D&D 5E When I think ____, I think ____. : Simplifying 5e Races

[ro]

It has been my observation that it is difficult for new players to get started in 5e. Character creation alone takes a great deal of time, and understanding the consequences of choices at character creation is very difficult for new players. An ideal game would be easy to get into but then have a great deal of depth to investigate. 5e seems to have the latter: lots of spells, a whole bunch of subclasses, feats, multi-classing combinations, etc. 5e really isn't that complicated when you understand the basics, but there are a lot of basics. I would like to work on improving the beginner's end of the game without harming the depth.

Looking toward this goal, character creation includes three major choices: race, class, and background. For this thread, I want to focus on race.

Question

For each 5e race, what would you say are the two most defining characteristics of that race (not the mechanical racial features, necessarily), and which mechanical racial benefits best fit them?

Put another way, fill in the blanks: "When I think ____, I think _____ and _____."

One Answer

For example, when think Minotaur, I think large creature with horns and guardian of mazes.
Two mechanical features that match these would be an unarmed horn attack and an Intelligence ability increase.

Current 5e races
Including UA. (Subraces are given if you want to look at them specifically.)

Aarokocra
Assimar (Protector, Scourge, Fallen)
Bugbear
Dragonborn
Dwarf (Hill, Mountain, Duergar)
Elf (Aquatic, Drow, Eladrin, High, Moon, Sun, Wood)
Half-Elf
Firbolg
Genasi (Air, Earth, Fire, Water)
Gith (Githyanki, Githzerai)
Gnome (Deep, Forest, Rock)
Goblin
Goliath
Halfling (Ghostwise, Lightfoot, Stout)
Hobgoblin
Human
Kenku
Kobold
Lizardfolk
Minotaur
Orc
Half-Orc
Tabaxi
Tiefling (lots in UA)
Tortle
Triton
Yuan-Ti

My ultimate goal is to have each race follow a simple pattern, making them easy to compare and helpful but not terribly impactful on gameplay.

Race Name
--------------
Ability Score Increase
Racial Feature 1
Racial Feature 2

 

[5ekyu]

I understand your goal and find it laudable, but in my experience, when the hurdle you want to jump is just getting past that beginning, it is best to not try and mess with rukes but to pre-fab some of the start-up for a short series of runs.

If you design a pair of each class with different races along very easily recognizable archetypes and let players choose from them for say three runs, they can start to get a solud handle on system.

Write up a How i made "Leon the Archer Thief of the Wood" for each, showing your work with comnents for why... And share that with them after the second run.

I say this having just gone thru it for my te based game with one player who knew 5e and experienced rpg, one who was just experienced rpger no 5e, one who was moderate rpg no 5e and one new to both.

About to move to full campaign now with options to do all new characters or to keep priors... One pkayer told me day two that the background for the starter so interested it would be his... Now he will redpec some of the mechanics of the build, based off the knowledge gained of course.

But i will pop in some of my racial inentity elements in another post.

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

 

[ro]

Here's my list: (I don't know all the races well enough)

Aarokocra: Flight
Assimar:Radiant, Healing
Dragonborn: Breathes Fire, Armored
Dwarf: Hardy, Tough, Determined
Elf:Nimble,Charming,Long-living
Genasi: Elemental, Magical
Gnome:Intelligent, Stealthy, Natural
Goblin: Darkness, Stealthy
Goliath: Big, Powerful
Halfling: Lucky, Nimble
Hobgoblin: Intelligent, Leader
Human: Balanced
Kenku: Mimcry
Lizardfolk: Artisan, Armored
Minotaur: Horns, Intelligent
Orc: Darkness, Relentless
Tabaxi: Nimble, Climber
Tiefling: Fire, Darkness, Devious
Tortle: Steady/Reliable, Protected, Swimmer
Triton: Swimmer, Wise
Yuan-Ti: Poison, Snakes

 

[5ekyu]

ones left blank are no real strong feelings.

Aarokocra
Assimar (Protector, Scourge, Fallen)
Bugbear
Dragonborn
Dwarf (Hill, Mountain, Duergar) tough and short
Elf (Aquatic, Drow, Eladrin, High, Moon, Sun, Wood) Long lived and varies Drow spiders, high-magic, wood-wilderness)
Half-Elf - flexible
Firbolg
Genasi (Air, Earth, Fire, Water)
Gith (Githyanki, Githzerai) psionics, hunters
Gnome (Deep, Forest, Rock) tinkers, clever
Goblin
Goliath
Halfling (Ghostwise, Lightfoot, Stout) nimble, friendly
Hobgoblin
Human flexible
Kenku
Kobold
Lizardfolk
Minotaur
Orc
Half-Orc strong, angry
Tabaxi
Tiefling (lots in UA)
Tortle
Triton
Yuan-Ti magic, snakes

FYI i would also suggest that after an initial sampling you provide a "choose two from" of say the five most popular of each... as unfiltered buzz words will often bring together a lot of ambiguity.

 

[Arilyn]

Learning new things usually takes some time and is often hard. If I decide to take up embroidery or poker, I expect to struggle until I get the hang of things. Decision paralysis can be easily overcome with new players, by the GM asking some leading questions. The races in 5e are already pretty simple. I'm not sure simplifying them even more is worth it, just to relieve new players of a little confusion, which isn't going to last long anyway.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Here's my list: (I don't know all the races well enough)

Aarokocra: Flight
Assimar:Radiant, Healing
Dragonborn: Breathes Fire, Armored
Dwarf: Hardy, Tough, Determined
Elf:Nimble,Charming,Long-living
Genasi: Elemental, Magical
Gnome:Intelligent, Stealthy, Natural
Goblin: Darkness, Stealthy
Goliath: Big, Powerful
Halfling: Lucky, Nimble
Hobgoblin: Intelligent, Leader
Human: Balanced
Kenku: Mimcry
Lizardfolk: Artisan, Armored
Minotaur: Horns, Intelligent
Orc: Darkness, Relentless
Tabaxi: Nimble, Climber
Tiefling: Fire, Darkness, Devious
Tortle: Steady/Reliable, Protected, Swimmer
Triton: Swimmer, Wise
Yuan-Ti: Poison, Snakes

This is a good list for me too.

I would add Versatile to Human.

 

[jaelis]

It has been my observation that it is difficult for new players to get started in 5e.

A player just getting started should play a dwarf, elf, halfling or human. It doesn't seem sensible to me to try to make things simpler but at the same time including every possible option.

For those four central races, I would answer your question as

Dwarf: tough and adapted to underground
Elf: good with both blades and spells
Halfing: lucky and good at hiding
Human: adaptable

 

[Wulffolk]

Basic is better. My list, based upon stereotypes of generic fantasy:

Human - versatile and religious, Clerics
High Elf - beauty and grace, Wizards
Wood Elf - grace and instinct, Rangers
Dwarf - resilience and stubbornness, Fighters
Halfling - lucky and gregarious, Rogues
Half-Elf - one Human trait and one Elf trait, Bards
Half-Orc - brutish and outcasts, Barbarians
Gnomes - pointy red hats and white beards, Garden Statues

Monsters
Orcs - savage and primal, Barbarians
Goblins - cowardly and cruel, Rogues
Hobgoblins - disciplined and strong, Fighters
Kobolds - cunning and wicked, Rogues

 

[Wulffolk]

Also, I don't like ability score increases for races. I would prefer the use of interesting traits that help highlight the flavor of the race.

For example, instead of an Elf getting a boring +2 to Dexterity, I would prefer them to gain advantage on Acrobatics, Stealth and Persuasion checks to reflect their grace and beauty. Instead of a Half-Orc getting q+2 Strength, they would get advantage on Athletic tests and increase the size of their damage dice by one increment. The Dwarf could get something like Durable instead of +2 Constitution. I think options like this are for more interesting and flavorful than plain old stat bonuses.

 

[5ekyu]

Also, I don't like ability score increases for races. I would prefer the use of interesting traits that help highlight the flavor of the race.

For example, instead of an Elf getting a boring +2 to Dexterity, I would prefer them to gain advantage on Acrobatics, Stealth and Persuasion checks to reflect their grace and beauty. Instead of a Half-Orc getting q+2 Strength, they would get advantage on Athletic tests and increase the size of their damage dice by one increment. The Dwarf could get something like Durable instead of +2 Constitution. I think options like this are for more interesting and flavorful than plain old stat bonuses.

Also, it might move the racial selection a bit lower in the minmax efficiency ladder locked in thing as these are not as significant to as many combat effects as attribute bonuses are.