Critical Role Wildemount has new subraces and reprints a ton of others

[Longspeak]

I got my copy yesterday. So far, I am liking what I see... except I don't like and probably won't use several of the races that made it into the book... at least as PC options. More study needed.

But I bought it for the setting info, to possibly use ideas from there to supplement my existing Tal'Dorei game (which takes place about halfway between the two Critical Role 'seasons' in the timeline. And in terms of setting fluff, it's making me reasonably happy.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Why do they need to be in the PHB? They aren't any more or less usable because of which book they're in.

It would save page space in other books?

 

[the Jester]

At least some of these races should be added to the PHB

No thanks.

and this is more proof I'm right.

Hmm.

 

[the Jester]

Goblins should be in the 5.5e or 6e PHB, clearly.

If they're being reprinted that many times, they're really a core player race to too many settings to push off to splatbooks.

OTOH, they're not core to many settings, and would be a waste of space in the PH for anyone not playing a goblins-are-pcs setting.

 

[Reynard]

OTOH, they're not core to many settings, and would be a waste of space in the PH for anyone not playing a goblins-are-pcs setting.

That's true of anything that isn't a Human, Elf or Dwarf. Those are the only races that can be considered "universal" if we are using D&D setting past and present as a metric.

 

[Weiley31]

Playable Goblins can be in ANY setting as long as they exist and the player has a reason.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

What does it says about the "hollow"?

 

[Lem23]

What are the new backgrounds?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

That's true of anything that isn't a Human, Elf or Dwarf. Those are the only races that can be considered "universal" if we are using D&D setting past and present as a metric.

Although, honestly, gnomes and half-elves (and arguably half-orcs) are pretty much in the same category. Sure, they may not have been in OD&D, but since 1e they've been a standard PHB choice.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Playable Goblins can be in ANY setting as long as they exist and the player has a reason.

This is true, however this is the same for something like orcs, yet they don't get the same clamoring to be in the PHB.

I think at the end of the day, what makes it into the PHB is determined by Wizards of the Coast, and they have their own internal market research that determines what races should be present at edition launch. That they didn't put goblins in the the PHB indicates to me that they were not an incredibly popular choice in previous editions.

Can that change? Sure. Maybe by the next edition (or 5.5 or something) WotC market research indicates that goblins should get added, as maybe they have become a more popular choice than say gnomes.

I will say that the argument that they should be added because they're reprinted a bunch of times is just silly. That doesn't indicate anything at all except that they are another option used to fill up space in a book.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Today with the D&D Beyond WotC knows what are the most popular PC races and classes.

Explorer's Guide to Wildemount Adds Four New Dungeons & Dragons Subraces

The new Explorer's Guide to Wildemount adds four new subraces, including two new types of [...]

comicbook.com

 

[BRayne]

What are the new backgrounds?

Rough summary of the two new ones
Grinner - Rabble rousing freedom fighters who use coded songs to pass messages and get access to safehouses
Vollstrucker - Arcane assassins and enforcers who silence dissidents. Defined by past tragedy and have the ability to pass messages to any other vollstrucker by burning a letter written in 10gp of magic ink

Plus setting specific flavor additions to Acolyte, Criminal, Sailor, Sage, and Spy

 

[Blue]

The Forgotten Realms is eternal and beyond your puny mortal attempts to kill it.

I believe the correct version is: "The Forgotten Realms is undead and it's horcruxphylactery is beyond your puny mortal attempts to destroy."

 

[Eltab]

Make that 11 grognards. Being older also makes you wise (or at least experienced), so we can set up our protest to contain only the current limit of people, properly spaced out, and occupy whatever space we reserved for the protest, all day!

Goblins are foes, not players!
(To be spoken in the voices of the three sharks from Finding Nemo.)

 

[gyor]

I like the alternate dragonborn options. At first I thought they took away the breath weapon as well as the resistance which would make them feel much less like dragons at that point but upon rereading that's not the case.

I do somewhat wish that genasi would get rebalanced at some point but with their third reprinting without changes that seems very unlikely at this point. I love the concept of them but their features are quite lackluster. Just comparing the fire genasi to the tiefling and you see that they are almost equivalent except the fire genasi doesn't get access to a second level spell. And fire is one of the better ones. Air and earth don't even get a resistance.

They don't even get Darkvision, only fire Genasi get Darkvision. I just don't get why they went modeled and modeled Genasi on the horrid 2e mechanics.

Genasi should have been playtested first first along with Kenku who have even worse mechanics, pure ribbon abilities; and the inability to talk properly, with all the BS that comes with that.

 

[Marandahir]

They don't even get Darkvision, only fire Genasi get Darkvision. I just don't get why they went modeled and modeled Genasi on the horrid 2e mechanics.

Genasi should have been playtested first first along with Kenku who have even worse mechanics, pure ribbon abilities; and the inability to talk properly, with all the BS that comes with that.

I want Storm Genasi, and Frost Genasi, and the Corrupted Genasi from 4e!

OTOH, they're not core to many settings, and would be a waste of space in the PH for anyone not playing a goblins-are-pcs setting.

If they're showing up in almost every Campaign Setting released, they should have been in the PHB. I can see the argument for not including Orcs (though honestly I'd say just replace Half-orcs with orcs and treat Orcs as breeding true), as they have only showed up as Player Options in a few settings, but Goblins have shown up in Ravnica, Eberron, and now Wildemount. Only missing from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. If they're in Theros, then yeah, they REALLY should have been in PHB.

Make that 11 grognards. Being older also makes you wise (or at least experienced), so we can set up our protest to contain only the current limit of people, properly spaced out, and occupy whatever space we reserved for the protest, all day!

Goblins are foes, not players!
(To be spoken in the voices of the three sharks from Finding Nemo.)

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is almost as old as 2e (and included PC Orcs). Warcraft II came out in the 2e era too (and included PC Goblins). Warcraft III had truly heroic orcs and goblins, and existed alongside 3rd Edition.

The world has changed dramatically since the 90s and 00s, let alone the 70s and 80s, and Goblins and Orcs have had a history as heroes in fantasy games. We're getting to the point that there's no real reason NOT to have them as regular PC options, given that they're core world races. If Drow are in the PHB, they should be too.

 

[bedir than]

I can see the argument for not including Orcs (though honestly I'd say just replace Half-orcs with orcs and treat Orcs as breeding true), as they have only showed up as Player Options in a few settings...

This reminds me.

Eliminate "half-" races and just call all of them humans.

 

[gyor]

This reminds me.

Eliminate "half-" races and just call all of them humans.

No

 

[Blue]

This reminds me.

Eliminate "half-" races and just call all of them humans.

So we have

-Elves
-Orcs
and
-lings.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It would save page space in other books?

WotC would probably consider that a drawback.

But D&D already has far more than enough "core" races. For every race that goes into the PHB, another one has to come out.