D&D 5E What races do you expect to see in the core books?

[Yaarel]

Why is it we always need a diversity of Elves, but only one generic Human race?

The diversity of Elves is as old as D&D, starting with the 1e Monster Manual. The need for diversity persists because players disagree about what an ‘elf’ is. Different kinds of Elf explore conflictive archetypes.



There is only one (highly adaptable) Human race, because of a reallife need to disconfirm reallife racism.

The word ‘race’ means ‘species’. A reallife example of different Human species would be Homo sapiens (us Humans) versus Homo floriensis (surprisingly similar to Halflings).

So in D&D, you could create a setting where the Halfling and the Human are closely related races, similar to Goblin and Hobgoblin.

 

[tuxgeo]

Whereas the Tolkien races make me cranky*, so what are you gonna do?
< snip >

[SIZE=-2]*Seriously, they do. Come on, guys, it's not 1974 any more. Fantasy fiction moved past slavish imitation of J.R.R. Tolkien a long time ago. Why do we have to have these tired old retreads pushed on us in every PHB and jammed into every published setting? I know it's futile to complain, the elf/dwarf/halfling trio is the sacredest of cows and will never be touched, but a man can dream.[/SIZE]

How about "It's not 1954 any more?"

The Lord of the Rings initially came out in the 1950s, not the 1970s.
(Let's not leave out two entire decades of the history of those books.)

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I only want to see humans, halflings, elves, dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, and (grudgingly) gnomes in the base PHB. Save the others and inevitable sub-races and variants for later products.

That wish won't come true, I'm certain.

 

[Dausuul]

How about "It's not 1954 any more?"

The Lord of the Rings initially came out in the 1950s, not the 1970s.
(Let's not leave out two entire decades of the history of those books.)

I was referring to when D&D came out. At the time, LotR was still the definitive fantasy novel and imitators were everywhere. That ceased to be the case quite some time ago. Tolkien remains a titan of the genre, but he's no longer the standard against which all others must be judged. Dobby has just as much claim as Legolas to the name of "elf," and when it comes to "dwarf," Gimli has been rather put in the shade by Tyrion Lannister.

As I said, I have no hope that the Tolkien Trio will ever get demoted from the "top rank" of D&D races, but I hope there will be enough non-standard races in the PHB to provide interesting alternatives for people who are sick of pointy ears and bad Scottish accents.

 

[Ichneumon]

I only want to see humans, halflings, elves, dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, and (grudgingly) gnomes in the base PHB. Save the others and inevitable sub-races and variants for later products.

That wish won't come true, I'm certain.

It'll probably be the lineup for the Greyhawk setting, if that supplement is produced.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

That is shocking!

They're low on the list of races I want to play myself, but as a DM I try to take other peoples opinions and desires into account.

Well that's how I run my games and it is "okay" to run them that way.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

Dont forget Elric of Melnibone which came out in the 60's. That had a big impact on fantasy along with Conan, and the Grey Mouser.

 

[The Human Target]

Well that's how I run my games and it is "okay" to run them that way.

Sure, people can do whatever they want.

But there are people who hate halflings and don't include them in their games.

Or don't let PCs be elves.

I don't think that means those races should be removed from the PHB, or labelled optional.

 

[tuxgeo]

I was referring to when D&D came out. At the time, LotR was still the definitive fantasy novel and imitators were everywhere. That ceased to be the case quite some time ago. Tolkien remains a titan of the genre, but he's no longer the standard against which all others must be judged. Dobby has just as much claim as Legolas to the name of "elf," . . .

About the date: Ah! I misunderstood your meaning, or I misread, or something like that.

About Legolas: I also liked Galadriel and Glorfindel among Tolkien's elves, but that's beside the point -- agreed, Dobby has just as much claim to be a typical "elf" as any of those.

 

[Remathilis]

Well, their class approach is trying to get everything that's appeared in a PHB1 into the 5e PHB.

So, applying that to races, I'd expect human, elf, dwarf, half-elf, half-orc, gnome, halfling, tiefling, and dragonborn.

Cheers!
Kinak

That is what I fully expect too.