what races do you find the most cool/fun mechanically?

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Originally Posted by Slipperychicken

That is right, thanks for pointing it out. I will concede that a 3ft tall halfling should not have the same carrying capacity as a full-grown human adult.

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I agree. The fact that my dragonborn barbarian can carry as much as the gnome Erdrich knight makes no sense.

I'm really fascinated by rock gnomes' Tinker ability but haven't gotten a chance to play one yet. In the playtest, a rock gnome player found a creative use for it by building an alarm clock. I imagine a thief would be a fun class to take, since then I could use all my devices as bonus actions.

I really want to try an Aarakocra reskinned into a harpy by dropping the Talons for Performance training (and fluffing out the age category and stuff).

Grab a Lance and Dive-Bomb people when I'm not chucking Javelins.

I absolutely love the Water Genasi. So many DMs forget about their swim movement and their water breathing that it is starting to not be funny anymore.

My character was captured by the enemy and put in chains with 20 lbs weight on it (random note my PC had 16 str). The enemy threatened to push me into a deep lake if the party didn't surrender.

The party did not surrender and I jumped in myself (so that the enemies wouldn't be able to stab me while restrained). The DM was confused and asked if I wanted to roll up a new character. My response as my allies were killing the hell out of the enemies was "water genasi, WATER genasi". The look on the DM's face was priceless. I used my thieves tools to get out of the shackles (in retrospect I could have just done a strength check...) and I swam back up to join the fight.

Fun times fun times...

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Originally Posted by ChubbyRain

I absolutely love the Water Genasi. So many DMs forget about their swim movement and their water breathing that it is starting to not be funny anymore.

My character was captured by the enemy and put in chains with 20 lbs weight on it (random note my PC had 16 str). The enemy threatened to push me into a deep lake if the party didn't surrender.

The party did not surrender and I jumped in myself (so that the enemies wouldn't be able to stab me while restrained). The DM was confused and asked if I wanted to roll up a new character. My response as my allies were killing the hell out of the enemies was "water genasi, WATER genasi". The look on the DM's face was priceless. I used my thieves tools to get out of the shackles (in retrospect I could have just done a strength check...) and I swam back up to join the fight.

Fun times fun times...

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Does heavy armor or similar things even slow you done in water as a water genasi? I can't find anything that says no to that in the book. Or yes for that matter.

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Originally Posted by Ralanr

Does heavy armor or similar things even slow you done in water as a water genasi? I can't find anything that says no to that in the book. Or yes for that matter.

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Short answer because I'm tired. From what the book says, generally speaking, if you have a swim speed then you traverse water as if you were on dry land (and had a fly speed technically as you move in 3d).

Now if you don't have the proper str to wear the heavy armor then you will be restricted but that isn't due to swimming.

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Originally Posted by Fralex

I'm really fascinated by rock gnomes' Tinker ability but haven't gotten a chance to play one yet. In the playtest, a rock gnome player found a creative use for it by building an alarm clock. I imagine a thief would be a fun class to take, since then I could use all my devices as bonus actions.

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If we're talking about mechanical benefits, though, my favorite Gnome ability remains Gnomish cunning. Advantage on all mental saves vs spells? Yes, please. Now I don't have to spend a feat on Resilient (charisma) to have a decent chance of my wizard avoiding being planeshifted into the Abyss. And anything that makes spells like dominate person and feeblemind even less likely to work is gravy.

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Originally Posted by ShikomeKidoMi

If we're talking about mechanical benefits, though, my favorite Gnome ability remains Gnomish cunning. Advantage on all mental saves vs spells? Yes, please. Now I don't have to spend a feat on Resilient (charisma) to have a decent chance of my wizard avoiding being planeshifted into the Abyss. And anything that makes spells like dominate person and feeblemind even less likely to work is gravy.

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I've been wondering about potential of a gnome barbarian. Such a combination would have advantage on almost all saving throws aside from constitution. Raging would give advantage on strength saves, danger sense (barbarian class feature) gives advantage on almost all dex saves, and being a gnome would give advantage on pretty much all mental saves. Throw on bear totem and it's also got resistance to pretty much all damage. Such a character might not have as much DPR, but it would help cover up the barbarian's main vulnerabilities without blowing precious feats or ASIs on it.

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Originally Posted by Slipperychicken

I've been wondering about potential of a gnome barbarian. Such a combination would have advantage on almost all saving throws aside from constitution. Raging would give advantage on strength saves, danger sense (barbarian class feature) gives advantage on almost all dex saves, and being a gnome would give advantage on pretty much all mental saves. Throw on bear totem and it's also got resistance to pretty much all damage. Such a character might not have as much DPR, but it would help cover up the barbarian's main vulnerabilities without blowing precious feats or ASIs on it.

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You had me at "gnome barbarian."

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Originally Posted by Fralex

You had me at "gnome barbarian."

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This is why I hate racial ability modifiers and rules that make strength 16 =/= 16.

A gnome should be able to have a 16 strength (at first level) should be able to greataxe it up just as wellas a human with 16 strength.

To not allow this only restricts fantasy and puts fiddly rules in the game.

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Originally Posted by ChubbyRain

This is why I hate racial ability modifiers and rules that make strength 16 =/= 16.

A gnome should be able to have a 16 strength (at first level) should be able to greataxe it up just as wellas a human with 16 strength.

To not allow this only restricts fantasy and puts fiddly rules in the game.

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If you let point buy scale to 16 instead of 15 (with a 16 in a score costing 12 points), you can still get it pretty easily. If you roll for it, you're pretty likely to get a 16 which you'll put into strength anyway.


Personally, I'm just bothered that they didn't put in rules for a small-sized versions of heavy weapons (i.e. something small characters could use which had the heavy tag). For many rules (including things like carrying capacity), it just seems like they didn't really try to scale things down for small characters at all.

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Originally Posted by Slipperychicken

If you let point buy scale to 16 instead of 15 (with a 16 in a score costing 12 points), you can still get it pretty easily. If you roll for it, you're pretty likely to get a 16 which you'll put into strength anyway.


Personally, I'm just bothered that they didn't put in rules for a small-sized versions of heavy weapons (i.e. something small characters could use which had the heavy tag). For many rules (including things like carrying capacity), it just seems like they didn't really try to scale things down for small characters at all.

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Well right now I'm playing primarily in AL and it would have been awesome to be able to be an effective Gnome Barbarian...

But my main beef is just that within their own ideology they are going backwards.

Within a game that has a ability score cap, they are putting in rules that effectively make your ability scores cap faster than others for certain effects.

Plus the whole D&D doesn't simulate real life except when it comes to certain things that aren't magic. Then you better believe we are trying to simulate real life!

The excuse of balance is bull crap, a halfling using a great sword will be a bit more mobile but no more damaging than a human, while the human will probably be more versitile (feat). (Fringe / cheese builds excluded)

Str score of 16 or 20 should always equal a strength score of 16 or 20 respectively, especially so in a fantasy game. I absolutely hate that some creatures, due to size and not due to strength score, can't be grappled or shoved. Is my character 20 strength no longer equal to 20 strength? Could you imagine if spells just didn't work on creatures of a certain size? Like not just th moving spells but spells like meteor swarm just didn't effect a creature because of their size? How ape crap crazy would people go? Perhaps because the dragon is huge the dominate monster spell just fizzles...

It stops being "fantasy" and becomes "cartoonish" when the gnome is just as strong as the human barbarian twice his size. -2 is pretty generous in that regard.

You can still make a shield barbarian. It's actually pretty good aside from some damage issues. But it's not impossible for gnome or halfing barbarians.

I'd love to be able to grapple an ancient or adult dragon with good grapple check. But I can't by RAW.

Good thing some DMs use rule of cool if described well. Course this can be bad.

You can't inflict the "grappled" condition. In a game as "ask-your-DM" as 5th, you could probably grab onto the dragon, but a gnome is not going to be able to inflict on a dragon the size of a whale the kind of crippling restrictions they could by grabbing another gnome. Imagine a chihuahua clinging to your ankle and biting. You'd still be able to move unfettered. It would hurt, but that's damage, not grappling, and damage doesn't impart disadvantage.