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

[Neonchameleon]

It’s as setting-specific as any species.

I mean, the alternatives would be excluding hybrid species entirely, or privileging some hybrid species over others. Why should human/elf and human/orc hybrids the only ones that get full species treatment?

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. The PHB can provide the simple, general option, and if specific settings have need of full species treatments for specific hybrids, they can provide them in the relevant books.

Half elves and half orcs aren't just human/elf and human/orc hybrids. They are children of two worlds with a distinct culture of their own that isn't quite the same as either parent. In other words they are the fantasy version of either the children of certain types of divorces and they are second generation immigrants with their own community who aren't accepted as full members by either parent culture. You want both half-elves and half-orcs because of the status implications in both directions. And they deserve to be in there because they represent a fantasy and therefore relatively safe analogue to part of the human experience.

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

I don't like to be overly cynical, but presenting the options of half-orcs anbd half-eves "optional"/legacy in the new DMG lets them have it both ways -- not in the phb, but there as backwards compatible.

If they genuinely think that Half-Orcs and Half-Elves are inherently racist I don't think they would stick in the DMG to generate sales there either way. I imagine a lot of impetus for their removal was the long term effect on their business among recruiting and retaining younger players with this potentially problematic content in the game. Sticking them in another book would undercut the business argument for that.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I'd like that to be true.

 

[Fifth Element]

I'm glad art makes it worth it to you, but honestly I've got access to plenty of art, so that means very little to me.

You say you don't understand why anyone would buy the books. Someone gives you a reason why they would do it. You dismiss their reason as not being applicable to you

Can you identify the issue with this exchange?

 

[Fifth Element]

And it will lag behind and be increasingly forgotten as 2024 takes the position of 'first amongst equals' in the eyes of the community.

I'm sure this goes without saying, but there it is anyway.

"That sounds like a player problem not a rules problem" is the de rigueur response I believe.

 

[Scribe]

"That sounds like a player problem not a rules problem" is the de rigueur response I believe.

Sure, but that applies to pretty much everything within this particular area of concern.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You say you don't understand why anyone would buy the books. Someone gives you a reason why they would do it. You dismiss their reason as not being applicable to you

Can you identify the issue with this exchange?

I don't really understand art being a reason to re-buy books I already own.

Also, is there a reason you keep coming after me?

 

[Yaarel]

Half elves and half orcs aren't just human/elf and human/orc hybrids. They are children of two worlds with a distinct culture of their own that isn't quite the same as either parent. In other words they are the fantasy version of either the children of certain types of divorces and they are second generation immigrants with their own community who aren't accepted as full members by either parent culture. You want both half-elves and half-orcs because of the status implications in both directions. And they deserve to be in there because they represent a fantasy and therefore relatively safe analogue to part of the human experience.

Half-Elf and Half-Orc are just Human-Elf and Human-Orc.

Their stories, whence their cultures, are different in different settings.

Even in the Forgotten Realms setting, they have different cultures in different regions of the planet Toril.

There are communities where everyone is Human-Elf descending from ancient Human and Elf ancestors. They continue to reproduce Half-Elf descendants.

Elsewhere, the Human-Elf grows up as a member of an Elf community, Human community, cosmopolitan community, or less typical situations.

Whether the Human-Elf feels belonging or not, depends on the individual and on the particular community. Some communities are specist, some are inclusive, it depends on the community.


Really, "Between Two Worlds" is a character background, rather than a species or multispecies trait.

Even a full Human in a Human community might express the Between Two Worlds background. One parent might be an immigrant, or a noble, or a criminal, or a minority religion, or so on.

 

[Yaarel]

Yeah I really liked that. I hope they are in, and Aasimar/Genasi as well.

Per DnDBeyond statistics, the Genasi are among the top ten species, and about as popular as the Halfling, Half-Orc, and Gnome.

Their elemental flavors are salient within most settings. I hope Genasi make it in.

Aasimar is the eleventh most popular species, but is conceptually important as a counterpart to the Tiefling. I hope they make it into the Players Handbook. Heh, I am ok with them respelling the name Awsimar.

As far as I can tell, the Warforged havent been doing well in popularity lately? Maybe because theyre absent from Mordenkainen Presents? But I feel the option of a golem, a Construct, is a salient concept, and worthwhile in the Players Handbook anyway, albeit it is a judgment call.

In any case, Genasi deserve to be in the 2024 Players Handbook. As much as Gnomes and others do.

 

[Yaarel]

If D&D was now willing to stick to just one setting like everyone else, which setting would it be? Each and every fan of D&D has their own favorite setting thanks to WoTC creating a number of them over the years. They have literally painted themselves into proverbial corner.

There needs to be a thread where we take the best elements of each D&D setting and try to mash them into one world. Till all worlds are one.

I prefer D&D being a game engine that can handle completely different settings.

So keep the core rules of the Players Handbook customizable, broad, openended, and suggestive.

That said. It is important to have a narratively rich setting. So far, there are three core rule books: Players Handbook, DMs Guide, and Monster Manual. There should be a fourth core rulebook, a setting guide.

• Players Handbook: ALL (!) of the rules necessary to play a game of D&D. The only book necessary.
• DMs Guide: running adventures, encounters, variant rules, worldbuilding, magic items, wealth, advice.
• Forgotten Realms Cyclopedia: detail flavors, maps, species, cultures, class organizations, etcetera.
• Forgotten Realms Monster Manual: monster stats with how their ecologies fit into the Realms.

These are the four core rulebooks.

Supplements include Eberron Cyclopedia, Eberron Monster Manual, etcetera.