Hi all,

The group I'm running is coming close to bringing our current campaign to a close, and we're excited to start playing in Eberron. That being said, I'm not too familiar with with the setting. I have RFTLW, and have been doing research with outside sources, but I'm not too certain where the non-monstrous playable races fit in. Specifically, I'm not sure where firbolgs, goliaths, kenku, tabaxi, and tritons belong. Does anyone know where these races would originate from in Eberron/what the major differences they would have with their forgotten realms counterparts?

I don't think they "exist" as part of the population of Eberron. However you're players can still play one, but they'll be unique. I'm pretty sure one of the books mentions a cat being turned into  a Tabaxi as a result of the mourning. Alternatively a Tabaxi could be a different way to play a Shifter. Kenku could be the result of a secret House Vadalis experiment to breed flying warriors gone wrong, the same for Tritons. Firbolgs could be reskinned as more shamanic Orcs, etc.

They’re not really in Eberron by default. They belong wherever you want them to belong. Tritons might be from merfolk kingdoms beneath the sea, firbolgs may have come from Thelanis with elves and gnomes, tabaxi may be from deep within the unexplored jungles of Xen’drik, etc.

An important note is that you don’t NEED to add all these races to Eberron. But if a player is dead set in playing one, there’s room (an adage of the setting is that if it exists in D&D, there’s a place for it in Eberron). But it’s up to you to find it.

I have a player in my Eberron campaign that wanted to be a firbolg monk, so I pointed to a place on the map that I'd assume Firbolg could come from (the big volcano island near Xen'drik), and created a small village of firbolg there, and developed a slight history of their island being raided by Cyrans during the Last War, and taking some firbolg captive to serve as warriors for them in the Last War.

I'd say Tabaxi come from Xen'drik as well, as there is a jungle there, and it could explain their curiosity about Khorvaire.

Kenku could be from Thelanis (basically Feywild). Keep the lore about them serving a powerful being, and have them be banished to Eberron by an Archfey. An idea Keith Baker had about them (he created Eberron) was that in Thelanis there could be a group of "Kenku" that have wings, and the members of that bird race that betray the archfey are stripped of their wings, and banished to Eberron. Just an idea, definitely not canon. 

Tritons could be half-merfolk, as merfolk are one of the most common aquatic races in Eberron.

Goliaths could be a type of giants that bred with humans or orcs and have created a culture for themselves in Xen'drik.

Droaam.

One of the fundamental concepts of Eberron is "If it exists in D&D, it has a place in Eberron".

So the answer is Droaam.

Well. Except maybe Tritons. Those would probably be around the coasts of the Lhazaar Principalities.

In my current Eberron campaign, all the non-standard Eberron races my players use have slipped through the Viel of Dreams into Eberron.

If the players choose this option, the amount of knowledge they know depends on how long they have existed in the Eberron campaign universe.

One of my current players' character was from Forgotten Realms. She was a Tier 3 character who was reduced to Level 1 for this campaign.

I know this is so very late, but I just came across this situation myself. We decided that they would essentially be elven half giants (gross, I know). They would have fled Xen'drik with the other elves, to what became Arenel. Later after the founding of Droaam, many Firbolg left Arenel to join the nation of Droaam; possibly seeking acceptance they hitherto have known not from thier Giant oppressors nor their contemptuous elven cousins.

For races not normally in Eberron, I use the concept of the Veil of Dreams. In this case, spells like Banishment are to be avoided since they are not native to the plane of existence where I run the world of Eberron.

Late to this party, lol.  Here are my thoughts, for future people who might read this thread. 

Firlbog would primarily be from the Eldeen Reaches, deep in the forested areas.  

Tabaxi could have come from Lamania, stranded when the plane was potentially coterminous during the Day of Mourning.  They spread out into many of the major city areas, seeking work and adventure. 

Tritons can be from all along the massive coastline of Khorvaire and Xendrik.  Possibly even have a stronghold somewhere in the Lhazzar Principalities. 

Kenku is tougher.  Could be any of the fine options already present.

Goliaths would be from Xendrik, having descended from the giants there.