Races outside the PHB, and the frequency of their use

[Lord Dynel]

All this talk about classes and (more to this point) races has got me thinking about new/alternate races I've offered as a GM and ones that I've played as a player over the years.

I've offered races outside the core rules/PHB (for C&C and D&D, specifically) for almost as long as I've been running games. But I can probably count on one hand how may times a player has chosen a "non-standard" (meaning not in the core rulebook) race for his character. Likewise, I can't remember the last time I played a non-standard or non-PHB/core book race.

What's your experience. Have you offered races outside the core book? Have they been chosen by the players? Why, or why not? As a player, have you been offered additional races? Have you played them? Why or why not?

For me as a player, I think for me it's concept. When I know I'm going to be a player in a game, I immediately start thinking character concept. And my brain usually gravitates towards a PHB race for some reason. Probably habit. This has often happened because I'm informed of my position as a player before all options are given, so I have a standard race in mind before optional rules are known. That's my theory, anyway.

I tried to make this question appeal to players and GMs, so I could get opinions from both sides of the screen.

[alcyone]

I often think I should use entirely new races just because the world of fantasy is rather larger than the default D&D world. But so far we haven't done that; we'd probably just play Talislanta or something if we did.

[Rigon]

Typically we just stick with PHB races (modified, of course), but I just started a Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign and the setting has hobgoblins and half-hobgoblins as PC races. A couple of players picked those. Also, someone is trying out my half-dragon conversion for the first time. I did that conversion 7 or 8 years ago, and no one has ever asked to play one, so I'm kind of excited to see how it plays out.

R-

[Lord Dynel]

This has been my experience, too - races that are offered outside of core are rarely, if ever, used. I don't know why that is. Familiarity? That's what I would assume.

[serleran]

Whatever the players want.

[Omote]

We use the races from the PHB, plus the racial variants in the CKG. To allow players more freedom with base class races, I opened up and expanded our selections with playable write-ups regarding the elf-racial variants found in the M&T.

~O

[Tadhg]

I voted sometimes, as I created a half-giant/half-human race for my CZ Upper Works online game.

They were pretty well received as I had 3 players electing to use this race:

Lord Seurek - half-giant druid
Arrowhawk - half-giant fighter
Treebore - half-giant knight

These chars were totally bad-assed MF'ers!!

[Also, in this game ~ Rigon created a spear yielding warrior from Jordan's Wheel of Time. It was a very cool character. Technically a human, but one that I thought was different from typical PH human, so I mention it here. The char was very well balanced in his abilities and it was played well in the game.]

[Willy Rat]

Like Serleran, I let the players do as they please.

If they would like to play a new race or something not in the PHB or M&T, I work with them to craft it to fit the setting and level of my campaign.

My teenage god-daughter desperately wanted to be a cat-folk ranger/druid so we conspired to make up a race that met her desires and that played well into my milieu. With her input I have taken her initial ideas and together we created a full backstory and history. In reality we just modded a half-elf with a few tweaks and pasted on some fur. Nothing over-powered, just different enough to be interesting. It works well and she enjoys being the 'special' or 'exotic' character in the group.

I keep reminding myself that it is a game that rewards and promotes creative imagination. And not just for that CK behind the screen. Players too!

[Treebore]

I've been known to. One time I even ran a whole campaign where everyone played something out of the 2E Complete Humanoids handbook.

[Tadhg]

Tree, something is fuzzying in my mind ~ re: races. Didn't you play a minotaur race in one of our games? Hmm, was it Rigon's Dragonlance game??

[Rigon]

Tree, something is fuzzying in my mind ~ re: races. Didn't you play a minotaur race in one of our games? Hmm, was it Rigon's Dragonlance game??

Yes he did, and so did nwelte. However, that is campaign specific and I didn't think to include it. But if I included "unusual" races from specific campaigns I've run, I've had Dark Sun games with half-giant and thri-kreen PCs and the DL campaign had 2 minotaur PCs. So, I'd say, if a campaign has "standard" races, the players choice "standard" races, but if there are "unusual" races, I get one or two players who will choose an "unusual" race.

R-