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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MoogleEmpMog" data-source="post: 3731740" data-attributes="member: 22882">Here's the thing, though - WHICH abilities the villains have that the PCs don't depends on which source you're going by.  Within the range of fantasy media, you'll find 'player character equivalents' include, just off the top of my head:AngelsAnthropomorphic animalsCentaursDeath Knights*Dragons (VERY commonly, in my experience)Drow*Flying/winged menGhostsGolems (intelligent ones, anyway)Griffons*Hook Horrors*Mascot/pet monster crittersMind Flayers*Minotaurs*PhoenixesVampires*WerewolvesZombies (intelligent ones, anyway)Those marked with an * are ones I know for a fact were player character/protagonist characters IN AN ACTUAL D&D NOVEL.  I wouldn't be surprised if several others on the list and many I didn't recall also appear in the many D&D novels out there, but these I absolutely know do.  Any D&D system that can't handle at least those creatures as PCs is explicitly saying "the designers/writers NPCs are cool enough to have these - but yours aren't."The point is, the designers should not be the ones deciding which particular abilities are off-limits in any given campaign, because what is off limits for a given type of fantasy varies wildly from game to game.  In some games, humans are the only appropriate race (Conan); in others, a very limited selection that does not include the standard PHB races (Final Fantasy); in others, pretty much anything with an even remotely human-comprehensible psyche or the ability to fake it (Planescape).Again I cite my Ivalice game, where elves, dwarves and halflings would have been completely inappropriate, but mind flayers, minotaurs and goblins all fit as playable races; a game that makes that decision for me says "you may as well not use this for FFT-era Ivalice."  Depending on how significant the racial crunch in the PHB is, it may also say "you may as well not use this for Conan."  It clearly says "you may as well not use this for Spelljammer."</blockquote>

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