4th Ed intro: Races

With the into of the PH2 there are now 13 playable classes. Each class gets +2 to 2 abilities and most have racial powers that you can use in battle.
Dragonborn: Born to fight, dragonborn are a race of wandering mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers. Long ago, their empire contended for worldwide dominion, but now only a few rootless clans of these honorable warriors remain to pass on their legends of ancient glory.
Dragonborn gain a bonus to attack when they're hurt, are able to heal themselves better than other races, and are able to breath fire, acid, lightning, or expel a poisonous cloud.
Dwarves: Carved from the bedrock of the universe, dwarves endured an age of servitude to giants before winning their freedom. Their mighty mountain fortress-cities testify to the power of their ancient empires. Even those who live in human cities are counted among the staunchest defenders against the darkness that threatens to engulf the world. Dwarves are more resistant to poison, not slowed by heavier armor, and are harder to push around.
Eldarin: Creatures of magic with strong ties to nature, eladrin live in cities in the twilight realm of the Feywild. Their cities lie close enough to the world that they sometimes cross over, appearing briefly in mountain valleys or deep forest glades before fading back into the Feywild.
Eldarin gain training in an additional skill, gain a bonus to will defense, and can teleport in the middle of combat.
Elf: Wild and free, elves guard their forested lands using stealth and deadly arrows from the trees. They build their homes in close harmony with the forest, so per- fectly joined that travelers often fail to notice that they have entered an elven community until it is too late.
Elves are able to raise the senses of their allies who are close, more through difficult terrain with ease, and re-roll missed attacks.
Half-Elf: Descended from elves and humans, half-elves are a vital race in which the best features of elves and humans often appear.
Half-elves are born diplomats and able to make allies around them more diplomatic, they are also able to use powers from other classes.
Halfling: Halflings are a small race known for their resource- fulness, quick wits, and steady nerves. They are a nomadic folk who roam waterways and marshlands. No people travel farther or see more of what happens in the world than halflings.
Halflings are harder to frighten, harder to hit when distracted, and if they are hit they can make their enemies re-roll their attack.
Human:Of all the civilized races, humans are the most adapt- able and diverse. Human settlements can be found almost anywhere, and human morals, customs, and interests vary greatly.
Huamns gain a bonus feat and are trained in an additioal skill, they also gain an additional at-will power and gain a bonus to all defenses.
Tiefling: Heirs to an ancient, infernal bloodline, tieflings have no realms of their own but instead live within human kingdoms and cities. They are descended from human nobles who bargained with dark powers, and long ago their empire subjugated half the world. But the empire was cast down into ruin, and tieflings were left to make their own way in a world that often fears and resents them.
Tieflings are able to better hit enemies who are hurt, have resistance to fire, and gain a bonus to attack and damage to enemies who have hit them.
Deva: Deep in the recesses of memory, devas recall what they once were: immortal servitors of the gods of good, spirits who chose to bind themselves to the world in mortal flesh. For millennia, their souls have been reborn to wage an endless war against the forces of darkness. Most devas are fiercely commit- ted to the cause of good, because they fear what they might become if they turn to evil: A deva whose soul becomes corrupted risks being reborn as a rakshasa.
Deva gain a bonus to defenses against creatures who are hurt, resitance to radient and necrotic damage, and able to add 1d6 to any roll they don't like.
Gnome: In the Feywild, the best way for a small creature to survive is to be overlooked. While suffering in servitude to the fomorian tyrants of the Feydark, gnomes learned to hide, to mislead, and to deflect and by these means, to survive. The same talents sustain them still, allowing them to prosper in a world filled with creatures much larger and far more dangerous
than they are.
Gnomes can make sounds come from nowhere, stay hidden when combat starts, able to see through illusions, and able to turn invisable for a short while.
Goliath: Goliaths are mountain-dwelling nomads who see life as a grand competition. Their scattered bands have never been major players in the politics of the lowland world, but they have wandered the mountain ranges of the world since the primordials first shaped the peaks and valleys. Tall and massive, goliaths revere the primal power of nature and use it to enhance their own strength
Goliaths are have a will like the mountain itself, are extremely powerful athletes, and can turn their skin to stone making enemies attack merely bounce off them.
Half-Orc: An obscure legend claims that when Corellon put out Gruumsh’s eye in a primeval battle, part of the savage god’s essence fell to earth, where it transformed a race of humans into fierce half-orcs. Another story suggests that an ancient hobgoblin empire created half-orcs to lead orc tribes on the empire’s behalf. Yet another legend claims that a tribe of brutal human barbarians chose to breed with orcs to strengthen their bloodline. Some say that Kord created half-orcs, copying the best elements from the human and orc races to make a strong and fierce people after his own heart. If you ask a half-orc about his origin, you might hear one of these stories. You might also get a punch in the face for asking such a rude question.
Half-Orcs are able to gain hit-points when they become hurt, move faster when charging, and can do extra damage when they hit an enemy.
Shifter: Shifters are fierce hunters strongly influenced by their animal nature. Though they can’t fully change shape as their lycanthrope ancestors can, shifters do become more bestial during the heat of battle, calling on the primal power of the beast within.
Shifters can either do more damage and gain regeneration when hurt, or can gain bonus to AC and reflex defenses and move faster, both of which depending on what kind of shifter you are.