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

[overgeeked]

According to some of the logic on here, there are no rules in the MM that says they can't climb. In fact, they get +6 to their athletics. And the MM states very clearly, that a climb speed simply means they don't have the penalty associated with climbing. That is, unless we are assumed to believe that if it is left off, it can't climb at all.
But that wouldn't make sense, because goats wouldn't be able to climb. You know, because they don't have a climb speed. And deer and elk wouldn't be able swim either because they don't have a swim speed. But I have seen them swim as well as bears and elephants. But none of them have a swim speed. And by that logic, a constrictor snake wouldn't be able to climb. And frogs can't climb! Again, no climb speed listed. Man, the MM is crazy!
Or they intended people to use common sense, and were like, no DM is going to have a centaur climb a castle wall. But we showed them!

According to the MM cats can’t see in the dark. The books are guidelines, not gospels.

 

[Maxperson]

That's impossible.
Features are not tagged as magical in 5e like in 3e (Su or Spell-like) or 4e (non Martial powers).

Not only is not impossible, it's trivially easy to prove.

From the Aboleth.

"Enslave (3/Day). The aboleth targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target ust succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the aboleth until the aboleth dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the aboleth's control and can't take reactions, and the aboleth and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance."

From the Deva.

"Healing Touch (3/Day). The deva touches another creature. The target magically regains 20 (4d8 + 2) h it points and is freed from any curse, disease, poison, blindness, or deafness."

There is also innate spellcasting, which is like spell-like abilities from 3e.

And then of course you can look at the description of the abilities and see if it would be magical, such as the Banshee wail.

Centaur climbing has none of that, because it's as mundane as they are. Except in Ravnica, when it's only the climbing that's mundane and they are magical creatures.

The MM says monstrosities are not natural.
Now since default D&D doesn't have modern or fantasy genetic science, the only way you get a half-elf half-horse in non-futuristic D&D is magic.

Not natural does not equal magical. It just means that it didn't evolve that way. You can create something with magic without it being a magical creature. If a creature is magical, it says so. See Fey.

 

[Zardnaar]

Might have to ban the dragonborn again. Reason they stink mechanically.

 

[Minigiant]

Not natural does not equal magical. It just means that it didn't evolve that way. You can create something with magic without it being a magical creature. If a creature is magical, it says so. See Fey.

The MM says monstrosities are not natural. The base assumption of D&D does not have the technology for not-natural beings to exist and survive without being magic.

D&D medical science is not advanced. You can't stick a humaniod torso on a horse body and have it survive without magic or futuristic genetic science..

 

[Maxperson]

The MM says monstrosities are not natural. The base assumption of D&D does not have the technology for not-natural beings to exist and survive without being magic.

You're just flat out wrong. Technology is irrelevant. There's nothing to suggest that they cannot survive on their own once the magic is complete. If you're going to make the claim that technology or "magic" is needed for survival, you need to prove it.

By RAW they are not magical creatures, because RAW does not specify that they are.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

There are no quasi-supernatural rules for the centaur. They are as mundane as pumpkin pie. That's the problem.

Centaurs...are as mundane as pumpkin pie. Centaurs.

Yeah, pretty sure this is about my limit. When the openly fantastical is mundane, we may as well start singing Weird Al's Everything You Know Is Wrong.

Everything you know is wrong
Black is white, up is down, and short is long
And everything you used to think was so important doesn't even matter because
Everything you know is wrong! (wrong wrong wrong)

Soon people will start saying a ten-ton flying, fire-breathing, carnivorous, sapient reptile is "mundane"....

 

[Maxperson]

Centaurs...are as mundane as pumpkin pie. Centaurs.

Yeah, pretty sure this is about my limit. When the openly fantastical is mundane, we may as well start singing Weird Al's Everything You Know Is Wrong.

Mundane in this case being not a magical creature, as the context clearly indicated. Context is your friend.

Then of course there was the joke in there, since many people view pumpkin pie as a magical desert, but alas that one went unnoticed.

 

[Minigiant]

You're just flat out wrong. Technology is irrelevant. There's nothing to suggest that they cannot survive on their own once the magic is complete. If you're going to make the claim that technology or "magic" is needed for survival, you need to prove it.

By RAW they are not magical creatures, because RAW does not specify that they are.

How many hearts does a centaur have and how big are they?

It has TWO TORSOS! That's not how nature works.

You can't stick a humanoid on top of a horse body and have it survive.

What's next? Air genasi who don't breathe aren't magic?

 

[Maxperson]

How many hearts does a centaur have and how big are they?

It has TWO TORSOS! That's not how nature works.

You can't stick a humanoid on top of a horse body and have it survive.

So what. Magic can create it and the situation that allows it to survive WITHOUT it being a magical creature. If you want them to be magical creatures, you have to show explicit proof of it, not weak assumptions.

 

[overgeeked]

So what. Magic can create it and the situation that allows it to survive WITHOUT it being a magical creature. If you want them to be magical creatures, you have to show explicit proof of it, not weak assumptions.

A fireball can set things on fire. That doesn’t mean the resultant fire is magical.