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

 

[Hussar]

The problem is that you are talking about the demographics of core book settlements, which of course will have demographics that place the core races as primary. They are talking about the setting demographics, which includes the entire known world and all the humanoid settlements, cities, tribes, etc. in it. In short, you're looking at a limited subset of the setting demographics and @Paul Farquhar is looking at the entire setting.

Thus my confusion. He's not referencing anything I'm actually talking about and his concerns have nothing to do with the conversation at hand.

As far as dragonborn in Candlekeep, again, it's so frustrating talking about this stuff with people who obviously have never actually run these adventures. Yes, you are right, there are a couple of NPC dragonborn in the initial pages. Who are then completely ignored and play absolutely no part in any of the actual adventures. Two Dragonborn NPC's plopped into an adventure with literally over a hundred named NPC's is hardly countering my point is it? My point is, as it has always been, that dragoborn and tieflings, despite being in the PHB, have virtually no presence in the actual settings for D&D. I can name a dozen settlements for any other PHB race in the Sword Coast alone.

Where is a Dragonborn settlement? Goliath settlement? Can you name one? Over ten years, what, about ten AP's set in the Sword Coast and there isn't a single example of where your Dragonborn character might come from. Not a single example of where an Aasimar or other planetouched character might come from. 2024 races? Ok, fair enough. They're new. But, Dragonborn have been in the PHB for over a decade now and we still have ZERO information about how or where they live in the Sword Coast other than a couple of throwaway paragraphs and a tiny number of NPC's.

Again, I have more information about how GRIPPLI live in the Sword Coast than I do Dragonborn.

 

[Hussar]

D&D settings can be diverse. The purest D&D setting is DM homebrew. Adding or removing a species for a particular setting is D&D.

D&D 2024 added species to core. Whether Human or Elf, or Awsimar or Gnome, is in play depends on the setting.

If the goal of a particular setting is to situate every player option in the 2024 Players Handbook, that is understandable . "D&D" is much more than this.

Of course it is. Why would you think that I am arguing any differently?

I really get the feeling that people are talking completely at cross purposes.

My point is that despite a decade of being one of the most popular player options in D&D, we still have zero background for either Tieflings or Dragonborn. So, a putative new setting should incorporate those races into the basic character of the settings. Just like every other PHB setting is the basic character of every other D&D setting. I'm frankly baffled why this is even contentious. This is bog standard about how every single D&D setting has been presented since Greyhawk. Yet I'm getting jumped on like I'm asking people to chew puppies.

 

[Parmandur]

Goliath settlement? Can you name one?

Yeah, two. Wyrmdoom Crag and Skytower Shelter.

Two Dragonborn NPC's plopped into an adventure with literally over a hundred named NPC's is hardly countering my point is it?

Jeremy Crawford once pointed out, in reference to represe ting real world human diversity in 5E books, is that one huge advantage D&D books have ocer novels or shows is that there are 100+ characters in a book, so there can be representative samples of lots of groups of people rather organically.

No, Dragonborn and Tieflings are not a dime a dozen, but they are present.

 

[Hussar]

I assume that those two are from Rime of the Frostmaiden? I really need to pick that up sometime. It looks like it does cover some of the missing bits. Although, that does make it somewhat tricky for my Goliath to be in Baldur's Gate. And it does rather nicely dovetail with my point that if I choose something like Goliath, the only background that I really should have is "Someone from REALLY far away with no actual connetions to where ever we happen to be now". PHB races should not always have to be fish out of water characters.

It's perfectly fine to be a fish out of water character. No problems there. But, it should not be the default (or the only) choice for a PHB race.

And, btw, where are the Dragonborn settlements? I did ask for those too. You found two Goliath settlements, great. But, how about a settlement for a species that has been a default choice for players since 2014?