D&D (2024) First playtest thread! One D&D Character Origins.

[Cadence]

I pick up books and put them down all day. And they are like weights. Done.

If the justification for getting it by background can be that superficial, then why bother?
What does anyone lose at all by making it totally floating?

 

[Minigiant]

Well, that’s… Kinda the thing, isn’t it? “Breeding” and “Bloodlines” are just other names for genetics. In fact, they’re more transparently eugenicist names for it. That’s exactly why WotC are (potentially) removing half-races alongside racial ASIs. Now, there’s a valid case to be made that half-races are important representation for mixed-race people. The problem with that is, having just half-elves and half-orcs privileges some… err… “breeding pairs” (shudder) over others. And it’s going to take up a loooooooot of page space, to say nothing of design space, to account for every possible combination. So, what’s a designer to do? Maybe a catch-all “mixed-race” race?

Maybe there could be a special race just for human hybrids and do them like Elves.

You get 2 bonus Skill pofiecienies, Darkvision, your other parent's language as a bonus language, and a racial trait: Fey Ancestry, Dwarven Resilience, or Relentless Endurance.

 

[Charlaquin]

And would still end up more graceful than the average human farmer because Elf. Thats the point. That being an elf matters even when you do not max out Dex instead of all races being identical until you select a background or decide where the floating ASI is added to.

This is a point of philosophical difference. These days, people don’t think of race stats as saying anything about the average elf or the average human farmer. They see their stats as describing their unique character only. If every other elf in the world is graceful, so be it, they’re quite happy to be the one clumsy elf. Might actually be a selling point, as getting to have a character who is special is one of the main draws of the game for them.

 

[Cadence]

This is a point of philosophical difference. These days, people don’t think of race stats as saying anything about the average elf or the average human farmer. They see their stats as describing their unique character only. If every other elf in the world is graceful, so be it, they’re quite happy to be the one clumsy elf. Might actually be a selling point, as getting to have a character who is special is one of the main draws of the game for them.

Apparently that isn't quite as universal as you make it sound

 

[Ixal]

Exceptional skill at archery is not a genetic trait, so it is appropriate that this (along with the bow and longbow proficiencies) be moved to background instead of race.

Ah, yes. The race with the genetic resistance to getting drunk, and the genetic knowledge of how to use brewer’s supplies. And the conspicuous Scottish accents. Classy.

Hm archery is a ranged attack, so modified by Dex. Elves used to have an above average Dex score.
Resisting poison is a Con save, dwarves had good Con.
Its not really hard to understand how the racial ASI reinforced the lore.

The old tropes are tired, they want to explore a wider range of possible fantasies.

Nothing prevented them from exploring those fantasies in the past except them not having a maximized main attribute.

 

[Ixal]

This is a point of philosophical difference. These days, people don’t think of race stats as saying anything about the average elf or the average human farmer. They see their stats as describing their unique character only. If every other elf in the world is graceful, so be it, they’re quite happy to be the one clumsy elf. Might actually be a selling point, as getting to have a character who is special is one of the main draws of the game for them.

Easily done by putting the lowest score into dex which makes them below average (for an elf).

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is a point of philosophical difference. These days, people don’t think of race stats as saying anything about the average elf or the average human farmer. They see their stats as describing their unique character only. If every other elf in the world is graceful, so be it, they’re quite happy to be the one clumsy elf. Might actually be a selling point, as getting to have a character who is special is one of the main draws of the game for them.

Yeah, I see that all the time. I, however, will continue to see my character as a member of the heritage they belong to. You'll can do what you want.

 

[Charlaquin]

So, sorcerer needs a big edit too?
And the various plane-touched?

Once magic is involved, it’s far enough removed from real-life racist talking points that people seem to be fine with it. That said, will these things some day be viewed the way racial ASIs are now? It’s entirely possible. For now, I’m content to say that’s a bridge we can cross when we get to it.

 

[Cadence]

Once magic is involved, it’s far enough removed from real-life racist talking points that people seem to be fine with it. That said, will these things some day be viewed the way racial ASIs are now? It’s entirely possible. For now, I’m content to say that’s a bridge we can cross when we get to it.

I'm not sure I see any difference at all for the plane-touched (aren't elves from faerie and dwarves forged by the gods from the earth, that seems pretty magical).

The sorcerers at least can be waived as being only a single individual I guess.

 

[Haplo781]

Removing explicit half-races is a problem, because some settings make them a distinct culture, e.g. Eberron's Khoravar. It also messes up some of the dragon marked races.

It's also throwing out something that's been part of the game since 1978. May as well throw out the rogue at that point.