D&D 5E Everyone Should Play Custom Lineage by Default

[Dausuul]

If you don’t want a wildly different system, mutants and masterminds can be used for sword and sorcery games too. And it is a system with no classes and very balanced as far as rpg’s go. Although there are loopholes that are very very easy to fix. Much easier than what is trying to be fixed in 5E with this thread.

What do you mean, "trying to be fixed?" OP is proposing using literally the rules as written.

 

[squibbles]

What about if a character wants to play a Lizardfolk? There's no natural armor feats, or natural weapon feats. Or a Thri-Kreen? There's no feats that give extra arms. Dragonborn have a breath weapon and damage resistance, there's no feats that would emulate that.

Just pointing out while it may appear that this could work on the surface level, this does not work for every race in 5e, not even all of the ones in the PHB.

If it works for you, great. I wouldn't want it because I don't really see the point. If someone is happy playing a standard lightfoot halfling named Odorf why shouldn't I let them.

A custom lineage aarakroca can't fly. A custom lineage triton will drown because it can't breathe water. A custom lineage goliath suffers altitude sickness. A custom lineage warforged has to eat, drink, breathe and sleep. Need I go on?

I'm not suggesting that players should only play custom lineage. I'm suggesting that encouraging them to play custom lineage by default would have some cool advantages. If a player strongly prefers to play a lizardfolk with natural armor, a standard lightfoot halfling, or a cold+heights acclimated goliath that would be 100% cool--doubly so if aarakocra flight or triton underwater breathing is core to the character.

Syndrome: "...and when everybody is a Super? ... ... No one will be!"

Exactly!!! That's what makes the--otherwise very strong--custom lineage work as a player option.

World building.... I'm a DM. I'm have no restrictions.

You're totally right with or without the convention I'm suggesting. My idea is about setting expectations, such that nobody--player or DM--comes to a game with assumptions that the elves or dwarves should be such and such way as an artifact of the PHB rules. No option is taken away for there to be completely conventional elves or dwarves. Rather, it is a convention meant to facilitate "yes, and" as the default DM and player reaction to one another's ideas.

CUSTOM LINEAGES DON'T GET ACCESS TO RACIAL FEATS BECAUSE THEY AREN'T MECHANICALLY THAT RACE

You're not an elf. You're a custom lineage that LOOKS like an elf. You don't get access to elven accuracy any more than a changeling who morphs into an elf does.

Well done! I was wondering if someone would remark on that. It is not permitted, rules as written or intended. I don't think it particularly matters, though, to mix optional rules and house rules in an unofficial game setting.

 

[Azzy]

Personally, no. I enjoy the idea of creating custom lineages/races as an optional rule, I just feel the actual implementation is far too limited to fulfill the purpose you suggest. I wish it had been more extensive.

 

[Azzy]

CUSTOM LINEAGES DON'T GET ACCESS TO RACIAL FEATS BECAUSE THEY AREN'T MECHANICALLY THAT RACE

If the DM is wanting to use them as the OP proposes, then the DM can also rule that they count as the desired race for the purpose of feats and what not.

I do find these rules completely underwhelming and not a good choice for emulating existing races. There definitely an opening for someone to do this right on DM's Guild, though.

 

[Mecheon]

I do find these rules completely underwhelming and not a good choice for emulating existing races. There definitely an opening for someone to do this right on DM's Guild, though.

There's a few options down this path, though one of the biggest ones is on just DriveThroughRPG and not DMs Guild itself for whatever reason.

Mind, these pre-data Tasha's

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think a good system could be built on that framework, but there is not the support for it now in current 5e materials. Namely there are not really sufficient feats to choose from to keep custom lineage races from feeling too samey too quickly if everyone plays them all the time.

I also think custom lineage is better as something players can discover when they work their way up to being a player who owns multiple character option books rather than as something to overwhelm new players with.

 

[DEFCON 1]

There is never any reason why an individual DM needs to worry about anything that's "default". There is no "default"... there's only what the DM is choosing to use in their game.

 

[Blue Orange]

One day, I hope, WotC designers would get that fiction-first approach works better in TTRPGs and we would have just aspects, instead of any specific rules on races and all the other naughty word.

I think FATE does that, no?

 

[loverdrive]

I think FATE does that, no?

Yes, it does. It kinda shoots itself in the leg with trying to be truly universal, but aspects work briliantly anyway.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not D&D, but Adventurer, Conqueror, King's players' companion had an interesting set of rules for constructing classes and 'races' from the ground up, with XP balancing for each extra feature. You could try adapting that.

I love that system! Every aspect of the game is designed that way.