D&D 5E What PC species should return for 5ed?

What were your favorite no-update PC species from previous editions and would you like to be updated?

3.5 Ed had got a lot of PC races, and 4Ed not so many. Someones were interesting ideas, and others... easy to be forgotten. Maybe someone would need some retouch.

Shardminds were a original idea. If you wanted an exotic touch, here you are.

Fraals (little gray aliens) should appear with the rest of psionic races. Dromites, elans, syands should return. Maenads may need some retouch. About the xephs the change I would add the option to spend the burst racial traits to a jump effect instead higher speed. Maybe here I feel influence by wuxia fiction.

Spikers/Bladelings were perfect for Planescape style but I would retouch the skin could become "soft" or "sharp/pointed" at all because not only they would destroy most of clothing they wanted to wear, or the bed where they slept but also they couldn't breed the next generation. At least they could be a true pain for monks and other martial artists who fight without weapons.

Mephlings may be very iconic for Planescape.

Bariaurs can't be only centaurs with goat horns.

The change for the nathri (planescape) is usually their lore. They can't be only "raiders from the far space" because it would too boring. A group of planar raiders may be right but it would be better with more options.

What about the raptorans from "Races of the Wild"? Are they reskinned as 5e aarakocras?

Vryloka(heroes of shadow) could work like dhampirs or reborn lineages,

I miss the paragenasi, the abyssal genasi and Athasian genasi.

Azurins (Magic of Incarnum) are practically humans with a special "bloodline feat". Dusklings are practically goblings with incarnum-linked traits and "I don't mind if you are the authority here" temper. Rilkans and Skarns are like a lost opportunity and these deserve a second opportunity.

Hellbreed are perfect if you want to play a bad guy but not too much. They are like fallen start looking for the lost grace. Maybe the conquered some zones from the infernal planes and then these become accidentally demiplanes in other place.

LuisCarlos17f said:

What were your favorite no-update PC species from previous editions and would you like to be updated?

Click to expand...

The Sharakim from 3.5's Races of Destiny.


While they resemble well dressed and erudite Orcs, they're actually a human offshoot. For 5e, I could see them being either a human subrace or an orc subrace.

They weren't official, but I would love to see the Fey Corgi race implemented in 5e. That'd actually get me to play a small race for once!

I was really surprised to see bariaur were not a playable species in the new Planescape set,

I really liked the Shardminds, they were unique and interesting, but probably too tied into 4e lore to see a return.

We have Tabaxi now, but we’ve never seen the dogfolk from Mystara show back up (Lupin, I think?)

mmmmmm, none, thanks. There are already too many. More "interdimensional/Planescape" non-human people are completely unnecessary.

Several of what there is need to be cut as is it.

Give me more out there options! Was so glad to see Plasmoids, give me more weird ones! I like my DnD to have the Mos Eisley Cantina vibe, so less Elven subraces and humans that aren't (Illumans, Elan and Azurin, for example) and more insectile or construct or plant species.

Shardminds, therefore, are one I'd like. Definitely need maybe a lore tweak, but crystalline psionic construct race is cool.

There have been a attempts at a plant species, generally with some fey elements, the Killoren from 3.5, or the Wilden from 4e. TBH, neither of these quite landed for me, but I'd certainly welcome another attempt at it.

Agreed. 10-12 races is ideal IMO (or less even), but 20 or so as a maximum is good for a game world. As it stand there are something like 50+ races??? (Or at least it feels like it!)

The sharakim are a good example of a potentially interesting concept but the racial traits don't it justice.

Mystara had got the lupines. These should return, and the racial traits from 3.5 Dragon Magazine should be easy to be adapted.

I Imagine spiritfolk from Kara-Tur as elves' far cousins. Hengeyokai should return because "kemonomimi" ( = animal ears) are very popular in isekai.

The ghost elves (from Dragon Magazine) are too good to fall into the oblivion, and the star elves (Unapproachable East) neither should be forgotten.

We are talking about 5ed where worlds can be visited by species from other "wildspaces", or other planets within the same wildspace. Or they could arrive from the Feywild.

If a capital city is too important for the trade then it's not only cosmpolitan but this may be visited by extraplanar traders from Sigil (or that demiplane created by the arcanes).

Some players would rather a higher number of PC species in the same way they are happy with new dresses in the cupboard, because always wearing the same clothing may become boring.

Vael said:

There have been a attempts at a plant species, generally with some fey elements, the Killoren from 3.5, or the Wilden from 4e. TBH, neither of these quite landed for me, but I'd certainly welcome another attempt at it.

Click to expand...

agreed, i don't know much about the attempts from previous editions but i'd say 5e is definitely missing a proper plant-person species.

Wilden/Killoren as a plant species
Shardminds as a construct species
Lupins as a canine species