mamba
Legend
Goliath might be feasible too
D&D (2024) Half Race Appreciation Society: Half Elf most popular race choice in BG3
- Thread starter Minigiant
- Start date
Ruin Explorer
Legend
Yeah honestly they and Orcs are pretty similar from the UAs. Goliaths definitely make better grapplers and potentially can do a bit more damage if you choose a damaging giant type, Orcs have more mobility.
Agreed on the "tend to change over time", but not on the "reflections of wealth".
I have personally known Filipinas who turned down more wealthy Filipino (or other asian) guys for not as well off White men. While I do think this preference started with the concentration of power during the colonial eras for those of White or Mestizo heritage, over time, it became more reverse racist in nature (ie, "The Whites were able to colonize us because they are better than we are"). Also, I've had many talks with Filipinas who think most White women are prettier than they are and wish they had lighter skin, and less pango (wide) noses with higher bridges. So it's not just about desiring a rich foreign man; they inherently feel that Whiteness is better.
That being said, times do change. I have noticed in the younger Filipinos (about less than 30 or so), there's been a resurgence in pride to be Asian. Korean culture is actually far more consumed than American culture now. A couple of my "nieces" (really, the daughters of my cousins, but in the Filipino hereditary system, they call and consider me an uncle) are dating Korean guys even though they work around a lot of other foreigners. Most Filipinos are obsessed with K-Drama and K-Pop, and if you go to the malls there, there are many many billboards and posters adorned with Korean models and actors.
I have also seen the beginnings of a renewed pride in my mother's people, called Bangsamoro (literally "Moro country" where Moros are the Muslim Filipinos). The pride stems from the Bangsamoro people's non-stop rebellion against first the Spanish, and later the Americans. The Moros didn't even need MacArthur's help in WW2, and had already ejected the majority of Japanese occupation force from their homelands by the time he arrived again in 1945.
Previously, the Bangsamoro were held in contempt by a large portion of the Hispanicized/Christianized Filipino population. They were considered as terrorists, savages and worse. But when Duterte became president in 2016, being part Chinese and part Moro himself, a large portion of Filipinos started having more "Asian pride" (for better or worse...as Duterte let China abscond with fishing grounds and some islands like the Spratleys).
EDIT: Just to clarify, not all Filipinos have these attitudes. In my experience, this has been the generalization, but it's just that...a generalization. Take it with as many grains of salt as needed to suit your taste
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
Because every 2024 species has a design space worth three half-feats, I strongly support every multispecies character allowing the player to choose these species feats from either parentage.
That said, in the case of the Half Elf specifically, the feats gained from the Human parentage seems roughly redundant with the Background features and feat anyway. So there is no meaningful loss of information.
There is a difference between core rules in the Players Handbook versus something that is true in a specific setting. Explicitly telling players they can play a Human-Dwarf matters.
Actually, with regard to Lifespan, according to the playtest rules: "Determine the average of the two options Lifespan traits to figure out how long your character might live." So, a player can have their Human-Elf character have a life expectancy of 415 years (= 750+80 / 2).
If building a Human-Dwarf character, I might do something like the following with the playtest rules.
HUMAN-DWARF
Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (4½ feet)
Speed: 30 feet
Lifespan: 215 (350+80 / 2)
Species Feats:
Darkvision
Poison Resistance
Hit Point Bonus: +1 per level
Tool Proficiency: Smiths Tools
Stonecunning: Tremorsense 60 feet pro times per day
Background:
Abilities: +2 Constitution, +1 Any
Languages: Common, Dwarf, Primordial (Terran Dialect)
Skill Proficiencies: any two (maybe Athletics brute force and Sleight of Hand manual dexterity)
Feat: choice of any feat
mamba
Legend
oh, I am not saying lighter skinned people are more wealthy, it is that their lighter skin is subconsciously equated to more wealth, which is inherently desirable, and that in turn gets called beauty when it is ‘just’ about being able to provide for the family / kids.
Most of our beauty standards subconsciously go back to ‘would they be a good partner for having / raising kids’, wealth is one of those factors and skin color is one reflection of that, even if it is not 100% reliable.
Not saying colonialism doesn’t play into this, it clearly does as well, for essentially the same reasons, it just is not limited to skin color while e.g. a farmer and a noble in Europe would mostly have had the skin color as a difference and otherwise similar features.
This has changed these days, and that is why a tan is now beautiful in the US and Europe. Which is why we have tanning salons. They would not exist without this shift in the beauty standard, which itself is driven by the change in how we work, as mentioned earlier. What stayed constant is that the skin tone that indicates wealth is the one that is considered more beautiful, what changed is that this is no longer pale / light skinned but a tan.
Last edited:
Like I said though, many Filipinas also think White girls are prettier than they are. It's why such a large number of Filipinas (and other asians I've noticed) wear colored contacts, use skin lightening soap (yes, that's a huge thing in the Philippines, and according to my Indian coworkers for them too), dye their hair so it isn't black, and get perms to make their hair wavy.
They perceive other White women as more attractive too, so that has nothing to do with wealth.
But I agree, the (desire for) wealth and power is what started the preference, but over time, it grew into an inferiority complex.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
All true.
That said. An individual persons perception of beauty can change within a few years.
For example, if seeing an ethnicity in power (police officers, judges, president, teachers, etcetera), that ethnicity will associate with power and become more "beautiful".
Sometimes being "exotic" can be beautiful in its own right, with "hybrid vigor" from the new DNA being a benefit. The exotic might be any other ethnicity.
CreamCloud0
Hero
oh cool half-dwarf, how do you like my half-warforged?
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 4–7 feet tall) or Small (about 2–4 feet tall), chosen when you select this Race
Speed: 30 feet
Life Span: 80 years on average
As a Human, you have these special traits.
Resourceful. You gain Inspiration* whenever you finish a Long Rest.*
Skillful. You gain Proficiency in one Skill of your choice.
Versatile. You gain the Skilled Feat or another 1st-level Feat of your choice.
Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Yup. WotC really knocked that one right out of the park.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
Hmmm. What if the Warforged somehow represents the Lawful Neutral species, relating to Mechanus and its Modron?
There seems a need for LN counterpart to the Tiefling (and Aasimar).
In Eberron and in World Axis, the Warforged have a specific history, respectively. But in 5e core, the Warforged might have a planar origin.
(Is Autognome the only other playable Construct species?)
