D&D 5E Companion thread to 5E Survivor: Species

[CleverNickName]

You only think that because that's what we've told you to think.

Sounds like something a bard would say. (eyes narrow with suspicion)

 

[CreamCloud0]

I've been asking myself that as well.

A good 'species' needs more than just stat boosts. Because--hot take--species ASIs are more a hinderance than anything else and we should get rid of 'em.

At my table, I noticed the players would immediately gravitate to the Ability Score Increases and sort all of the options into optimal choices for whatever class they wanted to play. If that all-important +2 wasn't in their key ability score, the species was completely off the table--no halfling or gnome barbarians, it's either mountain dwarf or half-orc every single time. It started feeling very repetitive, and my players started joke-complaining about it...so I started letting the players distribute those ability scores however they wished. (This was several years before Tasha's came out.)

The result was a lot more variety in the party's composition. Players started asking themselves "what would a tiefling barbarian look like?" instead of rolling up the same cookie-cutter half-orc with an axe. Variant Human was no longer the most popular choice at the table; I started seeing more dragonborn and firbolgs and aasimar.

So that was the big take-away. Make ASIs flexible/customizable, or remove them from the species traits altogether and just add them at character creation ("Okay guys, roll your stats using the 4d6 method. Then increase one by +2, and a different one by +1"). They're not doing us any favors as-written in the Player's Handbook.

while i agree that a species needs more than just ASI to be 'good' (however i'm more on the side of fixed/semi-fixed(each species has 3 choices of where to place 3 floating +1s)) my question was more in the sense of actual traits: proficiencies, unique abilites, resistances and spells and such, just how some species can have great abilities but they don't come together to feel like a meaningful whole.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Sounds like something a bard would say. (eyes narrow with suspicion)

My other pseudonym is literally soulfulbard.

I'm Vaal in D&D spaces, soulfulbard in other media.

 

[CleverNickName]

And with @see's upvote in Post #586 the Kobold has earned a membership card into the Score20 Club, alongside the Lizardfolk! These two scaly bois are the only D&D species so far on this long list to ever achieve this level of success.

Only 43 options remain...down from over a hundred. The playing field is getting smaller, which means the upvotes (and especially the downvotes) are getting more concentrated. Can the kobold keep the haters at bay?

 

[cwallach]

Also, Tolkien elves are Wood Elves.

World Ruining Magic FR elves are High elves.

There are many types of Elves in Tolkien. Including High Elves.

 

[Vaalingrade]

There are many types of Elves in Tolkien. Including High Elves.

It's legal in Middle Earth.

 

[Tonguez]

There is plenty of Elf still left on that board if you're counting Half-Elves as part of Elves.

Im counting them as Human

 

[el-remmen]

Kobold. . . two scaly bois

I think you mean little blue dog people.

 

[overgeeked]

Someone get a species down to 2 so I can kill it.

 

[CleverNickName]

I think you mean little blue dog people.

Not in a 5th Edition survivor thread.

(I miss the little doggos.)