Pvt. Winslow
Explorer
Could you elaborate more on what you mean here? Do you have some sort of system in place that helps you determine how NPC's react to characters as they meet them?
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D&D 5E Humans!?
- Thread starter Herr der Qual
- Start date
Could you elaborate more on what you mean here? Do you have some sort of system in place that helps you determine how NPC's react to characters as they meet them?
I go with whatever is best for the character or party teamwork build.
Done the whole team has darkvision thing before, because having light sources in dungeon crawls mostly just announces your presence just as much as ringing a gong would.
Currently playing two characters one human and this was chosen purely for the bonus feat at level 1, and the other half-elf bard who I envisioned as a high elf but half elf gave better racial bonuses that much up with character build.
In the games I run we have one party that is all human except for a half-elf(fluff wise he is half-elf/half-gnome) and this was chosen for roleplay reasons, the other members are all human and I assume that was to get the bonus feat but I might be projecting my min/max tendencies on my players. The other game is a mix of everything, there are six players and I don't think anyone is the same race as another person, wait there are two dwarves.
Done the whole team has darkvision thing before, because having light sources in dungeon crawls mostly just announces your presence just as much as ringing a gong would.
Currently playing two characters one human and this was chosen purely for the bonus feat at level 1, and the other half-elf bard who I envisioned as a high elf but half elf gave better racial bonuses that much up with character build.
In the games I run we have one party that is all human except for a half-elf(fluff wise he is half-elf/half-gnome) and this was chosen for roleplay reasons, the other members are all human and I assume that was to get the bonus feat but I might be projecting my min/max tendencies on my players. The other game is a mix of everything, there are six players and I don't think anyone is the same race as another person, wait there are two dwarves.
You got it. For us it's all about scouting and surprise. Surprise is huge in this edition mechanically, and especially at the early levels knowledge is survivability.
I couldn't imagine doing the start of HoTDQ for example without being able to move around in complete darkness.
The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
Humanity has such rich variety that, culturally, ones choice of a human PC enables you to play any variation - human fighter could be an honourable samurai, a rapacious Viking, a proud Zulu, a nobly spiritual Apache, a devout Knight..and so on. Where the Demi-humans come in is to identify a personal trait to the race as a whole and thus give you a clue as to the type of person you want to be in-game. Which is a handy starting point.
Personally, I'm tall and quite grumpy in real life, so I like to play Gnomes.
I've never played an Elf as I grew up on the books rather than the films so for me Samwise was more relatable than Legolas. Those who've grown up film first would probably be the opposite way inclined.
I want to be the hero, so playing a freak like a half-orc or Dragonborn (or especially a Tiefling) leaves me cold - it's all very well being the brooding, moody teenager, erm I mean ranger, but ultimately Aragorn becomes king - part of the establishment. And at the heart of most fantasy is the notion of acceptance (becoming king, or husband, or hero), or of vindication (which amounts to the same thing, only with two fingers attached) - and with that comes the concept of wanting "in" rather than choosing to remain outside of society.
Other posters have commented on the nature of dwarves and Halflings as being essentially human with lower roofs - semi-human rather than Demi-human, if you like. I've played one dwarf and one half-elf, with their defining characteristics being that they were, respectively, Chaotic Neutral and female. Both departures, but neither terribly racial - at heart, I played them as human.
Everyone else has been either a human or a gnome. And in 5e the feat variant humans are pretty sweet.
But, each to their own - as someone once said, we should strive not for the homogeneity of the melting pot, but the collaborative individuality of the salad bowl.
Gnomes are cool, though, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise #groinheadbutt #yourkneecapsaremine
Personally, I'm tall and quite grumpy in real life, so I like to play Gnomes.
I've never played an Elf as I grew up on the books rather than the films so for me Samwise was more relatable than Legolas. Those who've grown up film first would probably be the opposite way inclined.
I want to be the hero, so playing a freak like a half-orc or Dragonborn (or especially a Tiefling) leaves me cold - it's all very well being the brooding, moody teenager, erm I mean ranger, but ultimately Aragorn becomes king - part of the establishment. And at the heart of most fantasy is the notion of acceptance (becoming king, or husband, or hero), or of vindication (which amounts to the same thing, only with two fingers attached) - and with that comes the concept of wanting "in" rather than choosing to remain outside of society.
Other posters have commented on the nature of dwarves and Halflings as being essentially human with lower roofs - semi-human rather than Demi-human, if you like. I've played one dwarf and one half-elf, with their defining characteristics being that they were, respectively, Chaotic Neutral and female. Both departures, but neither terribly racial - at heart, I played them as human.
Everyone else has been either a human or a gnome. And in 5e the feat variant humans are pretty sweet.
But, each to their own - as someone once said, we should strive not for the homogeneity of the melting pot, but the collaborative individuality of the salad bowl.
Gnomes are cool, though, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise #groinheadbutt #yourkneecapsaremine
Hriston
Dungeon Master of Middle-earth (He/him)
Yes. I've adapted the old AD&D loyalty modifiers for use with 5e. I've been planning on posting the results in the home brew forum. One of the things they're good for is reaction checks to establish if an NPC/monster is hostile, indifferent, or friendly in the first place. Without getting into too much detail, it's a Charisma check modified by a number of factors including the race and alignment of the PC who is speaking as we'll as his/her "associates." Racial hatred gives a penalty of -2, preference give +2. It's pretty much straight out of the 1e DMG.
iserith
Magic Wordsmith
I just had my human fighter kick everything's ass in Greenest, including the blue dragon who I crit with a ballista bolt.
(Though I did have trouble fighting Cyranwrath who double-crit me in the first round and knocked me the flumph out.)
The Grassy Gnoll
Explorer
Yes! Team Gnome! #lowfive
Fair enough.
Speaking of flumphs, one of our games is also in the underdark, so having a light source down there is like diving into a pool or piranhas with a big splash. My players also avoid thunder spells / smites like the plague for the same reason.
Celebrim
Legend
I tend to prefer humans as it's easiest to develop emotional complexity with them. I find it very difficult to think in an alien mode consistently, and in particular its almost impossible to do that and imagine the range of modes of behavior than an alien species might have. There is a strong tendency to characterize entire alien races by single individuals and never be able to imagine any nuance to them. Still, I don't mind going alien when I think I have a strong idea for a character.
However, I don't really empathize much with the idea that in playing a human you are taking a step down in mythic power compared to the alternatives. Humanity wrote the myths. They pretty much always write the human into the central heroic role. It's pretty rare for a major protagonist to be anything less than half human prior to say Tolkien (books) or Star Wars (movies). Before that the only non-human protagonists I can think of are in animal stories - Aesop, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, etc. - or a few fairy tales (assorted sentient food items, sausages, pancakes, ginger men, etc.). And I guess on top of that, I really don't game to have phenomenal cosmic power, especially if it comes with itty bitty conceptual space. I like character exploration as much as anything, in part because as someone that is typically the DM, phenomenal cosmic power holds no special attraction to me. That's the normal situation. I don't need to get that trip on the other side of the screen.
However, I don't really empathize much with the idea that in playing a human you are taking a step down in mythic power compared to the alternatives. Humanity wrote the myths. They pretty much always write the human into the central heroic role. It's pretty rare for a major protagonist to be anything less than half human prior to say Tolkien (books) or Star Wars (movies). Before that the only non-human protagonists I can think of are in animal stories - Aesop, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, etc. - or a few fairy tales (assorted sentient food items, sausages, pancakes, ginger men, etc.). And I guess on top of that, I really don't game to have phenomenal cosmic power, especially if it comes with itty bitty conceptual space. I like character exploration as much as anything, in part because as someone that is typically the DM, phenomenal cosmic power holds no special attraction to me. That's the normal situation. I don't need to get that trip on the other side of the screen.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
I still want to run an all gnome adventure under the floorboards of a major city
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