Prophet_of_Io
2014-08-09, 07:27 AM
Classes have been getting a lot of focus, but how'd the races turn out? Here's my two cents.
+2 Con, always relevant. Like it or not Con determines hit points and hit points are kind of a thing you need to keep living.
Speed 25 ft, below average but not bad.
Darkvision, handy.
Dwarven Resilience, Advantage against poison is niche but it's also free advantage and poison sucks.
Dwarven Combat Training, Free weapons but if you're going to use them your class likely already gives you the proficiency. Not the reason you play Dwarf.
Tool Proficiency, Craft will not be as dominating as it has been in the past, but this is still nice and flavorful. Plus, Brewers Supplies. Come on.
Stonecunning, when stone work becomes important suddenly so shall you.
Hill Dwarf
+1 Wis, Perception is still a thing and Cleric's, Monk's and Druids will like the bonus.
Dwarven Toughness, if you're +2 to Con didn't tell you that you'll be hard to kill this should.
Mountain Dwarf
+2 Str, a +2 in Con is good. A +2 in Str is good for combat classes. A +2 in Con and Str for combat classes is bonkers.
Dwarven Armor Training, did you pick the Mountain Dwarf to not play a class that already has proficiency in Armor? Well ok, you're call but here it is anyway.
Thoughts: Dwarves don't have all the best racial features but they don't need to. +2 to Con is already reason enough to play a dwarf. The Darkvision and various proficiencies are situational but still fun and very in the spirit of being a Dwarf. As far as subraces go, I like Mountain Dwarf a little better but it's not strictly better than Hill Dwarf. Hill Dwarf's Toughness is universally probably better than armor training anyway but unless you're playing an armored mage you don't pick the Mountain Dwarf for their Armor Training. Pick the subrace that best fits your build and go nuts. 4/5, great for certain builds or if you just want to play a dwarf.
+2 Dex, While Dex may not be quite as universally good as Con it's still pretty nifty. You still need it for initiative and unless you're wearing heavy armor you'll need it for AC. Monks, Rogues, certain Rangers and Barbarians will love it, as will most casters.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Keen Senses, Free Skill
Fey Ancestry, doesn't always come up but when it does you'll be happy
High Elf
+1 Int, doesn't determine spells anymore but Wizards still like it.
Elf Weapon Training, unlike the dwarf I think these do come into play more. Rogue might want a longsword.
Cantrip, Pretty great. It's a free at/will and cantrips aren't bad in 5e
Extra Language, neat.
Wood Elf
+1 Wis, See "Hill Dwarf". Though with the +2 to Dex already a Wood Elf Monk is looking pretty fun right about now.
Elf Weapon Training, see "High Elf"
Fleet of Foot, You don't have to be faster than the Tarrasque, just faster than the High Elf behind you.
Mask of the Wild, If you're a stealthy type you'll like this. Even if you'e not a stealthy type but you find youself needing to hide in the woods, you'll be happy you're a wood elf.
Dark Elf (Drow)
+1 Cha, it's not the most universally useful stat but there are a few classes that need it this time around: Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Warlock.
Superior Darkvision, Haha, I can see better than you can-
Sunlight Sensitivity, Aww....
Drow Magic, Free Spells. Not quite as versitile as High Elf's Cantrip might be but you also get two more spells than they do.
Drow Weapon Training, Sadly I think this is along the same lines as a dwarf. If you're using them you'll probably already be proficient in them.
Thoughts: Elves are pretty strong. Ignoring the stat boost they have a few pretty relevant abilities. A lot of what you'll get is in your subrace though, so that's a big factor. I think Drow might be the weakest subrace but they'e not bad. My problem is I feel like if you're picking them to play a Drow than you'll be happy but if you're picking them for a class than there are better races out there. High Elf and Wood elf are both very strong. 4/5(3/5 for Drow), Elves give you a lot. You're likely picking them for a stat boost or racial ability but you'll be getting even more than what you actually want.
+2 Dex, just as good for halflings as it is for elves.
Size, doesn't help with AC in 5e to my knowledge. Now it's actually slightly hindering.
Speed 25 ft, Below Average but not bad.
Lucky, Nobody likes you nat 1. Go Away.
Brave, Niche but nice. When I'm the only one not frozen by frightful presence it won't matter that the Wood Elf could run faster than me.
Halfling Nimbleness, Turning a slight hindrance into a strength. That's pretty freaking halfling.
Lightfoot
+1 Cha, like the Drow it's not universally useful but classes do want it more than they use to.
Naturally Stealthy, pretty hilarious and I know every halfling rogue will want this.
Stout
+1 Con, arguably better than the Cha boost from lightfoot. Everyone likes more hit points.
Stout Resilience, Like the dwarves this is niche but nice.
Thoughts, A lot of what makes the Halfling good is in the core halfling which is nice. It means you can pick your subrace based on class or build and know you have a solid base of racial traits to back you up. Stout if probably better if you'e picking your class by throwing a dart at a bunch of options but Lightfoot has it's place. 4/5.
+1 to er'ythang, .... yup, that's nice.
Speed 30 ft, solid.
Thoughts, So human is kind of bland but good. You won't get anything out of them but you probably don't need to. You're taking this because you might be over extending in abilities and human can help you out. You're taking this because you want a boost in at least three things. If you only need two solid ability scores than there might be a better class out there. It's hard to find flavor in something that's trying to be generic so I'm gonna give humans 3/5 as a base. They're not bad, they're just... human. They'e actually pretty good.
Variant Human
+1 to two things, still pretty good.
Skills, Free Skill
Feat, free Feat.
Thoughts, It's hard to tell how good the free feat will be. I'm tempted to say "GREAT" since a lot of the feat's look very nice. Since several of the feats give a bonus to an ability score anyway this might end up reading +1 to three things plus some other stuff that's relevant to your class, in which case great!. A Barbarian taking "Durable", A Wizard taking "Keen Mind", A Monk taking "Athlete" or a Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock taking "Actor" are all great ways to get your human to read "+2 to primary stat, +1 to Secondary Stat, Free Skill, Bonus stuff". That reads pretty well on paper. Now you have to have a DM who's allowing Feats which is why I'm rating this separate from generic humans but even the flavor of this speaks better to the "Humans are a versatile class". I'm going with 4/5 but depending on how feats turn out this could end up being a 5/5 since you can pretty much tailor it to be the perfect race for whatever build you want.
+2 Str and +1 to Cha, It's an odd combination to be sure. Half the classes you'd pick this for like one side a bit more than the other. But y'know who loves both? Paladin. Well, Cleric might too. And I suppose a Warlock with a Blade Pact... and a Bard of Valor.... actually you know what? This is pretty good.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Draconic Ancestry, Versatile and badass.
Breath Weapon, it's once per short rest so it's not amazing but it's still pretty great and I can't think of a build that would say, "Y'know what? Nah, I don't really think I'd want a free breath weapon".
Damage Resistance, Icing on the Draconic Cake.
Thoughts, Dragonborn are great. They're not the go to for every build but they don't have a single racial feature I can see that isn't relevant at some point. 5/5.
+2 Int, As I mentioned with Elves Int isn't as good as it has been but Wizards still need it and Wizards are pretty good and short of a variant human this is the only class that get's the +2 off the bat.
Size, See "Halflings"
Darkvision, Nifty
Gnome Cunning, Wait, what?! Free advantage on all Int, Wis and Cha saves against magic? That's pretty great.
Forest Gnome
+1 Dex, Got to get that AC up somehow.
Natural Illusionist, ILLUSIONS MICHAEL! (It's a free spell, what do you want from me?)
Speak with Small Beast, Niche but Nifty
Rock Gnome
+1 Con, So it's boost to AC or boost to HP? Gnomes are pretty sweet.
Artificier's Lore, Considering how much adventurers tend to run into all of these things, having a Rock Gnome is pretty Handy.
Tinker, ALL OF THE FLAVOR!!!! Plus some cool toys.
Thoughts, I think I love gnomes. I've never played a gnome, I don't know why they just never looked super appealing to me. Now, I might have to. They look like SO much fun. I'm so tempted to just give them the full 5/5. I mean, both subraces have good abilities and even if a +2 to Int isn't appealing to everyone Gnome Cunning is a pretty awesome ability. But the cunning only applies to magic, and honestly I feel like a bunch of the scarier magical saves require Dex so I'm gonna give them a 4.5/5 and say that this is the best Gnomes have ever been done.
+2 Cha, +1 to two other abilities, I've already noted that Cha is more relevant (if only slightly) this time around. What I like most about this though is it feels like icing on the cake. You have two other abilities of your choice to help out and if you're build happens to have Cha as a main stat? Score. Half-Elf Sorcerer all day. +2 Cha, +1 Dex, +1 Con.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Fey Ancestry, doesn't always come up but when it does you'll be happy
Skill Versatility, Free Skil-, I'm sorry, TWO free skills.
Thoughts, In a campaign that doesn't allow feats I think Half-Elf beats out Human as the best versatile race 8/10 times. It doesn't have a lot of mind blowing abilities but all of them are just... nice. And at the end of the day I'll take 4 nice features over a handful of good and bad one's any day. More than that I think this feels like the best blend of Human and Elf to date as well. 4/5, best half-elves have ever been done as well.
+2 Str, +1 Con, Not quite a mountain dwarf but still pretty nice.
Speed 30 ft, Solid
Darkvision, Nifty
Menacing, Free skill
Relentless Endurance, Super relevant for a race that's 9 times out of 10, gonna be right in the front lines.
Savage Attacks, Forget Barbarian! I'm going Fighter Champion!
Thoughts, Mountain Dwarf might get out with more things but Half-Orc goes for quality over quantity. The reason Mountain Dwarf still get's a nice spot is that extra point in Con and the fact that I could see non-martial builds wanting to play dwarf just for some of the resistances, stonecunning and the armor proficiency. If you're playing Half-Orc? You're playing martial. You don't have to, but if you're building with purpose you will. That said as a martial race its fantastic. I'm glad they get intimidate off the bat and I'm even happier that they no longer have a penalty to Cha. 4/5
+1 Int, +2 Cha, This is actually a little sad for me. Cha and Int are both fine abilities but I can only think of one class that would want them both and that's Bards of Wit. If Tiefling's were the only race that got the +2 to Cha that would at least give them the niche of go to race for Warlock and Sorcerer but they aren't. And Half-Elf might be able to do them better.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Hellish Resistance, Fire is common so that nice.
Infernal Legacy, Free Spells!
Thoughts, Sadly I think this is the worst of the uncommon classes. The free spells and the resistance to fire save it I think. For a Bard build it's quite nice but more for a Bard of Wit than a Bard in general since a Dragonborn can easily do the Bard of Valor better and a Half-Elf can do either fairly well. But Half-Elves also burn like the rest of you so HA. 3/5, situational but solid. You're probably playing one because you want to be a Tiefling though.
All in all I'm really happy with the races. Even the worst are still pretty good and the best really knock it out of the park. The whole race section probably merits a 4/5 from me.
... I still miss my Shifters though.:smallfrown:
+2 Con, always relevant. Like it or not Con determines hit points and hit points are kind of a thing you need to keep living.
Speed 25 ft, below average but not bad.
Darkvision, handy.
Dwarven Resilience, Advantage against poison is niche but it's also free advantage and poison sucks.
Dwarven Combat Training, Free weapons but if you're going to use them your class likely already gives you the proficiency. Not the reason you play Dwarf.
Tool Proficiency, Craft will not be as dominating as it has been in the past, but this is still nice and flavorful. Plus, Brewers Supplies. Come on.
Stonecunning, when stone work becomes important suddenly so shall you.
Hill Dwarf
+1 Wis, Perception is still a thing and Cleric's, Monk's and Druids will like the bonus.
Dwarven Toughness, if you're +2 to Con didn't tell you that you'll be hard to kill this should.
Mountain Dwarf
+2 Str, a +2 in Con is good. A +2 in Str is good for combat classes. A +2 in Con and Str for combat classes is bonkers.
Dwarven Armor Training, did you pick the Mountain Dwarf to not play a class that already has proficiency in Armor? Well ok, you're call but here it is anyway.
Thoughts: Dwarves don't have all the best racial features but they don't need to. +2 to Con is already reason enough to play a dwarf. The Darkvision and various proficiencies are situational but still fun and very in the spirit of being a Dwarf. As far as subraces go, I like Mountain Dwarf a little better but it's not strictly better than Hill Dwarf. Hill Dwarf's Toughness is universally probably better than armor training anyway but unless you're playing an armored mage you don't pick the Mountain Dwarf for their Armor Training. Pick the subrace that best fits your build and go nuts. 4/5, great for certain builds or if you just want to play a dwarf.
+2 Dex, While Dex may not be quite as universally good as Con it's still pretty nifty. You still need it for initiative and unless you're wearing heavy armor you'll need it for AC. Monks, Rogues, certain Rangers and Barbarians will love it, as will most casters.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Keen Senses, Free Skill
Fey Ancestry, doesn't always come up but when it does you'll be happy
High Elf
+1 Int, doesn't determine spells anymore but Wizards still like it.
Elf Weapon Training, unlike the dwarf I think these do come into play more. Rogue might want a longsword.
Cantrip, Pretty great. It's a free at/will and cantrips aren't bad in 5e
Extra Language, neat.
Wood Elf
+1 Wis, See "Hill Dwarf". Though with the +2 to Dex already a Wood Elf Monk is looking pretty fun right about now.
Elf Weapon Training, see "High Elf"
Fleet of Foot, You don't have to be faster than the Tarrasque, just faster than the High Elf behind you.
Mask of the Wild, If you're a stealthy type you'll like this. Even if you'e not a stealthy type but you find youself needing to hide in the woods, you'll be happy you're a wood elf.
Dark Elf (Drow)
+1 Cha, it's not the most universally useful stat but there are a few classes that need it this time around: Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Warlock.
Superior Darkvision, Haha, I can see better than you can-
Sunlight Sensitivity, Aww....
Drow Magic, Free Spells. Not quite as versitile as High Elf's Cantrip might be but you also get two more spells than they do.
Drow Weapon Training, Sadly I think this is along the same lines as a dwarf. If you're using them you'll probably already be proficient in them.
Thoughts: Elves are pretty strong. Ignoring the stat boost they have a few pretty relevant abilities. A lot of what you'll get is in your subrace though, so that's a big factor. I think Drow might be the weakest subrace but they'e not bad. My problem is I feel like if you're picking them to play a Drow than you'll be happy but if you're picking them for a class than there are better races out there. High Elf and Wood elf are both very strong. 4/5(3/5 for Drow), Elves give you a lot. You're likely picking them for a stat boost or racial ability but you'll be getting even more than what you actually want.
+2 Dex, just as good for halflings as it is for elves.
Size, doesn't help with AC in 5e to my knowledge. Now it's actually slightly hindering.
Speed 25 ft, Below Average but not bad.
Lucky, Nobody likes you nat 1. Go Away.
Brave, Niche but nice. When I'm the only one not frozen by frightful presence it won't matter that the Wood Elf could run faster than me.
Halfling Nimbleness, Turning a slight hindrance into a strength. That's pretty freaking halfling.
Lightfoot
+1 Cha, like the Drow it's not universally useful but classes do want it more than they use to.
Naturally Stealthy, pretty hilarious and I know every halfling rogue will want this.
Stout
+1 Con, arguably better than the Cha boost from lightfoot. Everyone likes more hit points.
Stout Resilience, Like the dwarves this is niche but nice.
Thoughts, A lot of what makes the Halfling good is in the core halfling which is nice. It means you can pick your subrace based on class or build and know you have a solid base of racial traits to back you up. Stout if probably better if you'e picking your class by throwing a dart at a bunch of options but Lightfoot has it's place. 4/5.
+1 to er'ythang, .... yup, that's nice.
Speed 30 ft, solid.
Thoughts, So human is kind of bland but good. You won't get anything out of them but you probably don't need to. You're taking this because you might be over extending in abilities and human can help you out. You're taking this because you want a boost in at least three things. If you only need two solid ability scores than there might be a better class out there. It's hard to find flavor in something that's trying to be generic so I'm gonna give humans 3/5 as a base. They're not bad, they're just... human. They'e actually pretty good.
Variant Human
+1 to two things, still pretty good.
Skills, Free Skill
Feat, free Feat.
Thoughts, It's hard to tell how good the free feat will be. I'm tempted to say "GREAT" since a lot of the feat's look very nice. Since several of the feats give a bonus to an ability score anyway this might end up reading +1 to three things plus some other stuff that's relevant to your class, in which case great!. A Barbarian taking "Durable", A Wizard taking "Keen Mind", A Monk taking "Athlete" or a Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock taking "Actor" are all great ways to get your human to read "+2 to primary stat, +1 to Secondary Stat, Free Skill, Bonus stuff". That reads pretty well on paper. Now you have to have a DM who's allowing Feats which is why I'm rating this separate from generic humans but even the flavor of this speaks better to the "Humans are a versatile class". I'm going with 4/5 but depending on how feats turn out this could end up being a 5/5 since you can pretty much tailor it to be the perfect race for whatever build you want.
+2 Str and +1 to Cha, It's an odd combination to be sure. Half the classes you'd pick this for like one side a bit more than the other. But y'know who loves both? Paladin. Well, Cleric might too. And I suppose a Warlock with a Blade Pact... and a Bard of Valor.... actually you know what? This is pretty good.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Draconic Ancestry, Versatile and badass.
Breath Weapon, it's once per short rest so it's not amazing but it's still pretty great and I can't think of a build that would say, "Y'know what? Nah, I don't really think I'd want a free breath weapon".
Damage Resistance, Icing on the Draconic Cake.
Thoughts, Dragonborn are great. They're not the go to for every build but they don't have a single racial feature I can see that isn't relevant at some point. 5/5.
+2 Int, As I mentioned with Elves Int isn't as good as it has been but Wizards still need it and Wizards are pretty good and short of a variant human this is the only class that get's the +2 off the bat.
Size, See "Halflings"
Darkvision, Nifty
Gnome Cunning, Wait, what?! Free advantage on all Int, Wis and Cha saves against magic? That's pretty great.
Forest Gnome
+1 Dex, Got to get that AC up somehow.
Natural Illusionist, ILLUSIONS MICHAEL! (It's a free spell, what do you want from me?)
Speak with Small Beast, Niche but Nifty
Rock Gnome
+1 Con, So it's boost to AC or boost to HP? Gnomes are pretty sweet.
Artificier's Lore, Considering how much adventurers tend to run into all of these things, having a Rock Gnome is pretty Handy.
Tinker, ALL OF THE FLAVOR!!!! Plus some cool toys.
Thoughts, I think I love gnomes. I've never played a gnome, I don't know why they just never looked super appealing to me. Now, I might have to. They look like SO much fun. I'm so tempted to just give them the full 5/5. I mean, both subraces have good abilities and even if a +2 to Int isn't appealing to everyone Gnome Cunning is a pretty awesome ability. But the cunning only applies to magic, and honestly I feel like a bunch of the scarier magical saves require Dex so I'm gonna give them a 4.5/5 and say that this is the best Gnomes have ever been done.
+2 Cha, +1 to two other abilities, I've already noted that Cha is more relevant (if only slightly) this time around. What I like most about this though is it feels like icing on the cake. You have two other abilities of your choice to help out and if you're build happens to have Cha as a main stat? Score. Half-Elf Sorcerer all day. +2 Cha, +1 Dex, +1 Con.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Fey Ancestry, doesn't always come up but when it does you'll be happy
Skill Versatility, Free Skil-, I'm sorry, TWO free skills.
Thoughts, In a campaign that doesn't allow feats I think Half-Elf beats out Human as the best versatile race 8/10 times. It doesn't have a lot of mind blowing abilities but all of them are just... nice. And at the end of the day I'll take 4 nice features over a handful of good and bad one's any day. More than that I think this feels like the best blend of Human and Elf to date as well. 4/5, best half-elves have ever been done as well.
+2 Str, +1 Con, Not quite a mountain dwarf but still pretty nice.
Speed 30 ft, Solid
Darkvision, Nifty
Menacing, Free skill
Relentless Endurance, Super relevant for a race that's 9 times out of 10, gonna be right in the front lines.
Savage Attacks, Forget Barbarian! I'm going Fighter Champion!
Thoughts, Mountain Dwarf might get out with more things but Half-Orc goes for quality over quantity. The reason Mountain Dwarf still get's a nice spot is that extra point in Con and the fact that I could see non-martial builds wanting to play dwarf just for some of the resistances, stonecunning and the armor proficiency. If you're playing Half-Orc? You're playing martial. You don't have to, but if you're building with purpose you will. That said as a martial race its fantastic. I'm glad they get intimidate off the bat and I'm even happier that they no longer have a penalty to Cha. 4/5
+1 Int, +2 Cha, This is actually a little sad for me. Cha and Int are both fine abilities but I can only think of one class that would want them both and that's Bards of Wit. If Tiefling's were the only race that got the +2 to Cha that would at least give them the niche of go to race for Warlock and Sorcerer but they aren't. And Half-Elf might be able to do them better.
Speed 30 ft, Solid.
Darkvision, Nifty
Hellish Resistance, Fire is common so that nice.
Infernal Legacy, Free Spells!
Thoughts, Sadly I think this is the worst of the uncommon classes. The free spells and the resistance to fire save it I think. For a Bard build it's quite nice but more for a Bard of Wit than a Bard in general since a Dragonborn can easily do the Bard of Valor better and a Half-Elf can do either fairly well. But Half-Elves also burn like the rest of you so HA. 3/5, situational but solid. You're probably playing one because you want to be a Tiefling though.
All in all I'm really happy with the races. Even the worst are still pretty good and the best really knock it out of the park. The whole race section probably merits a 4/5 from me.
... I still miss my Shifters though.:smallfrown: