This is kind of a riff on the thread "Favorite Class." I was thinking about which class I most often play and realized that, while my "preferred class" tends to include a couple of choices, I almost always, without exception, play as an elf. I don't really know why. I think it's because of the alien-ness of them. They seem the most removed from standard society to me (barring the truly removed such as illithids and such). So, post your favorite race and why.
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For me it's Human. +2 to the stat of my choice, the extra skill point and extra feat are just too good to pass up. But that's not the real reason though. It's Glorion, that setting make Humans just so much more interesting to play than any other race.
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Tiefling all the way. Not because of the stats, but because of the social stigma that goes with it. Yeah, there is an evil outsider in my bloodline, are you going to take the chance that I'm following in his foot steps?
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Human. You can be whatever you want. Besides, I have the most RP experience at being human. :)
Tiefling all the way. Not because of the stats, but because of the social stigma that goes with it. Yeah, there is an evil outsider in my bloodline, are you going to take the chance that I'm following in his foot steps?
I also love the Tiefling. If I'm not playing an elf, it's definitely a tiefling. Their muddled motivations can cause some really good group tension (not the end-of-the-world kind, mind you).
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In 1st and 2nd edition, it was all elf, all the time. Eventually it got more esoteric, and it was all aquatic elf, all the time (except when we were playing games in kara-tur, where it was sea spirit folk, or spelljammer, where it was xixchil, or half-ogre-magi or something even more bizarre).
In 3rd edition through Pathfinder, it's been all-human, all-the-time. I hate having stats below 10 or 'dump stats' and all of the other races have some sort of built in negative that I don't feel like dealing with.
There's been the usual dabbling (Halfling, capitalizing on the +1 attack bonus with thrown items in 3.X, Changeling, Gnoll, Daelkyr Halfblood, etc.) but the only race I've played more than once in 3.X/PF has been human.
elves tend to be my go-to. I like their fluff and society and mechanically. I don't tend to play melee characters so the Con problem isn't much of a problem.
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I don't really have a favorite race per se, I usually pick a race that best fits my concept.
My favorite to RP are dwarves, though, hands down.
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3.0 Forgotten Realms - Tiefling
3.5 Forgotten Realms - Hagspawn (I really wish this was Open Content)
Eberron - Daelkyr-halfblood
Ghostwalk - Human ghost
Ravenloft - Caliban
Pathfinder (Golarion) - Human (next time I get a chance, Dhampir)
Pathfinder (generic/homebrew) - Tiefling
When I get to play, I always pick a race with human ancestry. I challenge the next Bestiary to break this norm.
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I usually favour whatever race is furthest away from human that the GM will allow. Amongst the "standard" races that'd usually be gnomes or halflings; though even those are too close to humans for my tastes though. In a 3.X campaign in which the GM insisted we all play humans, I chose to portray a druid/shifter who never spent any time in human form, ever. My favourite character thus far was a gold dragon hatchling.
The way I see it, I already spend all of my non-gaming time roleplaying a human, so why would I aspire to play the same darned thing in a fantasy game? It'd seem to be missing the point to me.
I usually end up playing humans. They are varied and exciting based on the setting, easy to build a interesting background and personality for, and mechanically adept at every class. My favorite race would have to be gnomes though; especially in the Glorian campaign setting. They have a fun, alien mindset, a bonus to CHA for social skills (which I usually invest in, regardless of class) and a bonus to CON, which nobody would complain about. They are small sized, have low light vision, and with their ability modifiers, they make passable rogue. With their gnomish illusion magic and its variants (including pyromaniac) they are solid casters. And the bonus to CON as well as the free proficiency in a not terrible exotic weapon and bonus to hit and AC means they can make decent martial characters (especially barbarians to help negate the loss of 2 average damage per swing). Gnomes are just pretty cool.
Dwarves.
I like hard, small and non human conservative fellas.
I also hate Halflings and Gnomes. As soon you substitute them by goblins the better for Golarion.
I'd love to play a goblin gusnlinger.
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Half-orcs. I've always been a big fan of the 'noble savage', brutal thug, or war leader characters. And with the Pathfinder changes to half-orcs, they're now completely viable for any class a human could do, and far more interesting. Half-orc wizard? There's an interesting roleplaying concept. Half-orc bard? Savage Skald. Half-orc monk? Focus on calming the 'inner beast'. Half-orc sorcerer? The race just screams 'raw power' being an excellent fit.
I play a lot of Aasimar because I enjoy divine casters. I always imagine Aasimar to look like beautiful, angelic people. So I play a female Aasimar cleric or oracle,then I go find some beautiful blonde angelic looking woman for her appearance like Else Hosk or Kate Upton. I enjoy imagining her as this beautiful angelic woman that everyone loves, even her evil enemies find her breathtaking.
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I usually go with Gnomes, for a variety of reasons (none of which include the cute-sy childlike Kender-ish sort) and I am usually very happy with them. I like "surprise-y" kind of characters, guys that can really be a serious hardcore badass, but without looking like it, and very often players and GMs both tend to overlook the power that gnomes have. I like their fluff too, although I am not a huge fan of the resurgence in Fey-like fluff that PFRPG has brought to them.
Lately though, I have played 2 Half-Elves, and loved them. Mechanically they are so solid, and fluff-wise they rock too. Outcasts by most society, because of mixed heritage? Anyone get that from the scenes in the last Star Trek movie showing Spock as a 1/2 Vulcan?? OMG, I loved that part, mostly because it captured VERY well how I see most Half-Elves being treated in society.
Half Elves are my favorite in PFRPG.
Tiefling all the way. From Stats, background and variant looks. Each time I play one, that character is always special, talked about in other games and rememberable. Sure other races that I have played are special in their own light, but my Tieflings seem to hit home each time.
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I play a human more often than not. I am a human, so that helps RP. You get more customization out of a human, too: +2 to your choice ability score, a skill point each level (almost as good as a +2 Int, right there), and a free feat. The feat alone makes it worthwhile.
If it ain't a human, it's a dwarf. Dwarves are just BAMFs.
I would play goliaths (WotC property), but my group doesn't like them.
I tend to play humans more than anything else and make a big effort to knit them properly into a culture or at least use the human culture most relevant to the characters point of origin as a solid touchstone.
Human are all you really need. In *most* settings other races usually aren't properly filled out with background info and are often taken as one-dimensional rp crutches. I know I'm going to upset people, but this is pretty much how I view tieflings.
Drow Noble,
for the RP opportunities - or something like that.
Human are all you really need. In *most* settings other races usually aren't properly filled out with background info and are often taken as one-dimensional rp crutches. I know I'm going to upset people, but this is pretty much how I view tieflings.
Depends on the setting. In the old Forgotten Realms books (the setting all my GMs run) there were extra rules on Tieflings. In Golarion there is a free download that covers everything you'll ever want to know about Tieflings (as well as some extra rules).
*High-five Tiefling players*
Human or elf here. Human, because it's easier to wrap my mind around how they work. Elves are fun too, being the character who can watch years roll by and not care.
I usually play as a half-elf. I like the whole lost-in-society concept. They just never feel like they fit in. Except in Eberron, where they are a more primary race; which is why I played a changeling in our Eberron campaign.
Humans are the go-to when the class combo I want to play doesn't SCREAM "Play this race!" with it...
That being said, Suli may have replaced the Human as my new standard go to. Would you pay 1 skill per level for low light vision and the ability to do free 1d6 elemental damage once per day? Would you take a feat at first level that gave you resist 5 to acid, fire, electricity, and cold? I would. Suli are basically that. And they -sparkle- in the sunshine.
Race: Warforged.
Reason: I like to get my Robot-Rock on.
Edit: Well, I have made more than a few goblins...
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Dwarves. Mechanics wise, the most commonly needed physical stat, and the mental stat that helps will saves + perception all for the measley cost of reducing the least useful stat in the game? oh, and as a cherry on top you get +2 to virtually all of your saves? I'm in.
Flavor wise there's something about playing the perennial strait man in a world as silly as the one adventurers find themselves in. SOMEONE needs to be the responsible parent,put their nose to the grindstone and get the WORK done. Despite their longer lifespans we know the hippy elves aren't up for it.
My all time favorite was a half-orc called... Gworeth :)
But usually my got-to race is human. Skill-points and feat. Precious. But I don't think there's a race I wouldn't play, given the right concept.
I've just rolled up a half-elf bard, and looking forward to giving him a spin :)
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Halflings. My very first AD&D character was a halfling rogue who Backstabbed a troll to the ground, giving the whole party a chance to escape and the awesomeness has just stuck with me.
I'm sure I'll get yelled down for this, but I actually prefer Kender halflings over Hobbit styled ones. Life can be pretty bleak and I just really enjoy playing characters with irrepressibly happy outlooks.
I will say though, Golarion goblins are WAY fun!
Whatever race I play has to have an idealized appearance. I am playing to imagine the fantastic! Why on earth would I select something hideous? So orcs and scaly creatures need not apply. As a result I usually pick something like an elf for traditional beauty or if I am going for something more exotic then Aasimar, Tiefling, or even the awesome appearance of Genasi with flaming or eternally wind blown hair.
I love playing black or blue half dragon, not for the stats which i think they get is a little excessive but cause in my mind they look so bad ass and trying to over come whats in your blood and getting people to see just plain you is something i've dealt with in live so i relate with it. When not playing half dragons i like drow and half orcs again for the same reasons.
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Halflings are where it's at people! Proportionately, we can carry more than a Medium character who has the same Strength score, we get a +1 to hit and AC, a bonus to all saving throws and an extra +2 vs Fear, and a bonus to decent skills!
Oh, and if we're monks, you are never going to grapple us or get out of a grapple we started.
Halflings, we can wrestle a dragon and win!
I usually pick something that fits my concept mechanically and most characters I make are human half elf half orc or dwarf but my human ones seem to be in the games I play for the longest.
Human, not for mechanical reasons, but because I can relate to them the best.
I play to the concept I'm building for most part. I do try to vary the race as well as class of my characters though. Next character should be 1/2 orc, though the alchemist is suited for gnome as well. I already played a gnome bard, so it's going to be 1/2 orc.
Humans, Dwarves, and tieflings.
dwarves because I like to carry a lot of baggage.
Mechanically, I usually favor humans for skills and feats. And I hate it. Because I am burned out on humans. But I have to.
If I only looked at fluff, I would say Half-Elf or Half-Orc. Also possibly Dwarves, but only if they are cute female int-casters. :)
As someone who DM's far more often then he play's I'm going to say sahuagin.
I like elves because I like to play wizards. PF made them even better than they were, and now I really like them. Compared to humans, you get a couple things that are feats in themselves (Elven Magic, some weapon proficiencies), and low light vision. Not amazing, but put it all together, and I don't miss the extra feat humans get. Well, not too much. :)
I used to go humans for the customization. But I'm having a lot of fun with the racial stereotypes that come with playing a dwarf.
I go through seaons where I want to play them all but I most enjoy gnomes. They are just a blast. I enjoy the unexpected angle already mentioned. I once played a cleric of Garl Glittergold who rode a big old english sheepdog. Eveyone else in the party were warrior types and a wizard. I ended up as the diplomat. Whenever we met a new person I introduced everyone in relationship to me, this is so and so the wizard my trusted advisor, the paladin my loyal disciple, our fighter was my trusted bodyguard. It was so much fun.
The character I am most looking forward to playing right now is a half-elf (drow) raised by gnomes.
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I most like the Aasimar. Fun and interesting race, and open enough to do a lot of great concepts, unlike the Tieflings (which I would rate amongst the worse, near Drow).
I also like Pathfinder Half-Orcs and Humans. I like the mechanics for Dwarves, but never the race themselves, <often just using the stats and saying they are norse humans, or even humans with a little giant in them, or very very tall "dwarves" :)>
I would like some <not at all Evil> Undead or half-Undead races, and maybe some not-feline animal races, (bear, wolf/dog, spider), that are medium sized and somewhat like Half-Orcs in appearance.
I like the idea of grippli, but not really their stats.
I hate the Drow and the Tiefling, as both are very boring, in my opinion, want-to-be's, and just really do not offer much. I've never met one (of either) in game, that didn't turn out to be evil no matter what the DM claims is on the sheet, either.