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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 7531295" data-attributes="member: 6785785">Ravenloft is probably one of the best examples you can give. However, as presented, even in the 2E days, its nature left it open to all playable races and classes from just about any of the existing settings. Sure, a fantasy version of the Wookie is not a great fit for the setting; but is a halfling or a dragonborn really much better? And do you think it's impossible for a player to somehow make the Wookie in Ravenloft work? It may be challenging, but impossible? I could see a fantasy Klingon fitting right in....trying and struggling to face all threats with martial prowess, and perhaps being tempted by the Dark Powers....The Large creature aspect is one that they struggle with, but as you point out, they kind of shoe horn it in. I think this is more a mechanical concern than anything else. Half-Giants worked just fine in 2E Dark Sun. But then, I think the nature of the world lent itself to accommodate them. Regarding gnomes, what you're saying may not be required at all. The gnome in question could be the results of mutation (an element that exists in the setting), or some kind of survivor of the Sorcerer Kings' genocide, or a planar traveler. A centaur could easily be reskinned so that it is a better fit, but be mechanically the same. There are options that can avoid any intense work on the part of the DM. I don't think I'm advocating for hand-waving in favor of rolling dice; it's more a case of a DM and player working together to make sure setting concept and character concept can work together. As for cliche, you seem in favor of it in some ways, and not in others. If an outcast drow is cliche, then certainly the monolithically evil drow is as well. And so is the gruff dwarf and the serene elf and the stoic knight and the mysterious wizard. Sure, these things are archetypical, but they can still all be used to say something. I think this is where you're really moving into personal preference; you find X to be cliche, so it shouldn't be in a game. Personally, I've found that when a player comes to me and says something kind of crazy like "I want to play a Yuan-Ti", it's an exercise in creativity to ask why would there by a Yuan-Ti adventurer? Is he different from his fellow Yuan-Ti? Does he share some goal with the rest of the party? These kinds of questions or the ones that I've found lead to truly memorable characters and games, and that's a large part of why I tend to not restrict players in their choices.</blockquote>

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