is the appeal of the weird fantasy races?

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'll admit I'm an old school D&D player/DM. I've never discounted a player idea in osr or 5e, but I still wonder. Turtle people (tortles) flying people (aarokara), dragon people (dragonborn)... and so on.
Why do people chose these races?

I dunno? Maybe because everyone has played the Lord of the Rings races for the last 46 years, and want something new? That may have something to do with it.

To me, elves and dwarves have a human element. But Turtle people, and cat people and demon people and dragon people seem like the new normal. Do people who play D&D now, feel more comfortable with role-playing animalistic type characters than before?

I certainly do, but I think I'm an outlier. I don't think it's about being comfortable playing a certain race, I think its about imagination and enjoyment. For some, it's more fun to play a kleptomaniacal cat person or bird person.

It is kind of off-putting when your player party is a bunch of bird people, elephant people, demon people, cat people... and so on. I mean are humans even relevant in D&D anymore?

It's not off-putting for those who have been playing D&D with them being standard races. I started playing D&D in 5e, and Dragonborn just made sense as a player option. Same with Lizardfolk, Aarakocra, and most of the other races.

Is it a role-playing thing, or just a ability bonus power-up thing?

Roleplay.

is the normal for D&D 5e is ampthormorophic / furry role-playing? I don't think I've ever ran a group that had a single human in it.

Humans are the most popular race in the hobby, and are very common at my tables. I've had more than a handful of human characters, and only one or two of the more exotic characters.

 

[Minigiant]

Hahaha! So many posts on this thread where people mention wanting to experience the world through the eyes of a different race, or some such thing. Yet there are virtually no threads on this forum, or any other, where there are really lengthy discussions as to what it must be like to live hundreds of years. Or what it would be like to be part demon. Or what it would be like to be like to live underground inside a mountain. Or what it would be like to...well...you get the idea.

People like playing characters of different fantasy races so they can get cool bonuses. Humans not very cleverly disguised with funny hats, nothing more.

From my experince, most people aren't good enough at roleplaying to deep dive into the mental aspects of age, origins,and physical abnormalities.

Last time I roleplayed myself PC like an elf, the table called him annoying.
Imean, he doesn't sleep, can see in the dark, and has all the time in the world, of course he'd be annoying.

And my catman demands all attention except when he doesn't... just like a cat. And everything is gonna break,

 

[Dragonsbane]

As many pointed out, the DM controls which races are available. Thank goodness.

I never allow more than one "sideshow" race in my gameworld, since they are not mainstream or populous in the setting. If they are an evil race like a gobbo, they are kill on sight in my gameworld so hard to bring into cities and so on. There is nothing worse than a group of bird/cat/lizard people or the anti-trope (good drow or gobbo or tiefling, bleh) party.

If it is a normal race other races interact with in a particular setting I see no issue, but are people that desperate to play something different, just because it is different? Totally dispels any semblance of believably in a game world, at least for me and my players.

Each of my campaigns is different so races shift around. In my elven game I asked people to play elves or halfling or wemics mainly, the races indigenous on that continent. Drow don't even exist in my gameworld, let along LG tieflings or drow or gobbos. How overplayed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

From my experince, most people aren't good enough at roleplaying to deep dive into the mental aspects of age, origins,and physical abnormalities.

Last time I roleplayed myself PC like an elf, the table called him annoying.

sounds spot on to me.

 

[Ragmon]

Just to add my 2 cents.

Let reverse the question, why would you ever play a human in a fantasy setting, where you could be just about anything?

Instead of the fantasy classes do you pick "commoner" or "expert" as your class (cause thats what you are in real life)? Do you use your own stats for your character?

F no! You choose something fun and exotic that you can never be in real life.

Do you play Bob the level 4 Human Accountant, with average stats, who can do your taxes?
Or would you play Xragis the Kobold Master Transmuter who can turn his allies into T-Rexes and foes into rabbits?

I guess some people just like vanilla and only vanilla.

 

[ccs]

There's Penguins on the Galapagos.

I didn't know that.
I know it's famous for the tortoises, can vaguely point to it on the globe, & assume I can Google anything else about it if ever needed. (prior to Google I'd have defaulted to books)

 

[ccs]

Just to add my 2 cents.

Let reverse the question, why would you ever play a human in a fantasy setting, where you could be just about anything?

Because it'd fit? Because I have an idea for a Human character? Because I just got this really cool mini painted up?

Instead of the fantasy classes do you pick "commoner" or "expert" as your class (cause thats what you are in real life)?

I have in the past, yes. Generally in a game where you "grow into your class" as you play.

Do you use your own stats for your character?

Not intentionally. But my dice sometimes give me pretty similar results....

 

[Oofta]

You mean TK-421, right?

D'oh! Got my numbers wrong, it's been a while since I played the PC or watched the movie.

 

[Mallus]

Heh, I rarely see that kind of background depth out of humans, I dunno why Dragonborn would need to do more than that.


Yikes... yeah no. Don't force player to play fantasy racism if they don't want to and just want to be a cool creature. That's not cool.


And dog people are so old they have their own term : Cynocephaly - Wikipedia

Thanks for reminding me I want to play a dog-headed cleric named Bishop Barkley who is something of a philosopher in some future campaign.

 

[tetrasodium]

I dunno? Maybe because everyone has played the Lord of the Rings races for the last 46 years, and want something new? That may have something to do with it.

I certainly do, but I think I'm an outlier. I don't think it's about being comfortable playing a certain race, I think its about imagination and enjoyment. For some, it's more fun to play a kleptomaniacal cat person or bird person.

It's not off-putting for those who have been playing D&D with them being standard races. I started playing D&D in 5e, and Dragonborn just made sense as a player option. Same with Lizardfolk, Aarakocra, and most of the other races.

Roleplay.

Humans are the most popular race in the hobby, and are very common at my tables. I've had more than a handful of human characters, and only one or two of the more exotic characters.

There's a saying "correlation does not imply causation". I think you are massively understating the draw of +1 to six different stats, a skill, & feat. If variant human were the bogmonster race you would see a huge percentage of bogmonsters & vastly fewer humans