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

[Aldarc]

You are missing the point: the GM is not required to have a reason, let alone one that satisfies you. The GM is only required to inform you what the limits are so you can choose whether to play under those restrictions, or find a game more to your liking. You are not entitled to anything.

Don't mistake me not finding the point compelling for me missing the point, Reynard. But I'm curious does a lack of entitlement to anything also include GMs who feel entitled about their setting?

Why should I? Why can't the player choose to play a race that I have established in my world as a playable race? They have lots of options, what is it about the Yuan-Ti that makes them so essential that they play one?

And, frankly, I said they can play one if they want to accept the consequences, but no I am not going to change my game world to accommodate a player's whim.

Players come and go, my game world has been is mine (MINE, I tell you, all MINE!!! Mwahahahahah!!! ).

Why do you feel so strongly that you shouldn't accomodate the players' choices? Have you even bothered thinking about or asking the player why they want to play the yuan-ti and then work it out with them? Why is this depiction of yuan-ti so integral for your hypothetical game world? What breaks if you change it?

 

[Oofta]

Now, to backtrack my point a bit. I am presuming good faith on the part of the player. The player isn't deliberately picking stuff that doesn't fit with the campaign. They are makign the earnest attempt to make a character that is in keeping with what they understand to be the campaign.

So, yeah, the bloodthirsty character in a 4 color heroic game is simply a mismatch in understanding. Fair enough.

But, that's not what's been asked in this thread. People are making claims that this:

View attachment 268041
is too "monstrous" to play and would be killed on sight. But this:

View attachment 268042
would totally pass in any bar in any town without any problem.

You found the least yuan-ti looking picture I've ever seen and one of my least favorite picture of an elf ever. According to the racial write-up a yuan-ti PC still has significant snake like features.

I think this is an image that actually fits the description from MotM, and yes many would consider it a monster. Whether it's right or wrong to judge people with fangs, a long forked tongue and snake eyes as dangerous, I think people would.

 

[Oofta]

I am sorry Oofta just 8 sentences is not enough explanation on why you limit player agency. Please submit 500 sentences by Monday.

Do individual posts count? Because at the rate this is going and how much time I've wasted trying to give an explanation only to be told "nah uh" I should have 500 words soon enough.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Why do you feel so strongly that you shouldn't accomodate the players' choices? Have you even bothered thinking about or asking the player why they want to play the yuan-ti and then work it out with them? Why is this depiction of yuan-ti so integral for your hypothetical game world? What breaks if you change it?

Of course I am entitled! IT IS MY GAME WORLD AND I AM THE DM!

I've said repeatedly that they can play one, if they accept the consequences of that choice. Just like they have to accept the consequences of every other choice they make in the game.

You ask me why I should change, and I ask you why the player can't? Can we stop that useless exchange?

When they DM, they can do what they want. I've had times in other games as a player where I wanted to play something or do something and the DM said "No.". I respect the DM enough to agree with their decisions because they are the DM. I am a guest in their world, after all.

 

[FrozenNorth]

So, again, compromise means giving the player what they want? Other than races that can fly, the restrictions have little or nothing to do with racial features.

Thank you for proving my point.

Compromise is both parties being able to live with the result.

 

[Oofta]

"Let the players do whatever they want" is very clearly hyperbolic, just to be clear. Leaping from "so there's no absolute power vested in one person" to "ah, so literal anarchy" is hyperbolic and it's extremely frustrating that you somehow don't see that.

Many, many posts have flat out stated that the DM's should find room for whatever race the player wants. Or just look at the recent posts that there's no reason to not allow a yuan-ti.

 

[Oofta]

It is my campaign. The DM. I decide what fits in this campaign. I said it was homebrew. This was a real XP. Told players in session 0 no Drow. I was forced to go with majority opinion. Result. The evil drow army never left the gate, because Sue's Drow was goody goody. And if one Drow was good, they couldn't be all evil. And Sue after getting her Drow only show up for half the games.
So the DM rules, and players either show up. Or they DM.

Been there done that. Drow (who was, of course, unaffected by daylight for "reasons"), 7 foot tall pacifist albino elf, leonin (lion centaur at the time), etc. The final straw was the guy who wanted to play the half dragon half vampire. Decided after that that I had to come up with a whitelist of races and it's worked well ever since. A lot easier now to let people know ahead of time when I have an opening than it used to be which helps. I'm very up front about what my restrictions are yet I've never had an issue attracting players.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Frankly, any DM who thinks it's more important to not have race X than to play with that player is a DM I want nothing to do with.

That is the problem with this debate...it is represented as totally hyperbolic.
If those are the only two options at the table, there are larger issues at play than just limitations on playable races.

 

[Oofta]

Thank you for proving my point.

Compromise is both parties being able to live with the result.

Except the "compromise", which is not what most people suggest, is that the DM allows something they don't want to allow. My restrictions almost never have anything to do with mechanical benefits.

 

[Aldarc]

Many, many posts have flat out stated that the DM's should find room for whatever race the player wants. Or just look at the recent posts that there's no reason to not allow a yuan-ti.

I would not say that there is no reason to not allow yuan-ti, but IMHO not many posters are making a compelling argument that doesn't involve appealing to GM authority and their own sense of entitlement, and that is admittedly compelling enough an argument for some. GM is God, and the Word of God is immutable law. The GM has the power to change the world and, yes, they have the power to not change anything. But what fundamentally breaks and shatters about your world if its opened up a bit for playable yuan-ti in this game? How is it so fundamental to your world that pureblood yuan-ti should not be made playable?