• Humans.
• Elves.
• Dwarves.
• Gnomes. (Gnomes would get a lot of the Halflings' stuff.)
• Dragonborn.
• Orcs
• Goblins

Seriously, no subraces or half-races-- just customizable races a la Skills & Powers or Pathfinder's Advanced Race Guide. Humans would have non-human bloodlines as a racial option.

Aarakocra
Myconid
Gibberling
Thri-kreen
Sahuagin

oh, and Gnomes, but they can only be the victimized NPCs, like goblins or orcs.

ESSENTIAL
Humans
Elves & Half-elves
Dwarves
Gnomes
Halflings

NOT ESSENTIAL BUT COOL AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED
Genasi
Tieflings (2e/Planescape style, not the silly 4e stuff)
Half-orcs (1e style, not the silly 3e stuff)

...I also like subraces but the differences should be minor (except in the Genasi's case of course). Isn't quite D&D w/o different kinds of elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc. Humans should get subtler differences but I like having different backgrounds for them (city, mountain, desert etc).

Fighter
Cleric
Magic-User
Thief
Elf
Dwarf
Halfling

Quote from: Spinachcat;633105Maybe D&D Next can be as progressive as T&T in 1976's Monsters! Monsters! and let you play anything you like.

Or RuneQuest. There is no need for PC race restrictions in RPGs. That's why they have referees.

Human
Elf
Dwarf
Nothing that has "Half-" in its name.

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;633089Half orcs should be there. A defining part of AD&D and (later) 3e.

Are they though?  I mean, I still play AD&D, and over the past 30+ years of playing, they hardly felt essential.  In fact, if my memory doesn't fail me, the didn't become an identifier of AD&D until they were removed in 2e, like the assassin.  Then all the sudden they became cool because they were "edgy" and "dangerous".

I haven't decided *which* races, but I know they should be races that illustrate how to build a race. I mean "build in a non-stupid manner". Basically, templates that players or GMs can change to make variant races.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;633386Are they though?  I mean, I still play AD&D, and over the past 30+ years of playing, they hardly felt essential.  In fact, if my memory doesn't fail me, the didn't become an identifier of AD&D until they were removed in 2e, like the assassin.  Then all the sudden they became cool because they were "edgy" and "dangerous".

If only the same thing happened to gnomes with 4th Edition.  I think they could use a badass upgrade.

Quote from: talysman;633397I haven't decided *which* races, but I know they should be races that illustrate how to build a race. I mean "build in a non-stupid manner". Basically, templates that players or GMs can change to make variant races.

DMs yes players no. Players shouldn't be building races any more than they should be building classes, that way madness lies.

If there was anything that I would like to see on the DM side in Next it would be that DMs need to focus on creating cogent worlds not just adventures. So they need to have some notes on what their world is like, how magic and religion interact with the 'real' economy and culture and from there what races, classes and professions/backgrounds PCs should have access to.
Being a bard is far more interesting play wise if their are actual Bardic colleges or a harpers brother-hood in the game world. Assasins are far more intersting if there is a Society of Liquidators etc ....
Now they could chuck in a few random tables for world generation that woudl be interesting and maybe spur ideas.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;633386Are they though?

Obviously, I think so. I liked half-orcs, because they were interesting. They were a break from the pretty, pretty better-than-everyone-else-at-everything elves.

Short lives, despised by most people, yet capable of being noble and honorable (even if many weren't).

Yeah, I liked those thematic associations of half-orcs, to the point that it's what I made my orc-orcs into. (Or, at least, the orc cognates in my game.)

A race of noble people, fallen into barbarism, in service to a corrupted culture. Just as capable of honesty, integrity, and virtue as humans, but raised to hatred and violence.

But yeah, 1/2-orcs were one of the iconic parts of AD&D, being something Basic never had. I welcomed their return in 3e.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;633386Are they though?  I mean, I still play AD&D, and over the past 30+ years of playing, they hardly felt essential.  In fact, if my memory doesn't fail me, the didn't become an identifier of AD&D until they were removed in 2e, like the assassin.  Then all the sudden they became cool because they were "edgy" and "dangerous".

If you've ever played in a half-orc only Hommlet campaign where they turned the moathouse into an all-you-can-eat frogleg restaurant that became epicenter of the local humanoid population, you may very well consider half-orcs essential.

Quote from: talysman;633397I haven't decided *which* races, but I know they should be races that illustrate how to build a race. I mean "build in a non-stupid manner". Basically, templates that players or GMs can change to make variant races.

Quote from: jibbajibba;633401DMs yes players no. Players shouldn't be building races any more than they should be building classes, that way madness lies.

By "build a race", I mean "find a race that's close to what you want, cross out the names of one or two racial details and write in new names, then the GM looks at it and says either `that's a stupid idea' or `sure, let's do it'."

Which is also how I like to build classes. Or anything else.

Quote from: talysman;633415By "build a race", I mean "find a race that's close to what you want, cross out the names of one or two racial details and write in new names, then the GM looks at it and says either `that's a stupid idea' or `sure, let's do it'."

Which is also how I like to build classes. Or anything else.

I think the ability to build new class/sub-class and races is something all DMs should be comfortable with and I woudl prefer to see a DM 'points based' little tool kit for building them. Also some random tables say a race gets to role ont eh appearance table the advantage table and he disadvantage table and then you can dump them into your game world and craft some stuff round them.

Quote from: Old One Eye;633409If you've ever played in a half-orc only Hommlet campaign where they turned the moathouse into an all-you-can-eat frogleg restaurant that became epicenter of the local humanoid population, you may very well consider half-orcs essential.

Half-Orcs: The Cajuns of D&D

JG