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what races in your fantasy?

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow
IN Hawaiki (Mythic Polynesia) I have allowed

Humans, Half-Humans (Half-orc stats) and Half-fey (Half-elf stats), Gnomes, Goblins and Half-giants.

Some races are allowed but restricted Lizardmen, Sea People (Humans who breath underwater), Avians (Humans with wings), Dogmen (men with dog heads)

In the setting Elfs are fey and have a few extra powers. Dwarfs and Orcs didn't really fit the setting so no longer exist and Orcs are considered humans tainted by the god of Lizards, Squid and Abberations. The main antagonistic races are now Sahuagin and Ogres

I've also played in a humanocentric setting and a setting where we were all monsters
 

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Psion

Adventurer
woodelf said:
My conclusion is that the D&D versions of dwarf, and particularly elf and half-elf, are insufficiently exotic.

I think in 3e, the way WotC handles non-human races tend to accentuate that. It seems like for any NPC you would make a human, an elf is just as good, if the author feels a wild hair.

What about others? Do lots of players seem to choose elves and dwarves (and other core races)? Does this change when more-exotic alternatives are available?

In my campaign, the setting itself is very open to racial variations. To support this, I use the Green Ronin Advanced GM's Guide variant giving players a "bonus ECL" to make more exotic races more appealing (there are compensations for players who take races with no LA). I also use Green Ronin's elemental elves, and ran a story arc with them that highlighted their larger differences. They're not quite JRRT's elves, but that's not a bad thing...
 

Gez

First Post
Main races (found about everywhere) are human, dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, goblinkin, gnoll, orc, kobold, and the various giants.


Most have several subraces.

But really, thanks to alternate dimensions (ethereal realms), everything (except Drow and Dragonlance stuff) exists. It's just they're unlikely to be met.
 

Dragonbait

Explorer
Quick list: Human, elf, dwarf, lupin (or some other dogmen), some kind of feline race. All others vary.

Current setting (still in its infancy): Human, elf (2 subraces), dwarf, hobbit, halfling (Eberron-style), giant (Arcana Evolved), sibeccai (don't remember the spelling), litorian, afarin (arrogant winged humans), hadozee, half-orc, mojh, dracha, and I'm looking for some psionic-based non-animal race.
 

Voadam

Legend
My pbp Wildwood game is open to a lot of my non core sources for PC options including a lot of race, monster, and campaign setting books for race options and is not set in a human area.

Common races to the area are dover (+1 LA dog men from Complete Minions) goblins, elves, gnolls, lycanthropes. So far they have interacted with dover and goblins but heard about the others in reference.

It is also a setting where creatures from other worlds and settings can be drawn in, somewhat like Ravenloft, so different races with different backgrounds works fine.

I also provided options for players to play LA races at a lower point buy without the LA.

Of the four players two are playing humans, one is playing a lizardman, and one is playing an Illonis (+1 LA blind planar travelling race from Mythic Races).
 

Voadam

Legend
To contrast that, here are the races of my current characters in various active pbp games

Aeligim - elf
Gregor - AU giant
Hael - duergar
Konrad - dwarf
Kordunn - FR gold dwarf
Merrick - aasimar
Voadam - human

Past ones have been human, elf, WoW jungle troll, aranea, gargoyle, hobgoblin, orc, dwarf, scarred lands burok torn dwarf, UA fire dwarf, Mythic Races luminous, celestial littorian werelion, halfling, aasimar.

No gnome, half-orc, or half-elf.
 
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Raven Crowking

First Post
In my current campaign, I offer the following racial choices:

Human

Alderhald: Tall, pale people from cold northern lands. They herd and ride mammoths.

Ska: Subset of the Alderhald; they raid in warships, burning and pillaging as they go.​

Bearfolk: Gruff, Stone Age people who worship Krodarr, the Great Mother Bear.

Chalakos: A race of hardened warriors and nomadic horsemen.

Fenlanders: People who fled into the vast Hooth Marshes to avoid the Treaty of Brentkirk, which limited the deities it was legal to worship in the Lakelands.

Indrus: The descendentants of those who survived the sinking of Avlantar, technologically advanced and known to be capable of powerful psionics.

Lakashi: Tribesmen who worship their ancestors and the Beast Lords. Each Lakashi tribe is named after -- and favours -- a particular type of beast.

Lakelanders: Admixed people who worship the Seven Good Gods.

Panthassi: Short, dark-skinned people whose religious philosophies are based upon determining the proper way to care for the deceased.

Ur-Alamen: A desert-dwelling people, favoured of the God Alamen, believed to be their creator and ancestor.

Varanamen: A people with a strong caste system, and the only people in the Middle World who know the secret of making silk.​

Beastfolk

Awakened Animals (various types)

Humanoid Animals (various types, of which 28 general cases are given).​

Demi-Human (Templates added to human type)

Beast-Touched (carrying traits of a specific animal type)

Caliban (tainted by evil deeds or magic in the womb)

Changeling (human baby replaced by a faerie)

Half-Elf (self-explanatory)

Half-Goblin (Racial Levels allow you specify from Bugbear, Goblin, and Orc ability trees)

Spirit Folk (Descended from a river spirit, dryad, nymph, satyr, forest spirit, or other non-elf fey)​

Fey (All of whom must be a member of a specific Court [Dreams, Nightmares, or Twilight] and Host [8 possible], based off of Goodman Games' Complete Guide to the Fey)

Elf

Aelfar: Elves of the Dawn, often Seelie Fey

Glamdras: Elves of the Twilight, joyous and dancing

Gruadras: Elves of the Wild, who dwell in the remote wilderness

Selenar: Elves of the Moon, who seduce men and pay a Tiend to Hell

Svarthar: Elves of the Gloaming, who live deep below the ground, sometimes aiding miners but more often fanatical defenders of their dark realms​

Faerie Animal: Intelligent, shape-changing animals, of which 24 types are listed, ranging from Polar Bear through Goat to Sparrow)

Gnomes, which are very different from the PHB gnomes.​

Halfling

A race unto themselves, the halflings are sinister travellers that know how to gain tobacco from nether forces (demons, evil elder gods, or the Cigarette Lobby -- you pick!).​

Titanborn (The descendents of the Great Titans, all of whom are of the "Giant" type)

Dwarves (With Racial Levels, they can take the Path of Dwarrow, the Path of Duergar, and/or the Path of Dvalin, depending upon whether they seek secrets, wealth, or honour respectively)

Giants​
 

painandgreed

First Post
I usualy see Human, elf and dwarf in that order. Occationally a half-orc, half-elf, or drow and rarely a halfling. Never a gnome although they are allowed. This seems true no matter whose game I've been in.

IMC, other player races would include gnoll, goblin, and hobgoblin.
 
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Oryan77

Adventurer
I allow about 30 additional races in my Planescape game. And even though I feel like I might be overwhelming players with race selection, I still get players asking if they can play a different race! I've had players ask to play an Orc, 2 players wanted to be Minotaurs, and I've even had a player want a custom race to represent the cow people in WoW. I've also learned to declare right away that I don't allow the use of the Savage Species book. I don't get it; if I've made a list of races, obviously anything not on that list isn't allowed :\

Here's my list:

Any core race
Gold Dwarf
Gray Dwarf
Shield Dwarf
Drow
Moon Elf
Sun Elf
Wild Elf
Wood Elf
Deep Gnome
Rock Gnome
Ghostwise Halfling
Lightfoot Halfling
Strongheart Halfling
Air Genasi
Earth Genasi
Fire Genasi
Water Genasi
Tiefling
Githzerai
Aasimar
Bariaur
Buomman
Air Mephling
Earth Mephling
Fire Mephling
Water Mephling
Neraphim
Shadowswyft
Spiker
Tiefling
Wildren
Mul
Half-Giant
Thri-Kreen
Kender
Centaur
 

Aaron L

Hero
In my home setting, I use humans, elves, and dwarves. Those are the only playable races. I hate havign thousands of humanoid species on one world.

For Dragonstar, I allow anything and everything. But every player I ever had picked human, elf, or dwarf.


Too many times "exotic" races would be better described as "silly", sometimes even "stupid and nonsensical"
 

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