Lets take Tieflings. You cannot have Tieflings in a setting unless you also have (or have had) a demon/devil incursion into that realm because Tieflings are hybrids. It is similar to the half-orc problem. Any kind of demon/devil incursion large enough to create a population of Tiefling hybrids will also be a major event in that realm's history which does affect the setting. Same with half-orcs.
This is what I hate most about Tieflings. I hate Dragonborn with a passion, cuz they're made up D&D fanservice, but at least there's demon-hybrids in folklore. But unless there's an invasion of rapy infernal beings leaving a bunch of demon-hybrids on its wake as part of the setting backstory, Tieflings have next to NO place in a regular campaign. Otherwise I'd have no problem with them.
On the other hand, if your setting includes, say a Demon Empire that reigned for a thousand years before it was overthrown by the forces of light at dawn of recorded history… having Tieflings be a common race (more common than elves even) would make sense for that setting.
That sounds a lot like a demon incursion to me.
Yes. The point I was refuting was that Tieflings don’t have a place in a core book because a setting where there was a demonic incursion is not, supposedly, a “regular” campaign.
I resent the assumption that Tolkeinish elves and dwarves and halflings must always be the default… that including those as player options is a given instead being just as setting dependent as say, playable sapient golems.
Because elves (particularly the Tolkein-ish D&D variety) most certainly are not some universal cultural myth that belongs in every setting, nor are 4’ tall dwarves who are good at mining and engineering and aren’t some type of nature spirit. Nor are 3’ tall hairy-footed humanoids found anywhere in broader myth and legend other than in Tolkein’s works.
Worse, the presumption thaf elves, dwarves and halflings must be included leads to setting creators having to figure out how to include them in the setting… vs. just using species that actually make sense for it.
Demonic incursions are not a typical thing in most fantasy worlds. They can be a thing, but not frequently enough to say that demon-human hybrids are this common thing typically encountered in fantasy world. If anything they're more of a horror trope.
D&D also started out mostly as European style medieval/ancient world fantasy, with other cultures being secondary, since most of the inspiration came from European myth, with some sprinkles of Middle Eastern and North African elements thrown in, plus hints of Far East, cuz Martial Arts films. So creatures like Elves and Dwarves make sense as boilerplate samples of what "fantasy" creatures might look like. Halflings are pure Tolkien, though. Orcs should be Hobgoblins, cuz that's actual folklore, while the etymology of "Orc" is dubious and more related to Tolkien.
Still, there are pros and cons of including the entire kitchen sink right in the core books. While in the surface it might make sense from a strictly universal game system PoV (which D&D quite isn't), it can also overwhelm players with too many options that might not even exist in whatever campaign they're playing and fill their heads with ideas. Some of those races might not even work that way in settings that do have them, cuz fantasy races of the same type can vary so much by setting. They work mostly as GM tools that players don't need to know about, and when they do, they tend to complain when GMs either don't allow them, or handle them a different way than the "official" holy writ of the core rules.
A more concise list is better to provide players with a general idea, without overwhelming them with choices. The obvious con being that they fail to cover a wider variety of options that GMs might use, but that's why I don't like them right in the core books--cuz if GMs are the ones who're really gonna pick them, they're GM tools. So they work better as side supplements than cluttering the core rule manual.
To the degree that it can be argued that Standard Races stablish an expectation that they have to be included in every setting, though, imagine how much worse that would be if the Standard Race list was the kitchen sink. Then realize why this tread exists.
And worse, to try and make their setting feel less like a Tolkein rip-off, they decide to radically reinterpret the race in some fashion; ex. cannibal halflings of Dark Sun.
Except that Dark Sun is the greatest D&D setting ever created and Cannibal Halflings are awesome. So this not a good example of how standard races can make things worse.