D&D General Do you like LOTS of races/ancestries/whatever? If so, why?

[DND_Reborn]

FWIW, in my current Frostmaiden game my players' PC consist of:

Bear-Shifter (Druid)
Changling (Wizard)
Half-Orc (Warlock)
Sea Elf (Sorcerer)
Tortle (Cleric)
Shadar-Kai (Paladin)
Halfling (Cleric/Rogue)
Sled-Dog "Wolf" (warrior DMPC)

Since this is taking place in Ten Towns, which is known for having a multitude of races with a variety of reasons to be there, it wasn't hard to work with the players to create backstories which put them together.

Now, in the new game I will be playing in starting Saturday, we have:

Dwarf (fighter)
Elf (wizard)
Halfling (rogue)
Human (cleric)

This is obviously a more Tolkien-style game/ setting, but I am happy with it as well.

Regardless, very rarely do I ever experience a player playing a non-human race as anything other than "human in funny mask" with other mechanical features... So, I'd rather just have other cultures which help create a variety of mechanics for the player to enjoy if their PC isn't going to be role-played as anything other than human.

 

[Incenjucar]

The thing about culture is that it can be related to species but isn't tied to it. Barring actually being unable to accomplish some elements of culture (flight, mind meld, tree magic, etc.), any intelligent humanoid can be part of any culture, even if they're a bit of an odd ball in it. A dwarf can be raised by kenku and be adorned in feather gifts from their loved ones, and a kobold tribe could be fully integrated into a halfling farming community and known as the best gopher trappers in the meadows.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Personally, I see very little reason to use anything beyond human in most cases. Most of the races already feel like little more than a prepackaged attitude/outlook and a slightly different culture. Most of them don’t truly feel like something other than human. They just feel like they’re from a slightly different culture.

There are a few exceptions, I’d say. And sometimes players will put more effort into trying to portray them as different. But rarely do I think it rises to the case of seeming like a truly different race. Most characters just seem like humans. The racial features tend to be more about darkvision and fey step and the like.

But that’s just my personal opinion. The folks in my gaming group seem to enjoy them, so whenever I run D&D, I don’t restrict their choices.

 

[DEFCON 1]

So despite all the differences between diverse peoples - whether on the basis of their ancestry, appearance, culture, or the funny hat they wear - we are all humans on the inside who are trying our best to get along an overcome challenges together? Wow. Who could possibly see the value in a crazy idea like that?

And if everyone was playing a Human in D&D just with different skin colors, I'd agree with you.

But even at the baseline level of someone playing an elf with a lifespan of 1000 years playing the character EXACTLY the same as a Human with a lifespan of just 100 (if lucky)... that's when all the different so-called "Races" fail the sniff test when played by humans at the table.

Now players are going to that... play a Gnoll exactly the same as they would a Human... because 99.99% of all players probably don't care about all the different biology, biochemistry, and psychology of Gnolls versus Humans. Which is fine! It's not like I'm going to stop them from playing the game the way they wish to. But at the same time it doesn't mean I can't think something is lost when players don't put any thought into it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My preference would be that choice of race should be the fastest one made in the whole of character creation: if a player comes to the table with a burning desire to play X (whatever X is) then great - play that! But if they don't have a fixed idea coming in, play a human.

My players have a very different view - I can't remember the last time someone chose to write "human" on their character sheet.

Exactly my point.

 

[Aldarc]

And if everyone was playing a Human in D&D just with different skin colors, I'd agree with you.

They essentially are though, but it gets derisively referred to as "humans with funny hats" to basically cast aspersions at others for thinly-veiled bad wrong roleplaying: i.e., "you're not roleplaying 1000 year old elves right!"

 

[Scribe]

They essentially are though, but it gets derisively referred to as "humans with funny hats" to basically cast aspersions at others for thinly-veiled bad wrong roleplaying: i.e., "you're not roleplaying 1000 year old elves right!"

I dont see that term as an insult of one's RP. I see it as a descriptor of the fact the races dont have enough meaningful impact on the game experience. I dont know if it was earlier in this thread or another but a few folks yesterday mentioned 'your race choice largely doesnt matter anymore' and thats where the 'just humans that look different aka funny hat' comes in?

 

[Cadence]

Totally depends.

LotR wouldn't feel right to me with the ones that aren't part of it. Cook's Garrett PI series is wide open.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I think the next campaign I run is going to be humans only.

 

[Incenjucar]

For those folks not seeing anyone roleplay race, how often are you seeing anyone specifically roleplaying humans when they play?