Realistically--if they are going to go this route, this is the only sane way to do this--even if it is boring. Otherwise, it's a million and one pre-defined race/linage/species mix templates; or a min/max fest of picking characteristics from both. Race as become less and less mechanically important in D&D over the years (a long way from race as class in BMCMI), and the mechanical complexity generated by social issues around race just isn't worth the fuss.
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
D&D (2024) How did I miss this about the Half races/ancestries
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MoonSong
Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
@Umbran I'm bowing down from this thread. I've already expressed my feelings and worries. I identify with half elves and find this new approach invalidating and tone deaf and one that makes me feel less welcome into the hobby period. I can only hope the change somehow doesn't come to be or I may simply skip this edition/version whatever.
Happy gaming and happy discussion
Happy gaming and happy discussion
MGibster
Legend
It should come to no surprise that if you replace one word with another word that has a different definition that you will change the meaning of the sentence.
Really, WotC should just abandon any bonuses or negatives associated with a particular species. Are you an orc? Great. You stats and abilites are exactly the same as a human. Do you have an elven mother and a dwarf father? Great. Your stats and abilities are exactly the same as a human. You and the DM get to work out what being a dwarf or an elf means in your campaign world. It's boring, but it's safe because it won't cause any offense.
Frozen_Heart
Hero
One thing I'd like to know, is what kind of mechanics you would like to see from half elves.
It looks like humans have been changed a lot in 1dnd compared to 5e, and they're a lot less mechanically boring now. Could half-elves benefit from a similar overhaul, to give them some unique features?
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
Yeah, I'm gonna bow out as well. (I'm actually late for the door; I usually leave at the first mention of swastikas.) My final thoughts on the matter:
I will continue to use the legacy ancestries in the 5E Players Handbook as examples, and supplement them as needed with the "Build Your Own" guidelines in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. I haven't seen a convincing reason to do otherwise.
I do feel that the Half-Orc and Half-Elf ancestries are problematic, and that is probably why nobody in my gaming group has chosen to play one in almost 15 years. The closest we ever had to a "half-race" was a tiefling in the last campaign, but I'm not sure that counts in the context of this thread: her demonic blood was the result of a curse, a literal "deal with the devil" that her dad made when she was 5 years old. She was born an ordinary human.
I want a consistent set of guidelines for creating my own ancestries and a handful of examples. I do not want a list of what's "allowed" or even "typical."
I will continue to use the legacy ancestries in the 5E Players Handbook as examples, and supplement them as needed with the "Build Your Own" guidelines in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. I haven't seen a convincing reason to do otherwise.
I do feel that the Half-Orc and Half-Elf ancestries are problematic, and that is probably why nobody in my gaming group has chosen to play one in almost 15 years. The closest we ever had to a "half-race" was a tiefling in the last campaign, but I'm not sure that counts in the context of this thread: her demonic blood was the result of a curse, a literal "deal with the devil" that her dad made when she was 5 years old. She was born an ordinary human.
I want a consistent set of guidelines for creating my own ancestries and a handful of examples. I do not want a list of what's "allowed" or even "typical."
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Frozen_Heart
Hero
Not sure how that would work with firebreathing dragonborn, or waterbreathing genasi, or flying aarokocra...
If you get rid of all differences between species, why bother having multiple different species? Why not just having humans and add a little sidebar note saying "you can reflavour your human as anything else"
MGibster
Legend
That'd be up to the DM and the player to decide. It's just that WotC would no longer be in the business of telling players what different species can do. i.e. They won't be forcing anyone to play the game they way they say it should be played. More importantly, you're going to avoid any problematic issues having different species and how they interact. It'll be bland as hell, but that's a small price to pay for making everyone a little unhappy instead of making some people extremely unhappy.
I felt the same way when WotC decided to get rid of species based attribute bonuses. I don't have a particular dog in this race. I think just about every side I've heard has brought up good reasons why we should have X or shouldn't have Y, and I genuinely do not see a solution that is satisfactory to all. We've heard a few posters that want to keep the half-elf and feel as though the proposed changes amount to erasure, we have others who have good reasons why the half-elf is offensive, and we have others still who are concerned about what might happen based on what words are chosen.
I've always thought that species in D&D mattered very little. Your Fighter could be a dwarf, goliath, elf, or human and it won't make a big difference so far as playing the game is concerned. It might make a difference in your head, but it doesn't make much of a difference practically speaking. That just leaves mechanical differences. Why bother having multiple species? It's a good question. At this point, I don't know. It doesn't seem worth the trouble.
SteveC
Doing the best imitation of myself
While I don't think this is the way this should be handled, I think it is the ultimate direction we are headed. The species/races/ancestries what have you that are in fantasy games all have links to real-world mythologies and writings. They all have negative tropes and stereotypes associated with them. For just a simple example, I have read many discussions about dwarves and how they are anti-Semitic. Should we remove them from D&D? You might think that's silly, but two weeks ago I had never heard the discussion we are having in this thread right now.
Where are we going? Right where you say here.
Scribe
Legend
The end point of the 'funny hats' path we have been on for some time.
Frozen_Heart
Hero
I wonder if making completely new species from scratch can get around the issue of every single existing fantasy species having historical problems with being based on offensive caricatures of real world cultures and races....
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