a race question: Your CHARNAMEs throughout the ages

SmilingSword

So is there a race you play more often than not and why?

SmilingSword

Well I like elves and I like the elf sprite, but I like romancing Vicki more. So most of my CHARNAMEs end up as Half-Elves. Really that's like the only reason I pick this race and yes I've tried the romance tweaks and sometimes they don't work when importing a CHARNAME from bg1 for some reason.

Caeria

I mostly only play elves, because just like them I am better than everyone else. Prettier, too.

The only other race I will occasionally play is half-elf, and only to meet romance requirements.

Vallmyr

Half-Elves (or more specifically Half-Drow). Elves and Gnomes are a close second. Between Half-Elf Cleric/Mage Necromancers and Half-Elf Bards I've played them most in the IE games.

Son_of_Imoen

I like elves a lot, but often the choice to play an elf becomes the choice to play a half-elf as I like the bigger posture (elf avatars are tiny) and often the class/multi-class/kit I want to play isn't available to elves but is to half-elves, that have a much wider selection of classes to choose from.

I'm not really interested in Viconia though, I almost always play good/neutral parties.

*edit: Ranked in popularity of me using them, my charnames can also be elf, human, gnome and half-orc. Dwarves and halflings are severely and undeservedly undervalued (that's a tonguebreaker sentence), but I haven't played them yet as they aren't able to use arcane magic and I hardly play characters that can't. The exceptions for me where a Berserker dualed to Cleric (can only be human), a Stalker (yes, half-elf), a Barbarian (half-orc) and a Cleric-Ranger (could only be a half-elf if I remember well).

Gives me the impetus for a new playthrough though, with a halfling. Because of Tolkien, I like them a lot, but they have such poor choice of classes in AD&D.

Blackraven

The only races I don't often play are Humans and Half-Orcs. My picking of the other races is based on a combination of preferences for specific classes and kits, and certain prototypes I have come to like. E.g. I love Swashbucklers and think my female Halfling Swashies are about as cute as Charname can be. I like long-haired Half-Elven Skalds and straight Bards (would play them as Elves too). I like my Bounty Hunters to be dour, unbending Dwarves. Etc.

I picked Gnome in the poll because of their fine multiclass options - Fighter/Illusionist, Cleric/Illusionist, Illusionist/Thief, Cleric/Thief - and because it's nice to actually have a Gnome in the game that isn't a loon (apart from the Mirrorshades).

lunar

I find human making the most sense, story-wise, and I relate the most to humans.

Kamigoroshi

Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Halfling, Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Dwarf, Half-Orc, Half-Orc, Orc. Rinse and repeat ∞~

Pantalion

I'm generally Fighter/Mage, Fighter/Mage/Thief, or Mage/Thief, which means Elves. I'm an optimiser. Elves get borderline immunity to charm and sleep (both potentially early game enders), +1 to hit with some of the best weapons in the series, and extra dexterity is far more valuable than 18 constitution.

Otherwise I tend towards Cleric/Rangers (though not since they were nerfed without fixing their spell slot issue), and Cleric/(Wild)Mages, which means Half-Elves.

Never single class, never human (dual classing is stupid), never dwarf (No mage multiclasses? Pffft.), never halfling (No mage at all?), never Gnomes (They have pointy shoes and look ridiculous, and I keeper in multi-kits anyway), and never Half-Orc (19 strength is nice, but there's not enough competition for belt slots for even low strength to be a problem, and still no Mage-multis).

Skatan

^- Because of the choice of classes, not because I favour them.

Nowadays I keeper whatever I feel like playing, but I only started doing that recently. So based on my years of playing unmodded vanilla, I've played the HE most. My favorite race for RP reasons are dwarves, elves and humans (in that order) depending on class and character.

JuliusBorisov

Dwarfs! (yes, thanks to the Did you know thread I've found out it's the right word, not dwarves).

Race bonuses to saving throws, additional CON-based bonuses to saving throws, a regeneration with the Tome.

And not only that. I just like them. Like beards, like their toughness.

I think that 3/4 of my forum portraits are quite telling, though.

And no, dwarfs do like not only gold. They like good fighting, good exploring, they like singing, they like ale. And they like to constuct. Their weapons and armour, their buildings. A stunning architecture.

Dwarvfs are kind, protective and loving. Not all of them like gold alone.

BillyYank

My tank is fight!

Svar

I play elves pretty much whenever possible, but not because they're "better than everyone and they know it". I just like elves a lot, probably more than I should. I personally think they're culturally and aesthetically fascinating. Of course, to maintain the delusion that there is some degree of diversity in my characters, I play all different kinds of elves (but admittedly gravitate towards moon elves and drow the most).

I have also been known to play the occasional half-elf, but it is often the case that I do this because of some restriction on elves, so I'm not fooling anyone, haha. If someone forced me to not play an elven-blooded character, though, I'd probably pick either a halfing or a half-orc, just because those choices include social challenges that I can relate to.

Humans, though. You'd have to drag me, kicking and screaming, to the Abyss before I could be persuaded to play a human. For several reasons which I will not irritate you with.

Vallmyr

If I could play only Drow and Gnomes I most certainly would @_@
Curse race/class restrictions!

Edit: So strangely enough in the Complete Book of Necromancers (2e) it states how Drow Necromancers are totally a thing for wizards and in Drow of the Underdark (2e) Eilistraee's avatar is a multi class Fighter/Cleric/Bard. So there is canon material for such.

Nonnahswriter

Half-elves for class requirements. Humans take a very close second, because of class requirements.

elminster

Probably humans. I'm not much of a powergamer and I tend to play single class characters. But I just like the class and mage specialist variety they offer. Gives me plenty to look over on the class screen.

YupImMadBro

I'll play half-elf if I want to multiclass.

[Deleted User]

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TheArtisan

I almost picked half-orc but that's technically not true, I only have one half-orc PC that I occasionally replay. Most of my characters end up being humans because I'm not a fan of the elf model and I have several portraits that I adore which only really make sense for a human.

semiticgoddess

Gnome by preference. But I usually pick the race based on the class--whichever race gets the best bonuses, I pick.

Halfling is first if I can help it, due to the save bonuses. They're equal to dwarf save bonuses, but halflings lose out on STR while dwarves lose out on DEX, and STR is easier to raise than DEX. Gnomes get similar save bonuses, but not to saves vs. death.

I don't play BG1, so immunity to sleep and charm doesn't play such a large role in my games. Also, there are few ways to boost CON, and I tend to favor high CON over high DEX, as DEX is easier to raise (the Girdle of Fortitude can be dispelled; the Gauntlets of Dexterity cannot). So elves and half-elves are low priorities.

Half-orcs are a low priority. The stat bonuses are spectacular, but since I play no-reload, any class that a half-orc can play can also be done by a gnome, halfling, and/or dwarf. The save bonuses win out.

Humans are just there for dual-classing.

My general preference:
Gnome
Halfling
Dwarf
Half-orcs
Half-elves
Elves
Humans

[Deleted User]

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Son_of_Imoen

This topic got me thinking I never play a halfling Charname, nor does any vote so far go to halflings.

I like halflings (Tolkien FTW!) but my main gripe is their poor choice of classes to choose from.

How about you? Discuss! (it deserves a separate topic).

Hudzy

I think I may never have actually played a race other than half-elf in these games. I'm not entirely sure why either.

Flashburn

BE INVINCIBLE AND TANK EVERYTHING!

Play a dwarf today!

Gallowglass

I play all races from time to time, but humans significantly more often than any other. Partly because I enjoy various dual-classing options, and partly to play human-only classes.

Nimran

I guess I tend towards human, but not for any real reason. I have played (or tried to play) each race at least twice, however.

Border

I take human because I dislike the +1/-1 system for other race's attributes. Also for dualling (sometimes) and, as someone earlier said, more relateable.

Aerakar

I tend to favor dwarves (dwarfs?), elves, and halflings, in no particular order (shorty saves!). I have never duel-classed, so humans have no attraction, while with 1/2 orcs, I have never been able to get into them role-playing. I have to connect with the character conceptually and insert some roleplay to keep going from BG1 to BG2.

On gnomes, I like them in theory, but have never played one. I prefer the old original AD&D gnome interpretation, where they are forest/hill dwelling cousins to dwarves that enjoy dark humor and have talent with magic. I never liked the tinkering, device-fetish gnomes introduced later.

Has anyone ever had success with a gnomish assassin?

PK2748

Cleric/Thieves, improved saves and the taller races look ridiculous standing still, the way they hold their arms. The whole ridiculous silly tinker crap I ignore because it's Forgotten Realms not Dragonlance

FinneousPJ

Humans & half-elves for the class combinations.

Aramintai

Half-elves: because multi-classing duh...

Seriously though, multiclassed fighter-mage is my favorite power-horse in BG series.