D&D 5E criteria for new races to be added to the PHB

[doctorbadwolf]

Oh, of course. I don't mean to yuck on anyone's yum. Well, except for Brad. C'mon man. It's been four decades. YOU HAVE TO PLAY SOMETHING ELSE!

This is more an expression of my generalized thoughts regarding fantasy races in D&D.

"Take time with a wounded hand 'cause it likes to heal ....I like to steal.
I'm half the man I used to be."

Bilbo Baggins, probably.

Ugh, Brad. We have one of those too. Always a damn scottish Jedi, somehow.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[gyor]

View attachment 116542

Calling someone a Boomer (or Millenial or Gen Xer or Gen Zed) by itself IS NOT AN ARGUEMENT by itself, its just an insult to both the individual and their age group. Even if you see it as a mind set rather then a generation thing (which I support), it by itself is not an arguement. Sorry its just a pet peeve of mine. Its just intellectual laziness to use it like that.

 

[gyor]

Naw. I think it does. Your complaint about what I'm saying is the same as if I were to say, "Dude, no one is going to start re-printing the PHB until it is up the 'correct number of race standards of gyor' so your thread is a non-starter."

As I wrote, races serve only two real purposes in the game. Mechanical (a collection of bonuses and abilities) and roleplaying (a collection of stereotypes traits for a race).

You could accomplish the exact same thing by having variant humans with those abilities.

So the question is, why? Why bother with these races at all? After all, many games don't need it. And you could play D&D just fine by re-skinning every single race as human.

There's really three reasons, then. The first is tradition. D&D has classes and races. It always has, and therefore it always will.

The second is a variant of tradition. Fantasy games (aka Tolkien-y games) have fantasy races. People see LOTR, people want to play Legolas. Especially Brad. You think he'd change it up, but no, every single time, "Hey guys, Ima play an elven archer!" "Yeah, we know."

The third is a variant of the second, wish-fulfillment. "I want to play an Elf, because I want to imagine myself as an elf." And so on.

So D&D will have the PHB with the core races (and the core classes) that appeal to the greatest number of players (your standard core fantasy/D&D races), and then will push out additional material for people that want it.

But yeah, a lot of the issues revolving around races (and RPing races) can be ... weird ... after a while. Which is why I prefer anthropocentric campaigns.

 

[gyor]

Naw. I think it does. Your complaint about what I'm saying is the same as if I were to say, "Dude, no one is going to start re-printing the PHB until it is up the 'correct number of race standards of gyor' so your thread is a non-starter."

As I wrote, races serve only two real purposes in the game. Mechanical (a collection of bonuses and abilities) and roleplaying (a collection of stereotypes traits for a race).

You could accomplish the exact same thing by having variant humans with those abilities.

So the question is, why? Why bother with these races at all? After all, many games don't need it. And you could play D&D just fine by re-skinning every single race as human.

There's really three reasons, then. The first is tradition. D&D has classes and races. It always has, and therefore it always will.

The second is a variant of tradition. Fantasy games (aka Tolkien-y games) have fantasy races. People see LOTR, people want to play Legolas. Especially Brad. You think he'd change it up, but no, every single time, "Hey guys, Ima play an elven archer!" "Yeah, we know."

The third is a variant of the second, wish-fulfillment. "I want to play an Elf, because I want to imagine myself as an elf." And so on.

So D&D will have the PHB with the core races (and the core classes) that appeal to the greatest number of players (your standard core fantasy/D&D races), and then will push out additional material for people that want it.

But yeah, a lot of the issues revolving around races (and RPing races) can be ... weird ... after a while. Which is why I prefer anthropocentric campaigns.

Purpose for races 3, they are in the Settings. And elves and dwarves and so on are in the PHB is so that their is a central location for play so you don't have keep reprinting them in every setting book or every AP. Its effient to not have to keep reprinting stuff that is why things end up in core books period. This is true not just of D&D, but also other RPG systems.

The function of core books is two fold, one is so those playing game have the rules the devs view as needed to be able to play the game as intended at all and two mimiumize repetitition of frequentily needed or wanted materials in other books.

Alternately if folks want the PHB to be traditional PHB pre4e races alone, then the 5.5/6e MM could be altered to be more like VGTM and MTOF in having the stats needed to make popular races playable. Player stats in 5e take little room and with clever layout could take alot less room. But no level adjustment crap and playtest them properly so that they work properly as player characters. This means finishimg the job of making the MM as much a player resource as it is a DMs, which has already begun.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Calling someone a Boomer (or Millenial or Gen Xer or Gen Zed) by itself IS NOT AN ARGUEMENT by itself, its just an insult to both the individual and their age group. Even if you see it as a mind set rather then a generation thing (which I support), it by itself is not an arguement. Sorry its just a pet peeve of mine. Its just intellectual laziness to use it like that.

You do understand that the "ok boomer" meme was created in reaction to many complaints that the opinions of millenials are often disregarded because of stereotypes (that they're lazy, stingy, ungrateful, spoiled, sensitive). So the meme was made to disregard the opinions of baby boomers in the exact same way, and that being angered by it (and responding to it) just fuels its existence?

Purpose for races 3, they are in the Settings. And elves and dwarves and so on are in the PHB is so that their is a central location for play so you don't have keep reprinting them in every setting book or every AP. Its effient to not have to keep reprinting stuff that is why things end up in core books period. This is true not just of D&D, but also other RPG systems.

The function of core books is two fold, one is so those playing game have the rules the devs view as needed to be able to play the game as intended at all and two mimiumize repetitition of frequentily needed or wanted materials in other books.

Alternately if folks want the PHB to be traditional PHB pre4e races alone, then the 5.5/6e MM could be altered to be more like VGTM and MTOF in having the stats needed to make popular races playable. Player stats in 5e take little room and with clever layout could take alot less room. But no level adjustment crap and playtest them properly so that they work properly as player characters. This means finishimg the job of making the MM as much a player resource as it is a DMs, which has already begun.

I think you're forgetting that the devs probably don't mind having to reprint races in books; it does after all save them from making even more new material for new books, when you can get some extra pages from reprinted material.

I largely agree with you that sure, it would be nice to have the PHB reprinted with more races, or even the MM with them. But it's never going to happen until maybe a new edition rolls around. There simply is not financial incentive to reprinting the core books with more material; huge cost, not nearly as much new revenue.

 

[gyor]

You do understand that the "ok boomer" meme was created in reaction to many complaints that the opinions of millenials are often disregarded because of stereotypes (that they're lazy, stingy, ungrateful, spoiled, sensitive). So the meme was made to disregard the opinions of baby boomers in the exact same way, and that being angered by it (and responding to it) just fuels its existence?



I think you're forgetting that the devs probably don't mind having to reprint races in books; it does after all save them from making even more new material for new books, when you can get some extra pages from reprinted material.

I largely agree with you that sure, it would be nice to have the PHB reprinted with more races, or even the MM with them. But it's never going to happen until maybe a new edition rolls around. There simply is not financial incentive to reprinting the core books with more material; huge cost, not nearly as much new revenue.

As a consumer I mind it and I bet other consumers do too. And if a sizable amount of their market doesn't like excessive reprinting of stuff, then devs shouldn't either.

Also again I'm not a Boomer, I Gen X right on the border of being a millenial, so I don't see how my opinion would fuel the meme.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[gyor]

Ok Paladin.

That one I like.

 

[DEFCON 1]

This whole thing is another ridiculous argument.

Just buy the second goddamned book, you cheap bastards. And yes... also accept that you aren't going to use or want every single item on every single page of the book, and thus all of it is potential "wasted space".