Races of Stone focuses on gnomes, dwarves, and a new race, called goliaths, providing cultural information for these races as well as subraces. The book also introduces new deities for these races, including the goliath pantheon led by Kavaki, the Ram-Lord.
David Noonan explains the origins of the concept for the goliath race: "It all started with a piece of concept art that looks very similar to the Races of Stone cover. My job was to write the chapter for 'the big guy.' It's one of the most satisfying design assignments I've received."[4]
Reprints and revisions
Races of Stone was later included, along with Races of Destiny and Races of the Wild in the Dungeons & Dragons Races Gift Set, released in 2005.[5]
Reception
The racial substitution levels in the book have been praised because "[the] mechanic lets you play more than just another dwarven fighter or gnome bard."[6]
Races of Stone was nominated for the 2005 Chesley Awards award for Best Gaming-Related Illustration for William O'Connor's artwork, "Training a Dire Badger",[8] although it lost to the artwork of the Magic: The Gathering card Blazing Archon.[9]