D&D (2024) One D&D Permanently Removes The Term 'Race'

In line with many other tabletop roleplaying games, such as Pathfinder or Level Up, One D&D is removing the term 'race'. Where Pathfinder uses 'Ancestry' and Level Up uses 'Heritage', One D&D will be using 'Species'.

Moving On From 'Race' in the 2024 Core Rulebooks

We understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds.

www.dndbeyond.com

In a blog post, WotC announced that "We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term."

 

[Scribe]

"okay, so that means there are no half elves any more?"

This was proposed wasn't it? Half Elf/Orc, going away.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

This was proposed wasn't it? Half Elf/Orc, going away.

Which is a problem for established settings like Eberron that make extensive use of them.

 

[aco175]

Meh, is speciest added to words we should not use on the forums?

I can see why they did it. Not sure how long it will take to stop using the word race though.

 

[Tonguez]

Ick.
Too Sci-Fi
I prefer Heritage

(It's up BTW)

Species is Late latin for the ‘appearance’ of a thing and has been used in the biological sense since the 16th century.

But I too prefer Heritage (although thats Cultural) or Lineage (more biological)

 

[billd91]

As long-time fan of alliteration, I, for one, look forward to the advent of the specious speciesist arguments!

Can each one have their own coinage system? Then we can have specific species' species.

 

[Minigiant]

Species is Late latin for the ‘appearance’ of a thing and has been used in the biological sense since the 16th century.

But I too prefer Heritage (although thats Cultural) or Lineage (more biological)

But you can swap appearance of another "species" now.

That's why I like Heritage. D&D races were heavily linked to your parents. So I prefer it more that you inherited your features from your parents.

 

[Raduin711]

I dislike the term species as this could imply the biological species concept as members of a population that can potentially interbreed. Where does this leave half-orcs, half elves etc?

When it comes to science, it's always more complicated.

From Wikipedia:

In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined.
...
While the definitions given above may seem adequate at first glance, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies. Although none of these are entirely satisfactory definitions, and while the concept of species may not be a perfect model of life, it is still an incredibly useful tool to scientists and conservationists for studying life on Earth, regardless of the theoretical difficulties. If species were fixed and clearly distinct from one another, there would be no problem, but evolutionary processes cause species to change. This obliges taxonomists to decide, for example, when enough change has occurred to declare that a lineage should be divided into multiple chronospecies, or when populations have diverged to have enough distinct character states to be described as cladistic species.

It is possible for two species to have viable offspring. In the case of Mules, this results in sterility, but this isn't necessarily the case for all hybrids. In any event, scientists bend the rules for asexual species, and so on because the label "species" is useful.

 

[Amrûnril]

This was proposed wasn't it? Half Elf/Orc, going away.

The reasoning being that species are generally defined biologically based on the ability to interbreed (and produce offspring that are themselves able to reproduce). Of course, in nature, there are plenty of cases where reproductive compatibility isn't binary, or isn't known to the researchers classifying the organisms. And this definition is only applicable in the first place to organisms that reproduce sexually.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Ancestry was taken.

So was heritage, but I would have been fine sharing it.

 

[Scribe]

Which is a problem for established settings like Eberron that make extensive use of them.

For sure. My biology is like..grade 10 level but I was thinking on this.

Human - Elf -> Half Elf - Sure, easy.
Half Elf - Half Elf -> Human, Elf, or Half Elf?

How does that work? (its a rhetorical I dont want the answer).

This is why I just drop the races species anyway. Its a lot of hassle.

Just making a 'choose your parentage' option makes more sense to me personally, but I know there are other views on it.