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<blockquote data-quote="Haldrik" data-source="post: 8062783" data-attributes="member: 6694221">Note, some gamers seem to make a big deal about &quot;species&quot; and things like Darkvision. But Darkvision can easily be a CULTURAL trait. Because magic.The Warlock can gain darkvision by means of magic despite species. Perhaps every police officer in a certain city has to be imbued with Darkvision as part of the job description. So, honestly, my only concern for who gets what, is flavor. If a dwarf culture is deep underground then for flavor reasons they seem likely to have darkvision. But if they dwell around muddy riverbanks on the surface then maybe they lack darkvision. If they live immediately under the surface using a hill like a windowless apartment building, maybe they lack darkvision, and rely on oillamps and lanterns like humans do. Regarding Strength and small species. In my eyes, halflings are &quot;natural&quot; and shouldnt be strong, but gnomes are &quot;magical&quot; and might be superhumanly strong. So the only thing that matters is the character concept and the coherent flavor that comes with it. So the line between &quot;species&quot; and &quot;culture&quot; is porous. That said, to silo certain things into a particular species like Large size or waterbreathing, or misty step, or elven accuracy, helps give a sense of shared commonality across a species, even if individuals might swap these traits out.The utility of &quot;species&quot; and &quot;culture&quot; is to organize themes and tropes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Haldrik, post: 8062783, member: 6694221"] Note, some gamers seem to make a big deal about "species" and things like Darkvision. But Darkvision can easily be a CULTURAL trait. Because magic. The Warlock can gain darkvision by means of magic despite species. Perhaps every police officer in a certain city has to be imbued with Darkvision as part of the job description. So, honestly, my only concern for who gets what, is flavor. If a dwarf culture is deep underground then for flavor reasons they seem likely to have darkvision. But if they dwell around muddy riverbanks on the surface then maybe they lack darkvision. If they live immediately under the surface using a hill like a windowless apartment building, maybe they lack darkvision, and rely on oillamps and lanterns like humans do. Regarding Strength and small species. In my eyes, halflings are "natural" and shouldnt be strong, but gnomes are "magical" and might be superhumanly strong. So the only thing that matters is the character concept and the coherent flavor that comes with it. So the line between "species" and "culture" is porous. That said, to silo certain things into a particular species like Large size or waterbreathing, or misty step, or elven accuracy, helps give a sense of shared commonality across a species, even if individuals might swap these traits out. The utility of "species" and "culture" is to organize themes and tropes. [/QUOTE]

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