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

[Hriston]

It's generic, safe, and paints Orcs only in a positive light.

Again, I haven't read it myself, but your description doesn't sound like what I was talking about.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Which is why the write up for Orcs in MotM is what it is, in comparison to Volo's.

Precisely. Which is why I cannot imagine the 5.5e MM having anything interesting in the way of humanoid write-ups. If you can't talk about culture, all you get is a couple sentences about what they look like.

Same with the PH.

 

[Scribe]

Again, I haven't read it myself, but your description doesn't sound like what I was talking about.

If it is the case, calling them monsters (of the multiverse) quite insulting and Mordenkainen must be low-int to include orcs in the book. Or maybe he's just baselessly prejudiced against orcs?

Precisely. Which is why I cannot imagine the 5.5e MM having anything interesting in the way of humanoid write-ups. If you can't talk about culture, all you get is a couple sentences about what they look like.

Same with the PH.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

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Exactly! They are people blessed by their god to be tireless and tenacious. There is nothing that make them monsters, and also nothing that make them recognizable as another species. They are a group of humans with a common ancestor that granted them a magical blessing.

 

[Scribe]

Exactly! They are people blessed by their god to be tireless and tenacious. There is nothing that make them monsters, and also nothing that make them another species. They are a group of humans with a common ancestor that granted them a magical blessing.

Its an interpretation for sure. Its not a direction I run with, but it is Wizards way of saying 'just do whatever you want in your game' by providing as little detail as possible.

Heck, they could literally save the space and just cut this kind of thing out of the PHB. A picture (suitably heroic) and the special rules. Thats all they need now.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Its an interpretation for sure. Its not a direction I run with, but it is Wizards way of saying 'just do whatever you want in your game' by providing as little detail as possible.

Heck, they could literally save the space and just cut this kind of thing out of the PHB. A picture (suitably heroic) and the special rules. Thats all they need now.

Or they could really do what they said. If they are no longer a race but a species, they need to be a species, not a race (ie, an arbitrary grouping of humans based on a few physical traits or origin and often used to justify atrocities and inequalities). It was the situations orcs were at before WotC dropped the concept of race, at least in the latest publication like the one you mentionned. It was an acceptable description for the orc race of the "playable humanoid" unnamed D&D species (of which humans were part of), but it's not an adequate description (probably because of lack of detail) to be a different species as humans.

 

[Xamnam]

If it is the case, calling them monsters (of the multiverse) quite insulting and Mordenkainen must be low-int to include orcs in the book. Or maybe he's just baselessly prejudiced against orcs?

They're listed in the fantastical races section, and humanoids like the swashbuckler are listed in the bestiary section. Monsters is used here closer in meaning to foe, not as description.

 

[Scribe]

Or they could really do what they said. If they are no longer a race but a species, they need to be a species, not a race (ie, an arbitrary grouping of humans based on a few physical traits or origin and often used to justify atrocities and inequalities, which is the point orcs were at before WotC dropped the concept of race).

I dont think its going to change anything materially until it gets to that point where yes, everything is just a blank Humanoid, switchable at will, with various attributes (rules) to select from.

People will always find fault, (31 pages into a discussion on what to not call a <player entitiy> and why) and terms are not needed to justify naughty word behavior in the real world, or at the table.

Slippery slope, perfect enemy of good, yadda yadda.

 

[Hriston]

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To paraphrase, because orcs were created by a god, they are the toughest and most tenacious people around which makes each and every one of them excellent guardians and allies. This runs pretty close to the Noble Savage trope. I think the specifics about Gruumsh and Eberron are fine, but the generalizations about orcs -- not so much.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I dont think its going to change anything materially until it gets to that point where yes, everything is just a blank Humanoid, switchable at will, with various attributes (rules) to select from.

I think it will be the best outcome. A point-buy system of advantages (not something that is unheard of in the field of RPGs...) that the player can attribute to race, star conjunction at birth, species, magic or simply I trained hard to become able to breathe underwater. Well, maybe not in this particular example... It will fit how many players (at least, the one I've seen playing) plays their characters (because Xeno-thinking is incredibly hard to do, much more than roleplaying a member of a different sex, context of even social class) leading the "plastic ear" accusation, will empower players to play what they want (a common tendancy) and end the controversy. Potentially insensitive depiction will be part of the setting, not the rules.