D&D General Race Has No Mechanics. What do you play?

[Micah Sweet]

The point of having different species without mechanics, would be similar to having different Human cultures without mechanics.

This is why I prefer Level Up, where cultures have mechanics.

 

[Reynard]

But you can any culture you want with human. Plus a lot of cultural aspects wouldn't make any sense if the mechanical side was irrelevant.

That's a weird take. What's the mechanical side of humans that make Viking culture make sense.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I hold a similar, but distinct, position that every character, PC and NPC, is ultimately unique. Racial traits might be shared by a majority of the population of a species, but there are always lot and lots of exceptions. Being a member of a race or species is ultimately a tag in the fiction, not a specific mechanic. (Although some mechanics might depend on the character having that fictional tag, like a magic item only usable by dwarves.)

Sounds like the opposite position.

 

[Bitbrain]

So, assuming it is a very open setting in which pretty much any reasonable humanoid species is available, but none of them have any mechanical effects (including size, vision and movement types; everyone, including humans, are basically human mechanically). What species do you pick for your character?

Would race being cosmetic only be a turn off for you?

Yes, race/species being cosmetic only would be a major turn-off for me.

However, if the DM was able to give me a decent enough reason why such is the case in their world, I would probably play something absolutely bonkers, like an anthropomorphized armadillo or hermit crab, or maybe a shardmind (crystalline humanoids from 4e) since I’ve always like the idea of silicon-based life form.

EDIT FOR CLARITY: The supposition here is that the raves still have lore and in-fiction impacts related to the setting, which you can either define as your preferred setting, or default to whatever bits are to be found in the core books. Dwarves are dour, elves are aloof, etc...

Best typo ever.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You seem to be leaving out the most obvious element, which is setting specific lore for a given race that informs playing those characters. They are still fantasy races in a fantasy world, with fantastical histories and fantastical places and other setting elements tied to them.

Give me an example where, in your scenario, playing a human with the same culture wouldn't work.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That's a weird take. What's the mechanical side of humans that make Viking culture make sense.

I'm talking about stuff like trance and long lifespans informing Elven culture, for example. The culture lore would be different if the mechanical side didn't exist.

 

[Scribe]

I'm talking about stuff like trance and long lifespans informing Elven culture, for example. The culture lore would be different if the mechanical side didn't exist.

I think you know my position all this, but not necessarily. They could just be fluff, lore with no crunch, just a 'oh elven culture has this because they can access their memories from their various lifetimes' or whatever.

No mechanical benefit, no extra rules, just a claim in the lore that does nothing.

 

[Quickleaf]

It me!

 

[Reynard]

Give me an example where, in your scenario, playing a human with the same culture wouldn't work.

I'm talking about stuff like trance and long lifespans informing Elven culture, for example. The culture lore would be different if the mechanical side didn't exist.

First off, I don't think long life qualifies as a mechanic, unless the game in question has real and impactful aging effects. They were real in some TSR era D&D, but never in my experience what one would call "impactful." I guess maybe elves and dwarves could handle a lot more haste spells cast on them?

Anyway, that aside, lets say that your use half orcs in your game in the Tolkien sense: orc and human hybrids designed to be able to pass among men undetected, travel in the day, and so on. That is a distinct bit of lore that requires no mechanics at all but really matters to the way the character will interact with the world. You can't just replace that with a human culture.

Or to use your elf example: elves experience a trance rather than real sleep, and their dreams are not dreams but the sifting of memories of many lifetimes. You are absolutely right that should inform both individual elf characters as well as elf culture broadly, but it does not require any special game mechanics.

 

[Minigiant]

What species do you pick for your character?

Half elf Half hobgoblin

Would race being cosmetic only be a turn off for you?

Depends if I get mechanics to make up for it.