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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 9:06PM
#31
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Given PHB3 was 50/50 old and new races, I imagine PHB4 will be even more new races.
Technically it's 75/25, since the Wilden are just revamped Killoren from 3.5e.
They changed the name, appearance, and backstory of the race and only kept its most basic mechanic and nature.
It's a new race.
Killoren weren't exactly an a-list race either. For the number of people who knew of them WotC probably could have made a brand new race.
But it might be an idea to skim through the other 3.5 races books. Illuminam or whatever they were called might have been popular to see a come-back. And raptorians might also be interesting as a race with an at-will or encounter flying power (but they might just name them aarakocra).
See, there shouldn't be a complication because you want to play a bugbear, a hobgoblin, or a goblin, or any "suitably evil" race. No race is inherently evil, especially if care naught for any of the actual "fluff" in the books. If for example, I decided that Eladrin are an evil race in my campaign, and Hobgoblins stood for truth, justice, and the american way... What's there to stop the players from playing Hobbies? A lack of real support from the developers. Let's say, in that campaign, someone just had to play a redeemed subfaction of the Eladrin... I won't stop them, and it's all supported too. I don't see why it's a bad thing to have what are traditionally off the cuff races actually supported, so as to actually facilitate playing your own game world, and try to break the molds of the cliche and overwrought fantasy tropes. Then again, half the fun of being a DM is making up rules; but seriously, that's a lot of work.
It's one of the default assumptions of how you play the game that PCs will be heroes. Which means no channel divinity powers for evil gods and no truly evil races as PCs.
Can you plan a traditionally evil race with DM permission? Yes, there are stats in the first MM. But having an actual race entry in a PHB will dramatically increase the number of players using said races. Players will have more contact with "redeemed" members of that race than evil members. It diminishes the vileness and evil if the race if so many are good.
And it adds grey morality to the game. If there are hundreds of good goblins then you have to stop and wonder if that pack of gobbies you and your party slaughtered were unredeemably evil or just desperate.
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 9:16PM
#32
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Date Joined:
Nov 14, 2008
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Yes, the player's characters will set the theme of a game just as much as any setting the GM creates, because they'll be the main stars of the story. And developers, like DMs, try to have specific themes in minds with their games.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about making the less savory races playable, but I understand why they're unlikely candidates for a PHB. At best I hope for supplements down the road that focus on the player material for such game themes, like Savage Species, Heroes of Battle, or Heroes of Horror did in 3.5.
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 9:34PM
#33
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Date Joined:
Jul 25, 2007
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They changed the name, appearance, and backstory of the race and only kept its most basic mechanic and nature.
It's a new race.
Their backstory really isn't that different. Immune system against civilization destroying the natural world, versus immune system against the Far Realms destroying the natural world.
And their appearance wasn't changed that greatly. They're still plants, they still change colors according to their age/season, and they still change appearance according to aspect, with almost the exact same changes. The only real difference in their appearance is the digitigrade legs and Wolverine "hair."
Killoren weren't exactly an a-list race either. For the number of people who knew of them WotC probably could have made a brand new race.
Well, I wasn't arguing that they were well known. 
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 9:36PM
#34
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Date Joined:
Jul 25, 2007
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I always liked the Vanara from Oriental Adventures or Hadozee from Stormwrack (They are quite similar.)
Can't believe I missed this until now - my powers of perception are slipping. Anyways, the Hadozee aren't from Sotrmwrack. They're actually from Spelljammer. Stormwrack was just the only thing to ever mention them in 3e.
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 10:12PM
#35
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Vanara would actually make me -really- happy.
Especially if they were a Wis/Cha – Dex/Cha race.
A great man once said "If WotC put out boxes full of free money there'd still be people complaining about how it's folded." – Boraxe
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 10:18PM
#36
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I'd guess the next step in new races might be to focus on races with unusual traits, such as an aquatic race or a flying race. One of the genasi types already gets water breathing as a racial feature, and flight could be limited to gliding until paragon tiers where the winged race can take racial feats to give them overland flight (If one of the big draws of a race is that it has wings, then taking feats to fly rather than having to take a special paragon path might be fair). That way, the balance issues with extra environmental options would be taken care of.
Adapting more villainous races (such as goblinoids or orcs) to be playable might be another option, though it might be saved for its own supplement or an Insider article.
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 11:01PM
#37
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Oh man, am I going to be flamed for this...
Given they have (half) orcs, tauren minotaurs, forsaken revenants, and draenai deva in 4e, I wonder if they'll add a half-troll or troll-oid race next.
Before posting, ask yourself WWWS: What Would Wrecan Say?Spoiler:
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Updated Tuesday and Thursday
Read my blog on the WotC Community Site (updated irregularly to avoid spamming the "Featured Blogger" list).
You can follow me on Twitter: "@DnDJester"
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3 years ago ::
Mar 21, 2010 - 11:04PM
#38
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Date Joined:
Aug 28, 2005
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Oh man, am I going to be flamed for this...
Given they have (half) orcs, tauren minotaurs, forsaken revenants, and draenai deva in 4e, I wonder if they'll add a half-troll or troll-oid race next.
Haha, you're funny...
That was supposed to be a joke, right?
Why, yes, as a matter of fact I am the Unfailing Arbiter of All That Is Good Design (Even More So Than The Actual Developers) TMSpeaking of things that were badly designed, please check out this thread for my Minotaur fix. What have the critics said, you ask? "If any of my players ask to play a Minotaur, I'm definitely offering this as an alternative to the official version." - EmpactWB "If I ever feel like playing a Minotaur I'll know where to look!" - Undrave "WoTC if you are reading this - please take this guy's advice." - Ferol_Debtor_of_Torm "Really full of win. A minotaur that is actually attractive for more than just melee classes." - Cpt_Micha Also, check out my recent GENASI variant! If you've ever wished that your Fire Genasi could actually set stuff on fire, your Water Genasi could actually swim, or your Wind Genasi could at least glide, then look no further. Finally, check out my OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE article, an effort to give unique support to the races that WotC keeps forgetting about. Includes new racial feature options for the Changeling, Deva, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goliath, Half-Orc, Kalashtar, Minotaur, Shadar-Kai, Thri-Kreen, Warforged and more!
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3 years ago ::
Mar 22, 2010 - 12:05AM
#39
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Date Joined:
Nov 14, 2008
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Could be. On the other hand, I've already seen a few online games and D&D-derived comics including Warcraft troll derivatives, heh.
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3 years ago ::
Mar 22, 2010 - 12:40AM
#40
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Date Joined:
May 22, 2003
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A list with which I would be utterly pleased:
Kobold - I see so many requests!
Bariaur - Enough to satiate the Centaur craving and yet not an established "monster".
Kenku - Cool, different, dark... what's not to like?
Gloaming - Fey in an un-fluffy bunny fey way.
Raptoran - People want a flying race.
Illumian - Interesting and not yet fully explored.
Aasimar - Because I miss them dearly and Deva don't match.
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