D&D 5E List of All 33 Races in Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse

Scribe · Jan 12, 2022

overgeeked said:
Oh no. Not drawbacks. Can’t possibly have fun with a character who’s less than perfect.

If you believe some folks, its even worse than not having fun.

You are a bad person for even thinking its an appropriate way to differentiate the races.

Vaalingrade · Jan 12, 2022

overgeeked said:
Oh no. Not drawbacks. Can’t possibly have fun with a character who’s less than perfect.

IF there's a drawback to the character it should add to the experience instead of just an annoyance for 'verisimilitude'.

Bluebell · Jan 12, 2022

Kobold Avenger said:
But what about characters with just plain corrective lenses glasses? There's no rules for that, and there isn't a generic take a mechanical flaw to get mechanical benefits rules in official 5e, like how many other point-based RPG systems have.

That's a fair point about corrective lenses.

I didn't mean to imply that there is an official "take a flaw to get a benefit" rule, more that having racial flaws like sun sensitivity posed an enjoyable challenge for some players that they chose to accept because they like the flavor or the other unique benefits that race gave. I understand removing it for consistency if nothing else, since pretty much none of the playable races have flaws built in, but it feels like some of the flavor that made those races unique is lost because of it.

Henadic Theologian · Jan 12, 2022

Bluebell said:
That's a fair point about corrective lenses.

I didn't mean to imply that there is an official "take a flaw to get a benefit" rule, more that having racial flaws like sun sensitivity posed an enjoyable challenge for some players that they chose to accept because they like the flavor or the other unique benefits that race gave. I understand removing it for consistency if nothing else, since pretty much none of the playable races have flaws built in, but it feels like some of the flavor that made those races unique is lost because of it.

Maybe the 5.5e PHB will introduce a flaws system where you can optionally take a flaw or two for a feat or two, with Sunlight Sensitivity being one such flaw and slow being another.

Anyways with "culture" being booted from Races, do they get added to the background in the future, buffing them, or do they make cultures their own mechanic?

Maxperson · Jan 12, 2022

Vaalingrade said:
IF there's a drawback to the character it should add to the experience instead of just an annoyance for 'verisimilitude'.

Prove that verisimilitude is just an annoyance and not a benefit? I'm betting that you can't since it is a very subjective things, not objective like you are making it out to be.

Faolyn · Jan 12, 2022

Maxperson said:
Having it make even less sense isn't better for me. Moving 20 miles instead of 24 miles is mathematically the same as moving 25 instead of 30. A race isn't going to be slower out of combat, and yet not slower in combat.

They can move quickly in short bursts--like the minute or less that combat is in. Lots of real-life creatures are capable of short bursts of high speed, and +5 feet per 6 seconds isn't even that fast. (Cheetahs, for comparison, can go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds.)

It's assumed that the 20 or 24 miles is over an 8-hour walk. Halflings (gnomes, goblins, kobolds, etc.) can't keep that fast speed up for 8 hours, or even for more than a few minutes at a time, whereas humans, elves, and for some reason dwarfs can.

Humans are built to be marathoners, and elves are Just Better Than You so yeah. IMO, it's dwarfs who should have the lower speed. Lots of Small races are clearly built for running very short distances in order to find cover (as evidenced by several of them having some sort of sneaky trait, and previously, all having a +2 Dex), whereas dwarfs are big, blocky, and built for standing there like a rock and hacking away at walls, not for going places fast. But that's neither here nor there.

I mean, yeah, I would have liked that WotC would go through every race at once and try to make them realistic in comparison to each other (don't care too much to actual reality though), but doing so might make them too different from base 5e races to be done for this edition. Maybe in 6e, not 5.5e.

Maxperson · Jan 12, 2022

Faolyn said:
They can move quickly in short bursts--like the minute or less that combat is in. Lots of real-life creatures are capable of short bursts of high speed, and +5 feet per 6 seconds isn't even that fast. (Cheetahs, for comparison, can go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds.)

Then so can everyone else and they are still 5 feet slower than the faster races.

Faolyn said:
Humans are built to be marathoners, and elves are Just Better Than You so yeah. IMO, it's dwarfs who should have the lower speed. Lots of Small races are clearly built for running very short distances in order to find cover (as evidenced by several of them having some sort of sneaky trait, and previously, all having a +2 Dex), whereas dwarfs are big, blocky, and built for standing there like a rock and hacking away at walls, not for going places fast. But that's neither here nor there.

I mean, yeah, I would have liked that WotC would go through every race at once and try to make them realistic in comparison to each other (don't care too much to actual reality though), but doing so might make them too different from base 5e races to be done for this edition. Maybe in 6e, not 5.5e.

Since you're for all humans being marathoners(including PCs), I will assume that you are for fixed PC racial stat bonuses as well, since PCs are no longer different from the rest of the race.

Cadence · Jan 12, 2022

Faolyn said:
They can move quickly in short bursts--like the minute or less that combat is in. Lots of real-life creatures are capable of short bursts of high speed, and +5 feet per 6 seconds isn't even that fast. (Cheetahs, for comparison, can go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds.)

It's assumed that the 20 or 24 miles is over an 8-hour walk. Halflings (gnomes, goblins, kobolds, etc.) can't keep that fast speed up for 8 hours, or even for more than a few minutes at a time, whereas humans, elves, and for some reason dwarfs can.

Humans are built to be marathoners, and elves are Just Better Than You so yeah. IMO, it's dwarfs who should have the lower speed. Lots of Small races are clearly built for running very short distances in order to find cover (as evidenced by several of them having some sort of sneaky trait, and previously, all having a +2 Dex), whereas dwarfs are big, blocky, and built for standing there like a rock and hacking away at walls, not for going places fast. But that's neither here nor there.

I mean, yeah, I would have liked that WotC would go through every race at once and try to make them realistic in comparison to each other (don't care too much to actual reality though), but doing so might make them too different from base 5e races to be done for this edition. Maybe in 6e, not 5.5e.

Micah Sweet · Jan 12, 2022

Henadic Theologian said:
Maybe the 5.5e PHB will introduce a flaws system where you can optionally take a flaw or two for a feat or two, with Sunlight Sensitivity being one such flaw and slow being another.

Anyways with "culture" being booted from Races, do they get added to the background in the future, buffing them, or do they make cultures their own mechanic?

I think WotC plans to ignore culture altogether, leaving it to players to "do whatever they want". Anything else is either more work than they want to put in, or might run afoul of their detractors and lead to them losing some of those new, young players they crave.

ART! · Jan 12, 2022

Maxperson said:
Then so can everyone else and they are still 5 feet slower than the faster races.

In nature, some animals are "built" for bursts of startling speed, and some aren't.

Maxperson said:
Since you're for all humans being marathoners(including PCs), I will assume that you are for fixed PC racial stat bonuses as well, since PCs are no longer different from the rest of the race.

I think it's just that humans are generally better at long-term, continuous movement at a good clip than other animals (and so arguably some fantasy races). Wolves are good at this, too. Deer, for example, are not.