D&D (2024) Do you think they will add more races to PHB2024 to make up for dropping other stuff?

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

That's unfortunate, of course, but the idea of mixed-ancestry feats at least helps to balance things out, mechanics-wise. It would only really be a "tax" if you don't greatly benefit from the feat, and have to pay it just to keep up.

Or if you want to play a Mage of High Sorcery that gets "Adept of the X Robes" before level 8.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

For those who don't want to spend the feat to get more powers, how far off does just tagging each species ability as major or minor (or high, medium, low) and saying to swap them for something there or lower go?

That's another (probably better) way to do it. I'm not sure that they'll do either method.

 

[Parmandur]

At which point we're back to needing to devote your first level background feat in order to play mixed-ancestry characters, putting a tax on them that single-ancestry characters don't have to pay and thus incentivizing people to just play single-ancestry characters.

Not a tax at all, since it is providing the full power of any other Geat and forming the basis of the character's Background. Heck, looking at the balanced Feats I put up earlier in the thread, I would think a lot of people would be confused into thinking they are better than normal Feats. Probably better to cut the ribbons out...

 

[Parmandur]

For those who don't want to spend the feat to get more powers, how far off does just tagging each species ability as major or minor (or high, medium, low) and saying to swap them for something there or lower go?

Problem there is that there is a lot of asymmetry in the design of different Species: it's way easier to carve out a Feat for Halflings than Gnome, for example. Like, the numbers add up, but they get there in different ways.

 

[Parmandur]

Or if you want to play a Mage of High Sorcery that gets "Adept of the X Robes" before level 8.

Possible for a Human, taking two Level 1 Feats.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Possible for a Human, taking two Level 1 Feats.

Also possible for a dwarf or an elf. But not a dwelf, if they have to spend their background feat in order to play a dwelf.

 

[Parmandur]

Also possible for a dwarf or an elf. But not a dwelf, if they have to spend their background feat in order to play a dwelf.

Still not a tax, it's a decision point. Being a Dwarf with a bunch of Elvish abilities is worth a Feat. However, I would include this along with the purely aesthetic hybrid option: not all Half-Elves have to Trance or have Fey magic powers, which increases variety.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Still not a tax, it's a decision point. Being a Dwarf with a bunch of Elvish abilities is worth a Feat. However, I would include this along with the purely aesthetic hybrid option: not all Half-Elves have to Trance or have Fey magic powers, which increases variety.

Right, a decision point asking "Is my decision to play a mixed-ancestry character worth pushing the capstone feat representing my character's ties to the Mages of High Sorcery into the top end of the level range that most games ever even reach when I could just play single-ancestry and have access to it for half of the campaign?"

It's still pitting two choices that are entirely independent of each other for single-ancestry characters against each other for those that want to play mixed-ancestry characters.

 

[Parmandur]

Right, a decision point asking "Is my decision to play a mixed-ancestry character worth pushing the capstone feat representing my character's ties to the Mages of High Sorcery into the top end of the level range that most games ever even reach when I could just play single-ancestry and have access to it for half of the campaign?"

It's still pitting two choices that are entirely independent of each other for single-ancestry characters against each other for those that want to play mixed-ancestry characters.

I mean, WotC probably won't do it, I imagine the final book is going to go with the aesthwtic choice route. But unlike the mix and match willy-nilly approach, the Feat option would work in practice.

 

[DEFCON 1]

And yet, the suggestion to let people mix and match those inconsequential mechanics to some degree to better support mixed-ancestry characters is immediately met with furious backlash.

I fully support Multi-Specieing. But to make it easy, just have WotC pre-select only two features from each species that are allowed to pair with another species, rather than a complete mix and match of features if people really think the min-maxing is such an issue.

Now I personally have no problem with those players who would formulate the most ridiculous species pairings just to get the "best" features... because that tells me just to never to play with those people. Same reason I don't ultimately care about all the silly CHA-based Multi-classing that happens not for narrative reasons but just so players can attack using CHA. They're more than welcome to do that over at their own tables. Doesn't bother me none.