D&D (2024) What new jargon do you want to replace "Race"?

[Yaarel]

Comparing Norse nature spirits:

• "humans" (menn*)
• "corpses" (náir)
• æsir
• jǫtnar
• vanir
• alfar
• dvergar

The jǫtnar divide into:

• trǫll
• risar
• þursar
• huldrar



The terms used for members of these nature spirits are:

• "lineage" (ætt) = literally "direction", heredity, family
• "kind" (kyn) = species
• "kindred" (kyn) = family
• "people" (fólk) = household, people of a home
• "known of" (kunnigr)
• "known one of" (kunnr)
• "kith" (kunni) = friends and family, loved one


*Note: Properly, menn means "humans", including males and females. The term for "adult males" is karlar.

 

[Hriston]

I prefer people and would vote for it if it were on the poll.

I also think folk and kind are okay but not as good as people.

ETA: In the same vein as kind, I think type would work just as well and has precedent as the term used in Chainmail.

 

[Charlaquin]

Again, though, this is not how we use the term in the real world. If someone asks you your parentage, is your answer going to be "human"?

Again, the difference between smorps is not analogous to the difference between species, so this question is a nonsequitur.

If a DM had an NPC ask, in-character, "what species are you?", would you have any doubt what they were asking?

No, but nor would I have any doubt if they asked that of any of these things, if they were to replace the term race.

 

[Jack Daniel]

For standard D&D, I like "species" a lot, if only because of how it undermines the "get your science outta my fantasy!" attitude. (The argument could be made that it's just doubling down on the bioessentialism, but that's not a problem with the word chosen, that's a problem with properly sorting abilities between species and background.)

That said, in my own campaigns, I use the term "kindreds" for most playable nonhumans, because "kindred" has sort of a fairytale feel to it. Or rather, it has a sort of pseudo hippie new age occult-section-in-a-Barnes-&-Noble neo-pagan modern edgy retcon-the-fae feel to it. And that's the vibe I want to shoot for with my elves, dwarves, goblins, ogres, centaurs, etc.

 

[Tonguez]

Lineage is my favourite as it allows tracing of traits from parents (for half races), Ancestry for similar reasons. Kin is okayish and works with Kinsfolk*

i like Heritage for cultural background packages

Folk would be okay if not for Volkisch and Kindred has WoD baggage

 

[Yaarel]

With regard to D&D "ancestries" (?), I think of them in the exact same way that I think of Artificial Intelligence. In some ways, strictly not human, but in other ways, quite human.

If achieving actual consciousness, then whatever taxonomy hypothetically applies to future "species" of AI entities, would also apply to the D&D "ancestries".

 

[Cadence]

RE: Ancestry

Is "ancestry" also commonly used to describe national origins IRL? So "I'm of German ancestry." But a person of German ancestry (maybe 3/4 of whose ancestors emigrated from Germany a century and a half ago and the rest are from somewhere else) might very well not consider themselves German, but rather whatever their new country is. Saying one is of Elvish ancestry in this context would mean that they actually are an Elf, right? Or maybe Half-Elf I guess? Is the half-Elf of Elvish and Human ancestry? Or are they of Half-Elvish ancestry?

 

[Clint_L]

The funny thing is, I bet this same debate played out on an email string at WotC.

Too bad they didn't know about schmorp.

 

[Tonguez]

RE: Ancestry

Is "ancestry" also commonly used to describe national origins IRL? So "I'm of German ancestry." But a person of German ancestry (maybe 3/4 of whose ancestors emigrated from Germany a century and a half ago and the rest are from somewhere else) might very well not consider themselves German, but rather whatever their new country is. Saying one is of Elvish ancestry in this context would mean that they actually are an Elf, right? Or maybe Half-Elf I guess? Is the half-Elf of Elvish and Human ancestry? Or are they of Half-Elvish ancestry?

eg Dalelands human with elfish ancestry?

My Ancestry is Durpari Asmodean Tiefling-Sapphire Dragonborn with hagblood Lineage.

 

[Charlaquin]

WotC: "We accidentally changed 'species' to 'schmorp' on the latest playtest and it got 80% approval..."

I think that would become a Boaty McBoatface situation.