I have always enjoyed the Wood Elf race. The plus two to dex helps the classes I enjoy like Ranger and rogue. The features like
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
I'm going to say variant human as you can build it to be good in anything. Other races might be better for specific builds but they will not be good for all builds. The human is good enough you can;t go wrong no matter what you are making. And for martials the feat advantage lets them finish a build fairly early in level.
Not certain this is something that should be in UA, PHB is not UA after all.
Most balanced is likely Wood Elf, they have abilities that can be used by near all classes but have nothing that focuses them down specific paths. Tho +1 in Wis does move them slightly more towards the Druid, Ranger or Monk routes, the +2 in Dex is usable by most classes, except Barbarian and a bit trickier too with Paladin. Least Balanced is probably Tiefling, getting a +1 in Intelligence and +2 in Charisma, not many builds will use both. Most overpowered is a fight between Variant Human and Half-Elf.
Not certain how you are defining "Coolest" but guessing Coolest is likely Half-Elf or Dragonborn, I would guess, that'd be highly opinion based either way.
The best race is the one that best fits your character concept
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
When playing a dwarf, I always enjoy the mini-Tough feat of +1 HP every level that Hill Dwarf offers. Allows my character to feel sturdy regardless of what class I am playing, especially if I later take the Tough feat on top of that.
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Mountain Dwarf has crazy potential... +2 to both STR and CON is huge right off the bat, and if you're using custom lineage rules you can move those +2 to any other stats. Then on top of that, you just get for free proficiency with solid weapons and medium armor... you can be a strong wizard with half-plate and a warhammer!
However, this also means they're kind of a waste if you take them for any of the classes that they seem kind of built for... if you're playing any class that gives you Medium Armor and Weapon proficiencies anyway, you might as well not have those race features, since they don't do a damn thing for you. Plus you have just 25 ft. walking speed, which is always an inconvenience.
Variant Human is probably the best overall... super versatile, extremely customizable... the only downside is that it's kind of "boring", depending on who you ask. But mechanically speaking, there's virtually no downside and it's pretty clear why this is the most popular race in the game.
I suspect the reason variant human is played the most is because its the best human, normal human is well just bad mechanically. I think a lot of people just prefer humans, while there are people who prefer non humans it is more spread out. There is the people who like human for various reasons, like they want to play the mundane in a magical world or a self insert power fantasy and those who think humans are boring, I'm a human in real life why would i want to play that etc, but that 2nd group while it may be bigger overall they are choosing from 6 PH races and dozens more if supplements are played.
For specific feat chain builds humans mechanically may be the best choice, so if you are going PAM, heavy weapon getting that done one ASI early may be important given how early many games end. Probably not huge for a fighter, 4,6,8 is probably fast enough especially with the better starting stats. But barbarians waiting until 8 to complete the feat build and 12 for your first stat boost is rough. And crap if adding sentinel, yeesh you are never boosting a stat. But for most magical builds, rogues, etc non humans frequently will just be better mechanically for them. Which is why I wish they had split feats off from stat boosts. It disproportionately effects warrior martials.
Mountain Dwarves have a lot of potential. Their stat buffs are clearly a strong choice for melee martial builds. Their Medium Armor proficiency can be a big help for classes like Wizard & Sorcerer that don't normally wear armor. Not needing to meet the Str requirement for Heavy Armor makes for an interesting combo with Clerics, you can choose a domain that lets you wear Heavy Armor without having to invest heavily in your Str score. And of course, Darkvision & the Dwarven buffs against poison are helpful for any build(trust me, sooner or later you WILL come up against someone or something trying to poison you). Heck, even the Stonecunning ability can make for some fun moments when exploring things like ancient ruins, abandoned fortresses, etc.
V human. Feats are, and will be until 1dnd, broken. The sheer value it can add to a build. Examples:PAM Champion, SS Ranger, Skulker Scout, SS Samurai, GWM Samurai.
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Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn’t stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
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Stay sharp, always carry a dagger and never deal with a devil (except for me, of course).
Not certain this is something that should be in UA, PHB is not UA after all.
Most balanced is likely Wood Elf, they have abilities that can be used by near all classes but have nothing that focuses them down specific paths. Tho +1 in Wis does move them slightly more towards the Druid, Ranger or Monk routes, the +2 in Dex is usable by most classes, except Barbarian and a bit trickier too with Paladin.
Barbarians absolutely benefit from getting a +2 to dex, since they're a class that doesn't use heavy armor.
As far as what PHB race is best, that depends entirely upon what type of character you're trying to build. For melee combat, it's hard to beat a half-orc. High elves make great wizards (and Arcane Tricksters). Tieflings are excellent charisma-based casters.
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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.
V human. Feats are, and will be until 1dnd, broken. The sheer value it can add to a build. Examples:PAM Champion, SS Ranger, Skulker Scout, SS Samurai, GWM Samurai.
Notice the pretty narrow range of builds you are suggesting it around. There are like 4-5 feats that really make this a thing and they are not a big deal to half the classes. Sure you can find a feat for every class which is snazzy to have but you can usually either wait a bit or you don't really need it and your racial abilities more than compensate. Its really only a small group of builds where the variant human pushes it to the best.
Not certain this is something that should be in UA, PHB is not UA after all.
Most balanced is likely Wood Elf, they have abilities that can be used by near all classes but have nothing that focuses them down specific paths. Tho +1 in Wis does move them slightly more towards the Druid, Ranger or Monk routes, the +2 in Dex is usable by most classes, except Barbarian and a bit trickier too with Paladin.
Barbarians absolutely benefit from getting a +2 to dex, since they're a class that doesn't use heavy armor.
As far as what PHB race is best, that depends entirely upon what type of character you're trying to build. For melee combat, it's hard to beat a half-orc. High elves make great wizards (and Arcane Tricksters). Tieflings are excellent charisma-based casters.
Sure to some degree, but usually they are better off going medium than naked so a 14 dex is enough. +2 can push your 12 to 14 but if using point buy you may want to put the +2 in something that doesn't cap at effectiveness of 14 for you.
That being said I never wear armor with my barbarians, so it could help my builds. Still not ideal likely due to the capped 15 strength at level 1. But I am sure I could come up with a build to get it to work.
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What’s the most balanced and coolest race in the players handbook?
I have always enjoyed the Wood Elf race. The plus two to dex helps the classes I enjoy like Ranger and rogue. The features like
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
are useful and flavorful.
I'm going to say variant human as you can build it to be good in anything. Other races might be better for specific builds but they will not be good for all builds. The human is good enough you can;t go wrong no matter what you are making. And for martials the feat advantage lets them finish a build fairly early in level.
Not certain this is something that should be in UA, PHB is not UA after all.
Most balanced is likely Wood Elf, they have abilities that can be used by near all classes but have nothing that focuses them down specific paths. Tho +1 in Wis does move them slightly more towards the Druid, Ranger or Monk routes, the +2 in Dex is usable by most classes, except Barbarian and a bit trickier too with Paladin. Least Balanced is probably Tiefling, getting a +1 in Intelligence and +2 in Charisma, not many builds will use both. Most overpowered is a fight between Variant Human and Half-Elf.
Not certain how you are defining "Coolest" but guessing Coolest is likely Half-Elf or Dragonborn, I would guess, that'd be highly opinion based either way.
Yeah… my mistake
Mountain Dwarves to the win! +2/+2 is no joke.
Okay who voted standard human
The best race is the one that best fits your character concept
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Best at what? They’re all “best” at something.
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Standard humans show you have some spine.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Dwarves, Dragonborn, Halflings, and Gnomes are my favorite, but whatever fits your character concept is best.
When playing a dwarf, I always enjoy the mini-Tough feat of +1 HP every level that Hill Dwarf offers. Allows my character to feel sturdy regardless of what class I am playing, especially if I later take the Tough feat on top of that.
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Whichever you think works best for your character.
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Mountain Dwarf has crazy potential... +2 to both STR and CON is huge right off the bat, and if you're using custom lineage rules you can move those +2 to any other stats. Then on top of that, you just get for free proficiency with solid weapons and medium armor... you can be a strong wizard with half-plate and a warhammer!
However, this also means they're kind of a waste if you take them for any of the classes that they seem kind of built for... if you're playing any class that gives you Medium Armor and Weapon proficiencies anyway, you might as well not have those race features, since they don't do a damn thing for you. Plus you have just 25 ft. walking speed, which is always an inconvenience.
Variant Human is probably the best overall... super versatile, extremely customizable... the only downside is that it's kind of "boring", depending on who you ask. But mechanically speaking, there's virtually no downside and it's pretty clear why this is the most popular race in the game.
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I suspect the reason variant human is played the most is because its the best human, normal human is well just bad mechanically. I think a lot of people just prefer humans, while there are people who prefer non humans it is more spread out. There is the people who like human for various reasons, like they want to play the mundane in a magical world or a self insert power fantasy and those who think humans are boring, I'm a human in real life why would i want to play that etc, but that 2nd group while it may be bigger overall they are choosing from 6 PH races and dozens more if supplements are played.
For specific feat chain builds humans mechanically may be the best choice, so if you are going PAM, heavy weapon getting that done one ASI early may be important given how early many games end. Probably not huge for a fighter, 4,6,8 is probably fast enough especially with the better starting stats. But barbarians waiting until 8 to complete the feat build and 12 for your first stat boost is rough. And crap if adding sentinel, yeesh you are never boosting a stat. But for most magical builds, rogues, etc non humans frequently will just be better mechanically for them. Which is why I wish they had split feats off from stat boosts. It disproportionately effects warrior martials.
Mountain Dwarves have a lot of potential. Their stat buffs are clearly a strong choice for melee martial builds. Their Medium Armor proficiency can be a big help for classes like Wizard & Sorcerer that don't normally wear armor. Not needing to meet the Str requirement for Heavy Armor makes for an interesting combo with Clerics, you can choose a domain that lets you wear Heavy Armor without having to invest heavily in your Str score. And of course, Darkvision & the Dwarven buffs against poison are helpful for any build(trust me, sooner or later you WILL come up against someone or something trying to poison you). Heck, even the Stonecunning ability can make for some fun moments when exploring things like ancient ruins, abandoned fortresses, etc.
V human. Feats are, and will be until 1dnd, broken. The sheer value it can add to a build. Examples:PAM Champion, SS Ranger, Skulker Scout, SS Samurai, GWM Samurai.
'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.'
Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn’t stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
'Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.'-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Stay sharp, always carry a dagger and never deal with a devil (except for me, of course).
Barbarians absolutely benefit from getting a +2 to dex, since they're a class that doesn't use heavy armor.
As far as what PHB race is best, that depends entirely upon what type of character you're trying to build. For melee combat, it's hard to beat a half-orc. High elves make great wizards (and Arcane Tricksters). Tieflings are excellent charisma-based casters.
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.
Notice the pretty narrow range of builds you are suggesting it around. There are like 4-5 feats that really make this a thing and they are not a big deal to half the classes. Sure you can find a feat for every class which is snazzy to have but you can usually either wait a bit or you don't really need it and your racial abilities more than compensate. Its really only a small group of builds where the variant human pushes it to the best.
Sure to some degree, but usually they are better off going medium than naked so a 14 dex is enough. +2 can push your 12 to 14 but if using point buy you may want to put the +2 in something that doesn't cap at effectiveness of 14 for you.
That being said I never wear armor with my barbarians, so it could help my builds. Still not ideal likely due to the capped 15 strength at level 1. But I am sure I could come up with a build to get it to work.