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

In contrast to not liking 4E Tieflings at all, I very much preferred 4E Devas over Aasimar.


I also liked Dragonborn a lot. I thought the race was cool for a lot of different reasons, but the most underlying reason might be that I have a fondness for lizardfolk. The 'lizard man' is a pretty classic idea for me; especially considering some of the video games and non-D&D fantasy stories and sources I grew up with. I'd vastly prefer a more interesting form of sexual dimorphism for Dragonborn though. To me, fins, horns, head frills, and various other things would be more interesting than 'dragon boobs.'
 

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I thought the race was cool for a lot of different reasons, but the most underlying reason might be that I have a fondness for lizardfolk. The 'lizard man' is a pretty classic idea for me; especially considering some of the video games and non-D&D fantasy stories and sources I grew up with.

Bring on the Sleestak!

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I like the Dragonborn if they have a serpentine tail. A dragon without wings still feels like a dragon. But for me, the tail is vital to make it feel like a dragon, a ‘serpent’. Maybe the Dragonborn can have a subrace with a prehensile tail. For me, the tail is a must.

It occurs to me, if Dragonborn are a Dragon-Human hybrid, then the boobs can make sense as from the Human parentage. I think of the hybrid occuring while the Dragon polymorphs into a Human shape. Such an origin allows more variation in bodyparts: with or without wings, tail, having a Human head with vaguely draconic features or a Dragon head with vaguely humanish features, and so on. The hybrid can blend in various ways.
 

If I may briefly seem insane and argue against myself...

I suppose, in some way, I'm ok with dragon boob as a way to help differentiate the Dragonborn look from Kobolds, Lizardfolk, Troglodytes, an the multitude of other lizard-guy races that D&D has. It's certainly not a deal breaker for me; in general, I like Dragonborn. I'd simply like to see a bit more variety when it comes to art styles and how male/female is represented when it comes to D&D races and creatures. In most cases, the usual differences we see in our own world when it comes to sexual dimorphism works just fine, but there are some cases in which I think something more creative or unique would be nice.


Eh... I dunno; I've lost the point I was trying to make. All I can say is that I like the customization and different options available when playing lizardfolk in the Elder Scrolls games (as well as other pen and paper rpgs.) Within just D&D, I always found this picture to be one of my favorite pieces of artwork: http://i.neoseeker.com/mgv/467547-emperor_ren/547/2/blackscale_lizardfolk_display.jpg

Maybe, for someone like me; with my interests, a lizardfolk race which isn't weak like a Kobold nor smelly like a Troglodyte is what's needed. Does that exist in the context of baseline 'core' D&D? I feel as though Dragonborn covers that ground, but, as I type this, it also seems that I'm at odds with myself. It's not something I'd necessarily expect to see in a core book, but the option would be nice.
 

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.

And here I thought a "diversity" was the term for a group of elves. You know ... pack of wolves, murder of crows, shire of halflings, delve of dwarves, giggle of gnomes, diversity of elves.
 


Here's what I want to see in the table of contents (but with likely 0% chance of actually seeing it):


  1. How to Play blah blah blah
  2. How to Make a Character blah blah blah
  3. RACES
    1. Classic Races
      1. Human
      2. Elf
      3. Dwarf
      4. Gnome
      5. Halfling
      6. Half-Elf
      7. Half-Orc
    2. Forgotten Realms
      1. Drow
      2. Elf Variants
    3. Dragonlance
      1. Kender
      2. Draconians
    4. Eberron
      1. Warforged
    5. Dark Sun
      1. Cannibal Halfling
    6. Planescape
      1. Aasimar
      2. Tiefling
    7. Nentir Vale
      1. Dragonborn
      2. Tiefling
    8. How to Make Your Own
 

As long as they keep the legacy core (dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, half-elf, half-orc, human) intact, I don't mind adding a couple of relative newbs like dragonborn and tieflings. I'd probably rather see a "Plane-touched" races with a brief bit on tieflings, aasimar, and genasi than just tieflings, though. And for Asmodeus's sake, please include a tiefling with some indicative physical characteristic other than horns! I'm getting really tired of tieflings with horns.
 

I think there should be three types of elves, an Eldar-type, an Avari-type, and a half-elf. Now I'm not sure if I care what they are called. High Elf, Grey Elf, Eladrin, whatever for the Eldar-type. Woof Elf, Wild Elf, Sun Elf, whatever for the Avari-type. I'm thinking there isn't much discussion over what to call the half-elf.
 


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