Fun Facts - Races Part II
Time for another list. It’s been a while, so I figured it was time to get my butt in gear and do another. This list is all about races, which I can only assume will be called something like “ancestries” when they release OneD&D. Also, I will be using some facts from the earlier editions, so please don’t yell at me if they are slightly (ok, more than slightly) racist in tone.
In the first edition, gnomes could have a maximum Strength of 18, while halflings capped out at 17. Being taller doesn’t make you stronger.
Half-orcs, as we all know, result from an orc and a human falling in love and having a baby. The 1st edition opening paragraph about half-orcs is as follows: “Orcs are fecund and create many crossbreeds; most of the offspring of such being typically orcish. However, some one-tenth of orc-human mongrels orc sufficiently non-orcish to pass for humans. Complete details of orcs and crossbreeds will be found under the heading Orc in Advanced D&D Monster Manual.” For those wondering, the definition of fecund is producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring. Remember, I did warn you.
The 1st edition sourcebook Oriental Adventures contains three races; The Korobokuru, the Hengeykai, and the Spirit Folk. Surprisingly, none are as racist as the title of the book itself.
a. The Korobokuru are Asian dwarves who live simply in the mountains or jungles. They tend to be Chaotic alignment and favor the barbarian class.
b. Hengeyokai are shapechangers who can turn themselves into animals. Several subraces exist, determined by the animal as a hengeyokai can only change into one type of animal, which is determined when creating the character. They are not lycanthropes and can change form at will.
c. Spirit Folk look like humans, and there are three different types; Bamboo, river, and sea spirit folk. Bamboo folk is a race with ranger traits, river folk can breathe normally in fresh water, and none of their possessions gets wet. Sea spirit folk are the same as the river spirit folk, except it has to be salt water. A neat little point of difference - the sea folk can receive a favor once a year from the ocean, so they can summon a typhoon if you piss them off.
The 2nd edition of Player’s Handbook removes the half-orc as a playable race. I guess that’s one way to fix the problem.
In the Dark Sun Campaign setting, you can find the Mul, a human/dwarf humanoid. The human side makes them tall and cunning, while their dwarf heritage gives them durability and strength. Don’t like humans being ‘cunning’? Too bad. I think a better description would be ‘their asshole tendencies.”
Tieflings make their first appearance in the 2e Planescape Campaign setting, as do the Githzerai. The one unique race you won’t see these days is the Bariaur. They are half-human, half-goat creatures who dress really nice and seem not to give a shit about anything. Seems like a desperate attempt to come up with a new race. Just throw in the centaur and call it a day.
Spelljammer introduces the Giff. I don’t know about you, but I think the spacefaring humanoid hippos who love to blow things up are one of the greatest playable races Dungeons and Dragons ever created.
I’ll never know why Lizardfolk managed to travel the Astral Sea, but if you ever wanted to ride a spaceship that looks like a pirate ship as a giant reptilian, you can in the 2nd edition.
Let’s not even talk about the Hadozee. The 5th edition version left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. No matter the changes made, the whole thing was a major fuck up.
Eberron has its own book of races, aptly named Races of Eberron. There are four new races, all of which have been introduced at some point in the 5th edition - the warforged, changing, shifter, and kalashtar.
The best of the Eberron races is the Warforged. Period.
A group of people known as the Inspired is hidden amongst the various races in Eberron. They are some weird creations of psionic manipulation and breeding experiments. They are practically immortal and exist on two planes at one time. Sounds cool. After reading through the entire description, you’ll be disappointed to find out that they are supposed to be used as player characters. Something about party balance, blah blah.
Raptorians sounds like you’ll get to play some badass flying dinosaur/attack helicopter race. Sadly you’re just a bird humanoid. According to the pictures, you can fire a bow with your feet, so there’s that.
The 4th edition has a thirty-four-page book all about the Tiefling. Exactly why do we need this?
The Hamadryad race is in Player’s Option Heroes of the Feywild. The brief opening description makes it sound like you will be a living tree, but instead, you’re just a fey creature who is one with oak trees. Why just oak trees? What about the fir tree? Or the birch tree? How about everyone’s favorite, the weeping willow? Ok, the weeping willow would probably be a creature trying to kill you.
There are now 65+ races available to play in the 5th edition, based on the list from D&D Beyond.
I’m including the Grung in the number above, but no one should ever play a Grung.
The Kender is one of the newest races from the world of Kyrnn (Dragonlance). Do we need a race that is one part halfling, one part fey, with a splash of gnome mixed in? No, we don’t
Given a chance, play a kobold. Stripped of all their negative traits - apparently groveling and begging turned people off - the kobold now can give advantage to their friends. Plus, you have a deep connection with dragons. Take that, dragonborn.
We have a cat race (tabaxi), horse race (centaur), multiple bird races (aarakocra, kenku, owlin), lion race (leonin), elephant race (loxodon), tortoise race (tortle), fish race (locathah), and rabbit race (harengon)
BUT STILL NO DOG RACE!
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