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

[Crit]

it’s great that you are “considering how constructive their interaction with the players are.”
But you obviously don’t understand what people have told you. Whether it’s as simple as rules about evil PCs, or home brew, or in the most recent example, this statement-

“In a session 0, this is when the world and the PCs get made. The world building hasn't happened yet, so in theory this is when the Players should have leverage to either accept restrictions or have the world accommodate their race choices.”

Again, have you not noticed that many homebrew campaign settings are not just some ad hoc thing created extemporaneously after session 0 - that it is created well ahead of time?

I’m not even going to comment on the use of the word leverage. I can’t imagine being at that table.

I'm multitasking, so I probably botched a sentence with two thoughts or something. Either way, some words are valuable when they're viable. If players are going to play in the world, should they all not be able to talk with the DM about the experience they want to have? If the DM is going to do something your group wouldn't like, wouldn't you take advantage of an organic opportunity to solve it?

I understand the Evil PC things, and what I said makes sense. I assume you'd ban Evil as an alignment because of what choices it leads to. What if a player outside of that alignment makes similar choices? Then ban those kinds of choices. If player X wants to play a harmless Saturday cartoon villain using the Evil alignment, I think that checks out. The reason banning behavior is, I think, necessary, is that it could lead to a much more severe loss of fun for the whole group, at the cost of one player wanting one scene choice.

We haven't agreed on the situation we're talking about, so I wasn't defaulting to that. If the group changes over time, then it's worth making some restriction changes. New groups form too, new campaigns start, so I'm also talking about the world outside of home-brew.

 

[Crit]

I see it with the Warforged (they're robots/golems and I like them), and I can kinda see it for Yuan Ti as generic "snake people" if you squint hard enough, but my main issue with a lot of the races is that they are too unique to D&D or when adapted to D&D they were given too much of a spin. Good for IP, bad for immediate playability.

I can see that.

 

[Maxperson]

We could play the quotation game all day, but this is misinterpreting. If Orcs exist in setting, why would they not be able to be played? That's the question. We have a right to ask a question about a strange decision.

Not everything is meant to be played. There are lots of monsters that most DMs would say no to. Orcs may or may not make that cut, but that's an individual DM call.

 

[Mecheon]

Cat warriors sounds insane and potentially amazing. With that said, things like that should be decided by an agreement by player and DM. It would be kind of messed up if a DM showed up with a restricted world without notice.

There's been entire TV shows based on it and uh, that one time Lego had "Lion people and their allies the gorillas and eagles fighting the wolves, crocodiles and ravens". Which ended up with frozen necromancy mammoths as an enemy at the end of it. That was. A series

but man, I hear 'cat warriors' and I can't help but think of that one MBMBAM part where they found out Warrior Cats (The book series that a... Surprisingly large number of people made guilds of in Warcraft for some reason?) existed and were just confused. Still hilarious, with or without context

 

[Scott Christian]

Definitely not. Being willing to add things to the setting in way precludes having written a great deal about the setting.

“Concrete” is a mindset, not an amount of work put in.

Concrete is the analogy I used, not the playstyle.

And no one said they do not add things to their world. Many do it all the time. "Hey, there is an unnamed island way off the coast. It is an adventure to get there." The PC's get there. There are gnomes! But they don't exist in the world. Well, now they do. Fantasy worlds expand as years go by. I think this is common sense. You are implying they don't. They do. It is a new layer of concrete.

(Hint: That doesn't mean the gnome wouldn't be looked at as an alien by many if brought back to the mainland. At least for awhile.)

But if a DM has written a ton on their setting, and can just add it because a player wanted, good for them. I don't know many authors of fantasy books that could do that. I don't know many movies of fantasy worlds that could do that. I don't know of many fantasy video game worlds that could do that. But, if they can, good for them.

 

[Maxperson]

There's been entire TV shows based on it and uh, that one time Lego had "Lion people and their allies the gorillas and eagles fighting the wolves, crocodiles and ravens". Which ended up with frozen necromancy mammoths as an enemy at the end of it. That was. A series

but man, I hear 'cat warriors' and I can't help but think of that one MBMBAM part where they found out Warrior Cats (The book series that a... Surprisingly large number of people made guilds of in Warcraft for some reason?) existed and were just confused. Still hilarious, with or without context

Dude! Thundercats! Ho!

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

But if a DM has written a ton on their setting, and can just add it because a player wanted, good for them. I don't know many authors of fantasy books that could do that. I don't know many movies of fantasy worlds that could do that. I don't know of many fantasy video game worlds that could do that. But, if they can, good for them.

Sure! Creating stuff is easy. People do it all the time on demand.

Just look at, uh, George R. R. Martin. People are demanding pages. So he has pages.

He, uh, has pages, right?

 

[Oofta]

All these comments of "wrong" and "the players deserve" ... sheesh.

There is no one true way. I don't have an issue with campaigns that allow all races. I've enjoyed playing warforged, gnolls, dragonborn.

That doesn't mean those races make sense in my campaign. My world has regions, history, kingdoms that have fallen while others have risen from the ashes, led by a former PC. It has depth that my players have added to over the years.

If someone else allows every race in the book or creates a new collaborative setting every campaign, more power to them.

I will never tell someone they're running their campaign wrong, or that somehow my personal preference and style is "better". Find your own style, just remember that you can't please everyone.

 

[Mecheon]

Dude! Thundercats! Ho!

There was a Thundercats revival around this time, and I seem to recall there being some noise about them possibly threatening to sue Lego over Chima

It never went over and Chima just died a natural death of 'Not being as popular as Ninjago', as with each and every other attempt of Lego to make a series on that wavelength again

(bring back Slizers and Bionicle, Lego. I already have the homebrew that adds reflavoured Warforged as Toa. Give me more)

 

[Shardstone]

I know you’re joking, but I’d totally play in that.

I will always play with a DM that is invested. That makes some choices. That’s cares. The worst games I’ve ever had is when the DM just runs everything by the book, with no thought or creativity or effort.

Wasn't joking. Am starting the campaign tomorrow!