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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crimson Longinus" data-source="post: 8369650" data-attributes="member: 7025508">I actually want to get bogged down to semantics, because it is pretty relevant in this context. What you actually understand biological essentialism mean if we apply it to actual different species? Biological essentialism is generally used synonymously than biological determinism: that something is due biology rather than other factors. I.e. nature part of 'nature vs. nurture.' No. There was 'or' there. Perhaps you should be a bit less sure that you can accurately determine what is and isn't problematic?I mean, it is not like that, but it is also not exactly completely unlike that: "A changeling can shift its face and form with a thought. Many changelings use this gift as a form of artistic and emotional expression, but it is an invaluable tool for grifters, spies and others who wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat known changelings with fear and suspicion." Then it also goes to tell how they often live among other species without their knowledge. That is result of their essential biological nature... Whilst I understand the desire to have all lineages to be equally good for every class, D&D classes are not relevant to social justice, they're arbitrary made up categories for game play purposes. It is not any more essentialising to be good fighter than a good weightlifter just because former happens to be a class in D&D and latter doesn't. Reasonable by whose standards? Ultimately we cannot just evaluate these things based on our gut feeling. It might give some indication, but it is far too subjective and we're blind to our own biases and privileges. There should be at least some sort of logically-semi-coherent framework. Superficially. If that's all your fantasy species has going for them, I wouldn't bother.And then you cannot describe different species! They cannot be mentally different. Saying "some dwarves are like this, but then again,  so are also some orcs and some humans" is useless. <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🤷" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f937.png" title="Person shrugging    :person_shrugging:" data-shortname=":person_shrugging:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />  That is the problem.</blockquote>

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