Player's Handbook 1 (PH1)
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Dragonborn - Born to fight, dragonborn are a race of wandering mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers. Long ago, their empire contended for worldwide dominion, but now only a few rootless clans of these honorable warriors remain to pass on their legends of ancient glory.
Play a dragonborn if you want . . .
✦ to look like a dragon.
✦ to be the proud heir of an ancient, fallen empire.
✦ to breathe acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the warlord, fighter, and paladin classes.

Dwarf - Carved from the bedrock of the universe, dwarves endured an age of servitude to giants before winning their freedom. Their mighty mountain fortress-cities testify to the power of their ancient empires. Even those who live in human cities are counted among the staunchest defenders against the darkness that threatens to engulf the world.
Play a dwarf if you want . . .
✦ to be tough, gruff, and strong as bedrock.
✦ to bring glory to your ancestors or serve as your god’s right hand.
✦ to be able to take as much punishment as you dish out.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the paladin, cleric, and fighter classes.

Eladrin - Creatures of magic with strong ties to nature, eladrin live in cities in the twilight realm of the Feywild. Their cities lie close enough to the world that they sometimes cross over, appearing briefly in mountain valleys or deep forest glades before fading back into the Feywild.
Play an eladrin if you want . . .
✦ to be otherworldly and mysterious.
✦ to be graceful and intelligent.
✦ to teleport around the battlefield, cloaked in the magic of the Feywild.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the wizard, rogue, and warlord classes.

Elf - Wild and free, elves guard their forested lands using stealth and deadly arrows from the trees. They build their homes in close harmony with the forest, so perfectly joined that travelers often fail to notice that they have entered an elven community until it is too late.
Play an elf if you want . . .
✦ to be quick, quiet, and wild.
✦ to lead your companions through the deep woods and pepper your enemies with arrows.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the ranger, rogue, and cleric classes.

Half-Elf - Descended from elves and humans, half-elves are a vital race in which the best features of elves and humans often appear.
Play a half-elf if you want . . .
✦ to be an outgoing, enthusiastic leader.
✦ to be a charismatic hero equally at home in two different cultures.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the warlord, paladin, and warlock classes.

Halfling - Halflings are a small race known for their resourcefulness, quick wits, and steady nerves. They are a nomadic folk who roam waterways and marshlands. No people travel farther or see more of what happens in the world than halflings.
Play a halfling if you want . . .
✦ to be a plucky hero who is all too easy to underestimate.
✦ to be likable, warm, and friendly.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the rogue, ranger, and warlock classes.

Human - Of all the civilized races, humans are the most adaptable and diverse. Human settlements can be found almost anywhere, and human morals, customs,  and interests vary greatly.
Play a human if you want . . .
✦ to be a decisive, resourceful hero with enough determination to face any challenge.
✦ to have the most versatility and flexibility of any race.
✦ to be able to excel at any class you choose.

Tiefling - Heirs to an ancient, infernal bloodline, tieflings have no realms of their own but instead live within human kingdoms and cities. They are descended from human nobles who bargained with dark powers, and long ago their empire subjugated half the world. But the empire was cast down into ruin, and tieflings were left to make their own way in a world that often fears and resents them.
Play a tiefling if you want . . .
✦ to be a hero who has a dark side to overcome.
✦ to be good at tricking, intimidating, or persuading others to do your will.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the warlock, warlord, and rogue classes.

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Player's Handbook 2 (PH2)
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Deva - Deep in the recesses of memory, devas recall what they once were: immortal servitors of the gods of good, spirits who chose to bind themselves to the world in mortal flesh. For millennia, their souls have been reborn to wage an endless war against the forces of darkness. Most devas are fiercely committed
to the cause of good, because they fear what they might become if they turn to evil: A deva whose soul becomes corrupted risks being reborn as a rakshasa.
Play a deva if you want . . .
✦ to have dimly remembered connections to a thousand heroic lifetimes.
✦ to embrace the cause of good and strive for perfection in all you do.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the avenger, cleric, invoker, and wizard classes.

Gnome - In the Feywild, the best way for a small creature to survive is to be overlooked. While suffering in servitude to the fomorian tyrants of the Feydark, gnomes learned to hide, to mislead, and to deflect—and by these means, to survive. The same talents sustain them still, allowing them to prosper in a world filled with creatures much larger and far more dangerous than they are.
Play a gnome if you want . . .
✦ to be curious, funny, and tricky.
✦ to rely more on stealth and deception than on brute strength and intimidation.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the bard, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard classes.

Goliath - Goliaths are mountain-dwelling nomads who see life as a grand competition. Their scattered bands have never been major players in the politics of the lowland world, but they have wandered the mountain ranges of the world since the primordials first shaped the peaks and valleys. Tall and massive, goliaths revere the primal power of nature and use it to enhance their own strength.
Play a goliath if you want . . .
✦ to be tougher and stronger than nearly anyone else.
✦ to master the rugged mountain slopes.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the barbarian, fighter, and warden classes.

Half-Orc - An obscure legend claims that when Corellon put out Gruumsh’s eye in a primeval battle, part of the savage god’s essence fell to earth, where it transformed a race of humans into fierce half-orcs. Another story suggests that an ancient hobgoblin empire created half-orcs to lead orc tribes on the empire’s behalf. Yet another legend claims that a tribe of brutal human barbarians chose to breed with orcs to strengthen their bloodline. Some say that Kord created half-orcs, copying the best elements from the human and orc races to make a strong and fierce people after his own heart. If you ask a half-orc about his origin, you might hear one of these stories. You might also get a punch in the face for asking such a rude question.
Play a half-orc if you want . . .
✦ to be big, strong, and fast.
✦ to harness anger into resilience and combat power.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the barbarian, fighter, ranger, and rogue classes.

Shifter - Shifters are fierce hunters strongly influenced by their animal nature. Though they can’t fully change shape as their lycanthrope ancestors can, shifters do become more bestial during the heat of battle, calling on the primal power of the beast within.
Play a shifter if you want . . .
✦ to tap into bestial strength or speed in battle.
✦ to be a character in tune with your primal savage nature.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the druid, fighter, ranger, and warden classes.

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Player's Handbook 3 (PH3)
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Githzerai - The githzerai are descended from an ancient race once held in thrall by mind flayer overlords. After the bloody uprising that won these people their freedom, ideological differences split them into two races: the githzerai and the githyanki. The githzerai rejected the cruel warmongering ofthe githyanki and withdrew to the Elemental Chaos and to remote locations in the world to follow a path ofself-renection. harnessing the power of the mind and the soul. Centuries later, the githzerai remain in such locations, leading diSciplined lives and observing their surroundings to determine their place in the universe.
Play a githzerai ifyou want ...
✦ to be a character who has strong planar ties.
✦ to avoid attacks and stay one step ahead ofyour enemies.
✦ to be a member ofa race that favors the avenger, monk, ranger, and seeker classes.

Minotaur - Minotaurs embody the tension between civilization and savagery, discipline and madness, for they stand in two worlds. Tugged toward violence but bound by conscience. numerous minotaurs are driven to rise above their dark impulses. Such a minotaur seeks the balance between the monstrous and the refined. Innumerable minotaurs give in to the temptations staining their souls and find themselves thralls to Baphomet. the Horned King. Minotaurs must struggle to become more than the beasts they resemble or else succumb to the demonic brutality they despise.
Play a minotaur ifyou want ...
✦ to be a mighty warrior who has amazing strength and endurance.
✦ to be a monstrous adventurer struggling against villainous tendencies.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the barbarian, fighter, and warden classes.

Shardmind - Shardminds are sentient fragments of the living Gate, which once stood at the pinnacle of the intricate lattice of the Astral Sea. Beyond that gate lay the alien Far Realm, and the gate's destruction during the Dawn War resulted in the rise of the mind flayer empire. Though Ioun's power holds the portal closed, shardminds seek to rebuild the gate and forever cut off the Far Realm's ability to influence the world.
Play a shardmind if you want . . .
✦ to play a strange, intellectual character who has a strong psionic flavor.
✦ to embody an ancient history that makes you an enemy ofthe Far Realm and its denizens.
✦ to be a member ofa race that favors the psion, wizard, and invoker classes.

Wilden - The wilden emerged from the unspoiled reaches, ancient bogs, and primeval forests ofthe Feywild. Awakened to fight the growing corruption plaguing the land. they strive to restore the natural order and to purge aberrant horrors from the world.
Play a wilden if you want ...
✦ to embody nature's ability to right its own course.
✦ to adapt to the challenges you face by altering your essential nature.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the battlemind, druid, invoker, and shaman classes.


Edit: Formatting


-- Edited by Monk on Tuesday 24th of August 2010 03:26:30 PM