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

[Zardnaar]

Or one or more sorcerer-kings warped some humans into beings in their own image out of vanity , and dragonborn were, er, dragon born.

It's not whether it makes sense to add them. It can easily make sense. It's how true to the original setting image do people want Dark Sun to be.

Except the Sorcer Kings wouldn't want Dragonborn wandering around in public. If they're offcast experiments.

Note the Dray were not in any main boxed set for DS as a playable race.

 

[Hussar]

You're asking a lot for a rare race. Every race isn't going to get multiple nations.

What makes you think a PHB race is rare?

But... hang on... I'm confused. Dragonborn are rare, but have towns where ever I feel the need to plonk a town down? They're rare but have communities everywhere? They're rare, but, it's never a problem just parachuting them into every location?

Why are you so set against actually ADDING them to the setting?

 

[Parmandur]

What makes you think a PHB race is rare?

An option being in the PHB doesn't mean it is rare or common, particularly

 

[Yaarel]

Or one or more sorcerer-kings warped some humans into beings in their own image out of vanity , and dragonborn were, er, dragon born.

That works too.

It's not whether it makes sense to add them. It can easily make sense. It's how true to the original setting image do people want Dark Sun to be.

For my tastes. The character options from the original Dark Sun setting need to translate into D&D 2024 in detail. This is the strict old school setting. Some translate into new 2024 subclasses: Templar might be a Warlock subclass. The socalled Athas "Bard" should rename Troubadour or Minstrel to avoid confusion, and be a musician background for the Assassin Rogue to take. The Defiling technique might be a background feat. Athas Elf be a new lineage, plus a Constitution improving cultural nomadic background. Etcetera. (Hopefully D&D 2024 will already have a Psion class before Dark Sun.) These detailed player options define the Dark Sun setting.

A separate section suggests how to integrate other appropriate 2024 Player Handbook options, like Barbarian and Bard. Maybe certain Paladin subclasses fit, but not Devotion. Goliath and Dragonborn fit, with some setting specific advice, but not Tiefling or Gnome. High Elf might be in a Positive Material locale. Maybe Orc works as Tarek. These options use Players Handbook mostly as-is, and represent a new school Dark Sun setting.

 

[Maxperson]

Except the Sorcer Kings wouldn't want Dragonborn wandering around in public. If they're offcast experiments.

Note the Dray were not in any main boxed set for DS as a playable race.

Why not? Having Dragonborn around would make their appearance not so unusual and note worthy. They'd want them wandering around 1) because they are vain and they made dragonborn in their own image to be seen, and to reduce the threat to them if someone does notice their appearance.

 

[Maxperson]

What makes you think a PHB race is rare?

Because the 5.5e changes apply when they contradict the 5e rules and lore. In 5e Dragonborn are a rare race. Nothing in 5.5e contradicts that.

But... hang on... I'm confused. Dragonborn are rare, but have towns where ever I feel the need to plonk a town down? They're rare but have communities everywhere? They're rare, but, it's never a problem just parachuting them into every location?

1) Not town, village. 2) plonking a village down where you need it isn't the same as saying there are villages everywhere. It's still a rare race compared to humans, elves, etc.

Why are you so set against actually ADDING them to the setting?

I'm not. They have been added to the Forgotten Realms already. Tymanther has tons of them since that's their country.

 

[Yaarel]

In [5.0e] Dragonborn are a rare race. Nothing in 5.5e contradicts that.

The rarity of a species depends entirely on setting. Obviously Dragonborn are common in a Dragonborn-only setting.

5.5 is setting agnostic, even if defaulting to a vaguely medievalesque assumption where magic is real.

If 5.0 explicitly called Dragonborn rare, that only applied to the 5.0 default Forgotten Realms setting. The 5.5 setting doesnt need to preserve that. Ghe Dragonborn can be common, especially in certain regions.

 

[Hussar]

An option being in the PHB doesn't mean it is rare or common, particularly

And yet, every D&D setting makes PHB species choices common. Funny that.

 

[Hussar]

The rarity of a species depends entirely on setting. Obviously Dragonborn are common in a Dragonborn-only setting.

5.5 is setting agnostic, even if defaulting to a vaguely medievalesque assumption where magic is real.

If 5.0 explicitly called Dragonborn rare, that only applied to the 5.0 default Forgotten Realms setting. The 5.5 setting doesnt need to preserve that. Ghe Dragonborn can be common, especially in certain regions.

Let's be honest here. Dragonborn and Tieflings were noted as "rare" in the 5.0 PHB because they had 4e cooties. It had ZERO to do with world building. It was the whole "We're bringing the game back to its roots" push.

And as far as "They already have a place", umm, that was done, what, fifteen years ago? I think it might just be time to add just a tiny bit more to the setting.

 

[Maxperson]

The rarity of a species depends entirely on setting. Obviously Dragonborn are common in a Dragonborn-only setting.

Clearly. Setting can always change default assumptions.

If 5.0 explicitly called Dragonborn rare, that only applied to the 5.0 default Forgotten Realms setting. The 5.5 setting doesnt need to preserve that. Ghe Dragonborn can be common, especially in certain regions.

Looking at it, they are called out as uncommon, along with Gnomes, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Tieflings.

"The dragon born and the rest of the races in this chapter are uncommon. They don't exist in every world of D&D, and even where they are found, they are less widespread than dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans.

In the cosmopolitan cities of the D&D multiverse, most people hardly look twice at members of even the most exotic races. But the small towns and villages that dot the countryside are different. The common folk aren't accustomed to seeing members of these races, and they react accordingly."

As you can see, their uncommon status is explicitly called as for every setting, but of course specific settings would change that. For instance my group once ended up going to the Council of Wyrms setting as part of their adventuring and Dragonborn were common there. In my Forgotten Realms setting they are extremely rare and are not a PC race, being far more powerful than the PC races. My group has only encountered one, and that one is the head of Candle Keep. They might have encountered the other one at the keep, but I can't remember.