D&D (2024) One D&D Permanently Removes The Term 'Race'

In line with many other tabletop roleplaying games, such as Pathfinder or Level Up, One D&D is removing the term 'race'. Where Pathfinder uses 'Ancestry' and Level Up uses 'Heritage', One D&D will be using 'Species'.

Moving On From 'Race' in the 2024 Core Rulebooks

We understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds.

www.dndbeyond.com

In a blog post, WotC announced that "We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term."

 

[Cadence]

So, it would really be good if you checked what I actually said again. Specifically, I said that you could have whatever arbitrary rules you want.

You don't want everything commonly breed with everything, then don't!

Note, again, that the PHB is for making player characters. Indeed, in 5e, NPCs don't use the same rules as PCs for creation. So, the world population doesn't have to work that way.

The point is to let a player have the kind of character they want, without giving them grief over it.

Those are good points, but the ones about PCs being what they want are not in your post that I quoted, which looked like it was replying to one about the world in general (Dragons, Elves, and Dragonborn) and talking about how the default in D&D would be thought of. I read it as you saying folks who didn't like whatever the default was could rule 0 it, which didn't feel too constructive.

 

[DEFCON 1]

As an aside, humanoid only goes back to 1870 in the OED and seems really science and sci-fi.

Heh heh, yeah... and a whole host of people still want 'Psionics' in the game, with 'Psions' as the main class for it. And that's even more sci-fi than Humanoid or Species.

The point really is... once a word is incorporated into the game (regardless of how or where it came from or what "time period" it originated)... most of us get used to it pretty quickly and the original word loses whatever traditional meaning it had and it just becomes a word for D&D.

 

[glass]

It doesn't say anything about different creature types being able to mate. It just mentions that the humanoid races can. And, as for the question of how that even for most of the combinations l, the answer, as usual, is magic.

Exactly, so even if shambling mound/fire elemental hybrids exist, that says nothing about whether fire elementals and shambling mounds are separate species (even if the "can produce ofspring" was an accurate definition of species, which it isn't).

The point really is... once a word is incorporated into the game (regardless of how or where it came from or what "time period" it originated)... most of us get used to it pretty quickly and the original word loses whatever traditional meaning it had and it just becomes a word for D&D.

This is true, but in this case while the word might take a little getting used to for some, it doesn't actually need to change its meaning. "Species" already means what D&D has traditionally used "race" to mean.

 

[Cadence]

Heh heh, yeah... and a whole host of people still want 'Psionics' in the game, with 'Psions' as the main class for it. And that's even more sci-fi than Humanoid or Species.

Made a thread looking for other such words because I'm always curious about how D&D merges things from different eras and about etymology.

D&D General - Which D&D Words and Things are Post 1608?

Going from another thread... Heh heh, yeah... and a whole host of people still want 'Psionics' in the game, with 'Psions' as the main class for it. And that's even more sci-fi than Humanoid or Species. So, which words and objects in D&D are of modern origin. Take modern to be after 1608...

www.enworld.org

 

[Warpiglet-7]

One question answers all of this for me.

Who is it written for? Us or the characters/world? I would say it’s a species. I am alive in 2022, in this world.

That is way too clinical for my game world. We see hit points and armor class in the book. I assume the characters might note someone is indefatigable or unassailable without using the terms armor class or hit points.

Likewise, they would not say species in my games but might well say “race of men” or “the seed of elves” the progency of orcs, whatever.

If we separate game terms from world terms we can solve the flavor problem.

All of that said, I am not worried about 10 degrees of Kevin bacon. All old stuff has some bad connotation somewhere and if we play in an old world you have the choice of abandoning flavor to be clean, make concessions or whatever.

I play well with others so will go with what they hand me and avoid the clinical “in game.” The Paladin does not know that the Nazis or our real world racists ever existed. They probably have their own world prejudices. Probably against gnomish bards but hey

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Note, again, that the PHB is for making player characters. Indeed, in 5e, NPCs don't use the same rules as PCs for creation. So, the world population doesn't have to work that way.

While I can see this argument working for, say, how spellcasting work or how good a character can farm, so Farmy McFarmer the NPC can have +10 to farming while the characters can't before 15th level, I don't see it working for... baby-making.

Sure, PCs are extraordinary characters, but, if we establish in our world that Human can't interbreed with bulls, and you're the first minotaur ever born (as in the mythological precedent), it's possible but it will be very strange to the rest of the world, starting with the mom. Pasiphae and Minos first, then the rest of the world. I am sure Athenians would be surprised to see the minotaur landing in their port and trying to book a room in an inn...

Sure, you can have whatever rules you want for PCs, but it can affect the type of game that results of it.

 

[Incenjucar]

It's a game with wizards and gods. There is an endless potential for unique backgrounds, and if you meet enough unique people chances are you'll get over them as a category.

Warforged tabaxi, half-elf half-goblin, genasi tengu, drow dwarf, orc kender, shardmind shifter, etc. all can make sense and all can be gotten over once they save a few towns from illithid centaurs.

 

[the Jester]

I don't have a strong opinion here, but I find "species" a bit too modern/sci-fi for my taste. Maybe lineage?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Good change. "Species" is already what's written on the character sheets I made.

 

[lkj]

Just to put in my opinion. Species is fine, but a little clinical. I'd probably get used to it pretty fast though.

I like 'folk' better. But I'll openly admit I'm unfamiliar with whatever Germanic connotations it might have and will leave that up to people more educated on the topic. After that, 'kindred' sounds cool, with 'kind' being the suffix.

Other terms, like 'ancestry', 'heritage', and 'lineage' are terms that, in my mind, speak to cultural or familial ties within a given species. I'd like to leave them that way.

In the end though, all good with whatever thoughtful change takes hold.

AD