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Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 7534159" data-attributes="member: 6785785"><p>I absolutely agree. I'm really providing some suggestions based purely on my experiences. Those are different from many others. But, given that organized play typically includes a standardized expectation...so Adventurer's League and similar groups have set guidelines for what is or is not allowed....so in general, I'm kind of talking about home games. Or online games, these days, which are huge. </p><p></p><p>And the kind of mismatched expectation I'm talking about is one that would likely come up in a Session 0. So if the DM provides some kind of campaign handout prior to play....at that point, the player says "hey, I see it says I can't be a half-orc....I was kind of bouncing around an idea for a half-orc character. Is that really the case? Any leeway on that?" and then they discuss. I'm not describing someone showing up for Session 1, having already been made aware of the expectations for the game, and saying "Oh yeah I saw that, but I made a half-orc anyway". </p><p></p><p>Again, that's a player being a jerk. I wouldn't defend that. </p><p></p><p>What I'm saying is that the DM should think about the "no half-orc" restriction and consider its actual importance to the campaign world, and consider if there was some way to make it work. </p><p></p><p>It's really not that crazy to me for this to happen. The DM should also not be a jerk. "Well, I said no half-orcs, so you probably shouldn't play in this game" is really borderline to me. </p><p></p><p>Now, maybe the DM determines that there's no way to make it work. Okay, so be it....hopefully he discusses some acceptable options with the player that get the player interested in the game. Hopefully they work something out one way or another. </p><p></p><p>And I agree that settings can and should have a different theme than the more generic "kitchen-sink" fantasy that is kind of the default expectation of the game. I really like Dark Sun and Ravenloft and Planescape, and each has its own feel. However, I don't think that racial restrictions are as important to the feel of those settings as many seem to think. Adding a half-orc to Dark Sun doesn't ruin the theme of the setting. It may stand out, it may be a departure that a DM or players are not willing to make....and I get that, it's fine in a general way....but I don't think it's a very strong reason to turn a player away from a game. I suppose that in this regard, I'm more concerned with the game or social aspect of D&D rather than the story aspect.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 7534159, member: 6785785"] I absolutely agree. I'm really providing some suggestions based purely on my experiences. Those are different from many others. But, given that organized play typically includes a standardized expectation...so Adventurer's League and similar groups have set guidelines for what is or is not allowed....so in general, I'm kind of talking about home games. Or online games, these days, which are huge. And the kind of mismatched expectation I'm talking about is one that would likely come up in a Session 0. So if the DM provides some kind of campaign handout prior to play....at that point, the player says "hey, I see it says I can't be a half-orc....I was kind of bouncing around an idea for a half-orc character. Is that really the case? Any leeway on that?" and then they discuss. I'm not describing someone showing up for Session 1, having already been made aware of the expectations for the game, and saying "Oh yeah I saw that, but I made a half-orc anyway". Again, that's a player being a jerk. I wouldn't defend that. What I'm saying is that the DM should think about the "no half-orc" restriction and consider its actual importance to the campaign world, and consider if there was some way to make it work. It's really not that crazy to me for this to happen. The DM should also not be a jerk. "Well, I said no half-orcs, so you probably shouldn't play in this game" is really borderline to me. Now, maybe the DM determines that there's no way to make it work. Okay, so be it....hopefully he discusses some acceptable options with the player that get the player interested in the game. Hopefully they work something out one way or another. And I agree that settings can and should have a different theme than the more generic "kitchen-sink" fantasy that is kind of the default expectation of the game. I really like Dark Sun and Ravenloft and Planescape, and each has its own feel. However, I don't think that racial restrictions are as important to the feel of those settings as many seem to think. Adding a half-orc to Dark Sun doesn't ruin the theme of the setting. It may stand out, it may be a departure that a DM or players are not willing to make....and I get that, it's fine in a general way....but I don't think it's a very strong reason to turn a player away from a game. I suppose that in this regard, I'm more concerned with the game or social aspect of D&D rather than the story aspect. [/QUOTE]
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Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
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