D&D 3.75 Race Updates I

To go hand in hand with the class update article I just posted here's some racial information. More specifically, how it ties into class. In 3rd Edition (3.5) each race had a favored class, broken as follows. I'm also going to include their 3.75 ability score adjustments for reference.

Dwarf -- Fighter; +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Elf -- Wizard; +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con
Gnome -- Bard; +2 Cha, +2 Dex, -2 Str
Halfling -- Rogue; +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Str
Half-Elf -- (any); +2 to any attribute
Half-Orc -- Barbarian; +2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Int
Human -- (any); +2 to any attribute

The reasoning behind this was not explained to my knowledge, but kind of makes sense. The dwarves are a very martial race, so it makes sense they would gravitate towards fighters. Elves are an inherently magical race so the path of the arcane comes easily to them. With fifteen classes to choose from now it makes sense that the list of favored classes would get expanded. Since the classes are based around ability scores, and the races get bonuses and penalties to ability scores, it stands to reason that the two would be tied together.

Here's the breakdown of classes associated with each ability score:

Strength: Fighter, Sorcerer, Cleric, Knight
Constitition: Barbarian, Warlock, Monk, Shaper
Dexterity: Rogue, Filch, Ranger, Bard
Intelligence: Wizard, Sorcerer, Filch, Warlock
Wisdom: Priest, Cleric, Monk, Ranger
Charisma: Lord, Knight, Bard, Shaper

With fifteen classes I think it makes sense for each race to have four favored classes based around their primary ability score. This works in most cases. The elf would have a favored class associated with Intelligence; the halfling would favor those classes based around Dexterity, etc. The two races that this doesn't work for are dwarf and half-orc. Dwarf would have Strength-based classes, while the half-orc would have Constitution. Reversed but it makes more sense thematically.