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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 6747130" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>I voted "no," though I'm tempted to unvote, as I suspect the question was somewhat ambiguous.</p><p></p><p>When I hear, "Do you restrict the playable races?" I interpret this as including an implicit "usually," or some other "almost all of the time"/"as a matter of general practice" kind of thing. And the answer to that would be a flat no. I'm not really a DM, but I like to think up story stuff a lot--and I never, ever specifically <em>intend</em> to limit the number or types of races. I may do so if, and only if, it feels appropriate; if I wish to highlight the differences of the setting from a "typical" fantasy setting, for example, or in the rare event that I'm going for a heavily "historical" campaign and want that <s>bland, bland</s> <em>sweet, sweet</em> "human only" feel <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />P).</p><p></p><p>However, on seeing many of the replies, it sounds like most people are interpreting the question as, "Do you <em>ever even remotely consider</em> restricting the playable races?" In which case the answer would be a clear yes. It's always a potential consideration. I'm not going to deny myself a tool like that--I'm just, IMO, much more cautious with its use than most other people.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>See, <em>this</em> kind of thing I think is just lovely. I generally prefer to extend this to be slightly more "cultural," e.g. there is the <em>Eusyccan League</em>, where the dominant racial group is dragonborn, while tieflings are the significant majority in the <em>Sultanate of Al Beira</em>, and elves are the bellicose leaders of the so-called <em>Lirian Republic</em> (even though it's really been a <em>de facto</em> empire for a couple of centuries now, its Senate being a vestigial organ). Not trying to say that you, mestewart, do or do not do this--just clarifying my preferences.</p><p></p><p>For a completely different example, I have long entertained ideas of...an "East-West fusion" setting, that is, one that melds or layers together both European and Central/East Asian influences. So, for example, the tiefling-dominant culture is inspired by the Byzantines; the mainly-orc culture is Nordic; perhaps the mainly-dwarf one could draw heavily on Indian subcontinent cultures (especially the caste system); the dragonborn-led empire is strongly influenced by Japanese and Chinese ideas both martial and political (e.g. Daoist-influenced political structures, supported by a powerful military caste a la samurai); perhaps the human-dominant cultures could draw on Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa (I don't know these cultures well enough to give examples, but I'd do some research); since it's a bit of a trope at this point, the mostly-minotaur culture could be Aegean-inspired (e.g. Greek/Cretan) sail-centric; etc.</p><p></p><p>I also have a tendency to run on a "not yet, but perhaps" system, rather than a "no never" system. E.g. Q:"Are there gnolls in your setting?" A:"Not yet--but maybe! Perhaps Mirtul Khan has united the nomadic herding tribes of the west, and comes to bring terror and slaughter to the oh-so-high-and-mighty Lirian Republic."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 6747130, member: 6790260"] I voted "no," though I'm tempted to unvote, as I suspect the question was somewhat ambiguous. When I hear, "Do you restrict the playable races?" I interpret this as including an implicit "usually," or some other "almost all of the time"/"as a matter of general practice" kind of thing. And the answer to that would be a flat no. I'm not really a DM, but I like to think up story stuff a lot--and I never, ever specifically [I]intend[/I] to limit the number or types of races. I may do so if, and only if, it feels appropriate; if I wish to highlight the differences of the setting from a "typical" fantasy setting, for example, or in the rare event that I'm going for a heavily "historical" campaign and want that [s]bland, bland[/s] [I]sweet, sweet[/I] "human only" feel (:P). However, on seeing many of the replies, it sounds like most people are interpreting the question as, "Do you [I]ever even remotely consider[/I] restricting the playable races?" In which case the answer would be a clear yes. It's always a potential consideration. I'm not going to deny myself a tool like that--I'm just, IMO, much more cautious with its use than most other people. See, [I]this[/I] kind of thing I think is just lovely. I generally prefer to extend this to be slightly more "cultural," e.g. there is the [I]Eusyccan League[/I], where the dominant racial group is dragonborn, while tieflings are the significant majority in the [I]Sultanate of Al Beira[/I], and elves are the bellicose leaders of the so-called [I]Lirian Republic[/I] (even though it's really been a [I]de facto[/I] empire for a couple of centuries now, its Senate being a vestigial organ). Not trying to say that you, mestewart, do or do not do this--just clarifying my preferences. For a completely different example, I have long entertained ideas of...an "East-West fusion" setting, that is, one that melds or layers together both European and Central/East Asian influences. So, for example, the tiefling-dominant culture is inspired by the Byzantines; the mainly-orc culture is Nordic; perhaps the mainly-dwarf one could draw heavily on Indian subcontinent cultures (especially the caste system); the dragonborn-led empire is strongly influenced by Japanese and Chinese ideas both martial and political (e.g. Daoist-influenced political structures, supported by a powerful military caste a la samurai); perhaps the human-dominant cultures could draw on Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa (I don't know these cultures well enough to give examples, but I'd do some research); since it's a bit of a trope at this point, the mostly-minotaur culture could be Aegean-inspired (e.g. Greek/Cretan) sail-centric; etc. I also have a tendency to run on a "not yet, but perhaps" system, rather than a "no never" system. E.g. Q:"Are there gnolls in your setting?" A:"Not yet--but maybe! Perhaps Mirtul Khan has united the nomadic herding tribes of the west, and comes to bring terror and slaughter to the oh-so-high-and-mighty Lirian Republic." [/QUOTE]
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