D&D 5E Are there any races post-tashas that compare with mountain dwarf for casters?

[Zardnaar]

Rate the race:

Ability Scores: +2/+1
Size: Medium
Speed: +5 feet speed (35 feet)
Tools: Choose one tool
Skills: Choose two skills, and also add +1d8 feet to all jump checks
Languages: Common + one bonus language
Natural Weapon: Unarmed strikes: 1d4 + Str
Magic Resistance: Advantage on saves vs spells & magic effects

Satyr?

Pretty much S tier.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but please bear with me:

The primary argument against racial ASIs is that mechanical representation of the obvious physiological differences between Elves and Dwarves is "biological essentialism" and-- at the very least-- dangerously close to implying agreement with assertions of biological essentialism between different human ethnic groups. It's not really my main concern, but I do agree with the goal.

But if they're going to tell us that Elves being statistically more DEX than Dwarves is unacceptably racist...

... I am not going to sit here and tolerate them telling me that it's less offensive that the wealthy (Nobles and Artisans) are more INT than the poor (Urchins and Criminals).

And... if we are not going to address the social implications, if we're just going to talk about realism, the idea that a character's childhood and education make more of a difference in their literal physical biology than their literal physical phenotype strikes me as deliberately ignoring the obvious.

I think the issue here is poor definition of what INT means.

Because I think having a better education does lead to a higher intelligence in terms of knowing things and applying that knowledge to things like calculations via known formulas.

But if you want Intelligence to represent just raw calculating power of the mind, then yeah, it is a bad representation.

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So have they ever proven if it's high IQ that causes high wealth or high wealth that causes high IQ?

Well, an easy way to prove this would be to look at the children of wealthy parents on average compared to the children of other social stratas. Because a child's high IQ could not possibly lead to wealth on a significant level.

And from what I remember, the average is higher for the children of wealthy families.

And while you might be able to argue that high IQ children came from high IQ parents, and therefore the IQ is the source of wealth, it is important to remember that wealth for "old money" families can come from very old roots. There is no reason to believe that a soldier who became a Baron due to service to the Crown was exceptionally intelligent, but if they had a wealthy enough estate their descendants are still wealthy with even minimal management of money.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:

Folks, the subject of IQ tests in the real world is well outside the purview of this thread. Please bring things back around to gaming. Thanks.

 

[Mistwell]

Satyr?

Pretty much S tier.

That term "S Tier" is not one I am familiar with (I am sure it's a known one around here, I just happened to miss it). I can figure out what you mean from context, but if you get the chance could you offer a primer on the Tier titles?

 

[Remathilis]

That term "S Tier" is not one I am familiar with (I am sure it's a known one around here, I just happened to miss it). I can figure out what you mean from context, but if you get the chance could you offer a primer on the Tier titles?

In video games, Tier lists tend to go F, D, C, B, A, S; worst to best. The first five are comparative to letter grades in school, S (supreme) tier though is what is considered best option no matter what; it dominates (and defines) the "meta" of a game and usually is balanced by being harder to play correctly or hard to acquire. S tier characters dominate competitive play or S tier gear is the best equipment you can acquire to face end game content. Of course, that's not relative to D&D, which despite what many people here think, is neither competitive nor ranked.

I don't put a lot of stock into tier-lists. There are elements of the game that are stronger or weaker than others, but strict tier lists in D&D is wasted as the DM can effectively nullify most advantages far better than any game designer can. It's a good starting point to address issues like martial/magic discrepancy, CoDzilla or Batman-Wizards, but the notion that players should/will only choose S tier options is laughable.

 

[tetrasodium]

That term "S Tier" is not one I am familiar with (I am sure it's a known one around here, I just happened to miss it). I can figure out what you mean from context, but if you get the chance could you offer a primer on the Tier titles?

Rank Inflation - TV Tropes

In video games, rather than mark the player on a simple success/failure scheme, it is common to give the player some kind of rank (e.g. bronze, silver and gold medals, or grades A+ to F-), depending on their performance. This allows casual …

tvtropes.org

 

[Scott Christian]

. . . There have been studies that show that IQ and SAT/ACT scores are strongly linked with wealth, as people with more money have more access to education. It makes sense for someone who was raised in the streets (Urchin) to be less educated than someone who had private tutors (Nobles).

This quote does imply that intelligence is what a person has learned already. Not what they are capable of learning - which is actual intelligence. A person with a low intelligence (not quotient), might have a difficult time learning higher mathematical skills. A person with limited exposure to math, yet with a strong intelligence, can still learn higher mathematical concepts.

If you spend your life working out, eating healthily, and being fit, and then your job is as a personal trainer, you're going to have higher STR and CON than someone who was naturally born healthy but made no effort to be strong or healthy.

Whole life? Maybe. But many default adventurers are young. I can show you 20 year olds that have worked out for three or four years lifting weights. And then some people who have never lifted will come in and out squat them in a month. I can show you someone who sits and plays video games all day go out and outrun 90% of the school because they a genetically gifted. I can show you a guitarist who has practiced for ten years, and then a noob for a month, and the noob is better. If we want to talk real life, we are having a discussion between the Sport's Gene and Outliers. And Gladwell already stated that he was wrong.

 

[tetrasodium]

This quote does imply that intelligence is what a person has learned already. Not what they are capable of learning - which is actual intelligence. A person with a low intelligence (not quotient), might have a difficult time learning higher mathematical skills. A person with limited exposure to math, yet with a strong intelligence, can still learn higher mathematical concepts.

Whole life? Maybe. But many default adventurers are young. I can show you 20 year olds that have worked out for three or four years lifting weights. And then some people who have never lifted will come in and out squat them in a month. I can show you someone who sits and plays video games all day go out and outrun 90% of the school because they a genetically gifted. I can show you a guitarist who has practiced for ten years, and then a noob for a month, and the noob is better. If we want to talk real life, we are having a discussion between the Sport's Gene and Outliers. And Gladwell already stated that he was wrong.

drop it

 

[Scott Christian]

drop it

Yea, sorry. I was like two pages behind on the thread and didn't see the mod note prior to posting. My apologies.