D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[CreamCloud0]

Part of the issue is that old demihuman design paradigm where the classic PC races got homelands and monsters spring up from the ground already patrolling dungeons. And even then, gnomes, halflings and sometimes dwarves get the short end of the stick (pun intended) when it comes to having full nations. I think I can count on one hand the number of gnome nations. Primarily, humans and elves get full nations with dwarves getting isolated mountain holds, and then everyone else gets the equivalent of scattered villages. Their are exceptions (Mystara, Krynn and Eberron being the biggest examples) I will admit.

The one reversal from the Spellplague I wish wasn't undone was the Dragonborn nation from Abeir coming over whole cloth and replacing Unthur. Yes it was hamfisted, but I liked the Dragonborn being aliens who came over and were stranded on a new world and had to navigate nation building over again in a familiar homeland with unfamiliar neighbors. Undoing that forced them back into "scattered tribes and villages" trope.

in a built for 5e setting, i feel like most major settlements ought be populated by at minimum three different species,

 

[Parmandur]

in a built for 5e setting, i feel like most major settlements ought be populated by at minimum three different species,

But nothing un the rules requires that. That's a thematic choice that applies the same for 4E, 3E, AD&D, etc...

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Disparity and limitations play a role in value or worth.
It is the same for backgrounds, class options, proficiencies and I would expect species/races.

A good setting usually reflects conflict and rarity, a turbulent history, with preconceptions, class struggles, species divide and mistrust, minorities battling, natural and unnatural forces, many unknowns, theological battles...etc - which provides a rich tapestry to give life to unfolding surprising and exciting stories.

Integration is an utterly BORING requirement in all of that!

hey, dude. hey. hey guess what. guess what dude. being involved in that stuff is LITERALLY WHAT I MEAN BY INTEGRATION.

i don't mean "oooo everyone needs to be part of the little community oooo" what i mean is "hey if you're from a core species you should have some grounding in the setting instead of just plopping in from like space or something". ABSOLUTELY get them into conflict it is a STORY that is the POINT.

 

[Yaarel]

With regard to a setting, an Awsimar can be a "descendent of a Celestial being". Alternatively one can be "infused" with Celestial power. Either way, the Awsimar is a "mortal who carr[ies] a spark of the Upper Planes within their soul".

The main idea is a noncelestial creature whose "soul" wields the Celestial magic of Good alignment. The term "mortal" connotes a creature of the Material Plane.

I find it useful to understand the D&D "soul" as comprising different levels: aura, mind, and consciousness.

In the Material Plane, the soul pervades the physical body as an aura of lifeforce (ki). This is the animal soul, animating a bodily life.

In the Astral Plane, including the alignments, the soul is an infinite transcendent consciousness. It is the awareness beyond being aware of any particular thing: the observer that cannot be observed. At the same time, at this level, the environment of aster is the concepts, ideals, archetypes, symbols, oaths, the patterns of language itself: the Word, the Song, the preceding principles, the physical laws forming the creation of force and matter. The consciousness forms an Astral virtual body, an information construct made out of the linguistic stuff. This Astral identity is ones eternal self, beyond the limits of spacetime, and is immortal and incorruptible. It is the best version of ones self, able to engage well any opportunity in spacetime. When a soul reincarnates in the Material Plane, each version manifests an aspect of ones eternal Astral self. Celestial Angels are likewise information constructs (sometimes referred to as intellects), made out of aster.

In between, the soul is a mind that sometimes pays attention to the animalistic aura, and sometimes pays attention to the angelic consciousness. The mind can learn, grow, adapt, and evolve, and is the selfidentity of a person that discovers how to make sense of the various levels of the soul. This mind is the level of the soul is made out of ether. This Ethereal mindforce is sometimes referred to as the spirit of a person. The force of the mind of a soul, when strong enough can extend remotely beyond the body, to engage telepathically, even move and alter matter telekinetically.

A Humanoid soul comprises a Material-body aura, an Ethereal-spirit mind, and an Astral-construct consciousness.

An Awsimar is a Humanoid whose soul is unusually aware of the environment at the Astral level of consciousness. Specifically, the mind glimpses the Celestial aspect of the ethical ideal of Good. This "enlightened soul" wields a "spark" of the Astral magic of the Song of creation that precedes the cause and formation of the rest of the multiverse.

For an Awsimar, the goodness of the Astral soul is apparent. But the rest of the levels of the soul are normal and are still works in progress. The Material level of the soul can still operate thoughtlessly, even if the mind requires willful effort to ignore the Astral consciousness.

An Awsimar soul can show up in any Humanoid species, anywhere anywhen.

 

[AnotherGuy]

hey, dude. hey. hey guess what. guess what dude. being involved in that stuff is LITERALLY WHAT I MEAN BY INTEGRATION.

i don't mean "oooo everyone needs to be part of the little community oooo" what i mean is "hey if you're from a core species you should have some grounding in the setting instead of just plopping in from like space or something". ABSOLUTELY get them into conflict it is a STORY that is the POINT.

Apologies I thought you were signaling an equal share demographic being necessary for a setting and requiring all playable races be integrated.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Apologies I thought you were signaling an equal share demographic being necessary for a setting and requiring all playable races be integrated.

it's alright, misunderstandings happen