[Highly Subjective] Favorite new race?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

1 to 50 of 89 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Silver Crusade

I would like to jump start discussion on your favorite new races from the ARG and other sources in Pathfinder. Tell us what race you like and why.

Special note: the posts are subject to opinion. Everyone is welcome to talk about their favorite new race in the ARG.

Grand Lodge

This is not a rules question.


Monkey Goblins, because Monkey Goblins.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I would guess that ever since Paizo released rules that let aasimars get +2 to basically whichever two abilities their class needs most, or at least far far better options than Wis and Cha, they rank pretty high.


For flavour, I like Changelings. Mechanically I don't like them much at all.


Goblins, mechanically, give three dex based characters and fire based characters new options.

Samasarans, give spell casters options with their ability to choose a limited number of cross class spells.

After that Gilmen are fairly strong...


1 person marked this as a favorite.

sylph's are my new favorite.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Cat-Folk because I am a sucker for cat people.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I like the elemental native outsiders (oread, ifrit, sylph, undine) and tengu (although they are not really a 'new' race)... and I agree with BBT, this is not a rules question... and should probably be in the general discussion forum.

Dark Archive

Races under consideration (might be more, going off the top of my head);
Core - Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half Elf, Half Orc, Halfling, Human
Bestiary - Aasimar, Drow, Drow Noble, Duerger, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Merfolk, Orc, Svirfneblin, Tengu, Tiefling
Bestiary 2 - Changeling, Dhampir, Fetchling, Grippli, Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, Undine
Bestiary 3 - Catfolk, Ratfolk, Vanara, Vishkanya
Dragon Empires - Kitsune, Nagaji, Samsaran, Wayang
Inner Sea Bestiary - Android, Ghoran, Lashunta, Monkey Goblin, Syrinx
Qadira companion - Suli
Inner Sea World Guide - Gillmen, Strix

Thematically, I like the Gillmen, because they are so tied into the setting, with the 'sunken degenerate Atlanteans' motif. Owen had some creepy outtakes regarding them that didn't make it into the Absalom book on his blog, back in the day.

For a mixture of an interesting visual and some interesting mechanics, probably the Tengu, and, most recently, the Android.

For not-currently-a-playable-race-option, it's always been Gnolls.

Non PF favorites include the Spelljammer Xixchil, Eberron Changeling and Daelkyr Halfblood, 3.5 Halfling, Freeport Civilized Serpentfolk/Valossans, Scarred Lands Charduni Dwarves, Arcana Unearthed Verrik, Hamunaptra Gnolls/Anpur and Aquatic Elves from many settings.

None of the Bestiary 2 races really work for me. They feel like they were filling 'half-this' and 'half-that' quotas. (Well, barring the grippli, obviously, but I've never been a fan of frog-people anyway, whether they be called grippli, slaad or boggards.)

Grand Lodge

I personally like the Tiefling, as not only can I make it work decently for any class, but the options available for physical characteristics is so vast, that I can feel my imagination tickled pink.


Ghoran (I think that's their name, from Inner Sea), the plant people. It's a fantastic way to get blanket immunities right from the start. Mix with Alchemist (Everything you do is "All Natural" haha) to get a couple more. Make your own clones? NP! Make a simulcrum/Rip your own skin off (forgot the name of the ability) of yourself with the Alchemist, have it plant a seed of itself and in 2d6 days you have another way to get a cloned character. The only downside is having to be in the sun for a bit every day or take con damage.

Also, any race that gets burrow/earth glide (make your own), just too fantastic of a ability.

Might just have to make my own plant/construct race that can burrow and doesn't need the sun.


Tengu - 3 natural attacks at full bab? yes please!

Liberty's Edge

blackbloodtroll wrote:
I personally like the Tiefling, as not only can I make it work decently for any class, but the options available for physical characteristics is so vast, that I can feel my imagination tickled pink.

You don't have to tell me bub. I based my Tiefling Wizard's physical features fluff-wise on an ice devil. I just wish there were more feats to support that mechanically.

Also, I adore the Wayangs, because the idea of a race inspired by Asian shadow puppets is such a cool and unique idea. It's a shame they're not legal to use In Pathfinder Society. Speaking of which, why is that?

Also, a bit off topic, but does anybody else think that the Samsarans seem suspiciously close to 4e's Deva, minus the Aasimar influence?I know they're based on the general concept of reincarnation, but the specific way they do it makes me wonder...


Set wrote:

Races under consideration (might be more, going off the top of my head);

Core - Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half Elf, Half Orc, Halfling, Human
Bestiary - Aasimar, Drow, Drow Noble, Duerger, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Merfolk, Orc, Svirfneblin, Tengu, Tiefling
Bestiary 2 - Changeling, Dhampir, Fetchling, Grippli, Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, Undine
Bestiary 3 - Catfolk, Ratfolk, Vanara, Vishkanya
Dragon Empires - Kitsune, Nagaji, Samsaran, Wayang
Inner Sea Bestiary - Android, Ghoran, Lashunta, Monkey Goblin, Syrinx
Qadira companion - Suli
Inner Sea World Guide - Gillmen, Strix

Thematically, I like the Gillmen, because they are so tied into the setting, with the 'sunken degenerate Atlanteans' motif. Owen had some creepy outtakes regarding them that didn't make it into the Absalom book on his blog, back in the day.

For a mixture of an interesting visual and some interesting mechanics, probably the Tengu, and, most recently, the Android.

For not-currently-a-playable-race-option, it's always been Gnolls.

Non PF favorites include the Spelljammer Xixchil, Eberron Changeling and Daelkyr Halfblood, 3.5 Halfling, Freeport Civilized Serpentfolk/Valossans, Scarred Lands Charduni Dwarves, Arcana Unearthed Verrik, Hamunaptra Gnolls/Anpur and Aquatic Elves from many settings.

None of the Bestiary 2 races really work for me. They feel like they were filling 'half-this' and 'half-that' quotas. (Well, barring the grippli, obviously, but I've never been a fan of frog-people anyway, whether they be called grippli, slaad or boggards.)

Add Changeling from one of the Carrion Crown AP's, and Kuru from the Shackles Campaign Setting book

Shadow Lodge

Halflings, though the Syrinx is a close second.


Ed-Zero wrote:
Ghoran (I think that's their name, from Inner Sea), the plant people. It's a fantastic way to get blanket immunities right from the start.

I'm pretty sure you don't get any plant traits without at least one hit die of "Plant." It's the same as how you don't get proficiency with all martial weapons for being an Outsider.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Ratfolk. Though I like Kitsune and Aasimar too.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I've always been fond of the kitsune. I play them whenever I can due to the fact I love thier friendly nature and the ability to shapeshift between fox, hybrid, and human forms.

I also give them a unique hybrid form inspired by anime. Yes I like anime.

My favorite character is a rogue with his 1000 tales and mithril rapier/longsword, along with his girlfriend a kitsune geisha/lotus bard and her duel fighting fans.

What an adventure.........good times.

Shadow Lodge

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I have a Kitsume 'Coyote' which is fun. Basically I get rid of the Japanese trappings and replace them with Native American trappings.

I also am falling in love with all the options for assimar and tiefling. They are thematically interesting, are fun, and effective.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

None. I hate circus freak parties.

Although a one-off experiment with an android might be interesting.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Zaister wrote:

None. I hate circus freak parties.

Although a one-off experiment with an android might be interesting.

+1.

Cleanse them all with fire.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I recommend sonic, or force. Some of them are resistant to fire.

Shadow Lodge

Zaister wrote:

None. I hate circus freak parties.

Although a one-off experiment with an android might be interesting.

I sometimes feel the same way, but only sometimes. When I run, I institute what I call a 'one Chewbacca rule', i.e. the first person who asks gets to be 'Chewie'.

Of course, an all circus freak campiagn might be interesting.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Kerney wrote:
Zaister wrote:

None. I hate circus freak parties.

Although a one-off experiment with an android might be interesting.

I sometimes feel the same way, but only sometimes. When I run, I institute what I call a 'one Chewbacca rule', i.e. the first person who asks gets to be 'Chewie'.

Of course, an all circus freak campiagn might be interesting.

hah! my current campaign is literally based on a party of escaped circus freaks.


I pretty much will always go for the weird races, but sitting on the other side of the screen the I can appreciate that things are easier to run with less weirdos. My only "normal" character in the campaign I run is a Changeling witch...the rest of her party is comprised of a Kobold, Kitsune, and Nagaji

I would really like to play a Pathfinder gnome or a ratfolk...those are the races speaking to me at the moment.


From The Advanced Race Guide....

Goblin PC's can be fun, as long as you don't have the PLAYER need to win every fight and be Conan. The possibilities are lots of fun.

Catfolk are cool, I love cats but they always struck me as a touch fem.

Ratfolk are fun. I have pet rats and they're fun.


I only have one rule...well guideline..okay, suggestion: Try to pick a different Race and Class for your next character. Except for a single player who ALWAYS plays Humans, I have never even suggested this rule/guideline/suggestion to any of my players.

Silver Crusade

5 people marked this as a favorite.

This is hard.

I will say for now that I love having a wide range of fantastic races. Some people say "circus freak world". I say "fantasy world full of fantastic people I want to explore".

Bring on all the nagaji and androids and skindancers and fetchlings and kobolds. I got room enough in my heart for all of 'em. :)

Silver Crusade

Actually, one thing I can pin down at the moment:

Favorite look: The undine as illustrated in their first piece of art in the ARG. I really dig that visual and other possible images that can spin out of it.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

the one chewbacca rule, stolen.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Kobolds are probably my favourite. Ratfolk are cool, too. And the Ifrit. And Tiefling. And the Dhampir, too...Time to duck for cover, lol


Ratfolk - the pics in ARG have an awesome Skaven feel to them. Haven't found a build for them yet though.

Goblins - for fun fluff.

Sahuagin - not a player race - but I really wanna make a alchemist Sahuagin - just to say - look I'm a special 4 armed Sahuagin - respect me!

The Exchange

Changelings cause ever since the first book of carrion crown I've wanted to play one, finally got a chance and the campaign feel apart after one session. :(


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Mikaze wrote:

This is hard.

I will say for now that I love having a wide range of fantastic races. Some people say "circus freak world". I say "fantasy world full of fantastic people I want to explore".

Bring on all the nagaji and androids and skindancers and fetchlings and kobolds. I got room enough in my heart for all of 'em. :)

Exactly what i think.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

After years of Spelljammer and Star Frontiers and Gamma World (four armed mutant cyborg bear ftw!) and various super-hero games (where one PC is a robot, another is a sorcerer, another is an alien and another is a mythological god), I've never really had much of a 'cantina' problem.

Sometimes, the theme is important, and I understand that someone wanting to play a Werewolf, Mage or Highlander Immortal in a Vampire the Masquerade game is rollerskating uphill.

But in a fantasy D&D world that already *has* orcs, goblins, fey, anthros (gnolls, minotaurs, harpies, etc.), planetouched and half-dragons and half-this and half-that? It's like going to an all you can eat buffet and being told you can only have the rice.

That being said, I'm pretty much always gonna play humans. That extra feat is sexier than almost any racial ability I've seen. :)


I'm actually the other way. To use your buffet analogy, If I'm at an all you can eat Buffet, I never ever ever eat the rice. I always eat the stuff I can't make/get at home.

I can't remember -ever- playing a human in Pathfinder, or D&D, Palladium, Rifts, etc.

I've never even rolled a human in World of Warcraft. lol.

That doesn't mean I go full out to extremes and play like, 'The color blue' or anything, but I -am- human. If I'm playing a fantasy game I'm going to play something I'm not every day of the week. Putting my mind into character into the strange or fantastical is how I roll.

I like Dwarves and Half orcs. I like --Pathfinder-- Gnomes. (Not others generally). My wife says I have a very dwarven aspect, even though I'm 6'2". lol The topic of this thread was the new races from the Advanced race guide, so I listed off some from there. But I do love Dwarves, Half orcs, and Gnomes as "base" Races of Pathfinder.

I can't say I even, ever considered playing a human. For me the CHARACTER, and the story and the fun, far far out weigh any game mechanics. As I've pointed out before I've had loads of fun playing a PC Pathfinder goblin. They're not what you'd deem masters of the universe in any stretch, but they are fun, and pathfinder has really made them deep. I like -that-. Stats are just paperwork.


Kitsunes are easily my favorite new race because I'm a big fan of the Japanese lore behind them. I like Tengu because I think they are hilarious. Besides that... I'd have to say Undines because of the Waterbender *cough* I mean Watersinger archetype.

Catfolk and Ratfolk are on my play list just because I'm a fan of beast races, but they are not as high priority as the other two.

I have to say that I hate 'circus freak' parties as well, and I think I would adjust what race I play in order to balance things out if we were playing a 'normal' adventure. If too many other players are running weird races then I'll probably run a human. If everyone is human or one of the core races, I'll probably play something more fun.

Silver Crusade

I'm with the one Chewbacca crowd. In a setting that is predominantly the core races I prefer my groups to reflect that somewhat. Just a personal preference.

Of the odd races I don't dislike any bar Catfolk (not a big cat fan- sorry internet :)) I am a big fan of Grippli and Tengu though.


I like the new Android, and Ghoran (especially the art for the Ghoran in the Inner Sea Bestiary.)

I also always like Half-Orcs and Half-Elves for some reason.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I deliberately designed the most prominent races in my homebrew setting to be even half-and-half between "normal" humanoids (the standard six - with Half-Orcs flavor-wise replaced by just Orcs, but using the former's stats) and more monstrous, unusual races: bird-folk (mechanically similar to Strix but very different in flavor), wolf-folk (Lupin from Dragon Compendium), Naga (oriental version - humanoid torso, serpent tail replacing legs), Kobolds, Tengu, Ratfolk, a Satyr-like Fey PC race, and Yuan-Ti. Add on a Hobgoblin-run continent across the sea, homeland of goblinoids who have then spread across the world like wildfire, and toss in sprinkles of every other available race (and a few more homebrew) for flavor.

It seems utterly bizarre to me that in fantastical worlds made up of all sorts of weird creatures, all the "main heroes/main characters" and majority of big movers and shakers in history are humans, tall skinny humans, short stout humans, two variants of even shorter humans, or big bestial humans. And that the only exceptions to this are in ancient prehistory or are singularly influential and overwhelming creatures like dragons.

So yeah. Give me more races that aren't just "variant human". This is fantasy. Let's get fantastical.

RE: the actual question of the thread:
Kobolds Kobolds Kobolds KOBOLDS
Changelings
Dhampir
Duergar
Tengu
Strix
Samsarans

PS: I likewise have never played a human in a PnP campaign. I have played:
Illumian (closest I've gotten)
Killoren
Avanti (3.5 version of Gillmen, I guess)
Tiefling
Halfling
Kobold
Dwarf (Several)
Elf (once, will not repeat)
Duergar
Naga (my homebrew version)
Strix (PF's version)

Silver Crusade

Tengu is my pick, because it surprised me, but I'm working on making the look of my character more hawk-like. Who says they always have to look like a raven anyways?

Also a fan of the aasimar (especially the flexibility giving from both the ARG and Blood of Angels).

I've also got a race I'll be creating via the Race Creator, so that gets a vote too :)


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pepsi Jedi wrote:
That doesn't mean I go full out to extremes and play like, 'The color blue' or anything

I ran a Planescape game where one of the PCs was a sentient piece of music.


Pepsi Jedi wrote:
That doesn't mean I go full out to extremes and play like, 'The color blue' or anything, but I -am- human. If I'm playing a fantasy game I'm going to play something I'm not every day of the week. Putting my mind into character into the strange or fantastical is how I roll.

On the other hand, I want a familiar base so I can immerse in the character better. If my character is not at least human-like, I can't get into it because I have no idea what that might be like.

And while I am a human in real life, I am not a human in a fantasy world doing fantastic heroic stuff like slaying monsters and slinging spells, so I think it's different enough to be exciting.

President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Do I have to pick just one? Depending on my mood, it would be either the Seedlings and the Half-Faerie Dragons.

[/Shameless plug]

But if I had to pick a race that was not published by my company, I'd have to say the grippli.

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I like the Sylph a lot.

Also like the Nagiji and Vishkanya, but I'd rather see a toned-down, playable lamia-serpent or a naga.

Shadow Lodge

Is it just me, or are Assimar and Tiefling starting to creep into the some definitions of core? I mean they look mostly human so they can blend in, are common in Golorian lore, and now allowed in PFS.

Like in the very far past, half elves were exotic and iffy, and then became 'core', are Tieflings and Assimar making that same transition?

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Kerney wrote:

Is it just me, or are Assimar and Tiefling starting to creep into the some definitions of core? I mean they look mostly human so they can blend in, are common in Golorian lore, and now allowed in PFS.

Like in the very far past, half elves were exotic and iffy, and then became 'core', are Tieflings and Assimar making that same transition?

They've been core in my heart ever since Planescape. Folks trying to redefine them as monsters or nonplayer races when they started as player races was one of the things that bugged the hell out of me during 3.x.


Strix,
Flight from lvl 1.


I've considered Tiefling's core for some time. Assimar don't bother me.

However. I don't know how well they 'blend in' both are supposed to stand out, in their own ways.People just 'know' or 'sense' the otherworldly or demonic blood.

Not like Highlander where one gets with in 1000 yards and they look around for it, but more, if one walks into the store you're in, your eyes are drawn to them for some reason or another and you kinda know there's something 'weird' goin' on there.

1 to 50 of 89 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / General Discussion / [Highly Subjective] Favorite new race? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.