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

[GrimCo]

If there isn't any mechanics, then i play what ever race is represented in coolest artwork i can find for my class concept.

 

[Sulicius]

I don't need mechanics to influence my choice, but I DO need information about the setting.

Are there differences in culture and history for species?

If there truly is no difference but cosmetic, then I don't really see a point to including them anyway.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Race Has No Mechanics. What do you play?​

Pathfinder.

The answer is Pathfinder.

 

[cbwjm]

These statements seem at odds with each other. You can't really change something like that and not have larger changes to the game.

On the one hand, I'm 100% fine with a DM who is very restrictive about character creation. "You're all humans" or "Elves are kill-on-site by other races" are the type of world building I can get behind at Session 0. From that standpoint, it doesn't sound like there would be a problem.

But, if I'm choosing the edition and world... Let's say we're playing a 3.x OA/Kara-tur campaign. I say "I want to play a Hengeyokai on a personal journey to connect with my animal self". The DM says "Sure, but mechanically, they're the same as a human". Huh? Their alternate form is literally turning into an animal. Does that mean that, in this campaign, Hengeyokai don't have the Alternate Form ability? That normal Hengeyokay do but I don't? That I can turn into an animal, but still function exactly as a human? Even if I'm a small sized carp, or a crane with a fly speed, it's "cosmetic only"? How the heck is that supposed to work?

Okay, that's an extreme example. But what about undead races? Warforged? How can differences like breathing and sleeping be "cosmetic only"?

Let's go even more basic. I'm a human scout. I see a Goliath fighter. I ask the DM to try an assess what kind of a threat he his. The DM says he apears to be about average build for a Goliath. What the heck does that mean? Should I expect him to be stronger than a human, using larger, more dangerous weapons? Because Goliaths are obviously stronger than humans and use big weapons that do more damage. Or does average build for a Goliath mean he's the same as an average human?

Honestly, this just sounds like a mess. Easier to say "Everyone is a <insert race here>" than to say "It's cosmetic only". I can get behind the former. The latter would take a lot of work. And if the DM doesn't have an immediate answer worked out for the questions, well, that's a sign the DM really didn't know what they were doing.

I think in general, if you're going for no mechanics then some races would be out of bounds, more or less for the reasons you've mentioned. How do you fit an undead or warforged in there if they have the same mechanics as everyone else, hengeyokai would also be right out.

For the goliath, I just assume that if they're typically stronger than humans that an average goliath is still heavily muscled, you don't need a strength bonus or the ability that doubles your carry weight for that.

 

[Corinnguard]

I think that if your non-human races are indistinguishable from humans without mechanical elements, you are doing it wrong.

So, what is the right way to distinguish between humans and non-humans without using any mechanical element?

There is also the question of who takes up the job of distinguishing humans and non-humans within a setting. It wouldn't be up to the players to do this; it would be up to the DM to do this. It is the DM's job to introduce the players to the setting they're going to be adventuring in. It is their job to tell the players if the setting is an all-human setting or if the setting is occupied by more than humans. And if the setting does have non-human races in it, then the DM better do a decent job of describing what these non-human races are going to be like so that the players can pick what they like.

I am guessing, you're okay with doing more DM work.

Having mechanical elements for the races isn't just for the players' benefit, it's for the DM's as well.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

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...

Hypothetical sitation: you are joining a new campaign in which all other factors are positive (you know the GM and group, it's in a setting you like, whatever) but there is one hitch: race/heritage/species is cosmetic only.

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?

Dragonborn. You should always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon.

Race being cosmetic doesn't bother me. I would prefer that it at least have non-combat value (e.g., a fire-breathing dragonborn can light things on fire), but I'm fine with it having no combat effects.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

So, what is the right way to distinguish between humans and non-humans without using any mechanical element?

There is also the question of who takes up the job of distinguishing humans and non-humans within a setting. It wouldn't be up to the players to do this; it would be up to the DM to do this. It is the DM's job to introduce the players to the setting they're going to be adventuring in. It is their job to tell the players if the setting is an all-human setting or if the setting is occupied by more than humans. And if the setting does have non-human races in it, then the DM better do a decent job of describing what these non-human races are going to be like so that the players can pick what they like.

I am guess, you're okay with doing more DM work.

Having mechanical elements for the races isn't just for the players' benefit, it's for the DM's as well.

I have never seen mechanical systems make all that much difference to characterisation in play, the type of players who put effort into their characters are more likely to riff off lore and tropes than they are to riff on the mechanics.
In my experience most groups are too casual to matter in this but the groups that are, are I believe more inspired by the world building and hooks in the lore than mechanics.
People interested in the mechanics are interested in the power or flexibility provided by the mechanics.

 

[Horwath]

Instead of completely no mechanics, do you think that if only that build your own race from Tasha's (?) was available and that players could flavour their PCs however they wanted that people would build, say, a dwarf with skills and feats that feel kind of dwarfy?

have that for you:

D&D (2024) - Custom lineage for 5.5E. Build your own race:

Inspired by custom lineage from Tasha's, but let's take it a bit further. PF1 style. Pick your racial traits; you have 6 trait points: skill proficiency, max 2 times combination of 3 tools, languages and/or weapons, max 2 times expertise in one racial tool or skill darkvision 60ft darkvision...

www.enworld.org

On topic, human or elf, maybe warforged for some specific RP reasons.

 

[Corinnguard]

People interested in the mechanics are interested in the power or flexibility provided by the mechanics.

I think I am interested in the flexibility provided by the mechanics. They make me think about what I can do with my character when I am using them.

 

[Aldarc]

Race being cosmetic doesn't bother me. I would prefer that it at least have non-combat value (e.g., a fire-breathing dragonborn can light things on fire), but I'm fine with it having no combat effects.

Race/Ancestry/Kin having a mechanical effect is quite commonplace as a result of D&D's disproportionate influence, both in TTRPGs and video games. However, as I know you know, there are also a fair number of TTRPGs out there where it has little to no mechanical impact: Dungeon World, Fabula Ultima, etc. It really isn't the end of the world as some other people make it out to be.