D&D General No More "Humans in Funny Hats": Racial Mechanics Should Determine Racial Cultures

[Starfox]

There is a conflict here with two camps.

Lets call the first camp the Uniqueness camp, that want races to be significantly different and want this uniqueness to flavor their culture.

Lets call the other camp the Equality Camp, that want all fantasy species to have the exact same opportunities.

The Equality Camp is dominant at the moment, and this affects even RPGs. Which I find sad. And this is the point where I have to end, as this ties into RL politics.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Yeah, you still don't get the point. Let me repeat it: stereotypes boring; building the character the way you want because you can assign the +2/+1 where you want good.

Right, But why races need to come with preassigned traits then? If I want my orc to have 'brave' trait like a halfling or my halfling to breathe fire like a dragonborn, why can't I have that? Aftercall, those things being tied to certain races are just stereotypes too.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If you actually understood the issue, you wouldn't be harping on that 16. You'd realize the actual issue is most people (a) don't like stereotypes all that much, and (b) want to be able to make their characters the way they want.

(Hmm, orc wizards, dragonborn rogues, halfling Strength fighters... and your favorite, tiefling paladins, a Cha-based race in a MAD class where Cha is the second-most important stat. One of these things is not like the other.)

While I agree that some people clearly want to make their characters however they want, I'm not sure you're right about people not liking stereotypes. I do think there might be some shame about it in some circles, but stereotypes are so deeply embedded in human consciousness, and are so much easier to deal with in a game context than a more complex, nuanced portrayal, that quite a few people actually prefer it in their popular entertainment.

 

[Minigiant]

There is a conflict here with two camps.

Lets call the first camp the Uniqueness camp, that want races to be significantly different and want this uniqueness to flavor their culture.

Lets call the other camp the Equality Camp, that want all fantasy species to have the exact same opportunities.

The Equality Camp is dominant at the moment, and this affects even RPGs. Which I find sad. And this is the point where I have to end, as this ties into RL politics.

You have the camps a bit worng.

There is a Tradition Camp that wants races to fall into traditional roles and have setting mix and match the races.

There is a Uniqueness Camp that wants to focus one the unique elements of the races and double down them to build on logical conclusions and endpoints to a sensible culture

There is a Freedom camp that wantsraces to boil down to physical elements only and have culture defined by each DM only

There is a Powergamer camp that wants all races to be powerful.

The Tradition camp still leads but Uniqueness, Freedom, and Powergamer are coming up because the Tradition camp has the least drive to make new purchases and cannot sway progress away anymore.

 

[Minigiant]

While I agree that some people clearly want to make their characters however they want, I'm not sure you're right about people not liking stereotypes. I do think there might be some shame about it in some circles, but stereotypes are so deeply embedded in human consciousness, and are so much easier to deal with in a game context than a more complex, nuanced portrayal, that quite a few people actually prefer it in their popular entertainment.

I think its less people don't like stereotypes and more they've played and seen them to death. So they are exploring less common tropes, antitropes, and expanding lore to fix new character ideas within the lore.

D&D is almost 50 years old.

"Snobby elf wizard intellectual. Aren't we being daring today?"

If you run races like humans in funny hats, you burn through ideas even faster.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If you run races like humans in funny hats, you burn through ideas even faster.

Not really.

I'm not even don't playing Disney princess + White Wolf knockoff archetypes yet.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think its less people don't like stereotypes and more they've played and seen them to death. So they are exploring less common tropes, antitropes, and expanding lore to fix new character ideas within the lore.

D&D is almost 50 years old.

"Snobby elf wizard intellectual. Aren't we being daring today?"

If you run races like humans in funny hats, you burn through ideas even faster.

On the other hand, if you ask a random "person on the street" what an elf is, and you don't get Santa or Keebler, you WILL get Legolas.

 

[Scribe]

On the other hand, if you ask a random "person on the street" what an elf is, and you don't get Santa or Keebler, you WILL get Legolas.

The dexterous, elven ranger type?

Yes, yes you would.

 

[Minigiant]

Not really.

I'm not even don't playing Disney princess + White Wolf knockoff archetypes yet.

There's neither Princess Builds nor Vicissitude in 5th edition.

Those would be perfect for a nation of Changelings and Shifters.

 

[Faolyn]

Right, But why races need to come with preassigned traits then? If I want my orc to have 'brave' trait like a halfling or my halfling to breathe fire like a dragonborn, why can't I have that? Aftercall, those things being tied to certain races are just stereotypes too.

Because this isn't GURPS.