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

[Yaarel]

I just don't understand why you would make the PHB human only.

Human-only makes the core rules practicably setting-neutral.

It seems like players want options like dwarves, elves, etc.

Different players want different species. Different Settings feature different species. Setting-neutral core rules makes diverse preference easier.

For example, many old-schoolers want 1e Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, and Half Orc.

Many new schoolers want Elf, Dragonborn, and Tiefling.

Meanwhile Aardling and Goliath are on the way. Maybe Genasi and ten other species too.

Gnomes are important to many groups who have one player who loves them.

Magic The Gathering settings often have a completely different selection of Nonhuman species.

DM homebrewers do whatever they please.

The core rules need to get out of the way of all of these possible Setting preferences.

And especially if you move that material to the FR book, people would get resentful because a lot of people have no interest in FR and don't plan on buying the FR book (not a knock on the setting but I would imagine a sizable portion of the hobby doesn't buy forgotten realms books).

The purpose of moving the Setting species into the FR Guide, is for players who want a different Setting, such as an Eberron Guide with its own versions of Nonhuman species. The Human-only Players Handbook will work seemlessly with any Setting that the DM prefers.

D&D is already asking a lot from consumers with three core books (even when I started I had to slowly buy the three core books over like a year or two).

The rest of my post listed several ways to get the Nonhuman species options for free.

 

[Incenjucar]

If nothing else, goliaths are an important addition because of the Critical Role fans.

I really hope Aardlings land well. Any excuse for an ancient Egyptian aesthetic that isn't just applied to villains, and there are a bunch of stories to tell about animal-headed spirit beings that don't quite apply to actual animal people.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I don't recall him saying anything about the biology of elves, so I can't imagine how bioessentialism is part of their depiction in his work.

That shows a fundamental misunderstanding of both the term and the argument being made.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Human-only makes the core rules practicably setting-neutral.

I don't see this as a plus though. The core book always came with a vague amount of flavor to it. Which again is easy to customize once you make your campaign (and you can always strip out demihumans if you want a human only setting)

 

[Bedrockgames]

Human-only makes the core rules practicably setting-neutral.


Different players want different species. Different Settings feature different species. Setting-neutral core rules makes diverse preference easier.

For example, many old-schoolers want 1e Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, and Half Orc.

Many new schoolers want Elf, Dragonborn, and Tiefling.

Meanwhile Aardling and Goliath are on the way. Maybe Genasi and ten other species too.

Gnomes are important to many groups who have one player who loves them.

Magic The Gathering settings often have a completely different selection of Nonhuman species.

Sure but you can just include a nice selection of classic and new races, with the statement that particular options may not be available depending on the setting being used.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The purpose of moving the Setting species into the FR Guide, is for players who want a different Setting, such as an Eberron Guide with its own versions of Nonhuman species. The Human-only Players Handbook will work seemlessly with any Setting that the DM prefers.

I understand your reasoning, I just don't think this is what most people want. The one constant I have seen is players wanting some standard races in the book, and if a setting deviates from standard races, they expect some explanation from the GM

 

[Scribe]

Human-only makes the core rules practicably setting-neutral.

Its going to be 'setting neutral' by being multiverse based if the first race pack is any indication.

Either that, or the text is a hold over for the upcoming Planescape book.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It is pretty pointless to argue whether PHB should be human only. There is exactly 0% chance of this happening.

 

[Incenjucar]

Something tragic would have to happen for elves, gnomes, halflings, and dwarves to be removed from the PHB within our lifetimes. Even if nobody plays them anymore, it's hard to break off that tradition.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Something amazing would have to happen to rid us of gnomes again.

They tried. They really tried. Then everyone in their grandpa suddenly 'remembered' that the gnome was their absolute favorite right behind half orc.