D&D General How many Races it too much?

[zarionofarabel]

There can be only one!

Hoomans!

 

[Zsong]

I don’t think there is a limit. Although I would not allow most of them. These are good tools to have in your toolbox for creating whatever setting someone wants. I’m all for people creating their own setting with their own races and monsters. Doesn’t mean I want to use them in my games. I am all for optional rules.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Every single one is allowed at my table, along with my 100 homebrew races. If any are unbalanced, I'm going to change them a bit (Yuan-Ti Pureblood, Dragonborn, etc).

 

[DND_Reborn]

7-8 is good for me, personally, but I might go as high as 10. More than that, and you get into the realm of just plain silly or stupid IMO. shrug

 

[toucanbuzz]

Whatever floats your boat. You can have the Star Wars Cantina theme going, with hundreds of races intermingling and there really isn't a damn thing that makes one special over the other, or you can run a Dark Sun campaign where the immortal founder of magic tried to erase the mistake of "new races" by a genocidal war that forever left future generations of races changed and unique for it, with elves who live nomadically with a credo of outrunning your troubles, or dwarves who found ruins showing them as bearded crafters of metal while the current dwarves are hairless, living day to day in poverty.

So, it's not really the number. It's what you're doing thematically with your story. If Tabaxi have no greater story in your campaign than their stats and abilities, then run your Cantina game. If they're something different, make them special and reduce the # of player races so you can focus on that story.

 

[Shiroiken]

Playable races:

• Dwarf
• Elf
• Gnome
• Half Elf
• Half Orc
• Halfling
• Human

Is this showing my age?

 

[Zardnaar]

Playable races:

• Dwarf
• Elf
• Gnome
• Half Elf
• Half Orc
• Halfling
• Human

Is this showing my age?

Not a bad list.

 

[Zardnaar]

Whatever floats your boat. You can have the Star Wars Cantina theme going, with hundreds of races intermingling and there really isn't a damn thing that makes one special over the other, or you can run a Dark Sun campaign where the immortal founder of magic tried to erase the mistake of "new races" by a genocidal war that forever left future generations of races changed and unique for it, with elves who live nomadically with a credo of outrunning your troubles, or dwarves who found ruins showing them as bearded crafters of metal while the current dwarves are hairless, living day to day in poverty.

So, it's not really the number. It's what you're doing thematically with your story. If Tabaxi have no greater story in your campaign than their stats and abilities, then run your Cantina game. If they're something different, make them special and reduce the # of player races so you can focus on that story.

That's kind of the big reveal you can pull.

No you can't be an elf, no I'm not explaining why.

Then later in game they find Elven ruins, tombs, writing, artifacts etc. Perhaps angry undead.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

That's kind of the big reveal you can pull.

No you can't be an elf, no I'm not explaining why.

Then later in game they find Elven ruins, tombs, writing, artifacts etc. Perhaps angry undead.

I feel like you can easily explain why by just saying "story purposes".

 

[Charlaquin]

Generally, if you can’t count the number of PC race options on two hands, that’s where it starts feeling crowded to me. So I offer about 9 or 10 options that are appropriate for a campaign, and I invite players to discuss with me if they want to play something outside of those options.