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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dire Bare" data-source="post: 8041288" data-attributes="member: 18182">Tying ability bonuses to race OR culture is problematic. Both mental abilities and physical abilities, all six of them. IRL, racist stereotypes apply proficiency and/or deficiency in both physical and mental attributes, and keeping this trope in D&D furthers the problematic systemic racism in our society.So, what to do? You guys should check out a few products on the DM's Guild and DriveThruRPG.com. First, <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/287638/Grazilaxxs-Guide-to-Ancestry?term=graz" target="_blank">Grazilaxx's Guide to Ancestry</a>. Graz's isn't my favorite reimagining of race in D&D, but it does give lots of ideas of what to do with those pesky racial ability bonuses. Graz's gives detailed and concrete options including: 1) shifting bonuses to class, 2) shifting bonuses to background, and 3) simply adding more points to the point-buy option. One option not in the book that I like . . . shifting bonuses away from race to culture, but making them suggestions rather than pre-determined. For example, if you choose the elf race/ancestry and the high elf culture, your suggested ability bonuses are +2 Dex and +1 Intelligence . . . but you can put your +2 and +1 anywhere you like, or even put a +1 on three ability scores.One thing I think needs changing with race in D&D, in addition to decoupling ability bonuses, is making a distinction between inherited traits (genetically and/or magically) and learned traits (cultural, social, familial). Grazilaxx's Guide doesn't, IMO, do a very good job of this, but Arcanist Press's book <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/314622/Ancestry--Culture-An-Alternative-to-Race-in-5e?src=hottest" target="_blank">Ancestry & Culture</a> (and it's two expansions) do a great job, and the book is killing it on DTRPG right now.I don't play Pathfinder, but I've been very curious about how Paizo treats race in the new edition of the game. I didn't quite grok it when reading through the new Core Rulebook, but I've recently picked up the Lost Omens Character Guide (through a current <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/books/pathfinder-second-edition-paizo-inc-books?hmb_source=navbar&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=tile_index_1" target="_blank">Humble Bundle offer</a>) and I'm liking what they are doing. Pathfinder 2E, like other books including Ancestry & Culture, replaces race with ancestry. Subrace is replaced with heritage . . . . but heritage in PF2 doesn't relate to culture or subcultures, just different traits (learned or inherited) that ANY member of the ancestry could have. The words ancestry and heritage don't really have distinct meanings, which is what initially confused me, and PF2 uses heritage as a subset of ancestry. For example, any Elf, regardless of the culture or ethnicity they were raised with, can take the Ancient Elf or Desert Elf heritage. In contrast, Ancestry & Culture replaces subrace with, well, culture. Elf is an ancestry, High Elf is a culture. While I really like the system in Ancestry & Culture, I'm also really liking how Pathfinder 2E treats culture/ethnicity . . . in PF2 culture/ethnicity HAS NO MECHANICAL IMPACT AT ALL!!! Ethnicities for each ancestry/race are described, and often have suggested heritages, but have no pre-determined traits at all. I like that.</blockquote>

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