Favorite races to play

[Amridell]

Hm...surprisingly many of my threads appear to be connected to self explanatory titles...anyway, your favorite PC races. The positive articles of their respective statistical paraphernalia, and the negative aspects as well.I started this because I play too many Elves, and I want a new, more interesting race to play. I'll start:

Elf (moon)
Good
Standard race-every DM will allow you to play this.
+2 Dex- Ideal archers,Wizards,and dual weapon users.
Level adjustment +0-level up quick
Good racial proficiency-Hey, I play wizards
Generally awesome. Ever since "the Hobbit", I've been enamored of them.
Bad
-2 Con-Not conducive towards my fighter, Wizard, or pretty much anything, builds
Racial proficiency that's useless for fighters.

[Daftendirekt]

Sun Elves (Races of Faerun)- I like elves, and Sun Elves are the longest-lived elves there are, their maximum age being 1,020 years old (venerable at 420 + 6d% for maximum age). I just think fey-like beings that are connected to/interested in magic so heavily that live for CENTURIES are super cool. The one that I've made was approaching 1,000 and was an Olin Gisir (Lost Empires of Faerun), which has really great fluff and decent crunch as well. Sadly, only played him for two sessions before the campaign ended, but I'll bring him back some day.

Raptorans (Races of the Wild)- WEEEEE FLYING! The only one I've played was a ninja going for Telflammar Shadowlord before he died, and damn he was fun. Amazing how flight can change your battle tactics.

Whisper Gnomes (Races of Stone)- Small-sized ninjas!

EDIT: Not sure I understand your warning to 4e players. Pretty much every single 4e race was carried over from 3.x, exceptions being Shardmind, Revenant (unless it's in some obscure 3.x book I haven't seen and is never talked about), and Shadar-kai (see Revenant).

[Draconi Redfir]

Bugbear.
Good:
+4 to Str and move silently, +2 to con
Darkvision
Scent
Natural armor
Goblinoid:smallcool:

Bad:
Always has low charisma
People always want to kill me on sight when i play as one
Flamable fur.

[SurlySeraph]

Would you mind editing the 4E thing out of your post? It's unnecessary, and edition argument is not a good way to start off this thread.

Anyway, Duergar. Enlarge Person and Invisibility are really handy SLAs at low-ish levels, particularly if you take Magic in the Blood to make them 3/day each. The saves and immunities are nice, too. And if you're tired of playing elves, angry subterranean dwarves with -4 Cha are certainly a change. LA is bad, of course, but they're one of the more worthwhile +1 LA races.

Deep Imaskari (some Faerun book) are a solid race for Wizards. +2 Int, -2 Dex, regain a 1st-level spell you've cast 1/day.

Necropolitan (Libris Mortis), especially with the Spell-Stitched (Complete Arcane) template. You're undead, with a bunch of SLAs and neat abilities. Costs a lot of xp, and isn't worth it at higher levels, but fun.

Illumians (Races of Destiny) aren't a race I like much, but a lot of people enjoy them and they can heavily customize their racial abilities, so they're worth a mention. Spellscales (Races of the Dragon) are similar.

[Daftendirekt]

Bugbear.
Good:
+4 to Str and move silently, +2 to con
Darkvision
Scent
Natural armor
Goblinoid:smallcool:

Bad:
Always has low charisma
People always want to kill me on sight when i play as one
Flamable fur.

Yes! Bugbear and troglodyte are two "savage" races that I wish I could play more easily in 3.5. I really hate their RHD and LA, because I love them aesthetically and fluff-wise. Anybody know of a 0 LA version thought up by someone?

[Starscream]

I love me some halflings, especially because Rogues (or at least rogue-like characters) are my favorites.

Good
* +2 Dex, vital for sneaky types.
* +1 Bonus to saves. Racial, so stacks with items.
* Small, which is good for hiding and sneaking.
* Racial bonuses to useful Rogue skills
* Underfoot Combat and Confound the Big Folk (from Races of the Wild) are two of the most fun combat feats ever

Bad
* -2 Str, not a vital stat for sneaks (sneak attack makes up for the loss in damage), but still important
* No bonus feat or skill points, both of which would be great for a rogue. Humans are best at everything. Strongheart Halflings get the feat, however, which is probably worth the loss of Save Bonus.
* 20 foot speed. Lame.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I'll post about my two favourite races

Hobgoblin

Pros
Great Stat adjustment, almost every class can use a little more Dex and EVERYONE can use more Con
Sunscorch (DrMg) wet bonus to wis, which is my favourite casting stat.
Their fluff (in Eberron) is essentially Spartans+Samurai; and the honourable warrior archetype has always appealed to me.
And despite this, they can make great stealthy warriors, due their racial bonus. (They make great swordsages)
The fluff of Kamate implies the Hobgoblins were the creators of the Iron Heart Discipline (I am tempted to open Eternal Blade to Hobgoblin martial adepts in my games)

Cons
A totally unwarranted LA of +1
Relegated as low-level cannon fodder (though RHoD proves this is not true at all)
In many settings, you will be attacked on Sight.

Shifters (ECS)

Pros
They are humanoids who are descended from true lycanthropes!! how more awesome can you be.
The idea of battling one instincts, and battling the Beast within, for some reason, I really find this appealing and interesting.
They are quite pragmatic and practical, I try to be like that on RL so I feel a connection with them.
They are survivors, they have endured persecution, being deemed as not-thrust worthy by almost all the other races (they served as sell sword mercenaries during the last war; they also don't have a real affiliation).
Some of their racial options (substitution level, race feat, prestige classes) are quite nice.

Cons
Their Stat adjustment are extremely bad...
The shifting mechanic, while awesome in theory, was implemented really badly. The benefits are not stellar, it lasts too little, and it can't be used readily as unless you spend all of your feats on shifter feats, you will have at most shifting 2/day.

[sambo.]

i like elves.

the hit to Con in 3.5 sucks bad, but i've always enjoyed elves.

i'm currently playing a Drow in a PbP campaign. great fun, but the LA bites HARD.

[Re'ozul]

The Luminous (usually lawful and good)

+2 Wis, -2 Cha
No need to eat or sleep
Turns undead as character 2 levels higher
Immunity to non-magic Poison
+4 to saves against Necromancy
Can glow like a torch (DC 15 Fort save to suppress for conscore-rounds)

I love these guys as they are the archetypical Paladins and Clerics.
The entire fluff as presented in Mythic Races is just awesome.

[Amridell]

Would you mind editing the 4E thing out of your post? It's unnecessary, and edition argument is not a good way to start off this thread.

Anyway, Duergar. Enlarge Person and Invisibility are really handy SLAs at low-ish levels, particularly if you take Magic in the Blood to make them 3/day each. The saves and immunities are nice, too. And if you're tired of playing elves, angry subterranean dwarves with -4 Cha are certainly a change. LA is bad, of course, but they're one of the more worthwhile +1 LA races.

Deep Imaskari (some Faerun book) are a solid race for Wizards. +2 Int, -2 Dex, regain a 1st-level spell you've cast 1/day.

Necropolitan (Libris Mortis), especially with the Spell-Stitched (Complete Arcane) template. You're undead, with a bunch of SLAs and neat abilities. Costs a lot of xp, and isn't worth it at higher levels, but fun.

Illumians (Races of Destiny) aren't a race I like much, but a lot of people enjoy them and they can heavily customize their racial abilities, so they're worth a mention. Spellscales (Races of the Dragon) are similar.

Race thing fixed.

Hm...I actually like all of these. I play wizards quite a bit, so these are quite attractive to me. Thanks, maybe I'll play a duergar. However, the aforementioned Drow are pretty much my all-time favorite race aesthetics-wise, but that +2 LA restricts my options badly, as I'm a patience based builder. My builds often go to AT LEAST third level. In any case, Duergar and Drow are mortal enemies.

The luminous sounds good...never played a cleric, but it just screams "Protect me. Protect me.".

Hey, all in favor of a topic exclusively for low LA race versions? I could get one up easily.

[RelentlessImp]

I've always loved playing gnomes. Not so much whisper gnomes, though... they are too un-gnome like. Other than that, here's one of my second-favorites:

Glimmerskin Strongheart Halfling
Pros
+2 Dex
Bonus Feat as a human
(Dragonblood) subtype
+2 Luck bonus 1/day
Various other halfling-ish things.

Cons
-2 Str
Loses the +1 all saves of a regular halfling
Loses the Halfling's move silently bonus

And another:

Half-Minotaur Half-Ogre Gnome
Pros
+20 Str, +10 Con
Large size (Bigger weapons!)
Various things.

Cons
-4 Dex, -4 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Charisma

[SurlySeraph]

Race thing fixed.

Hm...I actually like all of these. I play wizards quite a bit, so these are quite attractive to me. Thanks, maybe I'll play a duergar. However, the aforementioned Drow are pretty much my all-time favorite race aesthetics-wise, but that +2 LA restricts my options badly, as I'm a patience based builder. My builds often go to AT LEAST third level. In any case, Duergar and Drow are mortal enemies.

The luminous sounds good...never played a cleric, but it just screams "Protect me. Protect me.".

Hey, all in favor of a topic exclusively for low LA race versions? I could get one up easily.

Thanks.

There are rules for playing Drow without LA, which you may find useful. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a)

Though Duergar and Drow aren't necessarily mortal enemies, at least by Underdark standards; they hire each other as mercenaries and trade a fair amount in addition to the normal poison-and-sharp-things trade.

[Lord Raziere]

Dwarf
Good:
+2 to both wis and con
low light vision
they dwarves, they always awesome to me.

Shardmind
Good:
+2 to Intelligence and Wisdom or Charisma
no need to sleep, eat or breathe, and are immortal so I can have fun coming up what they do in their spare time.

Tiefling
Good:
+2 to Int and Cha
like the backstory and their appearance

Warforged
Good:
+2 to Strength and Con
I just like the concept of Warforged in general.

Drow
Good:
+2 to Cha and Dex
I read Drizzt and thought it was cool and I would like to make my own original drow characters (not ranger clones :smalltongue:)

Bad:
nothing! its 4E, I could play the class that is the worst combination with anything and still be effective, cause there is no such thing as a racial -2.

[Dumbledore lives]

I'm surprised, the best race in the game has not been mentioned yet.

Kobolds

Pros: Just about everything
+2 Dex, always nice
Dragonwrought
Dragonfire Inspiration
3 natural attacks
Slight Build (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a)
30 ft. movement
Small
Meepo

Cons: Next to nothing
-4 strength, which no one really needs
-2 con, a hit, but acceptable

[RelentlessImp]

Annnnnnd people wonder why 'No 4E' disclaimers are popular...

[Amridell]

i like elves.

the hit to Con in 3.5 sucks bad, but i've always enjoyed elves.

i'm currently playing a Drow in a PbP campaign. great fun, but the LA bites HARD.

I think you missed my point...

[sambo.]

I think you missed my point...

lol, so i did.

Gnomes are kind of cool.

[Draconi Redfir]

Yes! Bugbear and troglodyte are two "savage" races that I wish I could play more easily in 3.5. I really hate their RHD and LA, because I love them aesthetically and fluff-wise. Anybody know of a 0 LA version thought up by someone?

I just removed the LA and had them automaticly start at lvl 3. lame excuse yeah, but no one has complained about it so far.


Half-Minotaur Half-Ogre Gnome

Wut?

[Ragingsystem]

Half Dragons all the way!

Good:
-Everything.

Bad:
- +3 LA makes me sad because I never get to play one...

[Zaydos]

Dwarves

The Good:

You're awesome
+2 Con for more health which helps everyone
+2 on saves versus spells
Free war-axe proficiency (yes I play sword and board)
Able to sprint in Full-Plate


The Bad:

Charisma penalty makes dwarven paladins unmanageable and really the fluff for a dwarf paladin is just awesome
No bonus feat


Elves:
The Good

Old fluff was awesome
Spellswords


The Bad:

Fluff more and more has been "They are powerful"
The Complete Book of Elves was more about giving them powers than extending their fluff.
Races of the Wild was mostly just reprinting the aforementioned book's fluff
-2 Con hurts in 3.X unlike -1 in older editions (noticeable always, but not crippling)
They just don't have much going for them game mechanically in 3.X and need a revamp.


Humans
The Good

Bonus feat for power
Bonus skills so my fighter can have diplomacy.
Generally the most powerful race that DMs will let me play.


The Bad

Not interesting.


Dragons
The Good:

It's a dragon
Good racial hit dice
Good natural armor


The Bad:

LA is rather high
LA + RHD = you don't get to really play till 7th+ level.
9+ level Dragon Cohort feat lets me play a stronger dragon by taking it as my cohort than by playing a dragon by the rules.
LA is about 3 too high based on Dragon Cohort feat.

[Lhurgyof]

Half-Orc

Pros
You're strong.
You get to talk in a funny voice.

Cons

[Andion Isurand]

The Bad:

Charisma penalty makes dwarven paladins unmanageable and really the fluff for a dwarf paladin is just awesome


The Serenity feat in Dragon Magazine Compendium lets you use your Wisdom Modifier instead of your Charisma modifier for Divine Grace, Lay on Hands, Smite Evil and Turn Undead. Divine Grace is the only prerequisite.

Worth asking for if you're left wanting for a strong Dwarven Paladin concept.

[LikeAD6]

Dwarf:
Pro:
Second wind as minor
Ability scores work well for many defender or leader classes
Doing their voices is fun

Con:
Speed is 5 (but I usually have heavy armour so this is no big deal)

[Asheram]

I like elves... because We're men, we're men in tights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KczKyZB3EoA).
We roam around the forest looking for fights.
We're men, we're men in tights.
We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right!
We may look like sissies, but watch what you say or else we'll put out your lights!
We're men, we're men in tights,
Always on guard defending the people's rights.

Naw. But frankly, I enjoy the extra dexterity, low-light vision and age. :smallsmile:
Those weapon proficiencies doesn't hurt either.:smallbiggrin:

The negative is, as stated earlier, the minus to con, but one can live with it, if you'll forgive the pun.

[Vangor]

Desert Orcs

Good
+4 to Strength
Free Endurance Feat

Bad
Light Sensitivity (counter-acted by the +4 to Strength)
All Casting Stat Decrease
Few Bonuses

Personally, I enjoy playing mountain orcs for any melee character, and the desert variant giving endurance automatically (rather than heat endurance) is a great way to gain steadfast determination quickly while being powerful in melee. A 22 starting strength is obscene, giving a +6 to hit and +9 damage. Of course, you shouldn't be anything but melee with em.

[Andion Isurand]

Desert Orcs

Good
+4 to Strength
Free Endurance Feat

Bad
Light Sensitivity (counter-acted by the +4 to Strength)
All Casting Stat Decrease
Few Bonuses

Personally, I enjoy playing mountain orcs for any melee character, and the desert variant giving endurance automatically (rather than heat endurance) is a great way to gain steadfast determination quickly while being powerful in melee. A 22 starting strength is obscene, giving a +6 to hit and +9 damage. Of course, you shouldn't be anything but melee with em.

You could also try Water Orcs from UA for an extra +2 Con if you're feeling particularly bloodthirsty.

To go ranged... try dribbling an Orc Shotput (exotic 2 handed throwing weapon... 2d6 dmg 19-20/x3 crit... from A&EG) with the Brutal Throw feat against your enemies as a Psychic Warrior using the Telekinetic Boomerang power (RotW).

A fine mental image.

[Dr.Epic]

Gnomes because they're small and crazy.

[The Rose Dragon]

Djala:

Pros: Nearly all djala are attractive, even if they do not have Appearance 2+.
They are small.
They have an awesome culture.

Cons: They are small.
Most of their culture evolved as a response against rampant slavery of their kind.

[FMArthur]

Diopsids (Dragon Compendium)

Pros
Two additional, weak supporting arms that allow you to wield weapons one size category larger than normal and to wield weapons two-handed while two-weapon fighting. The two best-supported, most common fighting styles combined at last!
Diopsids ignore Dex prerequisites of any feat with "two weapon" in its name.
Weak wings allow gentle falling from any height and activate reflexively.
+2 Constitution and +4 Natural Armor are welcome adjustments for melee combat.
Long-ranged 'blinking light' communication to those who know the language and can be adjusted to only appear to creatures with Darkvision. They can also use this to shed light in a small area around them as free actions (for their poor surface compatriots).

Cons
Level adjustment +1
Text describing extra arms is slightly misleading and describes dual-wielding of two-handed weapons as their preferred fighting style - they take full penalties for doing so! What actually works is wielding Large one-handed weapons in two hands each and taking the Oversized TWF feat, which yields nearly identical results without the penalties (This is just some kind of design blunder and not a holdover from 3E weapon size rules, since they were remade entirely from their 2E entry for the Dragon Compendium made in 2005).
-2 Dexterity hurts your AC and initiative. -2 Intelligence hurts for skills and Int-based melee builds.
Take big ACP for wearing medium and heavy armor.

The more I reread their racial entry the more I like the beetle-people. Their culture is mercenary-driven, endlessly curious of other races and the metal tools and weaponry they themselves are unable to produce, and stays neutral and unprejudiced of the individual humanoid races (which they quite reasonably regard as one race divided into groups by 'trivial' differences). Also, this is just great:

The most noteworthy bit of diopsid religious lore lies in their regard for the surface world. Diopsids see
the realms above as a terrible place of fearful ordeals, dangerous monsters, and horrific peril. The air moves and slashes, the ground slopes high into unimaginable reaches of the ether, and torrents of endless water batter the earth in an endless assault. A diopsid who ventures to the surface is regarded as a mighty hero, one worthy of the highest praises.

Because of this belief, diopsids tend to regard humans, elves, and other travellers from the surface with something close to pity. Diopsids see them as lost souls cast out of the comforting grasp of the earth and forced to survive in a deadly, alien land.

[hamishspence]

Pretty much every single 4e race was carried over from 3.x, exceptions being Shardmind, Revenant (unless it's in some obscure 3.x book I haven't seen and is never talked about), and Shadar-kai (see Revenant).

Shadar-kai are in Fiend Folio, Revenants are in Monsters of Faerun.

[Darth Stabber]

Elan

Good:
Immortality
2 free PP
3 free powers (sustainence, negate damage, save Bonus)
No more sleeping (yay meditating)

Bad
-2 Charisma, So what if I'm creepy. I give you the creeps because my brain can rip you in half.

[RelentlessImp]

Wut?

Well, you need to start with a Small race, at which point you get two size increases: Small>Medium, Medium>Large, which gets you a slew of bonuses from increasing size besides those that you get from the templates.

And seeing a very large gnome barreling down at you with a two-handed axe is a hilarious mental image, especially when he'll be doing an utter crapload of damage to you when he reaches you.

[Dsurion]

In Conan d20, I like playing the Zingarans.

Good:
+2 Charisma
Can automatically treat Profession (sailor), Bluff, Balance, Knowledge (local) and Use Rope as class skills
+1 racial bonus to all Sense Motive checks
Automatic proficiency with the Arming sword, which is essentially a cheap, finessable bastard sword
Sneak attack. They automatically gain +d6 sneak attack, as the Rogue, stacks with other sneak attack
Can wield greatswords as though they were martial weapons rather than exotic weapons. (Greatswords are exotic in this game)
+1 racial bonus to all attack rolls made with the broadsword (a slightly better longsword) and arming sword

Bad:
–2 Constitution
–1 racial penalty to all Diplomacy checks

[FMArthur]

Well, you need to start with a Small race, at which point you get two size increases: Small>Medium, Medium>Large, which gets you a slew of bonuses from increasing size besides those that you get from the templates.

And seeing a very large gnome barreling down at you with a two-handed axe is a hilarious mental image, especially when he'll be doing an utter crapload of damage to you when he reaches you.

Half-Ogre isn't a template, it's a race. A Half-Minotaur, Half-Ogre is Huge and has +18 total Strength bonus and +8 Con because of the Half-Minotaur's specific reference to the Monster Manual for the +8 bonus from advancing a creature from Large to Huge. If it had just increased the size and not referenced this, you would not gain these further adjustments, so if you were to apply Half-Ogre racial traits as if it were a template, you wouldn't get those bonuses from it.

[An Enemy Spy]

I've always liked Gnomes. They're quirky and fun. You can play them however you want.

[Zaydos]

Half-Ogre isn't a template, it's a race. A Half-Minotaur, Half-Ogre is Huge and has +18 total Strength bonus and +8 Con because of the Half-Minotaur's specific reference to the Monster Manual for the +8 bonus from advancing a creature from Large to Huge (if it had just increased the size and not referenced this, you would not gain these further adjustments!).

Half-minotaur only increases your size if you are medium or smaller. Half-ogre existed as a template in the same Dragon Magazine with the same restriction.

[FMArthur]

Half-Ogre is in Races of Destiny however, taking precedence.

[Redshirt traine]

Catfolk(Races of the Wild)

Pros:smalltongue:
+4 Dex, +2 Cha( They make good rogues, have yet to play socerer)
Low-Light vision
base land speed of 40 feet
+2 to listen and move silently
+1 natural armor

Cons:smallfrown:

+1 Level Ajustment
Furry jokes form both party members and D.M

[FMArthur]

Catfolk(Races of the Wild)

Pros:smalltongue:
+4 Dex, +2 Cha( They make good rogues, have yet to play socerer)
Low-Light vision
base land speed of 40 feet
+2 to listen and move silently
+1 natural armor

Cons:smallfrown:

+1 Level Ajustment
Furry jokes form both party members and D.M

Additional Cons
Not as good as cat Hengeyokai or Tibbits, both of which are LA +0 cat-people... At least it's better than Anthropomorphic Cat. :smalltongue:

[Tvtyrant]

Anthropomorphic Halfdragon giant squid.

[Thorcrest]

I quite like Gray Elves, exact same as the regular Elf, but you also gain an additional 2 Int, but Lose 2 Str. This loss is not much of a big deal, unless you plan on meleeing, but it does allow for some very powerful Wizards and some very good Rogues, finding ways to increase Sneak Attack Range makes a Ranged high skilled build a viable option with these guys! I also like playing a character that is incredibly confident and arrogant, but it can create some party problems if it's not done correctly.

I like Humans mechanically, but the fluff is truly setting dependant to make them interesting.

I also enjoy Gnomes, but the reasons for this have been mentionned.

I can't really say I have a favourite, I like most races, but it really depends on the campaign and the setting... I do have some arbitrary dislike of most templates, however, as they tend to make some very odd creatures, see the Half-Ogre Half-Minotaur Gnome up above. Even if that build isn't valid, Half-(Insert Large Creature here) Half-(Insert Small Creature) generally tend to make me take out the Brain Bleach! :smalltongue:

[Redshirt traine]

I do have some arbitrary dislike of most templates, however, as they tend to make some very odd creatures, see the Half-Ogre Half-Minotaur Gnome up above. Even if that build isn't valid, Half-(Insert Large Creature here) Half-(Insert Small Creature) generally tend to make me take out the Brain Bleach! :smalltongue:

Ahmen, I'd just stick to a race that's printed. Besides eugenics is hard enough in real life, why make a race more complex and confuseing?

[Lhurgyof]

I'm surprised, the best race in the game has not been mentioned yet.

Kobolds

Pros: Just about everything
+2 Dex, always nice
Dragonwrought
Dragonfire Inspiration
3 natural attacks
Slight Build (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a)
30 ft. movement
Small
Meepo

Cons: Next to nothing
-4 strength, which no one really needs
-2 con, a hit, but acceptable

Ah, Kobolds. All of a sudden wizards releases a book with Dragonwrought and then everyone wants to be one.

[Darth Stabber]

Elan

Good:
Immortality
2 free PP
3 free powers (sustainence, negate damage, save Bonus)
No more sleeping (yay meditating)

Bad
-2 Charisma, So what if I'm creepy. I give you the creeps because my brain can rip you in half.

Additional Pro
Aberation
-Immune to a few spells.
-Awesome at alter self. (though not quite as good as an outsider)

[Draconi Redfir]

Well, you need to start with a Small race, at which point you get two size increases: Small>Medium, Medium>Large, which gets you a slew of bonuses from increasing size besides those that you get from the templates.

And seeing a very large gnome barreling down at you with a two-handed axe is a hilarious mental image, especially when he'll be doing an utter crapload of damage to you when he reaches you.

but how can he be a gnome when he is already half minotar AND half ogre?

[Yukitsu]

I love playing especially pompous, effeminate rakish grey elves who spend all their time drinking, laughing and carousing with the locals. Something about playing useless wits (not missing a "t") that makes me smile. For some reason, I tend to only drop puns and Bond one liners as elves.

[dextercorvia]

but how can he be a gnome when he is already half minotar AND half ogre?

In D&D 2 X 2 is often, but not always 3. And, it's bothering you that they have problems with fractions?

I really like Dragonborn Mongrelfolk for level 1 games. Something comforting about that fat sack of HP.

[Raimun]

Yay, Humans.

Pros (as if you don't know them):
- One extra Feat
- Skill points
- No stat penalties
- Can multiclass well

- You actually know what it is like to be a human
- You can die (It's a gift, man! Totally a gift!)
- No flashy stuff

Cons:
- No flashy stuff
- No stat bonuses
- Can't Argue With Elves (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitleukqnnj0yvqci?from=Main.CantArgueWithElves)
- Humans Are Bastards (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumansAreBastards)

[Provengreil]

Yay, Humans.

Pros (as if you don't know them):
- One extra Feat
- Skill points
- No stat penalties
- Can multiclass well

- You actually know what it is like to be a human
- You can die (It's a gift, man! Totally a gift!)
- No flashy stuff

Cons:
- No flashy stuff
- No stat bonuses
- Can't Argue With Elves (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitleukqnnj0yvqci?from=Main.CantArgueWithElves)
- Humans Are Bastards (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumansAreBastards)

Humans actually CAN argue with elves; in most every novel that applies to, the elves are an ancient race that dying out. Humans, OTOH, are populous, powerful as a race, and on the up and up. see, well, Lord of the Rings. IIRC, the elves are literally running away throughout most of the storyline, except for the ones that go to helm's deep.

as for my favorite d&d race(I play 3.5):
Drow
Pros:
2 dex, charisma, intelligence
cast darkness as racial spell
weapon familiarity for longbow, increasing bow damage for free
spell resistance
massive darkvision range for those stealth sections
elven immunities
reputation as badasses(sometimes a con, depending on your build)
(if you can't tell by now, i love me my rogues)

Cons:
-2 con kinda sucks for any class and build
Light penalties, but you can get some sunglasses
LA 2+ is questionable for what they get for it

[Zaydos]

but how can he be a gnome when he is already half minotar AND half ogre?

Well officially they stack by applying one first and then they are half that (so half-half-minotaur gnome) and half the other (so half ogre and half half-minotaur gnome). So really they're half ogre and quarter minotaur and gnome. Now the funny thing here is that with most templates the base race matters more (half-dragon, half-celestial, etc) so for some reason that 1/4 human matters more than the half-dragon blood. Actually that's easy to explain with the old reason for why 3/4 elves were half-elves not full elves (unlike 3/4 humans which were just humans with elven blood), because the magical bloodline is more easily dilluted than the mundane.

[HalfDragonCube]

Dwarves

The Good:

You're awesome
+2 Con for more health which helps everyone
+2 on saves versus spells
Free war-axe proficiency (yes I play sword and board)
Able to sprint in Full-Plate


The Bad:

Charisma penalty makes dwarven paladins unmanageable and really the fluff for a dwarf paladin is just awesome
No bonus feat



If you like dwarves but not the Cha reduction, then I recommend playing a dream dwarf (races of stone).

I can't exactly remember the stats just now, but they don't get a -2 to Cha, so they make good paladins.

[Dr.Epic]

Changelings too. +10 to disguise can be a lot of fun!:smallbiggrin:

[Echoes]

Azurin (Magic of Incarnum)

Pros:

- Bonus feat at level 1 (as human)
- 1 free point of essentia, making incarnum feats useful for non-shapers
- magic glittery blue eyes!

Cons:

- Age more rapidly than humans
- Not terribly exotic (can also be a pro)

I really like the fluff of being a human soul who was touched by the collective energy of the entire race at birth.

[FMArthur]

I really like Changelings, but it's hard for me to come up with interesting character-construction reasons to actually make one as a sneaky character rather than just going Recaster... but their main draw is easily replicated by a very inexpensive magic item that also changes your clothes, too. :smallfrown:

[SurlySeraph]

@^: In mechanical terms, you mean? The Rogue sub levels for social-fu and Knowledge Devotion. Or just Warshaper. Changeling [full BAB 4]/ Warshaper 5 is a lot of fun.

[FMArthur]

Ah, yes I forget Changeling Rogue all the time. Dominating the social game is already pretty easy though. That's part of being sneaky, but not all of it. They don't actually gain any benefits over a human with a Hat of Disguise for proper mimicry - I guess my criteria for a sneaky character is pretty much limited to one archetype, so it's really my fault for expecting the wrong things out of the race.

[Andion Isurand]

I prefeer Sun Elves (-2 Con, +2 Int) over Grey Elves myself...

...sure Dexterity is generally more useful than Strength to anything but a melee character, I just like having more time to obtain some form of immortality.

...and if you polymorph or shapechange a lot, then the difference in stats doesn't matter.

=======================================

I generally prefer Aleithian Dwarves (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psb/20030926a) or Krinth (Anauroch: The Empire of Shade 151) or over your typical dwarf.

Krinth Pros:

30 ft speed
+2 Con
Darkvision 60 ft.
+1 racial bonus on all saves.
+1 racial bonus on saves against spells and effect with shadow descriptor.
+2 racial bonus on Hide checks in shadowy conditions.
+4 racial bonus to saves against fear.
Immune to the Shaken condition. But can still be Frightened or Panicked.

Krinth Cons:
-2 Cha
Favored Class: Fighter

[kaiguy]

I've had a soft spot for Githzerai ever since I played Planescape:Torment way back in the day. Finally had a chance to play a Gith monk in my current campaign - could not be happier.

Pros:
+6 Dex, +2 Wis
+4 psychic armor
Even without psionics, get a couple of spell like abilities
Spell resistance of class levels +5

Cons:
-2 Int
+2 LA

[Amridell]

Back on topic everybody.It's getting to be too little races (however, I think we're running out of ones that aren't third party...). However,my brother has been trying to find the Catfolk forever.

Na'vi
(I'm a homebrewer :smallbiggrin:)
Pros
They're nine feet tall (can it go wrong?)
+6 Dexterity
+4 Strength
+4 Constitution
longbow proficiency
6d8 RHD
Skill bonuses

Cons
-2 Intelligence, and Charisma
They're nine feet tall
LA +3
6 HRD (ECL 10 for 1st level)
I haven't put it out yet, so you can't play them yet.

Extra note: We ARE running out of races!
Say, should I post this race?

[Urpriest]

Half-Ogre is in Races of Destiny however, taking precedence.

If that were true then you could get an arbitrary-level character with a particular base class (Beguiler, the class) as a familiar (Beguiler, the magical beast). Or vice versa, I don't know which came last. Entirely different rules elements don't take precedence over eachother.

Regardless, Half-Ogres were already printed as a race in Savage Species when Dragon printed the template. The template is intended to make Half-Ogres out of non-humans, much like Mummified makes Mummies out of non-humans.

[Amnestic]

Tibbits (Dragon Compendium)

Pros:
KITTY!
+4 Dex in catform.
Tiny size in catform.
KITTY!
All their mundane gear/armour/weapons/shield melds into their cat form, making them the perfect smugglers and mules, since their weight drops to near-nothing when transformed.
Can ride around on people's shoulders rather than having to walk places.
No level adjustment.
Far easier to get approved than Antropomorphic Cat or Awakened Housecat.
...KITTY!

Cons:
-10 Strength (Minimum 3) while in catform.
Massive restrictions on what you can do in catform, limiting your class options if you want to utilise catform a lot - Warlocks, psions and Dragonfire Adepts are all popular choices though.
For some reason, some DMs don't want tiny cats running around shooting lasers or breathing fire everywhere.

[Amridell]

Amnestic,that's so far my favorite suggestion, actually.I plan on getting the expanded psionics handbook soon, so a psion could really benifit me.As I have mentioned before, I play wizards, so a psion seems a natural step. Now I just need to talk my Dm into letting me play a Tibbit Psion (he's never used either), and THAT could be problematic. As a DM, I know this situation. For example:

"PLAY 4E! IT'S GOT THE RULES OF 3.5 BUT EASIER!"-Anonymous friend
"If it's got the same rules, why don't I play 3.5?"-Me
"YOU SHOULD-Uh...JUST PLAY IT!"-Same friend

And...
"[My name, very drawn out in a plea] can I play an ogre?"-Different friend
"No. No you may not."-Me
"Cooooooome on..."-Aforementioned friend
"No! For the billionth time, no!"-Me
"B-b-but"-Friend
"NO!"-Me
This goes on until I crack and yell at him.

There are so many situations like this. And my Dm has worked his share of these, too. Lucky for me, next term, I get debate. :smallamused:

[Vknight]

Rakshasa

Pros
+2Str Int Wis, +4 Dex, +6 Con Cha
Darkvision
Natural Armor
40ft Movement Speed
Bonus Disguise and Bluff Checks
Natural Weapons
Sorcerer Level Spells
SR; 27+Class Levels
Damage Reduction 15
Read Minds
Your a Tiger Person that reads minds shape shifts and has magic powers!

Cons
LA +6
7HD Outsider


Gnoll

Pros
+4 Str, +2 Con
Darkvision
Natural Armor
There under dogs and played well are just plan evil

Cons
LA 1
HD 2 Monstrous Humanoid
-2 Int Cha

[Asheram]

Ah, yes I forget Changeling Rogue all the time. Dominating the social game is already pretty easy though. That's part of being sneaky, but not all of it. They don't actually gain any benefits over a human with a Hat of Disguise for proper mimicry - I guess my criteria for a sneaky character is pretty much limited to one archetype, so it's really my fault for expecting the wrong things out of the race.

Remember that the changeling allows for tactile interaction since it's an actual physical change, so there's no will save (or atleast shouldn't be). And then there are the racial feats such as racial emulation. (Wonderful RP applications, for example, did you know that when concieving a child while changed to another race, that child Will be as if it was truly concieved by one of that race if you're using racial emulation.)
Add the Vestments of many styles on that for a 500gp and you'll survive a thorough non-magical examination.

Changeling is also allowed the Able Learner feat, and can take the Chameleon class.