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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8145888" data-attributes="member: 6801845">For me it's because the standard races have an identity that has been widely adapted (and occasionally subverted) that have widely accepted lore and there are specific tropes.  Each race has a very specific niche variation of what people can imagine.These standard views of the races have several influence, not just LOTR and D&D but a multitude of movies, TV series, novels and games.  The image of elves and dwarves are easily recognizable whether or not you've ever read the PHB if you've ever been interested in fantasy in general.I can't say the same about, say, a loxodon.  What's their culture like?  How to people react to them?  What's their relationship with the world at large?  Even if I make a PC that subverts the trope, people would never realize it with a lot of uncommon races because they have no idea what that race should be in the first place.Last, but not least, the character I come up with is more important than their race for me.  So if I'm making a PC I'd rather have a solid foundation, a starting point that I can fully embrace or twist as I see fit.  If there's no cultural foundation, there's nothing to start from.  Besides, if I want to pick up any trait from one of the uncommon races I can easily do that with RP and individual PC flavor.  What does playing a leonin add if I can just play Dick the Lion-Hearted?</blockquote>