what races do you think we will eventually see?

[Rfkannen]

So from what I hear their are not any rules on playing monsters in the mm and that got me thinking. What exactly are we going to get race wise? I imagine that we will eventually get most of the setting races ( kender, changlings) but other than that it is hard to guess. What do you think we will get? Personally I think we will get some kind of giant race, I would prefer half ogres but I think we probably will get goliaths.

[Ellington]

I can imagine some of the races from the 4E PHB2 will make an appearance, namely goliaths, devas and shifters. I'm also expecting Genasi, Warforged and some other setting specific races.

[Rfkannen]

I can imagine some of the races from the 4E PHB2 will make an appearance, namely goliaths, devas and shifters. I'm also expecting Genasi, Warforged and some other setting specific races.


Hmm I definity agree with the goliath and the setting specific races(including shifters) but i am not so sure about deva, granted many 4e players liked them (i never played one but i heard good things) and they are in the mm. But n I can see them returning to the aasimar as they are trying to get old players.

[Yagyujubei]

im pretty sure warforged was confirmed to be in the DMG, I remember reading it a couple times.

[toapat]

Vedalken and Leonin are probably the farthest out we will see.

maybe a player race version of succubus

not having Aesimar as a player race when teifling already is feels weird though

[Rfkannen]

Vedalken and Leonin are probably the farthest out we will see.

maybe a player race version of succubus

not having Aesimar as a player race when teifling already is feels weird though



Vedalken? Wasnt that from mtg?

Also the same reason that I don't think we will get a half ogre is the reason I don't think we will get a succubus, I think that wizard might be trying to get rid of any implications that those kind of races may have. I could be wrong though.

[toapat]

Vedalken? Wasnt that from mtg?

the website hint towards there being one of the MTG settings being added into 5th (the player factions are in order of the colorwheel while presented as such, although the harpers dont themselves fit blue), Ravnica being the most likely. Mirrodin being the least, with Alara falling inbetween. Dominia, Kamigawa, and Lorwyn are most likely out of the question for translation, as they basically translate to Faerun, Dragonlance, and Ravenloft respectively

[Rfkannen]

the website hint towards there being one of the MTG settings being added into 5th (the player factions are in order of the colorwheel while presented as such, although the harpers dont themselves fit blue), Ravnica being the most likely. Mirrodin being the least, with Alara falling inbetween. Dominia, Kamigawa, and Lorwyn are most likely out of the question for translation, as they basically translate to Faerun, Dragonlance, and Ravenloft respectively

Oh, I did not know that, how cool! I have not played mtg in forever and did not hear about that.

[Forrestfire]

I hadn't heard about that. That's actually pretty neat.

(Nitpick: "Dominia" is the entire multiverse. "Dominaria" is the plane that all that bad stuff happened on)

[DrBurr]

Goliath and Minotaurs are the only 4e races I feel are still needed, Eladrin are now High Elves, I doubt we'll see Shardminds and Wilden, maybe Deva and Shifters. Minotaurs are definitely a lock though, especially if we see a Dragonlance setting guide.

Githyanki, Githzerai, Muls and Thrikreen will be in their appropriate setting guides

Expect to see Duergar, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Gnolls, Orcs and Kobolds once we get a Monsters as PCs source.

[toapat]

Oh, I did not know that, how cool! I have not played mtg in forever and did not hear about that.

the settings arent perfect matches. Planescape, for instance, has alot of overlap as well with Ravnica (worldcity), however the 3rd ed state of Dragonlance had the souls of the dead draining arcane magic, so thats where im getting that overlap with Kamigawa and the kami war

Dominaria is basically Faerun + Eberron, so basically Faerun. its basically dead last we knew and has this small Effect > Cause issue, but its not distinct as a setting.

Zendikar and Theros are also wholly encompassed by Faerun

Lorwyn/Shadowmoor is in a similar possition as Kamigawa, theres not enough overlap to be the same setting as but theres too much overlap to be implemented. and Innistrad is basically Ravenloft as it is.

the other major settings are Mirrodin, Alara, and Ravnika, of those:

Mirrodin is the least complex plane, it has essentially about 12 factions with no real political structure more evolved then the tribe, An interesting high tech setting but not from my view sufficiently robust enough for a DnD setting.

Alara is 5 subsettings with a variety of factions and political structures. the setting is decently robust but we didnt really get too much of it from what books were put out.

And then there is Ravnica. Sure its a city world but its more like Shadowrun or Paranoia of a city then Sigil. Sigil is a world of trade and a neutral ground, a hub of the war of the great wheel. Ravnica is a city of megacorps, crime, decay and other "local" problems. The police forces are the terrorists, the farmers are a union of necromancers and oozes. genetic engineers and Thaumo-NASA opperate without OSHA compliance. the government is run by what ammounts to an entire group of Joseph McCarthy. The union of Druids are the civil engineers. Everyone works for the CIA against eachother, The hippies demolish entire city areas, while the most successful religion is run by a demon of hedonism. Oh, and the Mafia is also the bank.

[Rfkannen]

Goliath and Minotaurs are the only 4e races I feel are still needed, Eladrin are now High Elves, I doubt we'll see Shardminds and Wilden, maybe Deva and Shifters. Minotaurs are definitely a lock though, especially if we see a Dragonlance setting guide.

Githyanki, Githzerai, Muls and Thrikreen will be in their appropriate setting guides

Expect to see Duergar, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Gnolls, Orcs and Kobolds once we get a Monsters as PCs source.

Yeah eladrin are just not needed. Shardminds were.... weird. Shifters are a definite. You know wilden were in 3.5, I just learned that like a week ago, never heard people talk about them though. I did not even think about minotaurs, minotaurs are awesome, even more reason for dragonlance.

[Dralnu]

I would love to see Ravnica. Kind of like a grander scale of Faerun's various metropolis with magic featuring more prominently in day to day life? I already see tons of parallels. Baldur's Gate mercenary police, the Flaming Fist, may have inspired the Boros guild.. just add minotaurs and angels and bam! Would be really cool.

Zendikar is MTG's "D&D Plane" so it would make sense. A vast, ever-changing, dangerous world filled to the brim with ancient forgotten treasure that bands of adventurers seek out for a living. No doubt FR cribbed the idea of earthmotes and whatnot from Zendikar. It would be trivial to bring it to D&D I think. I mean, before the Eldrazi got released? Or after, assuming the Eldrazi haven't done too much damage, which seems like they didn't.

And Alara. Ah, Alara. I was so enthralled by Esper. Such a beautiful, distinct feeling world. The other shards felt a bit more cliche to me but still, all in all a very sweet place to run a campaign in.


Apologies for going off-track. Most looking forward to Warforged and Genasai.

[Sir_Leorik]

Goliath and Minotaurs are the only 4e races I feel are still needed, Eladrin are now High Elves, I doubt we'll see Shardminds and Wilden, maybe Deva and Shifters. Minotaurs are definitely a lock though, especially if we see a Dragonlance setting guide.

Githyanki, Githzerai, Muls and Thrikreen will be in their appropriate setting guides

Expect to see Duergar, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Gnolls, Orcs and Kobolds once we get a Monsters as PCs source.


Yeah eladrin are just not needed. Shardminds were.... weird. Shifters are a definite. You know wilden were in 3.5, I just learned that like a week ago, never heard people talk about them though. I did not even think about minotaurs, minotaurs are awesome, even more reason for dragonlance.

I don't see the Shardminds making a comeback. They're too alien, too weird. Warforged and Kender have been mentioned as showing up on the DMG as optional PC races. I'm not sure Minotaurs will be back any time soon.

Shifters, Aasimar, Goliaths and Changelings are probably also likely. I don't think they're likely, but I'd love rules for Vistani, Giff, Hadozee, Centaurs and other odd-ball races.

[RustyArmor]

More subraces like Aquatic and Grey elves (later called Eladrin) and dwarf types.
Aasimar almost have to be, specially since they have tiefling are a based race.
Genasi I don't feel were all that popular but people played them once in while and they were a nice "elemental" race
As others said can see Minotaur and Goliath I frankly don't care for either myself for it got tiring seeing every fight being one of these two, but they were very popular.

In general I see all 3.5 and 4th ed races making a comeback with time but I myself would like to see an animal hybrid race since these are popular homebrewed but I don't see wotc making them.

[Grayson01]

I am hoping to see Avariel, Asimar (cause I agree with the Tifling statments), Aquatic Elf, Raptorian, Spirit Folk, Yuan-Ti, as well as a host of sub-races for the base races (not abusable ones but I like a varity, Like SNnow-Elf, or all the Shifter variations).

[rlc]

I don't have much to add because everybody else is saying pretty much what I think we'll see, but I don't know if I would dismiss the shardminds quite yet. They'd make a decent warforged subrace.

[DrBurr]

Yeah eladrin are just not needed. Shardminds were.... weird. Shifters are a definite. You know wilden were in 3.5, I just learned that like a week ago, never heard people talk about them though. I did not even think about minotaurs, minotaurs are awesome, even more reason for dragonlance.

They were? My 3rd edition knowledge is pretty poor though, I started with 4th and have gone back to played 1st and 2nd so I'm more familiar with those editions. They probably were in some weird splatbook.

[Rfkannen]

They were? My 3rd edition knowledge is pretty poor though, I started with 4th and have gone back to played 1st and 2nd so I'm more familiar with those editions. They probably were in some weird splatbook.

I looked it up, apperently they were based on the killoren from races of the wild but were not the same thing. Look pretty similar though.

[T.G. Oskar]

With Faerun as the "main" setting, I expect Aasimar to appear somewhere alongside the Genasi, with the Campaign Setting providing access to other races (Wemic, for example). Various subraces were covered in the PHB, but no mention of Stronghearts, right? Or Ghostwise.

From Eberron, I expect to see Changelings, Shifter (with subraces), Kalashtar and Warforged, though the rumor is that the DMG will have the Warforged. Warforged might have a psionic sub-race version (and maybe Warforged Scout/Warforged Charger), probably. Hard to see if there'll be Daelkyr Half-Bloods or Eneko. Maybe the Goblinoid races as well (particularly Hobgoblins).

From Dragonlance, expect the Kender, and probably some specific subraces (not exactly the Silvanesti and Kagonesti, but maybe Dagonesti and Dimernesti; same for Gully Dwarves). Maybe playable Minotaurs and Centaurs, and with high difficulty, the Irda.

I also expect playable Kobolds and Goblins any time soon; the latter being the game's unofficial mascot, and the former because, in the case of a Psionics Handbook, will be required in order to have the Blue subrace. Duergar were mentioned in passing, but they'd be as much a subrace of the Dwarf as the Drow are a subrace of the Elf. Giths of both kinds (Githyanki and Githzerai) will probably be exclusive to a Psionics Handbook, while Thri-Kreen and Mul will probably be reserved for a Dark Sun supplement (and also Half-Giants, though I presume they'll be in the Psionics Handbook because Dark Sun and Eberron both have Half-Giants).

New races, though...? Hard to determine.

As a side point: my gut instinct is that the devs will combine the fluff from the Aasimar (children of celestial origin) and the Deva (a divine-touched race that reincarnates) into a single race. Perhaps to appease the grognards they'll be called Aasimar, but for the most part they'll retain the concept of "inheriting memories" from the Deva, albeit not their physical traits (though they may surface). This will create an interesting contrast with the Tiefling, which is pretty much a blend of earlier editions and the "tainted by pact" bit from 4e; Aasimar will be humanoids touched by a hint of celestial or divine blood, destined to reincarnate and retain their memories of having fought ancient evils (making them extra special). While good Tieflings are the result of rebelling against their heritage, evil Aasimar are the result of the weight of the fight against evil breaking them and turning them astray out of spite (seeing how Evil slowly wins after centuries when you access your memories can make you jaded), which would be an interesting way to separate them from Tiefling fluff rather than make them the "anti-Tiefling". But, I could be proven wrong. That said: it'd be an interesting tie-in to Mulhorandi fluff, if it happens to remain in existence after the Spellplague and the Sundering.

[EvilAnagram]

With Faerun as the "main" setting, I expect Aasimar to appear somewhere alongside the Genasi, with the Campaign Setting providing access to other races (Wemic, for example). Various subraces were covered in the PHB, but no mention of Stronghearts, right? Or Ghostwise.

From Eberron, I expect to see Changelings, Shifter (with subraces), Kalashtar and Warforged, though the rumor is that the DMG will have the Warforged. Warforged might have a psionic sub-race version (and maybe Warforged Scout/Warforged Charger), probably. Hard to see if there'll be Daelkyr Half-Bloods or Eneko. Maybe the Goblinoid races as well (particularly Hobgoblins).

From Dragonlance, expect the Kender, and probably some specific subraces (not exactly the Silvanesti and Kagonesti, but maybe Dagonesti and Dimernesti; same for Gully Dwarves). Maybe playable Minotaurs and Centaurs, and with high difficulty, the Irda.

I also expect playable Kobolds and Goblins any time soon; the latter being the game's unofficial mascot, and the former because, in the case of a Psionics Handbook, will be required in order to have the Blue subrace. Duergar were mentioned in passing, but they'd be as much a subrace of the Dwarf as the Drow are a subrace of the Elf. Giths of both kinds (Githyanki and Githzerai) will probably be exclusive to a Psionics Handbook, while Thri-Kreen and Mul will probably be reserved for a Dark Sun supplement (and also Half-Giants, though I presume they'll be in the Psionics Handbook because Dark Sun and Eberron both have Half-Giants).

New races, though...? Hard to determine.

As a side point: my gut instinct is that the devs will combine the fluff from the Aasimar (children of celestial origin) and the Deva (a divine-touched race that reincarnates) into a single race. Perhaps to appease the grognards they'll be called Aasimar, but for the most part they'll retain the concept of "inheriting memories" from the Deva, albeit not their physical traits (though they may surface). This will create an interesting contrast with the Tiefling, which is pretty much a blend of earlier editions and the "tainted by pact" bit from 4e; Aasimar will be humanoids touched by a hint of celestial or divine blood, destined to reincarnate and retain their memories of having fought ancient evils (making them extra special). While good Tieflings are the result of rebelling against their heritage, evil Aasimar are the result of the weight of the fight against evil breaking them and turning them astray out of spite (seeing how Evil slowly wins after centuries when you access your memories can make you jaded), which would be an interesting way to separate them from Tiefling fluff rather than make them the "anti-Tiefling". But, I could be proven wrong. That said: it'd be an interesting tie-in to Mulhorandi fluff, if it happens to remain in existence after the Spellplague and the Sundering.

This is pretty much what I expect, too, though I think the Goliaths will be coming soon, too.

[JustGrimace]

If I had to guess, the DMG is going to have the oddball races that are very well liked, like the confirmed Warforged/Kender, along with maybe the Kobold and the drueger/dark gnome subrace.

After that, though, it'll depend entirely on publishing strategy. If they stick to what they say, only putting out adventures paths and a yearly/biannually Campaign Setting, then we'll get the relevant races/subraces for those campaigns. At some point I have to imagine they'll stick in a Monster Race As PC Section for Orcs, Minotaurs, Goblins and the like, but I have no idea where.

[rlc]

Current speculation is that monsters as races will be in the dmg.

[Sir_Leorik]

More subraces like Aquatic and Grey elves (later called Eladrin) and dwarf types.

Grey Elves are already in the PHB/Basic Rules. They're the High Elves.


Genasi I don't feel were all that popular but people played them once in while and they were a nice "elemental" race

Genasi originated in the same setting as Aasimar and Tieflings: Planescape, and they are notably found in Faerun, so IMO there is a good chance Genasi are coming back.

[Logosloki]

My hope list is: Orc, Kobold, Goblin, Aasimir, Warforged, Minotaur, Thri-kreen, and Modron.
My wish list is: flying and aquatic player races.
My it's coming whether I like it or not list is: kender.

[Broken Twin]

Excluding setting specific races that will obviously be included when/if the setting books come out... it would be interesting to see Shardminds make the jump. A proper goblinoid race would be cool (with subraces to denote goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear, etc).

Edit: If Genasi DON'T make the jump, I will be very, very upset. Can't really place my finger on why, but they're my favorite player race.

[Inevitability]

Changeling/Doppelganger will likely return.

Maybe Shardminds/Psiforged, possibly as a warforged subrace.

And there's of course the Githyanki and Githzerai, who, if they come, will probably get split into two subraces.

[Daishain]

What I expect to see pop up:
-Warforged (seriously, they're going to have riots on their hands if they fail to include everyone's favorite magical robots)
-Aasimar (actually, I'm not sure about this one. I think it should be there to balance out the tiefling, but it looks like the half-elf has mostly taken over its niche)
-Changeling and/or Doppleganger (more likely the former I think)
-Kobolds (preferably with more tricky trapper goodness and less dragon cheese)

What I hope to see pop up (but don't know about the likelihood thereof):
-Animal shapeshifters with a wide degree in variation. This version of D&D seems to be centered around giving a high degree of options within a single package, and I think that could extend to this category as well for a lot of flavor and fun. I would set it up as two flavors of shifters. The traditional lycanthropes, and awakened animals that have gained a humanoid form by one means or another (aka tibbits/hengeyokai) In both cases, an increase in ability can come with drawbacks, such as risks of radical personality changes and/or semi-random loss of control in the case of a lycanthrope.
-They had better damn well include a Raptoran or equivalent in there in my opinion, adding mobility to a fight is always interesting
-I would like to see a variant of the Genasi in there, preferably with something to make them worth playing for once
-Necropolitans and/or deathless. More the former than the latter, I mainly just like the idea of an entire culture of intelligent undead.

Perhaps most of all in regards to races, I would like to see a return of the 3.5e bloodlines mechanic, just in a form that actually, you know, makes sense.

[EvilAnagram]

-I would like to see a variant of the Genasi in there, preferably with something to make them worth playing for once

What? I don't know what editions you've played, but 4e Genasi were awesome.

[Fwiffo86]

*sigh*

I miss the days when humans were distinguished by country, and made up 98% of the worlds population.

None of this optional race stuff.

That being said, Warforged are a cool concept and I like them. I blacked/redacted out the Drow section of my PHB because I hate them, always have. The celestial/infernal/elemental subraces, i just can't get behind. Sort of like, how does a fire elemental mate with a human?

Many of the races just don't seem.... i don't know, logical.

Now monsters as players.... that's a whole different ball of wax.

[Daishain]

What? I don't know what editions you've played, but 4e Genasi were awesome.

4E's one of the few I haven't. In 3.5 the Genasi were basically just weird looking humans with no particularly useful abilities and a level adjustment.

[Rfkannen]

4E's one of the few I haven't. In 3.5 the Genasi were basically just weird looking humans with no particularly useful abilities and a level adjustment.

Yeah gensai in 3.5 were interesting but they were basically human. In 4e it is specificaly stated that they could have been dwarves for all anyone knows. Also they had head spikes and with feats could swich what element they were.

[EvilAnagram]

4E's one of the few I haven't. In 3.5 the Genasi were basically just weird looking humans with no particularly useful abilities and a level adjustment.

Genasi in 4e were a completely different race hailing from the elemental chaos/whatever that plane is in the Forgotten Realms. Each different element had different resistances, bonuses, and unique powers that were all pretty awesome. For example, the Water Genasi could turn into water and move at full speed without provoking opportunity attacks or triggering environmental damage, and they could breathe underwater. Fire Genasi resisted fire damage and could activate a firey aura.

Then, splatbooks came out, and Genasi went completely crazy. Sand Genasi, Acid Genasi, Magma Genasi, Poison Genasi... it just got ridiculous.

[Rfkannen]

Genasi in 4e were a completely different race hailing from the elemental chaos/whatever that plane is in the Forgotten Realms. Each different element had different resistances, bonuses, and unique powers that were all pretty awesome. For example, the Water Genasi could turn into water and move at full speed without provoking opportunity attacks or triggering environmental damage, and they could breathe underwater. Fire Genasi resisted fire damage and could activate a firey aura.

Then, splatbooks came out, and Genasi went completely crazy. Sand Genasi, Acid Genasi, Magma Genasi, Poison Genasi... it just got ridiculous.


And do not forget about abyssal gensai, now those were insane. Yeah with all the suppert they had and how awesome they were I bet they will prob be in the phb2.

my only problem with them was how fire gensai didnt catch everything on fire.

[pwykersotz]

*sigh*

I miss the days when humans were distinguished by country, and made up 98% of the worlds population.

None of this optional race stuff.

That being said, Warforged are a cool concept and I like them. I blacked/redacted out the Drow section of my PHB because I hate them, always have. The celestial/infernal/elemental subraces, i just can't get behind. Sort of like, how does a fire elemental mate with a human?

Many of the races just don't seem.... i don't know, logical.

Now monsters as players.... that's a whole different ball of wax.

Rings of Elemental Immunity...useful for more than just dungeon crawls!

I love a ton of race options, but I keep their numbers limited. My world is about 70% Human, 25% Elf/Dwarf/Halfling, 5% Other. It keeps the other races feeling mystical.

[RustyArmor]

Yeah got out of hand in my games too. Became a wandering circus of freaks over an adventuring party. So set house rule that for every four players willing to be PHB races the 5th player can be some freak race. The players voted of course so they can't claim DM is favoring one over the others.

[Sartharina]

I hope we get MTG races! I'd love to be able to play as a Nacatl/Leonin!

[toapat]

I hope we get MTG races! I'd love to be able to play as a Nacatl/Leonin!

i personally dont care about the MTG races. what i care about is if we get Ravnica Campaign setting, because a properly robust intrigue setting other then Planescape isnt something DnD has, and planescape loses some of the perspective because its god vs god, not people vs people. Ebberron tried but that entire world suffers from too many ideas not enough content, along with avoiding putting anything significant into motion with the books

[DontEatRawHagis]

For Dark Sun:
Mul/half dwarf
Thri-Kreen
Half-giants/I hope.

[Daishain]

I hope we get MTG races! I'd love to be able to play as a Nacatl/Leonin!

Catfolk are one of the possible races already in D&D lore. Based on my understanding of MTG (which is admittedly quite sparse), they're quite close to the races you mention, at least in terms of base physiology and concept.

[Fwiffo86]

Well, maybe some Hutaakans would be cool.

Point if you know what I'm talking about without looking it up.

[Gnomes2169]

I'm going to guess that we will likely see lizardfolk, draconians and dhampyres eventually. Lizardfolk and dhampyres in one of the future MM, and Draconians whenever they come out with Dragonlance source material (likely as a subrace of dragonborn).

[Fwiffo86]

I think I read somewhere that Draconians actually started out as reskinned Lizardmen.