Need more varied races.

deretto

Nothing against the usual western fantasy races. I personally like to stray as far as human looking as possible. Whether its some sort of Xenomorph, gnolls, giant spider or whatever. It'd be nice to have options outside of varying ears, skin color, and height.

Tiefling is the closest to this and will probably be my choice at the start of the beta.

zalfien

Well something to remember is that the races are set up this way to coincide with the history and lore of the area. It's not that they're using the western fantasy races, it's that they're using the races native to the land. Tieflings are actually not a normally good race, so the fact that they're allowing them to be playable is stretching it a bit far as it is.

acylion

It's a Dungeons and Dragons game in the Neverwinter (Forgotten Realms) setting. So we get the "Western fantasy" races. Because those are the standard D&D player races. Tieflings are in because they were made a regular player character race in D&D 4th Edition.

Depending on how strict the license with Wizards of the Coast is, it's entirely possible that this game's developers can't offer too many non-standard races, or would need approval from WoC. Maybe, maybe not. I have no idea. But that's the reason a lot of stuff can't be put into Star Trek Online, Cryptic's other big licensed MMO. Either the license doesn't include certain stuff, or the owners of the property won't let Cryptic put some things in-game.

mbomberdavid

deretto, PW has many other games that may appeal to your taste. I myself do not like the Asian style artwork but that is because i live in Japan and want a break from it when i get home. I think you can play a spider in LOTRO in the monster side.

deretto

I don't see how it'd be a licensing issue to have some of the other races/creatures as playable characters as long as they respect the brand. Getting the nod of approval from Wizards/Hasbro shouldn't be too much trouble.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but it would open up the game more to myself and possibly a larger audience.

fyrestorme1

I understand where the OP is coming from, but this is a game based on a very set-in-stone background and lore which has predefined races.

I know it sounds dismissive, but in this case, you may want to look for a different game if you are really craving a more "unique" race selection.

terradraconis

Dragonborn a reptilian/dragon related species are slated to show up at some point. They are part of the whole D&D 4E mythos now.

daroska

Indeed, it does.

Although I hear we'll be getting Dragonborn soon, which is a step in the right direction.

These should also be added as playable species:

Goliaths, Warforged, Genasi, Orcs, Gnolls, Kobolds, Thri-Kreen, Wilden, Yuan-Ti.

losian2

Unfortunately we got the races we did because they are easy to make, much like the upcoming 'drow.' Woo.

Notice the tiefling's horns are not part of their head, seamlessly crafted, they are just stuck on, clipping awkwardly through the head. The tiefling is just a recolored human - all we have are resized, recolored humans, for all our races.

There are tons of races which would be wonderfully applicable for 4th ed on the Sword Coast, but we got the easy-to-make ones that all can be based off the same model/skeletal structure for armor and such.

zhaocore86

losian2 wrote: »

Unfortunately we got the races we did because they are easy to make, much like the upcoming 'drow.' Woo.

Notice the tiefling's horns are not part of their head, seamlessly crafted, they are just stuck on, clipping awkwardly through the head. The tiefling is just a recolored human - all we have are resized, recolored humans, for all our races.

There are tons of races which would be wonderfully applicable for 4th ed on the Sword Coast, but we got the easy-to-make ones that all can be based off the same model/skeletal structure for armor and such.

This guy, this guy gets it.

it is FAR easier to "make" humanoid characters and just "reskin" certain parts than it is to make unique races.
A tiefling, as an example, has horns that clip through your helmets or the tail that clips through..everything.

GW2 atleast had "racial armor" that looked like it was made for that particular race. Not so here it seems.

jadejedi2

Forget the Races, they are fine.. We need more classes..

deretto

Wouldn't hurt to have more of both. I know we eventually will. I was just making a suggestion that there are people that would like to see some variety in races whenever they get around to adding more.

sinborn

I think we're due for dragonborn and drow later down the line.

Also ranger and warlock.

Then after that, maybe, just maybe, we'll get multiple paragon paths per class.

mythistra

k vgadgdasfgggg asg asg

gamegeeks

zalfien wrote: »

Well something to remember is that the races are set up this way to coincide with the history and lore of the area. It's not that they're using the western fantasy races, it's that they're using the races native to the land. Tieflings are actually not a normally good race, so the fact that they're allowing them to be playable is stretching it a bit far as it is.

Wrong, Tieflings can be any alignment without breaking lore. They just have a tendency to lean to chaotic due to their heritage. So CG, CN and CE tend to be most common for them with CN and CE standing above CG. Now if you really want out of sorts for good then look to the Drow. They're the ones that are out of place when it comes to anything outside of evil. Nor is it common to see them above ground due to the fact their eyes have trouble with the light. So, if anything, Drows are the ones stretching it a bit far as is. That said, I wish they had Gnomes. They have every other base race. Not sure why they got left out.

aranel4

What we really need is more classes. I wanna see some hybrid types all up in here, spellswords and what.

dreamo1984

Problem is, most MMOs always go the easy/lazy route with character models. Say what you will about WoW but I always had loads of respect for how they did the character models. Even Night Elves and Blood Elves look completely different, even with full armor on.

Each race in that game feels entirely unique and has a completely individual body structure. Not to mention the animations are all unique to each race. Can't say that for any other MMO really. Even EQ2 the Iksar just felt like humans with a scaley texture and a tail, big fat Ogres run and fight exactly like a little Halfling etc.

elthuzar

losian2 wrote: »

Unfortunately we got the races we did because they are easy to make, much like the upcoming 'drow.' Woo.

Notice the tiefling's horns are not part of their head, seamlessly crafted, they are just stuck on, clipping awkwardly through the head. The tiefling is just a recolored human - all we have are resized, recolored humans, for all our races.

There are tons of races which would be wonderfully applicable for 4th ed on the Sword Coast, but we got the easy-to-make ones that all can be based off the same model/skeletal structure for armor and such.

I think Tieflings are the worst idea for D&D races so far. In both table top and PC games.
What's worse is they look like Sith from Star Wars TOR, with added tails and some shoddy horns.
Whoever is making the decisions at WotC/Hasbro needs to be removed. All of the rare and unique snowflake races and sub-races like Drow, Dragonborn and Tieflings should be struck from future books. Wipe them out and bring back traditional core D&D, with special expansions packs and campaign settings.

I'd rather see core races like this:

Human
Dwarf
Elf
Gnome
Halfling
Half-Orc
Half-Elf

Any odd feature like Tiefling horns or tail should merely be a cosmetic option and a selected ability from a pool of racial abilities.
4e ****ed D&D. 5e better get it's **** sorted.

gamegeeks

elthuzar wrote: »

I think Tieflings are the worst idea for D&D races so far. In both table top and PC games.
What's worse is they look like Sith from Star Wars TOR, with added tails and some shoddy horns.
Whoever is making the decisions at WotC/Hasbro needs to be removed. All of the rare and unique snowflake races and sub-races like Drow, Dragonborn and Tieflings should be struck from future books. Wipe them out and bring back traditional core D&D, with special expansions packs and campaign settings.

I'd rather see core races like this:

Human
Dwarf
Elf
Gnome
Halfling
Half-Orc
Half-Elf

Any odd feature like Tiefling horns or tail should merely be a cosmetic option and a selected ability from a pool of racial abilities.
4e ****ed D&D. 5e better get it's **** sorted.

Tieflings have been around in D&D at least as long as Star Wars has existed. Certainly before the creation of the True Sith. Besides Tieflings in previous editions didn't have abnormal skin colors. Think that was added in 4th edition as standard. You could have it in 3.5 but it was unusual. They certainly weren't created by WotC or Hasbro. Not sure if they where in 1st edition. But they where in second. Wont defend 4th as I refuse to play the PnP game of it. And I wouldn't strike either the Tieflings or the Drow from the PnP game as they add to lore. Though I do agree the core races should come first.

dtrain69

i know nothing of D & D lore, but i would like a viking type race.

paragon33

yeah just hang in, they already said they are adding more classes and races over time. 2 classes and 2 races around a month.
And if those are not to your liking at least they are out of the way and moving onto the next.

elthuzar

gamegeeks wrote: »

Tieflings have been around in D&D at least as long as Star Wars has existed.

No, no they haven't. Tieflings first appeared in AD&D 2nd Edition Planescape setting in 1994.
Star Wars first hit cinema's in 1977

gamegeeks wrote: »

Certainly before the creation of the True Sith.

Most probably yes. Although I consider the 4th Edition Tiefling and the Bioware True Sith to be one and the same.

gamegeeks wrote: »

Besides Tieflings in previous editions didn't have abnormal skin colors. Think that was added in 4th edition as standard. You could have it in 3.5 but it was unusual. They certainly weren't created by WotC or Hasbro. Not sure if they where in 1st edition. But they where in second. Wont defend 4th as I refuse to play the PnP game of it. And I wouldn't strike either the Tieflings or the Drow from the PnP game as they add to lore. Though I do agree the core races should come first.

They were created by Wolfgang Baur & Dave Cook for the Planescape setting in 2nd Edition, but I don't think they were meant to be a mainstream race. Even if they were, this is what they looked like:



They don't really need more races in NWO, just more variety to the currently available ones.
Why are Half-Elves and Half-Orcs always half humans?

tilvius

I'm pretty sure Cryptic has dropped Elderian and Dragonborn as playble races to come soon

deretto

tilvius wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Cryptic has dropped Elderian and Dragonborn as playble races to come soon

That'll be a nice start. Would be cool to play as a gnoll, though.

booradleyshouse

dtrain69 wrote: »

i know nothing of D & D lore, but i would like a viking type race.

Aren't Vikings human? I think it would be more of a class you are looking for. Barbarian?

daroska

elthuzar wrote: »

All of the rare and unique snowflake races and sub-races like Drow, Dragonborn and Tieflings should be struck from future books. Wipe them out and bring back traditional core D&D, with special expansions packs and campaign settings.

I'd rather see core races like this:

Human
Dwarf
Elf
Gnome
Halfling
Half-Orc
Half-Elf

Ah! It didn't take long for the traditionalists to crop up, those miserable, self centered lot.

I for one will shall note no heed of the above comment and still support those unique 'snow flake' races.
Why? Because people I've played with, campaign wise, who've worked with one of those characters?
Not only did it improve their skill as a roleplayer, but it made them more open minded to new scenarios.

And really, they've been better off because of it. Some of them even went on to become great DMs.
Hell, even their characters became annotated as epic memories of the past, rather than others.
Specifically over that of the humans (in varying differences) which we now find too easy to play with.

Indeed, my local meetings are more prone to evolve into 'alien/monster' campaigns for fun/difficulty now.
Underwater Abolethic adventure? Desert campaign for the Tohr-Kreen? Demonic exploring into Hell's depths?
We'll do it! For D&D isn't about restrictions, it's about being creative. Letting your imagination run wild.

testinukke

daroska wrote: »

Ah! It didn't take long for the traditionalists to crop up, those miserable, self centered lot.

Haha yes. I'm not really that fond of elves, halflings and dwarves to be honest since they are basically just humans. Why bother having those as separate races when you could have just humans and have haflings/dwarves and elves as variants. I mean little people exist in real life too and they are certainly identified as humans and not halflings. Add a bit magic and you can have a lean human with pointy ears and long lifespan (or fat human with pointy ears for that matter too).

I prefer more exotic races like the traditional lizardfolk or if they have to be fully "humanoid" then go for races like Goblins which don't look that much like small humans. I never liked the "strays too much from baseline human means it's automatically evil" campaigns either.

daroska

testinukke wrote: »

Haha yes. I'm not really that fond of elves, halflings and dwarves to be honest since they are basically just humans. Why bother having those as separate races when you could have just humans and have haflings/dwarves and elves as variants. I mean little people exist in real life too and they are certainly identified as humans and not halflings. Add a bit magic and you can have a lean human with pointy ears and long lifespan (or fat human with pointy ears for that matter too).

I prefer more exotic races like the traditional lizardfolk or if they have to be fully "humanoid" then go for races like Goblins which don't look that much like small humans. I never liked the "strays too much from baseline human means it's automatically evil" campaigns either.

I've got to say, I never really thought D&D's editions should have put emphasis on the half-races.
Same now with Neverwinter. But I don't mind Orcs, Elves, Dwarves or Halflings as full blown playable races.
Because they have plentiful and unique backgrounds within much of the D&D settings, for near-humans.

Now in following with this personal opinion, yes, I'd agree with your latter appreciation of the exotic,
as I so hinted before with my previous comment. This should go together with a compliance of shared
dislike towards people stereotyping quaintly differed races into being completely evil beyond redemption.

centurioncajun

It's most likely that they will slowly work their way through the races presented in the 4th Edition Player's Handbooks and Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. That means we still have Deva, Dragonborn, Eladrin, Genasi, Githzerai, Gnome, Goliath, Minotaur, Shardmind, Shifter, and Wilden. That's quite an interesting range they can milk for months if not years.

snaeffellsjokull

I'd love to play those bird-people from Eye of the Beholder CRPG... not sure how they're called... Kenku? They were pretty cool, much more interesting than some silly spider-riding black elves.

courtsee

I would absolutely love to see some Warforged in this game.