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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mirrorrorrim" data-source="post: 9129369" data-attributes="member: 7040132">Agreed, and it's frustrating for the mechanical-only crowd to call the refluff-friendly rules racist (which is what is being done by by using real world racist labeling like the One Drop Rule. It's inflammatory rhetoric that is inaccurate.) The mechanics are not the only factor in determining species. I feel that it's not even more important. I think that is the big divide here. The refluff crowd sees the ability to have any hybrid as a boon to the narrative, opening mixed species options, and it's not erasing anything.Here are my concerns leading to my belief that another pass at the "Children of Different Humanoid Kinds" rules would be appropriate:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">It's weird to have "Half-elves" as the only hybrid race option. THAT sounds exclusionary. Note that some Half-elf supporters are fine with replacing Half-orcs stats with Orc stats, which suggests that it is merely a personal preference for a particular species, rather than a moral argument. Doing it for one hybrid race suggests that the same treatment should be given to all hybrids. But it is far beyond the scope of the game to create all the unique Half-species entries (including building lore for hundreds of hybrid combos), or to create a build-a-species system. These won't fit into the PH and wouldn't be able to take every other species in other books into consideration.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Currently, Half-elves are not significantly mechanically unique in a way that warrants their own entry. When compared to the Elf, the variation is less than the elf lineages. They lose Trance and they get Skill Versatilty instead of Keen Senses (Perception). That is so minor. Even in BG3, half-elves are getting the Elf spells. It's almost a cosmetic variant. As I pointed out elsewhere, "Elf-kin" could totally be a subrace option under Elf if really necessary. Either way, if the "Half-elf" were to be included in the PH on its own, it would need to reimagined like the rest of the PH species. Would updating the mechanics erase the earlier Half-elf? No. So there should be no argument against changing it at all. Just compare the playtest Human to the earlier Humans. Though they look very different it doesn't erase the earlier variants. There is NO erasure, just a different focus in the next book. The Half-elf entry will still be in our 2014 books and in DDB. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">I would hazard a guess that if the "Children of Different Humanoid Kinds" rules became reality, and was implemented in DDB, we'd see so much more variety in characters built, even if the mechanics were not unique, because people care more about the story of their characters. I think elf/human hybrids will still be in a slight majority due to historical relevance (and they are traditionally pretty/charismatic), but being able to look like a Wood Elf, while have Forest Gnome abilities sounds pretty damn cool for people who don't want to play a Small character. Or if you want to look like a Dwarf but have Orc abilities, be a Dorc. It is a worthy effort to create the new Hybrid-friendly rules to OPEN more options, as a VARIANT for existing hybrids and non-represented hybrids. Every species in the UA is a variant of what came before in earlier books. Again, the earlier variants are not being erased.</li> </ol></blockquote>

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