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

[Zardnaar]

Yes to this. No other player should be telling another player how they must play their character in general or how they must slot their stats specifically. If someone starts with a 14 instead of a 16 in their primary stat, is the +1 ability modifier difference really going to ruin the campaign? If so, sounds like there's bigger issues at hand for that table.

I've had players deliberately put a 12 in their prime attributes which lead to a TPK.

I don't care if you get yourself killed,I do care if you get others killed.

Mearls also said that was the assumption vs powergamers wanting a 20.

If you build a crap PC you're effectively trolling the rest of the party.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

How does one player even know what the scores are for another PC?

I could have a Fighter with STR and DEX 10, and just tell the DM, "I missed. I missed again." etc. No one else needs to know what my PCs stats are.

Plenty of ways. Often, character creation happens at Session 0 when all players are present - anyone paying attention will know what's going on with their fellow adventurers. On Roll20, character sheets are very often visible to the entire party. Rolling dice on Roll20 shows your applicable ability modifiers so anyone can figure out the stats involved. One of our groups posts their character sheets to our Discord server so anyone can see them. IRL, if you sit next to someone, you are going to see their character sheet.

Knowing a bit about the character sheets of your fellow players helps you roleplay with them and helps you as a player be better able to shine the spotlight on others. Then again, players I game with aren't criticizing other players' character choices, so it's a boon and not a bane to game play at our table.

 

[FrozenNorth]

So an elf by default has +2 dex, age, alignment, M size, 30 ft speed, darkvision, keen senses, trance, fey ancestry, two languages, and a subrace. Subraces can change your speed. Tasha says we can swap the ASI's for any ones we want. Alignment as a racial trait is going the way of the dodo (see the goliath reprint in IWD). Languages and proficiencies are swappable. Then, Custom lineage-as-race comes in and says: you can pick size S or M. You can select a skill instead of darkvision, and trade trance, fey ancestry and your subrace for a feat.

Well, all of those are optional rules, and what is more, they are different optional rules. I can absolutely see a DM being OK with switching languages and tool proficiencies (ie what would be traditionally “cultural”), but not skills, or attributes, and not allow custom lineages.

I could also see a DM allowing switching for occasional characters (like if a player had a character they couldn’t get to “work” otherwise), but not allowing it as a matter of course.

So, I think proclaiming the death of race is premature.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Plenty of ways. Often, character creation happens at Session 0 when all players are present - anyone paying attention will know what's going on with their fellow adventurers. On Roll20, character sheets are very often visible to the entire party. Rolling dice on Roll20 shows your applicable ability modifiers so anyone can figure out the stats involved. One of our groups posts their character sheets to our Discord server so anyone can see them. IRL, if you sit next to someone, you are going to see their character sheet.

Knowing a bit about the character sheets of your fellow players helps you roleplay with them and helps you as a player be better able to shine the spotlight on others. Then again, players I game with aren't criticizing other players' character choices, so it's a boon and not a bane to game play at our table.

Sorry, I should have been more blunt: it's none of their business what my PC's scores are.

 

[Mistwell]

The mechanics let me say it is an Elf though.

Mechanically I am allowed to say my lineage is descended from Elven parents, and I resemble an Elf (the rest of my kin).

Unless we're saying 'Glorifindel, the 5'8" fair haired and pointy eared person born to elves, raised by Dwarves and who resembles an Elf' is not, in fact, an Elf.

Which to me, seems like a rather inane, pointless and artificial line to draw.

The mechanics don't dictate what you can "say" at all. You can "say" it's a giant man-wasp descended from beavers if you want.

But the mechanics LIST IT as "Custom Lineage". That is the name of that race in the mechanics.

And I will repeat the challenge because you ignored it earlier: If you are a wizard, who chooses a preacher background, and who picks up medium armor proficiency and proficiency with a mace, and you walk around in a breast plate with a holy symbol emblazoned on it and you hit things with your mace and you choose cleric-like spells and you SAY you're a cleric, CAN YOU TAKE A FEAT WITH SAYS "PRE-REQUISITE: CLERIC"? CAN YOU ATTUNE A MAGIC ITEM WHICH SAYS "ATTUNEMENT BY CLERIC ONLY"?

No. You cannot. Because how you describe the character is not what dictates the mechanics. What dictates the mechanics is whether or not mechanically you chose at least one level of Cleric for your class levels.

So no. No racial feats for you, no matter how well you describe your background.

No soup for you either!

 

[Flamestrike]

The mechanics don't dictate what you can "say" at all. You can "say" it's a giant man-wasp descended from beavers if you want.

But the mechanics LIST IT as "Custom Lineage". That is the name of that race in the mechanics.

And I will repeat the challenge because you ignored it earlier: If you are a wizard, who chooses a preacher background, and who picks up medium armor proficiency and proficiency with a mace, and you walk around in a breast plate with a holy symbol emblazoned on it and you hit things with your mace and you choose cleric-like spells and you SAY you're a cleric, CAN YOU TAKE A FEAT WITH SAYS "PRE-REQUISITE: CLERIC"? CAN YOU ATTUNE A MAGIC ITEM WHICH SAYS "ATTUNEMENT BY CLERIC ONLY"?

No. You cannot. Because how you describe the character is not what dictates the mechanics. What dictates the mechanics is whether or not mechanically you chose at least one level of Cleric for your class levels.

So no. No racial feats for you, no matter how well you describe your background.

No soup for you either!

Im quoting the mechanics. The mechanics of custom lineage let you choose your lineage and if you 'resemble any of your kin.'

So mechanically you can say you have Elven lineage (both parents) look exactly like an Elf, and that Elves are your kin.

To me, that makes you an Elf.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Im quoting the mechanics. The mechanics of custom lineage let you choose your lineage and if you 'resemble any of your kin.'

So mechanically you can say you have Elven lineage (both parents) look exactly like an Elf, and that Elves are your kin.

To me, that makes you an Elf.

So "Instead of choosing one of the game's races for your character at 1st level", you are choosing one of the game's races? That's... confusing.

 

[Mistwell]

Im quoting the mechanics. The mechanics of custom lineage let you choose your lineage and if you 'resemble any of your kin.'

So mechanically you can say you have Elven lineage (both parents) look exactly like an Elf, and that Elves are your kin.

To me, that makes you an Elf.

If I look exactly like a cleric, and I say I am a cleric to other characters, and I use all the symbols and armory and weaponry of a cleric, and I choose spells often found on the cleric list, and other characters in the game think I am a cleric - but I have taken no levels in the cleric class - can I attune an item which has as it's prerequisite "requires attunement by a cleric"?

 

[FarBeyondC]

If I look exactly like a cleric, and I say I am a cleric to other characters, and I use all the symbols and armory and weaponry of a cleric, and I choose spells often found on the cleric list, and other characters in the game think I am a cleric - but I have taken no levels in the cleric class - can I attune an item which has as it's prerequisite "requires attunement by a cleric"?

A rogue (Thief) of the appropriate level could, but then, they have a feature that explicitly lets them do so. Custom Lineage has no such feature that allows them to do the same.

 

[Remathilis]

Im quoting the mechanics. The mechanics of custom lineage let you choose your lineage and if you 'resemble any of your kin.'

So mechanically you can say you have Elven lineage (both parents) look exactly like an Elf, and that Elves are your kin.

To me, that makes you an Elf.

Great. Changelings can use any racial feat or magical item in the game as long as they "look" like that race when they do it.

We have literally entered "race as rubber mask" territory.