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Hmmm. I don't see the distinction you're drawing. For one thing, AFAIR there is no rule in 5E that says "you can only be one race." People just naturally conclude that being 80% ogre, 50% dwarf, and 100% elven is nonsensical, so they don't try to do it and no one ever has to say no. It's kind...

+1, Hillfolk is worth learning and playing a few games of just for how it will affect your GMing in general.

It depends who you ask but as for me I would say morals. There are many things which are reprehensible but not illegal nor should be: pulling the wings off flies for fun is wrong (likewise any other form of taking joy in inflicting pain), but I would strongly oppose attempts to criminalize...

Yeah, (most) rules are less about what you can say, more about what the universe says back to you. There are some exceptions, e.g. taking turns in Monopoly or in 5E round-robin initiative are restrictions on when you're allowed to talk. (I hate round robin initiative because it's an unnecessary...

I would argue that rules are there primarily to say "No" to players, and secondarily to make it somewhat more predictable to players when the universe will say "No." If the universe never says no, then you don't need rules. "I turn into a unicorn" is valid, and so is "I cut off the giant's...

That could be because I wasn't trying to explain or advocate blorbing, only to comment that neither No Myth nor Blorby play are objectively better than each other: when and how to canonize facts is simply a matter of preference. Since your point appears to be that Blorb, in your opinion, is...

Presumably that's just so we can avoid the argument over whether Braunsteins, Free Kriegspiel, Coventry, and other role-playing activities count as role-playing games. For our purposes it doesn't matter whether the 70s or the 50s are the origin: the point is, the techniques aren't new. Apropos...

This is true. Ultimately there's no fundamental distinction between canonizing information at the point where it's known to two people (No Myth) and canonizing it earlier, perhaps before it's known even to one person (blorb). Neither is objectively superior, but it's fine to prefer one or the...

Chimpanzees are TERRIFYING. Cool analogy.

Yeah, I remember being very surprised when I played a 3E-based CRPG and ran into some orcs, and they all had massive damage bonuses that to my AD&D-trained mind seemed to require 18/51+ strength. I was like, "(!!!) Why are all these orcs on steroids?"

Whatever it is, it is the kind of data about a race which WotC doesn't typically supply. What's the Aarakocra birth rate? [Giant shrug from WotC] Nowadays they don't even supply lifespan, let alone height and weight distributions. Hence why I no longer buy WotC 5E products, although the movie...

A race that has a per capita birth rate of 0.5 per year and grows to maturity in only 3 years, has overwhelming racial solidarity (lacks intraracial violent or fraudulent motives), and is otherwise similar to humans, will drive humans, elves, etc. to extinction in short order. But most people...

[snip]

Hmmm. That's generous of you, and a fair point, but I think the reversal goes deeper than just the language level. I think 2023 gamers and GMs are now more inclined to roleplay orcs as pastoralists than industrialists, too. Somewhere along the way, the whole idea of what an orc is seems to have...

But they did have a terrific (and diegetical!) men's choir! :) I guess joining the choir must be a good way to get off the frontline. Captain Black Adder would surely approve.

Oh, sorry, when you interjected to claim they were indigenous-themed, I assumed you were speaking from data about the uncle. Sorry for the misdirected question. Now I don't know why you addressed your reply to me in the first place, nor what you meant by "the opposition." Care to clarify?

Are you saying your uncle's orcs were Lawful Good AND indigenous-themed, as opposed to Tolkien's fantasy Nazis (industrial metalworkers with pollution and gunpowder)? What did your uncle's notes say to make them seem less industrialized? I don't know who you mean by "the opposition". You don't...

An actual 2014 PHB has darkness that works backward: if I'm in a 300 yard pitch-black cavern holding up a candle, I can see everything because I'm not heavily obscured, but any bandits hiding out there in the dark can't see me because they are heavily obscured. This was fixed around, I dunno...

Good orcs, good liches, good dragons, goblins that heal when you damage them... Opposite day is old hat for D&D. But the idea of getting offended about the existence of evil orcs because you IDENTIFY with the fantasy Nazis (orcs) on behalf of your a real world-identity is something that your...

That's using the classic tropes though. Tolkien orcs are master smiths and make cunning machines from metal.