Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Hermes_Trismegistus Feb 18, 2015 12:05:44	I've been thinking about the materials provided to help generate ideas about roleplaying the different races. I think the "core" races of dwarf, elf, halfling, human, have a good deal of material to help players come up with some ideas about how to roleplay that race. The blurbs in the PHB giving an idea of what other races might think about the other three main races are (I think) fun and useful. Half-elves and half-orcs also have some material to help people envision how they fit into the various D&D universes. Now, this is my opinion, but it seems that races like gnomes and dragonborn still don't have as much information to help players develop a sense of what those peoples are like. Maybe its because they don't appear as often in the various fantasy fiction books (there is no gnome equivalent of Drizzt, for example). Maybe more details will appear in supplemental worldbooks to help with this.   I guess I'm asking a couple of questions. Most basically, what D&D races do you enjoy roleplaying and why? Beyond that, how do you envision the behavior of these races? I'm especially interested in hearing how you think about playing some of the less common races (gnomes, dragonborn, tieflings). What makes them distinctive in your mind? What would make them fun to roleplay? Where do you look for roleplaying inspiration for those races?   Hermes
#2 HermanTheWize Feb 18, 2015 12:47:58	Hermes_Trismegistus wrote:
#3 Archon007 Feb 18, 2015 12:27:28	Dwarf just love them. I always picture a Scotsman when playing them. Tough, strong, and awesome.
#4 mellored Feb 18, 2015 12:51:23	Anything that's not a varient of human.  (short human, lanky human, angry human with tusks, ect...).   So...  warforged, thri-kreen, shardmind, air elemental, zombie, sentient swarm of bees, ect...   I think i saw someone write up a slime race somewhere too...
#5 Yunru Feb 18, 2015 13:11:18	Half-Dragon Warforged. Because robot dragon humanoids.
#6 Clutchbone Feb 18, 2015 15:11:44	Gnomes as they are presented in Eberron. Academics, bureaucrats, diplomats, spies. They are small people in a big person world, so they wield information instead of armies.   This outlook fits with the type of characters I usually prefer playing - the party "face" that relies on persuasion, magic and/or trickery rather than brute force.   I was upset when 5e dropped the Charisma bonus that Gnomes enjoyed in 4e (no more gnomish fey-pact warlock for me), but I still greatly enjoyed playing my Forest Gnome Arcane Trickster during the LMoP campaign.
#7 Kayal Feb 18, 2015 15:38:59	I typically play humans, but I also enjoy playing Dwarves and Half-Orcs.   Why play a Dwarf? Because you get to start with Epic Beard! Also, your people make the best arms and armor, as well as the best ale and spirits. You get to live in a mountain, instead of a tree, and you have a built it excuse to be greedy. Plus, y'know, they're not Elves.   Why Half-Orcs? Sometimes it's fun to play a really, really stupid character, especially one that's brutally strong. Sometimes it's fun to play a character that's angsty because society has forsaken them. And lastly, y'know, because they' not Elves.
#8 Jordan175 Feb 18, 2015 16:45:08	Saw an online discussion the other day with a hilarious suggestion: Drow on the surface world should be played like recent immigrants from a former Soviet Bloc country in Eastern Europe. Watch “Borat” or “Moscow on the Hudson” for the general idea.   “In deep country, Matron pick one male for to put into hole fill with spider every Tuesday. Must smile, say is great honor. Otherwise, many torture. Tuesday is not good day in deep country. But on surface world, Tuesday is ladies night in tavern- and ladies are not even to whipping if look at eyes when talking! Is niiice.   I write letter to Ni'co, my cousin. I tell him I have own room, no sharing, and I can leave anytime I wish. He not understand. He send reply say “Am sorry you are in solitary, but no to suicide! Afterlife is even more full of spider.”
(Reply to #8) Inaubryyn	Jordan175 wrote:
#10 Keaerin Feb 19, 2015 11:24:11	My favorite race to roleplay is kobold by far I love them little lizards. I love the under dog shtick and they flourish at that personality. They are also a heck of a lot of fun as comic relief/toady as well, especially when toadying up to some one you know you can get into trouble.
#11 Kostoglot Feb 19, 2015 12:30:43	Dwarves are too often a racial (Scot) stereotype... halflings are hobbits. I'd much rather see more nuanced, less trope based characters in games than more LoTR throwaways. People tend to forget how horrifically racist Tolkien was when they borrow his world...   Anything that isn't entirely predictable, and isn't totally absurd to the point of unplayability works for me.    My personal favorite character is a Gnoll who was in training to be a spirit-breaker but freed the captives he was supposed to practice on instead. He's got the background feature that gives him retainers, which are the little gremlins (Pugwampis in PF) that he rescued and follow him around now, constantly annoying him.
#12 miburo99 Feb 19, 2015 13:54:40	Jordan175 wrote:
#13 alienux Feb 19, 2015 14:29:20	I go back and forth between using humans and halflings. My go to combos are usually the tried and true halfling rogue, but when not DMing, I'll also often go with a human rogue.   Other than that, I've played a halfling wizard on occasion and human fighters.   Yes, these (other than maybe the halfling wizard) are pretty vanilla, but they work well, and to me, they're still plenty of fun. I don't feel like I always have to have an oddball combination or exotic race.   I plan on playing as a warforged rogue or fighter at some point.
#14 Zarton Feb 20, 2015 9:47:09	Pathfinder goblins were always my favorite. Always to fun to play as those chaotic crazy guys.  Was able to convince a tribe of golbins that my armed party of elves and humans were my slaves. Just kept adding to his awsome story and made all the bluf checks each time.   In dnd, I enjoy dragonborn grappler. Just for flavor of grapping the enemy down, then breathing fire right into his face. Warforge was amusing when I played it in beta.