D&D 5E What is the appeal of the weird fantasy races?

[Minigiant]

My experience is quite different. I’ve played in a game with a Tabaxi who was obsessed with trying to eat my character, who was technically a changeling but was imitating a Kenku at the time. He would get distracted by small, fast-moving objects or animals. He was aloof.

My tabaxi had a pounce die check and a hairball meter. And used Cat alignment.

His alignment was AJ: Aristocratic Jerk.

 

[prabe]

My point is why allow a race but not fully incorporate it into your world as the other races.

What I am seeing is DMs allowing a race into their setting to be "nice" then being "upset" that the race has no history, connections, and effects on the setting which ruins the tone. A whole nation of walking talking elephants should have an effect on the setting. Even in the distant places that still have regular communication to the outside would.

But I am a born and raised New Yorker. Strange things bother me a lot less.

I can see it. I have a list of the "default yes" peoples on the world my campaigns are set on--they're peoples that I have a history for, and I've worked out how and where they fit in. There are some peoples not on that list that I could be talked into allowing as a PC, but not into writing the peoples into the world; since the planar boundaries of the world are porous, I can be persuaded to have them come from elsewhere, but I probably need to know and trust the player to handle playing such an out-of-place character as a character, and not to be trying to choose for maximum build efficiency.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

My point is why allow a race but not fully incorporate it into your world as the other races.

What I am seeing is DMs allowing a race into their setting to be "nice" then being "upset" that the race has no history, connections, and effects on the setting which ruins the tone. A whole nation of walking talking elephants should have an effect on the setting. Even in the distant places that still have regular communication to the outside would.

Yep. Either do it properly or not at all. And just because the game uses D&D as the rule system the players shouldn't automatically assume that everything that has rules in some D&D book will exist in the setting.

 

[DND_Reborn]

My point is why allow a race but not fully incorporate it into your world as the other races.

What I am seeing is DMs allowing a race into their setting to be "nice" then being "upset" that the race has no history, connections, and effects on the setting which ruins the tone. A whole nation of walking talking elephants should have an effect on the setting. Even in the distant places that still have regular communication to the outside would.

But I am a born and raised New Yorker. Strange things bother me a lot less.

My counter-question would be why does every race have to be fully incorporated into a world? Many creatures in our world only exist in very specific regions.

My next counter-question is why assume every part of the world has any contact or knowledge of the rest of the world? In our "monk game", I outlined before there is an animal kingdom-continent which is widely known off, but far removed. Animalistic races are assumed to come from there, so are unusual but not completely strange in most areas. So while distant places might have communication to the outside world in your game, it isn't in mine. I run more medieval games where many people never travel more than a day from where they were born and raised.

Oh, and I am born and raised in New York as well, so I don't see that has much to do with it. I've lived in the south east (Georgia) and the south west (Arizona) as well, plus spent nearly two years living in Europe (Ukraine). Strange things have nothing to do with how I see things.

 

[Minigiant]

My counter-question would be why does every race have to be fully incorporated into a world? Many creatures in our world only exist in very specific regions.

My counter-counter question is how did the creature of a not incorporated race get to where the adventure is?

My next counter-question is why assume every part of the world has any contact or knowledge of the rest of the world?

My counter-counter question is why a being from a nation with no contact or knowledge to this on is allowed to walk around unescorted in a late medieval setting?

Why is the only tigerman on the continent able to just walk around slaying villians?

 

[Mallus]

My counter-counter question is how did the creature of a not incorporated race get to where the adventure is?

Maybe they're a traveler from an antique land?

(who head a rumor about two vast and trunkless legs of stone and planned to steal them?)

 

[BookTenTiger]

My counter-counter question is why a being from a nation with no contact or knowledge to this on is allowed to walk around unescorted in a late medieval setting?

Why is the only tigerman on the continent able to just walk around slaying villians?

I think it's interesting that a lot of people are conflating race and culture here. The "weird races" are only weird if they are part of a different culture, and nothing but the DM is forcing that.

If the elephant-man wears the same clothes as folks on the Sword Coast, worships the same gods, and pays taxes to the same king, then that solves half your problems right there.

 

[DND_Reborn]

My counter-counter question is how did the creature of a not incorporated race get to where the adventure is?

That is why we have to establish their backstory--how did they get there? It usually isn't hard, but explains their presence.

My counter-counter question is why a being from a nation with no contact or knowledge to this on is allowed to walk around unescorted in a late medieval setting?

Who says that individual doesn't? Remember, PCs are supposed to be unique among their kind, and often their stories explain why. Maybe the PC was captured (and escaped) or became lost, maybe it was some magical vortex or strange natural phenomenon?

So, my "counter-counter-counter question" to you is why aren't they allowed if their story supports it?

Why is the only tigerman on the continent able to just walk around slaying villians?

Maybe he hides his appearance like drow, etc. often do. Maybe when the PCs go into the town, he stays outside in the wilderness watching their camp site? Who says he just walks around? OR like I said with my setting, because the idea of the animal-nation is known, maybe he is able to "just walk around" but people treat him with awe, suspicion, or something else. Maybe the town guard has him trailed to make sure he isn't up to something, or maybe the mayor invites him to dine with the town council to meet such a unique individual and learn about his culture?

My point is there are all sorts of way to make this work--without needing every race to be even remotely established in every setting.

I think I've made my point, whether you can appreciate it or not. Others have offered good explanations as well, so I'm done discussing it with you. Have a pleasant Thanksgiving and stay safe.

 

[Minigiant]

That is why we have to establish their backstory--how did they get there? It usually isn't hard, but explains their presence.

Well everyone should have a backstory (or no one should).

My point is that if a PC doesn't fit your world or lacks a place in it, that's 100% on you as a DM. It has nothing to do with the exotic nature of the race. The DM is in charge of running the world.

 

[tetrasodium]

A lot of people are talking about how monstrous races can be disruptive while the rubber forehead alien ones like elves & dwarves are traditional so somehow exempt. I run my campaigns with a very eberron-like Elves, preferably with heavy emphasis on the klingony warrior culture type stuff so FR elves & fr style "everyone knows dwarves make the best craftspeople"(no, everyone knows that's probably cannith depending on the thing) dwarves are massively disruptive to my game that sends newer players rushing down a disruptive path.