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A design goal: making different races FEEL different.
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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 5761122" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya.</p><p> </p><p>I just read through the thread and two or three people *almost* said what I would write...but not quite.</p><p> </p><p>The key to making a race feel 'different' would be to break the rules. By trying to "use the core rules" to make a race feel different, all the designer is doing is setting up what we have:<em>Dwarves get +2 to X, and +4 when performing Y</em>. This will, and does, fail utterly in trying to make a dwarf 'feel' like a dwarf when all some other character has to have is Feat A, Talent B and a stat of C...now they are every bit as "dwarvish" as the dwarf, mechanically speaking.</p><p> </p><p>What to do? Break the rules completely. For the dwarf, you end up with (assuming, say, 3e D&D): <em>Dwarves all have a +2 to X (with a minimum of 14), and when performing Y they have a 5-in-6 chance of success</em>. What this does is remove the Dwarves chance from anybody else having the 'same feel and chance' as a dwarf. A 1st level dwarven fighter has 5-in-6 chance...and 17th level dwarven fighter has a 5-in-6 chance. Everyone else? They have *no* chance because it's not related to any skill or bonuses they can aquire. It's in the diliberate 'breaking of the rules' where unique racial feel will come in. An elf with +10 to Stealth while in forest? Not any different than a thief with a potion and a magic item that gives him +10. An elf that can "move and hide in natural surroundings with a 90% chance of success"? *That* feels different. </p><p> </p><p>For a good example of abilities and such that help a race 'feel different', I'd point people to the 2nd edition AD&D setting <em>Birthright</em>. Their elves, dwarves and halflings feel *quite* different from humans.</p><p> </p><p>^_^</p><p> </p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 5761122, member: 45197"] Hiya. I just read through the thread and two or three people *almost* said what I would write...but not quite. The key to making a race feel 'different' would be to break the rules. By trying to "use the core rules" to make a race feel different, all the designer is doing is setting up what we have:[I]Dwarves get +2 to X, and +4 when performing Y[/I]. This will, and does, fail utterly in trying to make a dwarf 'feel' like a dwarf when all some other character has to have is Feat A, Talent B and a stat of C...now they are every bit as "dwarvish" as the dwarf, mechanically speaking. What to do? Break the rules completely. For the dwarf, you end up with (assuming, say, 3e D&D): [I]Dwarves all have a +2 to X (with a minimum of 14), and when performing Y they have a 5-in-6 chance of success[/I]. What this does is remove the Dwarves chance from anybody else having the 'same feel and chance' as a dwarf. A 1st level dwarven fighter has 5-in-6 chance...and 17th level dwarven fighter has a 5-in-6 chance. Everyone else? They have *no* chance because it's not related to any skill or bonuses they can aquire. It's in the diliberate 'breaking of the rules' where unique racial feel will come in. An elf with +10 to Stealth while in forest? Not any different than a thief with a potion and a magic item that gives him +10. An elf that can "move and hide in natural surroundings with a 90% chance of success"? *That* feels different. For a good example of abilities and such that help a race 'feel different', I'd point people to the 2nd edition AD&D setting [i]Birthright[/i]. Their elves, dwarves and halflings feel *quite* different from humans. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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