D&D 5E What Races (classes) do you allow or disallow in your campaign?

[cbwjm]

Depends on the setting. If I was running a classic dark sun game, I'd limit the races to humans, elves, dwarves, half-elves, and halflings which means no dragonborn, tieflings, half-orcs, gnomes or other races I've missed. I probably would allow genasi since the elements are a fairly major theme in Dark Sun. I'd also want to add in muls and half-giants but those could be added in later, not sure if I would bother making them available at the start.

For Dragonlance, no half-orcs since there are no orcs in the setting, no drow, no tieflings, dragonborn could fit as the draconians but they would need to change their breath weapons out for something else. Kapaks could have a poisonous bite, bozaks and auraks could gain some spellcasting, sivaks an ability to alter self, and baaz would have to gain something, but I don't know what.

For the last setting I created, it was pretty much driven by player choice so pretty much any race was available. However, once players had chosen their race I ended up limiting things a bit. The Dragonborn were at war with the main kingdom setting so no dragonborn could be chosen and we kept the elemental evil races out due to the fact we had crammed in so many races already, although I guess they could have been a wanderer far from home.

I also have an idea for a setting where everyone belongs to a tribe and must start out as human before setting out and exploring the world beyond their tribal lands. This also restricts classes and probably backgrounds. There would be no wizards, clerics, monks, or paladins. Fighters and Rogues would not be able to be eldritch knights or arcane tricksters. I'd probably allow most everything else though.

 

[MechaPilot]

The breath weapon of the dragonborn is very weak. I haven't seen it be overpowered in any way, as my two dragonborn players currently never use it in combat. They've only used it in roleplaying or exploration challenges. The Black Dragonborn's acid breath has been used twice, both times in non-combat events, and the Gold's fire breath only once, in a non-combat challenge.

Not liking the concept of the race is cool - I can easily see that - but mechanically, Dragonborn are pretty weak and Tieflings are decent to good, but not the top of the list.

In combat I usually only see the Dragonborn's breath weapon used against the weakest of foes, or those with vulnerabilities to the energy type.

At low levels, a cone of fire makes a great "hail mary" attack against a group of kobolds, but if you botch it on the damage roll you might get truly screwed by several attackers with the benefit of pack-tactics.

 

[Ninja-radish]

In response to the original post, how exactly are Dragonborn a munchkin's wet dream?? They are universally thought to be mechanically the worst race in the game by a wide margin.

 

[Ninja-radish]

In my campaign I allow every race except for the Yuan-Ti Pureblood, but that's because the party is battling against the Yuan-Ti in my current storyline. Otherwise I'd allow them.

The only class/subclass I ban is the Lore Master Wizard, because it's hideously broken. Otherwise, I allow everything else, including UA stuff.

 

[Satyrn]

I'm probably gonna ban gnomes in my next game. They're sillier than kender, and horribly unbalanced.

I'm playing a gnome right now and I'm quite obnoxious, always talking in a high voice and making endless garden jokes and endlessly implementing my plan for profit - and that's what I mean about balance: There's more South Park references at the table than there are Monty Python references! That's just Wrong.

 

[ccs]

Overall;
Classes: None at the moment in 5e. That'll change the day psionics enter the picture. I don't like psionics, so they just don't exist in my games.

Races: Drow.
I like the Drow just fine - as the evil spider-demon worshiping NPC villains they were meant to be. I really dislike them as PCs. Drizz't? That's a tall tale told by bards.
So I warn new players to my games up front that if they make a Drow they WILL be treated as the monster the world thinks they are. Doesn't matter what their alignment, class, backstory, etc is. They will be hunted down & killed. Nobody will listen when they feebly object "But I'm a GOOD Dro....." Because lying about & hiding their alignment is exactly what these evil fey would do.
You can make a Drow. And this is what will happen.

Other "monster" races - I'm not a fan of using the MM as an auxiliary PHB. So kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, etc etc etc? There's degrees, but most will meet similar fates as Drow PCs. Monsters are things you go kill & loot, not raise a pint with in the tavern.
And things like vampires, Mindflayers, & such? Not in my game.

Campaign specific:
Depends. I might add or or delete options as fits. But no Drow & no psionics are a constant.

Edit: There, fixed that typo.

 

[MechaPilot]

And things like vampires, Mindlayers, & such? Not in my game.

Oh come on. Who doesn't enjoy a good mindf- . . . I mean, mind-laying now and again?

 

[Ath'kethin]

In my campaigns I allow humans (variant) only as races. I can be talked into allowing an Atlantean.

No spellcasters except warlocks. I use a variant of the ranger pulled from the new Talislanta game - it loses spellcasting in favor of better saves, extra attacks, and expertise in one skill.

I enjoy this thread when it comes up each month.

Especially then people try to argue that dragonborn have anything in common with draconians other than scales and the term 'dragon' in their name. It feels like the authors of old Dragonlance books - you know, the ones where the writers clearly knew nothing about the setting other than that it was AD&D and had a list of race names - are on the forum.

 

[ccs]

Howdy-
Warlock- OMG shades of WoW lol! I nixed this class right off the bat, pacts just do not jive with my campaigns personally and seems better suited as a class for villainous NPC's.

Hey, can my LG 1/2ling make a (fey, chain) pact with a pseudo-dragon?
If it'll teach me magic & provide me a p-dragon shaped familiar I'll bring/send it treasure!
And no, I'm not going to eldritch blast anything.

 

[pukunui]

A lot of it depends on the campaign - eg. I recently ran a homebrew campaign in which there was no divine magic, so no clerics or paladins were allowed - but the only races that are always off-limits are the aarakocra and the winged tiefling variant. Characters that can fly from 1st level rub me the wrong way.

I had wanted to allow monstrous PCs (lizardfolk, hobgoblins, kobolds, etc), but I'm not all that happy with the stats released in Volo's. The hobgoblin's probably the only one I'd allow out of the actual monsters. I'm OK with the goliath and triton, as well. I might allow a kenku, but it would depend entirely on who's asking. I could accept a tabaxi with a bit of modification. Oh, and the aasimar's all right as well (no fallen aasimar to start with, though).