@Bedrockgames
The 5e (2014) Players Handbook has a similar Random Height and Weight table on page 121. The Handbook says "you can decide" what the height and weight of your character are. But "if you want", you can roll them randomly.
The player decides. The table is optional.
The more recent book, Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse, continues the Players Handbook approach. It says on page 6 for the playable races:
"Player characters, regardless of race, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our [reallife] world. If you'd like to determine your character's height and weight randomly, consult the Random Height and Weight table in the Players Handbook and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character."
For example, the player can decide what the measurements of an Eladrin should be, and if preferring a random result, can do so accordingly.
The player decides what is appropriate for the character concept.
I am fully on board with this approach. For a number of reasons.
The main reason for this game-rules approach is to avoid reallife body shaming, and to embrace the diversity of human physiques. By extension, the Elf is not necessarily a small anorexic supermodel "elf babe".
Heh, well yeah, the Elf is definitely a supermodel, but might be a plus-size supermodel, maybe tall, maybe muscular, or so on. Whatever makes sense for the players concept.
In Norse and Scottish cultures, the Elf is a personification of beauty. It is part of the archetype that makes an Elf an Elf. And. There are many ways to be beautiful. Any visualization of beauty is appropriate for this archetype. I appreciate how 5e gives the player the final say with regard to what the player is comfortable with.
On a separate note relating to Height and Weight, the Human can be Small or Medium, but should also mention the possibility of Large.
A (very) rough rule of thumb for humanlike bipeds is:
Small ≈ 2 to 4 feet
Medium ≈ 4 to 8 feet
Large ≈ 8 to 16 feet
Huge ≈ 16 to 32 feet
The Size category doubles each time. However, these approximations dont account for being thinner or broader. So the boundary between each category is vague and overlapping. Moreover, in the gaming rules, Size actually means how much space a creature "occupies" − not the body itself. It includes the bodyspace around someone. There is room to fit any bodytype diversity.
In the OneD&D playtest, each Species continues to refer to a specific range of heights. For example, the Human Species is Size "Medium (about 4-7 feet tall) or Small (about 2 to 4 feet tall)".
The thing is, there are reallife humans who are over 9 feet, almost 10 feet tall. Tall people are humans too! I feel strongly, the Human Species also needs to mention the possibility of "Large (about 8-9 feet tall)". So the full range of Human heights is about 2-9, whence averaging roughly about 5½, but allowing for Small and Large outliers.
The fact reallife humans can be Small, Medium, and Large, gives examples for a vast diversity of bodytypes, heights and weights, to visualize what the D&D Nonhuman characters can look like as well.
What matters most is, the player decides whatever measurements feel comfortable and sensible to the player.
