Except several people have talked about how valuable they found the idea of a character that has a heritage from multiple sources, something which is part of many people's real lives. Doesn’t that matter too? Isn't that idea cheapened by removing any game aspect from it?
fair point but single problem grand bit of difference between being of a mixed marriage vs being a born slave hybrid the connotations are rather different
Are we talking about slavery hybrids here? I call straw man on that. This rule cheapens the entire concept, not just horrible expressions of it.
The new rule opens that up in the game in a big way, it doesn't detract from it. Wanna be a Half-Dwarf, Half-Goliath? Easy peaay.
Merely cosmetic. You're still playing a Dwarf or a Goliath.
Sure. But it opens up the representation of a wider array of beings without creating a mechanical morass (which is undesirable), or limiting option to a few random yet mechanically distinct options (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs, also undesirable).
Background Feats go a long way towards making a more cosmetic hybrid have some individual mechanical heft
Yeah, my favorite d20 take on it is still from Fantasy Craft, which doesn't have half-ancestries per say, but does have the "X Blooded" level 1 species feats. You want to play a drake with some orc blood in their background? Easy peasy! They also handle species variants like angel/devil/elemental influenced characters the same way, which is really handy.
True, but that approach will certainly favor Human+ combinations, since they have an extra feat to pay the "hybrid tax" with.
