Depends on what kind of world you want it to be, mainly focused on the culture/history of the elves? Races set mainly in the mountains or underground like dwarves? Is it a world full of on-going wars between different races? You can always split the focus on different races, groups, cultures etc.
In a world without humans, there aren't going to be any half-orcs or half-elves, as humans are the poodles of the humanoid world - they'll make babies with anything, so are always the other half of these races!
Honestly, they all have their own means by which to have gained prominence, and these are all interchangeable anyway. You could say "The orcs are warlike and have conquored the majority of the land", but then you can replace "Orcs" with "Elves", "Gnomes", Dwarves", "Kobolds" and so on.
Stereotypical reasons for the races to have gained dominance:
Elves are dominant because their long lifespans and huge experience have granted them the advantages of becoming the leader caste of the world.
Orcs have become dominant because they have the military might and have conquored the world
Gnomes have made machines which have made them hugely important, as the only ones selling and maintaining the mahcines, making them both wealthy and influential.
Dwarves have become rich and powerful on the spoils of their mines, and as they control the wealth, they control the world
Dragons have enslaved large populations, only allowing the Dragonborn to roam freely and without risk of enslavement
But again, you can reword these to fit any race. Tabaxi's have made machines and become powerful. Dragons view Elves as their chosen ones and let them roam freely. Gnomes have the military might. Bugbears have the mines. And so on.
If going by traditional D&D logic, whichever race is most ambitious to just get on with it. Taking over the world takes a certain inclination: not just wanting to conquer but also to develop and explore and study, with conquering arguably being the least important component of them all. And next to that, a high reproduction rate helps too so no races where birth rates barely exceed death rates and you don’t become of age until at least your first century. I’d look at gnomes or maybe hobgoblins first, if we keep the other races’ characteristics largely as they are.
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Goblins, as written, are easily browbeaten into subservience. Extermination doesn’t enter into it, they choose to survive by following whoever carries the biggest stick.
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Like others have said it can be pretty much whatever you want, maybe without Humans chopping down forests all the time the Elves have expanded more as they have more forests to live in and defend so are the dominate race. Perhaps it the warlike Orcs without humans to go head to head with
You could also look for the closest human analog, a race that doesn't live and extended life so is more prone to reproducing quicker (Hey when you live to maybe 80 there's more urge to have children sooner than say 750) So Dragonborn or Tieflings might be the most numerous and widespread races because they live the shortest lives. (edit: out of PHB races at least)
Maybe a lot of elves, half orcs half elves, dwarves, kobolds and goblins?
It generally doesn't even make sense for humans to be dominant in a world with humans, let alone one without any humans in it.
If your half-orcs and half-elves "breed true" and can make more of themselves by breeding with orcs and elves respectively, and if their 5e statlines post-Tasha's are taken canonically, the generic answer is half-elves, simply because they're currently ubermenschen. However, you can justify any dominant race you like with narrativium; two particularly low-hanging fruit there are winged tieflings (if winged tieflings are allowed to breed true, usually they'll win any race war they fight) and warforged (since they can achieve a replication rate no other species can match and need neither food nor water; being immune to supply chain logistics is an overwhelmingly powerful racial buff). Both of those races are ordinarily contained with narrativium constraints like warforged not having access to their own forges and winged tieflings being a mutation that can't be trusted to breed true. Aarakocra are still next-level dangerous, but they have some downsides like needing to ditch medium and heavy armor and the serious liability of laying eggs instead of getting pregnant that sum up to making it much easier to avoid them taking over; their lack of darkvision certainly doesn't help matters. Reborn are normally even less capable of replicating than Warforged, due to similar narrativium constraints.
Ignoring the overwhelmingly powerful buffs of flight and not needing food or water (humans won out on Earth over Goliaths because we need less water), and assuming half-elves will breed themselves into non-existence or never existed in the first place, I can't think of any other races with racials so overwhelming only narrativium can hold them back, so it genuinely is entirely up to you. Generically speaking, probably a race with some other buffs to hunting and gathering, like Darkvision.
I thought it was agreed that post Tasha, everyone would only ever play mountain dwarves, since they have 2 floating +2 ability scores, darkvision and free light and medium armor, etc. So I’d assume they would just take over everything, since they’re that mechanically superior. 😁
Goblins, as written, are easily browbeaten into subservience. Extermination doesn’t enter into it, they choose to survive by following whoever carries the biggest stick.
Until they realize how bad they outnumber whoever that is and unionize. Haven’t you ever heard of Da Getchin Revolushunry Kommitte?
Maybe a lot of elves, half orcs half elves, dwarves, kobolds and goblins?
It generally doesn't even make sense for humans to be dominant in a world with humans, let alone one without any humans in it.
If your half-orcs and half-elves "breed true" and can make more of themselves by breeding with orcs and elves respectively, and if their 5e statlines post-Tasha's are taken canonically, the generic answer is half-elves, simply because they're currently ubermenschen. However, you can justify any dominant race you like with narrativium; two particularly low-hanging fruit there are winged tieflings (if winged tieflings are allowed to breed true, usually they'll win any race war they fight) and warforged (since they can achieve a replication rate no other species can match and need neither food nor water; being immune to supply chain logistics is an overwhelmingly powerful racial buff). Both of those races are ordinarily contained with narrativium constraints like warforged not having access to their own forges and winged tieflings being a mutation that can't be trusted to breed true. Aarakocra are still next-level dangerous, but they have some downsides like needing to ditch medium and heavy armor and the serious liability of laying eggs instead of getting pregnant that sum up to making it much easier to avoid them taking over; their lack of darkvision certainly doesn't help matters. Reborn are normally even less capable of replicating than Warforged, due to similar narrativium constraints.
Ignoring the overwhelmingly powerful buffs of flight and not needing food or water (humans won out on Earth over Goliaths because we need less water), and assuming half-elves will breed themselves into non-existence or never existed in the first place, I can't think of any other races with racials so overwhelming only narrativium can hold them back, so it genuinely is entirely up to you. Generically speaking, probably a race with some other buffs to hunting and gathering, like Darkvision.
Yeah. The whole 'oh humans are short lived so uh, they're super ambitious and stuff' never really sounded right to me and always felt like a justification to have human centric worlds where you have these other races like orcs and elves around etc.
Whatever race is responsible for getting rid of the humans. If it's a god, what's race fills the ranks of that god's faith? If it was a cataclysmic event, what race was the person that predicted or noticed it first? If humans are gone simply because of MEH, then..I don't know. Kobolds and halflings are my vote.
Why does any race have to be dominant? Why can't the different races form varying power blocs that never manage to gain a significant advantage over one another, leading to endless border skirmishes?
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
To answer that, you have to first answer the question, "Why are humans dominant?"
It seems to me that few worlds actually answer this.
In my game, humans are dominant because their creator god is no longer around. At a very fundamental, primal level, humans are ambitious and driven and expansionistic because they are trying to prove their worthiness to an absent parent. "Maybe if I do good, Mummy will come back and love me."
Elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, hin - the creator gods for these are still around (though it is complicated in the case of gnomes). These races have the presence and unconditional love of their parents, so they are not as compelled as humans.
Some races have additional reasons for being unsuited for empires. For example, Elves will tell you that they choose to not have an empire because an empire doesn't give them any of the things they want. Outsiders will say that it is because the generally-chaotic elves lack the organisation to conquer and govern. Who's right? Possibly both sides.
Either after or without the humans in the world, the Loxodon/Minotaur/Satyr Triprincipality Ascends. Hail Tusks, Horns, Hooves! All are tossed and trodden below them!
Seriously, I saw some galleys of the DnD Afternext Event planned to bring in 6e, and it's all just the mundane races dwindling against the L-M-S hordes for two years of AL content till the Play a Loxodon, Minotaur, Satyr, or Lesser Beings Handbook gets published.
What should the demographics be?
Maybe a lot of elves, half orcs half elves, dwarves, kobolds and goblins?
It depends on your world.
Depends on what kind of world you want it to be, mainly focused on the culture/history of the elves? Races set mainly in the mountains or underground like dwarves? Is it a world full of on-going wars between different races? You can always split the focus on different races, groups, cultures etc.
In a world without humans, there aren't going to be any half-orcs or half-elves, as humans are the poodles of the humanoid world - they'll make babies with anything, so are always the other half of these races!
Honestly, they all have their own means by which to have gained prominence, and these are all interchangeable anyway. You could say "The orcs are warlike and have conquored the majority of the land", but then you can replace "Orcs" with "Elves", "Gnomes", Dwarves", "Kobolds" and so on.
Stereotypical reasons for the races to have gained dominance:
Elves are dominant because their long lifespans and huge experience have granted them the advantages of becoming the leader caste of the world.
Orcs have become dominant because they have the military might and have conquored the world
Gnomes have made machines which have made them hugely important, as the only ones selling and maintaining the mahcines, making them both wealthy and influential.
Dwarves have become rich and powerful on the spoils of their mines, and as they control the wealth, they control the world
Dragons have enslaved large populations, only allowing the Dragonborn to roam freely and without risk of enslavement
But again, you can reword these to fit any race. Tabaxi's have made machines and become powerful. Dragons view Elves as their chosen ones and let them roam freely. Gnomes have the military might. Bugbears have the mines. And so on.
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If going by traditional D&D logic, whichever race is most ambitious to just get on with it. Taking over the world takes a certain inclination: not just wanting to conquer but also to develop and explore and study, with conquering arguably being the least important component of them all. And next to that, a high reproduction rate helps too so no races where birth rates barely exceed death rates and you don’t become of age until at least your first century. I’d look at gnomes or maybe hobgoblins first, if we keep the other races’ characteristics largely as they are.
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Goblins.
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Goblins, as written, are easily browbeaten into subservience. Extermination doesn’t enter into it, they choose to survive by following whoever carries the biggest stick.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Like others have said it can be pretty much whatever you want, maybe without Humans chopping down forests all the time the Elves have expanded more as they have more forests to live in and defend so are the dominate race. Perhaps it the warlike Orcs without humans to go head to head with
You could also look for the closest human analog, a race that doesn't live and extended life so is more prone to reproducing quicker (Hey when you live to maybe 80 there's more urge to have children sooner than say 750) So Dragonborn or Tieflings might be the most numerous and widespread races because they live the shortest lives. (edit: out of PHB races at least)
Elves of course
It generally doesn't even make sense for humans to be dominant in a world with humans, let alone one without any humans in it.
If your half-orcs and half-elves "breed true" and can make more of themselves by breeding with orcs and elves respectively, and if their 5e statlines post-Tasha's are taken canonically, the generic answer is half-elves, simply because they're currently ubermenschen. However, you can justify any dominant race you like with narrativium; two particularly low-hanging fruit there are winged tieflings (if winged tieflings are allowed to breed true, usually they'll win any race war they fight) and warforged (since they can achieve a replication rate no other species can match and need neither food nor water; being immune to supply chain logistics is an overwhelmingly powerful racial buff). Both of those races are ordinarily contained with narrativium constraints like warforged not having access to their own forges and winged tieflings being a mutation that can't be trusted to breed true. Aarakocra are still next-level dangerous, but they have some downsides like needing to ditch medium and heavy armor and the serious liability of laying eggs instead of getting pregnant that sum up to making it much easier to avoid them taking over; their lack of darkvision certainly doesn't help matters. Reborn are normally even less capable of replicating than Warforged, due to similar narrativium constraints.
Ignoring the overwhelmingly powerful buffs of flight and not needing food or water (humans won out on Earth over Goliaths because we need less water), and assuming half-elves will breed themselves into non-existence or never existed in the first place, I can't think of any other races with racials so overwhelming only narrativium can hold them back, so it genuinely is entirely up to you. Generically speaking, probably a race with some other buffs to hunting and gathering, like Darkvision.
I thought it was agreed that post Tasha, everyone would only ever play mountain dwarves, since they have 2 floating +2 ability scores, darkvision and free light and medium armor, etc. So I’d assume they would just take over everything, since they’re that mechanically superior. 😁
Until they realize how bad they outnumber whoever that is and unionize. Haven’t you ever heard of Da Getchin Revolushunry Kommitte?
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Wait guys what happened to one of my threads???? It gone
Yeah. The whole 'oh humans are short lived so uh, they're super ambitious and stuff' never really sounded right to me and always felt like a justification to have human centric worlds where you have these other races like orcs and elves around etc.
Orcs. They are big expantionists.
Neither
Whatever race is responsible for getting rid of the humans. If it's a god, what's race fills the ranks of that god's faith? If it was a cataclysmic event, what race was the person that predicted or noticed it first? If humans are gone simply because of MEH, then..I don't know. Kobolds and halflings are my vote.
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Why does any race have to be dominant? Why can't the different races form varying power blocs that never manage to gain a significant advantage over one another, leading to endless border skirmishes?
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
To answer that, you have to first answer the question, "Why are humans dominant?"
It seems to me that few worlds actually answer this.
In my game, humans are dominant because their creator god is no longer around. At a very fundamental, primal level, humans are ambitious and driven and expansionistic because they are trying to prove their worthiness to an absent parent. "Maybe if I do good, Mummy will come back and love me."
Elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, hin - the creator gods for these are still around (though it is complicated in the case of gnomes). These races have the presence and unconditional love of their parents, so they are not as compelled as humans.
Some races have additional reasons for being unsuited for empires. For example, Elves will tell you that they choose to not have an empire because an empire doesn't give them any of the things they want. Outsiders will say that it is because the generally-chaotic elves lack the organisation to conquer and govern. Who's right? Possibly both sides.
Either after or without the humans in the world, the Loxodon/Minotaur/Satyr Triprincipality Ascends. Hail Tusks, Horns, Hooves! All are tossed and trodden below them!
Seriously, I saw some galleys of the DnD Afternext Event planned to bring in 6e, and it's all just the mundane races dwindling against the L-M-S hordes for two years of AL content till the Play a Loxodon, Minotaur, Satyr, or Lesser Beings Handbook gets published.
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