That's right what D&D races would be your must haves for the main 'Player's handbook' or similar book. Choose from any past D&D Campaign Setting, Dragon Article or 'Core Rule book. As a secondary option choose which race gets the chop, with no save vs. death or chance for raise dead.

1. Humans (of course)
2. Wood Elf (Legolas Elf types)
3. High Elf (Elrond Elf types)
4. Hobbit (yes, Halflings but let's not pretend anything otherwise than Hobbits)
5. Dwarf (is there really a need for 2 types?)

And something like:

6. Irda (from Dragonlance as they appeared in 1st Edition)
7. Half-Giant (from Dark Sun)

For the chop: Dragonborn. If you must do it then Lizardfolk, or Saurials. I'm just not in favor of monstrous/non-human looking PCs.

Must have:

Humans
Elves (no need for subraces)
Dwarves
Halflings

Possibly:

Gnomes
Half-orcs

Axe:

Fanservice... I mean, Tieflings
Pathetic... I mean, Dragonborn
Stupid... I mean, Magic Robots... I mean, Warforged.

Quote from: Premier;633007Must have:

Humans
Elves (no need for subraces)
Dwarves
Halflings

Possibly:

Gnomes
Half-orcs

Axe:

Fanservice... I mean, Tieflings
Pathetic... I mean, Dragonborn
Stupid... I mean, Magic Robots... I mean, Warforged.

I'm almost there with you. I like the classic races, albeit I think it is good if new settings swapped them out for new things. Core D&D should be about classic vanilla fantasy.

Warforged work in Eberron as they have a reason to exist in the lore, anywhere else i fail to see a point to there inclusion, to be honest its the same with most races besides the classic dwarf, human, elf, gnome and halfling base set.

If they must add new races at least keep them to specific settings unless its something like Planescape where any race make sense with a little bit of work(fell through a portal ended up in sigil being the easiest), or create a racial background that ties them into the setting properly without retconning the lore to make them fit(im looking at you Dragonborn in 4e Forgotten Realms!).

Must have?
Main 4, obviously.  I don't mind so much keeping the two elves the OP mentioned as a single race, but I -do- like my wild elves separate (and much less friendly).

I also like the Irda idea.

I wish halflings weren't quite so small/rotund/hobbit-y (really, I hate the way the first couple editions dealt with them.  Call them short humans if you want, the idea of someone smaller than the average toddler is just too much for me.)

Gnomes can go as far as I'm concerned.  In 30 years I've never had a single, solitary player even -consider- a gnome character, let alone play one.

Tieflings should return to Planescape-style, not 'Cute demons with no drawbacks'.  War-forged are world-specific and should go.  Dragonborn need better justification and, barring that, they can go also (although I could see them shifted faintly to Saurials, which have world placement -and- are planar).  Half-orcs and Half-hobs should be in, as well as half-ogres.  Half-giants remain world-specific imo, along with Muls.

...but every world should have kanks.  Just sayin'.

When I say Half-Giants, I mean you've always had 3 smaller races (Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome) yet never any larger race. This always seemed odd?

Must have:

all 100 elf subraces from Forgotten Realms.

And give a chop to Humans, just to mix things up a bit.

Spoiler

But seriously, include the prime 7 from 1st-3rd Edition(humans, dwarves, halflings, etc), plus kobolds.

4th Edition Eladrin get the chopping block.

Humans
Elves
Dwarfs
Halflings
Tielflings
Aasimar
Shifters

The core four.  Not a fan of Irda because as soon as they came out, everyone and their grandma's dog wanted to play one because they had the best ability bonuses.

And Dragonborn, tieflings, and warforged should be completely optional in some sort of other supplement.  Dragons, demons, and golems are iconic monsters to fight, not play as a core race.

Men.

You don't need anything else in the core.  Everything else can be, and should be, punted to setting supplements.

Half orcs should be there. A defining part of AD&D and (later) 3e.

(Plus, it would really piss off TBP posters, a benefit in and of itself.)

Screw Gnomes and Half-Orcs either way, but to my mind there are three equally acceptable routes beyond that.

• Humans only
• The classic four
• Full out Adventure Time levels of gonzo

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;633074Men.

You don't need anything else in the core.  Everything else can be, and should be, punted to setting supplements.

This but devote a short chapter in the Basic DMG to a toolkit to allow DMs to build new races for their own settings.

Maybe D&D Next can be as progressive as T&T in 1976's Monsters! Monsters! and let you play anything you like.

As long as Dragonborn and Warforged are around, everything's fine.

Eladrin might be better served as a Specialty.