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

[Olrox17]

What about the curse that only applies to Non Dwarves that wield it?

What about a Moonblade? Requires attuement by an Elf or Half Elf.

Are you saying that if my custom lineage for my Elf PC was 'Born as an Elf to two Noble Elven parents, and raised in Elven society, my Elf forsake training in bow and blade, and instead devoted himself to helping others, and showing empathy and kindness, and healing those less fortunate (C-lineage [Elf], Darkvision,+2 Cha, Healer feat)'' that I wouldn't be able (In your games) to attune to a Moonblade because 'I'm not an Elf' (despite being an Elf)?

If my games allowed the Tasha race variants, no, you wouldn’t be allowed to do that. I would tell you to pick one of the existing elf options and customize them. You’d have your +2 cha, darkvision, and you would still be able to roleplay a healer by taking the heal skill and perhaps herbalism kit proficiency.

If you wanted to make a custom lineage character, it wouldn’t qualify as or just plain be an elf, a dwarf, or any other existing race (especially a human).

 

[Flamestrike]

If my games allowed the Tasha race variants, no, you wouldn’t be allowed to do that. I would tell you to pick one of the existing elf options and customize them. You’d have your +2 cha, darkvision, and you would still be able to roleplay a healer by taking the heal skill and perhaps herbalism kit proficiency.

If you wanted to make a custom lineage character, it wouldn’t qualify as or just plain be an elf, a dwarf, or any other existing race (especially a human).

Glad I dont play your games then.

I'd have no issue with a PC using the Custom lineage feat to create a custom lineage Elf, Dwarf or whatever the heck they wanted.

 

[Olrox17]

Glad I dont play your games then.

I'd have no issue with a PC using the Custom lineage feat to create a custom lineage Elf, Dwarf or whatever the heck they wanted.

Glad I don’t play your games then, as well. “Whatever the heck-ing” things is not a quality I enjoy in a DM.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

@Flamestrike

So you didn't want to choose elf rule package, you wanted to choose custom lineage rule package. Access to elf feats is a part of the elf rule package. This is very simple and has nothing to do with how these things are interpreted in the fluff. Wanting to combine the the most min-maxable race package with possibly powerful limited feats seems rather suspect to me.

Trying to justify your min-maxing by making allegories to real life cultural identity issues is dishonest and disrespectful.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

And I hold the opposite view, the less we normalize powergaming, the better. I just got kicked off of a game because the DM couldn't grasp the idea that someone would choose suboptimal combinations of race/class and choose a suboptimal weapon and actually mean it. If we truly normalize powergaming, then many of us won't get to play anymore. Powergaming is fine and dandy, but not as the default.

What the... I have no words. Really sorry to hear that and it is rather terrible that the gaming culture has come to this.

 

[Flamestrike]

Glad I don’t play your games then, as well. “Whatever the heck-ing” things is not a quality I enjoy in a DM.

Allowing player freedom to create interesting concepts is a negative quality in a DM?

Lol.

 

[Flamestrike]

@Flamestrike

So you didn't want to choose elf rule package, you wanted to choose custom lineage rule package. Access to elf feats is a part of the elf rule package. This is very simple and has nothing to do with how these things are interpreted in the fluff. Wanting to combine the the most min-maxable race package with possibly powerful limited feats seems rather suspect to me.

Trying to justify your min-maxing by making allegories to real life cultural identity issues is dishonest and disrespectful.

I disagree. I have no problem with a custom lineage Elf being an Elf for all game purposes (Feats, magic item attinement, being a V1.0 Bladesinger etc).

I mean, they're an Elf in the game world. The game world reality is that they're an Elf. There is no need for any demarcation (and i honestly think XGTE racial feats are about to get erratad anyway).

Also, it breaks nothing. Most of the push back is from the same people that decried the new race rules as PC rubbish (or likely hold some pretty outdated views on human races in refusing to accept they're social constructs - which this new custom lineage variant clearly accepts as its premise) in any event

Its interesting. I currently play a male half Elf (Drow). My mother is a Drow and my father is a Tehyrian human with a Sun elf grandparent.

Making me Drow, Sun Elf and Human. He rejects being called a 'half' elf (or 'half' drow) seeing those terms as racist.

I created him as (mechanically) a Half Elf (Drow), but I'd probably redo him as a Custom lineage if I had the chance.

 

[Olrox17]

Allowing player freedom to create interesting concepts is a negative quality in a DM?

Lol.

I expect a DM to know what their own campaign is about and to run a tight ship.
Going back to your own example: "Born as an Elf to two Noble Elven parents, and raised in Elven society, my Elf forsake training in bow and blade, and instead devoted himself to helping others, and showing empathy and kindness, and healing those less fortunate".
This concept can be realized by playing an elf straight out of the PHB: assign an high score to cha, refuse to buy and use bows or blades, take heal as a background or class proficiency.

Wanna use tasha's rules to swap +2 dex for a +2 cha and to get rid of the weapon prof to get herbalism kit, alchemy and such? Sure, ok. Character concept achieved.

Wait, you want to use a custom lineage instead because the healer feat is pretty powerful and you want it right now? And you also want your character to be considered an elf because later on you're planning to grab elven accuracy. Get out of here.
I expect DMs to put their foot down on this kind of crap.

 

[Flamestrike]

I expect a DM to know what their own campaign is about and to run a tight ship.
Going back to your own example: "Born as an Elf to two Noble Elven parents, and raised in Elven society, my Elf forsake training in bow and blade, and instead devoted himself to helping others, and showing empathy and kindness, and healing those less fortunate".
This concept can be realized by playing an elf straight out of the PHB: assign an high score to cha, refuse to buy and use bows or blades, take heal as a background or class proficiency.

Wanna use tasha's rules to swap +2 dex for a +2 cha and to get rid of the weapon prof to get herbalism kit, alchemy and such? Sure, ok. Character concept achieved.

Wait, you want to use a custom lineage instead because the healer feat is pretty powerful and you want it right now? And you also want your character to be considered an elf because later on you're planning to grab elven accuracy. Get out of here.
I expect DMs to put their foot down on this kind of crap.

I would put a foot down on players trying to game the system. Just like in a point buy system (GURPS or Hero) that can be gamed by players.

Im not talking about players 'gaming' the system though. Im talking about enabling concepts from 1st level. If a player wants to play a member of a race that differs from the norm (but is still of that race) there is an option here for them to do it, and it breaks absolutely nothing.

This whole handwriting seems to be about a PC gaining Elven accuracy 3 levels earlier than 4th. Which is so far from 'not broken its not funny.

Fighter 1 with elven accuracy, Dex 18 and a rapie or bow (dex +2 clineage and half feat) r compared to Fighter 1 with GWM and Str 16, Con 16 (Vuman and 2 x plus 1s)

How is F1 'broken' compared to F2?

 

[Olrox17]

I would put a foot down on players trying to game the system. Just like in a point buy system (GURPS or Hero) that can be gamed by players.

Im not talking about players 'gaming' the system though. Im talking about enabling concepts from 1st level. If a player wants to play a member of a race that differs from the norm (but is still of that race) there is an option here for them to do it, and it breaks absolutely nothing.

This whole handwriting seems to be about a PC gaining Elven accuracy 3 levels earlier than 4th. Which is so far from 'not broken its not funny.

Fighter 1 with elven accuracy, Dex 18 and a rapie or bow (dex +2 clineage and half feat) r compared to Fighter 1 with GWM and Str 16, Con 16 (Vuman and 2 x plus 1s)

How is F1 'broken' compared to F2?

I don't care to discuss if F1 is just as good as F2, or better, or worse. I don't want to drag the discussion into CharOp territory.

If your slightly unusual elf concept can be achieved with minor or no changes to the PHB elf chassis (as I showed in my previous post), why would you insist on using custom lineages? As the DM, I would start to suspect that you're trying to bend a variant rule, meant to facilitate roleplay and unusual character concepts, for power gaming purposes, and I would start asking questions to better understand your goals and your concept.

I'm not a RAW fanatic, mind. I have shattered the RAW times and again to accomodate fun, interesting character concepts. But I won't bend the rules (or allow the usage of optional variant rules) just to allow somebody to make a "stronger build".