So that's why you like it
- Thread starter Rechan
- Start date
Well, for some it's the power-gaming aspect, but for others, it's the appeal of the exotic. Same reason some folks get custom cars.
cignus_pfaccari
First Post
Exactly.
Probably the most fun of my 3.5 characters was my half-dragon anthropomorphic tyrannosaur monk in an epic game. Oh, lord, he was fun, between dialogue ("Me Tolthrak SMASH!") and imagining him using his flurry of blows with his tail, and the DM leaning over to another player and saying, in a loud whisper, "Should I tell him it's dead?" as I continued to roll damage dice.
Brad
Crothian
First Post
For me it is because there are some concepts I can't play using standard races. I had an Ooze Gensai Oozemaster with the Ooze Domain character, and it would not have been the same if he was any other race.
Barastrondo
First Post
Part of it is pure aesthetics. You can try to explain the meaning of "gentlemen prefer blondes" for 10,000 words, but ultimately some guys are more attracted to blonde women and some aren't.
Part of it, too, is that race communicates something. Dragons and their ilk are associated with power; it's a giant flashing icon in a lot of cultures; "slaying the dragon" is something everyone understands, while "slaying the mind flayer' is a pretty obscure reference in the larger scheme of things. Playing the dragon is a shortcut to experiencing that power, to associating it with your character. Similarly, drow tend to get associated with exoticism, danger, and a certain "misbehavior" appeal.
And no small part of it is that "standard races" is a phrase that doesn't mean the same thing to every gamer. If someone started with D&D 4e, never having played any other version, they have no reason to believe that gnomes are "more standard" than tieflings, or that they should be. Without the years of positive experiences using a more limited palette of races, each race is something that stands on its own to be evaluated. There is no question of "is it part of traditional group A that I have always liked, or part of new group B that I find less familiar?" There is only the question of "Does this particular race have something that appeals to me?"
In older games, the desire to play a "monster" often stemmed from the expectation -- well founded in the case, e.g., of a 1E Unearthed Arcana Drow or Deep Gnome -- that unfair advantage would accrue.
In 4E, the "official" options (which include Dragonborn in the PHB and Drow in the Forgotten Realms supplement) seem pretty well balanced. Many people just happen to find those roles fun; the "look and feel" appeals to them.
In 4E, the "official" options (which include Dragonborn in the PHB and Drow in the Forgotten Realms supplement) seem pretty well balanced. Many people just happen to find those roles fun; the "look and feel" appeals to them.
"We eat what we like!"
As said, sometimes it's the exotic appeal. A LOT of the non-standards appeal to me for different reasons. I still want to play a tiefling paladin in 3.X because I loved tieflings(and aasimar) in Planescape and I never got a chance to play that character in 2E.
And I still want to play an asherati because they look cool, I like desert adventures, I enjoy weird weaknesses sometimes(in this case "don't get wet") and they fold easily into my Egyptophilia.
Hell, if I could get away with an aristocratic gorilla, I'd go for it. Unfortunately I'm only allowed to play him in Spirit of the Century.
For me, its about trying something new. I've been playing D&D for 30+ years (and I've tried a host of other games as well)- after a certain point, choosing Dwarf/Elf/Halfling/Gnome/Half-Orc/Half-Elf/Human is like being served one of 7 different brands of vanilla.
Don't get me wrong, I love vanilla. I just want some other flavors sometimes.
Besides, as others have stated, some PC concepts just fit better with other races.
As I found out- as did R. Salvatore (some years later)- playing a refined, intelligent (distrusted and reviled) outcast was easier with a drow than with a standard race (which almost begged to be played with the Barbarian class).
If nothing else, the DM commentary is 9 kinds of cool!
The longer you play, the more gear you accumulate.
As PCs advance, I'd be surprised if their stat bonuses aren't exceeded by their bonuses from their class, spells and equipment.
Corinth
First Post
Sticking to playing the most recent edition of D&D (or now, either 3.5 or 4.0) in a generic, vanilla setting ensures that you maximize your chances of finding players and actually playing the game. The more you deviate from that baseline, the harder you're making it to actually play the game. This is because opting for playing the most-recent D&D strictly by the RAW using a bog-standard setting is something anyone can do cold (no prior knowledge) and stupid (no preparation).
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