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And it's a day ending in "y" so I'm starting another ring in thread for my own edification.
With that said, I'm curious what everyone's favorite races in tabletop gaming (or any game for that matter) are.
Me? I'm all about the Dwarves. I have no real idea WHY, but whenever it comes time to roll up a new character, the default setting is "Dwarf"
My iconic Paladin Hildebraun? Dwarf.
My Evoker for the Gatecrashers game I'm in? Dwarf.
My brother/sister team in Keep on the Borderlands? Dwarves.
Mechanically speaking, there's really no reason for it. Sure, they get the Stonecunning thing and Darkvision. Which is nifty. But there's just something in my mental patterning that says "Dwarves = Bee's knees"
So, what do you fine folks enjoy and why?
Mostly thanks to my former roommate and slightly less to Races of the Dragon I know proudly count myself among the Legion of Kobold Fanatics. The fact that they are as statistically gimped as they are and still manage to pull off some of the things they do makes them all the more awesome in my opinion.
I've had Kobolds of all the following occupations: Sorcerer, Warlock, Binder, Dragonfire Adept, Dragon Shaman, Warblade, and several more in concept that sadly never got played. I've also had a Kobold BBEG - Sorcerer/Frost Mage with White Dragon heritage whose ultimate goal was to usher in Fimbulvetr.
After kobolds I'd have to say Tieflings - had several of those - and anything related to the Fey - I've played two Killoren and one Feytouched.
If I'm absolutely limited to core PHB races only, I have no real preference, other than I think I've never played a Gnome. Everything else of the core races I've played at least once.
Mostly thanks to my former roommate and slightly less to Races of the Dragon I know proudly count myself among the Legion of Kobold Fanatics.
I owe my love of Kobold PC's to the Wizards.com "Interview with the Red Dragon" cartoon, and, well, to Tucker's Kobolds.
I begged and pleaded with my GM and Beloved Spouse (Kobold Chorus: "We love you!") to allow me ONE Kobold PC.
Be careful what you wish for has never applied more.
Another favorite character, a Hafling Swashbuckler named Deanna Tealeaf, died horrifically in a combat with some Troglodytes. We kept her body with Gentle Repose and waited. When another party member bought it, they BOTH got Reincarnated.
The human female of a caucasian skin tone became... a human female of a mocha skin tone. The halfling female became a... Kobold. With gold scales. After much RP fluffy happiness, said Kobold changed alignment from Chaotic Neutral to Lawful Good, name from Deanna Tealeaf to Tiburath Rauhiss, and added a level as Cleric of Bahamut.
The irony here is that the other character who died ... was nearly killed less than a week later by Kobolds.
Nothing more fun than a Kobold Dragonfire Adept.
Well, except maybe a Kobold Marshal.
I had quite some fun with my Binder. He wore grey robes and red-lensed glasses (think Simon from Firefly) and depending on his mood and Vestige for the day other random nicknacks. Since the rest of the party was a too-serious Psion and a slightly insane rogue plus a third I can't remember, he ended up being the resident Deadpan Snarker for the group.
His name was Kreevan Irthirirthos (translated according to RotD, "keeper of secrets") and relentlessly mocked his party-mates for their inability to pronounce it.
I had a blast playing fey'ri (elf planetouched with succubus blood) in the past. Shapeshifting can be so much fun.
Out of the core races, the top three are human (works for everything - the default race if other races wouldn't fit better), elves (smart and graceful, being able to take the long view, and enjoy more in life than just work and getting drunk) and gnomes (cheerful, likeable, but slightly out of phase with this world).
Dwarves are actually among my least favourite, in part because the "live to work, get drunk, and be rude" attitude they're often depicted with, but mostly because I have seen too many crappy dwarf characters played by jerks.
For me it depends on what I'm playing.
If I'm feeling like playing something in my 'safe zone' I'll play a human (plus the bonus feat's nice). If I want a little change, a dwarf. Lots of change typically equates to something I've never tried before (next on the chopping block is a spiker (Planar Handbook) samurai (homebrew variant)).
My favorite race by far, however, have to be the shadar-kai from the Fiend Folio.
Core Races - I'm a fan of humans and halflings. Although I usually let my race choice serve my concept. Sumo Wrasslin' Monk, I go Half-Orc. Puppet wielding Bard? Gnome or half-elf is my most likely pick.
Non-Core - PF Goblin (they have so much fun stuff to RP with. Afraid of horses and books, hatred of dogs. Pyromania and a penchant for getting "stuck", and a constant need to EAT).
I love Kobolds for an entirely different reason. Kobolds are pests, nobody likes them (within most campaign worlds) and they have a tendency to worship anybody more powerful than them. A kobold with delusions of grandeur is fun. A cowardly kobold is fun. A kobold who worships one of the other PCs as a god (dragon bloodline-sorcerer?) HI-LARIOUS!
For me it depends on what I'm playing.
If I'm feeling like playing something in my 'safe zone' I'll play a human (plus the bonus feat's nice). If I want a little change, a dwarf. Lots of change typically equates to something I've never tried before (next on the chopping block is a spiker (Planar Handbook) samurai (homebrew variant)).
My favorite race by far, however, have to be the shadar-kai from the Fiend Folio.
Spikers do look nifty. The Planar Handbook has some seriously shiny stuff.
I'm actually a bit of an 'alternate race/class junkie', mostly cuz I'm a freak. My current parties are composed of:
Half-Demon (Alu demon, Mom was a Succubus, Dad was an Archmage) Sorcerer (Infernal Bloodline...duh?)
Dwarf Evoker/Astrogineer (Raised by a Human archmage who died horribly from life extension experiments)
Gnome Archivist/Sorcerer (might be going Pathfinder Savant for her PrC rather than the originally intended Mystic Theurge still up in the air)
Halfling Rogue/Ranger
Bariaur Planar Ranger (probably going Holy Liberator eventually)
Rogue Modron Psion (Metacreative/Shaper)
Kitsune Bard/Nogitsune (from the Kitsunemori book, she may or may not add Cleric of a trickster deity into the mix at some point)
Tiefling Warlock (Complete Arcane version with Dark Pact... hermaphroditic and very, VERY weird looking...also sworn to the Goddess of Death Erishkigal)
Half-Orc Barbarian/Half-Orc Paragon
Dwarven Monk/Wilder/Soulblade
Centaur Alchemist (homebrew class, built modded from the Eberron Artificer)
Aasimar Charismatic Hero (d20 Modern character, the character is destined to become a drug mule after graduating high school... his name's Jesus Cristo Martinez...)
Aasimar Paladin of Bahamut
Kobold Swashbuckler/Cleric of Bahamut (Reincarnated from a Halfling)
Halfling Ranger/Rogue
Half-Orc Sorceress
And the hits just keep on coming. I'm big on playing multiple characters, apparently. Currently, I'm back to playing my "Main Character" the Dwarven Paladin/Divine Crusader of Moradin.
Core Races - I'm a fan of humans and halflings. Although I usually let my race choice serve my concept. Sumo Wrasslin' Monk, I go Half-Orc. Puppet wielding Bard? Gnome or half-elf is my most likely pick.
Non-Core - PF Goblin (they have so much fun stuff to RP with. Afraid of horses and books, hatred of dogs. Pyromania and a penchant for getting "stuck", and a constant need to EAT).
I love Kobolds for an entirely different reason. Kobolds are pests, nobody likes them (within most campaign worlds) and they have a tendency to worship anybody more powerful than them. A kobold with delusions of grandeur is fun. A cowardly kobold is fun. A kobold who worships one of the other PCs as a god (dragon bloodline-sorcerer?) HI-LARIOUS!
Me worship NO ONE!!!
A kobold who worships one of the other PCs as a god (dragon bloodline-sorcerer?) HI-LARIOUS!
... Do you have my residence bugged? My wife and I have been toying around with her Golden dragon bloodline Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple taking the Leadership feat and finding himself SWARMED by worshipful Kobolds.
*paranoid look*
Me worship NO ONE!!!Core Races - I'm a fan of humans and halflings. Although I usually let my race choice serve my concept. Sumo Wrasslin' Monk, I go Half-Orc. Puppet wielding Bard? Gnome or half-elf is my most likely pick.
Non-Core - PF Goblin (they have so much fun stuff to RP with. Afraid of horses and books, hatred of dogs. Pyromania and a penchant for getting "stuck", and a constant need to EAT).
I love Kobolds for an entirely different reason. Kobolds are pests, nobody likes them (within most campaign worlds) and they have a tendency to worship anybody more powerful than them. A kobold with delusions of grandeur is fun. A cowardly kobold is fun. A kobold who worships one of the other PCs as a god (dragon bloodline-sorcerer?) HI-LARIOUS!
The Kobold BBEG I mentioned above worshiped himself. We ultimately decided that he ended up as a Vestige. :P
The fact that they are as statistically gimped as they are and still manage to pull off some of the things they do makes them all the more awesome in my opinion.
I've never had the opportunity to play one, but can definitely agree from a DM's point of view. As a player I've mostly played humans, though I have fallen in love with the PF half-elf.
I've liked half-elves since 1st edition, mostly for the roleplaying possibilities for the character. I liked the idea of a character set apart from society, yet still generally accepted. For that reason, if I'm not feeling so friendly, then I tend to go for a half-orc. Less acceptance, more attitude.
They're both great races.
A race I do want to try sometime is a Raptoran. I like the way their culture was written, and flying for free seems pretty kick-butt.
Halflings for me. They're cute, they're little, and their personality can go in so many directions. Mechanically they're ideal for anything (even barbarians and fighters if you don't mind the reduction in dps).
I didn't think I would ever be fond of dwarves until I proposed to one IRL. Hope we never have kids... because people say half-elves and half-orcs would be outcasts...
Halflings for me. They're cute, they're little, and their personality can go in so many directions. Mechanically they're ideal for anything (even barbarians and fighters if you don't mind the reduction in dps).
I didn't think I would ever be fond of dwarves until I proposed to one IRL. Hope we never have kids... because people say half-elves and half-orcs would be outcasts...
Halflings rock! My wife's as all about Halflings as I am about Dwarves. In her homebrew world, Halflings were pretty much poised to pull a Thalassocratric capitalist takeover of... well... pretty much the entire world. Until the Eschaton arrived, a new celestial body took orbit around the planet and the ensuing tidal forces destroyed their home islands and the base of most of their power.
Me? I wrote an entire homebrew game world built around Halfling dominance. So, I'm pretty much right there with you.
In summation, I will reiterate.
Halflings ROCK!
Yeah, boring I know, but I have to go with Elves. Being a Tolkien fanatic for as long as I have and having read pretty much anything Middle Earth I can get my hands on they still fascinate me. They tend to make for incredibly deep and emotional characters with a rich tradition and history to fall back on no matter what the setting.
Humans are the most diverse, however, and while there are many stereo-types and achetypal character concepts I am always able to keep my characters fresh and unique.
1st edition - Elves, elves, occasionally, to be different, Aquatic Elves.
2nd edition - still more elves, but also crazy stuff, like Gnomish Giant Space Werehamsters, Xixchil and 1/2 Ogre Magi. The 2E Complete Book of Dwarves did do the unimaginable and make the race a fascinating and compelling thing to me, but I never got around to playing one. The 2E Complete Book of Elves did the unthinkable in reverse and made me stop playing Elves...
3rd edition - Humans. A fascination with races like Gnolls, Changelings, Nerra and Killorians (for wildly different reasons) isn't enough to overcome my powergamery need for that bonus Feat.
I love Dwarves! I like the courage, work ethic, toughness, craftsmanship, and loyalty typified by Dwarves. I also like beer. ;)
And to you, I raise my mug!
(Granted, I'm a beer snob and I only drink Hefeweizen or similar... but that's German and Dwarves have always had a Germanic feel to my opinion)
Half elves for me.
I grew up in both "white" and Latino worlds...never fully in one or the other. Growing up my parents were kind like Lucy and Ricky. With the half-elf it was something that just clicked with me.
Huh, I never thought of the Half-Elf = RL analogue previously. Thank you for opening my eyes to a new way of thinking.
I never thought of myself as a "gnome guy" until I observed that about 50% of all of my characters are gnomes, quite by accident. I guess it's because gnomes let me be a little unpredictable and tend not to get bogged down with weighty ideals (the way I play them anyway).
Gnomes rock! My favorite RAW interpretation of Gnomes comes from Eberron, though Dragonlance Tinker Gnomes will always be the Gnomeyest Gnomest that ever Gnomed a Gnome to me. Purely on the basis of their being my first exposure to the race.
Then again, I love Kender. I should be taken out and shot.
a beer snob and I only drink Hefeweizen or similarYeah, if you mix it with cola....
Now, a Pils... that one can stand on its own.
And dwarves aren't Germanic. Dwarves are Snow White Enablers, the whole bunch.
I favor dark full bodied ales (Laughing Lab and Arrogant Bastard top my list) when I can afford them.
Hmm, Core it's half elves, I love half elves. Humans mechanically. PF 1/2 elves FTW.
Outside that.
Tieflings. When you are young, and your depression manifests as rage, having a dark heritage made sense.
Fey're. Tieflings +1.
Changelings. just for the sheer chaos they can cause.
Elans. Reborn humans, they rock. My Elan had to deal with a bronze dragon PC constantly talking about how she was superior to the 'short lived' races.
I got to reply the following, "Yes, by an accident of birth, you were born a long lived race. But I will be around long after you are dust, or adorning some blackguard's boot rest. You have everything you have by birth. I am a self made man."
:-)
That makes two of us. Recently started playing my first Golarion campaign and I happen to be playing a halfling rogue whom I happen to be playing like a kender.
Then again, I love Kender. I should be taken out and shot.
Oooh! Kender! I remember the time I stumbled through this portal and ended up in a very odd place. There was this bridge and this cathedral. As I was walking across, someone tackled me and through me back through the open portal.
I never did figure that one out.
(Granted, I'm a beer snob and I only drink Hefeweizen or similar... but that's German and Dwarves have always had a Germanic feel to my opinion)
I still insist that Dwarves are more Russian than Germanic. At least, *mine* are.
Anyway, Halflings for the win, as always. Given the choice in any fantasy setting, I invariably find myself turning to the underdog overachievers, which is how I see them. Always ready to dust themselves off and try again after any defeat.
(Granted, I'm a beer snob and I only drink Hefeweizen or similar... but that's German and Dwarves have always had a Germanic feel to my opinion)I still insist that Dwarves are more Russian than Germanic. At least, *mine* are.
Anyway, Halflings for the win, as always. Given the choice in any fantasy setting, I invariably find myself turning to the underdog overachievers, which is how I see them. Always ready to dust themselves off and try again after any defeat.
There's one setting, though I can't remember which, where the Dwarves are distinctly communist. *ponders* I think that's pretty cool, honestly!
There's one setting, though I can't remember which, where the Dwarves are distinctly communist. *ponders* I think that's pretty cool, honestly!(Granted, I'm a beer snob and I only drink Hefeweizen or similar... but that's German and Dwarves have always had a Germanic feel to my opinion)I still insist that Dwarves are more Russian than Germanic. At least, *mine* are.
Anyway, Halflings for the win, as always. Given the choice in any fantasy setting, I invariably find myself turning to the underdog overachievers, which is how I see them. Always ready to dust themselves off and try again after any defeat.
Sundered Empire and they were not exactly Communists per se.
Huh, I never thought of the Half-Elf = RL analogue previously. Thank you for opening my eyes to a new way of thinking.
Not a problem. That kinda how I looked at it. Half Elves not really being part of one or the other. Either short lived elves or long lived humans.
Sometimes if I am trying to add a bit of my own experiances to a character background in cases where the character was raised by humans and the character does speak Elven I usually RP that they do but poorly. Try to get Elf NPC's and PC's to speak slowly and all. ...kinda like me in real life in regards to Spanish.
Not a problem. That kinda how I looked at it. Half Elves not really being part of one or the other. Either short lived elves or long lived humans.Sometimes if I am trying to add a bit of my own experiances to a character background in cases where the character was raised by humans and the character does speak Elven I usually RP that they do but poorly. Try to get Elf NPC's and PC's to speak slowly and all. ...kinda like me in real life in regards to Spanish.
Huh, very nifty. I speak just enough Spanish to get by, and I lived in south Austin long enough to know most of the slang. I always get tripped up by the -a or -o at the end of words that indicate the gender of the person being spoken to. (Que pasa vs Que paso, as an example)
For me, anything really. I tend to play stereotypical dwarves, some humans, and a gnome or two (when requested).
Generally, I'll ask the DM what's needed, and I fill that gap the best way I can. Dwarves and humans fit most every category I need to fill, although a good Gnome Rogue or Sorcerer fits my next crazy scheme as well.