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

[Remathilis]

You just contradicted yourself. For some people more options are good, but if someone is content to play human fighters over and over again it is obviously not a universal good.

Besides, if you take "base races X backgrounds X classes X RP choices" there are more options than a person could play in their lifetime. The avatar you choose is only part of that.

That's your choice.

Some people want to eat vanilla ice cream every day. That shouldn't mean Baskin Robbins should stop selling all the other flavors (or their flavor of the month) because you only need vanilla.

 

[Oofta]

That's your choice.

Some people want to eat vanilla ice cream every day. That shouldn't mean Baskin Robbins should stop selling all the other flavors (or their flavor of the month) because you only need vanilla.

So in other words more choices are not a universal good and people should decide for themselves what makes sense at their table. Huh. I can say that without referring to other people's preferences in derogatory terms. Who knew?

 

[Remathilis]

So in other words more choices are not a universal good and people should decide for themselves what makes sense at their table. Huh. I can say that without referring to other people's preferences in derogatory terms. Who knew?

Nope. What I said is if you like vanilla and I like chocolate, your preference shouldn't forbid me from eating chocolate ice cream in your presence. Your taste shouldn't have any say in what eat. Unless you are the one who bought and paid for it or you have a life- threatening allergy and cannot be in the room with it (neither are applicable to the D&D analogy).

And yes, some DMs take their role as referee to mean they are King and the opinions of their players don't matter. It manifests in a variety of ways: my plot is brilliant and cannot be disrupted, my NPCs are perfect and cannot lose, or my setting is perfect and cannot be changed to accommodate any requests from my players to add to it.

I've played with those DMs. I've BEEN that DM. I'd like to thing I'm far more open to compromise now.

 

[Oofta]

Nope. What I said is if you like vanilla and I like chocolate, your preference shouldn't forbid me from eating chocolate ice cream in your presence. Your taste shouldn't have any say in what eat. Unless you are the one who bought and paid for it or you have a life- threatening allergy and cannot be in the room with it (neither are applicable to the D&D analogy).

And yes, some DMs take their role as referee to mean they are King and the opinions of their players don't matter. It manifests in a variety of ways: my plot is brilliant and cannot be disrupted, my NPCs are perfect and cannot lose, or my setting is perfect and cannot be changed to accommodate any requests from my players to add to it.

I've played with those DMs. I've BEEN that DM. I'd like to thing I'm far more open to compromise now.

So a DM has to allow anything because you want everything?

If I open a sushi bar and you don't like sushi, eat somewhere else. The people who do like sushi will be happy and I can't please everyone. If I want a good fast food cheeseburger and a malt I go to Culvers. If I want a steak I go to a steakhouse. If someone doesn't want a curated game, they don't join my game. Yet I've never had an issue attracting or retaining players.

No matter how often you insist on associating DMs that have curated worlds with bad DMs it doesn't make the connection true. I've had horrible DMs that had open worlds and fantastic DMs that had curated worlds. There is no correlation.

 

[billd91]

Not really. I hate carrots, which go into many stews. Those are going to be bad options for me. I'm also allergic to poultry, so if chicken or turkey show up, I'm out.

That’s my point. Playing in an RPG is more like making a casserole than sitting at the table eating separate entrees or desserts. Everything affects everything else. It’s a dish consumed together.

 

[Remathilis]

So a DM has to allow anything because you want everything?

Sigh...

It's not an entitlement, it's negotiation. We, as reasonable adults, are committing to an activity. You are putting limits on my options for enjoyment. I counter that if you wish to have X (x being the removal of an option I want) than you should compromise and allow me Y (where Y is allowing an option I do want). We can go back and forth until we reach a value for X and Y we both agree with. However, if you wish to remove X and not allow Y for a compromise, you have stopped treating me as a reasonable adult and have assumed a superior position over all other players, creating an imbalance. You become dictator rather than a first among equals.

I cannot for the life of me understand why so many DMs opt for autocratic rule over their groups over compromise and negotiation...

I mean, walking away from the table IS a legit negotiation tactic, as long as you have players to spare and I can find another game to play, but the fact that compromise is viewed as capitulation is a concern. (It also explains a lot of modern political theory, but that is a discussion for another forum).

 

[prabe]

I mean, walking away from the table IS a legit negotiation tactic, as long as you have players to spare and I can find another game to play, but the fact that compromise is viewed as capitulation is a concern. (It also explains a lot of modern political theory, but that is a discussion for another forum).

Even people who are very much willing to compromise may have lines they're not willing to cross.
Maybe when a player doesn't match well with a table/DM, it'd be easier if people thought of it more like an audition for a band that didn't work out, rather than a personal insult (in one direction or another.

 

[Maxperson]

That’s my point. Playing in an RPG is more like making a casserole than sitting at the table eating separate entrees or desserts. Everything affects everything else. It’s a dish consumed together.

It's also my point. If something is bad for someone, it should be gotten rid of. Options are good or bad depending on the individual perspective of the person. That holds true whether you are bring separate dishes(sushi vs. spaghetti) or shared ingredients for a stew (carrots vs. chicken).

 

[Maxperson]

But it brings us right back to the thing many of us simply don't understand.

How can you dislike something so much, that even having it as an option someone might take, is unacceptable? In a game where you can fight Demons weilding flaming swords or fungus men wielding laser guns or any number of other strange options, why are there things being banned just because they aren't liked? How can you dislike an idea that much?

Because of how much I like Dragons. They are very rare, powerful and majestic creatures. They are the iconic creature in D&D and one of, if not my favorite creature in the game. To see their blood reduced in majesty and power that badly and made relatively common in the form of Dragonborn, greatly reduces that for me.

 

[Oofta]

Sigh...
I mean, walking away from the table IS a legit negotiation tactic, as long as you have players to spare and I can find another game to play, but the fact that compromise is viewed as capitulation is a concern. (It also explains a lot of modern political theory, but that is a discussion for another forum).

Well, since "compromise" to you seems to be "allow whatever the player wants" I'm guilty. On the other hand my campaigns are very open, the players get to choose direction, what they do and how they do it is completely up to them. I build stories around my PCs taking into consideration their motivations, what their goals are, what the players enjoy.

But no, I won't let someone talk me into a half-dragon half-vampire*. I'll never again allow a seven foot tall albino elf (at the time, elves were limited to 5'6") that frightens everyone when they walk into the room just because they say so. I will continue to set a world stage and include options that make sense to me.

I'm very open about what kind of campaign I run. It's not like I advertise a sushi bar and then only serve burgers. No matter how you try to spin the insult, I'm not going to allow evil PCs, you have to come from an established region of my world and yes, you have to belong to one of the following races. Pretty much everything else is open.

Want to run a kitchen sink campaign? Go for it. Just stop accusing people of being dictators because they don't.

*With a scarf that blows in the non-existent wind.