And remember the bird people? Players who pick the avian aarakocra are most likely to adventure as martial artist monks, filling the skies of the Forgotten Realms with Jet Li Big Birds.

Apparently the lumbering, scaly dragonborn are frequently cast as paladins, a class traditionally inhabited by snooty white men. Some pairings you won’t find anywhere in Tolkien’s books, but might stand at the vanguard of a new fantasy canon. The appearance of both these archetypes in Lord of the Rings and other works of fantasy likely also plays a role in their popularity.

Halflings also have extra points in dexterity and may have access to the “naturally stealthy” trait, which makes them exceptional rogues. The wood elf 5 gets a bonus to dexterity as well as proficiency in longbows, perfect for the ranger class. Other races dovetail nicely with particular classes. Humans - the most popular race by far - get an extra point in all of their ability scores, which makes them a balanced pick for any class. But some of the common character choices can be explained by the game’s structure of racial bonuses.

So what does this data say about players’ character preferences? At first blush it looks like characters are drawn from literature and everyday life, which seems surprisingly unimaginative considering that “Dungeons & Dragons” is the quintessential fantasy game.

D&d 5e half dragon player