D&D 5E (2014) Companion thread to 5E Survivor: Species

[RoughCoronet0]

man, my one man down voting of all human options is taking forever.

I would have joined you my friend, but the Dwarves have caught my attention today.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Wait...dragonborn don't have tails?

Eh, no thanks. Reptiles without tails makes even less sense than reptiles somehow breathing fire. I've decided that dragonborn in my games have tails, and haters can just leave me an angry voicemail if they have a problem with it.

Ah, but they're not reptiles. They're dragons. D&D has been specifying a difference since at least 3rd edition.

 

[Tonguez]

you know with the number of subraces requiring scrolling to get through this list, this whole thing is becoming more a chore than a fun diversion.
With christmas and new years happening will it even be done by February?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Wait...dragonborn don't have tails?

Eh, no thanks. Reptiles without tails makes even less sense than reptiles somehow breathing fire. I've decided that dragonborn in my games have tails, and haters can just leave me an angry voicemail if they have a problem with it.

"Traditionally," they do not. Note the quotes. "Traditions" in this space are young and variable.

Practically, it makes little difference whether dragonborn do or don't have tails. Their physiology would be altered, and it would have knock-on effects, but they would be relatively small ones compared to their elemental breath and other things I've commented upon. Hence why Critical Role made it effectively an ethnic feature: "ravenite" dragonborn lack tails, while "draconblood" dragonborn have them.

As a dragonborn fan, whether they have tails or not is something I couldn't care less about, personally. If you want yours to have a tail, awesome, have at it. If you don't, awesome, have at it. Perhaps dragonborn can shed and regrow their tails the way certain gecko species can, allowing you to have both tailed and tailless without any need for ethnic factors if you don't want that aspect.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

man, my one man down voting of all human options is taking forever.

Not entirely one man! I've been voting against them too. After that, it'll probably be elves, because elves are perennially popular and massively over-represented due to the sheer number of subraces.

 

[CleverNickName]

you know with the number of subraces requiring scrolling to get through this list, this whole thing is becoming more a chore than a fun diversion.
With christmas and new years happening will it even be done by February?

That's a good question.

We started last Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (PST) with 102 options on the list.
As of 4:30 p.m. (PST) today, there were 76 options remaining.
That means 26 options have been eliminated in 6 days. That is an attrition rate of 4.3 options per day.
So: (76 remaining options) ÷ (4.3 options eliminated per day) = 17.5 days remaining.

So if the current attrition rate holds, we will finish on the morning of January 3rd. It only seems like it's taking forever--it's actually going very quickly. (I tried to rig it so that the whole contest would take less than 4 weeks.)

 

[Tonguez]

Not entirely one man! I've been voting against them too. After that, it'll probably be elves, because elves are perennially popular and massively over-represented due to the sheer number of subraces.

I’m kinda sad that the humans have fared so badly, especially when those damned elfs amd tieflings are still around - where is the loyalty to species? ;p

 

[CleverNickName]

I’m kinda sad that the humans have fared so badly, especially when thosed damned elfs amd tieflings are still around - where is the loyalty to species? ;p

Pro tip: you can eliminate TWO different targets at the same time if you're strategic about it. For example, some people voting in the thread have a penchant for retribution...so if you know who they are, you can downvote their favorite and upvote something else you don't like. Then they will see your downvote, and attack the thing you upvoted in retaliation. The end result is -1 for their favorite/your original downvote, and -1 to the thing you "upvoted."

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I’m kinda sad that the humans have fared so badly, especially when thosed damned elfs amd tieflings are still around - where is the loyalty to species? ;p

Joke's on you, I'm a dragonborn IRL!

More seriously, I mostly targeted humans because of that very thing. Well, not so much "loyalty to the species" as....human is by definition the most relatable option on the list, because everyone voting is human (or a bot, but that doesn't really count.) Humans always win "what race is best?" polls, usually by a substantial margin. They're popular AND basic/bland, making them the top threat for anyone who might want to see some other option take the crown.

I guess what I'm saying is, human is the favorite of something like 40% of the playerbase. But that means something like 60% has some other favorite...and most of us know that if human is allowed to linger, it will essentially guaranteed become the consensus option. And because all the options in the poll have so few points, just 3 people over the course of two days (or a few hours, if two of them vote just before and then just after midnight) can kill any given option. Finally, there's always been a temptation to hold onto a vote so you can kill an option that's dangling at the edge of survival--I know a number of posters take some degree of pride in getting the "kill shot" as it were.

Between those three elements, it's little wonder the two PHB human options got blasted away immediately. But, if you've noticed, the Dragonmark ones have lingered a lot longer! I suspect that's because they aren't perceived as a threat anymore, and people have turned to taking on the front-runners that have appeared in the time since (or killing off ones they hate.)

 

[Corinnguard]

Ah, but they're not reptiles. They're dragons. D&D has been specifying a difference since at least 3rd edition.

It would be nice if they actually had the Dragon type, instead of the Humanoid type.