D&D (2024) Half Race Appreciation Society: Half Elf most popular race choice in BG3

[Mistwell]

The 2024 Players Handbook must make clear the stats of an Elf whose parents come from different elven communities.

Or else. The WotC message will be, that different ethnicities arent allowed to intermarry each other.

The message and the mechanics need to be, that the various elven cultures can and do have children together.

Just once I'd like to see you simply say what you'd like to see, rather than phrasing it as "WOTC must do X" about a topic lacking widespread agreement that they must do X.

 

[Yaarel]

Just once I'd like to see you simply say what you'd like to see, rather than phrasing it as "WOTC must do X" about a topic lacking widespread agreement that they must do X.

In their day, many players complained about removing sexism and sexist mechanics from D&D.

 

[Tony Vargas]

There's still sexism in D&D.

The Drow, for instance, are a viciously negative stereotype of a matriarchal culture ... and FemDom.

 

[Yaarel]

There's still sexism in D&D.

The Drow, for instance, are a viciously negative stereotype of a matriarchal culture ... and FemDom.

Yeah. There are efforts to ameliorate that.

• There is an "Uda Drow" culture, but also Loren and Aeven. So, less monolithic Drow.
• Elves from the Uda culture use the same mechanics, regardless of gender identity.
• Any ingame mysogynous portrayals presumably is specific to the Lolth "faction". To be fair, Lolth is a Demon.
• The faction is in power in certain cities, but presumably the rest of the citizens dont necessarily subscribe to its ideology.

We still lack info about Loren and Aeven. I havent read the novels than mention them, but havent heard much detail from the forum discussions about them either.

Maybe solutions include: either Loren or one of the other Elf cultures exhibits a positive matriarchal culture (perhaps using bonobo as an example). In the city of Callidae, Aeven is a democratic egalitarian culture. Various elven communities can feature local matriarchies, local patriarchies, and perhaps more typically, egalitarian governments. (Scottish lore refers to an Elf Queen and her matriarchal sovereignty. Norse lore seems to refer to a male jarl of Alfheimr, titled the "songster" in reference to magical chanting, who was presumably elected, whence a magocracy.) Each Elf court governs itself locally autonomously. Meanwhile, those Elf communities who are in close contact with Corellon can have any gender forming the government, while genderfluid enjoys sacred status.

I think it is ok for the Lolth faction to be Evil, including a political abuse of matriarchy. But maybe for every negative stereotype supply two prominent positive examples.

It seems a work in progress.

Any ideas?

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

There's still sexism in D&D.

The Drow, for instance, are a viciously negative stereotype of a matriarchal culture ... and FemDom.

Obligatory gesture to Eberron, where the drow have none of the traditional drow baggage

 

[Tony Vargas]

Obligatory gesture to Eberron, where the drow have none of the traditional drow baggage

Is there a laudable matriarchy in that setting? (There's a lot to Eberron, even having run the odd short adventure in it, I'm afraid I don't know it at all well)

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Is there a laudable matriarchy in that setting? (There's a lot to Eberron, even having run the odd short adventure in it, I'm afraid I don't know it at all well)

No matriarchies to speak of, or at least none that spring to mind - certainly none among the drow.

No patriarchies either, for that matter. Generally tends to be fairly egalitarian.

 

[Yaarel]

The bonobos are interesting. Typically, they divide into a male group and a female group, and they all frequently have sex with each other, female-female, female-male, and male-male. Like humans, bonobos reuse sex for social strategies moreso than reproductive strategies.

In this context, there are no "fathers". There are only mothers who birthe the children. Thus the female group is mothers and daughters. Every male is loyal to ones own mother.

Thus when the female group make a decision with each other, the male group tends to go along with it, being loyal to their mothers.

In this way, the bonobos are gently egalitarian, yet the group tends to incline toward the female decision makers.

This or something like this seems useful for a speculative matriarchal culture that is positive.

Where the culture divides into a male group and a female group, there will be transgender individuals who self-identify with and belong to the other group.

 

[Yaarel]

The Eberron setting was a bit tone-deaf by making the "black" Drow be jungle primitives. But it has been walking that back ever since. As of now, the Eberron Drow culture is a sophisticated primal magic culture.

I worry about Loren Drow falling into a similar stereotype.

In the superhero genre, the city of Wakanda seems well received. Maybe integrate some of its tropes into Loren culture?

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

The Eberron setting was a bit tone-deaf by making the "black" Drow be jungle primitives. But it has been walking that back ever since. As of now, the Eberron Drow culture is a sophisticated primal magic culture.

There are no less than three main drow cultures in Xen'drik - and as the continent is very much treated as an largely unexplored land of mystery from the perspective of Khorvaire, almost certainly more.

Both the Sulatar and Umbragen have magical traditions on par with, if not surpassing, those of Khorvaire (the secrets of elemental binding that allow for airships were stolen from the Sulatar, for example), and while the Vulkoori/Qaltiar are generally tribal warriors who worship nature spirits, I would hardly call any of them primitive.