What's your favorite race and why?

[Tanarii]

What's your favorite 5e race? Why?

Yes this is me starting a thread just so I can post about mine. But I promise to come back and ooo and aah about your responses. :smallwink:

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My favorite 5e race is gnomes. Why? Mainly because the art of the female gnome Ranger in the PHB makes her look like a badass. Also because they're fun to play, as in they've got a fun little race mechanic for each sub race. Tinker and Speak with Beasts just have fun written all over them.

Overall though, they're everything 3e did with halflings, taking fat boring stodgy stick in the muds and smashing it together with a far-out ridiculous dragonlance caricature, and the result is both fun and joy to play. Gnomes have been unfairly treated by games for a long time, more so since they became comical (amd often witless) squeaky-voiced steam-punk caricatures, as popularized by a certain MMORPG. But that's all behind us now. Any player that squeaks can be openly mocked as if they were a red-headed Scottish-accented dwarf. :smallamused:

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Feel free to raspberry someone else's choice if it's your least favorite, but please do it within the forum rules. Adding this because I just know my favorite is gonna draw raspberries ;)

[KorvinStarmast]

What's your favorite 5e race? Why? 1. vHuman. Why? If it's point buy, the flexibility in build is just awesome. While the stats aren't great, getting "just the right feat" to start (like Alert, observant, Resilient Con) each offers a substantial benefit. And, it offers up what the PHB claims the human has: a great all around 'good at anything' basis.

2. Hill Dwarf: why? +1 Wisdom and I like to play clerics. And dwarfs drink beer. I like beer.

Raspberry: gnomes are a sad mutation between dwarf and hobbit. Get rid of them: it would make for a better world. (Vague reference to the movie Serenity and various Firefly episodes (the operative)) The only race they are allowed to look down on are kender, who need to be made into kibbles and bits.

[Millstone85]

Seconding gnomes. My headcanon is that they are descended from dwarves who sought the riches of the Feywild. Modern dwarves use this as a cautionary tale about that plane, which made gnomes smaller, frivolous in their craft, and somewhat elven-ish. To which gnomes answer with "Oh yeah, suuuch a tragedy".

[Warder]

I love githzerai, but I've never played one. I don't think I can do them justice. Same with elves actually, I think they're great but I can't wrap my head around how an elf would think or act in most situations, so I chicken out and pick half-elves instead.

But for races I've actually played, I think I've enjoyed aasimar the most. There's something very appealing about figuring out to deal with divine baggage you never sought out or maybe even wanted. Divine/Favored Soul tickles the same spot for me.

[heavyfuel]

VHuman or Custom Lineage

Most builds I play require at least one feat, and most DMs (for some reason) insist on starting at level 1. These races allow me to play something closer to the character I want from the get go.

[Greywander]

I keep finding myself being drawn to tieflings. I think it's the mix of their racial feats (I like having good defenses, so resistance to the three most common non-weapon damage types is pretty appealing) as well as the option of having wings. I do think flying is overhyped, but it's definitely useful and opens up some new tactical options for several builds.

I also like warforged as a generic option. Again, because they're more defensively oriented. Not needing air, food, drink, or sleep counts as a defensive buff, despite these things rarely being an issue in actual play. I'm sad the envoy got the axe, as the integrated tool was also a nice feature (pick thieves' tools and you can never be locked up). The AC buff gets a lot stronger if you optimize your AC, too, though AC optimization isn't that hard to do, so I'd worry more about saving throws.

[lall]

Gnomes are my second favorite.

Drow are #1. Partly due to the elven beauty thing. long-lived, etc. Mostly though because they differ from races in good societies who try to achieve good (helping the needy/poor) by evil means (the use of force if taxes aren’t paid). Meanwhile, the drow may do many evil things, but I don’t think they tax. Maybe someone can correct me.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I'm a boring old VHuman lover because I value the versatility of a feat and picking ASI very highly.

Second would be Warforged because I'm drawn to the idea of being a purpose built machine who can lean heavily into that or branch out from it.

Lastly would be Lizardfolk, purely because my introduction to fantasy RPG was Elder Scrolls and I've got an Argonian assassin that I play in each one.

[Tanarii]

Raspberry: gnomes are a sad mutation between dwarf and hobbit. Get rid of them: it would make for a better world. (Vague reference to the movie Serenity and various Firefly episodes (the operative)You're not going to live there. There's no place for you there. You're a monster! :smallamused:


The only race they are allowed to look down on are kender, who need to be made into kibbles and bits.Time to come clean, I was a teenage kender player. :smallredface:


To which gnomes answer with "Oh yeah, suuuch a tragedy".Whats funny is most dwarf players want to break the dour dwarf mold.


Same with elves actually, I think they're great but I can't wrap my head around how an elf would think or act in most situations, so I chicken out and pick half-elves instead.
Post Mordenkainens elves are especially alien.


I keep finding myself being drawn to tieflings.I really don't like 5e tiefling appearance. They'd be fine if they were close enough to human to have a reasonable chance at disguising themself, like 2e tieflings.

[KorvinStarmast]

Time to come clean, I was a teenage kender player. :smallredface: Dude, the ninja turtles were so much better. :smallsmile: And yeah, I am in the monster manual, somewhere ... hmm, did they edit that page out before they published? :smalleek:

[MaxWilson]

Humans, because the stats and feat you select are a nice insight into the whole nation/bloodline you come from. I like worlds with speedy savannah Machakans (+Dex, Con and Mobile) and massive warlike Valerians (+Str, Con and Heavy Armor Master) and cunning Drasnians (+Int, Wis and Observant) and arrogant elitist Thayans (+Int, Dex and Magic Initiate) and secretive superstitious Pathan cults in the highlands (+Dex, +Wis and Mage Slayer).

I like having these stats and feats as shorthand for cultures and bloodlines, both so that players can help define the gameworld by making up a background for a PC, and so I can use those cultures to signal things right back to the players (a whole company of Valerian NPCs = serious firepower).

[loki_ragnarock]

V. Humans.

The "v" is short for very.

I can get humans. They make sense. Their motivations. Their needs.

All these alien things with two legs and two arms? They're basically just humans, too. But since that isn't what it says on the tin, I hold it against them.

[Dravda]

V. Humans.

The "v" is short for very.

I can get humans. They make sense. Their motivations. Their needs.

All these alien things with two legs and two arms? They're basically just humans, too. But since that isn't what it says on the tin, I hold it against them.

Pretty much the same here. My friends call me basic for playing human characters, but I find it easier to get into a human character's head, think about their background and motivations. While that's possible for other races (I like elves a lot), it effectively requires that I pass all my thinking through what is, effectively, an alien's psychology. While that can be fun, when I have a cool character in mind that I want to play, I usually default to human.

[Mastikator]

I'm also going to go against the tide and say Variant Human :smallbiggrin:

Besides that, these are on my like list:

Dragonborn, Elf, Tiefling, Aasimar, Bugbear, Hobgoblin, Orc, Gith, Warforged, lizardfolk

And then these are the races that I like that they exist, but don't want to play as one.

Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Half elf and half orc, centaur, goblin, satyr, kobold, yuan-ti, firbolg, goliath, Kalashtar, changeling, shifter

Races I don't like:

Standard human, what an atrociously boring race.

[Sirdar]

I really like the Eberron races. They feel less generic than many of the PHB races. That said, variant Human is probably my favorite.

[Ortho]

I've always been partial to the Loxodon. The inherent ridiculousness of a half-elephant person just appeals to me.

[Pandamonium]

I love changelings, something about always wearing a mask and being able to be someone else :D (I kinda love escapism).

Also gnomes, halflings and any small races.
I think it is a leftover from playing a very well rolled Str 18 halfling barbarian and surprising many enemies with the strength in that lil' body!

[ezekielraiden]

Dragonborn. Why?

1. Warrior race that ISN'T written as dumb and ugly.
2. Dragons, but playable!
3. Arkhosia.

[Ir0ns0ul]

Dwarf.

I always loved the classic image of the grizzled dwarven warrior veteran holding an axe or warhammer and fully protected by an iron plate. A seasoned Fighter Battlemaster who mistrusts any kind of arcane magic and trusts only in the strength of his arms.

As a side note: Wizard is also my favorite class. Which provides an unusual combination with dwarves. But thanks to the amazing Mark of Warding Dwarf sub-race from Eberron, I have been able to explore more and more this odd concept.

[Sigreid]

Based on what I actually wind up playing most, half elf. Mostly because of the extra stat boost if I'm honest.

[Magicspook]

I'm gonna have to say human, for the same reason as others. The other races are described (or played) like humans with hats on anyway. For each race, there's only two ways to play: with the stereotype or against the stereotype. With humans, there is a much greater variety of characters to play.

Having said that, I have a weakness for silly races that really are just a human with a hat, and I like to play them for oneshot characters or NPCs when I DM. Boggles, bullywugs, mephits, I love roleplaying those guys. But I wouldn't consider them for a full-fledged long-term character.

There is something I despise about the concept of (high) elves that I can't quite lay my finger on (but I probably don't need to since about half the internet agrees with that sentiment). So that would be my least favourite race.

[MrStabby]

What's your favorite 5e race? Why?

Yes this is me starting a thread just so I can post about mine. But I promise to come back and ooo and aah about your responses. :smallwink:

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My favorite 5e race is gnomes. Why? Mainly because the art of the female gnome Ranger in the PHB makes her look like a badass. Also because they're fun to play, as in they've got a fun little race mechanic for each sub race. Tinker and Speak with Beasts just have fun written all over them.

Overall though, they're everything 3e did with halflings, taking fat boring stodgy stick in the muds and smashing it together with a far-out ridiculous dragonlance caricature, and the result is both fun and joy to play. Gnomes have been unfairly treated by games for a long time, more so since they became comical (amd often witless) squeaky-voiced steam-punk caricatures, as popularized by a certain MMORPG. But that's all behind us now. Any player that squeaks can be openly mocked as if they were a red-headed Scottish-accented dwarf. :smallamused:

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Feel free to raspberry someone else's choice if it's your least favorite, but please do it within the forum rules. Adding this because I just know my favorite is gonna draw raspberries ;)

Gnomes for me as well, and pretty much for the same reasons.

There are a few other bits as well - gnomes come with a pre-built area to shine in in terms of mental saves. When facing down mind flayers, or evil enchanters or whatever you have an edge. These are the kind of things I think it is cool to be strong against and the kind of saves I hate to fail.

Gnomes are also pretty diverse in peoples expectations - magic goblin-fairy type creatures, tinkerers, cthonic rock people, magi...

[da newt]

Mostly I'm drawn to DEX types - precision and quickness over brawn or magic, and I prefer non-standard (goblin trying to pass themselves off as a halfling, for example), but my favorite PC to role play was a Bugbear - I played him like a 7.5' tall Wookie. He was strong but lean, and an absolute teddy bear to his friends, but if you tried to hurt his buddies - watch out! I tried to find every opportunity to take advantage of his height and Orangutan arms so long he could tie his shoe laces while standing up (if he wore shoes). He climbed everything.

My other favorite PC to role play was a Mask of Many Faces Warlock who NEVER showed his/her/their true form / race.

I do want to play the new UA 'race' with spider climb - sure flying is more beneficial, but wall crawling is so much cooler. I'd never set foot on the ground/floor.

[Hand_of_Vecna]

I'm another variant human fan.

I like the versatility, and this versatility serves a deeper purpose. As a rule I want my character do be defined by what they do rather than what they are.

I place a lot of value on experiencing and exploring a fantastical world when I play D&D. Having my PC or more than half of my party be fantastic races especially those that are not "boring" like elves, dwarves, and halflings undermines this experience.

When I make an exception to this, I lean fully into it. I'll play whatever race is an oppressed minority or refugees in the core setting or I'll play something much weirder than a human in a hat star trek alien like a Gnoll with a soundboard of hyena laughs and large dogs chewing bones or a bug man that communicates with emotive clicks and a chalk board he wears around his neck.

[jaappleton]

I love Half Orcs.

The idea of being the underdog, often feared a bit because you’re associated with what many consider to be monstrous, often outcast

And turning that into a symbol of hope, a champion for people to rally behind

Or.... Instead turning that into the ‘Knight in Sour Armor’ trope. Yeah, they all want me to help get rid of the tribe of Ogres terrorizing them.... But as soon as that’s over, they still fear me. I’ll help anyway, because it’s the right thing to do, and that’s who I am. The ones that beg for my help, they’re more monstrous than those Ogres most of the time.... With Ogres, at least they’re honest about where they stand.

And their abilities? Darkvision, always nice. Hit harder when you crit? Yes please. And Relentless Endurance?! It’s such an amazing feeling to take a huge amount of damage and be able to stare back at your enemy with ferocity in your eyes and say, “Im still standing”

And that last line, that’s a big part of why I love them. They do that both in battle and out of battle. You can look at all the townsfolk who really don’t want you around and stand tall, and say “I’m. Still. Here.”

[Dienekes]

Do they have to be playable? I have a soft spot for Oni/Ogre-Mages.

Anyway of the playable races, in order:

Dwarves: Of the classic fantasy races, these are easily my favorite. The themes of steady labor toward achieving perfection really rings true to me. Also in my game world I kinda have them as humanoid naked-mole rats. Essentially tunneling eusocial creatures, but with of course the added Dwarven focus on creation.


Hobgoblins: I have always been a fan of the “villain” races. And of them as a race the Hobgoblins are far and away the most interesting to play as. A focus on group behavior and tactics over the aggressive brutality of the orcs. They make excellent mid-tier villains when your players have handled the lower threats and now want a group who can still be used as fodder, but you have an excuse to make the players think to get a win. That the enemy is planning against them specifically. If they are going to infiltrate a war party there won’t just be a few guards on watch. There will be active groups of patrols with overlapping fields of vision and daily code words. It becomes a game of our planning the opponent, that still ends up with the party getting into a big fight at some point where they get to kill a bunch of essentially minions and feel like big damn heroes. Pity I don’t think the stat block does a particularly good job of expressing them in game. Or I suppose more accurately the game system does not allow their traits to effect the classes the way the fluff implies.


Lizardfolk: I like taking my races and giving them a more inhuman twist than they start with, with the lore. Dwarves with the eusocial thing. My elves are a bit more fey, to the point my players have called them aliens. And that sort of thing. So it’s very pleasant to me when I find a race where the base lore already has them as suitably inhuman. And it’s fun to roleplay a creature that is so completely avoid of higher emotions.


Goblins: So, my goblins are all varying degrees of insane and self-destructive with increasingly silly names. It’s kind of a running joke among my players that when a goblin walks on stage things are about to get very funny and something will probably blow up. I’ll be the first to admit they are not the most fleshed out and developed cultures in my world. But they are just fun. And thankfully my players agree so I get to play with them with some frequency without them growing tired of them.

[Catullus64]

Drow are #1. Partly due to the elven beauty thing. long-lived, etc. Mostly though because they differ from races in good societies who try to achieve good (helping the needy/poor) by evil means (the use of force if taxes aren’t paid). Meanwhile, the drow may do many evil things, but I don’t think they tax. Maybe someone can correct me.

Things I never expected to see in the responses to this thread: My favorite race is the one with the best tax breaks.

I'm gonna add my voice in support of humans as the best race. We're fascinating.

[HalfFaust]

Genasi. I do love a good elemental. They're also "weird, but not too weird", which appeals to me. At risk of annoying some people, humans kinda bore me.

Also, fire genasi have red darkvision, a totally unique and original class feature.

[TyGuy]

I have several top tier favorites, but the absolute coolest is hands down the Githyanki, no competition.


Interdimensional space pirates
Master hunters of one of the main D&D nemeses (mindflayers)
Ride the main quintessential nemeses as mounts (red dragons)
Known for mixing magic and martial (OG gish, and I love gishes)
Immortal in their home realm of the Astral plain
Oh, and about that home. Their capital is built into the remains of a dead God
Lay their eggs in creches where rotating crews watch over and train them until the young are aged enough to go become immortal.
Leader is an archlich estimated to be on demigod level of power
Silver swords. F'ing silver swords

Sadly they're so alien and hard to squeeze into a regular medieval setting. I'll likely never play one until someone runs a spell jammer with me...

[Xervous]

Of all the various assortments available within the context of D&D I’m half surprised to find myself typing lizardfolk. Maybe it’s the versatility they have across various presentations, where a bruiser, a beast tamer, a bog witch or so forth are all concepts that could be taken as playing on theme. Maybe it’s the blending of familiar and unfamiliar features that allow for different means of expression and details to highlight in RP (move over kitty cats, we’ve got expressive frills here to show just how enticing that dinner smells, a second set of eyelids to highlight every stage of boredom that is reached during the long, dry sermon). Perhaps I’d put more stock in Dragonborn if I could get over my strong beliefs about how dragons should be handled and run, and not view Dragonborn as an awesomeness diluting abomination undermining the presentation of real dragons.

[carnomancy]

Lizardfolk are definitely my favorite. I've always loved reptiles. My childhood pet was a lizard. I also like to play self sufficient characters who rely on their own strength and talent, so having a tough hide and a set of sharp teeth and claws fit the bill.

There's also a forbidden fruit angle too. I cut my teeth on DnD 3.5 back in 2006. A bunch of my friends and myself were invited to try out DnD by some acquaintances that would DM for us. I didn't know much about the playable classes, but I was familiar with the monsters of DnD. I figured I'd get into it by role playing something interesting with a primal edge. So I asked if I could play a Lizardfolk Barbarian. The answer was no. Fair enough, they did have level adjustment (which I didn't fully understand yet). I asked if Orc Barbarian was OK. Again, the answer was no. I figured that picking from the Monster Manual was the problem so I asked if a Human Barbarian with some scaly cosmetic mutations was OK. Still got a know. At this point I was less than enthused so I stopped asking questions.

Later the group was to move to a different location where we would actually roll the characters. I heard one of the three DMs mutter to the other about what a pain it was that so many people had shown up to their event. I decided at that point that the whole thing was just going to be nothing but passive aggressive nonsense so I ditched them with about 3 of my other friends who were also feeling unwelcome. We ended up doing nothing, but that was probably a better use of our time anyway.

I actually got to play DnD with some other friends later. Didn't get to play Lizardfolk though due to the complications that 2 racial hit dice and a level of level adjustment drop in your lap. 3rd edition was a spiteful edition.

Also 4th edition never gave them an official write up, but I didn't really play 4th so I can't say much about that one.

[Rfkannen]

So weird thing, I was about to say elves, until I realized I have only ever played 1 full blooded elf (one of my longer characters was a homebrew race that was half goliath and half elf) and he was in a campaign that only lasted 2 sessions. I do still love elves, the long lives can lead into FASCINATING stories. I personally view them as one of the human of the player races, and I love that alien quality, you aren't just a human but shorter, your a full blown almost immortal being with different priorities and thoughts than a human would have. Also I love spellcasters with swords. Not even talking gishes, I just like my sorcerers to HAVE a sword, which elf helps out with by making the sword not completely useless.


My second favorite, and most played, is planetouched, genasi, tiefling, aasimar, all the same to me. I love the idea of playing a human but who just slightly isn't a human. Also INBUILT PLOT HOOKS! I love the plot of a tiefling meeting their fiendish ancestor.

I also do love humans, because humans are just all around fun. It can be nice to have a normal base to build fantastic things off of.

[MaxWilson]

So weird thing, I was about to say elves, until I realized I have only ever played 1 full blooded elf (one of my longer characters was a homebrew race that was half goliath and half elf) and he was in a campaign that only lasted 2 sessions. I do still love elves, the long lives can lead into FASCINATING stories. I personally view them as one of the human of the player races, and I love that alien quality, you aren't just a human but shorter, your a full blown almost immortal being with different priorities and thoughts than a human would have. Also I love spellcasters with swords. Not even talking gishes, I just like my sorcerers to HAVE a sword, which elf helps out with by making the sword not completely useless.

I'm a big believer in wizards with rapiers or greatswords, because I'm a big believer in deceptive tactics. Even if you're not proficient in greatswords, ideally you still want something to give the enemy a reason to target the "squishy wizard" (i.e. the Shadow Monk). This is true even if you happen to be a medium- or heavily-armored wizard (not rare IME given 5E's multiclassing rules) with armor to go with that sword--you may not be squishy but you still don't want the enemy expecting any spellcasting from you, because the tactics an intelligent enemy uses against wizards (avoid Fireball Formation) are different from the tactics you use against simple melee warriors (concentrate and focus fire, even if it requires assuming Fireball Formation).

For related reasons, melee warriors should carry heavy crossbows with scary-looking ammunition, to encourage their foes to close the distance as quickly as possible.

[Tanarii]

I like having these stats and feats as shorthand for cultures and bloodlines, both so that players can help define the gameworld by making up a background for a PC, and so I can use those cultures to signal things right back to the players (a whole company of Valerian NPCs = serious firepower).That always seemed to me like something the DM should be doing with Variant Humans, not players. Designing human sub races by pre-selecting the feat and possibly one or both floating ability scores.



I can get humans. They make sense. Their motivations. Their needs.

All these alien things with two legs and two arms? They're basically just humans, too. But since that isn't what it says on the tin, I hold it against them.Thats why we have strong racial stereotypes. So we can play something that's not mentally the same as us. That said ...


I've always been partial to the Loxodon. The inherent ridiculousness of a half-elephant person just appeals to me.


Dragonborn. Why?

1. Warrior race that ISN'T written as dumb and ugly.
2. Dragons, but playable!
3. Arkhosia.I'm really not a fan of obviously not human(oid) races. I'd probably allow a Hobgoblin or Orc PC before I'd allow a Dragonborn or 5e Tiefling.



, but my favorite PC to role play was a Bugbear - I played him like a 7.5' tall Wookie.
Now that's an interesting take on a Bugbear.


I love Half Orcs.

The idea of being the underdog, often feared a bit because you’re associated with what many consider to be monstrous, often outcast

And turning that into a symbol of hope, a champion for people to rally behindI like Half-Orcs too. But I'm old school. Half-Orcs are a license to not be nice (table permitting). Flavor wise, they're perfect for assassins, fiend warlocks, conquest Paladins. OTOH my actual use preference was a Str Ranger and a Valor Bard.

But another thing is I consider half-Orcs to be able to disguise themselves as humans. The possibility of a half-orc noble who is usually just considered fairly ugly human works fine for me, if a player brings that to the table.

[MaxWilson]

That always seemed to me like something the DM should be doing with Variant Humans, not players. Designing human sub races by pre-selecting the feat and possibly one or both floating ability scores.

You can do it that way too, but since I'm always trying to maximize the information players have about the gameworld, I often like to have the players create things for me to incorporate, whether it's NPCs or reasons why a given PC would be in jail or what Cimmerians (a human variant) are like and what some of their customs are or what name the players want me to use for those grey, six-legged things with bodies like elephants and huge mandibles. That makes certain players get really excited when they stumble across content they recognize, like a hooded NPC smelling faintly of strawberries (player knows it's an Air Genasi cleric) or another Cimmerian.

Short of telepathy, which I don't have, the best way to get a subtle cultural detail into the mind of a player is to have the player originate it while the DM listens and asks questions. It's not the only way but it's a way that works well for me.

[Amdy_vill]

Flavor: Kobolds, love the little thinkers and their mad science and evil traps.

Mechanical: I hate them all 5e really make races useless. there are some standouts like bugbear, but for the most part, race only determines flavor and some really bad or mediocre bonuses. Because of this tashas was able to make the lineage system.

5e just fails to make mechanical interesting races. you have the options of minor math changes, addition spells, or advantage. and that's really its almost all race can be placed into one of these categories and the only difference between each of them is what small change they make to math is, what spells they add, or what mechanic they give advantage to. and the interesting ones like bugbear or the vampires are placed in supper optional content, optional content for content the is already optional.

your character's natural abilities should be more defining than they are in 5e. your race should be the most horizontal choice you make at character creation(horizontal design is the idea of instead of directly buffing the existing systems you give them a new one or a completely new and viable option inside an existing system.)
the dragonborn is a supper horizontal choice and is one of the few "Well designed races" but its Breath weapon isn't balanced well at all so while it's a great idea it punishes you for picking it.

Bugbear and Zendikar vampire are the only truly good horizontal choices in 5e. bugbear gets a mini sneak attack and extra reach, one completely new feature the engages with a system in a new way and a weakened version THAT IS STILL GOOD of a class feature. Vampires get a modified animate dean on the body and complex and deep special attack that if it was better designed would actually interact with other systems.

[da newt]

I'm surprised so many folks are fan bois of the Humans - IMO they are so bland. We all are humans IRL, why spend your fantasy time just being yourself but a better version? It's so non-fat vanilla blah.

[Tanarii]

You can do it that way too, but since I'm always trying to maximize the information players have about the gameworld, I often like to have the players create things for me to incorporate, whether it's NPCs or reasons why a given PC would be in jail or what Cimmerians (a human variant) are like and what some of their customs are or what name the players want me to use for those grey, six-legged things with bodies like elephants and huge mandibles. That makes certain players get really excited when they stumble across content they recognize, like a hooded NPC smelling faintly of strawberries (player knows it's an Air Genasi cleric) or another Cimmerian.

Short of telepathy, which I don't have, the best way to get a subtle cultural detail into the mind of a player is to have the player originate it while the DM listens and asks questions. It's not the only way but it's a way that works well for me.

I guess I'm always thinking in terms of an open table. The DM designing the campaign for potentially a hundred players over time. If it's a single table of players, might as well let them help you design the content, there's probably no real chance that two given players will define the same race entirely differently.

Kinda like refluffing. It's not a problem if someone is playing a "halfling" using gobbling stats if there will never be any other halfling or goblin PCs in the campaign.


I'm surprised so many folks are fan bois of the Humans - IMO they are so bland. We all are humans IRL, why spend your fantasy time just being yourself but a better version? It's so non-fat vanilla blah.
Verisimilitude. Nothing breaks it like a Goliath or Firbolg PC. For some people even halfings, elves and dwarves are too exotic.

But I strongly suspect that based on answers here, the answer for Vuman is "they're just that powerful".

[Democratus]

Dwarves.

If a game has dwarves as a playable race, that's my go-to.

I relate to them in so many ways...mostly aspirational. They are industrious, they have close bonds with friends and family, and they see service to the community as more important than personal gain.

[MaxWilson]

I guess I'm always thinking in terms of an open table. The DM designing the campaign for potentially a hundred players over time. If it's a single table of players, might as well let them help you design the content, there's probably no real chance that two given players will define the same race entirely differently.

Kinda like refluffing. It's not a problem if someone is playing a "halfling" using gobbling stats if there will never be any other halfling or goblin PCs in the campaign.

Hmmm. I guess I can see that, especially if you're running West Marches-style campaign with multiple DMs. I've never done one of those although I'd like to try one someday.


I'm surprised so many folks are fan bois of the Humans - IMO they are so bland. We all are humans IRL, why spend your fantasy time just being yourself but a better version? It's so non-fat vanilla blah.

It works well for people who are more interested in class, background, or gameplay than race. I mean, I like lizardmen too for their alien thought processes, but do I want to play a lizardman every time? Not really, sometimes I just want to play a hulking barbarian or a wizard or a retired soldier who is now a cook. Why overcomplicate things by making it a wacky kenku retired soldier who is now a cook? Think of "human" as "race: None."

But I also like turning vhumans into nationalities templates as well, so it doesn't always mean "race: None." It depends, and partly it depends on whether I'm DMing or playing and therefore how much control I have to define the gameworld.

[Joe the Rat]

Kobolds, because Dragon #141. "Hey, wanna be a kobold?"
Cannon fodder race with a penchant for clever traps, good thief progression, inexplicably doglike reptiles and a -2 AC bonus? Sign me up.

And that has stuck with me since, even with the Full Draconic Conversion.

A Kobold PC is the epitome of exceptional - willing to show loyalty and/or work with non-kobold teams, willingness to go out on your own, or carry a variety of skills and powers far beyond those of your people. And they are fully absurd - that little goblinoid lizard thing, probably one of the least threatening creatures on its own, comes with the effective power of any other adventurer.
They are great team players. Attackers will benefit from having buddies around, and the ridiculous CGB turns you into an area effect Help.


Otherwise I lean human. If the concept doesn't need that alien aspect, I leave it off.

[Tanarii]

A Kobold PC is the epitome of exceptional - willing to show loyalty and/or work with non-kobold teams, willingness to go out on your own, or carry a variety of skills and powers far beyond those of your people. And they are fully absurd - that little goblinoid lizard thing, probably one of the least threatening creatures on its own, comes with the effective power of any other adventurer.
They are great team players. Attackers will benefit from having buddies around, and the ridiculous CGB turns you into an area effect Help.

Shame what nevewinter nights did to them though.

[Sam113097]

I've always been a big fan of the "half-breed" races. My first PC was a half-elf fighter and I've also played a handful of half-orcs. They have a built in reason to be wandering adventurers and peoples with no true homeland or single identity, while also being relatable enough (as half-humans) so that I don't feel like I'm trying to play as someone wholly inhuman.

[JackPhoenix]

Humans. Vuman, obviously, for mechanic reasons. And human-derived races created by magical means like tieflings (not the post-4e red draenei depiction, though, gimme back my strange hell-spawned mutation, thankyouverymuch), yuan-ti, genasi or (some interpretations of) changelings.

Also, half-elves.

[Amechra]

I like Orcs quite a bit (I'll accept Half-Orcs). I dunno, I guess I just like the look. That and the whole "sheer physical oomph" thing. I can play a flabby smart person in real life, thank you very much. :smallbiggrin:

Part of me wants to switch Elves and Orcs in my next campaign — Elves would be a bunch of long-lived raiders that you can't form lasting alliances with (because they consider most "civilized" races to be little better than animals), while Humans and Orcs have a cordial relationship with plenty of trade and intermarriage.

[Wraith]

Mechcanically, it's almost certainly the Yuan-ti Pureblood. I tend to dump CHA a lot but I also hate having -1 in a stat, and on top of some very useful immunities the Yuan-tis are great for avoiding that. It's also fun to play the token evil character once in a while, and Yuan-ti are one of my favourite ways to be snarky while stabbing captives and being the "pragmatist" of the group.... :smalltongue:

In terms of flavour, it's probably the Lizardfolk. They, as many have said before me so far, are just fun because they're weird. They're not evil, but a lot of what they like to do gets them into trouble with the do-gooders in the party so its a great excuse to RP the outcome of that discussion.

A close runner-up to both are the Triton. They have a lot of useful abilities and innate spells which are great for any class that you like to play, their stats are pretty good, and they're unique looking without standing out and drawing attention to themselves unless you want to. Solid all-rounders, and I hardly ever see them played so they have rarity on their side, too.

[JackPhoenix]

Part of me wants to switch Elves and Orcs in my next campaign — Elves would be a bunch of long-lived raiders that you can't form lasting alliances with (because they consider most "civilized" races to be little better than animals), while Humans and Orcs have a cordial relationship with plenty of trade and intermarriage.

Reminds me of this:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/89/15/ee/8915ee67c43f0d24f7e429d62e33851c.jpg

It's a simplistic view of both, if you take Keith Baker's posts about their cultures into consideration, but close enough.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

V. Humans.

The "v" is short for very.

I can get humans. They make sense. Their motivations. Their needs.

All these alien things with two legs and two arms? They're basically just humans, too. But since that isn't what it says on the tin, I hold it against them.

I largely agree with this, and V. Human is definitely my starting point. Doesn't hurt that I get a feat to get my character off the ground right away. If more of our campaigns started later this might shift a bit.

Beyond that, Dwarves. I've always related to Dwarves going way back, but the Hobbit movies reinforced that idea of a brotherhood around some basic principles that I can relate to.

Half elves aren't too bad either, partly because they seem very human, but with a twist. I usually play mine as having turned their back on their Elven side. The last one was a Half Drow.

The rest of it...Meh. They just seem hard to relate to.
And I'll conclude by saying I'm also a bit surprised that this thread is populated largely by views similar to mine. Lots of humans and some traditional options.

[Zevox]

I can't honestly say that I have one. I do have a certain partiality towards Planetouched, such that I was quite happy to see Tieflings in the PHB and to get Aasimar and Genasi among some of the earlier additions to 5E, but wouldn't go so far as to call them any kind of clear favorite. And outside of that, I really can't say that I have a strong preference. I do have certain races that really don't appeal to me (Warforged being the biggest one that comes to mind; Dwarves the biggest PHB one), but not that many. I'll play most anything that I get a character idea for.

[Lord Raziere]

Tiefling, genasi, orc, bugbear, goblin, eladrin, shadar-kai, tabaxi, dragonborn, warforged, changelings, things like that.

partly because I'm a former WoW player and liked playing Horde, partly because I dislike and avoid vanilla races like human or the watered down fae races like elf, dwarf and gnome whenever possible as well boring cliches in general, and partly because I like how these races look better, and I find the potential stories I can tell with them more interesting than with others, just because they click better to me.

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

Kobolds!

They're cute, and they're pretty unconventional as far as adventuring types go and often have a lot of expectations and stereotypes about their behavior and methods of fighting, which I love to subvert. One of my dearest characters is a kobold rogue who is a legitimate noble, due to a very eccentric father. And I don't have the problem with pigeonholing with Grovel, Cower and beg that most people seem to; it's very easy to re-flavor it based on the character type into something more fitting, and it's always a good move for a team player. And also, they're cute!

Second is Warforged. I just end up having way too many character ideas that Warforged fits perfectly for. Ironically I think if I played a sci-fi game, a robot race wouldn't really interest me very much; something about being a fish out of water really appeals to me.

[AvatarVecna]

Variant Human. It's rarely the best choice for a build, but it's always second or third, and it gets to play with feats before anybody else does. It's versatile and applicable to just about everything.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Half elfs and half orcs.
They look to be the best in their field.

I also like the Satyr because you can be something that isn't a humanoid.

Also kobolds are the best.

[Avonar]

I'd have to say Githyanki. An ageless race of space pirates that live in a city built into the corpse of a god? It's just so over the top and absurdly metal, and I love my absurd metal.

[Bobthewizard]

With Tasha's out I'll go with Custom Lineage. My complaint with variant human has always been the lack of darkvision, and now that's taken care of.

My other favorite is goblin. I play a lot of spell casters and the bonus action disengage is incredibly useful. Plus an unassuming goblin that can drop a fireball on you is fun to role-play.

[Waazraath]

My favorite 5e race is gnomes. Why? Mainly because the art of the female gnome Ranger in the PHB makes her look like a badass. Also because they're fun to play, as in they've got a fun little race mechanic for each sub race. Tinker and Speak with Beasts just have fun written all over them.



Raspberry: gnomes are a sad mutation between dwarf and hobbit. Get rid of them: it would make for a better world. (Vague reference to the movie Serenity and various Firefly episodes (the operative)) The only race they are allowed to look down on are kender, who need to be made into kibbles and bits.

And thus, the first shots were fired in what would later be called The Gnome Wars. A conflict so bloody and ferocious that the earlier Alignment Wars and Martial/Caster-disparity Slaughterings were reduced to mere skirmishes, or sport.


And ok, I'm doing the neutral narrator thingy here, but to be honest, I think Gnomes are the most superfluous race in the PhB. Never been interested, never saw one of my players interested, bar that one campaign decades ago where I created a world where Gnomes were the only ones who could access any illusion spells (and low level necromancy spells), schools barred for all others.

Favourite race? Don't know if I really have one. Humans, Dwarves and (Half-)Elves I all like, both in mechanics and flavour, and from the non-standard ones I've always liked with otherworldly backgrounds like Aasimar or those related to fey (Like Swanmay, Half-Fey, or the like - but not too many of those this edition, and I don't like Satyrs or Centaurs that much).

[Tanarii]

I'd have to say Githyanki. An ageless race of space pirates that live in a city built into the corpse of a god? It's just so over the top and absurdly metal, and I love my absurd metal.

And yet still not as absurd as Triton, Firbolg, Kenku, Yaun-ti, Goliath. Heck even Dragonborn or 5e Tiefling are more absurd. :smallamused:


And thus, the first shots were fired in what would later be called The Gnome Wars. A conflict so bloody and ferocious that the earlier Alignment Wars and Martial/Caster-disparity Slaughterings were reduced to mere skirmishes, or sport.
Oh I think we can manage to sit down and have a few drinks and laugh after.

[Warder]

And yet still not as absurd as Triton, Firbolg, Kenku, Yaun-ti, Goliath. Heck even Dragonborn or 5e Tiefling are more absurd. :smallamused:

I'm surprised Goliath are in there, would you mind elaborating? I mean obviously they're huge, but otherwise kind of vanilla?

[Tanarii]

I'm surprised Goliath are in there, would you mind elaborating? I mean obviously they're huge, but otherwise kind of vanilla?

Eh n that's fair. Goliath are exactly as absurd as Githyanki, not more. :smallamused:

[togapika]

Goblins: Silly, funny, genius

Genasi: Mostly due to their connection to genies

Tanooki: I just like raccoons

[Luccan]

1. Gnomes. And I'm not one of those Scanlan-come-lately gnome fans, my first PC before we even bought 3rd and we're still playing with my dad's 1e AD&D set was a gnome. But 5e gave you a way to play the trickster gnome and the tinker gnome without limiting you to a specific class. They're also, by pre-Tasha's rules, better wizards than elves :smallamused:

2. Loxodon. I know people have their problems with Ravnica, but IMO the races are not part of that. They just get cool racial abilities and I find it amusing the closest thing the setting has to dwarves is apparently the massive elephant folk

3. Grung. I know they're only semi-official, but there is only one way to play a frogman in 5e

[Mikaleus]

I have a few.

Variant human - mechanically for the free feat.

Half- Elf - born of 2 worlds, with quite a few variations for RP and mechanics.

Firbolg- Druidic people with some natural magical abilities.

Simic Hybrid - big fan of the guild in magic the gathering.

Genasi - I love the elemental flavour they have.

Shifter - I especially love the wild hunt variety.

[Yakmala]

Variant Human, for three reasons. First, I am a Human, so I'm particularly well versed in playing one. Second, Human motivations are endlessly varied so it's easier to avoid falling into the trap of roleplaying the racial stereotype rather than the individual. Finally, the starting feat. No matter what your vision is for your character, there is likely a feat that enhances that vision, so getting a feat at first level means you get closer to realizing your overall vision much faster.

Second favorite is Kobolds. I didn't think much of them back in the 1st and 2nd edition days, but the Kobolds as they are portrayed now are a blast both to play and to add as NPCs when I DM.

[DwarfFighter]

Human. I'm here to explore the fantasy world, not presume to have built it.

-DF

[Porcupinata]

For me, looks are very important. I very rarely play humans, pointy-eared humans (elves) or short humans (dwarves). I like to play something that looks different.

So for me it's tieflings, genasi, half-orcs (green, of course), dragonborn, tabaxi, aarokocra, kenku... anything that is visibly not just a human (or a human with pointy ears or a beard).

The main time I do play characters that look mostly human is gnomes and halflings. I don't know why I find them more appealing than other human characters - maybe the small size makes them sufficiently not-visibly-human for me.

[ColonelHero]

I'm surprised that Half-elf doesn't have more love in this thread. I find it just has so much mechanical flexibility, it is good for everything. If I am in a primary or secondary CHA class, it is my go to. And I stare hard at it for every other class. Now with Tasha's letting us move that +2 around! Hoo boy!

[Wildstag]

Modern D&D doesn't really do much with races, which is a real bummer in my mind. Just because there's an emphasis on setting notions on how to think about other intelligent species, they shouldn't just write a setting default.

Ultimately, my favorite player race in 5e is only my favorite race because of 3.5's Races of Stone; the Goliath. However, I love the race for what it was back then; what it has become since is a perversion and bastardization of the original idea. Now the artwork never shows the lithoderm bony growths that used to be in their original iteration. The markings look more like ritualistic tattoos; where once they were gray-skinned people with dark and light patches, now the artwork makes some markings blue or black and more, and it's partially because artists are inspired by characters they see being played. Additionally, the Goliath naming and language system was presented as a proto-polynesian language, with a language incredibly similar to the Hawaiian one (with a few swapped sounds and an extra consonant). Nowadays most goliath characters are treated in a very European-barbarian way. And somehow they went from a predominantly Chaotic race to a hyper-rigid Lawful one.

There's several reasons for why the race has changed in the public mindset, but I don't really see a reason to call anyone out. As a fan of Goliaths from back in the day, it's disappointing to see so much change in the way the public views the race. A simple read-through of the Goliath chapter in Races of the Stone shows such a vibrant culture with a strong sense of fair play but also a strong sense of "only the strong survive". Put together, they have an almost carefree attitude where everything is a competition and they're determined to win so long as it doesn't debilitate them. Their language is interesting, their naming conventions are fun, and their myths and stories are engaging. And their relations to giants (and aversion towards them) create amazing roleplaying opportunities.

And in 5e they're just "big dumb barbarians of the mountains; the smallest of the giants". They've lost everything and been Westernized.

P.S. If looking purely at 5e writings, my favorite is the Bugbear, which hasn't really changed much ever, but has been expanded upon to a great extent in this edition. I've been meaning to play a bugbear in 3.5 now, if I could find a game where I can play a 3RHD+1LA race and not lose too much in power.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'd have to say Githyanki. An ageless race of space pirates that live in a city built into the corpse of a god? It's just so over the top and absurdly metal, and I love my absurd metal. I like that element, but I can't get over how ugly they were in the Fiend Folio when they were first published. A block I guess I need to get over. :smallconfused:

Human. I'm here to explore the fantasy world, not presume to have built it.

-DF *golf clap*


I'm surprised that Half-elf doesn't have more love in this thread. I find it just has so much mechanical flexibility, it is good for everything. If I am in a primary or secondary CHA class, it is my go to. And I stare hard at it for every other class.
The first paladin I ever made from the ground up was a half elf, ancients. Really enjoyed it.

Now with Tasha's letting us move that +2 around! Hoo boy! I've played around with a few custom lineages, there's certainly some flexibility there. Have not played any of those characters yet, though.

[ezekielraiden]

Honestly, given that they were #3 and #4 in the most recent stats from D&D Beyond, I would have expected a LOT more love for Dragonborn and Tieflings. I mean, they're each in the low-teens percentagewise, IIRC, so it's not like they're common per se...but I'm pretty sure we haven't had ~14 people saying their favorite is one of those two yet.

[Xervous]

Honestly, given that they were #3 and #4 in the most recent stats from D&D Beyond, I would have expected a LOT more love for Dragonborn and Tieflings. I mean, they're each in the low-teens percentagewise, IIRC, so it's not like they're common per se...but I'm pretty sure we haven't had ~14 people saying their favorite is one of those two yet.

3.5e versions where the Dragonborn retained the draconic uniqueness and the tieflings were not boxed into one rigid presentation? Sure. 5e Dragonborn lore feeling like a reprise of the 3.5e module and splat book “oopsall dragon”? Tieflings being glaringly obvious things that people are supposed to be prejudiced against but nobody actually does anything about because the system and lore lack any backbone on the darker themes the race should bring?

When they’re not exotic and the world reacts all ho-hum these two races lost a lot of the perceived ties to the awesomeness of dragons and evil exemplars (tanaari, yugoloths, baatezu). The Dragonborn becomes an oversized kobold that burps one a day, the Tiefling a human in a funny suit. They were defined by things far removed from the common setting’s society. Cut that away and you’ve just got hollow suits.

[P. G. Macer]

Honestly, given that they were #3 and #4 in the most recent stats from D&D Beyond, I would have expected a LOT more love for Dragonborn and Tieflings. I mean, they're each in the low-teens percentagewise, IIRC, so it's not like they're common per se...but I'm pretty sure we haven't had ~14 people saying their favorite is one of those two yet.

I’m speculating here, but I suspect there isn’t too much overlap in user-base between D&D Beyond and Giant in the Playground, and many of the people who do use both are multi-edition veterans who started with 3.X or earlier, and thus remember the pre-4e tielflings and see 4e/5e dragonborn as young whippersnappers to the race scene, and have a nostalgic attachment to the pre-4e versions of those races and may be disappointed in their 5e incarnations. It doesn’t help that PHB dragonborn are neck-and-neck in a race to the bottom for weakest race in 5e with standard human (and I say that as a fan of dragonborn!).As for my favorite race, it’d probably actually be Leonin, of all things, even though I’ve never played MtG, due to my childhood obsession with big cats. They’re also quite flavorful and decently powerful IMO.

[Lokishade]

I'm split between two.

vHumans.

A free feat at level 1 and optimized stats for any class I choose just sratches my powergaming itch. They have everything I want mechanically out of a playable character except long lives and Darkvision.

For the mechanics of the game, vhumans are awesome.

Elves

While clunky with a few choice classes (I didn't buy Tasha yet), Elves have Darkvision and long lives. Ridiculously long lives. Just thinking that they can live up to a millenia just makes them so alien to me, but in a cool way. Imagine meeting a guy in a bar. Looks like in his mid-fourties and likes telling longs stories. Here, he tells you with vivid details how he fought alongside George Washington. Then he tells you about a trip he did in the west coast and you realize he's talking about the whole Wild West era as if it were but a summer trip. He then tells you about his 700 years old grandfather, who is still spry and healthy, and how he could tell you all about Europe and the spread of the black death that occured when he was but a 26 year-old child and how it changed society forever.

And that's not counting how I imagine they'd run their own societies. Imagine being physically mature at the age of 20, up to your ears in hormones that make you horny for the rest of your life, but you're not allowed to marry before your second century. I picture 100 year-old elves to be motivated as **** to become adventurers and just cut loose for a century, which would amount to nothing more than an adolescent phase to them.

Yeah, RP wise, Elves are ridiculously awesome.

[Luccan]

Honestly, given that they were #3 and #4 in the most recent stats from D&D Beyond, I would have expected a LOT more love for Dragonborn and Tieflings. I mean, they're each in the low-teens percentagewise, IIRC, so it's not like they're common per se...but I'm pretty sure we haven't had ~14 people saying their favorite is one of those two yet.

Mechanically Dragonborn are kind of meh and given the forums' general optimization bent it's probably unappealing to a lot of people here who might otherwise like it. I can honestly say I've seen too many Tieflings to find them especially interesting any more. Pretty tired of the sexy demon look. Especially since they basically get treated like everyone else in most games I've experienced, to the point where you'd think their background lore just didn't exist.

I think I have a similar thing with half-elves, actually. They're so popular they're almost ubiquitous, so there's nothing to explore there. They're quite literally treated like humans with pointy ears in every sense. I used to love playing half-elves, but I've just come to a point where I might as well be playing a human.

[ezekielraiden]

I’m speculating here, but I suspect there isn’t too much overlap in user-base between D&D Beyond and Giant in the Playground, and many of the people who do use both are multi-edition veterans who started with 3.X or earlier, and thus remember the pre-4e tielflings and see 4e/5e dragonborn as young whippersnappers to the race scene, and have a nostalgic attachment to the pre-4e versions of those races and may be disappointed in their 5e incarnations. It doesn’t help that PHB dragonborn are neck-and-neck in a race to the bottom for weakest race in 5e with standard human (and I say that as a fan of dragonborn!).As for my favorite race, it’d probably actually be Leonin, of all things, even though I’ve never played MtG, due to my childhood obsession with big cats. They’re also quite flavorful and decently powerful IMO.
All good points. And yeah, the Dragonborn are SUPER weak. I love them anyway, but at this point if someone's favorite race is Dragonborn it's because they love the flavor, not the power.


I can honestly say I've seen too many Tieflings to find them especially interesting any more. Pretty tired of the sexy demon look. Especially since they basically get treated like everyone else in most games I've experienced, to the point where you'd think their background lore just didn't exist.

I think I have a similar thing with half-elves, actually. They're so popular they're almost ubiquitous, so there's nothing to explore there. They're quite literally treated like humans with pointy ears in every sense. I used to love playing half-elves, but I've just come to a point where I might as well be playing a human.
I'll be honest, I don't really understand this position. If the only value of non-human races is that they're crazy weird exotic whatever, you will never be satisfied. Everything eventually ceases to be novel; to require inexhaustible novelty is to ask for the narrative equivalent of a perpetual motion machine.

There has to be more to options than just novelty. That's part of why I like Dragonborn, in fact. Arkhosia is just an interesting cultural thing, of itself; it's definitely a nicer society than Bael Turath, the one to which it was compared, but it had its faults, too. (Ironically, from the sound of it, Arkhosia was much less egalitarian than Bael Turath...except for the teensy-weensy problem that the latter was TOTALLY okay with slavery, while the former, IIRC, opposed it.)

And as I said before, Dragonborn hard avert the annoying trope of the "proud warrior race" also being the "dumb and ugly race," being charismatic and strong (or hearty), and having proud traditions of history (explicit in their 4e writeup), engineering (fluff text stuff), and martial and magical prowess (various PPs and such). I admit, this means I'm drawing a lot on the 4e fluff for them....mostly because 5e has never GIVEN us any Dragonborn fluff, or really any meaningful fluff for ANY of the races. But that's really the only way forward, to actually make worldbuilding elements that do interesting or thought-provoking things, rather than trying to somehow rely on a one-page writeup in the first published book.

[Amechra]

I admit, this means I'm drawing a lot on the 4e fluff for them....mostly because 5e has never GIVEN us any Dragonborn fluff, or really any meaningful fluff for ANY of the races. But that's really the only way forward, to actually make worldbuilding elements that do interesting or thought-provoking things, rather than trying to somehow rely on a one-page writeup in the first published book.

I think that that's honestly the reason why people are so focused on the mechanics of each race — let's be honest here, how many people would really say that Half-Elves were their favorite race if they didn't have that ASI line/access to Elven Accuracy? — and why some people basically just treat "non-standard" races as a novelty. 5e itself basically just gives you a short blurb about your race and tells you to go have fun. Yeah, sure, once you get to an actually fleshed-out setting you'll have more to go off of, but 5e races are pretty bare.

[KorvinStarmast]

The Dragonborn becomes an oversized kobold that burps once a day . but lacks pack tactics

the Tiefling a human in a funny suit. ... who has to buy bespoke hats due to those inane horns, and who needs extra tailoring for any trousers or pants purchased in order to deal with that tail which keeps knocking stuff off of the coffee table. And I am not sure how to get a dress or skirt to properly drape or hang with that big old tail sticking out ... more extra tailoring.

High maintenance.

[MustacheManny]

Pleasantly surprised to see the praise of my favorite race, Half-orc! Mechanically they are well suited to nearly any martial race, their ability to just refuse to go unconscious is useful for nearly any class (I'm having particular success as a half-orc forge cleric) and can give a little extra oomph to a caster such as a cleric, EK, paladin, or warlock to swing a weapon around if they choose.
Depending on your setting they can have a built-in conflict or hurdle to overcome. Will they give in to a more brutal 'orcish' nature, work hard to make others not see them as such, or try to take a middle ground that proves they don't have to be anyone other than themselves. Lots of role play potential there and my favorite race.

[smrvl]

Joining the gnome party here—I love playing the character that nobody expects to be impressive... I feel like it creates so much room to make interesting RP choices. All of my favorite characters have been gnomes.

[Willie the Duck]

Overall, human is usually where I land, as I only really want to pick a fantasy race if that's highly relevant to the concept I'm looking to explore.


I love githzerai, but I've never played one. I don't think I can do them justice. Same with elves actually, I think they're great but I can't wrap my head around how an elf would think or act in most situations, so I chicken out and pick half-elves instead.

Post Mordenkainens elves are especially alien.

I like the ideas of elves being downright alien in mindset (usually going for a seelie/unseelie interpretation from the more dark folktales, with neither side being all that great to run into for a human*). Half-elves make a great 'more relatable version,' particularly of the seelie variety, with this month's UA hagspawn-type creatures making a decent half-unseelie concept. Naturally, each of Eladrin, half-elves, and the half-hags are one or another variety of high-powered options :smallyuk:. I keep having that happen, with the thing I like in previous edition or non-D&D source being implemented as a high-power option (of which I tend to stay away from). I also liked bards and halberd-wielding paladins, only to find them rather powerful in 5e when I first got it.
*Thomas the Rhymer being a particular favorite concept

[Tanarii]

I like the ideas of elves being downright alien in mindset (usually going for a seelie/unseelie interpretation from the more dark folktales, with neither side being all that great to run into for a human*).
It's a little jarring when it's a drastic revision part way into the edition.

But I'm okay with alien mindsets as long as we're given the proper strong stereotypes to play them as human beings. I mean, even a fantasy dwarf or halfling is a slightly alien mind to a real world human being. That's why we have racial stereotypes in the first place.

As far as seelie / unseelie, I do like the idea of elves something like Pratchett elves, but a tad less automatically lethal to humans. Problem is like Tolkien, they're physically and mentally superior. But at least they have some huge flaws (iron & predatory stupidity). Unfortunately, that kind of thing doesn't really make for the best Pc race.

[Zwinmar]

Well, its a toss up for me:
Playing an intelligent Monkey Wizard (dont remember the rules for it) was fun, loved the climb speed. I tend to play more skill-monkey characters mainly because RNG hates me with a passion so the less rolls I make the better. So yeah, a Batman style Monkey Wizard :P

Back in 2nd Ed into 3.0 I had a troll fighter who eventually took a couple levels of druid, then the whole CR nonsense got discovered. He was fun to play

However, my long time brain bug is Orcs who finally got some discipline and are run like the Roman legion.

[Luccan]

Well, its a toss up for me:
Playing an intelligent Monkey Wizard (dont remember the rules for it) was fun, loved the climb speed. I tend to play more skill-monkey characters mainly because RNG hates me with a passion so the less rolls I make the better. So yeah, a Batman style Monkey Wizard :P

Back in 2nd Ed into 3.0 I had a troll fighter who eventually took a couple levels of druid, then the whole CR nonsense got discovered. He was fun to play

However, my long time brain bug is Orcs who finally got some discipline and are run like the Roman legion.

Vanara? They did make decent wizards in 3.0 (before the 3.5 update that realized +2 Int +2 Wis was not balanced against a -2 Str and dropped all the modifiers)

[KorvinStarmast]

But at least they have some huge flaws (iron & predatory stupidity). The elf I played in Runequest, waaaay back when, was IIRC damaged by or allergic to Iron. Man, it's been a while.

[Tanarii]

However, my long time brain bug is Orcs who finally got some discipline and are run like the Roman legion.
I think that's against Orc religion.

Now hobgoblins ... IMO they've got the most potential of any of the humanoids.

[Ettina]

Elves of pretty much any variety, just because they're pretty, agile, long-lived and magical.

Also changelings, because turning into people enables so much shenanigans.

It's funny how many people say they play a human unless their character concept requires them to be anything else, because personally, I tend to only pick human when I can't think of any other race that would fit (or when I really need the vhuman feat).

[KorvinStarmast]

Now hobgoblins ... IMO they've got the most potential of any of the humanoids. For one thing, they are organized. :smallsmile: